One of the most difficult human experiences to go through can be the passing on of a loved one. A spouse, a child, a parent, a very close sibling or friend, can become fixtures in our lives that we never imagine not being there. Yet, one day, they are not physically with us any longer.
The passing could be from old age, or, in less fortunate circumstances, from accident, illness, war or even crime.
I’ve noticed that some people handle these changes much better than others, and I’ve been thinking through some of the reasons why.
In my own prayers for peace on this issue, I find my greatest protection against overbearing grief about loss comes from knowing that life is eternal, and that we’re all living our eternal life now. No one ever dies or passes on. Our loved ones always were spiritual, and they continue to be spiritual. And we are united with them in Spirit, now and always. This eternal union never changes or dissolves, ever.
Any seeming sense of separation is not a reality, but a false belief that the person we loved was material and capable of dying in the first place. But this is not true! We’re all spiritual and always have been.
I think about how Jesus prepared his followers for his eventual leaving earth as a physical presence. He told them, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
Think of how attached his disciples could have become to the physical Jesus. Jesus was super special. He worked miracles. He transformed their lives in major positive ways. He healed them. He raised their children from the dead. He restored crippled lives to wholeness. He truly was an irreplaceable person to know. Yet, soon, he would be gone. Yet, he would not be gone, according to his teachings. Jesus told them he would still be with them.
How could this be?
He meant spiritually. He was telling them that his individuality was not in a physical body, but in the Christ he reflected and manifested. He lifted their thought higher to the spiritual reality of his individuality. He was telling them to not get attached to a physical body. And he reassured them that if they stayed clear on this vital point, they would not miss him after he ascended. They would draw even closer to him, for he would still be with them in a very tangible concrete form. And as it turned out, he was. The Holy Ghost, or Christ, moved the disciples to even greater works as recorded in the book of Acts.
This lesson of not getting attached to a physical body applies to our loved ones.
They are not material bodies with temporal lives. They are expressions of God, living manifestations of Christ, reflecting the love and goodness of God in their own unique special way--and forever! This truth about their individuality never changes. They do not die. They do not leave us. They do not depart to another realm. They are always with us in Christ, in Spirit, where they’ve always lived.
Understanding this truth helps me greatly when I think about the safety of my family members. Any fear of loss that suggests itself, I immediately reverse with the truth that there is no loss in Spirit, that each member is a spiritual idea of God, forever safe in Mind, where there are no accidents, no injuries, disease or death, no coming and going, no passing, and no loss. I practice seeing them spiritual now! I do not give mortal mind a chance to suggest loss at a later date.
In seeing them spiritual now I find great peace about their safety and permanence in my life. It also draws me closer to them because I’m honoring who they really are. They are not finite mortal bodies with a temporal shelf-life. They are eternal spiritual beings, just like me. And we are inseparable in divine Love, the one Mind that unites all in one grand family.
How have you found peace about the permanence of loved ones in your life?
Showing posts with label death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label death. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Life after death
After reading my blog last Thursday, “The young man was alive,” a reader sent me a life after death experience she had a few years ago. She gave me permission to share it with you.
Hi Evan,
I was reading your previous blog about being inspired by Jesus, as he raised the young man from the dead. You mentioned that you had heard reports of life after death. I want to add mine, as I think it is important but not something I would discuss in a testimony meeting.
About three years after I came into Christian Science, my husband was returning home late from a business trip. I had stayed awake to wait for him. I rose to walk down the hall and greet him, and just keeled over. (I had been diagnosed many years earlier with mitral valve prolapse, which has the belief of sudden death.)
Anyway, I remember it as clearly as yesterday, although it was about five years ago. I just took off, fast, no floating for me! I could see cities disappearing below me, and as I went, I felt myriad aches and pains of living just fall away. I still had a body, it was just changed. Then I saw a beloved uncle who had passed on two weeks before. He said, with a huge grin, "Well, look who's here!!!" Then it all faded and I was aware of a really unpleasant suffocation, I was back in my body trying to breathe, and my husband was calling to me. It was not fun to come back. It wasn't a conscious choice either. I think in terms of earth time I was gone for about 4 minutes. I did get a treatment from a practitioner for severe bruises on my leg and arm from the collapse, and I recovered fine.
I have been absolutely certain that there is no death ever since this event. The only people who are aware of death are the ones who are watching matter. It was absolutely seamless as far as consciousness is concerned. There was no pain, no fear or excitement, it was natural. Thought you would find this interesting.
Hi Evan,
I was reading your previous blog about being inspired by Jesus, as he raised the young man from the dead. You mentioned that you had heard reports of life after death. I want to add mine, as I think it is important but not something I would discuss in a testimony meeting.
About three years after I came into Christian Science, my husband was returning home late from a business trip. I had stayed awake to wait for him. I rose to walk down the hall and greet him, and just keeled over. (I had been diagnosed many years earlier with mitral valve prolapse, which has the belief of sudden death.)
Anyway, I remember it as clearly as yesterday, although it was about five years ago. I just took off, fast, no floating for me! I could see cities disappearing below me, and as I went, I felt myriad aches and pains of living just fall away. I still had a body, it was just changed. Then I saw a beloved uncle who had passed on two weeks before. He said, with a huge grin, "Well, look who's here!!!" Then it all faded and I was aware of a really unpleasant suffocation, I was back in my body trying to breathe, and my husband was calling to me. It was not fun to come back. It wasn't a conscious choice either. I think in terms of earth time I was gone for about 4 minutes. I did get a treatment from a practitioner for severe bruises on my leg and arm from the collapse, and I recovered fine.
I have been absolutely certain that there is no death ever since this event. The only people who are aware of death are the ones who are watching matter. It was absolutely seamless as far as consciousness is concerned. There was no pain, no fear or excitement, it was natural. Thought you would find this interesting.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The young man was alive
I’ve received great inspiration this week from studying the story in the Christian Science Bible Lesson about when Jesus raised the young man of the widow in Nain. See below for the story.
When I first read the story, I visualized Jesus walking up to a stretcher with a dead body on it, and talking out loud to a corpse, “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.” And I asked myself, “What was Jesus talking to?”
The body was dead. There was no hearing, consciousness or mind in that body. It was lifeless.
Was Jesus talking to a dead brain expecting it to think about what he was saying? Was he talking to silent eardrums expecting them to hear? From a medical and physical point of view, these possibilities are ludicrous. And Jesus never was ludicrous. He acted more intelligently than any other man to trod the globe.
So, what was Jesus talking to?
Obviously, by the nature of his statement, he was talking to a living, thinking, hearing being. “Young man…arise,” is not something you say to a dead body. It’s something you say to someone who you know is hearing you and able to respond.
As I thought the scenario through, it seemed to me that Jesus saw the young man alive. Not in any kind of weird, convoluted, have to take it on faith, kind of distorted thinking, but very matter of fact. Jesus saw, literally, completely, the young man alive, hearing, thinking, listening, and he was breaking the human mesmerism surrounding the young man to help everyone else see that he was alive too.
I thought about many stories I’ve heard from people who had life after death experiences. They relate how they hovered above their bodies while being operated on, or above their cars that just got in a horrible accident. One lady recently told me of a friend who was riding his Harley Davidson through an intersection and got smashed by a car. Instantly, he was elevated above the accident scene looking down and watching his body roll across the highway. An ambulance came, took the body to the hospital, and he came back to tell his story.
Back to the young man, it seems that Jesus was not looking at a dead body. He was beholding and seeing a live, healthy, well young man. And he told him to make himself known for his mother’s benefit.
In Christian Science, we’re taught to behold God’s man, not a mortal man. Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science wrote,
Jesus was not talking to a corpse. He did not buy into the dream of death. He saw a healthy well child of God, not figuratively or wistfully, but literally, and he talked with him. He lifted human consciousness surrounding the funereal scene to a higher level to glimpse a bit more of what he saw spiritually. The effect was an improved human condition, the boy “rising from the dead,” and proving to the widow that all was well. Jesus beheld, through his perfect understanding of Truth, the spiritual child of God that never dies, but lives eternally.
And this also proves that we are not material bodies. We have a spiritual individuality that exists independent of matter and never can be killed, hurt or harmed by anything that happens to a physique. I find this very heartening…
When I first read the story, I visualized Jesus walking up to a stretcher with a dead body on it, and talking out loud to a corpse, “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.” And I asked myself, “What was Jesus talking to?”
The body was dead. There was no hearing, consciousness or mind in that body. It was lifeless.
Was Jesus talking to a dead brain expecting it to think about what he was saying? Was he talking to silent eardrums expecting them to hear? From a medical and physical point of view, these possibilities are ludicrous. And Jesus never was ludicrous. He acted more intelligently than any other man to trod the globe.
So, what was Jesus talking to?
Obviously, by the nature of his statement, he was talking to a living, thinking, hearing being. “Young man…arise,” is not something you say to a dead body. It’s something you say to someone who you know is hearing you and able to respond.
As I thought the scenario through, it seemed to me that Jesus saw the young man alive. Not in any kind of weird, convoluted, have to take it on faith, kind of distorted thinking, but very matter of fact. Jesus saw, literally, completely, the young man alive, hearing, thinking, listening, and he was breaking the human mesmerism surrounding the young man to help everyone else see that he was alive too.
I thought about many stories I’ve heard from people who had life after death experiences. They relate how they hovered above their bodies while being operated on, or above their cars that just got in a horrible accident. One lady recently told me of a friend who was riding his Harley Davidson through an intersection and got smashed by a car. Instantly, he was elevated above the accident scene looking down and watching his body roll across the highway. An ambulance came, took the body to the hospital, and he came back to tell his story.
Back to the young man, it seems that Jesus was not looking at a dead body. He was beholding and seeing a live, healthy, well young man. And he told him to make himself known for his mother’s benefit.
In Christian Science, we’re taught to behold God’s man, not a mortal man. Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science wrote,
“Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick.” Mary Baker Eddy
Jesus was not talking to a corpse. He did not buy into the dream of death. He saw a healthy well child of God, not figuratively or wistfully, but literally, and he talked with him. He lifted human consciousness surrounding the funereal scene to a higher level to glimpse a bit more of what he saw spiritually. The effect was an improved human condition, the boy “rising from the dead,” and proving to the widow that all was well. Jesus beheld, through his perfect understanding of Truth, the spiritual child of God that never dies, but lives eternally.
And this also proves that we are not material bodies. We have a spiritual individuality that exists independent of matter and never can be killed, hurt or harmed by anything that happens to a physique. I find this very heartening…
And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.
Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried
out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the
city was with her.
And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. Luke 7:11-15
Thursday, September 25, 2008
What happens after death
A reader just sent me a link to a thought provoking article on the distinction to be made between mind and brain.
Reports of Near Death Experiences have been around for decades, but medical scientists have yet to come to terms with what they mean. Dr. Sam Parnia is one scientist who wants to understand and has been conducting extensive studies on the subject.
“What happens when we die?” posted on Yahoo News, tells about some of his discoveries and thoughts about NDEs.
I’ve had patients over the years tell me about their NDE’s. They were genuine and sincere in their stories. They had no reason to make them up. Typically, they keep their experiences very private for fear of what other people think if they were to talk about them. But the evidence is so compelling that life continues after death, and that the mind is separate from the brain, that scientists will inevitably have to deal with this question and resolve the questions it provokes. This appears to be happening with Parnia’s studies.
I especially like Parnia’s observation at the end of the article where he describes how a new science is needed to explain how the mind works independent of the brain.
Could that needed science be divine Science? I think maybe so...
Reports of Near Death Experiences have been around for decades, but medical scientists have yet to come to terms with what they mean. Dr. Sam Parnia is one scientist who wants to understand and has been conducting extensive studies on the subject.
“What happens when we die?” posted on Yahoo News, tells about some of his discoveries and thoughts about NDEs.
I’ve had patients over the years tell me about their NDE’s. They were genuine and sincere in their stories. They had no reason to make them up. Typically, they keep their experiences very private for fear of what other people think if they were to talk about them. But the evidence is so compelling that life continues after death, and that the mind is separate from the brain, that scientists will inevitably have to deal with this question and resolve the questions it provokes. This appears to be happening with Parnia’s studies.
I especially like Parnia’s observation at the end of the article where he describes how a new science is needed to explain how the mind works independent of the brain.
Could that needed science be divine Science? I think maybe so...
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Our dog Rhodie
When our family returned from Indian Wells late at night a week ago Monday, we couldn’t find our dog, Rhodie. We decided she was with our neighbor caretaker, and went to bed unworried.
The next morning, however, my wife found her in a remote part of our yard lying listlessly on the ground. She was breathing, but wouldn’t respond to any stimulation.
Rhodie is a golden lab, and has been with us around 15 years now. She is dearly loved and has added great joy to the family activity over the years. Suggestions that she may be nearing the end of her time on earth have surfaced in recent weeks as she has slowed down her momentum, so the first thought was, “This may be the time.”
I carried her up to the house and put her on her soft bed on the patio. She was limp, oblivious to my actions, and heavy to carry, but I succeeded in plunking her down in her favorite position. Motionless, she was not even slightly interested in eating or drinking.
Shortly, after walking away, I challenged the aggressive suggestion that she was dying. Yes, she had lived a long time, and yes, if she went, it would be okay. The family was prepared for that transition. I consented. But my Christian Science view of Life rebelled against accepting death under any circumstance.
Life is eternal! I protested. Rhodie is an eternal idea of God that was never born into matter, and will never leave matter, I affirmed.
I decided to improve my understanding of what Rhodie was as an idea of God, instead of buying into the picture of living and dying in matter.
And Christian Science teaches this truth. Christian Science, as Jesus taught also, explains that the physical body, as a shell of mortal mind, is never the sum and substance of anyone, including animals. We, in our true identity, are spiritual beings at-one with our Maker in Spirit.
God’s ideas lived before so-called material existence, and they live forever after it. Life is eternal in Spirit. It is never IN matter.
I caught a clearer glimpse of Rhodie as God’s idea in Mind, and not in matter, than ever before. It brought me great peace.
As a spiritual idea, she was not ill, she was not weak, she was not mortal, she was not dying, and never would die, I agreed. She was living her eternal spiritual life in Mind right now. And that truth would never change.
In a few hours, to the delight of all, Rhodie started to respond to taking in some water, and soon, food. She got up and moved a bit, very clumsily, then more, and soon started roaming the yard as was her customary practice in weeks past. It was a resurrection for the family to witness. Awesome!
Hmmm...I just realized that this all occurred at the beginning of Easter week. How cool...
Rhodie has been her usual self ever since. And everyone is happy about it.
“Never accept death as real and happening, even when it appears a natural thing to occur,” I gained from this experience.
Death is not natural, ever. Death doesn’t happen, ever. Life is the real, and it’s eternal.
When animals and people pass on, they do not die in the process. They continue living in Spirit, which is where they had always lived. This truth, understood, heals. It dispels, to increasing degree, the illusion of death and dying here on earth until we get to the full realization of Life in Spirit, where the suggestion of death doesn’t even occur in the first place. Oh what a glorious day that will be…
The next morning, however, my wife found her in a remote part of our yard lying listlessly on the ground. She was breathing, but wouldn’t respond to any stimulation.
Rhodie is a golden lab, and has been with us around 15 years now. She is dearly loved and has added great joy to the family activity over the years. Suggestions that she may be nearing the end of her time on earth have surfaced in recent weeks as she has slowed down her momentum, so the first thought was, “This may be the time.”
I carried her up to the house and put her on her soft bed on the patio. She was limp, oblivious to my actions, and heavy to carry, but I succeeded in plunking her down in her favorite position. Motionless, she was not even slightly interested in eating or drinking.
Shortly, after walking away, I challenged the aggressive suggestion that she was dying. Yes, she had lived a long time, and yes, if she went, it would be okay. The family was prepared for that transition. I consented. But my Christian Science view of Life rebelled against accepting death under any circumstance.
Life is eternal! I protested. Rhodie is an eternal idea of God that was never born into matter, and will never leave matter, I affirmed.
I decided to improve my understanding of what Rhodie was as an idea of God, instead of buying into the picture of living and dying in matter.
And Christian Science teaches this truth. Christian Science, as Jesus taught also, explains that the physical body, as a shell of mortal mind, is never the sum and substance of anyone, including animals. We, in our true identity, are spiritual beings at-one with our Maker in Spirit.
God’s ideas lived before so-called material existence, and they live forever after it. Life is eternal in Spirit. It is never IN matter.
I caught a clearer glimpse of Rhodie as God’s idea in Mind, and not in matter, than ever before. It brought me great peace.
As a spiritual idea, she was not ill, she was not weak, she was not mortal, she was not dying, and never would die, I agreed. She was living her eternal spiritual life in Mind right now. And that truth would never change.
In a few hours, to the delight of all, Rhodie started to respond to taking in some water, and soon, food. She got up and moved a bit, very clumsily, then more, and soon started roaming the yard as was her customary practice in weeks past. It was a resurrection for the family to witness. Awesome!
Hmmm...I just realized that this all occurred at the beginning of Easter week. How cool...
Rhodie has been her usual self ever since. And everyone is happy about it.
“Never accept death as real and happening, even when it appears a natural thing to occur,” I gained from this experience.
Death is not natural, ever. Death doesn’t happen, ever. Life is the real, and it’s eternal.
When animals and people pass on, they do not die in the process. They continue living in Spirit, which is where they had always lived. This truth, understood, heals. It dispels, to increasing degree, the illusion of death and dying here on earth until we get to the full realization of Life in Spirit, where the suggestion of death doesn’t even occur in the first place. Oh what a glorious day that will be…
Monday, February 11, 2008
A remarkable healing
I received the below account from a reader, and asked permission to share it with you.
A must read…
Here’s a sweet testimony I heard at Wednesday night testimony meeting.
Three young children had a kitten. Their garage door was defective and one day crashed down on the kitten. The evidence said, "This cat is dead." The mother called a practitioner, and he asked the children to declare, "God is the only Life," every time they thought about the kitten. They placed the kitty in a shoe box with a warm blanket. Every time any one of them thought about the kitty, they obediently insisted, "God is the only Life!"
When their father, who is not a Christian Scientist, came home, he declared, "This cat is dead." When they would not agree, he took her to the vet, and he declared, "This cat is dead."
On the way home, the father heard the cat sneeze and took her back to the vet who said it was a phenomenon that sometimes happened, but nevertheless, "This cat is dead." The cat sneezed again several times in a row, but when the father checked her, the evidence said, "This cat is dead."
When he got home, the children insisted on keeping the cat in the box in the garage no matter what anybody said. They were still declaring, "God is the only Life."
The morning of the third day, as they were having breakfast, they heard some loud mewing coming from the garage. When they opened the door, the cat came bounding into the kitchen perfectly well and strong.
The testifier said that she and her brothers had so lost sight of the furry evidence and were so filled with the truth they had been declaring that they SAW THE TRUTH THEY WERE CONSCIOUS OF. The cat did not have to get better. Their declarations for LIFE demonstrated LIFE never born, never dying, never hurt, never recuperating.
I reminded myself after hearing this story that God is our very own Mind. We can be conscious of Truth alone if God is our Mind, therefore we MUST SEE this Truth evidenced in our lives.
A must read…
Here’s a sweet testimony I heard at Wednesday night testimony meeting.
Three young children had a kitten. Their garage door was defective and one day crashed down on the kitten. The evidence said, "This cat is dead." The mother called a practitioner, and he asked the children to declare, "God is the only Life," every time they thought about the kitten. They placed the kitty in a shoe box with a warm blanket. Every time any one of them thought about the kitty, they obediently insisted, "God is the only Life!"
When their father, who is not a Christian Scientist, came home, he declared, "This cat is dead." When they would not agree, he took her to the vet, and he declared, "This cat is dead."
On the way home, the father heard the cat sneeze and took her back to the vet who said it was a phenomenon that sometimes happened, but nevertheless, "This cat is dead." The cat sneezed again several times in a row, but when the father checked her, the evidence said, "This cat is dead."
When he got home, the children insisted on keeping the cat in the box in the garage no matter what anybody said. They were still declaring, "God is the only Life."
The morning of the third day, as they were having breakfast, they heard some loud mewing coming from the garage. When they opened the door, the cat came bounding into the kitchen perfectly well and strong.
The testifier said that she and her brothers had so lost sight of the furry evidence and were so filled with the truth they had been declaring that they SAW THE TRUTH THEY WERE CONSCIOUS OF. The cat did not have to get better. Their declarations for LIFE demonstrated LIFE never born, never dying, never hurt, never recuperating.
I reminded myself after hearing this story that God is our very own Mind. We can be conscious of Truth alone if God is our Mind, therefore we MUST SEE this Truth evidenced in our lives.
Monday, September 24, 2007
What matters most in life?
When I moved into my new office last spring, I immediately befriended my neighbor to the left of my space who was a sewing machine repairman. We frequently stepped into each other’s shops and said hi, exchanged a few pleasantries and went about our business.
A month, ago, one Monday morning, Phil, my neighbor, never showed up. His Singer store remained locked. This was highly unusual. He was
a one man operation with no employees, worked 6 days a week, and very faithfully so. And we usually knew about everything he was up to.
Two days passed, and no Phil. Myself and neighbors were a bit concerned, so I called his home. His daughter answered and said Phil had passed away on Sunday night.
He was 79, and lived a full life, but still, the surprise had a sobering effect.
The family hired a liquidator to dispense with Phil’s possessions. Two weekends ago everything in his house was sold. Last weekend, everything in his store--stuff accumulated over decades—was carted off by strangers in a few hours. The store now stands bare empty, with not even a sign of Phil having been there.
This blog is not about death and coping with grief. I know Phil is alive and well in Spirit, prospering in Mind and happily so. I have no concerns about Phil, although I would have liked to give him a hug good-bye before he left so quickly! Aside from that, I’ve been pondering the rapid liquidation of all his worldly possessions in a mere few hours.
Phil spent decades putting together a home and building a business. In moments it was all gone. All of it! Not a trace left behind.
I saw a similar thing happen when my mom passed. My brother and sisters and I had to clean out her house to sell it. It didn’t take long, a few days, in fact, to undo what mom had spent decades building up. How fast the dissolution happened deeply impacted me. What I had grown attached to over a lifetime was suddenly gone, practically overnight.
Watching the rapid liquidation of Phil’s estate had a similar impact. From a matter perspective, one day, all looked well. The next, it was all gone.
I gain strong spiritual lessons from watching such events. This one in particular teaches me to not put my faith in the build-up of matter. Why would you when you realize it will be all gone someday, and probably rapidly so. We need a place to live, books to read, furniture to utilize, and other things to get by with, but the real substance of life is not in the things we accumulate. It’s in the spiritual life we live.
Life is not in matter. And substance is not in things that can be sold and carted away. There's more to existence then a list of worldly goods that can be sold to the highest bidder in a few hours, I figure.
The essence of Life is divine Love lived, joy expressed, generosity shared, spirituality gained, God understood, Truth demonstrated and gratitude given.
Life and its spiritual goodness is forever, but material things are not.
A month, ago, one Monday morning, Phil, my neighbor, never showed up. His Singer store remained locked. This was highly unusual. He was
a one man operation with no employees, worked 6 days a week, and very faithfully so. And we usually knew about everything he was up to.Two days passed, and no Phil. Myself and neighbors were a bit concerned, so I called his home. His daughter answered and said Phil had passed away on Sunday night.
He was 79, and lived a full life, but still, the surprise had a sobering effect.
The family hired a liquidator to dispense with Phil’s possessions. Two weekends ago everything in his house was sold. Last weekend, everything in his store--stuff accumulated over decades—was carted off by strangers in a few hours. The store now stands bare empty, with not even a sign of Phil having been there.
This blog is not about death and coping with grief. I know Phil is alive and well in Spirit, prospering in Mind and happily so. I have no concerns about Phil, although I would have liked to give him a hug good-bye before he left so quickly! Aside from that, I’ve been pondering the rapid liquidation of all his worldly possessions in a mere few hours.
Phil spent decades putting together a home and building a business. In moments it was all gone. All of it! Not a trace left behind.
I saw a similar thing happen when my mom passed. My brother and sisters and I had to clean out her house to sell it. It didn’t take long, a few days, in fact, to undo what mom had spent decades building up. How fast the dissolution happened deeply impacted me. What I had grown attached to over a lifetime was suddenly gone, practically overnight.
Watching the rapid liquidation of Phil’s estate had a similar impact. From a matter perspective, one day, all looked well. The next, it was all gone.
I gain strong spiritual lessons from watching such events. This one in particular teaches me to not put my faith in the build-up of matter. Why would you when you realize it will be all gone someday, and probably rapidly so. We need a place to live, books to read, furniture to utilize, and other things to get by with, but the real substance of life is not in the things we accumulate. It’s in the spiritual life we live.
Life is not in matter. And substance is not in things that can be sold and carted away. There's more to existence then a list of worldly goods that can be sold to the highest bidder in a few hours, I figure.
The essence of Life is divine Love lived, joy expressed, generosity shared, spirituality gained, God understood, Truth demonstrated and gratitude given.
Life and its spiritual goodness is forever, but material things are not.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Keep clear of death beliefs
While hiking near Yellowstone last month, a guide told my group that forest rangers were quick to clear campgrounds and hiking trails of dead animals. And periodically, campgrounds and trails that had a dead carcass would be closed for the season to protect future campers and hikers.
Closing a campground or trail for several months because of a dead animal that had been removed seemed odd to us, so we asked why? And the metaphysical implications of his answer have kept me thinking ever since.
Our leader explained that dead carcasses attract predators, and the predators can come for weeks after the event, detecting the smell of death lingering in the air for miles around even though the dead animal was gone. Unsuspecting campers and walkers could be victims. So, the forest service found it best to keep those areas cleared of people until the scent was totally gone.
I had read in a museum that a bear’s sense of smell is several times more powerful than a bloodhound’s. Wow! I thought. Smells humans think are long gone, are still present to the more acute nose.
Metaphysically speaking, I saw large lessons in this scenario. Most importantly, it’s important that we absolutely not harbor “death beliefs” in our thinking if we don’t want predators attracted to our campsite!
And by death beliefs, I mean any suggestion of lack or loss.
For example, have you ever gotten depressed or feeling hopeless and your circumstances just got worse and worse? This is a classic case of one feeling of lack attracting another, and the picture of hopelessness escalates until checked. Or, one may start to believe they are old and aging and susceptible to loss of health. One health problem occurs, then another… This is another example of one death belief attracting another. The predators of dismay, discouragement, apathy, gloom and doom, doubt, suspicion, fear, and resignation would pounce upon and annihilate hope, confidence, courage, faith, trust and fruition.
Closing a campground or trail for several months because of a dead animal that had been removed seemed odd to us, so we asked why? And the metaphysical implications of his answer have kept me thinking ever since.
Our leader explained that dead carcasses attract predators, and the predators can come for weeks after the event, detecting the smell of death lingering in the air for miles around even though the dead animal was gone. Unsuspecting campers and walkers could be victims. So, the forest service found it best to keep those areas cleared of people until the scent was totally gone.
I had read in a museum that a bear’s sense of smell is several times more powerful than a bloodhound’s. Wow! I thought. Smells humans think are long gone, are still present to the more acute nose.
Metaphysically speaking, I saw large lessons in this scenario. Most importantly, it’s important that we absolutely not harbor “death beliefs” in our thinking if we don’t want predators attracted to our campsite!
And by death beliefs, I mean any suggestion of lack or loss.
For example, have you ever gotten depressed or feeling hopeless and your circumstances just got worse and worse? This is a classic case of one feeling of lack attracting another, and the picture of hopelessness escalates until checked. Or, one may start to believe they are old and aging and susceptible to loss of health. One health problem occurs, then another… This is another example of one death belief attracting another. The predators of dismay, discouragement, apathy, gloom and doom, doubt, suspicion, fear, and resignation would pounce upon and annihilate hope, confidence, courage, faith, trust and fruition.
Setting up camp in a safe place
The lesson I learn from this is that we need to stay extra alert to keep our campground, or consciousness, clean of any hint of death. Any suggestion, claim or assertion of decline, lack, or loss needs to be instantly eliminated from the premises. From our thinking! And promptly replaced with the purity and wholesomeness of Life!
From a mental point of view, we can choose the site where we wish to set up our tent. And we can choose the campground of Life, where death is unknown; there are no predators to fear, and no prey to be found. Love is all.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
The second death
A number of people asked me this week about the second death mentioned in Revelation 11:2.
The verse states:
The verse is included in the Christian Science Bible lesson for this past week on the subject of Spirit.
I’ve always interpreted the second death as the recurrent death that happens to mortals who have not yet discovered Life in Spirit after having passed from earth. And logic implies that there may be a third death, a fourth death, and so on, until the belief of life in matter is totally conquered.
Heaven is not a place people die into, I've always believed. It’s a state of Mind we grow into through increased spiritual understanding, whether the growth is accomplished here or hereafter.
From what I know, Jesus Christ did not teach that we die into heaven. His example taught the opposite, that death is to be conquered in order to discover heaven. That’s why he went through the crucifixion and then came back with the resurrection, to prove that death is not real.
Life is real and eternal. And he said, “Follow me.” In other words, Follow me in my demonstration of Life, and conquer death so you can discover heaven too.”
A lesson gained from death is the truth that there is no death. Mortals go through the experience only to learn they never died. And then existence goes on. As Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science wrote,
The "second death" is not anything to fear or worry about, but the mention of it by the Revelator John, who saw beyond the veil of matter to all things to come and all things that had passed, is proof that we need to be working out the problem of being now. We do not die and then get magically popped into paradise. There is spiritual work to be done first.
Heaven is a state of Mind discernible here and now. We find it in Life, in Spirit, where there is no death, no matter, and no end of anything good.
I take heart in knowing that in Spirit, there is no first death or second death. There is no death at all, only eternal Life.
We can live Life now. We don't have to wait. And then we see that the so-called “second death,” is not even a remote or far off possibility, for in Life there is no death. Only on-going good.
The verse states:
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”
The verse is included in the Christian Science Bible lesson for this past week on the subject of Spirit.
I’ve always interpreted the second death as the recurrent death that happens to mortals who have not yet discovered Life in Spirit after having passed from earth. And logic implies that there may be a third death, a fourth death, and so on, until the belief of life in matter is totally conquered.
Heaven is not a place people die into, I've always believed. It’s a state of Mind we grow into through increased spiritual understanding, whether the growth is accomplished here or hereafter.
From what I know, Jesus Christ did not teach that we die into heaven. His example taught the opposite, that death is to be conquered in order to discover heaven. That’s why he went through the crucifixion and then came back with the resurrection, to prove that death is not real.
Life is real and eternal. And he said, “Follow me.” In other words, Follow me in my demonstration of Life, and conquer death so you can discover heaven too.”
A lesson gained from death is the truth that there is no death. Mortals go through the experience only to learn they never died. And then existence goes on. As Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science wrote,
“As death findeth mortal man, so shall he be after death, until probation and growth shall effect the needed change.”We all have to conquer sin, disease and death through Christ. First sin and disease must be proven unreal, then death will disappear.
The "second death" is not anything to fear or worry about, but the mention of it by the Revelator John, who saw beyond the veil of matter to all things to come and all things that had passed, is proof that we need to be working out the problem of being now. We do not die and then get magically popped into paradise. There is spiritual work to be done first.
Heaven is a state of Mind discernible here and now. We find it in Life, in Spirit, where there is no death, no matter, and no end of anything good.
I take heart in knowing that in Spirit, there is no first death or second death. There is no death at all, only eternal Life.
We can live Life now. We don't have to wait. And then we see that the so-called “second death,” is not even a remote or far off possibility, for in Life there is no death. Only on-going good.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Life never shuts down
A subtle trap of mortal mind became apparent to me recently that we need to avoid if we wish to stay healthy and vital as the years tick by.
There’s a tendency for too many people to slow down in thought and become mentally inactive with advancing years. The inclination is to cease engaging with life, retract to one’s house, and lose a strong sense of purpose. In essence, thought starts to shut down and prepare for an end.
But this is not healthy!
Let’s reason about it together.
At surface appearance it might not appear to be any big deal. Common belief accepts that people age, slow down, and retire from the active life of younger years. So when seniors slow down, most people don’t question the symptoms.
But I ask the question, “If we let our thinking slow down, what is going to happen to the functions and activities of the body which is governed and controlled by the very same thinking?”
If we let our thinking slow down, aren’t the functions and organs of the body going to slow down too? Do we see the symptoms in diminished vision, less hearing, weaker hearts, feeble muscles and more?
Now this doesn’t mean a 70 year old has to bounce around the tennis court like a 20 year old, although this is not impossible! But a 70 year old can be as mentally active as a 20 year old, if not more productively so for increased wisdom and culture over the decades.
And this is the rub.
If thought is preparing to shut down at some indeterminate date, then that very same thought that is governing the body, is preparing the body to shut down too. It’s a trap we want to avoid. We don’t want the body to shut down in stages over the years. It leads to many health ailments.
To prevent organs from dminishing in strength and the body from manifesting a belief of deterioration, it helps to stay mentally and spiritually alive to Life.
Life is God, eternal, on-going, unstoppable, and ever-active. Life never shuts down and the men and women who express it will not be shutting down either.
A patient called from an emergency room. The doctors said one of his vital organs had stopped functioning and they wanted to put him on artificial support. As I prayed for his spiritual recovery, the reality of “Life and its manifestations never shut down” opened my mental eyes to the impossibility of the doctor’s verdict. I knew every aspect of this patient’s true being expressed Life fully. There could be no death in Life, I was sure. Soon, the organ started functioning again, and the patient was sent home.
Lesson to learn? Don’t unwittingly slide into the “life shuts down” trap with advancing years. We each need to be vigorous in our affirmation and demonstration of Life ever-active.
Life is God, and Life does not close up shop anymore than God slows down and stops. It’s impossible.
Life is forever. Life is eternal. And its manifestations are perpetually on-going too.
Enjoy living the Life that is ever increasing in health, strength and well being! It's the healthier way.
There’s a tendency for too many people to slow down in thought and become mentally inactive with advancing years. The inclination is to cease engaging with life, retract to one’s house, and lose a strong sense of purpose. In essence, thought starts to shut down and prepare for an end.
But this is not healthy!
Let’s reason about it together.
At surface appearance it might not appear to be any big deal. Common belief accepts that people age, slow down, and retire from the active life of younger years. So when seniors slow down, most people don’t question the symptoms.
But I ask the question, “If we let our thinking slow down, what is going to happen to the functions and activities of the body which is governed and controlled by the very same thinking?”
If we let our thinking slow down, aren’t the functions and organs of the body going to slow down too? Do we see the symptoms in diminished vision, less hearing, weaker hearts, feeble muscles and more?
Now this doesn’t mean a 70 year old has to bounce around the tennis court like a 20 year old, although this is not impossible! But a 70 year old can be as mentally active as a 20 year old, if not more productively so for increased wisdom and culture over the decades.
And this is the rub.
If thought is preparing to shut down at some indeterminate date, then that very same thought that is governing the body, is preparing the body to shut down too. It’s a trap we want to avoid. We don’t want the body to shut down in stages over the years. It leads to many health ailments.
To prevent organs from dminishing in strength and the body from manifesting a belief of deterioration, it helps to stay mentally and spiritually alive to Life.
Life is God, eternal, on-going, unstoppable, and ever-active. Life never shuts down and the men and women who express it will not be shutting down either.
A patient called from an emergency room. The doctors said one of his vital organs had stopped functioning and they wanted to put him on artificial support. As I prayed for his spiritual recovery, the reality of “Life and its manifestations never shut down” opened my mental eyes to the impossibility of the doctor’s verdict. I knew every aspect of this patient’s true being expressed Life fully. There could be no death in Life, I was sure. Soon, the organ started functioning again, and the patient was sent home.
Lesson to learn? Don’t unwittingly slide into the “life shuts down” trap with advancing years. We each need to be vigorous in our affirmation and demonstration of Life ever-active.
Life is God, and Life does not close up shop anymore than God slows down and stops. It’s impossible.
Life is forever. Life is eternal. And its manifestations are perpetually on-going too.
Enjoy living the Life that is ever increasing in health, strength and well being! It's the healthier way.
Life is eternal. We should find this out, and begin the demonstration thereof. Life and goodness are immortal. Let us then shape our views of existence into loveliness, freshness, and continuity, rather than into age and blight. Mary Baker Eddy
Thursday, February 8, 2007
No death
Here's a poem that lifts thought to the heights of Life that knows no death.
Sent in by a reader…
LIFE OF LOVE
I do not believe in death;
I could not lose my life of Love.
If you should cease to see me here
Know that I laugh and love somewhere
Near to you, as near to Him.
Like brown turf that greens again
or sleeping tulips that rise once more to bloom
I too have shed the dormant thought
And with clearer view
See Him, myself…and you.
Mark my leaving with no sadness
or ceremony to record a lie,
Just love the best you saw in me
And let all else between us die.
To those who would be impressed, reply,
“But she did not believe in death—
Nor do I.”
~ Mary Ellen Knoblock
Sent in by a reader…
LIFE OF LOVE
I do not believe in death;
I could not lose my life of Love.
If you should cease to see me here
Know that I laugh and love somewhere
Near to you, as near to Him.
Like brown turf that greens again
or sleeping tulips that rise once more to bloom
I too have shed the dormant thought
And with clearer view
See Him, myself…and you.
Mark my leaving with no sadness
or ceremony to record a lie,
Just love the best you saw in me
And let all else between us die.
To those who would be impressed, reply,
“But she did not believe in death—
Nor do I.”
~ Mary Ellen Knoblock
Friday, December 1, 2006
No death
I was having dinner with a man a couple of weeks ago who said he had died twice and come back to life over the years.
The first time he was being operated on and died during the procedure. “But,” he said, “I didn’t die. I got up from the table and walked across the room. I saw the doctors. I heard what they were saying and saw what they were doing to the body on the table.”
“Then shortly,” he said, “I went back to the table and appeared to live in the body once again.”
The second time he died, he had discovered Christian Science in the interim, and knew how to apply its principles. So, when he expired physically, again, "he didn’t die," he emphasized. He was very much alive, he explained, conscious and thinking, just not in the earthly body. He treated himself spiritually to not go through “the door” that stood before him, symbolizing an exit from earth. His prayers broke the mesmeric suggestion that death was necessary, and he came back to the earthly sense of existence.
Christian Science, he explained, teaches that Life is ever-present, not in the hereafter or on some other plane. God is our Life, and we don’t go anywhere to find more of Life than we already have.
“There is no death,” he proclaimed with confidence. “And there are no planes. Life is here and now and we are in full possession of it.”
In thinking about his story, I’m reminded of Mary Baker Eddy’s words:
We don’t have to die to find Life. We already have it!
Ever-present eternal life is the message Jesus sought to drive home to his followers.
He did not give into death. He conquered it.
The first time he was being operated on and died during the procedure. “But,” he said, “I didn’t die. I got up from the table and walked across the room. I saw the doctors. I heard what they were saying and saw what they were doing to the body on the table.”
“Then shortly,” he said, “I went back to the table and appeared to live in the body once again.”
The second time he died, he had discovered Christian Science in the interim, and knew how to apply its principles. So, when he expired physically, again, "he didn’t die," he emphasized. He was very much alive, he explained, conscious and thinking, just not in the earthly body. He treated himself spiritually to not go through “the door” that stood before him, symbolizing an exit from earth. His prayers broke the mesmeric suggestion that death was necessary, and he came back to the earthly sense of existence.
Christian Science, he explained, teaches that Life is ever-present, not in the hereafter or on some other plane. God is our Life, and we don’t go anywhere to find more of Life than we already have.
“There is no death,” he proclaimed with confidence. “And there are no planes. Life is here and now and we are in full possession of it.”
In thinking about his story, I’m reminded of Mary Baker Eddy’s words:
“In the illusion of death, mortals wake to the knowledge of two facts: (1) that they are not dead; (2) that they have but passed the portals of a new belief.” Science and HealthI’m heartened to know that we’re all living our eternal Life now. Material existence offers a very limited view of what spiritual life has to offer, but with enlightened spiritual understanding, we shed that constricted view and glimpse more of reality—Life in the here and now.
We don’t have to die to find Life. We already have it!
Ever-present eternal life is the message Jesus sought to drive home to his followers.
He did not give into death. He conquered it.
Thursday, November 9, 2006
Conquering grief
I was notified this week of the passing of a close friend. Her death was a surprise and left me feeling an empty hole inside. She lived to a ripe old age and there was nothing unusual about her passing, but none-the-less, I struggled with adjusting to the unwelcome news.
I remembered back to when my dad passed. I fought then to fill the empty space in my life that seemed unfillable. Sitting at my desk two days later, trying to write a short talk to give at his funeral, my pen failed to ink any words. My mind drew a blank.
Dad was gone. I would not be visiting him anymore. He would not be calling on me. I would not hear his voice, ask for his advice, or have dinner with him again.
What now?
As I groped for an anchor to stabilize my emotions, and making no progress with my talk, I heard a distinct voice within saying, “What are you waiting for? Get busy and write. You have a job to do.”
I bolted upright in my chair. It was dad! It was not an audible voice like a person talking to me in the room, but it was a divine impression giving me direction. It was a “dad direction.”
Dad was always a very industrious person. He never wasted a minute with inactivity or idle wondering. He was always an up and doing kind of guy, and very successful in his work.
The command to get busy and write is exactly what dad would have told me to do if he were standing over my shoulder.
Dad was with me. Dad was not gone. He had never left. I suddenly realized.
I would never see him again as a bodily form, but his real individuality as an idea of God was always present in consciousness. Dad had not gone away. I needed to start looking for him in a different place and in a different way—in Mind, not in matter, and as idea, not as physicality.
The belief of death is an awful imposition on humanity, for no one ever dies. The temporal body disappears, but each of us has a spiritual individuality that lives forever in Spirit. And Spirit is here and now, discernible in the present through spiritual sense.
We “stay in touch” with our loved ones through spiritual sense.
And this is what I started to do. I stopped grieving over the loss of a physical form and started rejoicing in understanding dad’s true spiritual form. Dad was an idea in Mind, and I was just as at-one with that idea now as ever—in Mind, not in matter.
From a spiritual point of view, nothing had changed between us.
My belief of loss vanished and the grieving stopped for I had nothing to grieve over.
As I can see clearly today that my dad is alive and well in Spirit, I have done the same with the announcement of the passing of my friend. She is alive and well in Spirit, as idea. She never was a physical body. She was a spiritual idea all along. Grief is the effect of holding a mistaken identity. Once we drop the mistaken identity and adopt the true, we see there has been no loss, and grieving is replaced by rejoicing.
As the Psalmist wrote:
This rule applies to all of us, without exception, including our loved ones. Understanding it is a choice of looking in the right place for life and identity—in God! Not into matter. And in this understanding there are no more empty holes.
I remembered back to when my dad passed. I fought then to fill the empty space in my life that seemed unfillable. Sitting at my desk two days later, trying to write a short talk to give at his funeral, my pen failed to ink any words. My mind drew a blank.
Dad was gone. I would not be visiting him anymore. He would not be calling on me. I would not hear his voice, ask for his advice, or have dinner with him again.
What now?
As I groped for an anchor to stabilize my emotions, and making no progress with my talk, I heard a distinct voice within saying, “What are you waiting for? Get busy and write. You have a job to do.”
I bolted upright in my chair. It was dad! It was not an audible voice like a person talking to me in the room, but it was a divine impression giving me direction. It was a “dad direction.”
Dad was always a very industrious person. He never wasted a minute with inactivity or idle wondering. He was always an up and doing kind of guy, and very successful in his work.
The command to get busy and write is exactly what dad would have told me to do if he were standing over my shoulder.
Dad was with me. Dad was not gone. He had never left. I suddenly realized.
I would never see him again as a bodily form, but his real individuality as an idea of God was always present in consciousness. Dad had not gone away. I needed to start looking for him in a different place and in a different way—in Mind, not in matter, and as idea, not as physicality.
The belief of death is an awful imposition on humanity, for no one ever dies. The temporal body disappears, but each of us has a spiritual individuality that lives forever in Spirit. And Spirit is here and now, discernible in the present through spiritual sense.
We “stay in touch” with our loved ones through spiritual sense.
And this is what I started to do. I stopped grieving over the loss of a physical form and started rejoicing in understanding dad’s true spiritual form. Dad was an idea in Mind, and I was just as at-one with that idea now as ever—in Mind, not in matter.
From a spiritual point of view, nothing had changed between us.
My belief of loss vanished and the grieving stopped for I had nothing to grieve over.
As I can see clearly today that my dad is alive and well in Spirit, I have done the same with the announcement of the passing of my friend. She is alive and well in Spirit, as idea. She never was a physical body. She was a spiritual idea all along. Grief is the effect of holding a mistaken identity. Once we drop the mistaken identity and adopt the true, we see there has been no loss, and grieving is replaced by rejoicing.
As the Psalmist wrote:
“I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.”
This rule applies to all of us, without exception, including our loved ones. Understanding it is a choice of looking in the right place for life and identity—in God! Not into matter. And in this understanding there are no more empty holes.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Life not in a shell
I’m going to conduct a funeral service today for a family in town whose patriarch passed on this weekend. In looking for words of comfort to assure my audience their beloved family member is still alive and well I thought about my son’s hermit crabs he had years ago.
Hermit crabs are little critters that live in shells. They jet in and out to get food, but mostly stay in their shell protected from activity in their environment.
Hermit crabs also grow up. They get bigger, and in the process need bigger shells to live in. They move out of their “starter homes” into larger living quarters and leave the old place behind.
People passing on is much like a hermit crab moving from one shell to another. The physical body is a “shell.” We seem to occupy it for a span of earthly life, but like the crab is never part of his shell, we are never part of the physical body. We have spiritual being at-one with God that is not material. It is immortal. It never dies. The different shells may fade and disappear over time, but the identity of the one who thought they occupied the shell, never expires or fades away.
Life is eternal. It never ends. Temporal existence on earth ends, because this is not our final resting place. Heaven is home for every child of God, and we can be assured that regardless of what happens to a material shell on earth our identity and individuality as a child of God goes on forever in the realm of Spirit where all is well and healthy.
Hermit crabs are little critters that live in shells. They jet in and out to get food, but mostly stay in their shell protected from activity in their environment.
Hermit crabs also grow up. They get bigger, and in the process need bigger shells to live in. They move out of their “starter homes” into larger living quarters and leave the old place behind.
People passing on is much like a hermit crab moving from one shell to another. The physical body is a “shell.” We seem to occupy it for a span of earthly life, but like the crab is never part of his shell, we are never part of the physical body. We have spiritual being at-one with God that is not material. It is immortal. It never dies. The different shells may fade and disappear over time, but the identity of the one who thought they occupied the shell, never expires or fades away.
Life is eternal. It never ends. Temporal existence on earth ends, because this is not our final resting place. Heaven is home for every child of God, and we can be assured that regardless of what happens to a material shell on earth our identity and individuality as a child of God goes on forever in the realm of Spirit where all is well and healthy.
Tuesday, September 5, 2006
Preparing a will
I was reminded today that many people procrastinate preparing a will because they don’t want to think about death and dying. It seems to be a superstitious belief that if one outlines the disposal of one’s estate upon leaving earth it’s going to speed up getting there. This is not true.
I was the same way for years, not wanting to think about making a will. Then it occurred to me one day that preparing a will is not a matter of preparing for death, it’s a courtesy to one’s family. It gives them legal direction for the disposition of your assets once you’re gone, and if done correctly, can save one’s family immense grief and hassle in settling your estate.
Chuckling a bit, I wondered what would happen to my assets if I ascended tomorrow! :) A nice thought, probably not likely, but along with the idea I realized that I was not going to stay on this earth forever, no matter what. Even if I lived a super long human life, I was not destined to stay here. That was a fact. Life is Spirit. It is not in matter. We may have considerable spiritual understanding to gain in order to fully realize Life in Spirit, but the final demonstration is inevitable. Leaving earth and all our worldly possessions behind is an absolute given.
So what’s the big deal about preparing a will? I decided. It can be done simply, quietly, and easily without much ado. It’s not a threat to life, but it does make decision-making easier for those who have to deal with business after we’ve left the earthly scene—whenever that happens to be.
I was the same way for years, not wanting to think about making a will. Then it occurred to me one day that preparing a will is not a matter of preparing for death, it’s a courtesy to one’s family. It gives them legal direction for the disposition of your assets once you’re gone, and if done correctly, can save one’s family immense grief and hassle in settling your estate.
Chuckling a bit, I wondered what would happen to my assets if I ascended tomorrow! :) A nice thought, probably not likely, but along with the idea I realized that I was not going to stay on this earth forever, no matter what. Even if I lived a super long human life, I was not destined to stay here. That was a fact. Life is Spirit. It is not in matter. We may have considerable spiritual understanding to gain in order to fully realize Life in Spirit, but the final demonstration is inevitable. Leaving earth and all our worldly possessions behind is an absolute given.
So what’s the big deal about preparing a will? I decided. It can be done simply, quietly, and easily without much ado. It’s not a threat to life, but it does make decision-making easier for those who have to deal with business after we’ve left the earthly scene—whenever that happens to be.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Funeral notices
Have you ever questioned the phrasing “called to the arms of the Lord” when it is written in obituaries? It troubles me when I read the words for they imply it is God’s will for a person to die, which I don't believe is possible.
God promotes life, not death. Death happens in the human experience, but not at God’s bidding. God is our Life, and the divine design is to save us from death and disease, not capitulate us to them.
When I read in my local newspaper that Reba Denton, a woman I don’t know, had been “called to the arms of the Lord” after she died of cancer, I stopped reading and issued a mental revision. “She had been in the arms of the Lord all along,” I affirmed, “as a dear child of God. She had never left God's care to be returned."
“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death,” the Bible tells us. In the big picture scheme of eternal salvation, death is not a friend but an enemy, to be overcome by eternal life. God calls us to understand this truth better now so we can more successfully overcome disease here on earth and prevent unfortunate passings.
Life is God’s will, not death.
God promotes life, not death. Death happens in the human experience, but not at God’s bidding. God is our Life, and the divine design is to save us from death and disease, not capitulate us to them.
When I read in my local newspaper that Reba Denton, a woman I don’t know, had been “called to the arms of the Lord” after she died of cancer, I stopped reading and issued a mental revision. “She had been in the arms of the Lord all along,” I affirmed, “as a dear child of God. She had never left God's care to be returned."
“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death,” the Bible tells us. In the big picture scheme of eternal salvation, death is not a friend but an enemy, to be overcome by eternal life. God calls us to understand this truth better now so we can more successfully overcome disease here on earth and prevent unfortunate passings.
Life is God’s will, not death.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Suicide not helpful
“I can’t take the suffering anymore. My life is hopeless. The depression is overwhelming. The only way out is suicide,” many people have despaired in moments of dark misery.
When facing bleak options, it’s good to know there’s a better way than suicide. Choose Life!
Death is like walking from one room into another and closing the door behind. We never return to the room previously inhabited, but continue to live and have to work out the problem of being. The setting may change but the victim’s thoughts do not until spiritualized and improved. The victim leaves all his friends, family, and home behind, but takes his thoughts with him.
It’s easier to face the evil thoughts now than to face the same dark thoughts in the hereafter plus deal with the belief that suicide was a mistake.
Death does not end life, for life is eternal. It cannot be ended. Try as a mortal may, attempts to end life never succeed. The efforts to self-destruct only force the victim to ultimately realize that problems cannot be escaped, but must be dealt with head-on and worked out spiritually.
There is no better time or place then here and now to work out problems and find solutions. God is an ever-present help. The belief that suicide is a help to anyone is a myth.
Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Miscellaneous Writings, “The error of supposed life and intelligence in matter, is dissolved only as we master error with Truth. Not through sin or suicide, but by overcoming temptation and sin, shall we escape the weariness and wickedness of mortal existence, and gain heaven, the harmony of being.” (page 53)
The solution to self-destructive thoughts is not death, but understanding Life.
Life is good. Life is God. Life is Love. Life is spiritual. Life is not in matter, and cannot be taken away by matter. The gateway to eternal bliss is not a grave, but increased spiritual understanding.
Forsake the temptation to commit suicide, and choose Life! It’s the happier better way.
When facing bleak options, it’s good to know there’s a better way than suicide. Choose Life!
Death is like walking from one room into another and closing the door behind. We never return to the room previously inhabited, but continue to live and have to work out the problem of being. The setting may change but the victim’s thoughts do not until spiritualized and improved. The victim leaves all his friends, family, and home behind, but takes his thoughts with him.
It’s easier to face the evil thoughts now than to face the same dark thoughts in the hereafter plus deal with the belief that suicide was a mistake.
Death does not end life, for life is eternal. It cannot be ended. Try as a mortal may, attempts to end life never succeed. The efforts to self-destruct only force the victim to ultimately realize that problems cannot be escaped, but must be dealt with head-on and worked out spiritually.
There is no better time or place then here and now to work out problems and find solutions. God is an ever-present help. The belief that suicide is a help to anyone is a myth.
Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Miscellaneous Writings, “The error of supposed life and intelligence in matter, is dissolved only as we master error with Truth. Not through sin or suicide, but by overcoming temptation and sin, shall we escape the weariness and wickedness of mortal existence, and gain heaven, the harmony of being.” (page 53)
The solution to self-destructive thoughts is not death, but understanding Life.
Life is good. Life is God. Life is Love. Life is spiritual. Life is not in matter, and cannot be taken away by matter. The gateway to eternal bliss is not a grave, but increased spiritual understanding.
Forsake the temptation to commit suicide, and choose Life! It’s the happier better way.
Friday, April 28, 2006
It's not God's fault
“How could God take the life of my three year old boy,” a mother cried after losing her child in a fire that burnt her family home.
Human thought is filled with misconceptions of God, and the belief that God takes the lives of His children to punish or inflict harm on trespassers is one of those lies.
God is the presence of Love, not a source of wrath. When disaster happens, like the loss of a young one, it’s not God’s fault. God does not hurt or harm anyone. God’s place and role in our lives is to help and to heal.
The world is filled with evil and bad events happen around the globe everyday. God does not cause the evil to happen, but is here to save us from its dire effect.
Evil things happened to Jesus. He was crucified. That’s pretty bad. But Jesus didn’t get mad at God. He turned to God even more and his faith was rewarded. He walked out of the tomb alive, triumphant over the ultimate enemy of death.
When evil would bury us in a tomb of despair, loss, lack or despondency, we must not forsake the very help we need more than any other. God is here to help us out of our darkness and fill our hope with light once again. We each can have our resurrection morn.
The mother above who lost her child can find solace in knowing her child is alive and well with God, in Spirit. This is a fact. Any present sense of separation is temporary and can be bridged over with knowledge that life is eternal. No fire or disaster can touch her loved one as a child of God. He is safe in his Mother’s arms, far away from the evil one, happy and well at this very moment, and wanting everyone her on earth to know that he is okay!
Human thought is filled with misconceptions of God, and the belief that God takes the lives of His children to punish or inflict harm on trespassers is one of those lies.
God is the presence of Love, not a source of wrath. When disaster happens, like the loss of a young one, it’s not God’s fault. God does not hurt or harm anyone. God’s place and role in our lives is to help and to heal.
The world is filled with evil and bad events happen around the globe everyday. God does not cause the evil to happen, but is here to save us from its dire effect.
Evil things happened to Jesus. He was crucified. That’s pretty bad. But Jesus didn’t get mad at God. He turned to God even more and his faith was rewarded. He walked out of the tomb alive, triumphant over the ultimate enemy of death.
When evil would bury us in a tomb of despair, loss, lack or despondency, we must not forsake the very help we need more than any other. God is here to help us out of our darkness and fill our hope with light once again. We each can have our resurrection morn.
The mother above who lost her child can find solace in knowing her child is alive and well with God, in Spirit. This is a fact. Any present sense of separation is temporary and can be bridged over with knowledge that life is eternal. No fire or disaster can touch her loved one as a child of God. He is safe in his Mother’s arms, far away from the evil one, happy and well at this very moment, and wanting everyone her on earth to know that he is okay!
