Yes these messages are gifts for all of us. :-) And isn’t it the perfect msg I needed to be reminded of as I begin reading the guidebook! I feel tingly and any hesitation I’d had has lifted. Like Dorothy, I had the power all along! Lol. So looking forward to Tuesdays!
@jeanne-mayell I believe it is a Buddhist concept “we are but a drop in the ocean of eternity”. One of the most difficult aspects of being human is letting go of our egos, our desire to be a singular, special being, and (literally) our desires.
There is a wonderful short story by Mark Twain “Extract from Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven”. If there must be “Heaven” it is my earnest desire that it be as Mark Twain envisioned it. I recommend that everyone read it. It can be found for free online.
And because the idea of that the soul might have the opportunity of constant learning, changing…to achieve Nirvana, if you will…I have always found the idea of past lives existing in the universe a comfort. Even when very young I felt as if I was working out karma with people in my life (particularly one who I kept thinking…I’ve got to work out the karma in this life because I don’t want another life with this person 😄). Doesn’t it make sense that the universe would give us an opportunity to grow and change….just as it changes and has changed for eternity?
I don’t believe in Hell as a place of eternal damnation for this reason…Hell was a construct by humans to punish the people they hated. (“Hell is other people” Sartre). In the book “The Christian Agnostic” the author talks about how in the time of Jesus they burned their garbage…the only thing that actually remained were the valuable metals…gold, silver, etc. Thus the real idea behind the fires of “hell” is the burning away of the garbage around the soul, leaving the purity and glorious shining of the intrinsic soul. It is not about individuality…it is about being able to merge into the glorious, shining universe of eternity, love, and light.
@danielle Beautifully expressed, Danielle. I believe in the same concepts. I take Sartre's quote "Hell is other people" to mean that it's through our challenging interactions with other people in our current life that we're given many opportunities to work through and resolve the same or similar circumstances from previous lives. Once I accepted this, death doesn't seem frightening. Our lives are ongoing opportunities to give and receive love, understanding and compassion.