Ponder Index

Things to ponder. What may be new ways of looking at old issues and ideas.

angel
"angel" by itself does not necessarily have anything to do with God. Anyone and anything can claim to be an angel. Some are honestly from God. Some are not.

abortion
We all know the topic of abortion is fraught with pain, controversy, and morality. Most spiritually aware people would say abortion is to be avoided; however, this message (perhaps because of the condemning way it is preached) is hard for many people to hear. The book Return from Heaven (Carol Bowman, HarperCollins 2001) suggests a compassionate approach to abortion, as described by Dr. Gladys McGarey in Born to Live. In the case of an unwanted pregnancy, the would-be mother and family (if possible) both prays and talks openly with the spirit of the would-be child, in a dialogue. The would-be mother talks over the issues and "listens" for the response from the child. Sometimes, the mother changes her mind and welcomes the child -- and sometimes the child changes its mind and agrees to leave, whereupon a spontaneous abortion occurs. The child's spirit may then come back later, when the mother is ready, or may go elsewhere. A much more compassionate and productive approach to abortion -- especially remarkable for giving both the mother and child a voice! If nothing else, it treats both woman and child as souls who have their own desires and hopes and dreams. (One problem with staunch pro-choice and staunch pro-life is they would quash the need of a troubled soul (mother or child) to speak plainly its frustrations -- and be heard.) (Note: the more I read, the more I am convinced that feeling a total lack of control over one's situation is a sure way to become unhappy and depressed and even suicidal. There must be a way to give women a voice and some means of controlling their destinies, including reproductive destinies, or else the old battles over abortion will simply continue.)

exorcism
Instead of sending lost or demonic spirits back to Hell, where most of them don't want return to (I mean, it's nasty there), why not offer them an opportunity to repent and return to Heaven? (Yes, I do know many fundamentalists don't think this is possible.) Read more about spirit releasement here. This fits in with the paradigm of a loving, rescuing God who does not wish any to perish -- not even fallen angels. This concept and approach were pioneered by Dr. William Baldwin (who passed on 24 April 2004) and Rev. Judith Baldwin.

gender
Well, it's not hard-n-fast, but there are reports that souls can choose whether to be male or female in the physical body (example anecdote in here). If so, no wonder Jesus said, "people will be neither married nor given in marriage...."
Others have reported that, the more spiritually advanced one becomes, the less one has a gender.
In contrast, most of those who have reported meeting Jesus (whether in an OBE or NDE) have said he was an intensely masculine spirit.

Jesus, the name of
There are intriguing references to Jesus' name in the Bible, such as: "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12). If one translates "Jesus" ("Joshua") to be not the usual "God is salvation" but the more accurate "God rescues," then suddenly one can see that to "believe in Jesus' name" means to believe that God actively loves and seeks to rescue lost souls. Once we believe that, we see God as active and loving, and we ourselves are empowered to do as He does and help Him in this task. This would make us true children of God. (This idea came from Ben Swett; in particular it is explained in this writing.)

karma
1. It doesn't have to be "You shot me, now I shoot you so you know what it's like." Return from Heaven (Carol Bowman, HarperCollins 2001) suggests a compassionate alternative to "eye for an eye" karma. In one story, a distressed child is apparently reliving a past-life in which he was murdered. Suddenly (after reliving the death) he grows calm and announces that, in a subsequent life, he will take the murderer as his son, and teach the destructive spirit kindness and compassion.

2. Another view to karma is that which is expressed in these pages by Ben Swett. A soul's overwhelming love of Jesus keeps the soul from falling back to Earth. Here, love outweighs karma. And we can see also in the context of karma that Jesus' forgiving of sins was the same as cancelling karmic debt!

ki
Thanks to Japanese animation, many people associate Ki with psychic energy blasts. However, in the Japanese use of the word "ki," it has a lot more to do with attitude, attention, and mental state. A serious study of spirituality will show the defining measure of spirituality is attitude and intention: one's own inner compassion, honesty, and fidelity to God -- or lack thereof. This fits in very neatly with "ki" as an expression of mental state more than psychic energy blast.

light (spiritual)
Many psychics, Near Death Experiencers, and so on describe the glorious light of God: warm, loving, and aware. But there are areas where there is very little light: places where people act out of selfishness, hurt, hatred, and so on. Yet, most mystics would agree that nothing can exist without God. God is in everything, even darkness. So, what is light, and what is darkness? One possibility is that spiritual light is a measure of alignment with God's will. Hence, a person can be filled with darkness because he has lost sight of goodness, kindness, and patience. God is still there, but there is no alignment with God's will. And because it seems God allows free will, God will not force light to enter in.

psychic powers
In my experience, everyone has psychic power. And which is more valuable and powerful: the ability to hit someone with a blast of energy, or the ability to spread a heartfelt smile to other people in daily life? Both are "psychic" powers -- psychic people can observe psychic reactions to either; both have spiritual ramifications; both are things anyone can do with training and will. Which is more worthwhile?

reincarnation
Sometimes reincarnation may be productive, but many times, some people suggest, reincarnation is driven by human desires rather than divine guidance. Sometimes, reincarnation can be spurred by negative influences who wish to "ride" the human as we ride horses! Reincarnation isn't always positive and beneficial. (Read more about reincarnation at Ben Swett's site.)

selling one's soul to the devil
God doesn't have to recognize the sale! (Story at Ben Swett's site.) And if God doesn't recognize it, why assume you are eternally condemned?

up
In our sense of verbal understanding, "up" means "better." Think of "shape up," "high spirits," "pinnacle of his career," "upwardly mobile." Our spirits translate this to the spiritual realm also. Hence, if we are aligned correctly, we will perceive "up" to be the direction of greater compassion, wisdom, and peace. Not coincidentally, if we look psychically (without interference) we should see God's Light above. If we see the Light off in a different direction, it's time to examine our beliefs about the important things in life. (Thanks to Ben Swett for this idea.)

worship
The word can conjure up images of people bowing down to some glowing calf idol. But a more accurate description may be to consider: What is a person's primary goals in life? (Money, fame, a good time, helping others, raising kids?) What does a person respect most? (Wealth? High IQ? Musical talent? Compassion?) What does a person work to increase in the world? (Personal wealth? Capitalism? One's personal TV series? Peace?) What does a person spend his or her time thinking about? (How to increase sales? Better sex? How to help other people? The wonders of the universe?) What gives the person a sense of peace and happiness? (Money in the bank? Dinner? Sex? Knowledge of God?) Examine all of these and you can get an idea of what a person's god is, and what he or she really worships. (Idea based on C. S. Lewis' writings.)
Main Spirituality Page