Category: Your Spiritual Life

listening to God prevents car accident

Your Inner Being Could Save Your Life. Are you Listening? |Spiritual Meditations

On By Spiritual MeditationsIn Spiritual Experiences, Your Spiritual Life1 Comment

Have you ever been in a car accident?  In hindsight, could you have avoided it if you had known just one little piece of information…if someone had whispered in your ear, ‘do this’ or ‘don’t do that’ and the whole thing never would have happened?  Thousands of car accidents happen everyday…. but some don’t.

God Awareness

Janelle was in the only car at a stop light one night.   As she was waiting for the light to change, she heard a voice that said “back up”.  Nothing more, nothing less, just that.  “Back up”.  The windows were up and the radio wasn’t on.  No ear buds in use.  But Janelle didn’t stop to wonder where the voice came from or what it could mean.  She put the car in reverse and backed up.  Why?  Because she knew where the voice came from.  Seconds later, two cars, coming from opposite directions, collided in the exact spot where she had been.

Janelle has a very clear connection with God, her Inner Being. It is a connection that she has nurtured through years of prayer, meditation, study and trust. She has cultivated a spiritual sense to become receptive to the thoughts that come from within. When God speaks, she recognizes His voice and follows His direction.

My friend, Tim, who has contributed to this blog, was driving alone down a 4 lane road. As he approached an intersection for which he had the right-of-way, he looked down to adjust the radio. At that point he heard a voice say “Watch out”.  He immediately turned his attention back to the road to find a car stopped across the intersection blocking both lanes of traffic. He was able to swerve around the car avoiding a collision. God spoke, Tim heard and did not question for a moment how to respond. He is spiritually conscious.

Spiritual consciousness is attained through the activity of truth in consciousness.

God is, there is a God–never doubt that.  This God is infinite in nature, eternal, universal, impersonal, impartial, and omnipresent.  But how do we avail  ourselves of that which God is?  How do we bring this that we know about God into our individual experience?

To illustrate we can turn to the field of music.  The principle of music is absolute.  If, however, we fail to understand its principle and the sounds produced turn into a jumble of discordant noises, we do not rail against the principle.  We apply ourselves more diligently to practicing the principle until we become proficient in its application.

So it must be in our God-experience.  God is, and God is here and God is now, but God is available only in proportion to our realization and willingness to accept the discipline that is necessary for the attainment of that mind which was also in Christ Jesus.

Spiritual consciousness is attained through the activity of truth in consciousness.  Dwelling on spiritual quotations or statements of truth helps to spiritualize thought.  The more truth that we read and hear, the more active is truth in our consciousness.  Thus we learn to abide in the Word.  This is the first step on the way.

The second and more important step, is to be able to receive truth from within, to be receptive and responsive to the truth that wells up within us.  Then we do not think, read or hear truth with the mind.  We are becoming aware of the impartation of the word of God from within because the inner ear and the inner eye have been developed through our knowing the letter of truth and dwelling on it.     Joel S Goldsmith Practicing the Presence

God Instructs and More Listen

My friend, Mo, “became aware of the impartation of the word of God from within”  one night when she was driving home from Jacksonville Florida on I-75.  Her husband and four children (ages 1, 3, 5 and 10) were all asleep in the car.  She found herself wondering why a van will flip when no other car or obstruction is involved.  It immediately came to her mind that it is typical for a driver to slam on their brakes to avoid an animal and cause the upset.  Moments later an animal darted across the road in front of her.  Because God had cautioned her and she was receptive to it, she did not touch the brake and the animal disappeared into the night.

Realizing that God had just saved her family, Mo burst into tear of gratitude.   “I just couldn’t stop crying and praying thanks”.

The daughter of a friend was driving alone along a curving road when she heard a voice say “slow down”.  She slowed some, but a few moments later, the voice said more insistently “SLOW DOWN”.  She slowed down some more  In fact she slowed down to the point that as she rounded a curve and a child ran in front of her car, she was able to stop without hitting him.  God had intervened and she responded without question.  No rationalization about what she had heard.

These roadway interventions were casually mentioned to me. I have to deduce that there are many more examples. In fact, it’s likely you know someone who has had a similar experience; someone who has developed a connection with God.

These four people, as well as many others, know when God is speaking to them because of their long-term personal relationship with Him and their willingness to listen and be guided by Hm.  They are well acquainted with the truths in scripture and have frequent conversations with God.  They not only allow, but desire, that His Spirit dwell in them.

God is active in the world.  Connect to Him.  Pay attention.  And enjoy the care He provides.

How do we know when the spirit of God dwells in us?

If we are letting go of hate, envy, jealousy, malice, self-seeking, self-glorification, prejudice and bigotry we are making room for the spirit of God, for God cannot dwell in the midst of such qualities.  As long as these qualities are present in our consciousness, we have more work to do abiding in the truth and letting the truth abide in us, until such time that the Christ has come so alive [within us] that such mortal thoughts no longer touch us.  Then the spirit of God dwells in us,  “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory….Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him”.

Anyone with a sufficient desire for a realization of God can achieve that realization–the grace of God will guarantee it.

Joel S Goldsmith  Practicing the Presence

You can listen to talks by Joel S Goldsmith on the subjects of Your Inner Kingdom and Meditation on this site’s Video page.

Relevant Scripture

Love the Lord and hate evil!  God protects His loyal people and rescues them from violence.  If you obey and do right, a light will show you the way and fill you with happiness.  You are the Lord’s people!  So celebrate and praise the only God.       Psalm 97:10-12 (CEV)

Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. Psalm 16:1

 

 

 

 

little leaque challenge effort today results in rewaards in future

Effort and Attitude | Spiritual Meditations

On By Spiritual MeditationsIn Your Spiritual Life1 Comment

A Little League Challenge

At the beginning of this last baseball season, I told my players I was looking for improvements in effort and attitude as the season went along and not results. The results, I promised them, would not be there this season, but would show up in the far distant future if they kept putting in the work and having the right attitude.

Most of the kids accepted this and, with course corrections along the way, really took to heart the challenge of playing in this setting. Most of our players were 8 year olds playing against teams comprised of mostly 10 year olds.

It is the spiritual application of a ‘todays effort = a future reward’ attitude that I want to share with you today.’

A Little League Challenge Applied to Life

This morning I had a conversation with a man who has begun the process of turning his life around. I’ve known him for a few years and we talk every so often (it’s getting more frequent). He has intentionally set himself on a path that will eventually lead to great things – restoration of his lifestyle and independence, the possibility of forming relationships with others, and even potentially a rewarding career one day.

However, none of this has happened yet. In fact, what he wanted to talk to me about today was that he feels like his life has gotten WORSE since he started making an effort. There were more demands on his money (which is severely limited), more demands on his time (which is less free than it used to be), and more demands on his character (which increases the more he goes out into the world).

I assured him that this is all perfectly normal for what he’s going through. We have to work hard and put in the effort for a long period of time before we see the results.

God’s rewards

  • God does something, forms something in us along the way, as we walk closely with Him and others who share Christ’s name.
  • God does something in us as we focus on developing Christ like virtues and values in our lives.
  • God does something in our lives as we put our heart and soul into our work and relationships.

These are all seeds that have been planted, but must be watered and be allowed to see the light of day before they will be able to grow and bear fruit in us.

Delayed Gratification…hmmm

As human beings, we don’t do very well with delayed gratification. We want what we do today to bear results today (or maybe tomorrow at the latest).

  • Yet in most situations, the best we can hope for is a pay check every two weeks showing us some marginal return on our effort.
  • In the best situation, the most we can hope for is a phone call two weekends a month from friends wanting to get together during free time.
  • In the best situation, most of us get new cars every 6.7 years or longer, according to the US census.

These things take time and cultivation.

  • If we stop working today, we get more time, but in three weeks we will really feel it.
  • If we stop cultivating relationships with others, we might not feel lonely for a week or two, but after a month we will notice.
  • We might enjoy spending all of our money today on fun things, but in 8 years, when our car dies on the side of the road, we’ll feel it.

Our Walk with God is the Same.

We might not notice if we stop praying today or reading our scriptures today or worshipping this week, or serving others this month. But in the long run, we will notice.  And it will make a difference in our lives and in the lives of our children and grandchildren.

We might be able to get away with not focusing on cultivating the virtues and values of Christ in our lives today.  But several years from now these virtues and values will be like fruit withered on the tree.  When called upon or needed they will be rotten instead of ripe.

And that’s what this season taught our players (most of them), We can get away with not working today, but by the end of next season and in five years, our lack of effort will show up.

Conclusion

We can get away with not focusing on following Christ today.  We might even have more free time if we don’t focus on following Christ.  But in five days, or weeks, or months, or years, where will that path lead us? We won’t see how God will use us, or even bless us, in the future…especially when we are going through trials or hardships today. But we do know that everything we go through today, trains who we are for the future.

May we all choose to follow Christ today.

Written by Rev Nathan W Carlson

Relevant Scripture

2 Peter 1:5      And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge

Philippians 2:5      Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus

talking to God hand uplifted to heaven

Talking to God | Spiritual Meditations

On By Spiritual MeditationsIn Your Spiritual Life2 Comments

Who wouldn’t want to talk to someone with credentials that include: Creator, Helper, Strength of His people, Everlasting  Light, God of Peace, Loving and Forgiving God, Comforter, Faithful and True?

In my last post, I encouraged you to talk to God.  It occurred to me that maybe we should delve into this a little further.  There are a number of ways we can talk to God.  I’m going to share my experience with you and I hope you will share yours with me.

Childhood Prayers

When I was a child my family sat around the dinner table and my dad said  a standard prayer each night.  “God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food”.  Short and appreciative, but we were recognizing God’s participation in our lives.

The bedtime prayer I was taught was, “Now I lay me down to sleep.  I pray the Lord my soul to keep.  If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take”.  This was then followed by a list of everyone I wanted God to bless, which was much the same every night, but did allowed for some childish variation and was the beginning of really talking to God.  This night time ritual was overseen by one of my parents.   I was brought up to believe there is a God,  a God worth learning about, and a God who knew me.  From my perspective, it was a one-way conversation, but God heard.  The “die before I wake”, part didn’t really bother me, but I have to say, I remember at that age, being concerned about somebody or something coming in my 2nd story bedroom window or hiding under my bed.

What childhood prayers do you remember?  I’d like to hear them.  Please enter them in the comments.

Group Prayers

Today, in churches and gatherings all over the world, Christians recite the Lord’s prayer, in spite of the fact that Jesus specifically told us to pray in solitude.  But in defense of this practice, it IS the only prayer that Jesus spelled out and he said “For where two or three come together in my name, I am there with them.”  He also quoted from Isaiah 56:7 “My house will be called a house of prayer”  (Luke 19:46).  So saying a group prayer that he gave us, in his presence, must be OK.

Matthew 6:5-15 New International Version (NIV)

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.   “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from the evil one.’

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Just Me and God Talking

The other notable part of this scripture, is “your Father knows what you need before you ask Him”.  So why ask Him for anything?!  My experience indicates that God wants us to communicate with Him, but there is no need to repeat the same request over and over.  What I have found to be more important is being sincere and speaking to God from my very core, from my heart, in honesty and vulnerability…laying it all out there…getting personal.  I have to believe that it is more beneficial for me to recognize the need, the reliance on God, than it is for me to explain to God what I need…since He already knows. Make the request and then trust that He will address it as He sees fit.    When I have heard back from God, it has been in response to this kind of heart-felt plea or expression.

This, of course, is where the ability to recognize God’s response becomes important, which may not be evident if we haven’t trained ourselves to listen.  This is where the work comes in…the study of spiritual truths and meditation.

In 2004 the city where I live was expected to have a direct hurricane hit and my house was in a low area.  I prepared the best I could and then went, with my family, to the home of a friend who lived on higher ground and in a house with all the latest hurricane  protection features.  I had pleaded with God to protect us from the storm.  I remember exactly where I was when He answered me.   As we got out of the car and approached the friend’s front door, I felt suddenly calm.  God told me we would be fine.  It turned out to be a beautiful day, hardly a cloud in the sky.  After a morning visit with our friends, we went home.

Talking All the Time

There’s one more aspect of talking to God that I want to mention.  What does it mean to “pray without ceasing”?  I don’t think God necessarily wants us to excuse ourselves from the world and join a monastery so that we can pray all day.  I think the apostle Paul was telling us  to make God a part of our daily life, like a friend that we talk to every day, wherever we are. Our constant companion and counselor.   No need to text.  Some people talk out loud to God, but He hears your thoughts just as well.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

 Rejoice always;  pray without ceasing;  in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Any Final Thoughts?

Billions of people talk to God and we don’t all do it the same way.  And, certainly, God communicates with us in many ways.   I would like to hear about the ways you converse with God.  I’d also like to hear about how He talks to you.  What examples stand out in your mind?  Please enter them in the comments.  Thanks.

 

 

overworked people in business meeting

The Murderous Workplace | Spiritual Meditations

On By Spiritual MeditationsIn Self help, Your Spiritual LifeLeave a comment

How many work hours do you put in every week? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the average American works 44 hours per week. A Gallop poll puts the average at 47 to 50 hours per week and a Bloomberg Businessweek report indicates that some factory workers put in 12 hours a day for 6 to 7 days a week. After a work schedule like that who’s going to make a healthy meal or work out?  And that kind of life isn’t necessary if you are One with God.

Overworking Your System

John Ross, MD, FIDSA in the Harvard Health Publishing reports that

In most developed countries, overwork is not seen as a public health problem. However, death from overwork is common enough in Japan that there is a word for it: karōshi. Japanese corporate workers, or salarymen, have a tradition of lifelong job security. Unfortunately, for them, the tradeoff is that they are expected to log long hours of unpaid overtime… In China, death from overwork, known there as guolaosi, is also said to be widespread.

Researchers from University College London compiled data on the relationship between working hours and heart attack risk in over 600,000 workers, as well as similar data on stroke risk in over 500,000 workers. … They found that those who worked more than 55 hours per week had a 13% greater risk of a heart attack, and were 33% more likely to suffer a stroke, compared with those who worked 35-40 hours per week.

Overwork also can result in sleep deprivation, which can result in a host of problems: obesity, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. It also inhibits our ability to think and remember. If you think you can function with minimal shut-eye, The Wall Street Journal reports that for every 100 people who think they are a member of the “sleepless elite,” only 5 really are. Only 1–3% of people can actually function on five or six hours of sleep a night without their performance suffering.

In her blog, Lindsay Kolowich relates that,

In 2015, the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health published the largest ever study of the correlation between working patterns and alcohol consumption. In the study, a group of researchers put together a dataset of over 330,000 workers across 14 different countries. They found that …when people worked more than 48 hours per week, they were more likely to engage in “increased risky alcohol use.” Risky alcohol use was defined as more than 14 drinks per week for women and more than 21 drinks per week for men.

Who’s Killing You?

Some employers require long hours from their salaried employees; however, in some organizations the culture promotes a philosophy that extra hours facilitate promotion. The culture says that those who are always connected (via email, text or phone) impress their superiors. Those who take a company laptop with them on vacation prioritize the company above all else and make themselves indispensable. Sound familiar?

It takes an emotionally strong individual to walk out the door at 5:00, but that individual is or will be the more physically and mentally strong by doing so.

Can you identify with any of the above or does it sound like anyone you know? How do we escape from a life overrun with work and the accompanying illness? If you are in this situation, and know how to escape from it, I’m going to assume that you are already taking steps to resolve it. If you have not made the great escape, I’m going to suggest that your ability to do so, or your ability to at least reduce the pain, correlates to where you are on your faith journey.

Meditation is a Weapon

Solitude, meditation and prayer are going to give you stress relief to the extent that you use them.

Andrew Newberg, an expert in neurotheology states on Tonic that:

Despite a dose of healthy skepticism, it’s hard to ignore the growing body of research dedicated to the neural correlates and potential benefits of these practices [prayer], including non-Christian ones, like mindfulness and meditation. Dozens of studies have found changes before and after prayer or meditative activities in the autonomic nervous system, which controls relaxation and arousal, [and] in parasympathetic activity, which can decrease heart rate and blood pressure, metabolism, or respiration.

You may be exhausted, but fit in some meditation wherever you can; lunch breaks, after work, when the kids are asleep or early in the morning. Once you become proficient at blocking out the surrounding noise, you may even be able to meditate while on the train or bus. Talking to God can be done anywhere at any time. Make God a part of your everyday life and you will gradually recognize that He is active in your everyday life.

Lessons From the Truly Connected

For the truly God-connected individuals, (who know, trust and love God) big decisions are often urged by God, and He helps smooth the pathway. Just listen for His Spirit; your Inner Being.

Here is how Dr Wayne W Dyer explained his work transition.

When I left the work that no longer inspired me, every single detail that I’d worried about was almost magically taken care of for me. I’d spent several months working for a large corporation where I was offered a salary three times higher than I’d been paid as a teacher, but I wasn’t in spirit. That prodding inner knowing said, What are you here to do, and teaching/counseling became my manifested daily purpose…I suggest that there is no risk at all if you pay attention to that light…Combine your strong knowing with the faith the Spirit.

In the book Experiencing God, the authors relate the story of a doctor they met.

As a college student, he had felt God calling him to be a medical missionary. He attended medical school…[and] became an expert in the study of immune diseases and was invited to join the staff of a prestigious hospital. For several years he worked at the hospital…but during the conference at which he and I met, God convicted him that he had neglected to obey his call to missions. Now, well established in his career, and supporting a family, he wondered if it was too late….I advised the doctor to spend time with God and ask Him to clarify exactly what He wanted him to do at this stage in his life. Later I heard that the physician had resigned his prestigious position and had become a missionary in Africa in an area ravaged by AIDS.

Seek First the Kingdom

Besides prayer and meditation, how do we develop the kind of connection with God that makes us comfortable with taking the first step in making major life changes? The answer that we find in scripture is ‘seek first the kingdom,’ and all else, including material needs, will be met.  This is the Kingdom within you, developed through regular meditation on spiritual phrases followed by being in a attitude of listening to the Spirit.  Not thinking.

What we should be seeking is not increased dollars or improved health, as desirable as these are, but rebirth, an entrance into a state of consciousness, which is God’s kingdom, and not of this world.

From our earliest years, the desirability of being a go-getter, having a strong personality, being dynamic, knowing what we want and going after it, and the importance of getting, achieving, and accomplishing have been impressed upon us… Whenever, we have pushed or elbowed someone aside mentally or physically, or reached out for that which is rightfully someone else’s, in that degree we have also violated spiritual law.

Even that for which we have legally and legitimately struggled, was sometimes the very thing that destroys us because in as much as we are infinite, and according to the teachings of the Master [Jesus], have within us, all that the Father has, any attempt to add to that infinity is in itself a violation of the law of God…Instead of starting out in life with the idea of gaining, getting or achieving we would reverse that and our attitude would be one of serving, giving, bestowing, sharing and co-operating…In such a state of consciousness, our good [prosperity] on the human plane would be the reflex action of our giving and sharing. [italics mine]

Every time we believe that there is something or somebody to be gained or won–some name, some fame, some fortune–we are at that very moment in violation of the spiritual principle of life which is givingness.   from The Thunder of Silence by Joel S Goldsmith

Conclusion

If you find yourself, or someone you know, struggling to keep life on track, as a result of too many work hours, take a close look at the cause. Who is making the decision to put in all those hours? Are you succumbing to the culture of your work environment? Is it your boss or are you motivated by material things? God is always there to listen, no matter where you are. Can you whittle out a few moments to meditate, decompress and open yourself to hearing the still small voice of God, your Inner Being, guiding you? If you can, your future will be more peaceful and satisfying for it. Give it a try and contact me with the results. I would love to hear about your experience.

Relevant Scripture

Psalm 127:2
It is senseless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, fearing you will starve to death; for God wants his loved ones to get their proper rest.

Proverbs 10:22
The Lord’s blessing is our greatest wealth. All our work adds nothing to it!

Psalms 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Matthew 6:25-33 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore, do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

brown and white buffalo face each other metaphor for ethnic groups, avoid prejudice, love neighbors

Who are Your Neighbors? | Spiritual Meditations

On By Spiritual MeditationsIn Social Issues, Your Spiritual LifeLeave a comment

I’m sure you are aware of the relationship between lack of experience and fear.   How many times have you said to someone “I would never do that” after they have described an experience you felt was risky? But with more knowledge, encouragement or courage, you find yourself doing the very thing you previously feared.

Let’s Talk

If you haven’t tried anything new lately, I encourage you to think of something you’ve always wanted to do and go do it.  We grow as a result of new experiences and meeting new people, especially people who are different from us.  Some of my most memorable and gratifying experiences have been with people whose first language was not English.  When I was a teenager, I remember thinking that people speaking a ‘foreign’ language within my hearing were rude or saying something derogatory about me or somebody I was with, when actually they were probably talking about what they were going to make for dinner.  Wow, was I the center of my universe or what?

It’s fun to talk to strangers… certainly not scary.  Some would even say it’s healthy and improves the quality of life of those involved.  I listened to a TED talk with Kio Stark this week.  She talks about how much she loves to talk to strangers and the expression of humanity it provides to herself and those she speaks to.  I gave it a try 3 times this week and enjoyed each experience.  It was a win..  Her “Why You Should Talk to Strangers”  video is only 12 minutes and watching it will lift your spirits.   (Take a look at my first blog post God’s Faithfulness Changed My Life to learn how God encouraged me to talk to strangers and how He used that conversation to change my life.)

In a Huffington Post article written by Emma Brancatisano, Jasmine Sliger, a cross-cultural counselling and organizational psychologist, said we should all be talking more.

“We don’t usually allow ourselves to be outside of our comfort zone. And [talking to a stranger] can be challenging, because we don’t know what is on the other side,” Sliger said. “It depends on your personality. Some have more of a natural sense of social engagement than others.”

“If you have a close friend who is more extroverted than you, go out with them and observe how they interact,” Sliger said. “Then, start by carrying out some social experiments. Begin talking to people or acknowledging them.”

“The best place to start is to show appreciation to those who are in your service. You’re acknowledging that they’re a human being and that you appreciate what they’ve done for you. Start there. Whether that be the guy who makes your soy latte in the morning or the friendly woman at your local deli, start simply. By doing this, you’re acknowledging that they’re a human being and that you appreciate what they’ve done for you. Start there,” Sliger said.

“I think we live in a world today where there is so much fear — whether that be of refugees or the person next to us…It even borders on paranoia. We are getting hampered more and more by messages of fear and this leads to people creating stereotypical fears. You can’t walk alone, you can’t let your children out of your sight and you need to talk to them about stranger danger. Whilst I believe you need to do these things, the message can be overplayed. And that is detrimental to the growth of a person.”

Fear – Nature and Nurture

Fear is a primal instinct.  Our very early ancestors learned that if you are approached by a stranger, it is safer to consider them an enemy and be ready to fight or flight, rather than consider them a friend and be wrong…a potentially fatal mistake.

Layered on top of the primal instinct, a person may lack confidence  They may have had a  traumatic childhood experiences.  They are likely to be influence by parents, teachers, family and friends, whose perspectives and ideas may not be helpful in developing a mentally healthy individual.  This is how prejudice gets passed from generation to generation. And this concoction of fear and prejudice is stirred and agitated by exaggerated negative TV news.

You Decide What Your Fears Are

But being afraid of strangers does not have to be a life-long condition.  Jack Schafer PhD explains “that the first step is understanding when and how the fear appeared.  The second step is to acknowledge strangers” who have helped humanity, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa.  “The third, to face the fear and start interacting with strangers.”  The more experience you have with different people, the less fearful you will be of their ‘stereotype’.  And there are big differences between people within what you may consider a group or type of people.  We use the most obvious characteristic to create our stereotypical groups, while the people we put in those groups are really so different.  How similar are you to the people you know and would consider to be in your group?  You will see differences in personality and values among them.  And there are just as many personalities among every stereotypical group you can think of.

The Potential for Hate and Hate Crimes

Not all stereotypical fear of strangers (prejudice) is going to elevate to hate crimes, but we need to be aware of the potential.  How many times have families ignored or rationalized a family member’s association with haters and people using violent rhetoric?

In Psychology Today, Dr. Schafer explains “Hate masks personal insecurities.  Not all insecure people are haters, but all haters are insecure people.  Hate elevates the hater above the hated.  Haters cannot stop hating without exposing their personal insecurities.  Haters can only stop hating when they face their insecurities”.  So let’s do our best to accept and extend agape love to everyone.  I, for one, do not want to be a contributing factor in the development of  people becoming fuel for hate crime combustion.

According to the analysts with The Conversation in their June 2018 article

Hate crime totals for the 10 largest cities [in the US] rose for four straight years to the highest level in a decade.

Nationally, levels in 2014 were the lowest since national reporting began in 1992, according to the FBI. Since then, hate crimes have steadily increased. In 2016, the last year with FBI totals available, hate crimes were up 11.7 percent compared to 2014.

We see three factors behind the moderate overall increases in 2016. First, there was a precipitous spike around the election. Second, on top of sustained levels of hate crimes against African-Americans, and a small increase against Jews, were larger percentage increases against other groups. Third, hate crimes increased by double-digit percentages in several large states, including New York, California, Florida and Illinois.

Are We Good Neighbors?

God doesn’t get into the psychology and statistics of it, but His wisdom tells us to be kind to strangers:

Exodus 22:21     Do not mistreat a stranger or oppress a foreigner for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 19:34    But the stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you and you shall love him as yourself for you were strangers in the land of Egypt:  I am the Lord your God.

Hebrews 13:2    Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some have unwittingly entertained angels.

Luke 10:25-37    The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”  27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”  28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”  30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’  36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”  37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”  Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

So who are your neighbors?  Jesus is saying everyone is your neighbor, love your neighbor as yourself, do to others as you would want others to do to you.

Our Inner Being is God and God is Love, so we can’t help but love our fellow man / strangers / brothers.  Their Inner Being also is God.  John tells us in I John 4:20 “If a man says ‘I love God’ and hates his brother, he is a liar. for if he doesn’t love his brother, who he can see, how can he love God , who he can’t see”.

In the 25th chapter of Matthew, Jesus says ‘What you have done to the least of my brethren, you have done to me”.  Joel S.Goldsmith, in his book Practicing the Presence, adds a karmic interpretation to these words.  We are all One spirit of God.  “God is the Selfhood of every individual…and the injustice that I am doing to another, I am doing to myself.  The lack of thoughtfulness that I show to another, I am showing to myself.”

Forgiveness

Unfortunately, not everyone has tapped into the their Inner Being of love.  So we must learn to pray “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do”.  and pray that their eyes will be opened to the Truth.

If there are individuals with whom we are not on harmonious terms, we find, as we turn within [pray, meditate, listen to God] and pray that brotherly love and harmony be established between us, that instead of enemies, we come into a relationship of spiritual brotherhood with them.  Our relationship with everyone then takes on a harmony and a heretofore unknown joy.

This is not possible as long as we feel antagonism toward anyone.  If we are harboring within us personal animosity, or if we are indulging in national or religious hatred, prejudice or bigotry, our prayers are worthless.  We must go to God with clean hand in order to pray, and to approach God with clean hands we must relinquish our animosities.  Within ourselves we must first pray the prayer of forgiveness for those that have offended us, since ‘they know that what they do’.

It is not only inconsistent, but hypocritical to talk about the Christ and our great love of God in one breath and in the next breath, speak disparagingly of a neighbor who is of a different race, creed, nationality, political affiliation, or economic status. One cannot be the child of God as long as he persecutes or hates anyone or anything, but only as he lives in a consciousness of no judgement or condemnation.

Joel S Goldsmith, excerpt from Practicing the Presence

Conclusion

Many of our fears are irrational.  But we can overcome our natural tendencies to fear strangers.  When it comes to people, the more contact we have with a diverse population, the fewer fears and prejudice we will have. Our lives will also be much richer and interesting for the experience.  Let’s appreciate the differences.  You may be as different to them as they are to you.  And your interaction could lead to greater acceptance and compassion for all parties involved.  Each person is God’s unique creation and we don’t need to assigned to them some made-up group.  Strike up a conversation with 3 strangers this week and let me know how it goes.  I’d love to hear about it.

Although He doesn’t always give us explanations, God’s direction, as written in scripture and as written on your heart, will lead you to a more fulfilling and meaningful life.  God is clear?  Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.  Love your neighbor as yourself.

Methaphor for the many who have entered the afterlife

Afraid of Death? Get to Know Your Unknown |Spiritual Meditations

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Every religion in history has suggested a concept of what comes after death.  We humans find most of these concepts to be comforting as they relieve our anxiety about the unknown.  Some of us have had experiences that confirm our beliefs.  Others profess the beliefs of their religious traditions, but still have some uncertainties.  There are folks who think there is nothing after death and it’s just lights out and no consciousness.  Other than the group that has had an afterlife affirming experience, there are going to be many who are truly afraid of the unknown existence (or lack there of) after they die.

I’m going to attempt to relieve some of your fears.

The Scientific Model Applied to Near Death Experience

Radiology Oncologist, Dr. Jeff Long, develop an exhaustive survey which can be seen on his website.  (Be sure to click on ‘New Experiences’ to read many accounts of Near-Death Experiences.)  For several year, people who have had Near-Death Experiences (NDE) have voluntarily completed his survey sharing their experience.  The surveys consistently show up to 9 lines of evidence which have been categorized by Dr. Long and used by the community of researchers who study NDE.  Dr. Long presents his findings based on 613 surveys in his book Evidence of the Afterlife,

In this fascinating interview, Dr Long talks about his findings as well as some individual cases.  See  ‘A Glimpse Through the Thin Curtain between Life and Afterlife‘ for a couple of examples of what Dr Long describes as common shared experiences between the dying/dead and the living.

The 9 lines of evidence are:

1. Crystal-Clear Consciousness

The level of consciousness and alertness during near-death experiences (NDEs) is usually even greater than that experienced in everyday life even though NDEs generally occur when a person is unconscious or clinically dead. This high level of consciousness while physically unconscious is medically inexplicable. Additionally, the elements in NDEs generally follow the same consistent and logical order in all age groups and around the world, which refutes the possibility that NDEs have any relation to dreams or hallucinations.

2. Realistic Out-of-Body Experiences

Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are one of the most common elements of NDEs. What NDErs see and hear of earthly events in the out-of-body state is almost always realistic. When the NDEr or others later seek to verify what was observed or heard during the NDE, the OBE observations are almost always confirmed as completely accurate. Even if the OBE observations during the NDE included events far from the physical body, and far from any possible sensory awareness of the NDEr, the OBE observations are still almost always confirmed as completely accurate. This fact alone rules out the possibility that near-death experiences are related to any known brain functioning or sensory awareness. This also refutes the possibility that NDEs are unrealistic fragments of memory from the brain.

3. Heightened Senses

Not only are heightened senses reported by most who have experienced NDEs, normal or supernormal vision has occurred in those with significantly impaired vision, and even legal blindness. Several people who have been totally blind since birth have reported highly visual near-death experiences. This is medically inexplicable.

4. Consciousness During Anesthesia

Many NDEs occur while under general anesthesia – at a time when any conscious experience should be impossible. While some skeptics claim that these NDEs may be the result of too little anesthesia, this ignores the fact that some NDEs result from anesthesia overdose. Additionally, the description of an NDE differs greatly from that of one who experiences “anesthetic awareness.” The content of NDEs that occur under general anesthesia is essentially indistinguishable from NDEs that did not occur under general anesthesia. This is further strong evidence that NDEs are occurring completely independently from the functioning of the physical brain.

5. Perfect Playback

Life reviews in near-death experiences include real events that previously took place in the lives of those having the experience, even if the events were forgotten or happened before they were old enough to remember.

6. Family Reunions

During an NDE, the people encountered are virtually always deceased, and are usually relatives of the person having the experience – sometimes they are even relatives who died before the NDEr was born. Were the NDE only a product of memory fragments, they would almost certainly include far more living people, including those with whom they had more recently interacted.

7. Children’s Experiences

The near-death experiences of children, including very young children who are too young to have developed concepts of death, religion, or near-death experiences, are essentially identical to those of older children and adults. This refutes the possibility that the content of NDEs is produced by preexisting beliefs or cultural conditioning.

8. Worldwide Consistency

Near-death experiences appear remarkably consistent around the world, and across many different religions and cultures. NDEs from non-Western countries are incredibly similar to those that occur in people in Western countries.

9. Aftereffects

It is common for people to experience major life changes after having near-death experiences. These aftereffects are often powerful, lasting, life-enhancing, and the changes generally follow a consistent pattern. As the NDErs themselves almost always believe – near-death experiences are, in a word, real.

Some people experience reviews of their lives during a NDE after which they make changes to their lives when returning to earthy consciousness. They say the reviews are done in a loving manner and show them the error of their ways.   In this video, NDErs talk about their experiences.

In a conference presentation Dr. Long mentions that only 1 of the 16 atheists who took the survey remained an atheist after their NDE. Even those who do not have reviews make a sustained effort to improve their contribution to the world, their families, and/or society. Obviously, the impact of these experiences is huge. You know how hard it is to make changes in your personality, attitudes and your life in general.

All NDEs used in his study included at least 7 out of the 9 lines of evidence.  This commonality points to the conclusion that NDE is a real experience of profound significance and meaning, and also provides evidence of life after death.

Dr. Long’s study is one of many.  There are studies with slightly different conclusions, using different sample types and sizes.  And there are studies that reached no conclusion whatsoever.  You can take a look at addition videos made at conferences of the International Association for Near Death Studies.  Many additional resources are on the site for the curious and for those who have had a NDE.

Now that we’ve seen what modern technology and the scientific method tell us about the afterlife, or at least the beginning of it, let’s see what additional information scripture has been telling us for centuries.

What More does Scripture Tells Us about the Afterlife

Your Soul, your Inner Being, is a piece of God and is your true identity.  Are you aware of that center of your being that is love?  Your deep down connection with God that nobody sees, but can be evidenced by your interactions with the world.

(If you have trouble sensing this in yourself, I hope that you will select a phrase from my suggestions or another scripture or phrase from an inspirational source and meditate on it for as many sessions as it takes to own it. The second part of your session, clearing your mind, is just as important as this enhances your ability to hear ‘the still small voice’ when God communicates with you.)

Paul, who met Jesus after Jesus’s resurrection, and a pretty inspired guy, wrote “We are the children of God: And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).  This is enormous!  Among the many implications of this, it says that just as Christ went to Heaven, so shall we.  You are heir to all the heavenly riches.

In Luke 15,  Jesus tells the story of two sons, one who took his inheritance and left home and the other who stayed at home to work the land.  He compares the father in the story to God the Father who tells his disgruntled loyal son   ‘you are always with me and all that I have is yours’.  Jesus is telling us that God will provide for all our needs, including an afterlife.

All the great religious figures of the past, despite their earthly contributions, have left their bodies behind and are continuing their spiritual ministry on a different plane.  The same plane that you and I will experience.  God tells us ‘Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you…I am with you always, even until the end of the world’.

When you are sick, God will be there with you.  When you come to your last moments, God will be there.  When you pass into the afterlife, God will be there to help you through.  Then you will see how little there was to fear.

Do not fear this human sense of life or the loss of it. The human sense of life is not your real life. Your real life is the life you are living in your Soul. That is your life, your real being….Just as you outgrew infancy and childhood, just as adulthood merged into the middle years, so will you outgrow the entire human experience and, unless you fight to cling to this present experience, that transition should be a progressive step. Begin as soon as you can to look on the experience of passing, not with horror and not as if it were the end of something beautiful. It is not the end: it is the beginning. It is but the end of one phase of experience and the beginning of another.

What is man’s state of being when he passes from this world? One thing is certain, and that is that those who are not on the spiritual path will not be placed on that path just by the act of dying. It is safe to assume that they will be in the very same state of consciousness when they awaken as they were when they left here. But, and this I know not from assumption, but from experience; those who are on the spiritual path, regardless of how little progress they seem to have made, are instantly, by the act of passing, lifted into a higher atmosphere than they experienced here on earth. Joel S Goldsmith

Your body is only your mechanism for walking around in the world and hopefully learning something from the experience. So find your Inner Being.

Relevant Scripture Verses

Gen 25:8     Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years, and he was gathered to his people

John 5:24     Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

Romans 8:10     But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 13     Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.