
The following is based in an answer I gave on Quora about human energy remaining earthbound (i.e. “sticking around”) after passing. You can find the original answer here.
In the moment of passing you’re invited by Spirit to travel back to the realms of Light to rest, heal, and spend some time there recuperating, usually referred to as the time in-between lives. This is the proverbial “tunnel” those who have near-death experiences report seeing. This tunnel is/represents the passage between the near-Earth realms, and the realms of Light. In turn, the realms of Light are essentially the planes closer to Source that are detached from the Earth reality. Moving on to the realms of Light is what’s supposed to happen, normally. This would be the natural order of things.
However, you always have Free Will, which means you may not accept the invitation. And this may happen for a number of reasons, all of which related to your individual awareness.
Example #1: your belief systems might perceive the “tunnel” under a strong religious bias which has you believe you’re going to be judged and punished by God for all eternity for the mistakes you think you’ve made. Naturally you’re going to bolt as soon as you catch a glimpse of anything remotely Light-y. Your awareness, what you believe in, is everything, because it governs not only your reality while living, but also whatever happens next. This is one of the major issues with religious beliefs involving high amounts of guilt due to the concepts of sin, judgment, damnation, etc.
Example #2: you were heavily involved in a situation in the Earth plane which you consider you haven’t finished dealing with, such as for example a business, a family concern, an addiction, or any other subject matter you happen to feel attached to, and you’re not finished with. Generally speaking attachment to a situation will have you not want to leave physical matter behind – you’re attached to it. So you refuse leaving and try to stick around instead.
An energy without a physical body may try to attach itself to those still living, and this will always drain their life force and affect them negatively, regardless of context. In the scenario of addiction, the earthbound energy will try to attach itself to the living in hopes of experiencing “by proxy” the addictions it continually craves. Attached energies will gravitate towards those already vulnerable to cave in to the addiction, and will continually try to influence them in engaging with the behavior, thus becoming an additional, unseen, unaccountable part of the problem, feeding and festering on it without restraint.
In the scenario of someone still involved with matters in the physical, such as family dynamics, running a business, holding on to material possessions, etc, the energy may seek to attach itself to those who remain involved with the relevant matters, and try to forcibly influence their choices and decisions. This will also drain the life force of those involved – not “help”, or “guide” – because it always involve a level of disrespect of the Free Will of the living, in some way.
Example #3: the moment of passing might be highly traumatic; you’ve been the victim of a physical assault; you’re endured immense deals of suffering during the lifetime; you’ve gone through intense situations you weren’t able to process. Certain circumstances might render your consciousness in such a state of trauma or shock, that upon passing you might not even be able to acknowledge the appearance of the tunnel, loved ones inviting you, etc. Such a state of confusion, turmoil, despair, is similar to being stuck in a nightmare – a.k.a. “Hell” – from which it is very difficult to reach you. This may lead you to staying behind, simply because you won’t be able to acknowledge anything that’s not part of the nightmare you’re going through.
In any of these cases, the spiritual self – or a part of it anyway – can and will stay close to the Earth planes, i.e. “earthbound”, rather than moving on, i.e. leaving the proximity to the Earth’s physical reality and spending some time detached from it. For the reasons explained, staying behind usually involves either a degree of attachment to the Earth plane, and/or a level of confusion, trauma, etc.
Remaining earthbound is not a healthy thing, ever, without exception. It doesn’t matter how cute or novel it is to have uncle Lester slamming the cabinet doors and moving things around in the house, or at the store. He’s not supposed to be there anymore – regardless of what he happens to think, believe, or feel. He’s dead. He’s supposed to be forwarded to the Light. The Light is the only plateau from which it would be acceptable for uncle Lester, or any other entity, to offer meaningful, benevolent help and assistance to those who remain on Earth. Anything else is attachment, not help.
The time in-between lifetimes is what’s supposed to prepare you, spiritually and emotionally, for the next time around, in a balanced and appropriate manner. Any other scenario is unhealthy, and implies the necessity of forwarding the earthbound spirit/energy to the Light, always.