Marsha Hankins
Apr 1, 2016 | Spiritual, 1st pages
What is Divine Justice and how is it different from what we do now? At first glance it might not seem that there is any difference between justice in our 3-D world and justice in the divine sense. Whether it is the belief in heaven and hell, a karmic balance sheet, or other system, most people believe in some form of afterlife reward or punishment based on their performance.
I am going to start with what justice at a higher level might look like. The story of the Babemba tribe of South Africa has been circulating since 1974 based on the work of Leonard Zunin. The story became more widely known when Alice Walker wrote of the Babemba in her book “We are the Ones We have Been Waiting For: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness.”
Many people have held strong to the truth of this story while others have debunked it as a hoax. Either way, the story represents what we are capable of becoming with time, love and compassion. It can work.
According to this story, when anyone acts outside of tribal standards—is unjust, irresponsible, abusive, or disrespectful in any way—the person is placed alone in the center of the village. The other members of tribe gather in a circle around this individual. One at a time, all of the members of the tribe say something positive (and only something positive) about the offender. The tribe reminds this person of all the good things he or she has done in life, of all the good qualities he or she has, and of how much he or she is loved. Everything said must be true. This continues until everyone has said all that can be said, even if it takes days. Then the offender is ceremoniously welcomed back into the tribe. The tribe has very little problem with abusive or disrespectful tribe members.
Henry H Harris
Mar 22, 2016 | 1st pages, Religious, Spiritual
Chapter 1: A Voice from the Wilderness
A voice cries out: “Clear a path in the wilderness. Make a straight highway in the desert for our God. Let every valley be filled and every mountain and hill be made flat. Let the crooked places be made straight and the rough places smooth. Then the glory of the Lord will appear for all to see. The Lord himself has promised this.”
—Isaiah 40:3–5
Spring–Autumn, AD 29
A religious stupor rests upon the land. Seven centuries have passed since the prophet Isaiah predicted a voice would call from the wilderness to prepare Israel for the Lord’s arrival. Most people believe the old prophecies shouldn’t be taken literally, but some still look with prayerful anticipation toward the desolate lands west of the Salt Sea, where the prophets said a new exodus will begin. “I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her there,” the Lord told Hosea. “I will make the valley of trouble into a door of hope.”
This is a tremendous promise, but hundreds of generations have come and gone, and only the names of the oppressors have changed. “How long, oh Lord?” is the question on the lips of many as the poor become poorer and the weak become helpless. Recently there have been reports from the Jordan River of a Nazarite hermit who is reviving interest in the old predictions and announcing the arrival of the Messiah. “Repent,” John bar Zechariah demands, “for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Like the prophets before him, his counsel is blunt: prepare to meet your God—He will be here soon. To the poor, who are convinced that only the Lord can deliver them from their hopeless situation, John’s news is encouraging. To others, his words sound more like a warning. Maybe even a threat. John’s appearance is as startling as his message. He’s in his early thirties, but years in the desert have weathered him. His dark skin is cracked and leathery, his beard is long and matted, and his hair is uncut and cascades down his back in thick coils. His body, lean from a diet of honey and locusts, is clothed in a coarse camel-hair cloak that is cinched at his waist with a leather tie.
Anthony J Mead
Feb 19, 2016 | 1st pages, Spiritual
Chapter 1
What Is Karma? A fair question everyone has their viewpoints. In general, though, the people I have spoken with never giving the subject serious thought or deeming it worthy of attention. They feel it's there in the background and existent within the universe, they do not know much about it. I listen to a lot of opinions about karma from friends, family, and random folk that speak to me. They range from standard clichés, cause, and effect, what goes around comes around. To a bizarre statement made by a companion who suggested. “Adolf Hitler is now a tsetse fly through reincarnation.” It is easy to assume the subject of karma, though sounding relevant and meaningful, is a gray area for some people. My analysis of karma is this.
‘THE LAWS THAT GOVERN OUR UNIVERSE, THEY PROMOTE BALANCE AND EQUALITY. IF YOU KEEP THEM, YOU WILL BE REWARDED. BREAK THE RULES AND YOU ARE PUNISHED. DETERMINED FROM ONE LIFE TO THE NEXT.' I am willing to consider all other viewpoints put to me. The tsetse fly theory though is out.
Karma to me is the lifeblood of the universe. It is an invisible force mechanism that works in conjunction with universal principles, shaping, determining, creating, rewarding and punishing. Karma is the universe's judge and jury, at the end of the day, it either pays you or gives you a hard time. It is also circumstantial. Continually, repeating and replacing in a person's life. In some ways, it is like a machine on auto – pilot. It just goes ahead and does a job. There is no animosity, no preference either way. Karma is totally fair and logical. It works on sound universal fundaments, facts, and figures and cannot make a wrong decision.
Karma goes from one life to another modifying itself through time. In other words, it adjusts to the era of any particular situation or person. This modifying time principle is one of the most important sides of the karmic process, one we know little about, never explained in detail. In a man or woman's life, it is a serialization, starting from one life and continuing to the next. A cycle of events, deeds, and happenings that reach a significant culmination at some stage during your life. We will talk more of this later.
In this book, I will use examples of fictitious people, persons, so that I can show you how I believe it to work in our lives. They will have no link with anyone past or present. They will be examples, used to paint the picture graphically so to speak. This attention to detail will enable us to understand things in a relaxed atmosphere.
Richard Weirich
Feb 5, 2016 | 1st pages, Spiritual
CHAPTER I – ALL IN THE FAMILY
Nightmare on Capon Street – May 28, 1945
There was that dream again. Buddy sat up in his bed and looked around the room for more pictures like those still fresh on his mind. Black and gray images depicting deep emotions of sorrow, pain, shock and desperation. People he knew: crying, moaning, screaming. There were strangers among them: motionless, speechless, sad. And the hundreds of black flowers on a bed of stars, stripes, and brass buttons made him feel trapped, isolated, helpless, and afraid.
Slowly he awoke to the real world where there were encouraging signs that his life remained unchanged. Bright sunlight beamed from a window in a hallway casting a brilliant glow through the open door to his room. Just beyond the foot of his bed was a dresser and above it hung a mirror where he could see his reflection. A quick scan of the room revealed that everything was still in its place, just as it was.
“Time to rise and shine,” called his mother from the bottom of the stairs. “Don’t want to be late for your last day of school.”
9-year-old Charles Polk, Jr., nicknamed Buddy, was so consumed by his recurring nightmare that he had forgotten that this was the day to bid farewell to the Fourth Grade. But as he dressed, he still couldn’t get the nightmare out of his mind. Who was the kid playing with a toy cowboy and horse on the front porch? Too young to be him. Whose photograph was his mother holding against her chest while weeping uncontrollably? And who was that strange girl clutching her hand?
It was impossible to quietly navigate the narrow wooden stairway. The aging house on Capon Street was built before the Civil War and, aside from a coat of white paint and a new tin roof, little had changed since it was constructed. Buddy’s dad often joked that a burglar would never stand a chance in that old house. The creaking and shaking floors were better than any alarm system. That’s why Mable always knew when Buddy was ready for breakfast.
Marsha Hankins
Feb 4, 2016 | 1st pages, Spiritual
Chapter 1
The Road to Here
For no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, nor does one put it in a hidden place. Rather, one puts it on a stand that all who come and go will see its light. –The Gospel of Thomas, verse 33, as translated by Marvin Meyer
We each have our story. My road to this stage of my evolution is probably not that exciting to anyone but me, but it is the road I have traveled and how I got to here is important. I am most grateful to those who have shared their stories of spontaneous awakenings and dramatic journeys into their spiritual enlightenment.
Those stories kept me going whenever I began to question whether I was going crazy or just waking up to who I am as God. However, most people wake up and move into the experience of their light one small, medium, or large step at a time in a way that seems uneventful to others, but has powerful impact on who they are and how they find their way home to their light.
We have all been on a journey of spiritual evolution from the moment we were each created as a unique aspect of Source. Everything in physical creation has a cycle of birth, growth, decline, and death. That is because the physical world is limited and one thing must end for another to begin. The spiritual realm, however, is endless. As the spiritual beings that we are, our growth and evolution are eternal. We never die. We continue to expand.
The part of us that exists beyond our physical form is our true self. Many metaphors have been put forth to explain how we got here and how we can exist in both physical and spiritual form. It is often said that we are spiritual beings having a human (or earthly) experience. As the human beings we are, we often see ourselves as small and insignificant. As the spiritual beings we are, we know ourselves as unlimited and are always looking for ways to expand ourselves as part of Source.
Just like everyone on the planet, I volunteered to be here as part of the Experiment in Duality. It took quite a few years for me to understand and accept that I was not a victim of this earthly creation but came by choice as an empowered creator. The concept that what we have been through on earth is part of a divine experiment in which we chose to participate is not always well received, but this teaching has been given to us many times by many great masters. Once I understood the purpose and accepted the perfection of it all, the road to the remembrance of who I am got much easier and much more joyful. I have come to truly appreciate the gift of this experience and am grateful for my choice to play this game.
Sharon Shabinaw and Arlene Garrett
Feb 4, 2016 | 1st pages, Spiritual
PREFACE
From the moment God spoke to me in a small, soft voice, prompting me to document the signs I have received from Him, it’s as if He has been speaking directly to me. Throughout this entire journey, I have continually received signs from Him leading me every step of the way. From the initial conception, to prompting my community to share their stories, all the way to the book cover, it was God who made the decisions. I’ve only been following His lead. One night I prayed for His help on the front cover picture, and at that exact moment, in the middle of prayer, He answered. While my original idea was completely different, His was the only one that now made sense and it all tied into the Signs from God.
Then, during the editing process, there was a twist and yet another sign from God when we recognized the need to share my mother’s story and testimony of the miracle she experienced after suffering for five years with a nervous breakdown. Her testimony has been the inspiration and driving force through this entire journey, and our lives. Sharing her testimony, and now co-authoring Signs from God, is giving us the opportunity to begin our journey together towards our ultimate goal of sharing her story much sooner. We feel this book is paving the way for us to do just that. You too will recognize my mother’s testimony as the backbone for this book and our message of hope knowing God is in control.
As you read how God has touched our lives and others, you will realize that this project has truly been God driven. He continues to lead us, pushing us down His chosen path to the life He has in store for us. Are you seeking signs from God? I believe these stories will bring you comfort and increase your awareness of the signs He is providing and how He is speaking to all of us.
