This blog is more than an account of Near Death Experiences. It ponders in detail the tough questions of life. Who are you, and why are you here in this physical world? What happens when you die, and is there a judgment? However, most anything could appear here. This is not a news blog, archived posts are just as relevant as new posts. Check the boxes at the top of the page for the Contents, Contact, Forum and other links.
A Master teacher wished to illustrate levels of awareness on the path to wisdom. He took five students to the edge of a lush, green forest and asked: “What do you see?”
The first student replied: “I see a lush, green forest.”
The second stated: “Yes, I see the forest, and many kinds of trees. I see at least seven varieties, may I study them?”
The third remarked: “The trees are beautiful, and I observe many kinds of wildlife. I see animals and birds, may I learn from them?”
The fourth said: “I see a symphony of life, the perfect ecosystem. Each plant and animal giving, and taking; cooperating to fulfill each others needs; sustaining harmonic balance. It’s a wondrous sight, may I sit and enjoy?”
The fifth, tears in his eyes, whispered softly: “I feel the Maker.”
My early thoughts on writing were paralyzing. English classes on grammar, parts of speech, sentence construction, dangling participles, etc., had left me thoroughly confused and afraid to write anything. I managed term papers by extensively quoting other authors. Surprisingly, I got some good grades on them. My goal was to consistently dodge putting words to paper. Then I decided to go to college. No escape from writing in college.
I enrolled in a class called “Communications” and that’s where I met Lloyd. Lloyd was a student teacher. He was completing his master’s degree in teaching. I will paraphrase from memory the speech he gave to the class on the first day of school. It changed my thoughts, inspiring me to write.
Lloyd paraphrased:
Welcome to communications. In this class we will write something every day. It can be a sentence, a paragraph, or a full page, but nothing more than one page. I will take up the writings and randomly choose a few to read to the class. We will then discuss how well the author communicated. You will not be graded on grammar, sentence structure, language rules or even a misspelt word. You will be graded on how well you have communicated your thoughts.
Writing is easy, if you can talk, you can write. Writing is putting talk to paper. When you pause put a comma, when you stop put a period. Colons say “look ahead for something important.” Semi-colons allow you to group items larger than a word, but smaller than a sentence. When asking a question use a question mark. When you get excited about something use an exclamation point. Writing is as natural as talking.
When you come to class there will be a topic on the blackboard. If you want, it is OK to write on a topic of your choosing. Finally, if you don’t want to participate in this class you can earn a “D” by having perfect attendance. Good writing.
I was stunned and heartened by Lloyd’s words and began in earnest to put my talk into writing. I gained confidence as the semester continued. I even began to enjoy writing. Today I have a large web site and blog, and surprisingly I have authored three books. You meet a teacher like Lloyd rarely in life and they are so welcome. Thanks forever, Lloyd.
This is something unexpected. While some Evangelicals are founding anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-liberal, and anti-immigration groups, there’s another assembly called Red-Letter Christians. They are called Red-Letter because they have red-letter editions of the Bible, and are obeying the commandments of Jesus. Love your enemies, judge not that ye be not judged, and forgive those who hate you, do not resist evil, and help your fellow man. Jesus said: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” –John 14:15
They don’t picket abortion clinics, they don’t exclude gays, nor call them names, they don’t involve themselves in politics, and they are devoted to feeding the hungry, healing the sick, visiting the shut-ins, and helping others. Their goal is to love as Jesus loved, and taught from the hillsides of Jerusalem. They are reviving the core of Christian teachings, turning back the clock to the beginnings of Christianity. God bless them, the Christians are back on the job of helping and loving others.
Who has not asked:
“What am I doing here?”
In a moment of quiet despair
who has not wondered “why me?”
No one knows how life began. Many theories abound, but facts are scarce. Religion, science, even aliens are used to explain creation. However, if theories were facts they would not be theories. We can only look at the wonders of this world speculating how they came into being. We can only guess how the Universe was born, and by what power it was thrust into reality.
It is simplistic to believe creation was chance and mankind only a fluke of fate. It is more logical to assume a “Higher Intelligence” put this world together. Religion attempts to describe this “Higher Intelligence” with many contradictory behaviors. One cannot rationally believe these man-made explanations.
From the beginning of recorded history man has believed in life after death. Paintings on cave walls reveal cavemen believed. Where did this idea/belief come from, how did mankind start to believe in life after death? It is possible they experienced themselves outside their body. Today, due to traumatic events folks have found themselves out of body and still very much alive. These experiences are called “Near Death Experiences.” It is estimated eight million people living in the U.S. have experienced this out-of-body phenomenon.
What is within the human body that still exists after death? Is it conscious energy given by a Higher Intelligence? Is this conscious energy the real you — your personality, thoughts, beliefs and memory? We humans do not create this energy, nor can we destroy it. It is eternal. For simplicity we will call this energy “consciousness.” A married couple can’t create consciousness. They only create the mortal coil, or body in which it exists here on planet earth. If the body becomes unable to sustain consciousness, it returns to the non-physical.
We come into the physical to grow into emotional maturity. We have to work at it every day. Watching our words and actions to insure we harm no one. The methods have been taught by Master Teachers. Jesus, Confucius, Krishna, and Buddha to name a few. The methods are: love your enemies, forgive those who use and/or exploit you, return good for evil, and help those in need. Your wealth or position in the physical matters not one whit. If you’re like most, you’ll not feel the value until after you try. It is infinitely worthwhile.
Where is your Commitment?
This is something unexpected. While some Evangelicals are founding anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-liberal, and anti-immigration groups, there’s another assembly called Red-Letter Christians. They are called Red-Letter because they have red-letter editions of the Bible, and are obeying the commandments of Jesus. Love your enemies, judge not that ye be not judged, and forgive those who hate you, do not resist evil, and help your fellow man. Jesus said: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” –John 14:15
They don’t picket abortion clinics, they don’t exclude gays, nor call them names, they don’t involve themselves in politics, and they are devoted to feeding the hungry, healing the sick, visiting the shut-ins, and helping others. Their goal is to love as Jesus loved, and taught from the hillsides of Jerusalem. They are reviving the core of Christian teachings, turning back the clock to the beginnings of Christianity. God bless them, the Christians are back on the job of helping and loving others.
Anon
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