“The Christ will become a living comforter. Many a human being will have this experience when sitting silent in his room, heavy-hearted and oppressed, not knowing which way to turn. The door will open, and the etheric Christ will appear and speak words of consolation to him. The Christ will become a living Comforter to humans. Many a time when people – even in considerable numbers – are sitting together, not knowing what to do, and waiting, they will see the Etheric Christ. He will Himself be there, will confer with them, will make His voice heard in such gatherings. These times are approaching, and this positive, constructive element will take real effect in the evolution of mankind.”  Rudolf Steiner, GA 130

The difference between Christian hell and the Eighth Sphere is that fallen beings from the ranks of the hierarchy also have fallen into this realm and exert much pressure on souls to turn away from the spirit and look solely to the material plane and the sub-natural plane below them – the realm of hell.

This is a realm where many of the dead get caught by their materialistic vices and are imprisoned in their insatiable desires. Fallen light, in the form of electromagnetism, helps construct this sub-earthly plane that pulls angels and humans into a dark realm devoid of spirit.

It is a realm of living death, frustration from addictions, and a cold immoral hell made of the cast-off dross of the material world.

The Eighth Sphere is a subterranean layer beneath the earth where demons from many realms try to immorally consume human willpower as their means of incarnating into the material world. Thus, it is also called the “hell realm of hungry ghosts.”

Perhaps love is like a resting place
A shelter from the storm
It exists to give you comfort
It is there to keep you warm
And in those times of trouble
When you are most alone
The memory of love will bring you home

The supersensible nature of the heart is the penultimate expression of the human soul and spirit. From ancient teachings to modern research, there is no greater sense organ that exists beyond the human heart. The modern view that the brain is the seat of the mind and consciousness is simply partial truth. Without the heart being in coherence with the brain, the brain is only a mirror of the five senses that is lacking wisdom without the participation of the heart. Brain-bound thinking leads to cold, dead, materialistic shadow-thinking that will not get beyond superficial knowledge.

But heart-thinking, the source of wisdom extracted from experience, is the key to understanding the meaning of life and the reality of life after death.