Life Matters, E.C.Nemeth [robert munsch read aloud .TXT] 📗

As such, they are fabrications. They are both only as real as we believe them to be. It is our faith in heaven and hell that give them substance. Beyond our faith, they have no reality. Although this might seem to be a radical statement, under closer inspection it will become clear that it is also quite accurate.
What is heaven? There are as many answers to that question as there are sentient beings. It is a very personal understanding that paints a picture of heaven in the mind of an individual. Asked to describe their personal view of heaven the individual will most likely have difficulty keeping the description coherent. The reason for this difficulty is because a coherent picture of heaven requires an equally coherent view of current reality. But our modern view of reality is so confusing and contradictory that no logic can perch atop it long enough to reach beyond it. So heaven becomes a place of mystery that can only be said to have vague properties, and its description must by default be limited to generalities.
This same argument holds for the concept of hell.
Here’s the crux of the matter: if you cannot conceive of a thing, you cannot perceive it either. If the description of heaven or hell cannot be specific enough to “flesh out” the idea it cannot be made manifest.
That's just another way of saying that heaven and hell are merely ideals we aspire to but can never reach in this world. We believe we live in a world that somehow lies between the concepts of heaven and hell. We believe the world we live in displays properties of both to varying degrees and that it is up to the individual to decide how much of each they see. Yet, as we have seen, heaven and hell are mutually exclusive and cannot share reality. Therefore, in direct contradiction to the truth as we have just learned it, this world must be either heaven or hell because, in fact, there is no other alternative. The only other alternative would be that we exist in limbo, which is as vague a concept as can be imagined. As ideals, heaven and hell serve no purpose but if one or the other is our reality then that means we decide and we control its manifestation.
The concept of purgatory was invented to keep that awareness from reaching our minds. So long as we believe we are alive to wrestle with our demons, so to speak, until we die and then we go to heaven or hell depending on how well we did in life, we will never understand our predicament. Purgatory is a sham. We are not here to try and correct our flawed beings. We are not here to try and be good and to not be bad. That is a preposterous idea. It makes our parents and our environment culpable. The degree to which we can succeed in being good would depend on our lot in life. So, then, we would not be in control of our own success in the endeavor. That is the intent of the concept of purgatory . Those who believe we live in a kind of purgatory to atone for our sins have given their personal authority in the matter over to others. And as we have seen, those who do not hold on to their authority cannot heal themselves. And the authorities that think for them maintain that healing can only be attained after death, thus keeping the reigns of power firmly in their hands. To keep us under control is the true purpose of the concept of purgatory.
We have been deceived. This reality is either heaven or hell, depending upon what you want to see. If you are not at peace you are in hell. If you see only love and peace then you are in heaven. Make no mistake about this. We make our own decisions in this regard and there are only two options to choose from. Remember this: every moment a new choice is made to see either heaven or hell.
If we truly believed that this was the game, how long do you think it would take to choose heaven?
But we do not believe it, not really, do we?
Everything we think we understand comes from our belief in the three-dimensional universe, the outside world of our experience. But we do have an inside world as well, and it is not only blood and bones in there. Our inside universe is just as vast and marvelous. It has just as many wonderful mysteries and incredible discoveries still awaiting our serious attention. How could it be otherwise? We are the division of inside and outside. We keep them from crashing back together again, as they really always are. We therefore stand at the point of creation. And from our minds we extend reality to All around us. The intersection of the extension from The One Mind with our own is our reality. This idea has no inside or outside, it merely encompasses and enfolds and includes. Reality is not three-dimensional it is simply, ONE.
For this reason, what we think we know is in error. If our entire understanding is in error then we’d better correct it by going to our Source for the answers. Who else can we trust? Who could be closer? Who would know us better?
How hard can it be?
The fear of God
To reason is to accept limits imposed by perceived laws based upon the belief in a universe composed of solid matter. Along this line then: logic is based on the understanding of good and evil and the fact that there are no laws or limits because the universe of solid matter is an illusion. The perception of solid matter is a mistake that is based on false assumptions accepted as truth. Reasoning employs a limited logic that follows behind the reasoning instead of preceding it. But the reasoning thrusts this logic of laws forward in extrapolation, intent upon proving a pre-determined premise. Thus, reasoning is constantly testing the veracity of the logic it employs and must remain unsure - of anything. Reasoning is arrogance and, as currently employed, ego based.
The Chart of Reality depicts this distinction on the sixth line of creation, called concept. Logic is the last word, at the very bottom, right hand corner of the list of forty-two words. Notice the arrow below it points to the italicized word, unity. This denotes that logic thus employed corrects the error at its Source and unifies the disparate parts of perception.
The concepts of good and evil are very heavy. They are massive in terms of their repercussions. This is the source of all our doubt and fear. We think we have willingly handed over our communication devices with which we can hear the Voice for God. That communication device is our free will. With our free wills went our memory of an ancient story. That story is about creation as it really happened. If you don’t remember, just recall this part: the Source gave everything to you. You are therefore, God! But that is only the nice part because a problem results. If you are the Source, well, we know what you are going to do already, don’t we? You are going to create a being by giving that being everything! And the fear of doing just that is what has caused you to invent this insanity to escape it. Why? Because to give another everything means you have nothing left and cease to exist! It matters not that the other, now being the Source, will create you again or that it is a never ending cycle, willed by both in utter joy and trust. This is the thing we fear. And it certainly is heavy.
Reality, as it was created by God, requires complete faith in another. It asks for only what is your will, since you are One in truth with the Source itself. God is good because God gave everything to you. You believe you are evil because you won’t. This might be true if you didn’t, but you will. The fact is you already have given completely many, many times. For you are The Source of God! Having given, you have received in equal measure. This is your love for God realized.
The realization of your Love for God is the accomplishment of atonement. To atone is to remember your love for the Source, which is you. To love yourself you must already love every other in recognition of their Source, being one and the same. The other is you, because you are the Source, given and received. This is your extension, your creation. This is your joy. This is how much you love your life. You would give it all in order to receive it all, again and again, in endless joy! You love God completely for this gift.
And you trust your Source implicitly. How could it be otherwise? To trust is beyond faith, which but leads to its certainty. Within this trust is your free will. With your personal authority reestablished you can again have ears that hear and eyes that see. The Voice for God is your own voice, liberated.
Such logic precedes the faculty of reasoning and directs it unerringly toward truth.
Such logic extends from those who know they are in heaven, on earth.
Good luck!
We will now take another look at the instants of creation to pick up the last thread of discussion left to us before truth can return. This book has twelve chapters because there are twelve instants of creation. The one that corresponds to this chapter is the eleventh. That instant contains only two words, reason and fortune. Reason has been dealt with. The final word is fortune, or luck.
The short description of luck is the subjective reality experienced by the individual. The luck of the individual is only what is expected by the individual. Although this may seem fairly obvious in subjective terms, its objective ramifications are often overlooked, or perhaps to put it more succinctly, they are obvious. It matters not at all what the individual thinks of their luck, it is their reality, like it or not.
In our world there is no solid case for making your own luck by changing your thoughts and attitudes. In our contemporary world view luck is an afterthought, a decision about circumstances that just are. The luck involved is only a haphazard and completely impersonal happening. It is not luck at all but simply the next moment of reality. The winning of the lottery is a supreme example of this idea. You pay your dollar and you take your chances. Whether you win or not has no bearing at all upon your attitude.
Often, a person who has what they and others consider good luck will explain it was really hard work that got them their fortuitous circumstances. There can be no other reason for it, really. In retrospect it seems obvious that the key moments where lady luck seemed to smile on them was nothing more than having worked hard to arrive at those key moments in the first place.
The answer given by those that seem to be haunted by bad luck is always filled with external contingencies they had no control over. The reasons may be varied and diverse but the underlying theme is identical - something held them back. It could have been an illness, a bad law, lousy timing or any of a myriad of excuses that places the blame outside the control of the individual so afflicted.
That is why luck seems to be completely random and impersonal. If by chance a person has good luck they will ascribe it to their own efforts. If a person has bad luck