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Is Everything Predetermined?

May 14, 2014 Joseph Dewey

This entry is part 50 of 57 in the series Mysteries

Question Fifty-One

Is Everything Predetermined?

There are two major views on this. The first is that everything is predetermined and meticulously planned out. We really have no free will, but just think we do as every move we make is already set in stone. Many religious people with this belief think that those who are saved and will go to heaven, or damned and will go to hell, are already determined. If your fate is to go to hell there’s nothing you can do to change it.

The other group has a bit more logical approach. They see us as having free will. The future is malleable and we can make if it what we will. Where we wind up in this world or the next is determined by our decisions.

It is interesting that many in this second group have a belief that moves them back into place with the first group. And what is that?

Many of them believe that God knows every single thing that will ever happen. A thousand years ago God knew I would be writing this very sentence I am finishing now. He not only knew I’d be scratching my nose right now, but He knew who I would marry and the exact number of calories I would consume today.

The trouble is that the only way that God could know such things is if everything were predetermined and we had no free will to change it.

For those who think that God knows every detail that will ever happen I would ask why He would even want to know.

Does it not make much more sense to see that God knows his plan and what the end will be, but is unconcerned about he minutia.

When Leonardo DaVinci envisioned the Mona Lisa he undoubtedly had an idea of how he wanted the finished product to look. There was no way he could have predicted each brush stroke as the work progressed. Yet he had free will to make whatever strokes he wanted or any mistakes that happened along the way.

Even so, it is with God, and man who is in the image of God. We can plan the future but wouldn’t want to know all the details about it, even if such a thing were possible.

Before we were born we work out a plan for this life, but we do have free will and things do not always go according to plan. Then once in a while things go better than planned.

After we get here and begin to mature we work out various other plans for life. We have complete freedom to choose. Even so, there is a memory of our pre-mortal plan in our soul and this gives us an inclination to go in the direction of our plan. Most try to go in this direction, but others ignore it.

All plans are a product of free will and if the plan is solid and strictly followed the person can see many, but not all, of his projections come true.

On the other hand, many detours and problems occur when pursuing a plan that were not foreseen, causing the plan to develop in a way that no one could have predicted.

Then there are times that the person realizes his plan is not a good one and he replaces it with another one.

Such things happen though the application of free will, intelligence and planning in both this world and the spirit world.

A question many have is whether our days are exactly numbered. Is there an exact time allotted for each life?

When making our life plans before birth we have a good assessment of the probable length of time we will live and this assists us in making our strategy for maximum use of the mortal life. We usually live within a year or two of that assessment, but that sometimes will change. The person could abuse his body more than expected or even commit suicide. Then he may go on a health kick and extend his life an extra ten years or so.

Many also wonder about accidents and fluky events like winning the lottery. Are they preplanned?

Some accidents and handicaps are preplanned before we were born. Often it is determined before birth that the entity must undergo some painful life changing experience in order to attain maximum growth. Without such an event it may be seen that the guy’s ego or life would just go out of control. So, yes, sometimes accidents and even lucky flukes are preplanned.

Then there are times that accidents just happen because of carelessness or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Many try and see everything that happens, both good or bad, as an intricate part of a plan, but many things happen that are just random events that we need to deal with in the best way that our intelligence will allow.

A simple example may help to clarify.

Suppose you had a plan to get on your boss’s good side so you’ll get a raise. There are a number of ingredients in your plan such as putting in extra hours, throwing him a surprise birthday party, making his job easier and so on. Then, after the birthday party that went according to plan, you go to the parking lot, get in your car and back right into your boss’s car scratching his fender. Woops! That was something that was definitely not in the plan. If you still want that raise you’re going to have to handle this situation skillfully.

In the movie Oh God!, George Burns spoke truly when he told John Denver that we are responsible for what we make of this world. We are also responsible for what we make of our individual lives.

Let us then use our free will and make the best of it.

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Why Do Some People Suffer Pain and Disease While Others Do Not?

May 13, 2014 Joseph Dewey

This entry is part 49 of 57 in the series Mysteries

Question Fifty

Why Do Some People Suffer Pain and Disease While Others Do Not?

A partial answer is obvious. Some people take better care of themselves than others. If one person drinks and eats too much, takes drugs and abuses his body then, yes, he’s likely to have numerous physical problems. If another guy eats a good diet exercises and lives a positive life then he is likely to have better health than the abuser.

What is a mystery to many is you’ll often see two or more people living in similar circumstances, taking similar care of their health, yet one will suffer with some dreadful disease while the other gets off scott free. One may die early of ill health and the other live to old age.

Some just chalk it up to genes, but many from the same gene pool with similar habits experience a wide variety of health. Others with supposedly bad genes take very good care of themselves and enjoy good health and a long life.

What is the reason for the great disparity here? To see the whole picture let us tabulate the things we do in life that influence our health.

(1) Diet. This is a big one. Millions have born witness that a change in their diet resulted in improved health and many studies have linked the chances of good health to diet.

(2) Exercise. Exercise is particularly good for the heart, but the whole body benefits.

(3) The Environment. Clean air, pure water and sunshine are indeed beneficial.

(4) Attitude. The mind definitely has an effect. Studies show that when given a sugar pill as a placebo that about 30% of the patients show an improvement.

Something I find amusing is that in tests of Rogaine for hair growth, 26% of those who were given the real thing experienced some new hair growth. But get this. The other half of the control group who were given the pretend Rogaine also had positive results. 16% of them grew some new hair.

Imagine that! 16% of the population can grow new hair with the power of their mind alone.

So even after we examine all the accepted means to keep our health we find there is still a missing ingredient or two. We still find many people in similar circumstances with a variety of health experiences.

What is the X Factor here? Surely there is not an effect without a cause.

I’ll tell you the missing ingredient. It is unorthodox and all will not accept it but I’ll give it out anyway with the hope that some will benefit.

As pointed out, the power of thought is very powerful and a true ancient teaching is that “energy follows thought.” The power of thought directing energy affects us in other ways than merely being positive or negative. It is important that our thought be placed in the right direction.

And what determines the right direction? That was determined by you or for you before you were born.

In each life in which we are born there is assigned to us one important thing that we have to learn. There are, of course, a number of lesser things to absorb, but there will be one major lesson we are supposed to master. We sometimes learn that lesson in one life, but often we fail and have to come back in another life and continue to work on it until we get it right.

Examples of various lessons we all learn in one life or another are:

(1) To be a faithful spouse or partner

(2) To be a good parent

(3) Develop musical talent.

(4) Develop writing ability, acting, dancing or some other creative endeavor.

(5) Learn business principles or how to create abundance.

(6) Become a healer

(7) Become a teacher

The list could go on and on but this gives the general idea.

Just about all of us have a feeling that we have some purpose that we must find, and that there is something we must do or learn to fulfill it. The question is, how do we find it? It is not that easy because that which we must learn is something that we haven’t mastered before and since we humans are a lazy lot, we tend to want to do what comes easy for us. The new lesson to learn will not be easy for us but will be a difficult road.

Few of us find our lesson and master it right away, but will often run from it instead. The interesting thing is that signposts of the great lesson that awaits us keeps confronting the pilgrim again and again. When the person finally heads the right direction in learning he or she will feel not only a peace inside themselves, but a flow of energy. This flow of positive energy is a great aid in the health of the body.

Unless part of the lesson has to do with disease itself the person who finds his path will generally have good health – that is if he takes reasonable care of his body.

On the other hand, if the person ignores his inner guidance and rejects the lesson he is supposed to learn his energy flow will be disrupted and the vital force of various parts of his body will be low causing all kinds of physical problems to set in.

Each of us, even atheists, have an inner voice that guides us and when we follow it, knowingly or unknowingly, then our vital energy and health will be in a high state. If we resist that inner guidance then we will suffer blockages of energy and suffer disease and pain. If the pilgrim continues to resist things will get so bad that he eventually will look to the skies and ask, “Why me!”

This is an important point for the seeker for it often marks the beginning of true reflection that changes his direction toward the needed lesson.

So basically the answer to the question of ill health and pain in our lives is this. They are signs that are telling us we are headed in the wrong direction. It doesn’t mean the person is a bad person. People who suffer physically are often very nice people, but even he nicest of people make mistakes and take some wrong turns.

The suffering person may need to make a correction in diet, exercise, attitude, find his lesson, listen to inner direction etc. It could be a number of things, and if one finds himself in pain and suffering through ill health then he should make a powerful endeavor do discover his wrong turns in life and correct them.

You will never find a happier person than one who has endured great pain and suffering but corrected the situation by finding the path that restored his health and vitality.

“The truth will make you free.”

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Do Miracles Really Happen?

May 10, 2014May 10, 2014 Joseph Dewey

This entry is part 48 of 57 in the series Mysteries

Question Forty-Nine

Do Miracles Really Happen?

There are two types of people in this world: Those who believe in miracles and those who do not.

Those who do not believe see all the miracles of the Bible as being fables that are passed down, and if there is any truth to the stories that there is a natural explanation for it.

These people explain away modern day miracles as either something accomplished by the power of mind over matter or the story was exaggerated.

It is interesting that these non-believers are in the minority. All polls show that over 70% of the U.S. public believe in miracles and over a third claim to have experienced one themselves. 63% say they know someone who claims to have experienced a miracle.

For those who say these believers are uneducated consider this. 73% of medical doctors believe that miracles happen in the present time and 55% say they have witnessed one or more with their patients.

So, who is right here, the minority or the majority? In this case I side with the majority. Miracles definitely occur. I personally know this to be true because I have experienced a number of them myself. Once a person experiences a thing he must either accept it or deny reality.

So what are we talking about when we speak of miracles? “If we are just talking about a quick recovery from sickness, that is no miracle, “says the skeptic.

Though healing of any kind is pretty miraculous when you think about it – that is not what we are talking about when we speak of miracles. We are talking about events that standard science would deem to be impossible, such as:

(1) A terminal, supposedly incurable disease, cured quickly or even instantly.

(2) Receiving some supernatural communication that warns of danger and saves a life.

Here is a LINK to an example.

(3) A near death experience.

(4) Seeing an angel or a vision.

There are many more that could be listed. Most of us have heard some pretty fantastic accounts that even stretch credibility for a believer.

So, does a miracle defy the laws of nature or of science?

No, they do not. Miracles happen through the application of law, not bypassing it. Imagine that you were driving down the highway and suddenly were transported back in time a couple centuries and found yourself surrounded by a group of people. They watch you drive your horseless carriage and think this is the greatest miracle they have ever witnessed. You get out of the car and show then your iPad that has a Star Wars movie loaded into it. Not only are they amazed by the iPad, but the spaceships and the Deathstar seem way beyond anything man could put in a tablet. It isn’t long before the group is arguing whether you are a god or a devil.

Just as modern humanity uses electricity, engineering and intelligent application of law to produce our miracles, even so does Higher Intelligence use subtle energies and laws unknown to us to manifest miracles beyond normal human ability.

A question that many ask is, “Why do not miracles happen to me?” This question is asked by a wide range of people, from the mildly curious to those who are desperately ill or distressed.

It does appear to many that miracles appear somewhat randomly. It seems that many very good people suffer and die with no miracle whereas another who may not seem that deserving gets one.

Since most miracles revolve around physical healing let us ask what one could do to manifest a miracle if he had an incurable disease?

To understand the answer we must realizes that there are two sources of miraculous healing power.

(1) Each of us has a connecting thread that links us to God, the Source of all higher power. It is possible to draw spiritual energy from this Source that will produce a miraculous healing.

(2) There are highly intelligent beings in the spirit world who assist humans from time to time. If you get their attention and a healing does not violate the plan of your soul, then they can assist with a miracle.

Of course, most of those who manifest a miracle in their lives have faith that God has power to help them, but there is an ancient law that applies here and it is this.

Energy follows thought.

Those who manifest miracles generally place a lot of positive thought, prayer and contemplation toward being healed. There is a point reached when enough energy is directed toward an end that something happens. Just like when you place a certain amount of sugar in a glass of water you will reach a saturation point where the sugar no longer dissolves. Even so, applying a certain amount of positive thought energy toward a goal eventually creates a point of tension and makes the impossible happen.

We must realize though that there is a reason behind all illness and any miracle must not take away from the lessons we may learn from it. We’ll talk more about this in the next chapter.

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Can The Human Soul Be Annihilated?

May 6, 2014 Joseph Dewey

This entry is part 47 of 57 in the series Mysteries

Question Forty-Eight

Can The Human Soul Be Annihilated?

There are many, who see themselves as merely a machine that is turned on, and then at death, when the machine quits working, all individual identity will be as if it never was. All that makes him an intelligent human being will be annihilated, according to this view.

I always thought it would be interesting, after I pass over to the other side, to greet hardened atheists after they die. When they discover they still have a consciousness they will be forced to admit there is life after death, and this of course leads to the logical conclusion that there is also Higher Creative Intelligence of some kind.

A question that persists among believers is whether or not existence and identity itself can be destroyed. There are several trains of thought on this.

The Adventists, Jehovah Witnesses, Urantia followers, Armstrong followers and others see it this way.

We began at birth and at that time God created all that makes us individuals. Then, at death, instead of going to a spirit world, we sleep and only exist as a memory in the mind of God. Later, at the great judgment, God uses this fantastic memory to recreate each one of the billions of humans to stand before Him. At this time, the evil doers will be made aware of how wretched they are, but will only suffer for a short time and then be lovingly thrown into a lake of fire and burned up into nothingness, never to be heard of again.

Other believers either see the wicked as suffering in hell for eternity or annihilated.

So, again we ask, what is the real truth here? Can our essence really be destroyed or do we persist forever?

To understand the answer we must examine the various parts of ourselves. We all realize that while living that we have a physical body and that body will eventually die, decay and lose its form.

On the other hand, there are other parts to ourselves besides the physical body. In the beginning we existed in he bosom of God as a point of light or intelligence. The deeper a diver descends into the ocean the more protective gear he must have. Well, we decided to descend deep into physical matter and this required several layers of protective gear. Among those we can understand are the emotional body as well as the mental body.

These parts we add to ourselves are not the real US but are vehicles we use to explore and understand the creations of God.

The true you or the true me is not the body, feelings or mind, but that which has power of decision which uses these things. This part of ourselves cannot be destroyed and persists forever. It had no beginning and will never have an end.

Even though our vehicles have a beginning and end we use them for a very long period of time. We will use them as long as the universe persists and then when the universe folds up we will rest in the mind of God, and after the rest, assist in creating and exploring a new universe.

We have spent millions of years arriving at the point where we are now and even though our core essence cannot be annihilated it is possible to suffer the destruction of our personality makeup.

Jesus warned about this when he talked about the sin against the Holy Ghost which will not be forgiven. It’s not so much that it will not be forgiven as that the effects of such a thing cannot be undone.

As the seeker progresses from life to life he eventually establishes contact with Higher Intelligence that will guide him toward eventual liberation in the Kingdom of God. When this happens he has a choice. He can either accept the higher guidance or ignore it and deny its existence. If, over a period of time, he rejects the Holy Spirit again and again he creates a barrier between him and Higher Intelligence.

Once this barrier of his own making is solidified he loses his connection with God and his vehicles that make up his personality begin to disintegrate. After this happens only his essence remains and he has to wait until the dawn of another creation, billions of years hence before he gets another opportunity to progress.

So the answer is, no, our essence cannot be annihilated, but we can suffer some very long delays in our progression lasting for eons of time.

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Is There A Devil And Evil Spirits?

April 30, 2014April 30, 2014 Joseph Dewey

This entry is part 46 of 57 in the series Mysteries

Question Forty-Seven

Is There A Devil And Evil Spirits?

It is interesting that the idea of Satan ruling a great kingdom of evil spirits didn’t seem to get much traction until the time of Jesus. The Old Testament mentions him a few times but the word in the Hebrew merely mans “adversary” so any adversary of the good path could have been considered a satan.

As far as evil spirits go, the Old Testament only mentions them twice and both times they were sent by God (not Satan) to cause trouble.

There are several references to people having “familiar spirits” but this term comes from the Hebrew OWB and refers to a medium, most likely the trance channelers of the day. There is no mention of evil spirits in connection with them but Israel was commanded to ignore them and pay attention to the prophets instead.

Apparently, by the time Jesus arrived a belief in Satan and evil spirits was quite popular as he did quite a few of his healings by casting them out.

There are two lines of thought concerning Jesus and evil spirits.

(1) Those who take everything literally believe that in each case where Jesus healed by casting out actual evil spirits that he indeed did cast out evil entities who were in league with the devil himself.

(2) The other idea is that Jesus was merely working with peoples’ belief system. Since many believed that disease was caused by evil spirits, then appearing to cast them out worked with their belief and increased their faith and power to be healed.

So which one of these two ideas is true? Is there really a devil along with millions of evil spirits causing problems for us in the modern world?

Let us look at the idea of Satan first. Since the word merely means “adversary” then to ask if there is a satan is the same as asking if there is an adversary. The answer is quite clearly, yes. You can take any idea of what is good, present it to the world and adversaries (or satans) will come forth to oppose it.

So, among people with good intentions there are certainly many who are met with adversaries right here among the living.

But what about the next world? Are there adversaries there? Obviously if people continue to have free will after death they will all not agree on lots of things and adversaries will appear there also.

But is there one main guy who is The Satan?

There is hierarchy in all things and, of course, some adversaries will have more power than others, and there is always one who is the most powerful. I suppose we could tag this character, whoever he is, with the name of Satan, though I doubt if he sees himself as evil.

Hitler was one of the great adversaries to appear on the earth, but he thought he was doing good things and would have been insulted to have been called Satan.

So, are there evil spirits?

To answer this one must merely ask, “Are there evil people living on the earth in physical bodies?” Most would call the murderers, rapists, tyrants, thieves, etc. evil. So when these people die do they take their character with them or are they suddenly changed into good people? Obviously, we still keep our identity. If a person is evil in mortal life then he will still have evil tendencies as a spirit making him an evil spirit, for want of a better word.

So, did Jesus really heal by casting out evil spirits?

Rarely is a disease caused by a person being possessed by a human spirit that is evil. Such possession does happen now and then, but is not the cause of all the disease we see about us.

But, if we look at it from another angle, Jesus did indeed heal by casting out evil. The human body is a great living instrument and within it are billions of smaller lives. Each cell in our body is a living thing as well as each organ we possess. All disease is the result of the life forces in the body taking on a life of their own, causing a lack of harmony. A cancer, for example is a living thing and getting rid of it is indeed seen as casting out an evil life.

Jesus caused the negative life that was in the sick bodies to depart and adjusted their life forces so they were harmonious, and by this measure he healed by casting out disrupting life or evil spirits.

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What Is Good and Evil?

April 28, 2014 Joseph Dewey

This entry is part 45 of 57 in the series Mysteries

Question Forty-Six

What Is Good and Evil?

This may seem like a silly question to ask. After all, isn’t it obvious what good is as well as evil? Good is doing … well, good things like helping the poor, doing good deeds, loving people etc. And evil is hurting people, abusing animals and committing crimes. Figuring it out is pretty simple, isn’t it?

Not so much.

We often forget that every war that has been fought in the history of the planet has been over a different interpretation of what good and evil is. For example, Hitler thought the democratic system of the West was evil and his more authoritarian dictatorship was good. He also thought it was a good thing to exterminate an entire race of people, the Jews, whereas the rest of us saw this as a great evil.

And just look at the struggle we have in the present time to convince others what is good and evil. Here are three examples.

(1) Many believe it is good to make any sacrifice necessary to prevent climate change, even if it means higher taxes, more spending and lots of inconvenience.

Others see this as a great evil piece of propaganda designed to tax us to death, steal our money and take away our freedoms.

(2) Many see the implementation of lots of social programs as a good thing that even Jesus would have praised.

Others see them as a great evil that robs us of our wealth and freedom. They also think Jesus would agree with them.

(3) There are those who think it is a very good thing that the Jews have gathered in the Middle East and created a nation of their own.

Then there are many who see this as a great evil that must be destroyed at any cost.

Obviously what is good and evil is not such a simple thing after all. The prophet Isaiah wrestled in frustration at the people’s lack of understanding on this subject. He complained that peopled called “evil good, and good evil; they put darkness for light, and light for darkness; and put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Isa 5:20 The scriptures further say: “There is none that doeth good, no not one.” (Psalms 14:3)

In other words, the seeing of that which is truly good or evil is so subtle that there have been times that the whole population of the world was deceived about it.

So, is that which is truly good so difficult to see that the truth is hidden from the eyes of the many? Indeed the answer is yes and the Bible backs this up.

After Adam and Eve ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil God said, “Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil.” Gen 3:22

This is one of the most profound statements in all scripture. Knowing good and evil is such a wonderful thing that it will cause us ordinary humans to “become as one of us.” And who is “us?” That would be God or the Gods depending on how one interprets the scripture.

The Jerusalem Bible gives an interesting variation of translation:

“Then Yahweh God said, Now that the man has become like one of us in knowing good FROM evil…”

One reason this and several other versions use “from” instead of “and” is largely because of the meaning implied by YADA, the Hebrew word from which “to know” is translated.

YADA implies a knowledge gained through discerning or coming to a recognition or understanding.

Therefore, “to know good and evil” implies much more than just leaving paradise and being subject to pleasant and unpleasant sensations. The animals do this much. YADA implies that he who becomes as God will rise above the animals and acquire the ability to discern the good and the evil. Such discernment would result in knowing good FROM evil as well as good and evil.

Think on this. We are told that he who acquires the knowledge (YADA) of good and evil will be as the Elohiym, or God.

This explains why the prophets told us that there were times when no one understood the difference between good and evil for their understanding was upside down. In other words, people are not very godly in their understanding of it and often have it all wrong.

So, again we are faced with the question – what is the real truth of the matter? What is the true good and true evil?

Before we tackle that we must first understand why good and evil is so difficult to discern. The reason it is so problematic is that the customs, the thinking and the consciousness of the people change with each passing generation, century and age. That which is good or evil at one time can become the opposite at another. Allow me to give several examples.

(1) Eating too much sugar is bad for you, but if you were starving to death and all you had to eat to save your life were cookies, then eating them would be a good thing.

(2) Moses taught the people that eating unclean animals was wrong, but then later Peter was shown a vision that it was good that he eat these animals.

(3) As civilizations began to form in ancient times it was seen as a good thing that there be a strong central authority, such as a king.

But as humanity progressed, and people began thinking for themselves, having a king was seen as wrong and the participation of the people in some type of democracy was good.

Because that which is good changes with circumstances and the consciousness of the people this means that good and evil cannot just be spelled out in black and white, but must be discerned.

To be able to make that judgment or discernment accurately requires a gift from God that few people are able to exercise at all times. We can though give out a guiding principle that will help the seekers of the world see correctly. Here it is.

Good is that which moves us forward in the direction of greater health, happiness, peace, love, understanding and spiritual living. Evil is that which takes us away from these things.

Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? Believe me it is not. To have the power to choose the good on a consistent basis indeed requires tapping into the mind of God.

Let us hope that more of humanity will be successful at this so we can one day achieve, “peace on earth, goodwill to all.”

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Is There Good And Evil?

April 25, 2014April 26, 2014 Joseph Dewey

This entry is part 44 of 57 in the series Mysteries

Question Forty-Five

Is There Good And Evil?

The average person in the West will look at this question and answer, “Well, duh… Yes, of course there is. That’s a silly question.”

The reason this question is included is that many of the people of the world believe there is no such thing as good and evil. They get this idea from numerous teachings of eastern religions, and those who have rejected Christianity and Islam have increasingly accepted the idea.

Many who accept the idea that there is no good or evil do so as an automatic rejection of standard religion they feel was crammed down their throat as a kid. Those who feel this way often accept alternative new age and eastern thought without first sifting it through the mind, applying good judgment.

Here is the essence of the teaching, which is often credited to Taoism.

All things are created from duality, which manifests as the yin and yang, light and dark, good and evil, positive and negative, male and female, hot and cold, up and down, etc. But in between the two extremes of duality, such as manifest in the wavelength, there is a point that is neither up nor down. This point existed before the universe was even manifest. It then exists during manifestation and is still there when creation disappears.

The reasoning then goes like this. Because all creation we see about us is a temporary manifestation of the Great Invisible Tao then it is all illusion. This means that all things manifested from duality do not really exist. To find the real you must find the space between the two extremes and go there in your consciousness.

Then advocates take this a step further and claim that good and evil are “two sides of the same coin” and there really isn’t any difference between the two.

This thinking can create a real problem to anyone possessed with common sense. If one believes there is no good or evil then the manifestation of that which society sees as evil is likely to cause little concern. If a new Hitler were to arise such a believer may rationalize that the guy is not evil because evil is an illusion making him no worse than a Winston Churchill. Many who incorrectly digest this philosophy therefore do not struggle for the good and fight against evil and would allow tyranny to flourish, if given the chance.

We must be open-minded here and ask – is there any truth behind this teaching? Yes, of course, there is truth behind all the teachings of the world. The key, as always, is to use good judgment and take those ingredients, which are true and put them together in a way that makes sense.

Let us look at what is true. The universe is indeed created on the principle of duality. Without the existence of positive protons and negative electrons, light and dark, heat and cold the universe indeed would not exist.

But does the universe really come from a point of nothingness? If so, how can that nothingness be acted upon to create the duality of existence? Even if the universe came from a point of nothingness you still have a duality. You have the point and then you have that force which acted upon the point causing it to vibrate into existence. That is still two things, or duality.

Let us use a guitar string to illustrate further. The string is one thing representing the foundation Tao. If we pluck it we create the illusion of three strings. If you look at the vibrating guitar string there appears to be three strings. There is one in the middle, one to the left and another to the right.

We realize that there is only one string but there is only the illusion of three strings. Now this apparent illusion of three strings from the guitar as well as the singer’s vocal chords creates some great music.

Does this mean that all music we hear is an illusion and does not really exist? Does the idea that a string is not really three, but one, mean that duality does not really exist and there is no good and evil in the universe?

Let us examine further. Yes, the guitar string is one item, but is it a line or point with no existence? No. You can touch it, pluck it or even tie up a package with it. Let us say we make the string smaller and smaller so it is thinner than a human hair. Is it still something? Yes. Now, suppose it shrinks to nothingness. Is here anything left to vibrate? No there is nothing, neither can anything act upon it. Therefore, nothing acting upon nothing does not create one string let alone the illusion of three as many believe.

Conclusion: even though the foundation of duality seems to be nothing in a state of vibration, logic tells us this cannot be the case. There is still duality. You have the invisible something as a beginning string and another something causing the string to vibrate. Our Source is not nothing, but something acting upon something.

There is some illusion within duality, but duality itself is eternal and always in play. There is that mysterious source of all substance and then the force that acts upon it. That is two things, not one.

Since duality is real then existence is real. Even when we dream we have a real experience and if life could be defined as a dream we are still having a real experience based upon a real foundation of duality.

This means that good and evil is not pure illusion but is based in reality. However, in order to correctly judge good and evil we must first understand what it is. We will cover this next.

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Is Abortion Murder?

April 24, 2014 Joseph Dewey

This entry is part 43 of 57 in the series Mysteries

Question Forty-Four

Is Abortion Murder?

In Genesis it is written:

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7

Pro choice supporters take this to support the idea that life begins at birth when the baby takes its first breath. Before that first breath they see little if anything wrong with destroying the fetus.

On the other hand, most pro lifers see the baby in the womb as a living entity. Many believe it qualifies as a human life from the point of conception. Others think it surely qualifies shortly after conception, for after a few weeks it develops a heartbeat and human features – and definitely moves around as a living being.

It is difficult to prove which side the Bible supports, for there is little in there to prove it one way or another. Those who are pro life mainly use pictures and videos of the fetus to make their case that the fetus is alive, rather than arguing from the Bible.

Now the Bible is clear on one thing. It says, “Thou shalt not kill.” The laws of all nations on earth agree with this and make it illegal for an individual to kill another human after he draws his first breath.

But the big question is this. Is it murder to destroy a fetus?

To determine the seriousness of abortion it is necessary to know when human life begins. Does it begin at the first breath, or the first movement, the first heartbeat or what? Obviously some type of life animates the fetus, but is this just an extension of the mother’s life or an entirely separate and distinct life?

Unfortunately the scriptures do not provide an answer on this and neither does current science. To find it we must look beyond the normal avenues to the “raincloud of knowable things.” Here is an answer that you can run by your own soul and judge for yourself.

The first thing that needs to be understood to accurately survey the situation is that reincarnation is a fact and we live many lives. In between lives we live in what is commonly called the spirit world. When the time comes for an entity to be born again he will often choose his parents some time before conception will occur. He or she may establish a spiritual link with the mother before conception, at conception or some time after conception. After the link is established he begins to pour part of his life essence into the fetus.

The fetus is animated by three sources. First, as an extension of the life of the mother; secondly, it draws from the universal life of God. Finally, it draws from the connecting life link of the entity who will soon occupy the body.

As the fetus develops the designated entity places more of its consciousness into it. Then at birth when the first breath is taken the consciousness becomes anchored in the body.

But, that is not the whole story. Even after birth the entity is not fully conscious in the body. A part of his consciousness is in the body and another part is still in the world of spirits. Let’s face it, it is pretty boring to be a baby and it would be uncomfortable for a fully conscious person to have to live through the first few years being so helpless and dependent on others. The entity is connected to the baby by a life thread and controls it from a distance. For 6 to 8 years he pours his consciousness into the body until be becomes self-aware. Usually around seven years of age, when he sees himself as a distinct human being and is fully aware of his actions his consciousness allocated to the new life becomes fully encased in the body until death occurs.

That said, let us get back to the main question. Is abortion murder?

Answer: Abortion of a fetus is not as serious of a moral crime as the murder of a breathing human being, but the act is usually the wrong thing to do and has negative consequences. Often the abortion frustrates the plan of the entity linked to the body. Sometimes the birth situation was exactly what he needed to right some wrongs from a previous life and he is very upset at the abortion. Then there are other times that the entity isn’t that upset and is happy to go back to the spirit world to wait for another turn at life.

And this piece of knowledge is key. That is, we have more than one shot at life. An abortion does not frustrate the plan of God and prevent a person from mortal life for all eternity. Instead, abortion merely delays the entity’s plans.

So, as usual, the answer is between the two extremes. Abortion is not in the same league as cold-blooded murder on one hand, and neither is it without consequences on the other.

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Is There Sex in the Next World?

April 16, 2014April 16, 2014 Joseph Dewey

This entry is part 42 of 57 in the series Mysteries

Question Forty-Three

Is There Sex in the Next World?

When I was a teenager some of us guys would meet on the steps of the church after the service was over and talk about whatever came to our minds. On the rare occurrences where theological doctrine was discussed this was the main question that was asked:

“I wonder if they have sex in the next world.”

We never did formulate a clear answer and since we didn’t know we figured the best thing to do was to live a long, fun and healthy life in the here and now. We all hoped that Jesus wasn’t going to show up in the clouds of heaven any time soon and force us into a sexless boring existence.

So, what is the answer to this mystery? It appears the scriptures are completely silent on this subject so they are of little assistance.

Can we have sex without a physical body? Before we tackle this it may be helpful to answer another question first. What is sex anyway?

Yes, we all know what happens in the physical act but what is the principle involved? Why is there such desire, passion and pleasure involved? Believe it or not there is an interesting clue in the Bible.

In ancient days, sexual intercourse was described in the Bible with the Hebrew word YADA, or the Greek work GINOSKO, which meant “to know”. When a man had sex with a woman, he was said to have “known” her. Here are several examples:

“Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And KNEW (GINOSKO) her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.” Matthew 1: 24-25

“And Adam KNEW (YADA) Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare Cain.” Genesis 4:1

“And Cain KNEW his wife and she conceived…” Genesis 4:17

“And Adam KNEW his wife again and she bare a son, and called his name Seth.” Genesis 4:25

This word is especially revealing when we examine it’s use in the following verse: “And this is life eternal, that they might KNOW (GINOSKO) thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3

Now this leads to a pretty amazing conclusion. Are we being told that the ultimate sexual experience is to “know” or have sex with God?

Think back to the best sexual high that you have ever had and then think back to the time that you have felt closest to God. Many people would discover similarities in the feelings associated with the two experiences. If you take out the physical desire associated with sex you will find the two experiences are astonishingly similar.

When you think of it, the core event that transpires in sex is a sharing and a transfer of energy. Beforehand, both parties are charged up in their own energy and then experience an intimate sharing. Afterwards, both of them feel a lot more balanced than before.

The ability to share energy and establish greater balance does not cease with death but this ability follows all life forms in the body and out of the body. The effect of bodily sensations is not available in the spirit world so the full power of lower desire is not there. Even so, the sharing and balancing of energy does occur.

In the lower spheres inhabitants attempt to duplicate the sexual practices they had on earth. This leaves them not fully satisfied. In the higher spheres the sharing of energy is more intense and balancing than occurs here on earth. Because physical bodies are not involved lower desire is absent and it is not considered out of order to share with anyone who is possessed with an opposite charge.

The exchange takes place much differently than sex here. The two will approach each other and merely focus on sharing their energy. As it is shared they “know” each other very intimately and reach a spiritual high that goes beyond our sexual experiences here. Because it is not a carnal experience it is no more out of order there than two people merely sharing a glass of wine together here.

For the good people of the earth there is much to look forward to whether they be in the body or out of the body.

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Is There Marriage After Death?

April 15, 2014 Joseph Dewey

This entry is part 41 of 57 in the series Mysteries

Question Forty-Two

Is There Marriage After Death?

This is a question many have wondered about for ages. In fact, it was on the minds of some who questioned Jesus as follows.

“The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.

“Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.”Matt 22:23-30

That seems like a pretty cut and dry answer. On the other hand, a lot of people who feel they have found their soul mate are not satisfied with it. They want to continue their marriage into the next world. Would God prohibit such a thing and why would He?

Jesus made two perplexing statements in his answer,

(1) “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures.”

This was a strange thing to say for there is nothing in the known scriptures about marriage in the next world. How could they error because of the scriptures when the scriptures available were silent on the subject?

(2) They erred also in not knowing “the power of God.”

This is an even stranger statement. It sounds as if he is saying that people cannot be married because God is limited in power and cannot make it so. What other reason would he make this statement in correcting their views on marriage in the next world?

They were assuming God had power to continue a marriage in the next world and Jesus said no because of “the power of God” involved in the matter.

Because of these two confusing points I would say it is entirely possible that we do not have the accurate words of Jesus on the matter, or at the least, incomplete words.

The Mormons have an interesting twist on this. They point out that Jesus is saying that people are not given in marriage in the next world but claim that a marriage in this world done by the right authority can be extended to the next. This has proven to be a popular doctrine with them as a lot of people like the idea of continuing their relationships.

So, what is the truth of the matter here? When you die and meet your soul mate is he or she going to tell you something like, “Sorry, we can’t be mates here. It’s against the law.”

Not exactly. The first ting to realize as we look toward life beyond the physical realm is we continue to have our free agency. No matter where we are, whether in this world or the next, we maintain our power of decision and can make any choice we want that lies within our power to make.

So if you die and meet your mate, who preceded you, then what is to stop you two from declaring, “We are still married and are going to continue our relationship.”

There is nothing to stop you except your own free will.

So would you, of your own free will dissolve the marriage relationship?

Let us take a look at the afterlife and see.

The first principle that we must keep in mind that is effective there is this. Entrance into the spirit world is like a new birth similar to our entrance into this one. Your birth here was not your beginning but you have lived many physical lives before this in addition to many lives in the spirit world.

As you grew up you found that you were not bound by any agreement you made before birth but were making a fresh start and could chose whatever you wanted without feeling bound by some previous oath.

The same thing happens to us when we enter the next world. When we adapt there we realize that we are not bound by any agreement that we made on earth. If we were, a lot of our progression and restoration of old relationships could be hindered.

Because you have lived many physical lives you have been married many times to many individuals. You have also been incarnated as both male and female at different times so you have had past spouses of both sexes.

So, after death, you may not only be greeted by your spouse who recently died, but you may be greeted by a half dozen people with whom you have been married to at one time or another.

Remember there are many mansions there. There is something for everyone. The lower spheres are a lot like physical earth life and some go to temporary locations where they simulate earth life and will attempt to live with a past spouse as a married couple. These people have not yet recovered their memories of past relationships.

Those who are more aware will unite with their soul group with whom they will work on various projects. The latest spouse may or may not be in the soul group, depending on how close they are in spiritual evolution. If your spouse is in a different soul group you will still be able to associate with him or her if desired.

Because entities there can assume any form they wish some assume a male form, others female and others a neutral form or merely project as energy. Because of this and the reuniting with the soul group, which is a closer relationship than earth marriage, regular marriage just doesn’t attract much interest there. This is especially true as one moves beyond the mindset of earth life and adapts to the new surroundings and intimate relationships with old friends.

In the end, whether or not we are married in the next world, or the one after depends on how one defines marriage. Marriage, as it exists on the earth plane, does not exist in the higher worlds, but close relationships do exist. In fact they are much more intimate than they are here and that intimacy is not limited to one person. You will share with more intensity with all members of your soul group than does the happiest married couple on earth.

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