Shadows in the Heart (extract)
Afterlife encounters
Inessa contemplates Dorothy. After a while she indicates that she has found her in a surprising place. It seems that Dorothy has built her hideaway in the bedroom of a house. No planning permission was needed, of course — no one knows she’s there!
“She’s in a kind of cocoon”, observes Inessa with great interest. “It’s filled with beautiful images that she gazes at, but none of them reflect the reality of her situation.”
I catch my breath – I think I know exactly where Dorothy is! I have a photo of my mother’s childhood home, Heatherly, taken by Norman one warm spring day. In this photo, Dorothy can just be glimpsed at a window on the first floor, from where she gazes down at her baby in a pram.
Astonished at the coincidence, Inessa meditates and – yes! – this is where Dorothy is! “She’s not peeked out of her cocoon for over 60 years,” explains Inessa. “The trauma of her death drove her to retreat into memory, and lack of spiritual grounding prevented her from progressing.”
Her cocoon is spun from memory and fear. It shields her from pain — but traps her in timeless isolation. She is in a state called ‘earthbound’, like the soul I encountered during the supersensible research course. Now I learn more about earthbound souls.
They are neither being punished nor acting malevolently — only confused, overwhelmed, and lost. A soul in this state might remain tied to a moment of trauma, bound to a place or person, or wedded to an earthly event that feels unfinished. Emotions carried within the soul can cause this state – guilt, panic, shock, disbelief, and denial, for instance. Dorothy’s case is especially poignant because her cocoon is crafted from love — but it is a misplaced devotion that helps no one, least of all herself.
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