| After you have had a traumatic experience, such as: | | | | to complete strangers and throwing your arms around |
| the onset of a major illness, the death of a child, the | | | | them. I believe loving one another means forgiving the |
| loss of a job, the murder of a relative, the recuperation | | | | other person for their transgressions, whatever that |
| from a major accident or illness, etc., you may begin to | | | | may be or however you perceive it. Is that easy? No! |
| question: Why are we alive? | | | | It is important? Absolutely!! |
| I began to ask those same questions, in 1980, after I | | | | Why? When you hold any fear, anger, guilt, |
| had a job politically undermined. Rightly or wrongly, I | | | | resentment, criticism, self-criticism, pride, arrogance, |
| was brought up to believe that if you did the right thing | | | | greed, etc., it changes who you could potentially be. |
| and were honest with people, things would work out. | | | | Have you ever seen a Nerf Football? I have one that |
| What I found out was, my beliefs were wrong. If | | | | is yellow and blue. Let's say the yellow side is joy. Let's |
| people wanted to be negative, they could. Things did | | | | define the blue side as any negative emotions you are |
| not always work out. | | | | carrying around. So if you are carrying any fear, anger, |
| Yes, I made mistakes. I was not as assertive as I | | | | guilt, resentment, criticism, self-criticism, pride, arrogance, |
| should have been when I realized things were going | | | | greed, etc., it diminishes your joy. Instead of the yellow |
| wrong. It took me months of assertiveness training, | | | | being 100% toward you, it becomes a fraction of who |
| therapy, and reading for me to feel as if I was not a | | | | you are. When you are in a total negative emotional |
| failure. Along the way, I began to question: Why are | | | | state, the side toward you is 100% blue. You, in |
| we alive? What are we here for? | | | | essence, loose the joyous person you could potentially |
| One of the first articles I read was in the Sunday | | | | be. |
| supplement magazine of our local newspaper about | | | | What fraction of positive versus negative emotions |
| Bridie Murphy, a woman who had gone back to a past | | | | are you? |
| life while hypnotized by her therapist for a this life | | | | There is another reason you should learn to |
| problem. This spurred me read about past lives and | | | | unconditionally love yourself and others. Negativity is |
| then onto near death experiences, the soul lifting out of | | | | held in your body. Try this experiment. Take three |
| the body, going through a tunnel towards a beautiful | | | | deep breaths and notice what is happening in your |
| Light at the end of the tunnel, and life review process. | | | | body when you close you eyes and think of the |
| I learned that the Light, which many have interpreted | | | | worse thing that has ever happened to you. |
| as God, was all loving. It did not judge the individual. For | | | | Did you get tight shoulders, neck, or chest? Did you get |
| some reason, although I never had been told it, I had | | | | a pain in your stomach? Did you get stiff all over? Did |
| always visualized God sitting in a big chair with Ten | | | | you get a headache? Traumatic stressful events |
| Commandment like tablets keeping score over my | | | | leave an emotional pattern in your body. |
| rights and wrongs. "Today, you did 2 good things and 3 | | | | After I had my job politically undermined, I read about |
| not so good things. Your behind in the goods for | | | | "clearing letters." You can write these letters to |
| today." | | | | whoever had caused you pain whether they are living |
| Instead, while the soul was experiencing its life review, | | | | or dead. You even can write one to yourself. You do |
| the Light was nonjudgmental. In essence, the Light did | | | | NOT mail them. Please do not do this on the computer. |
| not care! The soul was the one who watched the | | | | It is not nearly as effective. Here's what you do. Find a |
| replay all the thoughts, words, or deeds of its life and | | | | time when you can be alone in a quiet place, get a |
| how they affected others and their families. The soul | | | | tablet, pen or pencil, and box of tissue. You begin |
| was the one that judged its life events. I found that | | | | writing: Dear Whoever, I am angry with you because... |
| rather freeing. At the same time, I came to realization | | | | Keep writing until you can say at the end I forgive you. |
| that to me this is what "Judgment Day" is all about. | | | | I find that I begin writing on one line and pretty soon my |
| Just because God is nonjudgmental, you do not then | | | | words begin to be two or three lines big. Then they |
| get to do anything you want. Your soul still judges all | | | | get five or seven lines big. Not long afterwards, my |
| your words, thoughts, and deeds. To be honest, my | | | | words become a single page and when I'm really |
| deeds or actions for the most part are pretty good. I | | | | angry, a single word can be two pages. Sometimes |
| try to even be careful with my words. My thoughts, let | | | | that can take quite a few pages. |
| me say, sometimes I'm not very proud of them. | | | | I was angry with the five vice-presidents and the |
| Therefore, knowing that this judging is something I will | | | | president for either undermining me or not supporting |
| have to do, I have tried to keep even my thoughts | | | | me in my job. One day, while my family was out, I |
| loving. | | | | decided to do this clearing exercise. The five vice |
| Years later, I met a couple of people who told me | | | | presidents took several pages and a lot of time. Last |
| about their near death experiences. They both say, the | | | | was the deceased President. When I began writing his |
| hardest part of the entire experience is the life review . | | | | letter, I had not understood that I was more upset at |
| One gentleman told me that he actually had a second | | | | the president than the others. Soon I had a pain in my |
| near death experience and the first part of his life's life | | | | abdomen that was so severe, I knew I was going to |
| review was "still painful to watch." Although this was | | | | have to go to the hospital. I was determined to finish |
| important information, it did not completely explain: | | | | the president's letter before I left, so I continued writing. |
| "Why are we alive?" | | | | When I finished my letter and the releasing of my |
| Then in 1989, I attended the Chinese Exhibit in | | | | anger, I realized my pain was gone! I eliminated my |
| Columbus, Ohio. Before you walked into the exhibit, | | | | emotional and physical pain. It was but an emotional |
| they had a black wall with a timeline of China's history. I | | | | memory stored in my body. |
| noticed that approximately every 1000 years a new | | | | You see, forgiveness is not for them, those that "did it |
| religion came into being. It was a fact I stored in my | | | | to you." It is for you. You are the one holding your pain. |
| memory. | | | | You are the one paying a physical and emotional price |
| Years later, while I was shopping, I noticed on the wall | | | | for any fear, anger, guilt, resentment, criticism, |
| a poster of "The Golden Rule" in seven different | | | | self-criticism, pride, arrogance, greed, etc. You are the |
| religions: Buddhism, Brahmanism, Taoism, Christianity, | | | | one holding it in your body. You are preventing yourself |
| Judaism, and Islam. Now it all came together. I realized | | | | from living a life of total joy. |
| that God has been trying to get the message to "Do | | | | Is it important that people know you forgive them? No. |
| unto others, as you would have them do unto you." | | | | In fact, a lot of people would be surprised that you |
| across to people for generations. Later, I learned that | | | | were angry with them at all. Since we all have feelings, |
| The Golden Rule is in all religions except two. To me, | | | | sometimes you can take things personally. Your anger |
| the most important part of The Golden Rule is the "do | | | | may be from some comment they made that was |
| unto you." Many people do not believe they are | | | | not intentionally hurtful. Others might not know you |
| worthy of respect or love. Consequently, I believe The | | | | were hurt by their comments. How you treat others, |
| Golden Rule means to learn to love yourself, so you | | | | will let them know you forgive them. |
| will love others. | | | | My conclusion to the questions: Why are we here? |
| Since life is all about emotion, loving one another is not | | | | What are we here to learn? |
| easy. Loving myself can even be difficult when I have | | | | We are here to work though our emotional issues by |
| made what I consider a mistake. I can ruminate over | | | | learning to love ourselves and others unconditionally. |
| my mistake for quite awhile before I can move on. So, | | | | Make forgiveness an important part of your life. Learn |
| if it is important to love one another and ourselves, | | | | to unconditionally love yourself and others, so you can |
| how do we learn to do it? | | | | live a "Life of Joy. |
| I do not believe loving one another means, running up | | | | |