The human condition is a complex and challenging state of being. For starters, nobody survives being alive. So, from birth we are operating under this cloud of uncertainty that hangs over us. Of course, probably from the early cave-dwelling Cro Magnons, and, perhaps, even further back into the distant and dim regions of human history--including all hominids--people and their antecedents have wondered about death. What, exactly, is it?
The vast array of religions, from the most widespread with millions of adherents, to the smallest and most obscure, have all offered explanations. There is also a considerable portion of us who are 'non-believers' and are suspicious of religion at large, and unwilling to accept pre-packaged ideas of the nature of reality. Some of these folks think of themselves as 'agnostics', which simply means that one doesn't know, but is open to learning from reality. Others--atheists--are more truculent about the whole notion of any organization putting itself in a position to dictate 'reality'. And, honestly, much of what various traditions put forward is clearly more of an officially endorsed 'fairy tale' than it is verifiable by down-to-earth proofs of the various contentions. Are you really okay with a snake offering Eve an apple? Uh, okay....how was he holding the apple and speaking to her at the same time, eh?
There is life after death. That is a bold statement that demands some kind of proof. I cannot prove it for you, however, because you need to arrive at your own conclusions, or what you have will simply be a 'belief' in which you have taken my word for it. Belief is utterly different than actual knowledge of something. Said knowledge comes only from actual life experience. When you have lived through something, you know it's real. If you take it on belief, it means you're not sure, but are choosing to assume it.
Not good enough. No, no.
In 1972 I was hitching across the country from Marin County CA to New Jersey. I was picked-up in Albuquerque by a fellow in an old Chevy, and he was towing his old GMC pick-up, loaded with all of his earthly possessions. In Oklahoma City, at about 3 in the morning, he saw his exit for the Will Rogers Expressway and attempted to swerve across three lanes to go there. The whole package....car and pick-up....started to slide and when it hit the shoulder and then the ditch, the car tucked under, the truck went over it and the car rolled about four times. Gene, the driver was tossed out of the closed driver's window, and I was tossed about inside like a rag-doll. I came to standing on the roadside with a state trooper shining his light in my face. "Are you alright, boy?" To which I answered, "Am I really alive?" At which point the trooper informed me that I was indeed alive, although he was amazed that was true.
As the car was tumbling, I had retreated from my body and was watching the whole mess from a place I can only describe as a 'detached' perspective....like a bank camera. I remember wincing as I watched my former self tossed and hammered. It was a very calm and surreal few moments.
And, as if this wasn't enough to convince me that we are capable of existing independently of our bodies, a few months later, I was on a scaffolding in Kempten, Germany, that collapsed and the same thing happened again. Holy cow, Batman! In both instances, it was seemingly miraculous that I not only survived but was uninjured. But, the take-away was profoundly crystalline.
We are not our bodies. We inhabit this biological organism made of hair, teeth, meat and bones, but it is NOT US. It would be accurate to say we 'borrow' it....or, perhaps, we rent it because we do have to clothe, feed and shelter it for as long as we are in it. And, yes, we have to educate ourselves, repair and heal ourselves, and there are 'life lessons' that we came here to learn. The most important of which is how to be a decent human being.
Of course, some souls come here to learn by failing. I have known folks of very advanced spiritual station who insist that souls like Hitler and Stalin....and now Putin...come here to be monstrous and give the rest of us a chance to learn, serve and even sacrifice as we react to such dark energy.
I have never felt that the purpose of being a human being is to come here and simply while the time away satiating appetites. In fact, I suspect that the very existence of those appetites is there in order to challenge us to rise above simply taking a bath in earthly pleasures. Anything is likely doable--within reason--as long as we don't just dive down the rabbit hole of temptation. Once an appetite becomes an addiction...we have lost our way and will spend as long as it takes to spin our wheels....eventually getting back on track, even if it takes several turns here in different bodies.
Yes, I have mentioned reincarnation recently and I remind you of the book 'Soul Survivor' as a proof that it is real.
https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Survivor-Reincarnation-World-Fighter/dp/0446509345/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=CjwKCAjwrfCRBhAXEiwAnkmKmTQbeTOGLf6GAY1KLQjmha15LRDTiWrjtEYegzegMBXE7c0nYWWbuxoCboIQAvD_BwE&hvadid=174211220367&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9002618&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=13272211273958426742&hvtargid=kwd-7270254571&hydadcr=22537_9636736&keywords=soul+survivor+book&qid=1648150729&sr=8-1
Eegads! I am amazed that such a long e-addie will work, but give it a try.
So, here we are, trapped in this earthly vehicle until we die. For some, life seems like one long sentence in Guantanamo. For others, it is a rather easy and almost heavenly experience. But, for most of us, it is somewhere in between those extremes. Most people do have challenges of one sort or another. When I see a person in the grocery store who is morbidly obese...I mean, 400 lbs. or so....my heart aches for them because I have a sense of how difficult it is carrying all that weight around. I have an extra 20 plus pounds I would like to ditch, but and extra 200......phew!!
Of course, there is a complete menagerie of pitfalls that people encounter while in this human state. Addictions....to any and everything....are a great source of sadness and pain. Managing to make it into adulthood as a decent human being also seems to be a challenge for a large segment of the population. How come there are so many people who love a complete monster like Trump? He crosses every red-line, dots every 'I', and crosses every 't', when it comes to bad behavior. It's too easy to just label him as 'evil'. He's a champion liar, a dire narcissist, a hater of all kinds of folks....pretty much anybody who doesn't fall for his lies. He's a sadist, a thief, a creep on too many levels to name...and there is this huge mob of people who think he's the savior of humanity. Say what!
But, once a person stops and begins to pay close attention to their life and their ability to learn from what it offers, everything changes. And, eventually, one comes to the understanding that we came here to do just that: to learn. To learn how to become fully human, in the highest and most spiritual sense of what that means.
So, what about dying and death? Oh, that is a longer subject than to simply throw a sentence or two at it. But, I will say this: Swedish scientists, some decades ago, put the beds of terminal patients on very precise scales. At the moment these souls passed out of their bodies....the scales recorded a loss of approximately 22 grams.
Einstein said, essentially, that energy has mass. Apparently the energy that constitutes a human soul has about 22 grams of it.
Hmmmm.......
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| Asha Greer....in preparation for leaving. |
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