Food for Thought

(PASO ROBLES, Calif.) - “Miracles and Modern Spiritualism,” by Alfred Russell Wallace; 1876 - reflect mid-to-late 19th Century thought that possess a level of consistency and truth I refer to as

“Inclinations toward Mystery and passions strongly excited by Catholicism that increases religious fervor may give the appearance of truth occurring in the oddest manner, but they exist as fact only in the minds of the faithful by inference;” i.e., those who persist in clinging to what logically is false, and who ignore that miracles and magic are real only if we allow ourselves to believe they are and ignore that miracles occur only through the magic of belief, and magic only through the miracle of persuasion.

“The essential teaching of Spiritualism is, that all of us, in every act and thought are helping to build up a “mental fabric” which will be and constitute ourselves more completely after the death of the body than it does now. There will be no religious reward or punishments; but every one will know the consequence of either a well or ill spent life on earth where spiritual happiness [or misery] is entirely dependent on the mental fabric we construct by our daily thoughts, words, and actions on earth.” [Is the Islamic paradise for jihads’ then truly “a place of eager virgins” or just a ploy?].

“Spirits never describe themselves as being in purgatory, heaven, or hell, and Evangelist dissenters who die in the firm conviction they will certainly go to Jesus have never described themselves as being with Christ, or as ever having seen Him: spirits have no more direct knowledge of those subjects than they had while on earth. The vast spiritual world is not molded to one pattern of being, but is almost certainly a thousand times more varied than human society on earth” [ever was, or ever will be].

The cardinal maxim of Spiritualism is that everyone must find truth for himself. Except for the purposeful design that religions impose upon their followers [their supposed description of “paradise,” and heavenly promises made] “the act of dying and entering a spiritual afterlife, even if ambiguous, is at least similar to what Spiritualists believe.” It is what happens next that is the dichotomy of which I speak - each supposedly according to what is earned in earthly life,

No one knows for sure, but since God is a Universal Being, it would make sense to conclude that the reason spirits are non-committal, if they truly communicate with earthlings from the hereafter, is because they exist in the Universal realm of God rather than particular afterlife realms religions say exist but cannot actually deliver.

I speak with some authority because I have been the recipient of a so-called visitation by my brother just before he died, as also was my cousin. My brother was in Oakland, CA and we in Minnesota; he came to me in a dream, and I presume my cousin’s visitation was the result of a convincing dream also. Whereas I saw my brother hung upon a cross, he sat on her bed and told her, “Yes, Joyce, there really is a God,” but he didn’t say it was Jesus. I presume they had spoken about God shortly before he died.

In 1976 my remaining brother told me that “two days before Buford died [in 1943], I came home and heard a choir singing in his room: I walked down the hall to see what was happening, but found Buford alone and asleep” No symbolism was involved in this case beyond the choir. Symbols are useful devices that lend clarity to events for those who need, or are comforted by them; they do not verify religious dogma.

Mitch Albom’s book “have a little faith” tells of spending the last of a Rabbi’s life getting to know him; he had promised to eulogize the Rabbi when he died. They spoke of many things, two of which were life after death, and why children die so early in life. The Rabbi didn’t know what to expect when he died, but looked forward to finding out. The death of his young daughter threw him for a loop, but he finally reconciled himself to God’s will. He believed he would see his daughter again in his afterlife, and I for one believe he will, at just the age and in good health as he remembers her.

I lost two brothers, both from TB; both had wasted away, and the second was spastic from birth. After mother died in 1976 [my brothers died in 1943 and 1955] I had another dream that involved mother and my two brothers, but Hubert was no longer spastic! Each appeared the age I recall they were when they died, and each was entirely whole; mother looked to be in her late fifties, as she was when Hubert died.

I was about to have a serious operation, and I was anxious and alone. I dreamed I was playing tennis - at the top of my game - when my opponent hit the ball over the enclosure and I went to retrieve it. The ball bounced onto a slow moving train passing by, and I clamored aboard to get it. There on the front seat of the car I entered were my deceased brothers and mother. I was impressed by how well they looked, but mother seemed severe, as she could be at times. Not a word was spoken.

I grabbed the tennis ball, but sensed the train rapidly picking up speed, and it occurred to me that if I didn’t get off, I might join them, a prospect mother seemed not to want me to do [hence her severity?] There was no time to lose; I decided to jump, and then experienced a moment of intense peace. When I jumped, I immediately awoke.

The next day I checked myself into the hospital, was assigned a private room and prepped for the operation. The surgeon reassured me but still I was anxious. Robert Taylor was a surgeon of the old school who prescribed less pain medication than I needed. Fortunately, my Endocrinologist stopped by, and seeing my misery, ordered the Demerol be increased to doses lasting four-hours instead of just one.

On the fifth day after the operation, Dr. Taylor phoned instead of coming by. That afternoon I suffered chills and shivered so badly that “Code Blue” brought a bevy of nurses to my side who eventually decided my reaction must be psychological. I couldn’t stop crying, nor could I explain why, I just knew I had to drain the anxiety from my body. When finally I did, I rested quietly in the conviction that, all things considered, I was not meant to die.

The water-cycle offers the most suitable analogy as to why people die when they do, either in or beyond the womb. The water-cycle begins and ends with oceans which represent, metaphorically speaking, the substance of God’s Universal plan.

Moisture rises from the sea and falls on plains, foothills and mountain peaks which flows back to its common beginning in the same way as human lives return to their beginnings by which life-spans are measured. God doesn’t oversee this function; He designed it to perform independently as was the human brain which He expects to be used intelligently. But politics, religions, and humans obsessed with their own agenda are disruptive of the will of the True God.

Catastrophe due to over population, politics and religion causes more deaths on earth which might be reduced by the proper use of the brain God gave us, but the Party of Jesus confounds the problem by insisting God is Love, and by obstructing the positive thinking of Democrats who it blames of being “overly cerebral contrarians.”

------------------------------------------------
Kenneth G. Ramey was a 79-year old "writer without a Website" who is generating excellent, provocative articles on the subject of religion and world affairs. We are pleased that Ken's "lone wolf" presence as a writer in the world has been replaced by a spot on our team of writers at Salem-News.com. Raised in Minnesota and California during the dark years of the Great American Depression, Ken is well suited to talk about the powerful forces in the world that give all of us hope and tragedy and everything in between. You can write to Ken at: darken1@sbcglobal.net