Immediate Disturbance After Death

Ariane Netto D.
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We’re all born. We’re all going to die.

From this truth of life comes the preoccupation of the moment of death are always recurring issues.

In this article, we do not intend to close the subject, quite the contrary! We are only bringing a very small part of this vast subject. After all, we are all going to experience this event.

The Spirits explained that not all Spirits go through the same processes. Each being is a consciousness different from the other. So, The Book of Spirits brings the following conclusions in its chapter III – Return of the Corporeal Life to the Spiritual Life:

163. Leaving the body, is the soul immediately aware of itself? – Immediate awareness is not the term: it is disturbed for some time.

164. Do all spirits experience, to the same degree and for the same time, the disturbance that follows the separation of soul and body? – No, it depends on your elevation. The one who is already purified recognizes himself almost immediately, because he detached himself from matter during his corporeal life, while the carnal man, whose conscience is not pure, retains the impression of matter for much longer.

Comment: Here it is evident that each person experiences a type of perception of death, according to what he has experienced in matter.

Now, in this question 165, Allan Kardec manages to go deeper into the nature of the disturbance, as well as better describe what the Spirits taught in their communications. Note that there is nothing with a set time. This part of the answer, in our view, is the most enlightening.

165. Knowledge of Spiritism exerts some influence on the longer duration
or less of the disturbance? – A great influence, because the Spirit understands his situation in advance: but the practice of goodness and purity of conscience are what exerts the greatest influence.

Kardec continues explaining in the same item how the Spirit experiences these first moments:

“At the moment of death, everything is confused at first; the soul needs some time to recognize itself; she feels dizzy, in the same state as a man who has come out of a deep sleep and is trying to understand the situation. The lucidity of ideas and the memory of the past return, as the influence of matter is extinguished and that kind of fog that clouds his thoughts dissipates.


The duration of the after-death disturbance is very variable: it can be from a few hours, to many months and even many years. Those in which it is shorter are those who have identified during their lifetime with their future state, because they are immediately aware of their position. "

Comment: In our emphasis, it seems that he gives a kind of advice.

“This disturbance presents particular circumstances, according to the character of the individuals and, above all, according to the type of death. In violent deaths, by suicide, torture, accident, apoplexy, injuries, etc., the Spirit is surprised, amazed, does not believe that he is dead and stubbornly maintains that he has not died. Nevertheless, he sees his body, he knows that it is his, but he does not understand that it is separate. He looks for the people of his affection, he addresses them and he doesn't understand why they don't listen to him. This illusion is maintained until the complete detachment of the Spirit, and only then does he recognize his state and understand that he is no longer part of the world of the living.”

Comment: There are several reports of Spirits who attend his funeral, who do not understand why they are lying inside the coffin. They are completely lost!


"This phenomenon is easily explained. Surprised by the unforeseen death, the Spirit is stunned by the sudden change in it. For him, death is still synonymous with destruction, annihilation; now, as he continues to think, as he still sees and hears, don't consider yourself dead“This phenomenon is easily explained. Surprised by the unforeseen death, the Spirit is stunned by the sudden change that takes place in him. For him, death is still synonymous with destruction, annihilation; now, as he continues to think, as he still sees and hears, he does not consider himself dead. And what adds to his illusion is the fact that he sees himself in a body similar to the one he left on Earth, whose ethereal nature he has not yet had time to verify. He thinks it solid and compact like the first, and when his attention is called to this point, he is astonished that he cannot feel it. This phenomenon is similar to that of inexperienced sleepwalkers, who do not believe they are sleeping. For them, sleep is synonymous with the suspension of faculties; now, as they think freely and can see, they do not think they are sleeping. Some spirits have this particularity, although death has not overtaken them unexpectedly; but it is always more widespread among those who, in spite of being sick, do not think of dying. We then see the singular spectacle of a Spirit who attends his own funerals as if he were a stranger, talking about them as if about something that did not concern him, until the moment of understanding the truth.”

Comment: The Spirit confuses its spiritual envelope (perispirit) with its carnal body, so that it does not realize that it no longer has a carnal body!


The disturbance that follows death is not at all painful for the good man: it is calm and in every way similar to that which accompanies a peaceful awakening. For one whose conscience is not pure it is full of anxieties and anxieties.

Comment: Once again, the clarifications of the Spirits give us the tips on how to make the moment of death so much softer!


Surprisingly, in the last paragraph of this chapter, Kardec says clearly about the collective disincarnations that occurred in accidents or catastrophes!

“In cases of collective death, it has been observed that all those who perish at the same time do not always see each other immediately. In the turmoil that follows death, everyone goes their own way or only worries about those who interest them.”

Kardec, The Spirits' Book, item 165

Comment: Dying at the same time in the same accident doesn't mean much after disincarnation! Everyone pursues their interests.

We do not intend to close the matter! After all, from what you've read so far, it's not conclusive, because each one has its particularities! Throughout Kardec's coding there are many descriptions of that moment and more explanations that the Spirits brought.

But one thing we will never escape: the moment of death.

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