The Stars Still Shine
Author: Robert Murray
reviewed by Theresa Welsh
An after-life town where Elvis performs at the Club and Sonny Bono runs a
gourmet restaurant, and where a whole town of World War II dead think they’re still
on earth and the war’s still going on… just some of the after-life journal of “Michael.”
In a small paperback book called The Stars Still Shine we have detailed testimony
from “the other side.” It’s the reports of “Michael” who tells his stories through his
father-in-law, Robert Murray, a psychic. Murray began getting messages soon after an
accident claimed Michael’s life on June 8, 1997. Michael left a young wife and baby
daughter. His wife was home asleep at the time of the accident but woke up with a
psychic sense that something terrible had happened. Michael was an outgoing and popular
young man whose funeral was well-attended by his many friends.
“Father Murray” receives the messages as both words and visuals and writes down the
words as Michael relates them. This is not the same as automatic handwriting (the method
used in Letters From the Other Side, another book I reviewed). It actually provides
more information, and Murray has included some sketches of the places Michael describes.
What emerges from Michael’s reports is a spirit world tailored to the thoughts, desires,
and needs of the person who has crossed over. Michael finds himself in a pleasant town
that is mainly inhabited by entertrainers. The town has a Club where performances are
staged, “Holy Street” where churches are located, a Library where research into former
lives can be carried out, and homes and shops. No one needs money, although some use it.
Housing, food, clothing and other items are simply available when needed.
Michael arrives first at an infirmary where he meets his Aunt Mollie, who seems to have
the role of guide, as she appears off and on throughout the reports. She meets with Michael
when he has questions and to encourage him to plan his activities in ways that benefit
him and others. Another more advanced spirit named Gabe takes Michael on some trips and
shows him a vision of possible future work he could do. Michael moves into a house in
town and soon becomes very active at the Club where he attends and participates in
entertainment. One of his first desires is to meet Elvis Presley. Sounds like a silly
thing to want with so much to discover about the spirit world, but in life Michael had
been obsessed with Elvis, performing as an Elvis impersonator and collecting Elvis
memorabilia. Elvis represented more to Michael than just a popular singer who had died
years ago and meeting him was an important goal.
Michael eventually does meet Elvis, who takes him to a baby nursery (the Diaper Ranch)
where babies who have died are kept. Turns out Elvis loves caring for babies and
influences Michael to do the same. Michael becomes a helper there, visiting daily to
care for these babies, who, he reports, develop much faster than on earth. Babies stay
until they are the equivalent of about three years old, then go to foster homes.
I was a bit startled by the news that there are baby spirits. I always thought a baby
who dies would simply reincarnate very quickly in a new human body. Apparently, there is
always a period of adjustment for newly-crossed-over spirits of any age, even infants.
Michael’s special friends in the town are a psychiatrist called Dr. Yes and many famous
entertainers. In addition to Elvis (who doesn’t live in the town, but visits frequently),
he hangs out with Sammy Davis Jr, John Candy, Karen Carpenter and Sonny Bono. Sonny moves
in with Michael and cooks up a lot of Italian food. Later he takes over the house next
door and transforms it into a fancy restaurant. Michael’s reports are full of descriptions
of very human, material things like food, furnishings, clothing, and transportation methods.
While Michael learns that more advanced spirits do not need cars and airplanes, he travels
by both of those earthly methods. He has a car he seldom uses and he and Dr. Yes go
by foot, car, boat, bus, and airplane on trips to other places. Michael does not initiate
these trips; he is asked to go by either Mollie or Dr. Yes. The purpose seems to be
learning, to get him thinking about his purpose. Michael seems spiritually naïve, but
the reports make it clear that there are many spirits even less curious than Michael
about how to advance spiritually.
Michael takes up a number of projects, one coming as a result of a visit to a place
called Coventry. In this town, English soldiers think they are still alive and are
worrying about attacks from “jerry’s” (a term I had not heard before, meaning Germans
or Japanese soldiers). They think World War II is still going. Michael also visits a
village stuck further in the past -- a medieval village, apparently populated with people
who died of the plague and haven’t moved past the life they had on earth, recreated in
this after-life village. Michael begins making trips to Coventry to try to get the people
to understand their true condition. Nothing seems to work until he enlists the help of
his grandfather who comes to Coventry and first gets everyone singing and having a
great time at the pub. Then he comes again and shows them “movies” of more recent
English history, including the death of King George, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth
and her marriage to Philip. This jars them out of their “stuck” condition, but many
are still doubtful and wonder why “the government” didn’t tell them the war was over.
One of the most touching parts for me was the conclusion reached by these spirits as a
result of learning their real condition. They decided to eliminate rationing, have more
food, rebuild schools and homes, improve medical care and other activities along these
lines. How ironic that they had all along had the ability to live in peaceful abundance
but their own ignorance had kept them in bondage to fear and worry. Could that be true
in our earthly lives as well?
In addition to hanging out with Elvis, Michael is also in regular touch with Princess
Diana. She makes caring for children her work in the spirit world. She is a regular
visitor to the Diaper Ranch as well as the hundreds of other nurseries she visits. She
travels extensively seeking more volunteers to care for the babies and asks Michael to
organize a benefit concert, and later to write a song she can use in her campaign. Michael
writes a wonderful song, has his entertainer friends perform it, and Princess Di is
thrilled with it, comparing Michael to Elton John.
What do we actually learn about the spirit world in these reports? We learn there are
levels to the spirit world and Michael is in a lower level, but not the lowest. Michael
attends a series of lectures given by more advanced spirits and these yield some
interesting information. According to this information, there are “layers” in the spirit
world consisting of:
In one of the lectures he attends, Michael learns that mankind is older than the
earth and populates other worlds besides ours. Man had to find a physical form that
suited the environment, and also tried living on Mars.
Michael only gradually learns about reincarnation. He begins visiting the library,
where he is assigned a guide who takes him into a special room where he sits in a chair
that takes him into scenes of his past lives. He visits short snatches of several lives, one as recently as Word War II, where he died as a soldier named Samuel Edward Beaton. The short scenes are too little to reveal much about the past patterns of Michael’s lives. Michael has some interest in returning to earth, but he realizes he would then forget his identity as Michael and would not be in touch with his earth family any more. He never does learn exactly how the process works.
The Stars Still Shine paints a picture of someone advancing in his own understanding
of the condition of the spirit and the purpose of “life.” The means to his understanding are
the help and direction of other spirits and Michael’s own giving of himself to help others.
Both knowledge and service seem to be necessary to move to a new layer. At the end of the
story, Michael does move up one layer, moving to a new house in a new place, away from the
town of entertainers where he first lived as a spirit. Much of this is consistent with other
reports of spirits who have communicated with earth people.
The most problematical part of Robert Murray’s “Michael” reports is the mention of so
many known celebrities who have passed over and the fact that Michael -- who we are told
worked in a car dealership in life -- would be hanging out with these luminaries, or that
Michael would be a great singer and songwriter performing alongside Elvis Presley.
I admit the Elvis part almost made me put the book down, thnking I would rather not waste
my time on something so seemingly ridiculous. But since I too am a big fan of The King
(who died on my birthday) and have many Elvis CDs and never pass up an old Elvis movie on
cable TV, I decided to read on. Heck, I'd like to meet Elvis too. Even Richard Nixon wanted
to meet Elvis. But do I think Michael actually encountered the spirit of Elvis and the
other famous entertainers mentioned? I can’t say for sure (no one can), but I’m inclined
to wonder if spirits can create their own pals as well as their own surroundings.
Could “Elvis” and “Princess Diana” have been more advanced spirits who took those forms
to help Michael? Given that we can never really “prove” anything about life after death,
I feel a seeker looks at all sources, even information from spirits who say they sing at
the Club with Elvis.
Consider how what Michael found after his crossing compares with descriptions of
Martinus, a Danish mystic, whose insights are reported in the book,
Life Without Death by Nils O. Jacorbson, MD (see my article
on changing ideas of the afterlife):
