The Joys of the Next World

First, I'm lucky to have a good life, and so I prefer life much better right now than getting hit by a truck crossing the road today. Absolutely!  That's what you expected me to say, right? But, I don't worry as much about what happens in the next billion years 'is all. I never functioned well out of a fear of going to hell. Well, I never had that fear. But I can visualize a heaven, and that looks much more inviting. I'm usually somewhere in between I guess. So here's my feelings why, once in a while, I think about the next world; purgatory, hell and heaven; the spiritual world; the soul's world not made for flesh.

Whew, a mouthful, but here goes: 

I believe that the next world, the world of spirit, exists. Have you ever seen the movie The Seventh Sign with a beautiful and pregnant Demi Moore as the protagonist, and Jurgen Prochnow as the Angel Gabriel? I believed it, it was that real. It was really about a world of souls, the matrix, before they are conceived and born in this world. Riveting. It was somewhat based on the Seven Seals described in John's Book of Revelation, which I've read. Also riveting. 

But has it already happened? Or is it happening now? (That's another blog)

My mind's not made up on whether a soul preexists, even tho I certainly believe the soul of the Manifestation (Major Prophet) does, because they must share the same soul in the same body, right? They know and repeat each others Message,  for example love thy neighbor as thyself, or in these days, what seems to be needed, better than thyself. It seems it's part of every religious belief, One foretelling the Coming of the next, and I think it makes common sense. The spiritual principals are eternal, social ones change in every age.

My point is that I believe in the human soul, that each one of us has one, We choose to believe, maybe believe, or not believe. Totally our choice. Like every single thing in life. A choice, a decision. The way it should be, since all humans have had, and have, Free Will.

And choices and decisions have consequences as we all know.

I always thought purgatory was a Roman Catholic construct, created for those poor babies and children who die. But I believe the babies, and depending on early age, say before age 7 (that's what the Catholic Church teaches - before the maturity to know right from wrong), go straight to "heaven." In a way, I wouldn't mind going straight there either, and bypass what can be a part of life filled with sufferings. Certainly heaven exists for the little ones.

It also exists for each one of us, you and me:
"His unconstrained and sovereign Will, chose to confer upon man the unique distinction and capacity to know Him and to love Him -- a capacity that must needs be regarded as the generating impulse and the primary purpose underlying the whole of creation…. Upon the inmost reality of each and every created thing He hath shed the light of one of His names, and made it a recipient of the glory of one of His attributes. Upon the reality of man, however, He hath focused the radiance of all of His names and attributes, and made it a mirror of His own Self. Alone of all created things man hath been singled out for so great a favor, so enduring a bounty. " Baha'u'llah, Gleanings XXVII

We each have capacities. Either a thimbleful, a gallonful, or anything in between. We each have abilities and talents, sight and hearing, thoughts and feelings, opinions and convictions, and thousands more. Otherwise, how could we be called upon to account for our doings?

So we have free will because we know and believe certain things, like choosing independent over a political party. or a milk shake instead of a Coke (ugh - I like pepsi). We learn those things thru Nature  - our personality, animal or human or inbetween; Nurture - care we received when young, and hopefully still receive; and Environment - growing up and what life throws our way. All three share a common thread - Education _ what we are taught or what we learn predisposes us to think and act in certain ways. That's why Education is the most important acquisition for humankind (I believe). Alexander Pope and others said it best: "As the twig is bent the tree's inclined."

So what's all this got to do with the soul? Our soul may be like a sponge or tape recorder, with an eternal energy source. Learning like we do but remembering everything. On earth and as far away as the moon, we learn how to think and act good, bad, or indifferent. Based on those learnings, we pass away to a spiritual place, a feast table, already prepared for us by our own doings. Not by "Well everyone else did it, so I followed." And the table may have a crumb on it because that's all we earned, or a full turkey dinner, or anything in between. And, we're hungry.

However, contrary to most opinions, it doesn't stop there. Could it? This is the spiritual world we're talkin' 'bout. As different to this existence as that of a baby's in the womb of it's mother. But just like a baby, the soul may gain its sustenance in the next world at that banquet table, similar to what we do in the physical world. Maybe. 

And again, those evil folks may have a long dark trip before they even get to that crumb. Eternity goes on. People you have known may join you at your table, from the bad or the good. Eventually however, after you've seen what your physical body has caused, we see our errors and God's mercy and grace descends.  More food and drink may be placed on the table. Now we meet the our loved ones like our spouse or mate, parents and children, and chat for eons. Along the way we chat with our best friends, and ex-bosses maybe, until we meet the glowing saints from our own lives, and the Saints of the [past? We've become so happy along the way, and others are also happier. Or maybe we console some of them along the way and them us, but always moving toward the Great Light? We pass thru purgatory or hell and into heaven. Every one of us. I believe that, notwithstanding this poor analogy. Again, free will. Just expressing some thoughts.

We enter the sanctified worlds, our mansions. Nearer to God. We meet Maids of Heaven (and not for copulation -- we aren't that person anymore), and His Angels. Paradise and nirvana can't be described in human terms, just like what I'm describing here is only my conception at this moment in time. As we learn more from the Prophets, these degrees, levels, tiers, become clearer. Limited to our human capacity to understand the unknowable, like going thru grade levels in school.

So, whether this life or the next, in both worlds, we may be on an expedition, not just to discover David Livingstone, but the truth. The true reality of our true selves and our soul. Not someone else's. Only our own.

So that's a philosophical view for today, what's you're take on the nature of soul and heaven?

By Rodney Richards