What are We? What are human beings?

We are made up, for want of a better expression, of a physical body, a spiritual body, and a soul (sometimes called our higher self). A trinity, if you like. Our soul is our essence, our spiritual body is the finer body we have in the spirit world when we 'die', and our physical body is of course that perishable one with a variable use-by date!

Our physical bodies are the most temporary, being a shell for use on this earth, for however many years we remain here. When in our physical bodies, we communicate with each other through the 5 senses. When in spirit, we can still do this if we want to, (and there may be more than 5 senses) but the main communication is by telepathy. 'Newcomers' (ie. new returners) to the spirit world would most likely start by talking until they have remembered how to use telepathy.

Our spiritual bodies are also temporary, but they are not susceptible to damage or decay like our physical bodies. They are temporary in the sense that whilst in spirit, they change according to our development, (and according to our will) and eventually we discard them altogether as we progress beyond the need for form, into pure energy, which is the natural property of our soul. Our soul is the innermost part of our being: pure energy, without visible form. Like 'God'. (That's what is meant in the Bible when it says we are made in God's image. Not that if we have arms and legs then so must God!!)

When in spirit 'world', (but there are many worlds/plains/places in the spirit world - "In my Father's house are many mansions/rooms/dwelling places" if you want a quote from the Bible) we can choose how we look. Most people choose to look how they did in their mid to late 20s. Because spirit matter is much more easily manipulated than dense earthly matter, such things as possible. If a person died as a child, they actually grow up in spirit. It is said that they often grow up close to their earthly families, learning with them the lessons that they missed because they left the earth plain. I find that a wonderful thought.

It is said by most, if not all, spirit communicators (ie. people from the spirit world) that we are all on a journey towards perfection, towards The Source/God. The experiences that we have on earth are invaluable because the earth is such a difficult place to live, (don't we know it!!) and when life is difficult we learn the most, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time. Perhaps we can only truly realise what we have learnt by these experiences when we review our lives after death. We can still progress in spirit, but they say it takes much 'longer' because life is so much easier and so I guess there is less incentive to work at one's own progress.

Some people suggest that we - the real, eternal, soul, us - are light energy. When we are living on earth, our vibrations (vibration at an atomic level is the continual movement of atoms and molecules that are contained within everything in the universe) are lowered to such an extent that we can fit in with the earth's lower vibratory field of matter. When we leave this mortal frame, we cannot be seen by the naked eye because we move beyond the framework of human science and into higher energy which vibrates faster.

Note: Some people reverse the concept of spirit and soul. That doen't really matter - it's just the words - but I mention it here to help avoid confusion when reading other articles.

So how did we originate?
A theory: In the 'beginning', God was All That Was/Is. But because there was nothing else, God chose to split 'himself' into an infinite number of pieces. Some of these pieces, those with souls, were given freewill to act how they wanted. Gradually, as these pieces started to exercise their freewill, they experimented being different from God. But as God was perfection, anything that was different from God, by definition, must have been imperfect. (The books Conversations with God explain it in more or less this way.) This experimenting was described in the Bible as the 'fall from grace' of Adam and Eve, an alleagorical story to explain this theory. The details of the story, eg. about the serpent and the apple etc. shouldn't be taken literally - the Bible was written in an age when parables, alleagorical stories, etc. were widely used. This concept of experimenting by doing things differently is also the subject of the book The Fall, published by The Joseph Communications.
Thus the fragments of God include us, and that is why we are making the long journey back to perfection, to perfect knowledge, back to the Source. When we die, we still have our own characteristics, except those that have been caused by a malfuntioning body, especially physical issues. Some mental and emotional issues may continue for a while, since they are part of our thought patterns - which, of course, go with us - but ultimately they are associated with this world, not the next. We all have some of these issues, and that is part of the learning process. But when we return to spirit we do not just become an anonymous part of God. We do loose much of what is called our human ego - the thing which can make us feel separate from each other and from the Source - because the ego is for survival on the relatively hostile earth plane.
Exactly what will happen eventually is not known - I don't think even by the more advanced spirits. Even if we do 'at the end of time' become just part of God, then, as God, I believe we will not only know that we are God, but also know we are all of the people we have ever been, so all our experiences and memories will remain. (I am very relieved to know this!) So, even if we are 'absorbed' into the Source, since the Source has infinite knowledge, we as part of that Source will know all our own individual selves as they have been since time (currently) immemorial, and we will not loose anything - and I mean anything at all. Even as spirits we have the ability to be in two or more places at once and to be incarnate in two different bodies, so imagine what, as part of the unified Source we can do or be.
And as all this happens, The Source is learning along with or as part of us. So unlike traditional teaching, where God does not change, I believe that The Source is changing and developing. That's why The Source created us and the uni/multiverse in the first place!

Spirit Guides
Whilst on earth we all have spirits who (try to!) help us. They are known as Guides. We have a main guide, usually called in Spiritualist circles our Gatekeeper, who stays with us for our whole life, plus other guides, many of whom are with us for a time only. Some are 'specialists' who have knowledge in certain areas - for example those who have been musicians or scientists etc. in their earth lives, and can give us help from their own personal experience. If you suddenly have an idea about something, or feel drawn to a person or place for example, it is very likely that this thought was planted in your mind by a guide. With practice you can become adept at distinguishing a guide's idea from your own. A guide can be a loved one who has passed on before us, or someone we know from a previous life. They can also manifest as Chinese, native American Indians, etc. that may seem rather remote from the people we know and love, but when we get back to the spirit world we will recognise them as old friends! They may not have ever actually incarnated with us, but just know us in spirit because we come from the same soul group or they may be also our teachers in the spirit world..