w 00 wNear Death Experiences prove, that man is neither a self-conscious, bio-chemical machine created by chance, nor a spiritual puppet created for the eternal worship of an authoritarian God.Man was created in love, by the Greater Consciousness of Love (God), and given the freedom to choose his own path. To create his own world, and the manner he would live in it. Aware that individual freedom, for all, would eventually coalesce into knowledge of the Greater Consciousness of Love from which he began.
w 01 wThis physical universe contains it all. The best of the best. The worst of the worst. It is all here. God does not make mistakes, everything has its reason for being. There are no accidents, no victims, no heros. We come here for learning purposes. To discover who and what we are. To feel the creative energy of our thoughts and direct them into desired events. Wealth, fame, and power are as meaningless as poverty, obscurity, and powerlessness. In this arena, how you play the game is most important, because it is impossible to lose. Walk gently through: give to those who have less; learn from those who know more; and look within yourself for the golden light of God that resides there.
w 02 wA Master teacher wished to illustrate levels of awareness on the path to wisdom. He brought five of his students to the edge of a lush, green forest and asked: "What do you see here?"The first student replied: "I see a lush, green forest."
The second stated: "Yes, I see the forest, and there are many kinds of trees here. I can see at least seven varieties, may I stay and study them?"
The third remarked: "The trees are very beautiful, and I notice all kinds of wildlife among them. I can see many animals and birds, may I spend some time to 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 a harmonic balance of nature. It is a wonderous sight, may I sit and enjoy it for a while?"
The fifth, tears in his eyes, whispered softly: "I see God."
w 03 wOccasionally I get email that starts off:"Love is fine and dandy, . . . but . . ."
or
"I already love everyone, . . . but . . ."
or
"Sure, Jesus taught love, . . . but . . ."
Behind the "but" is usually some condition they put on who, or how, they will love. Real love has no conditions, it is unconditional, you either do it, or don't do it. Love is the most powerful thing in the world; it contains all knowledge. Love is the ultimate goal; the final, eternal victory. Keep the "buts" behind you where they belong.
w 04 wHow large is your circle of Love?Everyone has a circle of love around them. In this circle are all the people they are willing to love. Some circles are small and contain only a few, other circles are large, containing many. God has the widest circle of all; He loves everyone. Our goal in life is to widen our circles of love until they reach God's circle. The circles below start with the average and grow wider as more people are added. Give some thought to your circle of love today.
Average circle: Immediate family, other relatives, close friends and co-workers. People who believe like we do; belong to the same organizations, etc.
Good circle: Add those of different beliefs, different nationalities, and different customs. Good people, but with habits unfamiliar to us.
Better circle: Then add the homeless, alcoholics, thiefs, drug addicts, con men, and others who have fallen from the grace of our society.
Best circle: Further add your enemies. Those who hate you and would use you despitefully. Even those who would bring harm to you.
God's circle: All of the above and anyone else not mentioned here.
It takes a lot of courage to love the unloveable, but well worth it.
w 05 wThere must be a million laws on the books of our society. Most of them broken on a regular basis by someone. In the Greater Reality there is only one law, and it is never broken by anyone. It is the law of "Like Attracts Like". Sometimes known as "what goes around comes around" or "Whatever you sow, you will reap." This law is built into the Greater Reality like the law of gravity is built into the physical. It results in perfect justice and creates the learning formula; the incentive for our growth.In the expanded knowledge of the Near Death Experience, one can see the Oneness of all things. There is no separation. Whatever you do to others, you do to yourself, because we are all joined in God. I believe that is the main reason so many NDEers change their lives. They can see clearly the benefits of helping, loving, and serving others.
While this law is taught by wisdoms, theologies, etc., it still escapes many. Perhaps, because it works slowly in the physical. Considerable time may lapse before it becomes apparent in individual lives. The best approach is to: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
w 06 wGod does not make mistakes, nor does He create imperfection. Man was created in love, by love perfectly. Yet, many in our society think man is inherently evil. Partly because they see the negative things men do; partly because they are told this by religions and sciences. Sigmund Freud, who influenced 20th century thought, believed the hidden "id" of man capable of extreme violence.Near Death Experiences indicate otherwise. Man is inherently good, being created in the likeness of a good and loving God. Man has not fallen from God's grace, nor will he ever. That is not possible because God doesn't judge or condemn. It is only man that judges and condemns himself, often blaming God in the process.
In symbolic form: God created a garden, the perfect place, full of all good things He chose for man. Then, after a period of growth, time came for man to choose things for himself. As a mother bird nudges her young out of the nest, so God nudged man out of the garden, enlightened with the knowledge of good and evil, to learn to make choices for himself. (A loving God wouldn't tempt His children with forbidden fruit, since He would already know their response). This was the beginning of "free will" for mankind. Man didn't look upon this event fondly, and thought God was displeased. But, God, in his wisdom, granted man this freedom to choose his own path; and make his own mistakes; so man could learn to love as He loved. In this fashion, man would grow in the likeness of the Father, becoming a true child of God.
w 07 wWhen Jesus was teaching the call to love from the hillsides of Galilee, there were no Christian churches, no doctrines of Christianity, and no Bible to guide those who listened. He explained that He came to bring life, abundant life to those who had ears to hear and eyes to see. He asked the crowds to "seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and all other things will be added unto you." When the question was asked: "Where is this Kingdom of God?" He replied "the Kingdom of God is within you." The Kingdom of God is Love; universal, unconditional love. That is what Jesus taught. There isn't any difference between the love Jesus taught, and the love millions felt in their Near Death Experiences. They are the same; they are God's love.In God's golden light of love, there is peace, joy, safety and understanding. All the wisdom of the world: who you are, and what you are doing here, is explained. There is clarity of mind, and choices become easy. Love comes to all who seek; all are worthy. No one is "lost" or out of favor with God. All have made mistakes, but God's love is greater than any mistake. There are no doctrines to follow; no rituals to perform; no money to pay. Ask God to teach you how to love.
w 08 wJesus was killed by His enemies for teaching truth. Truth that made men free. He went to His death, observing His own teachings. He did not resist the evil deed, nor did He allow His followers to resist. He returned good for evil by asking forgiveness for His murderers. Jesus knew death was an illusion and proved it after three days.When I was very young, my Sunday school teachers said Jesus died for me. That He was sacrificed for the sins of the world. That He was God's only Son, sent to die on the cross, in my place so I would have eternal life instead of going to hell, if I believed in Him. This was the plan of salvation to save the lost.
My young mind wondered who Jesus was sacrificed to; and the answer pointed to God, because only God is powerful enough to forgive the sins of the world. I wondered who ordered the sacrifice; and the answer pointed to God, because only God is powerful enough to order the death of His Son. I wondered how God communicated His decision to Jesus' enemies. I wondered why God had chosen such a cruel and painful death for His only Son. I wondered why God just didn't forgive the sins, as I was told He did, without sacrificing His only Son. But mostly, I wondered why God would sacrifice His only Son for a deed He had done. When God created man, He must have known man would sin, because God knows everything. My young mind wondered at all these things, but asked no questions, fearing my teachers would become angry with my ignorance.
w 09 wHow do we know truth? Every day we must make decisions. Thousands of people advising us to do this or do that. Asking us to believe in their truth and make it ours. Join their group, organization, company, religion, etc., and do as they do, so we will be safe, smart, rich, saved, etc. How do we sort through this mass of information and choose the best path? How do we know who is speaking truth and who isn't?The good news is, that we all come into the physical with a built-in truth detector. Some call it a conscious, or a wee voice whispering in our ear. The bad news is, that we don't always follow what we know to be right. I believe truth comes from the heart, the feelings we get about decisions we have made, or intend to make, tell us whether it's good and true.
Here are a few things that guide me: (1) Looking beyond the "sales talk" into the reality behind it. "What you do speaks so loudly, I can't hear what you say" type of accessment. (2) Knowing that truth is open and free to all who ask. No group or organization has any "secret" truth and no money needs to be paid for it. (3) Truth can be understood by all. It is never so complicated that only a few "chosen" ones can learn. (4) Truth is always at hand. You don't have to go somewhere "special" to find it. And (5) truth will stand up to all questions and remain truth. There is nothing so "sacred" about truth that it can't be questioned.
Test truth in reality. You are responsible for your own growth and understanding. Don't believe what you read on this site until you test it in life. Put love to the test. Try it out.
