style="font-size:15px;"> ARTHUR: “Although he caused untold misery in his lifetime, he did act at his level of enlightenment.”
KIM: “How is that possible?”
ARTHUR: “He had the abilities of great intelligence and leadership. But beyond those qualities, he was extremely limited. His spiritual goals were to address his deep-seated issues of envy, narcissism, insecurity, worthlessness, emotional coldness, prejudice, suspicion, distrust, and insensitivity. So, you see, he did behave at his existing level of enlightenment rather than endeavor to achieve greater spiritual awareness, as he had originally planned. You, on the other hand, are on a much higher level than he was, and so much more is expected of you spiritually. Hitler had the excuse of lower enlightenment. You have no such excuse, however trifling your behavior may seem to you.”
KIM: “I never looked at it that way. So people like Hitler really do have the chance to get into heaven and then come back here to the earthly plane like everyone else?”
ARTHUR: “Of course—like every other soul. The earthly plane is the most productive place for spiritual growth, so it is his only hope for evolving. Eventually, through participating in enough earthly lifetimes, I believe he may become the kind of person who will wish to contribute altruistically to the betterment of mankind.”
KIM: “So, every soul lives in heaven until it can return to the earthly plane and move forward spiritually?”
ARTHUR: “Yes. And before you express such judgmental philosophies in the future about another living being, please remember that every soul is worthy and holy because it was created by God. It is the responsibility of each soul to develop its own enlightenment, little by little, as best it can—without measuring its success or failure by comparison to others.”
KIM: “I guess I really didn’t understand.”
ARTHUR: “Now you have food for thought. Remember that every day spent on the earthly plane is a gift. It represents a precious opportunity to achieve greater enlightenment. With the passing of each day, focus on becoming a better person. I will close now with that advice.”
Initially I was very surprised by what Arthur said, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me. Over the years, because I’ve had the benefit of speaking with so many guardian angels, heaven now seems as familiar to me as my home on earth. I’ve come to realize that it is a destination I have reached after each of my earthly lifetimes. My fear of passing from the earthly plane has been erased because I have remembered that heaven is my home, and I know with a certainty that I will return there to live in peace, harmony, and fulfillment. And, of course, so will you!
If you were raised in a family that practiced a particular religion, you may be wondering about the similarities and differences between religion and spirituality.
Religion is the practice of an organized faith. People who consider themselves to be religious look toward the religious leaders in their faith to help them find solutions to issues and to help them through traumatic situations. If you consider yourself to be religious, it means that you are practicing some or all of the doctrine as established in an organized religion, and the teachings of that religion comprise your faith and belief system.
Spirituality is the practice of observing and pursuing beliefs—on an individual level—without restrictions or regulations of religious dogma or doctrine. Individuals who are spiritual ask for direct guidance from God, their angels, or their own souls when seeking solutions to difficult problems. If you consider yourself to be more spiritual than religious, you do not practice or observe an organized religion. Your beliefs, philosophies, and sensibilities rely heavily upon your inner voice, emotional feelings, and, very likely, angelic guidance about what is right for you.
Although the intent of this book is to spiritually widen your horizons about the true nature of the universe, let me also state that in no way am I suggesting you discount or dismiss any religious philosophy that you now embrace, especially if those beliefs are supporting you in building and maintaining a fulfilling quality of life.
Religious beliefs and traditions may be a very uplifting, comforting resource during difficult or traumatic periods, and I want to recognize the legions of pious clergy members who work tirelessly to provide solace to their fellow man.
At the same time, I find it confounding when I hear people who are religiously devout admit to having a great fear of death because they remain anxious and uncertain about what fate will await them when their physical body expires. I have come to believe that many religions are responsible for creating and perpetuating the fear and insecurity of death and the afterlife because they provide mixed messages that serve to confuse rather than to enlighten.
How is that confusion possible, when almost all religions fully embrace the philosophy of a heavenly afterlife, as well as the existence of God and angelic beings who guide and protect those on the earthly plane? Why are people so insecure and afraid about what they’ll encounter in the afterlife when almost all organized religions confirm the existence of heaven?
I believe a large part of the confusion stems from religions that threaten the consequences of a dire judgment after death, resulting in banishment to a spiritual no-man’s-land like limbo. Even worse is the idea of going to hell because heaven is a closed club that doesn’t want one of us as a new member.
Of course, there are those people who don’t trust in the existence of God or angels. They don’t subscribe to the afterlife theory at all, believing that once the physical body expires, there is a black void of empty nothingness. If a person truly believes that this life on earth is all there is, or that it might actually be better than what he is going to experience in the afterlife, he certainly doesn’t have much to look forward to, does he?
Reincarnation may be colorfully described as spiritual genealogy. Your existing gifts, talents, and abilities echo not only what you have accomplished and experienced thus far in your current lifetime, but they also reflect the sum total of what you have achieved in all of your previous lives.
Becoming acquainted with your past-life history will promote your willingness to raise the bar when it comes to goal setting, allowing you to expand the quality of life you are able to create. You’ll open doors to a heightened self-awareness and a more realistic assessment of the previously earned inborn talents and abilities that you didn’t know existed.
Aren’t you curious about your own past lifetimes? If you decide to explore your unique past-life history, you’ll be able to discover exactly what you achieved prior to your current lifetime. Past-life experiences contribute to your existing levels of enlightenment because they create the framework for your current talents, abilities, passions, tastes, fears, and foibles.
Your ability to channel also validates the reality of heaven and the existence of its spiritual inhabitants. Channeling is the process of communication that takes place between spiritual beings existing in heaven and human beings existing on the earthly plane.
All the residents of heaven, including God, the network of guardian angels, and your departed loved ones, are spiritual beings. They regularly provide human beings with a wealth of intuitive insight designed to help pave the way for success and fulfillment.
As you become more receptive to spiritual communication, you’ll discover that there are numerous angels working with you to provide assistance and direction. During waking hours, your angels speak to you telepathically, providing intuitive information that sounds like a little voice inside your head. You are very likely
