by Peace Seeker
34:5. Dravidian India
34:6. Red Man and Yellow Man
34:7. Dawn of Chinese Civilization
34:8. The Andites Enter China
34:9. Later Chinese Civilization
Chapter 35: Various Religious Teachings
35:0. Various Religious Teachings
35:1. The Salem Teachings in Vedic India
35:2. Brahmanism
35:3. Brahmanic Philosophy
35:4. The Hindu Religion
35:5. The Struggle for Truth in China
35:6. Lao-tse and Confucius
35:7. Gautama Siddhartha
35:8. The Buddhist Faith
35:9. The Spread of Buddhism
35:10. Religion in Tibet
35:11. Buddhist Philosophy
35:12. The God Concept of Buddhism
35:13. The Islam Religion
35:14. The Bahá'í Faith
Chapter 36: The Melchizedek Teachings in the Levant
36:0. The Melchizedek Teachings in the Levant
36:1. The Salem Religion in Mesopotamia
36:2. Early Egyptian Religion
36:3. Evolution of Moral Concepts
36:4. The Teachings of Amenemope
36:5. The Remarkable Ikhnaton
36:6. The Salem Doctrines in Iran
36:7. The Salem Teachings in Arabia
Chapter 37: Yahweh -- God of the Hebrews
37:0. Yahweh -- God of the Hebrews
37:1. Deity Concepts Among the Semites
37:2. The Semitic Peoples
37:3. The Matchless Moses
37:4. The Proclamation of Yahweh
37:5. The Teachings of Moses
37:6. The God Concept After Moses' Death
37:7. Psalms and the Book of Job
Chapter 38: Evolution of the God Concept Among the Hebrews
38:0. Evolution of the God Concept Among the Hebrews
38:1. Samuel - First of the Hebrew Prophets
38:2. Elijah and Elisha
38:3. Yahweh and Baal
38:4. Amos and Hosea
38:5. The First Isaiah
38:6. Jeremiah the Fearless
38:7. The Second Isaiah
38:8. Sacred and Profane History
38:9. Hebrew History
38:10. The Hebrew Religion
Chapter 39: Religious Teachings in the Occident
39:0. Religious Teachings in the Occident
39:1. The Salem Religion Among the Greeks
39:2. Greek Philosophic Thought
39:3. The Melchizedek Teachings in Rome
39:4. Mithraism and Christianity
39:5. The Christian Religion
39:6. Influence of the Greeks
39:7. The Roman Influence
39:8. Under the Roman Empire
39:9. The European Dark Ages
39:10. The Modern Problems
Chapter 40: Faith and Belief
40:0. Faith and Belief
40:1. Religion and Morality
40:2. Religion as Man's Liberator
40:3. Assurance of Faith
40:4. Religion and Reality
40:5. Knowledge, Wisdom, and Insight
40:6. The Fact of Experience
40:7. The Certainty of Religious Faith
40:8. The Certitude of the Divine
40:8. The Evidences of Religion
Chapter 41: The Reality of Religious Experience
41:0. The Reality of Religious Experience
41:1. Philosophy of Religion
41:2. Religion and the Individual
41:3. Religion and the Human Race
41:4. Nature of the Soul
41:5. The Evolving Soul
41:6. The Inner Life
41:7. The Consecration of Choice
41:8. The Human Paradox
Home
1. Giving Equal Validity To All Religions
Several people whom I interacted with pointed out that my spiritual journeys were similar to what was written in the Urantia Book. I perused the book and was amazed at the superior knowledge that this book contained; the only thing lacking there from was the message from God: “All religions that promote peace, love and compassion toward others have equal validity”. This I have attempted to portray by editing the Urantia Book and retaining similarities therein of what my spirit witnessed in my spiritual interactions with God.
The Urantia Book beautifully depicts the life and teachings of Jesus, and if Christians follow the examples set by him, without promoting exclusivity and prejudice, they will achieve their goal of having their soul united with God. My spiritual revelation showed that Jesus was a Messenger Of God and that he has been appropriately called the "Son of God" and "Prince of Peace". We are often reminded of the teachings of peace and love from Jesus whose words have survived two millennia. His disciples and followers kept him alive in the memories of all who heard and believed his words.
Those who believe that Jesus was a prophet and Messenger of God, rather than the only Son of God will share Heaven equally with all who have lived righteously. We are all children of God and as children of God, we are also sons and daughters of God; God shows no favoritism, He loves all of his children equally. Messengers of God and Men of God, who contributed to the compilation of the writings in the Holy Books such as the Torah, Bible, Koran, etc., were inspired by God to give us guidelines to live by.
In this 21st Century, the Age of Technology, we are still plagued by religious beliefs that are a contributing cause toward terrorism, killings and wars between nations. Belief in a deity, who has caused catastrophes, thereby punishing people, was brought about by hysteria and superstitions. These thought processes need to be reassessed and brought up to date. Open-minded people must use common sense to determine whether God was incorrectly perceived, misinterpreted and misunderstood by the masses of a bygone era.
2. My Spiritual Journey
Some will say that my personal experience of Oneness with the Holy Spirit of God is nothing but a dream or a vivid imagination. It doesn't matter whether you accept or totally reject my story, what does matter is that we evolve to a point whereby we can encourage open-minded people to offer solutions on how our religious beliefs can be brought into the 21st century.
My concept is that God is a Spiritual Unity, A Oneness, a structured government-like Spiritual Collective. God is a Master Planner who guides the development of the universe. God is the progressive and accumulative Spiritual Intelligence of the universe. God is the united peaceful coexistence of the souls of many of our forefathers, past prophets, and all who have lived righteously. Cultures change with time and God has always been the same but our perception of God will vary with time.
November 11, 2001
I woke from a restless night’s sleep, sauntered to the breakfast table and was greeted by my wife as she stunningly gazed at the television. The commentator was screaming, “they just flew an airplane into the World Trade Center and another one is heading for the other building”. A thick cloud billowed from a collapsed structure and people were crying and screaming as they were running. The evening news media portrayed that some passengers phoned their relatives who confirmed that the attacks had been carried out by Muslim terrorists who commandeered the planes and repeated the phrase “God is great” before the planes flew into the buildings.
I had prior business dealings with several Muslims. They, like my departed father were deeply religious. Malik the electrician had spent some time with me explaining how the Islam religion requires prayer five times daily and forbade the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Now I was puzzled, “How can devout religious people kill others while claiming that God is great?” I stopped by at the local bookstore and picked up a copy of 'Muhammad' by Karen Armstrong. It explained about how Muhammad had formed the Islam religion. I read the book deep into the night and again for the next two days until I was fin
ished with it.
As I lay next to my wife that night, the television clock showed it to be 12:35 A.M. My wife was sleeping peacefully but my spirit was restless. The words, “How this is possible” kept repeating themselves in my mind as my mind went into deep meditation. One and a half hour went by, it was now 2:05 A.M. as I felt a sharp pain in my head, I closed his eyes momentarily and when I opened them I was staring down at myself looking at the clock with my wife sleeping next to me. I felt surrounded by a beautiful, pleasant bright light.
I felt an exhilarating burst of energy, I experienced my spirit being transmitted, whisked at a powerful speed as if through a light tunnel and being united with a receiver at the other end, with a spiritual unity. My whole life was revealed to me during the seemingly long journey.
“Am I in Heaven, am I with God?” I wondered as I experienced being in a place with a gathering of spirits. I felt the greatest peace, tranquility and ecstasy. I felt a rapture that was beyond a person's imagination. I felt as if he was a part of ALL, a part of God. I was mentally communicating and in sync with everyone. There were many of the prophets of the Bible and historical people; there was Jesus, Abraham, Moses, and even Muhammad whom I just read about. I saw my father and some of my deceased acquaintances and relatives. I felt an engulfing love and support from everyone as they surrounded and embraced me. I again looked around for God and though I felt as if I was with God, there was no dominant force, no forceful leader. I somehow knew who everyone was; my thoughts interacted with the entire community, it was like Tapping Into the Mind of God.
”But which is the true religion?” my thoughts momentarily queried.
A scenario rapidly unfolded that was like a staged play with actors situated in their respective positions.
A Rabbi, a Christian minister, and an Islamic cleric appeared at an area that was marked “The Gates of Heaven”. They eyed each other suspiciously. Peter (the gatekeeper) asked if there was a problem.
The Rabbi told Peter, “Ours is the true religion. We have the word of God that this is so and it is written in the Torah that God said we are the chosen children of God, not the Christians or the Muslims.”
The Christian minister said, “Jesus told us that he is the Son of God and that the only way to God was by following his teachings and that unless one is born again, one would not get into heaven. What Jesus said is the word of God and it is written in the Holy Bible”.
The Muslim cleric said, “God has told Muhammad that he was the last true prophet and that everything that God told him was written in the Koran and that those who did not follow what was written there, would not get into heaven”.
Other souls appeared and some sided with and gathered around each of their leaders, while some other souls who sided with no one entered directly through the gates of heaven.
Eventually Peter told the souls who had gathered around the souls of their clerics, “In heaven there can be no disagreement and until you all are in agreement, you have to move to the Purgatory area”. No agreement was reached and eventually those souls seemed to fade away.
A sweet gentle voice seemed to relay:
“The lesson is that having tunnel-vision or being closed-minded, without compassion for the belief of others around you can be bad for the body and the soul. Most religions have the same goals and all who live righteously will be with us”.
In a flash, as if in a recreation, I was taken back to 1956 when I was fifteen years old. My father took me to a doctor who diagnosed it to be double pneumonia, gave me a penicillin injection and recommended immediate hospitalization. I thought that I was going to die. My father was temporarily out of work and our family had no medical insurance or money, so my father took me home to recuperate. I remembered the drive home vividly. Every breath was painful and my chest felt as though a great weight was upon it. I watched the cars and trucks drive by and I wondered how people could make long-term plans when life was so unpredictable.
While I was recuperating I read the Bible diligently, then one night I had what seemed like a puzzling experience of my spirit interacting with a spiritual existence. As the years passed, I thought that this spiritual interaction probably had been a dream. I didn’t think about it much afterwards and lived my life normally, but I had no fear of death after that because I felt that the afterlife would be much better than the present one.
A week after the dramatic experience following 9-11-01, I had another spiritual experience that was in a progression that seemed to last throughout the entire night. My spirit was weightless, uninhibited by any resistance or external influences; I could travel to any star or planet instantly, explore the beauty of the universe, and still be in sync with what I considered to be God.
My spirit witnessed the universe stretched out like a vast expanse with spirits engaged in mental interaction, much like master craftsmen contemplating the creation of a new frontier. My spirit observed the entire history and the evolution of the universe and peoples varying perceptions of Jehovah, Allah and God as if in a fast-forward film. My spirit witnessed the beginning of life and then physical rational life in the universe, and the bonding of the first two souls that was the beginning of a spiritual unity. My spirit witnessed the development of mankind and man’s first perception of God from the story of Adam & Eve. My spirit witnessed Abraham & Moses, their quest into spirituality, their interaction with God and the beginning of Judaism. My spirit witnessed God’s interaction with Jesus and his life and physical death. My spirit witnessed the beginning of Christianity & the senseless killings in the Crusades; also God’s interaction with Muhammad, the beginning of the Islam faith & the Arab struggles. My spirit witnessed the senseless New York Twin Towers tragedy of 9-11-01. (See picture)
My spirit understood that our life on earth was to prepare us and to give us examples of the hereafter, that everything is progressive and accumulative. We exist on earth to accumulate experiences of feelings, the beauty of every organism that surrounds us, the landscape that adds to our perception and then, when our life on Earth ends, we would begin our next spiritual journey.
I understood that we should live our life to its fullest. One hundred years from now, almost every single person alive today will have died. Several billion people wiped off the face of this earth. Our life is but a blip on the radar screen of time. We are the most important person responsible for whether our soul will live to attain continuity with God. Here we learn how to intertwine with a community, there we can experience anything that the imagination can perceive.
Envision yourself as a spirit that is uninhibited by any resistance or external influences; you can travel to any star or planet instantly, explore the beauty of the universe, and still be in sync with God. As an example: Imagine the most advanced form of Virtual Reality that can access a super-computer and place you in whichever setting you desire; you can play with the animals, be with your loved ones, listen to the greatest opera, stage or musical performances, or simply relax next to a bubbling brook and enjoy the scenery. You feel no pain, despair, heartache, or negative emotions.
I have stated above that the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit has interacted with my spirit and if that is not the truth then I will have to bear the consequences for it. I unequivocally state that I know, as I know that my spirit will be united with God upon my demise, that the only things God requires from us is to lead a righteous life.
Human fallibility and misconceptions have labeled God for the past several millennia as one who interferes with the natural forces and free will of people by threatening punishment to those who disobey his bidding. The spiritual existence of this deity, if one decides to accept this premise, could not have changed with the times but the perception of who or what this deity is should change as societies eliminate their superstitious beliefs. God is not encumbered by human attributes, needs, desires to be worshiped, prayed to, exalted, venerated, deified, or anything else that mankind has to offer. It is also the human characteristics and attri
butes that exercise upon others power, control, dominance, destruction, punishment, revenge, and judgment.
The destruction of civilizations, most sufferings and premature deaths are due to human frailties, stupidity or imperfections and are not God's doings. God is interested in and is involved in humanity, but does not interfere in any way in our physical lives. God guides the development of the universe and everything thereon like a Master Planner. Our relationship and interaction of our spirit with the Spirit of God is for our, not God's benefit.
3. Near Death Experiences
My experiences are not unique; many people have had spiritual interactions and NDE's. Dr. Lommel provides an explanation for many of the questions about near death experiences (NDE's) at the website of International Association for Near-Death Studies.
Melvin Morse, MD, Pediatrics; Michael Sabom, MD, Cardiology; Peter Fenwick, MD, Neuropsychiatry and Pim van Lommel, MD, Cardiology all have one thing in common. They're in pursuit of verifiable evidence of life after death. Dr Lommel, et al, stirred a bit of controversy back in 2001 when they were published in Lancet, England’s noted medical journal. The publication described near death experiences (NDE's) in survivors of cardiac arrest.
I corresponded with Dr. Lommel about my spiritual experiences that he graciously clarified. My questions were:
Dr. Lommel,
I agree with your thesis about "The Continuity Of Our Consciousness" and also with your statement that religions are mostly “about power, not about spirituality”.
I would appreciate your opinion on a few points that you wrote about. You stated:
