The Free Will
In this world, many of us tend to mistake free will with freedom. But, is it true that free will equals freedom?
Well. To start up, free will is a trial given to the spirit of the son by his Father.
“Free will and the influence of the flesh are the trials to which your spirit is subject to”, confirms our Father in His Teachings of this Era.
What is the use of having been granted with the free will?
Obviously not to have used it in such a way to have become prisoners, but on the contrary, to make us masters of our own selves.
“If I granted the spirit with free will, is for the spirit to have its own disposition and in turn feel the master of its own life, of its acts and to be similar to Me”. God says.
We cannot be similar to God if we are slaves, if we are not the masters of our own lives, masters of our own actions…but we know that the true resemblance with God is within the spirit, not within the flesh. And God clearly explains it to us when He says:
-“Within your spirit there is intelligence, sensibility and grace. Then manifest these attributes through the flesh which God has entrusted you with, do not say your flesh is imperfect, stubborn or incomprehensible, that it does not know how to listen the voice of your conscience and is willing to be directed only by the free will. No, it is not like this, you are the spirit and the guide, and you are in charge of taking care of the flesh and preparing it to become an obedient device for the spirit, a kind intermediary of the spiritual feelings and gifts that dwell in each one of you”.
This concept has been repeated several times in many Teachings by the Father, the concept that it is the conscience in the spirit that should guide the man and the woman in their path through life. And it is not to the flesh that has been given such a responsibility. When men die the flesh remains in the Earth, and it is the spirit who has to present itself to the Father and account for its actions and deeds. When the spirit is defeated and enslaved by the flesh, that spirit completely looses its freedom, not only the spiritual one but the moral one as well, because it refuses to listen to the voice of the conscience, and
which other thing can the conscience dictate but the fulfillment of the Divine Laws?
God says: “As I did over all the gifts, I have also placed over the free will the conscience, so while it enlightening you, it will also guide you to develop these gifts and to take them to perfection”.
The indiscriminate use of the free will instead of approaching you to freedom it puts you farther away from it”.
“As human beings have misused the free will, they have fallen victims to vices; for misusing the free will they have sinned in a despicable manner; well then, for the virtue of the free will, but now enlightened by the conscience, they will have to go back, step by step, over that path that has taken them to the abyss”.
To finish I invite you to think about this overwhelming phrase from one of the Teachings of the Divine Master, in its briefness it contains a whole teaching that if it were follow it would bring happiness to men and women even in this world:
-“Put your free will under the control of My Law and your conscience, and you will never feel a slave but you will truly be free.”
About the Suicidal
It is important to begin the analysis of this theme by understanding that not only those who decide to take their lives in a violent manner in a moment of disturbance, are suicidal. Suicidal are also those who are slowly terminating their lives as a result of a vice; or those who instead of living in harmony and peace with other mortals decide to break the law and provoke violence in their path; suicidal are also those that have the means, but do not take care of their bodies, or those that in the search of strong emotions, expose their lives constantly to danger. Suicidal are those that without respect break nature’s laws, or those that promote wars and weapons. Those that enjoy to excess themselves, and those who wrapped in a whirpool of materialism allow themselves to be dragged by tension, hurry and problems, are suicidal as well.
In the Third Testament, in a paragraph corresponding to the Album of Wisdom, our Father has told us:
Where does that urge come from man to live in that constant danger? Why is it that some do not become aware of the wonderful opportunity that life is? What takes some beings to perpetrate to themselves the end of their existence? Those who attempt against their own lives, or against the life of someone else, are those that do not live in spirituality, those who lack true faith, of the recognition of the Divine laws; those that did not penetrate in the justice that the law of restituition contains, and the love that motivates the marvelous law of reincarnation. The lack of knowledge of these truths allows that men sometimes ignore the emptiness of their existence.
Our celestial Father states:
“How many make their lives full of suffering due to lack of spiritual faith, because they think that the physical world is the only one that exists, and doubt that there is a spirit, because for them its existence has not been proven. These and some other sad reflections take them to desperation and even to death”. T186:42
“Never feel alone and do not attempt against your life, because your days are also counted by the Father”. T 147:18.
What happens to those that decide to cut off the thread of existence? Many years ago, being an adolecent, I lived a very painful experience which led me to want to know more about all of this. At seventeen, my friend Michael took his life without me being able to understand at that time what had happened. The only thing that I knew was that Michael was going through a difficult moment. His father had discovered that he failed many subjects, and his mother received a call to advise her that his son and his friends had stolen a cassette player, and in that same period he had broken up with his high school girlfiend. That day, when I saw that he did not go to school, after classes I went to his home to see why he had not assisted. Upon arriving, I saw many police cars that were outside his house; in the garden was Michael’s lifeless body covered by a sheet. He had shot himself in the head with his father’s pistol. His mother was sitting on the bench in the garden, her hair had gone grey in a matter of hours, and on the other side his father was crying. Suddenly, his older brother Andy approached me, and crying told me: ” If someone would have been with him, he would not have committed suicide.”
This did not serve as a consolation to me. To the contrary, it made me become aware of the emptiness and tremendous solitude that he probably had felt at that moment in which he probably seeked answers without finding them. Since then, one of the things that I have always wanted is to find the answers for him; when suddenly before my eyes appeared this marvelous truth which is this Divine Word. Through it, I have been able to find the replies to my questions, and often at the beginning while I analyzed and begun to understand, I remembered Michael and thought that if he would have known and seen this light, he would not have taken his life. Afterwards, as time has gone by and this knowledge has become greater and clearer to me, I realized that the truth which he did not find at that time is now his, because the spirit does not die and life continues, the experiences are infinite, and the opportunities as well, and the love of our Father is absolute.
So many things can go through the mind of a suicidal person at the crucial moment: the fear of facing the problems, the feeling of being tired to keep on going, the inability to understand the tests being faced, the disappointment in oneself, not being able to find solutions, lack of faith, not being conscious of the existence of something else; in the end, there could be so many reasons, but I believe that one of the most important ones that the suicidal finds to end his existence, is that he thinks that at the moment that he cuts the thread connecting his life, he will end all pain, the tests will discontinue, or imply, it will be the end.
Sad error, because the spirit does not die. The spirit, same as our Creator’s is inmortal. What happens then to those that have taken their lives? Our Father explains:
“The spirit which returns from earth to the spiritual valley, bringing impressed upon itself the fatigue of the flesh, and arrives seeking the beyond as a resting place, where to sink in the forgotten, to erase traces of the struggle, such spirit will have to feel as the most unfortunate, and will not find peace or happiness until he wakes up from its lethargy, until he emerges from his error, and rises to the spiritual life which is, as I have told you before, love, work, the continued struggle in the path which conducts to perfection”. T 317:14
“All of you have come to a new encarnation, and the pain which you take is so great that you ask Me to put an end to your existence; but I ask you: Don’t you know that you cannot stop existing, and that if today you suffer on earth, upon your spirit passing on to the spiritual valley, will continue to live under the same test until settling his debts and learning his lesson?” T 103:15.
“Many of you wish to die because you find yourselves tired and without ideals on earth. It is certain that the body’s death is the rebirth for the spirit, but the body which you occupy serves to purify you”. T146:32.
Of what purification does our Father speak of? Of the one which in absolute justice we have to live to repair and restitute all of those errors which the spirit has been accumulating in all of its different reencarnations which are perfect opportunities that God, in his infinite love, has given mankind to be able to learn, to evolve, and to restitute his faults. That is why every existence of a spirit in a body is a unique opportunity to settle accounts, which must not be wasted. When man does not know of these things, he becomes a coward, confused, and loses his calm; does not feel with the strength to cope with pain. But, when the spirit is conscious of that new opportunity, finds in the love towards his Lord the strength and faith needed to pass the test.
“If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, Till my change come”. Job 14:14
“Meet with your fate; do not wish to return to Me without having first gone through the path which I have pointed out to you because you would have the pain to contemplate stains in your spirit which it did not have a chance to clense, because it had not reached the end of its restitution. Reencarnations have passed over you and many have not appreciated the infinite grace and the love that in them, the Father has conceded to you. Understand that while the greater the number of opportunities, the larger your responsibility will be, and if these opportunities are not taken advantage of, that will be the bundle whose unsupportable weight will not be understood by many beings, and only My Doctrine can reveal to you.” T 67:46
“Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron. …He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder”. Psalm 107:10,14
Many have believed that those which attempt against their own lives do not have divine forgiveness. Could it be true that they do not have a right to a new opportunity? If divine love does not have limits, could there be anyone who could not be saved? As always, the divine word comes to us to clarify our doubts:
“In this Third era, I have exited the tomb of the forgotten in which humanity has kept Me to resuscitate it, because I am life. Nobody can die, even he who tears out his existence by his own hand will hear that his conscience will claim his lack of faith”. T 52:63
Brethren: The knowledge that day by day the divine word enlightens us should help to sensibilize our spirit to be alert and watchful, to be able to help those who need of us a word of consolation, or advice which can result in helping to take away from his or her mind those ideas that in a moment of desperation and profound confusion could convert a human being into a suicidal. Let us also watch our own existence and give to our spirit, as well as our body, the food which they need and the appropiate means required to be able to reach the end of this existence, when the will of our celestial Father has marked the hour.
“When this divine revelation is rightly interpreted by all, there will no longer be suicides and homicides, noone will take his life, and even less the life of his fellowman, man will have ample knowledge of all his acts.” T 316:23
Does Hell Exist?
In order to be able to reply to this question, we need to first review a bit of history that will lead us to understand better as to where did the concept of the “eternal punishment” originate.
If we analyze the Old Testament, we can come to understand that in it there is not even one mention that refers to hell; in that First Testament the word Seol or Sheol appears, but it has nothing to do with the concept of hell which surged long after. In this concept, fire and eternal condemnation are not implicit, it simply refers to the place or mansion of all the dead. Jacob says in Genesis 37:35, when he thought that his son Joseph had died: “…I will go down into the grave (Sheol) unto my son mourning”. And in Isaiah 38:10, Hez-e-ki’ah king of Judah says: “…In the cutting of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave (Sheol); I am deprived of the residue of my years”. In chapter 14, verses 9 and 11, Isaiah states against the king of Babilonia “…Hell (Sheol) from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee…” “…Thy pomp is brought down to the grave (Sheol), and the noise of thy viols; the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee“.
The word sheol, comes from Hebrew “Shael” which means: To self examine, inquire or interrogate, that is: To reflect. This means that the old concept which existed regarding sheol was not of the eternal punishment, but simply the place where the dead awaited or entered into reflection.
Various other verses also exist that demostrate that not only was sheol seen as the place for the dead to rest and await, but there were also some that thought that those alive could also arrive there. Such as in Psalm of David 16:9,10 that states: “…my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (Sheol)…“.
Or verse 16:30 of Numbers: “…But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit (Sheol)…“.
Upon the Septuagint being translated to Greek in Alexandria, between the years 250 and 100 A.C.. the word “Hades” appears for the first time instead of the word “sheol”, which according to the Helenic tradition it was a place underneath. It was the concept of a hole, grave or pit. Hades comes from ” alpha” and “eido” that in this concept means “nothing” and “to know” , which together means to know nothing, to ignore; in other words to be in darkness. This is the closest concept that the group of 70 found to
translate to Greek what the word Sheol signified.
Once paganism entered Israel through the idolatrous kings, in the valley of Hinnom also known as Ge Hinnom, these pagan kings started to perform human sacrifices, which consisted of burning in large bonfires their first born in honor of their god Mo’lech Leviticus 18:21; 20:2-5; 2 Kings 23:10). These inhuman acts influenced in giving the valley of Ge Hinnom the concept of a terrible, filthy place.
With the arrival of the second era, in the Second Testament the concept of the ravine appears to burn impure things, and similar to the people of Israel in the dessert, the custom of using that ravine is adopted to burn the garbage. These places, in rememberance of the human sacrifices that were effected in the valley of Ge Hinnom,
were named “Gehenna”. In that manner, when one wished to speak of a place that
corresponded to all that was impure, one referred to Gehenna.
The erroneous analysis of such phrases as this one makes the concept of “fire” surge as being the means of punishment for the bad deeds or sins performed by humans.
“…for He is like a refinerïs fire, and like fullers soap” Malachi 3:2.
“I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? Luke 12:49.
“…and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable” Luke 3:17.
“Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” Matthew 7:19.
“And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire…” Jude 23.
What is the real meaning of fire in this and various other passages of the First and Second Testaments? In order to understand, we must go to the nature of things: Which are the properties of fire? What happens when we subject something to this element? Fire consumes and purifies everything that it touches, but does that fire which the Scriptures talk about, does it act upon the spirit or the matter? Is it true that the fire punishes the human sins? Let us see what our Celestial Father tells us about this in the Third Testament:
And, if you believe that what is called eternal fire is not for the body, but rather for the spirit, that is another error, because in the spiritual kingdom, material elements do not exist, and fire has no bearing on the spirit. Whatever sprouts from matter, matter it is;
whatever sprouts from the spirit, spirit it is. Third Testament. Teaching 352:45,46.
Then, what does the allegory of fire symbolize in the Scriptures? Could there be then another type of fire, different from the one we know?
“When the conscience of a sinner is able to separate the spirit from its materialism, and points out its errors, the understanding of its ingratitude will cause repentment and the shame suffered will be so intense, that it will seem weak next to it, the false idea of material fire as a purifying element of the spirit. Teaching 76:38 (ditto)
“Conscience is the light of God, and that light is fire of love that consumes all impurity. Therein the fire that smelts the new spirt, to rise again full of light. Teaching 76.39. Third Testament.
When we understand all of this in a spiritual manner, and learn that the fire referred to in the Scriptures is in reality the conscience, that voice of God that sooner or later acts as a purifying fire in the spirit, we can then also understand those verses of the First Testament which state:
“Is not my word like as a fire? Saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” Jeremiah 23:29
Fine, now that we have analysed were the concept of fire surged, let us now seek the origin of the concept of “Hell”.
The word “Inferno” comes from the Latin word “Infernus” which means “Inferior”. This word appeared in the Scriptures when the Latin version called “Vulgata” was made in the fourth century A.C. The translation was made by he who was known as “Saint Gerome”, who together with his assistants decided that the word “Inferno” or “Infierno” (“Hell” in English language), was what best united in one, all the other concepts, that is Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, etc. La Vulgata was imposed over time over all the other Latin
translations, and in the year 1546, the Council of Trent proclaimed it as the official version of the Catholic Church.
That is how various different concepts were united in only one new concept. Sheol and Hades ceased being a place for the “dead” to wait, reflect, or rest, and Gehenna the ravine to burn garbage. Together they were converted to “Inferno” or “Hell”.
The most important truth that we found in this analysis is: That the symbol of fire in the Scriptures, is the symbol of purification and repentment of the spirit upon comfronting its own conscience; that the inferno or hell as such, as a place of eternal condemnation where fire will make sure to punish all sinners for all time to come, does not exist, because what is sentenced to eternal condemnation is sin, not the sinner (Revelation 19:10). This has always been known:
“…And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand…” Isaiah 28:18.
“… And I say also unto thee, that thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. Matthew 16:18
What our Celestial Father has revealed about hell to us in this era are concrete reasons which allow us to become aware of our lack of analysis and mistakes. Consider the following Teachings from the Third Testament. Album of Wisdom:
Did I not explain to you that God’s greatest attribute is love? Would you not believe then that an eternal torment would be an absolute negation of the Divine attribute, of eternal love? Teaching 164:34
I did not form death or hell, because My Spirit, upon conceiving the idea of the Creation, I only felt love and from deep within Me, only life sprouted; if death and hell existed, they would have to be human deeds since they are small, and you already know that nothing human is eternal. Teaching 303:42
What value would My Law and My Doctrine have if they where not capable of saving spirits from error and sin? And what purpose would My presence as man on earth have had if they were going to be many who would be lost forever in an expiation without an end? Teaching 352:48
Why condemn man to extermination or to eternal pain when his sin is only temporary and the product of his ignorance? Why condemn a being which within carries My own Divine essence?” Teaching 297:10.
Did you ever stop to think whether it could be possible for a place to exist where there would be more pain and destruction than in our own planet? Could it be possible that another place could exist where death, sickness, poverty and hatred could prevail more than in this, our earthly inferno? Why would God have to bother to create an inferno, if we have already taken the time to create one”made to order”, in accordance with our lack of compliance with the Divine Laws?
There are those that think that with corporal death comes the spirit’s rest, and others who think that upon desincarnating, because of the sins committed,they must go straight to hell, or some other place to pay for their sins. What happens when a spirit desincarnates having these ideas? Or as a rebel becomes confused and does not accept that his time in that body has terminated? What happens when upon leading a life without control and full of faults to the Law, the spirit disencarnates in a violent manner, or commits suicide? Or, what about those that simply do not know what to expect?
In the movie “What Dreams May Come” the author makes an interesting proposal to this respect, basing himself in certain texts of the English version of the Third Testament, when he describes that upon disencarnation each spirit creates his own hell or place for expiation, depending on his beliefs and practices; in accordance with the light or confusion that exist in him, depending on his errors and on his right deeds. What has our Eternal Father revealed to us regarding all these doubts?
within, the inferno of his remorse which will burn him until he is purified. Teaching52:33.
“What men call glory or hell, are not determined places. It is the essence of your deeds which your spirit picks up when arriving at the spiritual valley. Each one lives his inferno, inhabits his world of expiation, or enjoys the beatitude derived from elevation and the harmony with the Divine Spirit. Teaching11:56. Third Testament.
Forgiveness
In the 1970’s, with the movie Love Story, actress Ali McGraw put into fashion a sentence which stated: “Love is never having to say I am sorry”. And really, if the love of those beings which populate this planet would be true, we would never have to ask for forgiveness. But, since we have not yet understood the true meaning of “Love one another”, we live in a world where we would constantly have to ask for forgiveness, and I mean “we would constantly have to” because unfortunately the human being in most cases upon committing an error, does not want to recognize it, and if he does, refuses the humiliation of having to ask for forgiveness. In the same manner, he who has been offended or grieved, often refuses to forgive.
And the question arises: What is more difficult, to ask for forgiveness or to forgive? What is it that leads us in one case or the other not to put into practice the greatest example of love and humility that human kind has received through the Divine Master? He who, being at the cross, and after having been mocked and tortured, elevating a prayer to the skies said: “Father forgive them, as they do not know what they do”. Once again, as always in our history, what continues to be causing our being lost is our lack of love, and our enormous arrogance.
Could it be that we have not become tired of seeing around us repetedly, time and time again, the consequences due to lack of forgiveness? Have we not seen complete towns exterminated by their own inhabitants due to family feuds which had never been forgiven, and that have been passed on from generation to generation as if it was a hereditary illness between parents and their children? Are we not seeing currently entire nations which have been converted into infernos of hatred and destruction due to the lack of forgiveness?
It is sad to see that after so many centuries, humanity has not comprehended that at the end, the one who survived is not the arrogant, but rather the humble. In this world in which the meek and humble are categorized under subservience, stupidity or cowardness, history has not stopped yielding testimony that in its memory, the greatest, the most remembered and written about, the most followed, have been those which have left on earth an example of kindness, forgiveness, simplicity and humility. True strength lies in love, in understanding that those who recognize an error, are not humiliating themselves before the eyes of the world, but rather to the contrary, are being greater before the eyes of God.
We should not see forgiveness as a mystic act, as something that requires from us a super human effort, but as a natural act, because having our spirit sprouted from the eternal forgiveness which is the Divinity, to us forgiveness should be part of our nature.
Peter asked the Divine Master during the second era: “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven?” And the Divine Master replied: “I do not say on to you up to seven, but even up to seventy times seven” ( Mathew 18:21; Luke 17:3-4).
What did the Lord mean with His answer? Very simple, He wanted to say that for forgiveness there is no limit, that we have to forgive always and as many times as it is necessary. Each one of us has been forgiven by our Father as many times as we have required, throughout our long existence as spirits, regardless of the caliber of our faults, no matter how often the sin was committed. Our forgiveness has been infinite as is the love of our Father. And to think that there have been such terrible faults that should not reach or deserve the Divine fogiveness, is to believe in a limited and small god whose love is not sufficiently great or powerful to save he who has sinned, and this is impossible.
The most palpable proof of the Divine love, the greatest of all, is the marvelous law of the reencarnation, the one which gives the spirit the opportunity to return as many times as necessary so that it can restitute and settle the outstanding bundles of faults thatwere accumulated during its existence, and as such move forward in the path of evolution and spiritual regeneration.
It is important to make this last point very clear, because we do not doubt that there may be many who upon reading this page may think that if God really forgives everything, it does not matter what bad deeds we make, if we shall always be forgiven; Likewise, we also know that many believe that it is enough to repent at the last minute to reach Divine forgiveness and be absolved of all guilt. This is a big error; because same as the Divine forgiveness exists, Divine justice also exists, and the later one is inexorable. That is to say, that although it is a fact that we are infinetely forgiven, it does not free us from the responsibility that we have with our bretheren to restitute with love and goodness all the bad things that we may have caused them; moreover, the more errors that we commit, the harder that it will become to settle accounts, suffering will always increment, and restitution will be more painful.
Our Father says:
Well, we have spoken of those that because of the committed faults need to be forgiven; But, how about those that have been offended and need to grant forgiveness? Our Father, upon speaking to us about them has stated that He could divide them in three groups: The first is formed by those that having received an offense, not knowing how to contain themselves, and forgetting the Divine teachings, have become blindly angered and obtained vengence blow by blow; this group has allowed itself to be defeated by temptation and is a slave to its passions.
The second group is formed by those that upon being offended, remembering the example of the Divine Master, shut their lips and contain their impulses to say: ” Lord, They have offended me, but instead of seeking revenge, I have forgiven.” But, in the bottom of their hearts, they hold a silent grudge, and the wish that God takes revenge upon their aggressors, discharging upon them all His justice; this group is in the midst of their struggle.
The third group, the smallest, consists of those that imitating Jesus, upon being offended, elevate towards their Father, full of mercy for their brethren, to say: ” Lord, forgive them, for they do not know what they do”; and even though they have been hurt, in their prayer they ask for mercy for their aggressors, because they know that in reality, they have hurt themselves, and only wish them well; this group, according to our Father, is triumphant in the test.
To which group does each one of us belong to? Are we those that return offense for offense, blow for blow? ; Of those that without returning the offense, expect to be revenged, or are we those that by placing the other cheek ask our Father to enlighten those who have offended us? The reply to these questions is within ourselves, and the only way to know, is to face ourselves with the light of our conscience. What we know, at least those who have the priviledge of knowing this Divine teaching, is that forgiveness does not stem from forgetfulness, because if we would forget about the offenses of our brethren, what would we then have to forgive them about? In order to forgive and to ask for forgiveness, it is indispensable to put yourself in the other’s place, because as long as we do not feel our brethren closely, we shall not ever understand the reasons of the offender or feel the pain of the offended. It is also necessary to fight against our own arrogance, because as long as we do not defeat it, we shall continue to first put our low passions that impede us from knowing truth , before true love which is the fountain of forgiveness.
He, who after having been offended does not accept his brother’s petition for forgiveness, is being as guilty and sinful as the one who offended him. The practice of forgiveness leaves in its way, undescribable fruits of sweetness; it reconciles us, it frees us, it resucitates and saves us.
Life After Life
What will we find at the other side of the tunnel? What do we know about the “beyond”? What does man know about what exists after this life?
There are so many theories about life after this life, and so much has been dogmatized about it that when the spirit after disencarnating expects to find exactly the place that it had imagined, depending on his current of thought or beliefs, it becomes confused when it does not find what in his concept should have been heaven, or the place of eternal rest. In the teachings which our Father has come to give us in this third epoch, He reveals that those spirits which have become confused due to their erroneous concept of the spiritual valley, upon not finding what they expected, and upon missing support of their accustomed matter, and without the sufficient preparation and spiritual elevation to leave the material valley, have created for themselves, without being aware, a world which is neither human nor profoundly spiritual in which they will remain until slowly, through meditation and pain will be able to comprehend that such is not the destined place for the evolution of their spirit. Then they will hear the voice of their conscience, and before it judge their past deeds, and surge within them the desire to repair their errors. It shall then be the beginnig of a return journey to the spiritual valley.
“Heaven is not a place, or a region, or a mansion; the heaven
of a spirit is its elevation and perfection, it is its state
of purity.” Third Testament. T 146:68
To those who believe that upon disencarnating their spirit will arrive to the valley of eternal rest, we have the obligation to tell them that in the spiritual valley is where the activity really begins, because inactivity is like death to the spirit. The “rest” which awaits the spirit is activity, growth through good deeds, not wasting one instant. When the spirit is working, it finds the true manner to rest, because by doing good things it unloads pain and remorse ; in other words, the spirit’s rest is the love for his Father and brethren.
Our Father says:
“In truth I tell you that if I would make your spirit remain inactive in order to rest, according to how you conceive rest on earth, the darkness of despair and anguish would possess him, because life and light of the spirit, as well as its major delight, are work, struggle and the unceasing activity.” The Third Testament. T 317:13
Let us then not expect to find a “beyond” different from that which really exists. Our spirit could swiftly arrive to it, if we understand it, and if we prepare ourselves so that when the moment of disencarnation arrives, our spirit can find itself enlightened to make its return journey to its real or true home.
“When death detains your heart beat and the light from your pupils are turned out, you will go to awaken to a marvelous world due to its harmony, order and justice.
“Your conscience which is above your being will not remain on earth, but it will come with the spirit to show itself before him as if a book of profound and wise lessons that will be studied by the spirit. There your spiritual eyes will open to the truth, and in an instant you will know how to interpret what in a whole life time you could not understand; there you will understand the value of all that you had possessed, you will experience the weight and repentment for all the committed errors, for the lost time, and within you will be born the most beautiful purposes of amendment and reparation.
“Comply with all My laws on earth, and you need not fear your arrival to the hereafter; In the same manner that you have seen the light of the world upon arriving, and as you have felt the presence of your parents, you will feel the presence of your Lord in that valley that awaits your return.” Third Testament T 170:47; 62:5; 125:59
The Lessons of Life
All divine teachings elevate us, sometimes to realms still unexplored for us and sometimes to the upper stages of our humanity.
Is in the latter when we find, in the Third Testament’s Master teachings contained in what the Lord calls His Album of Wisdom, the excellency in the explanation of our human journey through life.
The choir in the beautiful music background for this videoclip uses glossolalia (harmonius & euphonic vocal sounds with no specific meaning in any particular language).
The Purpose of Human Life
What is the purpose for the human life existence? What is the reason for it? We could start by looking at this:
“Life is a constant lesson for the spirits. The universe, on being formed under My mandate, had no other mission but to teach.
“Life is crucible and struggle to the spirit; it is not an absolute pleasure, as many would wish it so. The enjoyment, the triumph or the glory, are far beyond every struggle, further than that crucible. The glory of the spirit, with all its happiness, is in the perfection of the spirit.”
“Understand this truth, so that you will not overlook this book which, day by day, shows
you new pages of wisdom.”
Life as a Lesson
Life taken as a lesson, life taken as a book that shows us new pages day by day. The one who apreciates life, benefits from it… let us then benefice, my dearly beloved, from this beautiful lesson that the Father grants us each new day… when we open our eyes at morning, let us bless the fact of being alive, enjoying the privilege of having a life through which we can advance, evolve, perfect…
Is human life sometimes bitter? Yes, it is… and even more in these chaotic times of great
lust for the material, of greed embedded in all human power and the moral confusion spread by mass media; but it also offers us delights and legitimate enjoyments that give us a truce and provides us with an incentive and with an opportunity for peace. And thus we shall carry on, living and learning.
You can read more of the wonderful teaching upon the video was based:
Enjoy.
The Human Mind: BEYOND THE BRAIN
Something to Think About
The ancient Hebrew wisemen believed that the mind resided in the heart. That’s why everytime you read the biblical scriptures, when you see the word “heart”, most of the times it is referring to the mind.
The ancient Greeks were divided as to the respective roles of the heart and other parts of the body. Many of them believed that the mind resided in the liver, that’s why their warriors devoured the liver of their most skilled defeated enemies. But some philosophers, such as Aristotle, believed that the heart was the seat in which intelligence resided.
This idea persisted for many years. Even in the 17th century, Descartes felt that the flow of blood from the heart to the brain served the purpose of producing “animal spirits” which animated the body, and this was not so far fetched since due to poor Bible translations, many believed (they still do) that “spirit” -our highest self- and “soul” -that which animates our body- are one and the same.
It was in 1791, when Galvani showed that electricity existed as a force within the body – in fact, inside the brain cells. He showed in a sequence of experiments that it was possible to control the motor nerves of frogs using electrical currents. (Mary Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein” is testament to the flurry of public interest in this new research.) From there, the study of the physical workings of the brain convinced scientists and researchers that it was in this organ where the mind resided.
But the latest advanced science findings have proved them all wrong: You see, the mind does not reside in the heart, the liver or the blood, nor in the brain or other part of the physical body.
Spirit and the Mind: Beyond the Brain
The mind resides in the spirit. Furthermore, the mind is an essential part of the spirit.
It is what we can call “the human mind” the one that interrelates with our matter mainly through our brain and nerves in our body, though many other parts of our matter also are involved in our human mind processes: all kind of energies and biochemistry sustances are continuously flowing in our matter.
Serious Clinical Investigations
The ongoing Dutch scientific study mentioned in this video, was published in the British magazine “The Lancet”, which is considered the most reliable and prestigious science publication in the world, and then, it was included in a serious documentary by the BBC of London, dealing with the subject of NDE or Near Death Experiences.
The study was first initiated in 1988, after compiling the data of many cardiac arrest patients that experienced clinical death and were back again from it.
After analysing the surprising findings of the study, and worried about the repercusions that these findings could have, mainly in the psychology and psychiatric fields, Dr. Van Lommel, the chief researcher decided to run the whole study again, with independent auditors and with even tighter methodology and the results were the same as before.
As expected, once the study was published, the psychologists went to attack it: Many of their theories were strongly challenged para those scientific clinical findings, so they tried to disqualify the study… with more new theories, not facts. Take in account that the psychologist are not medical doctors, though there is a recent branch, named “clinical psychology” with much more solid scientific background.
The neuropsychiatrists, that have a scientific clinical training, have found in that study quite valuable information which is the answer to many questions that their profession have had for decades.
Bruce Greyson MD, prominent American researcher and former student of Ron Moody, as well as Sam Parnia, MD, and Peter Fenwick, MD, both in the UK, reiterate the findings in the prospective study of cardiac arrest patients.
And this is something to think about.
The Quest for the Apocalyptic Beast – Part 2
An Healthy Ego?
There is not such thing… Your ego is that personality, that mask that you have came to believe is the true you.
And the worst thing: You are actually intertwined with that thing, with that false notion of your true self.
Of course, your true self is the spirit within your human body.
And there are a lot of different apparels that the ego uses in order to trick us: False modesty and even shyness is nothing else that the ego, working in an inverted fashion. You see, shyness as well as shame comes from the caring of what others would think of “you”.
In other words, when you are concerned about the image projection of “you” or the perception that others would have of that image the ego created to hide itself, in reality you are worried about which might be the best way to deceive everybody…. including yourself.
The good news is that, even though the ego believes that it totally controls you, in fact, you -a spirit- are the one that has the power.
Anyone of us can shutdown its ego completely, just as Jesus thaught us to do. At the very least, you can start by diminishing it right away. All you have to do is be vigilant and aware that the beast is ready to jump out of the cage as soon as you loosen your watch.
That Voice in Your Brain: Conscience or Ego?
Beware! What many believe to be the voice of the Conscience, is in reality the voice of an impostor: the ego.
If you think that you have a conscience of your own, you have been deceived.
Self-awareness or consciousness is one thing, and most of the time it is “personal”, and we humans tend to believe that it is ours; but the Conscience is quite different.
Since the ego has another powerful trick which is to convert instantaneously any thought you have into a belief, the defense of that belief turns into the most important task you have. It doesn’t matter if that thought/belief is good or bad, or right or wrong… the only important thing is that it is “yours”, so you automatically defend it.
But the Conscience is a quite different matter.
To begin with, we all share a common, omnipresent, universal Conscience, not a particular one. That Conscience, which is by nature unselfish, wise and perfect, bonds all of us. So, there is no way you can have your own peculiar Conscience, different or apart from the one that everyone else have.
So, there is the voice of the ego and there is the one from the Conscience.
How can we distinguish one from the other? Easy. The Conscience always speaks of the divine Law, of good and love, unselfish love. It uses no fancy wording, no trickeries, no hoaxes. And there is no way for you to negotiate with the True Conscience. It is implacable, immutable, inexorable… it does not accomodate to your personal agenda.
The other voice, the voice of the ego? It will start throwing to the table which is your human mind, all kind of selfish ideas, thoughts, schemes and stratagems, interpreting, misrepresenting and accommodating things so they suit the false belief system that the ego has developed, no matter what cost to your true self or to others.
So, next time you clash with someone else’s belief or self-interests system, and that person insists in that he or she is listening and obeying the voice of his or her conscience which contradicts and opposes the voice of the Conscience in you, you better be prepared to make sure that it is not a battle of egos: yours and theirs.
The Anti-Ego Recipe
2. Take the decision of correcting the bad choices you made, so next time, you could do better than that. Forgive yourself remembering that perfectionment is a process, not a place.
3 As soon as you open your eyes, review again last night decision and plan your day accordingly.
4 Pray to God asking for help and guidance… not just for you but for everyone in the whole Universe. And don’t forget to feel and express your gratitude to our Heavenly Father for everything… even the apparently not so good things in your life… and smile. Again: There are lessons everywhere.
5 Keep on your watch all day long.
Do this for at least 21 days so you start developing the habit of being a good unselfish, loving “you”.
Next, just keep trying to be a wonderful loving creature for the rest of your life (both in the human and the spiritual sense)… one day at a time.
To sum up the recipe:
“Prevail over your own selves and the journey will be easy for you; then, you will be able to conquer the beast that John beheld in his revelation.”
The Third Testament
This way, you would not let your mind play tricks on you… on behalf of the ego.
The Quest for the Apocalyptic Beast – Part 1
Getting to Know Your Enemy
The word ‘ego’ is defined by the Webster’s dictionary as:
1: the self especially as contrasted with another self or the world
2: egotism, self-steem
3: the one of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory that serves as the organized conscious mediator between the person and reality especially by functioning both in the perception of and adaptation to reality.
The first acception or generally accepted meaning of the word ‘ego’ is precisely what defines the main problem with it: It separates us one from another.
By confusing individuality with the ego, and by following the traditionally wrongful psychological assumption (now under fire by advanced pyschologists) that it is the ego the one that gives us our identity, there has been an immense brain-washing in the media giving a monstruous importance to the selfish personality, opposed to altruism, which is the one prerequisite to manifesting the wonderful spiritual virtue of charity.
The present chaos is the result of that massive brain-washing… as prophesied by our Lord since the first Israel prophets up to John’s vision as narrated in the Book of Apocalypse also known as the Book of Revelation.
It were mainly two prophets that anticipated the rising of the ego as the major enemy of mankind. The first was Daniel, in ancient Babylon, and the second, John, in the island of Patmos.
And both identified that mortal enemy as the beast.
Sure, that description is a metaphor, but, wow! How precise and self-explanatory that metaphor is.
The Drop of Water and the Ocean
So, how are we going to deal with our own existence, our own identity?
Well, take for example a humble drop of water in the ocean. Of course, it has most of the ocean attributes, not all of them, of course: A single drop of water cannot make a tidal wave by itself, isn’t it?
That single drop of water is, by itself, an individual, and it has an identity with which you can distinguish it from another quite similar to it. But it ocuppies a diferent space and position in that ocean.
Now, suppose that drop of water has a mind, and discovers that it exists; in other words, it has a self-awareness.
Is that an ego?
Not at all, because along with its own self-awareness, comes the awareness of belonging to something greater than itself, starting with its neighbouring drops of water.
And when its awareness expands and becomes a full awareness, it tells that humble drop of water that it is not “I” or “Me”, but that it is “Us”, and furthermore, it is “The Ocean”, giving that drop of water the sense of belonging, of being a part of something greater than itself.
