June 2002

Heaven is not a place, but a state of mind; a thought about were we will go when we die. A manifestation of our dualistic perspective. The place, where the creator lives. It is called many names, Heaven, Mecca, Nirvana, Stovokor (if you’re Klingon). The name doesn’t really matter, most religions teach that there is someplace after death that we will return to, if we meet the requirements.

   In his book, The Edgar Cayce Primer, writer Hubert Puryear writes: “Heaven is an awareness of our oneness with the Father; thus we do not go to heaven, we grow to heaven, for each soul grows to the awareness within the temple of its own body. As we experience being away from the at---oneness, this state is called hell.

   In his books, writer Neale Donald Walsch, try's to explain Hell as the opposite of Heaven. In the physical, relative world we must have an opposite for all that is. Hell was created to represent what heaven is not. Because God is all-there-is and lives in heaven and is omnipresence, we can assume that Hell is the same place. It’s our thought about hell that has created it and it is the same thought that we will take with us when we die, until we change our mind about its existence.

   If the body is the temple of the soul, and the soul is one with God, then God resides in the body. Then if God resides in the body, is the body not Heaven?

   He also went on the explain in one of his books, Conversations with God, Book 3; that during the matriarchal period, man created the myth about the Devil and Hell in order to take women’s power away from her. The mythology is a very effective tool that is still used today by the Churches to control their members in accordance with their own dogma and agendas.

   In the book Seth Speaks by Jane Roberts,  he states, “In all cases the individual creates his experience. This is a basic thought of all consciousness and existence. There are no special “places” or situations or conditions set apart after physical death in which any given personality must have experience”.

   During my childhood, my siblings and myself were sent to many different churches. Even as a young person still unable to yet fully understand or appreciate certain concepts; I rejected the idea of heaven and hell. It just did not sit well, with me, or make any sense at all; it didn’t feel right. I could never understand that God the Father, who loves unconditionally , would want to punish his son, me; I being one of his children, a son of God.. I thought that if I had a son, I would never want to send him to hell over a simple misdemeanour. What kind of a father would want to do that? I rationalized that, what was taught in Sunday school sounded so good to the teachers that they decided to keep telling the same story to adults. What was more amazing was that this idea passed unchallenged and still believed today.

   Even heaven with its streets of gold didn’t quite seem right to me. What would I want with streets of gold could it have some value in Heaven? What would I want with any riches, if everything I wanted was supplied to me anyway? Did I have to have this gold to buy food and shelter while I was there? The fable even at that age, sounded a little too made up, like it was made for someone even younger that I was. All I wanted was a father to love me, and heaven was a nice safe place to live without all the fireworks and heat of hell. I felt like I was rejected from the start as far as the church goes. I don’t believe hell exists for me, why would I want it, why would you want it?

Roy is a resident of British Columbia, Canada. An international published author, a student of NLP, spiritual philosopher, New Age Light Worker, Teacher and Phenomenologist. Roy's books and articles are thought provoking, and designed to empower your imagination. Review Roy's new book at: http://www.yourlifewasnevermeanttobeastruggle.com