A man who claims to have seen "proof" of an afterlife has revealed the seven stages of what we can expect once we die.
The idea of an afterlife involving a heaven or a hell dates back thousands of years and is predominantly found in religious texts.
There has been a longstanding fascination with what happens after you die, with an afterlife being a popular theory.
In The Case for the Afterlife, author Chris Carter dives deep into the alleged post-death messages of Frederic Myers, a 19th-century British poet and co-founder of the Society for Psychical Research, who died in 1901, per the Daily Mail.
According to Carter, Myers began communicating with psychics 23 years after his death, revealing what he described as a seven-plane journey the soul takes after departing Earth.
“Myers described a stupendous journey of the immortal soul through the various planes or spheres of existence, beginning with Earth,” Carter wrote.
And if you’re imagining fluffy clouds and a golden gate, think again.
According to Carter, Myers' otherworldly dispatches offer “proof” that an afterlife exists—but it’s a lot more layered (and strange) than we’ve been led to believe.
Level One: EarthThis is home base, where we start our soul’s journey. No surprises here.
Level Two: Hades – The Astral LayoverForget hellfire and brimstone—Myers describes Hades as a peaceful, dreamy in-between world. “I died in Italy, a land I loved, and I was very weary at the time of my passing,” he allegedly told psychics. “For me Hades was a place of rest, a place of half-lights and drowsy peace.”
According to Carter, the time one spends here depends on personal need—children, for example, might zip right through, while the weary may linger.
This one’s a choose-your-own-afterlife. Carter explains that souls here live in custom environments, shaped by their personality and values.
“Communities of like-minded individuals with similar tastes… come together,” he wrote, while loners might enjoy a solo version of paradise.
But there’s a catch: If you lived a selfish or morally bankrupt life, you could end up in a “dark, gloomy, desolate” version of this plane. “There are no children [there], but only those who, as adults on Earth, had chosen to lead selfish, evil lives,” Carter adds.
Level Four: Eido – The First True HeavenNow we’re talking celestial beauty. Eido, Carter says, is where Myers ultimately ended up.
This fourth plane is “far more beautiful than anything we could ever dream up,” bursting with colors and sights that make Earth look like a grainy black-and-white photo.
Level Five: The Plane of FlameDespite the intimidating name, this isn't a fiery pit. It’s just so far removed from earthly experience that words fall short.
Myers described this and the next two planes as “increasingly desirable,” but also increasingly difficult to explain.
Level Six: The Plane of LightOn this level, all sense of a physical body is gone. You become “as white light, as the pure thought of their Creator.”
This is where souls reportedly “join the immortals,” according to Myers’ posthumous messages.
This is the final frontier. Not a pearly gate in sight, and definitely no immediate reunion with a bearded deity on a cloud.
“Myers, in his post-mortem communications, describes God as being far, far above the human,” Carter wrote. “We… only can come close in what he describes as the seventh plane.”
So what’s the deal with not seeing God right after death?
Carter explains: “Based on my extensive reading of various communications via mediums, the reason the newly departed do not see God is simply because we are, at first, too primitive and, immediately after leaving the Earth, occupy planes of existence not nearly exalted or advanced enough to closely approach the divine.”
In other words: no VIP access unless you’ve seriously evolved your soul.
If Carter and Myers are right, the afterlife is a complex journey through seven cosmic levels—and it’s not about punishment or reward, but evolution.