Posted on Facebook by Samoa Lualima
READING 900-16 EXPLAINED
Reading 900-16 is explaining something very profound, but it can be understood clearly when we follow its flow step by step. The question asks about the “planes of eternity” and how the soul returns to God, and the answer begins by correcting how we usually think. It says these stages “must be manifest only as the finite mind in the flesh,” meaning that while we imagine different spiritual levels as places, they are actually understood and worked out through our life in the body. In simple terms, the “planes” are not locations you travel to—they are levels of growth that become real through human experience. This is why it says development comes “through the many changes, as made manifest in the evolution of man.” Your life—your struggles, relationships, decisions—is not separate from eternity; it is the very arena where eternal development is taking place.
Reading 900-16 then explains why this process exists at all. In the beginning, souls came from God, but they became individualized—separate in identity. Now the purpose is to return to unity, but not by losing individuality—rather by transforming it. The reading describes this beautifully: “that a finite force as made of creation may become one with the Creator, as a unit, atom, or vibration, becomes one with the universal forces.” This means you are like a small unit of life that must come back into harmony with the whole. However, this return is not automatic. It requires development, because when the soul is separated, it must go through “the many changes possible in the material forces” so that it can grow into that unity again. In other words, you don’t return to God the same way you came—you return through conscious development.
A key idea in this reading is that every stage matters, and nothing can be skipped. It states clearly: “without passing through each and every stage of development, there is not the correct vibration to become one with the Creator.” This introduces the idea of “vibration,” which simply means your inner state—your character, alignment, and spiritual condition. Each experience in life is shaping that inner state. The reading even says this process begins “with the first vibration, as is of the spirit quickened with the flesh, and made manifest in material world.” That means your physical life is not a distraction from spirituality—it is the starting point of spiritual growth. Everything begins here, in the body, where spirit and matter meet.
Because of this, the earth becomes extremely important. The reading calls it “the testing portion of the universal vibration,” meaning that physical life is where the soul is actually proven and developed. It goes further, saying development happens “through the eons of time, space, and CALLED eternity.” This emphasizes that what we call “eternity” is not just endless time, but an ongoing process of growth across many stages. So your life right now is part of something much larger—it is one phase in a long journey of development. This gives meaning to hardship: it is not random, but part of forming the soul’s ability to return to God.
Reading 900-16 then makes an important distinction between soul and spirit. It says, “the spirit entity is in the spirit plane,” but “soul’s development is in the earth’s plane.” This means your spirit is the divine aspect that comes from God, but your soul is what is being shaped through experience. The soul is like the bridge between the physical and the spiritual. That is why your choices matter so much—because they are forming the soul, which determines your direction. The spirit already belongs to God, but the soul must choose and grow into alignment.
To help us understand how this works inside us, the reading explains different levels of consciousness. It says the material consciousness is influenced by the body, the subconscious carries deeper soul impressions, and the superconscious is connected to spiritual awareness: “In the superconscious there enters the subconscious forces, and spiritual discernment and development.” This means that within you there is already a pathway upward—from physical awareness to soul awareness to spiritual awareness. Dreams and visions are mentioned as expressions of this interaction, where “projections of subconscious and superconscious… manifest themselves.” So even in sleep, development and communication between these levels continue.
Another important question is whether we remember our life after death. The reading answers that we may: “It may, should it so choose.” This shows that awareness continues, but it depends on development. Full realization is not automatic. The reading even says that at present, a person does not yet have “that perfect realization,” but may grow into it. This reinforces the idea that awareness itself is something developed, not something instantly granted. As the soul matures, it gains clearer understanding of itself, its past, and its relationship with God.
Finally, the reading answers the deepest question: why were souls created perfect, yet allowed to go through all these experiences? The answer centers on free will. It explains that humanity was given the power to choose, and that the purpose is to return to God by choice, not by force. This is illustrated through the life of Jesus Christ, who is presented as the model. The reading says that in Him we see “the oneness made manifest through the ability to overcome all of the temptations of the flesh… through making the WILL ONE WITH THE FATHER.” This is the entire path summarized in one idea: aligning your will with God’s will. It also says humanity was made “a little lower than the angels, yet with that power to become one with God,” showing that humans have a unique role—not just to serve, but to consciously unite with the Creator.
So in simple terms, the reading teaches this: you came from God as a spiritual being, you entered into individuality and physical life, and now you are developing through many stages. Earth is the key place where this development happens. Every experience shapes your inner “vibration,” and you must pass through each stage to grow. Through this process, you learn to align your will with God. When that alignment becomes complete, you return to unity—not because you were forced, but because you chose it.
KEY IDEAS FROM READING 900-16
1. Stages Are Levels of Development
The “planes of eternity” are not places, but levels of inner growth experienced through life.
2. Development Happens Through Human Life
Spiritual progress becomes real “in the flesh,” through everyday human experience.
3. Separation Begins Individuality
The soul began as one with God but became individual to grow by choice.
4. Return to God Requires Growth
The soul must develop step by step to return to unity with the Creator.
5. Nothing Can Be Skipped
“Without passing through each and every stage… there is not the correct vibration” to become one with God.
6. Earth Is the Testing Ground
Physical life is where the soul is tested, shaped, and proven.
7. The Soul Develops on Earth
The soul grows through earthly experience, while the spirit belongs to higher realms.
8. Vibration RELATES TO your Inner State
Every experience refines your “vibration,” meaning your character and alignment with God.
9. Consciousness Has Levels
Human awareness moves from physical (conscious), to soul (subconscious), to spiritual (superconscious).
10. Dreams Reflect Inner Communication
Dreams and visions are interactions between subconscious and spiritual awareness.
11. Awareness Grows with Development
Full understanding of self and life comes only through spiritual maturity.
12. Free Will Is the Core Purpose
The soul was given freedom so it could choose God, not be forced back to Him.
13. The Pattern Is Shown in Jesus Christ
True development is making the will fully one with the Father.
14. Overcoming the Flesh Is the Path
Growth comes through mastering desires and aligning with truth and love.
15. Humans Can Rise Higher Than Angels
Humans can become one with God through choice, while angels remain what they were created.
16. Eternity Is a Process, Not Just Time
“Eternity” is the ongoing journey of development across many stages.
SUMMARY
The soul returns to God not by force, but by passing through every stage of growth, choosing alignment, and becoming one in will with the Creator.
READING 900-16
(Q) Explain the various planes of eternity, in their order of development, or rather explain to us the steps through which the soul must pass to climb back into the arms of beloved God.
(A) These, we see, must be manifest only as the finite mind in the flesh. As in the spirit forces, the development comes through the many changes, as made manifest in the evolution of man.
In the development in eternity's realm, is that a finite force as made of creation may become one with the Creator, as a unit, atom, or vibration, becomes one with the universal forces. When separated, as each were in the beginning, with the many changes possible in the material forces, the development then comes, that each spirit entity, each earth entity, the counterpart of the spirit entity, may become one with the Creator, even as the ensample to man's development through flesh, made perfect in every manner; though taking on flesh, yet without spot or blemish, never condemning, never finding fault, never bringing accusation against any, making the will one with the Father, as was in the beginning. For, without passing through each and every stage of development, there is not the correct vibration to become one with the Creator, beginning with the first vibration, as is of the spirit quickened with the flesh, and made manifest in material world (earth's plane).
Then, in the many stages of development, throughout the universal, or in the great system of the universal forces, and each stage of development made manifest through flesh, which is the testing portion of the universal vibration. In this manner then, and for this reason, all made manifest in flesh, and development, through the eons of time, space, and CALLED eternity.
(Q) What is this spirit entity in the body, [900], and how may he develop it in the right direction?
(A) This is only the portion that develops other than in the earth's plane. Spirit entity. For soul's development is in the earth's plane. The spirit entity is in the spirit plane.
(Q) Does the spirit entity have a separate consciousness apart from the physical, and is it as the consciousness of [900] when he dreams, or has visions, while asleep?
(A) The spirit entity is a thing apart from any earthly connection in sleep, yet connected. For the earthly or material consciousness is ever tempered with material conditions; the superconsciousness with the consciousness between soul and spirit, and partakes of the spiritual forces principally. In consciousness we find only projections of subconscious and superconscious, which conditions project themselves in dreams, visions, unless entered into the superconscious forces. In the consciousness of earthly or material forces there enters all the attributes of the physical, fleshly body. In the subconscious there enters the attributes of soul forces, and of the conscious forces. In the superconscious there enters the subconscious forces, and spiritual discernment and development.
(Q) Does the spiritual entity, after leaving this earth's plane, have full realization of the physical life, or experience through which it passed while on earth's plane?
(A) It may, should it so choose. As has been given. As in this: In the way that the spiritual insight was given into the heart and soul of Saul of Tarsus, as he beheld his Master in that realm to which he had passed. The consciousness in the material world, through the material consciousness of another material individual. The vision as beheld by him, in the way that of the superconscious manifests in his subconsciousness.
(Q) The body, [900], has now full realization of [Mr. Cayce, breaking in: "No, he hasn't the full realization of this, as yet."] his individuality and of the personalities about him, all being in this earth's plane. Will that full realization remain with him in the next plane, or when he leaves this earth's sphere? Will he know he was [900] on earth, an individual with definite personality and character, and will he be able to realize that which he was and that which he has become?
(A) When he, [900], has reached that perfect realization of these consciousnesses of personae and personalities of individuals, and of self, (to which he may develop) he will become able to attain such superconsciousness in a spiritual plane, as has been outlined. At present, no.
(Q) Now give this body, [900], that information which will lead him, when in communion with his God, and when in vision while asleep, to the knowledge of why the soul was fated to enter into all these experiences in order to develop of its own free will to perfection, and then return to God, when God first created souls in a perfect state. Was it to force the spirit to choose with its will the righteous path to God, in spite of any circumstances and conditions? Was it to see if that which once created perfect would return to the perfect? Explain and illustrate?
(A) This we find has been given, and is manifest in the life of the lowly Nazarene. As has been given, man was made a little lower than the angels, yet with that power to become one with God, while the angel remains the angel.
In the life, then, of Jesus we find the oneness made manifest through the ability to overcome all of the temptations of the flesh, and the desires of same, through making the WILL ONE WITH THE FATHER. For as we find, oft did He give to those about Him those injunctions, "Those who have seen me have seen the Father," and in man, He, the Son of Man, became one with the Father. Man, through the same channel, may reach that perfection, even higher than the angel, though he attend the God.
