180 of 186 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Engrossing and Plausible (Whether You Buy Into It All Or Not), September 11, 2006
"Only entities with courage and perseverance choose to incarnate on Earth because it is, as I like to call it, the insane asylum of the universe. It's the ultimate post-graduate school, where you get your `Ph.D. in soul evolvement'. To show you how tough it is, a large part of creation won't even come near this place, let alone incarnate on it." - From the book
In the book Exploring the Levels of Creation, popular psychic and Gnostic teacher Sylvia Browne delves into the myriad levels of the Underworld, life on Earth, and the Other Side. She also revisits the 12 Levels of the Soul (explained in her book God, Creation and Tools for Life), and explains Dark Entities "once and for all".
Let me just say that I've only read a handful of Sylvia's books, and up until now, I've taken her insights on creation and the Other Side with a HUGE grain of salt. I don't know if this is because I caught a snippet of a Montel segment and noted her world-weary demeanor, or just felt that popularity (over-exposure?) equated to "fluff".
After reading Exploring the Levels of Creation, I have much more respect for Sylvia and her wisdom.
Sylvia herself says often "don't swallow what *anyone* says whole hog...not even me", encouraging others to employ reason, test whether a theory resonates, and research further. She never sets herself up as the "end all/be all" guru, nor does she encourage discipleship.
This 189-page hardcover book is divided into four parts which offers information and theories gleaned from Sylvia's experience, her spirit guide Francine, and perennial wisdom. Part One addresses the Underworld, a place governed by Lilith and filled with levels inhabited by fairies, sprites, devas, elves, giants, dragons, unicorns, centaurs, and so on. The sixth and seventh levels of the Underworld are "mind dump" areas which is where tulpas (thought forms that are made real), "the bogeyman", and other humanly-created "monsters" reside. This area of chaos is what some mistakenly believe is hell when they have near-death experiences. Sylvia reasons that if man can imagine it, then it must exist *somewhere*--especially since thoughts are basically energy.
Part Two describes the seven levels of life on Earth and the purposes they serve, including the Formative Years, Puberty, and Old Age.
Part Three--arguably the most fascinating portion of the book--explains the seven levels on the Other Side, including the Third Level of Animal Husbandry and the Sixth Level of Teachers and Lecturers. (Note: Sylvia mentions that levels are not hierarchical. They are merely different states of being.) She describes The Hall of Records, The Council, choosing our contracts and "themes", and more. Home is a place of bliss, where creatures can bi-locate and choose to pursue research, the arts, and learning. In fact, she says that others on the Other Side may participate in creating recipes or discovering medical cures, which they then attempt to transmit to humans here on Earth that are open to inspiration.
Part Four revisits the 12 levels of the soul and Sylvia puts a new spin on this theory by correlating the levels with verses in Genesis. She also answers questions that have been posed to her about dark entities and gray entities.
Sylvia blasts the idea of a wrathful, vengeful God (it's about time *somebody* did!), as well as a literal hell. She notes that humans tend to make God in *their* image, including petty jealousies and angry revenge. She rightly slams modern day Pharisees with a decidedly prophetic tone. I rejoiced when she said:
"We who are spiritual are running from you all, for you give us no solace and continue the very evil and negativity that you say you fight against! Stop the killing...stop covering up your internal scandals, and change your internal structure if necessary to do so...stop the violation of human rights...stop preaching bigotry and hatred...stop preaching to fear God and instead instruct to love Him...stop using your money to build ornate and overdone cathedrals, churches, mosques, temples and the like and use the money saved for helping the poor and needy...stop getting into the political arenas to push your special interests forward...stop preaching that anyone goes to hell...stop being hypocrites!"
Now, I admit to having some resistance to what Sylvia teaches. You see, I used to be an ordained Pentecostal pastor and when I awakened from black/white dogmatism and the idea of hell, I gravitated toward the New Age idea of "all is love and light--there is no negativity, only mistaken perception". As such, I bristled at Gnosticism and other spiritual traditions that acknowledge evil or a "dark side". Since "all is One", how can there be evil? Sylvia tackles this problem with clarity and sensibility.
Especially with her description of "gray entities", I marveled at how it fit my experience. These ones are "fence sitters" who may offer up some type of spiritual wisdom and project some goodness, yet, at other times, are negative and outright cruel. How to explain such a one? Gray entities, according to Sylvia, and it all makes so much sense!
I was also impressed at how closely Sylvia's theories align with that of Dr. Michael Newton, who wrote Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls. I tend to use Newton's works as the touchstone for the Other Side, primarily because he didn't start out as a past life regressionist--and because his case histories are painstakingly recorded...and consistent. For example, both he and Sylvia describe "cocooning", a process damaged souls (or souls that have been through trauma) experiencing in order to smooth out/heal their energy. Newton offers that individuals often opt for 50 years in this state, while Sylvia says that it's only days.
I enjoyed reading Sylvia's lucid ideas on the various levels of creation, as well as the reason why things happen in life as they do. Of course, I don't agree with *everything* that she offers (for example, she said Christ hated hypocrites, and I can't imagine him hating *anything*!), but much of it resonates. If anything, Sylvia provides a fascinating schematic for both contemplation and further independent study.
Encouraging and pragmatic, Exploring the Levels of Creation provides a plausible framework for this world and the Other Side. In addition, Sylvia paints a lovely portrait of Home and Father/Mother God. She asserts that helpers surround us, we are far too hard on ourselves, and everything that happens to us falls within a contract that we helped design for our soul's growth. If you're a seeker curious about why and how things manifest, as well as what awaits us on the Other Side, you'll likely be inspired and intrigued by this book.
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