This is a culmination of several authors descriptions of the "Life Review" people experience after death.

This is very long, but I feel that it's a VERY impiortant topic. I hope there are those here that find this to be meaningful

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From the book “THE NEW REVELATIONS”, by Neale Donald Walsch, 2002, page 26

Here is the FIFTH NEW REVELATION:

God is not a singular Super Being, living somewhere in the Universe or outside of it, having the same emotional needs and subject to the same emotional turmoil as humans. That Which Is God cannot be hurt or damaged in any way, and so, has no need to seek revenge or impose punishment.

Now I know and I understand that this upsets your apple cart. This throws everything into disarray. For your entire system of right and wrong, good and evil, justice and injustice is based upon an opposite thought. It is empowered through the thought that God does seek revenge and impose punishment.

Most people don't want to "let go" of a punishing God because they want to feel that there is some justice in the Universe. If the "bad guys" don't get punished while on Earth, at least we can hold the thought that "they'll get theirs" when they die---because "God has promised us justice."

There is no such thing as reward and punishment in my kingdom. Yet, saying that there is no such thing as "punishment" is not the same as saying there are no consequences. When you do the thing called "die"---that is, after you end your time with a physical body here on Earth---you will be given the opportunity for a Life Review. In fact, you will ask for It. You will want it. It will be a major part of the process by which you come to know more about yourself and about Life, by which you evolve.

During this Life Review process you will be allowed to experience every moment of your life, everything that you ever thought, said, or did. This experience will be comprehensive. You will not only experience this from your point of view, you will experience it from the point of view of every person whose life you touched.

You will be able to experience what they experienced as a result of what you were thinking, saying, or doing.

Let me see if I understand this. I will move through all of my life's interactions with others, one interaction at a time, from the other's point of view?

Exactly.

My God, that would be hell.

No. It would be remembering. You will remember Who You Really Are and who you can become by com­ing to know what others experienced at your hands. But even if it was painful for them, you will not suffer.

How can that be?

Suffering is a point of view. Remember that. Pain is an experience; suffering is a point of view about that experience. You will experience the pain---as a mother experiences the pain of childbirth---but you will not think of it as suffering. To complete the analogy, you will experience it as the joy of giving birth. In this case, to a New You. To a You who now understands more, com­prehends more, realizes more, knows more---and is ready to experience the Self in a new way as a result.

This process is called evolution. And in this process of evolution the primitive concepts of "reward and pun­ishment" have no place.

It can be difficult for many humans to understand that. Take away Reward and Punishment and everything seems to fall apart.

Unless it does not.

Unless humans empower themselves to create what­ever understandings they wish to put into place about "right" and "wrong," "good" and "evil," "justice" and injustice," without using God to justify them.

You're talking about a secular code. Many organized religions say that this is the Great Evil overtaking the world. They call it secularism, or humanism, or, worst of all, secular humanism, and they say it is the great enemy of God.

Of course they do, because it is a great threat to them. God has no "enemies," because God cannot be hurt, damaged, or destroyed.

Yet our dictionaries define "secularism as rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations." And that's my point.

It says nothing about rejection or exclusion of spiri­tuality and spiritual considerations.

What is the difference between religion and spirituality?

One is an institution and the other is an experience.

Religions are institutions built around a particular idea of how things are. When those ideas become hardened and set in stone, they are called dogmas and doctrines. They then become largely unchallengeable. Organized religions require you to believe in their teachings.

Spirituality does not require you to believe anything. Rather, it continually invites you to notice your experi­ence. Your personal experience becomes your authority, rather than something that someone else has told you.

If you had to belong to a particular religion to find God, it would mean that God has a particular way or means by which you are required to come to Him. Yet why would I require that?
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From the book “EMBRACED BY THE LIGHT”, Betty Eadie, 1992.

This is Betty describing her experience after her death, when she meets…

The Council of Men

I had no reaction to the council being comprised solely of men. I accepted the fact that they had their roles and I had mine. The men radiated love for me, and I felt instantly at peace with them. They leaned together to consult with each other. Then one of them spoke to me. He said that I had died prematurely and must return to earth. I felt them saying it was important that I return to earth, that I had a mission to fulfill, but I resisted it in my heart. This was my home, and I felt that nothing they could say would ever convince me to leave it. The men conferred again and asked me if I wanted to review my life. The request felt almost like a command. I hesitated; no one wants their mortal past to be reviewed in this place of purity and love. They told me that it was important for me to see it, so I agreed. A light appeared to one side, and I felt the Savior's love beside me.

I stepped to my left to watch the review. It oc­curred in the place where I had been standing. My life appeared before me in the form of what we might consider extremely well defined holograms, but at tremendous speed. I was astonished that I could understand so much information at such a speed. My comprehension included much more than what I remember happening during each event of my life. I not only re-experienced my own emotions at each mo­ment, but also what others around me had felt. I experienced their thoughts and feelings about me. There were times when things became clear to me in a new way. "Yes," I would say to myself. "Oh, yes. Now I see. Well, who would have guessed? But, of course, it makes sense." Then I saw the disappoint­ment that I had caused others, and I cringed as their feelings of disappointment filled me, compounded by my own guilt. I understood all the suffering I had caused, and I felt it. I began to tremble. I saw how much grief my bad temper had caused, and I suffered this grief. I saw my selfishness, and my heart cried for relief. How had I been so uncaring?

Then in the midst of my pain, I felt the love of the council come over me. They watched my life with understanding and mercy. Everything about me was taken into consideration, how I was raised, the things I had been taught, the pain given me by others, the opportunities I had received or not received. And I realized that the council was not judging me. I was judging myself. Their love and mercy were absolute. Their respect for me could never be lessened. I was especially grateful for their love as the next phase of my review passed before me.

I was shown the "ripple effect," as they described it. I saw how I had often wronged people and how they had often turned to others and committed a similar wrong. This chain continued from victim to victim, like a circle of dominoes, until it came back to the start---to me, the offender. The ripples went out, and they came back. I had offended far more people than I knew, and my pain multiplied and became unbearable.

The Savior stepped toward me, full of concern and love. His spirit gave me strength, and he said that I was judging myself too critically. "You're being too harsh on yourself," he said. Then he showed me the reverse side of the ripple effect. I saw myself perform an act of kindness, just a simple act of unselfishness, and I saw the ripples go out again. The friend I had been kind to was kind in turn to one of her friends, and the chain repeated itself. I saw love and happiness increase in others' lives because of that one simple act on my part. I saw their happiness grow and affect their lives in positive ways, some significantly. My pain was replaced with joy. I felt the love they felt, and I felt their joy. And this from one simple act of kindness. A powerful thought hit me, and I repeated it over and over in my mind: "Love is really the only thing that matters. Love is really the only thing that matters, and love is joy!" I recalled the scripture that said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10), and my soul was filled with this abundant joy.

It all seemed so simple. If we're kind, we'll have joy. And the question suddenly came out of me: "Why didn't I know this before?" Jesus or one of the men responded, and the answer was ingrained in me. It sank into the deepest part of my soul, changing my outlook on trials and opposition forever: "You needed the negative as well as the positive experiences on earth. Before you can feel joy, you must know sor­row."

All of my experiences now took on new meaning. I realized that no real mistakes had been made in my life. Each experience was a tool for me to grow by. Every unhappy experience had allowed me to obtain greater understanding about myself, until I learned to avoid those experiences. I also saw myself growing in ability to help others. I even saw that many of my experiences had been orchestrated by guardian angels. Some experiences were sad and some were joyful, but all were calculated to bring me to higher levels of knowledge. I saw that the guardian angels remained with me through my trials, helping me in any way they could. Sometimes I had many guardian angels around me, sometimes just a few, depending on my needs. In reviewing my life I saw that I often repeat­ed the same mistakes, committing the same harmful actions over and over, until finally I learned the lesson. But I also saw that the more I learned, the more doors of opportunity were opened to me. And they were literally opened. Many things I thought I had done by myself were shown to have been extend­ed by divine help.

So the review quickly changed from a negative experience to a very positive one. My perspective of myself was changed, and I saw my sins and short­comings in a multi-dimensional light. Yes, they were grievous to me and others, but they were tools for me to learn by, to correct my thinking and behavior. I understood that forgiven sins are blotted out. It is as if they are overlaid by new understanding, by a new direction in life. This new understanding then leads me to naturally abandon the sin. Although the sin is blotted out, however, the educational part of the experience remains. Thus the forgiven sin helps me to grow and increases my ability to help others.

This expanded knowledge gave me the perspective I needed to truly forgive myself. And I understood that forgiveness of self is where all forgiveness starts. If I am unable to forgive myself, it is impossible for me to truly forgive others. And I must forgive others. What I give out is what I receive. If I want forgive­ness, I have to give forgiveness. I also saw that the behavior in others that I criticized most---and forgave least---was almost always a behavior that I myself possessed, or feared having. I was threatened by others' examples of my own weaknesses, or by my potential weaknesses.

I saw how damaging lust for the things of this world can be. All real growth occurs spiritually, and worldly things like possessions and rampant appetites smother the spirit. They become our gods, binding us to the flesh, and we are not free to experience the growth and joy that God desires for us.

I was told again, not in words this time but by understanding, that the most important thing I could do in life was to love others as myself. But to love others as myself, I first had to really love myself. The beauty and light of Christ were within me---he saw it!---and now I had to search within myself to find it as well. As if this were a commandment, I did just this, and I saw that I had suppressed the genuine loveliness of my own soul. I had to let it shine again as it once had.

My review was over, and the men sat in stillness, radiating their absolute love for me. The Savior was there in his light, smiling, pleased with my progress. The men then conferred again and turned back to me. "You have not completed your mission on earth," they said. "You must go back. But, we will not compel you; the choice is yours."

Without hesitation, I said, "No, no. I can't go back. I belong here. This is my home." I stood firm, knowing that nothing could ever make me choose to leave.

One of the men spoke, also firmly. "Your work is not complete. It is best that you return."

I was not going back. I had learned as a child how to win a fight, and now I employed all those skills. I threw myself down and began crying. "I won't go back," I wailed, "and nobody is going to make me! I'm staying right here where I belong. I'm through with earth!"

Jesus stood not far from me, off to my right, still glowing in his brilliant light. He came forward now, and I felt his concern. But mixed with his concern was a sense of amusement. He still delighted in me, understanding my moods, and I sensed his empathy for my desire to stay. I arose, and he said to the council, "Let us show her what her mission in­volves." Then turning back to me he said: "Your mission will be made known to you so that you might make a clearer decision. But after this, you must decide. If you return to your life on earth, your mission and much of what you have been shown will be removed from your memory.

Reluctantly I agreed and was shown my mission. Afterward, I knew that I had to come back. Al­though I would hate to leave that glorious world of light and love for one of hardship and uncertainty, the necessity of my mission compelled me to return. But first, I received a promise from each person present, including Jesus. I made them promise that the moment my mission was complete they would take me back home. I was not willing to spend a minute on earth longer than was necessary. My home was with them. They agreed to my terms, and things were put in motion for my return.

The Savior then came to me and told me of his pleasure in my decision. He reminded me that when I returned to earth I would not remember what I had seen concerning my mission. "While on the earth you are not to dwell on what your mission is," he said. "It will be done according to its time."

"Oh, he knows me so well!" I thought. I knew that if I did remember my mission while on earth, I would complete it as rapidly, and probably as ineffec­tively, as possible. It was done according to the Savior's words. The details of my mission have been removed from my memory. Not even a hint remains, and strangely, I have no desire to dwell on it.

As for the Lord's promise to take me the moment my mission is complete, his last words to me still ring in my ears: "The days of the earth are short. You will not be long there, and you will return here."
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From the book “TRANSFORMED BY THE LIGHT”, Melvin Morse, M.D., 1992, (Preface)

"This Being of Light surrounded me and showed me my life. Everything you do is there for you to evaluate. As unpleasant as some parts of it are for you to see, it feels so good to get it all out. I remember one particular incident in this review when, as a child, I yanked my little sister's Easter basket away from her, because there was a toy in it that I wanted. Yet in the review, I felt her feelings of disappointment and loss and rejection. “I was the very people I hurt and I was the very people that I helped to feel good.”

(page 197)

FEAR DEATH AND NEAR DEATH

Let me give you an example of the circuit boards being tripped both ways in the same person, one from fear and the other from near death. This experience was told to me by Dr. van Lummel, a prominent Dutch cardiologist who tells the ex­perience of a patient who nearly died when he rammed into the back of a truck.

During the first stages of the accident, when he realized that collision was imminent, the patient said that time seemed to slow down as he hit his brakes and went into an uncontrolled slide. Then he seemed to pop out of his body. While in this state, he had a life review which consisted of brief pictures---flashes---of his life.

I think this was a "fear death" experience, a dissociative reaction to a life-threatening situation.

What happened next was quite different.

His car struck the truck and the truck bed crashed through the window, causing multiple injuries to his head and chest. Medical reports show that he was in a coma and nearly dead. Yet he had a vivid sensation of leaving his physical body and entering into darkness. He could no longer see the physical world as he could before hitting the truck. He had the feeling of moving up a dark tunnel toward a point of light. Suddenly a being "filled with love and light" appeared to him. Now he had a second life review, one guided by the being of light. He felt bathed in love and compassion as he reviewed the moral choices he had made in his lifetime. He suddenly understood that he was an important part of the universe and that his life had a purpose.

It was in the second experience, activated by the process of dying, that he felt transformed by the light as it guided him through his life review. The first life review just seemed to be a succession of pictures. He gained no understanding from viewing them.
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From the book “The Celestine Vision”, James Redfield, 1997, page 187

THE VIEW FROM THE AFTERLIFE

If our destiny is to become spiritual beings on earth, what about the rest of the story: the birth and death process itself? What will we discover about the heavenly dimension from which we come and to which we return when our time here is over?

According to the latest polls, a great majority of Americans believe in the Afterlife, and the percentage is even higher in many other countries around the world. Yet by all accounts, our current notions about the After­life are far different from the idea of heaven and hell predominant in the old materialistic culture.

In the past, we envisioned the Afterlife as a cute cari­cature of angels and harps and clouds, because our psy­chological stance of denying the mystery posed by death kept us from contemplating the subject in any detail. To look any closer meant we had to squarely face our own death as a real event, and that was something for which human culture, at least in the West, had no time.

But, as we saw, the humanistic psychology of the mid-twentieth century began to erode our denial. Now we are gaining the ability not only to face death as a natural part of life but to pursue the details of what seems to happen during this process. Over the last sev­eral decades, our culture has been flooded with new information. A constant stream of books about the near-death experience has appeared, providing firsthand re­ports from individuals who have been clinically dead for a period of time and then have come back to life. Most of them returned because they felt, or were told, that they had something left to do.

In addition, several well-respected researchers such as Kenneth Ring and Melvin Morse have scientifically investigated near-death experiences, providing widely dispersed and credible summaries for the general public.

Movies have further disseminated this information about the Afterlife and made it seem more real. Who, for instance, wasn't totally suspended in the realism of the movie Always, a love story about a Forest Service flier who saved the life of a friend but lost his own in a fiery airplane explosion? He later found himself walking on the ground, thinking he must have somehow avoided death. It took the counsel of a guiding spirit to convince him that he indeed did die, and that he himself must now act as a guiding spirit to a bumbling pilot sent to take his place. The realism of that relationship was awe-inspiring.

Another good example is the movie Ghost, a story of a man who was killed in a robbery attempt, yet found himself still on earth, able to see everything that was going on but unable to make his presence known to others. He remained to help protect a friend from the murderer, who was after a secret computer password. As the movie progressed, he met other ghosts, learned how they made contact with those still alive, and met a psy­chic who could actually hear him.

These movies present fascinating themes that reflect an emerging knowledge about what we can expect after death. Many questions still remain, but because of the dispersal of Afterlife information, we are beginning to form a clearer picture of death, and this knowledge is widening our perspective about our earthly existence and evolution.

THE NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE

One amazing aspect of the near-death experience is that most people who die and come back tell similar stories about what occurred. Many, for instance, leave their bodies and hover, at first, right above their beds or at the scene of an accident in which they were injured, often watching resuscitation attempts and overhearing precise conversations that are verified at a later date.

Some even hang around the hospital for a while be­fore asking, "Now what?" That question usually brings on a feeling of movement and entry into what is always described as a tunnel of light. Others never look around at all after death; they immediately move into this tunnel.

The tunnel sometimes leads to a waiting or resting area of warm, white light, where the person is bathed in a feeling of immense love and peace. Often the person is met by deceased relatives and friends who explain his situation; usually, he feels as though he has returned home and resists returning to the earthly plane.

At some point, however, those undergoing a near-death experience have what is commonly referred to as a Life Review. Afterward they are sometimes given a choice as to whether they may stay or go back. At other times, they are told they definitely must go back and why. Almost always, those undergoing a near-death ex­perience perceive, in a moment of clarity and vision, what they have left to do on earth.
To a person, their lives are changed dramatically by their near-death experience. Most pursue lives of inspi­ration, giving, and love.

(Recommended movie: Saved By The Light)

THE LIFE REVIEW

The Life Review is one of the most fascinating aspects of the near-death experience. Usually, individuals report envisioning their whole lives flashing before their eyes, not so much like a movie but as a holographic represen­tation. They see everything in great detail and experi­ence their lives being judged not by others, but by themselves. It is as if their consciousness has expanded and united with a larger divine intelligence.

From this place of higher understanding, individuals undergoing a near-death experience say that during the review process, they understand the improper decisions they made and how they could have handled specific situations better. The review is both intensely painful and overwhelmingly joyful, depending on what they are watching. When they review an incident where they emotionally hurt someone, they actually feel the pain that the person felt, as though they are inside the other's body.

Conversely, they are also able to see and feel the joy and love they engendered in others, by actually being them. Because of this intense depth of empathy, most people who have had a near-death experience return to life with a strong determination not to make the same mistakes again and to multiply the times they help oth­ers. Each comment to an individual, each interaction with a friend or a child, each thought sent out into the world about someone else, now takes on heightened meaning, for the person knows that each of these actions will one day be relived and reviewed.

It seems that at some level we have always known about the Life Review. Who hasn't heard, for instance, of someone, after a brush with death, remarking, "My whole life flashed before me"? Similarly, much of sacred literature and scripture devoted to judgment after death has pointed to a Life Review of some kind. Now, how­ever, we are bringing the details of that experience into consciousness. We are judged when we die, but seem­ingly we are judged not by a vengeful God, but by a divine consciousness of which we are a part.

One result of this information becoming known is that we can all slow down and become more aware of the effect of our actions. It gives us an even greater un­derstanding of why we should always consciously uplift others. We may still have lapses in judgment, but now we can stop ourselves periodically and review how we are doing, in effect experiencing a Life Review in our own minds, in advance. I believe we will find that this is the real process of repentance.

(Recommended movie: The Five People You Meet In Heaven)

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

What about the devil and the conspiracy of fallen angels of which so many religious traditions speak? None of the research on near-death experiences has found any evidence of such antics.

The near-death phenomenon confirms that there is only one divine force in the universe, and that force is positive. The problem of evil is all about human ego and fear, which alienate us from this creative force. When we humans are connected with this divinity, both here and in the Afterlife, our security comes from within. When we are alienated from the divine source, we look for se­curity outside ourselves in some form of ego gratifica­tion and energy-stealing control dramas.

As we saw in Chapter 5, humans devise all manner of devices to narrow their experience and push away the anxiety of life. All evil, from the sordid fetishes of the molester to the desperate gambles of the white-collar criminal, is merely a way to repress the fear of lostness, if only for a moment. Evil and hell are internal states.

Most violent criminals grow up in a deprived envi­ronment characterized by neglect, outright abuse, and great fear. A child in such an environment is often beaten for crying, sometimes sexually tortured by par­ents and siblings, terrorized by older children in the neighborhood, and essentially abandoned to fend for themselves. Under these circumstances, the amount of daily fear is inconceivable to those of us who grew up in more secure family situations. These children must find some way to cope, to push the terror and anxiety out of their minds.

A typical coping mechanism in this situation is some kind of fetish or obsession that can be repeated enough to create a sense of control. At superficial levels of anxiety, this activity can simply be the bravado of the mug­ger. At more extreme levels, it is the torturous activities of a serial killer or the dehumanization of a terrorist. All this behavior must be understood as a defense mecha­nism against the great fear that results from spiritual dis­connection.

(Recommended movie: What Dreams May Come)

THE NATURE OF HELL

The problem with constructing delusional devices to ward off anxiety is that they regularly break down. They relieve the symptom---anxiety---rather than the true ill­ness of fear and insecurity, so in the long run they are doomed to failure. In the case of the mugger, expressing the tough-guy bravado and holding up tourists might work for a while, but sooner or later the horrors of childhood and the terror of lostness pour back into con­sciousness. Like the drug user who needs an increas­ingly larger fix to get the same results, the mugger must accelerate his activity, his macho and recklessness, in order to push his anxiety away again. Yet this action puts him in ever more dangerous situations, and his fear only increases.

This scenario can be played out, as well, by the white-collar criminal whose delusions finally catch up with him or by anyone whose use of drugs, working, shopping, eating, watching sports, or pursuing sex gets out of control. Whatever the crutch or obsessive behav­ior, it never addresses the root cause and is doomed to break down; the angst creeps back in and we are driven onward in our never-ending flight from disconnection. This is the nature of hell on earth---and according to much of the information coming in from near-death and out-of-body researchers, it is the nature of hell in the Afterlife as well.

Robert Monroe reported that during his travels in the Afterlife dimension he regularly saw hellishly delusional constructions devised by groups of souls who obses­sively pursued sex as a defensive illusion against their lostness. In Ruth Montgomery's automatic writing of Arthur Ford's descriptions of the Afterlife, she noted that certain souls could not wake up to heaven after death, caught up, no doubt, in the same illusions they devised in life.

Such accounts suggest there is also great effort on the part of other beings in the Afterlife dimension to inter­vene with these deluded souls. They probably do so using the same process of uplifting that we already know about: the process of focusing on the soul's higher self and projecting energy until the soul wakes up, cuts through the obsessive activity, and begins to open up to the divine inside---which is the only real cure for any obsessive activity.

Throughout these reports, however, there is no sign of a malevolent conspiracy. I think we have to conclude that the fallen angels of Scripture are symbolic. As thinkers from Carl Jung to Joseph Campbell have suggested, the scriptural fall from grace, including the story of Sa­tan's fall and his banishment to hell, are merely meta­phors for the pitfalls inherent in human evolution. In its evolutionary journey toward spirituality, humanity has had to emerge from unconsciousness by developing ego strength and becoming self-aware. Yet, to progress fur­ther, our egos must take a backseat to the higher self and stop resisting the act of letting-go to the transcendent experience.

All of us have observed the rebellions of an adoles­cent who is trying to be someone and fashion a unique identity separate from that of his parents. In just this same way, in order to develop our independent ego, we have pulled away from our intuitive source and tried to run our lives totally by ourselves. One could even say that Western culture, as a whole, has been in this state of rebellion for four or five hundred years, having decided, because of the fear, to deny the larger aspect of our being.
In a sense, the symbolism of a devil out there, ready to foil our lives if we stray too far from God, is accurate, because the ego, detached from the divine within, is ca­pable of exactly that.
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From the book “My Descent Into Death”, Howard Storm, Page 30.

LIFE REVIEW

When I was in the company of Jesus and the angels, they asked me if I would like to see my life. Unsure of what to expect, I agreed. The record of my life was their record, not my memory of my life. We watched and experienced episodes that were from the point of view of a third party. The scenes they showed me were often of incidents I had forgotten. They showed their effects on people's lives, of which I'd had no previous knowledge. They reported the thoughts and feelings of people I had interacted with, which I had been unaware of at the time. They showed me scenes from my life that I would not have chosen, and they eliminated scenes from my life that I wanted them to see. It was a complete sur­prise to see how my life history was being presented.

Seven angels and myself held by Jesus were arranged in a cir­cle while the scenes were projected in the midst of the circle. The images were primarily of people and a few inanimate objects that located the event's time and place. It was similar to a play with­out scenery except for the bare essentials. The drama was in chronological order and very selective, demonstrating to me the important developments in my spiritual growth in the world.

We began with scenes of my birth and infancy. The powerful feelings of love that my parents had for me were overwhelming. My parents had unbounded good intentions for their third child, who was their first and only son. My father had returned from service in the navy during World War II and had bought a new, small house in a suburban development. He was thirty-six and my mother was twenty-six. They both looked younger than I re­membered them. They were happily living the American dream with two daughters and a son in a little Cape house in suburban Boston. The scenes of my infancy and early childhood were idyl­lic and filled with love.

We saw scenes of tension develop. As our family grew, my fa­ther's career as a salesman for an international flour milling com­pany put increasing demands on his time. My mother, a nurse, began to work nights to increase the family income so that we could escalate our social status. The neighborhood we lived in was composed of similar families seeking upward mobility. Our extended family was an important part of our weekly obliga­tions.

My father had been a lieutenant in the navy and wanted a highly disciplined home life. My mother had been raised in a very strict Lutheran Finnish immigrant home and accepted her husband's complete authority over the running of the family. The house was immaculate, and dinner was elaborate and formal. My sisters and I were taught to be well mannered and docile. My fa­ther gave commands and the family obeyed promptly.

I saw how I was being trained to repress emotions and was obedient so as to win the approval of my parents. I was also learning that my father completely dominated all of us by the threat of his anger. Although we were not allowed to show anger, I was learning what a powerful means of controlling people anger could be.

In every scene of my childhood, I could feel my intense de­sire for approval and love. It appeared from the scenes of my childhood that I was driven by a need to be loved while I ex­plored and discovered the world around me. I would work hard in school to win approval from teachers. Teachers who made me feel loved got everything I had to give in return. Teachers who didn't love me only frustrated me in my need to be perfect for them.

The angels showed me how my father's compulsion to be successful was driving him toward increasing impatience and rage with his family. I saw how my mother, sisters, and I each de­veloped different means of coping with his unpredictable mood swings. My mother was increasingly passive but withdrawing emotionally from him. My sisters were developing elaborate characters of hypocrisy and duplicity. I grew withdrawn and lived in a private world full of anger and violence.

The angels were showing me how important love was in shaping each member of the family's character. They shared their sadness as we saw how love was expressed in inappropriate ways.

The angels, Jesus, and I felt such disappointment as we watched a typical scene of my father coming home from work late in the evening full of anger. My sisters and I tried to avoid him as much as possible so we wouldn't get yelled at for some capital offense like slouching or putting an elbow on the table. Getting slapped in the face without warning or provocation was becoming common. How pitiful it was to watch a child, who just wanted to be loved, get physical and emotional abuse for no rea­son. As these scenes of family dysfunction increased over the years, I saw love turn to hate in people who really wanted to be loved.

Watching these scenes of our deteriorating family I wanted to intervene, but it was only a record of what had happened and couldn't be altered in any way. The angels and Jesus shared their feelings of joy with me when love was expressed, and they shared their disappointment and sadness when we hurt one an­other. God had put my mother, father, sisters, and me together to love and support one another in our life's journey to grow in love and spirit. We were adapting our desire to love in unhealthy ways.

We watched scenes of my life as I became an adolescent. I became increasingly rebellious, and it was painful to see how I hurt my father by emotionally rejecting him. The more we fought, the more our relationship deteriorated. It was a surprise to see how I had contributed to this hostility and was not the in­nocent victim I had imagined myself to be. I sought love and support from adult male figures who were kind. I excelled in the shot put and discus for a track coach who gave me acceptance and approval. The angels and Jesus had no interest in the track meet competitions I won or lost. They were interested in the re­lationships and how we encouraged or hurt one another.

The advent of rock and roll music carried a message that my adolescent mind was eager to accept: love is romantic sexual re­lations with members of the opposite sex. I readily began the pursuit of girlfriends. It was possible to fall in love with a succes­sion of like-minded girls. The music, television, movies, maga­zines, and books were bombarding us with this message of love.

The problem with the cultural climate was that it identified love exclusively with sexual relations. I didn't understand---nor did my generation---that love and sexual relations are not the same thing. We viewed members of the opposite sex as objects to be exploited for sexual gratification. Relations between male friends were always aggressive because we were rivals for the fe­males. Spiritually, this was a disaster for me and for my genera­tion. We had fun but we were unhappy because we were looking for love in all the wrong places.

Church, school, and home became irrelevant to life's pursuit of love because they refused to discuss sexuality and the other topics relevant to our adolescent lives. This period of my life was shameful to watch in divine company because I had misdirected my desire to love and be loved. God is not particularly interested in human sexual expression. God is interested in how we love one another and doesn't want us to exploit one another. The sex­ual revolution that I grew up in was opposed to love by promot­ing counterfeit sexual love as true love. This cultural wave of hedonism was bathed in alcohol and drugs, which are an even further departure from love and the will of God.

It was amazing to see that God had chosen a woman to love me and for me to love her. In time, we married and have had the most intimate, difficult, wonderful opportunity to learn the true meaning of love with each other. God brought my wife and me together to learn love. I saw it in my life review. God gives us each other to learn how to love. This is our job. It became painfully clear that I was to be God's instrument to love this woman and she is God's instrument to love me. How often we saw examples of when I had been loving, and too often we watched examples of when I had been controlling. Dominance is not love. Love supports.

They showed me how God had given us the opportunity to learn love by having children and raising them to be loving. In my life review, I had to turn away numerous times when I saw myself treating my children in unloving ways. The most unlov­ing thing that I did was to be at times so obsessed with my con­cerns that I was indifferent to their needs. I am sorry for the occasions that I was impatient or cruel to my daughter and son. The most disturbing behaviors I witnessed in my life review were the times when I cared more about my career as an artist and col­lege professor than about their need to be loved. The emotional abandonment of my children was devastating to review.

It was horrifying to see how I had become so much like my father, putting status and success above everything else. I be­lieved that my worth was measured by my success in my chosen career. Because others determine one's degree of success, one learns to value oneself based on the criteria of others. Of course, one is never good enough because there is always a critic and an­other level of achievement to conquer. This becomes a never-ending quest for the unattainable goal of approval. The more you succeed, the more driven you are to prove your worth. I bought into this game hook, line, and sinker. I was caught dangling on the strings others pulled, missing the simple love and joy of wife and family.

When the angels showed me how destructive this was to the well-being of my loved ones, I wanted to end my life review. They insisted that I needed to see the truth of my life and learn from it. I begged them to stop it because I was so ashamed of my failure to live lovingly and because of the grief I had caused God, Jesus, and the heavenly beings. The only reason I could bear to proceed with the life review was because of their love for me. No matter what we watched me do in life, they communicated their love for me, even as they expressed their disapproval of things I did.

One of the things I had done repeatedly in my life was blas­pheme God. During my home life and later as an art student, I had acquired the habit of swearing profusely. This became an un­conscious habit and meant nothing to me. To use vulgar words is only poor taste. To use the name of God in crude or empty ways is an insult to our Creator. I was horrified at how it hurt my heavenly company when we witnessed me blaspheming God and Christ Jesus in my life review.

My life review had begun in my infancy and it was a joy to see my mother and father young and happy loving their child. As the life review progressed from adolescence into adulthood, there were moments of joy when I saw that I had been compas­sionate and moments of displeasure when I saw that I had been selfish and cruel. As my adult life unfolded before us, my self-centered nature predominated, and this greatly displeased my divine company. I did very little that was not in my own self-interest. Other people's needs were less important than my own desires. This is opposed to the will of God and is the opposite of love.

We watched a student come to me with a serious problem that he was having with a girlfriend. We could hear my thoughts as the student told me his story. I was bored and anxious for the student to leave because I had no interest in his problem. To the student it was of the utmost importance, but it was trivial to me. I gave the student some ill-conceived advice and he left. The an­gels and Jesus were very disappointed in my failure to care for and communicate with this young man seeking help. God wants us to be compassionate to one another.

We create our eternal judgment by what we do in this world. The truth judges us. In the light of God there is no deception. How many people will cry out to Jesus Christ when they die and be given a life review? He will say to them, "You called me but I never knew you. When did you show compassion to your brother or sister? When did you love me?"

The angels showed me that we do not earn our love of God by the things we do. God's love is given without cost or strings attached. We live lovingly because God loves us so much. Thank God there is a way to change our lives and be forgiven our mis­takes.

The next time I leave this world, I will be able to stand with the angels and Jesus Christ and look at my life without constant shame and foreboding of what we will see next.
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From the book “The Ripple Effect”, Betty Eadie, 1999, page 81.

The Problem of Evil

My mind cannot conceive how evil can exist in a world that is God's. How is this possible? Why is this possible?

Since we are spirits created by God before the creation of the earth, and some of us chose to come to this earth, why then do people commit the horrendous crimes against their fellow man, such as child abuse, serial killings, rape, etc.?

The question of evil has puzzled us since the be­ginning of time. Through the ages many have tried to place it in a framework of logic to give it meaning and purpose. Some philosophers have used the fact of evil to argue that God does not exist. Most of us, I believe, ignore the larger question and simply deal with what evil comes into our lives as best we can. But the question does have answers. One reader wrote, "You say God has absolute power over all energies. Why, then, would there be a devil who has power over our spirits?"

Ultimately, the devil---or Satan---will not have power over our spirits. His eventual fate is eternal banishment. God does have absolute power, and there is no room for Satan in the Kingdom of God. In this sense we might regard the master of evil as an illusion, because he is already defeated by the power of Christ.

But why does evil exist at all? The answer is that our spirits grow faster and stronger through adversity. The pain of experi­encing wrong-doing and loss burns into our souls and encodes itself into our cells and our energy. The lessons we learn from our troubles become part of our very essence. Negative experiences also grant us the power of empathy, to see others as we see ourselves, to comprehend joys and sorrows and all the human impulses. As our eyes are opened and we grow in empathy, our ability to love unconditionally increases. To develop our highest potential, to become like God, we need to gain that love which only opposition allows us to gain. Without an opposing energy, our power to love would never be strengthened sufficiently to allow us to progress in the eternities.

Satan is the spiritual personification of opposition, as he stands in opposition to the Kingdom of God---to all that is good. His evil, opposing nature is real, and his plan is to defeat the purposes of God. Without him, there would be no battle, no victory, no gain.

Satan is the master of illusion. He mirrors life, creating false images that deceive even the most astute. He cleverly counter­feits true principles and holds false ones up for admiration. For example, he convinces many that the riches of the world are a means of freedom. Riches, however, weigh us down with the responsibility to properly manage them. They do offer means to bless others if we diligently learn how to use them in wisdom. But wealth in the hands of the unprepared and unwise becomes a millstone, dragging the rich by the neck into greed, confusion, dissipation, and eventual misery. Once people have riches, they rarely let them go willingly, and in their fight to keep their "wealth" they usually impoverish their souls. But this is only one way in which Satan provides a testing ground. There are many ways he cleverly and carefully leads people away from the truth.

Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light, appearing to be the answer when in fact he is the problem. Fortunately, a false spirit posing as an angel of light casts a long, dark shadow. That is the nature of evil. It is a tree that bears bitter fruit that can always be detected over time. Evil will take on any form necessary to tempt us, to test us, to claim us, hoping we don't look too closely at its real composition. Remember, like cleaves to like. A darkened soul is more apt to receive a shadowy visitor.

Readers have asked, "What do you mean, 'Satan would have us'? Does not God 'have us' already?" God's love for us never wavers, but it is in our power to turn our backs on his love. Various doors stand before us each day, and we choose which ones to enter. Satan uses negative energies to deceive us into choosing doors which lead into his world. Many people choose those doors and entice us with their voices to investigate. They often appear to be happy. They pique our curiosity and whet our appetites.
They attract us, even thrill us. And so, damning the consequences, we enter the world of consensual darkness where Satan blinds us with ever greater deception, drawing us in deeper and convincing us to remain. Thus he cleverly holds us captive---not with his talons, but with our own. Once enslaved, we turn our backs on God until our pain is so great that we frantically look for relief. Hopefully, we will look to God again, believe his words and keep them---not just because we are supposed to, but because we desire to. Yes, Satan would have us, as he has many. But we hold the keys to the doors leading in and out of his realm.

It is important to recognize that Satan, the Deceiver, masterfully uses our own fears to hold us captive. Fear is the opposite of love. It warps and destroys love's power to heal and to expand us. Some of us in this life and in the world to come are afraid to go to the Light and accept Christ's love. And Christ will not force us; rather, he gently and ever so patiently guides us along. During my near-death experience, my transformation by his healing love began in the darkness before I ever saw him. This love grew in me until my fears departed and I believed I was accepted of him. Then I couldn't be held from him and I went to his light. While in darkness, each of us has the right to feel God's love. But we must accept it. Light and darkness cannot occupy the same space; it is an impossibility.

A man recently wrote to me who didn't accept God. During his near-death experience he passed through the portals of death only to be met by a large animal covered with soft fur. It held him closely, lovingly, until he recognized that it wasn't an animal after all, but Jesus. The man understood he would have been held as long as needed for him to make that discovery. When he returned to life, the man knew he must accept God. He knew also that God always teaches us at our own level. Some may be ready to meet him and embrace him in all his glory. Others may not be ready for some time. Regardless, his love for everyone is the same. It is without conditions or limits. And it is the only anecdote against fear and the Evil One.

The tauntings, whisperings, and temptations of the Prince of Darkness are everywhere. Since many people choose to listen, the ripple effect of evil shadows everyone’s lives whether we choose darkness or not. Secret crimes, lies, lust and carnality tempt every soul alive and are encouraged by the soft malicious voice of evil. Native Americans call Satan the Trickster, and it is true that he tricks us into thinking his thoughts are ours. The following letter reveals one way the Trickster tries to reach us.

For many years I have been plagued with intermittently blasphemous thoughts about our Lord and Savior. They are not continuous, but they occur just the same. For quite a time, I took some comfort in the idea that, because these thoughts did not come from my heart but were only in my head, they were not "genuinely" generated by me. I figured these thoughts were the devil's attempt to try and win me away from God. But now I am not so sure.

I am unable to share this with anyone because I am so ashamed. I know that with prayer anything can happen, but I have been praying about this for years. If this is instigated by the devil, then I know God will forgive me these thoughts because they would be a test by the devil to try and turn me from God. If, however, they are self-generated and willful, and I am unable to rid myself of them because I am inher­ently evil, then how can I expect forgiveness?

Oh, the sick marvels of this Trickster. Not only does he get us thinking negative thoughts, he also gets us doubting their source, and ourselves, and God's power to forgive! This writer fears he is not acceptable to God, that he's not forgivable, and that there­fore he will be cast off into eternal fire. To a certain extent, he's already there. How long has he been casting about in circles, looking for answers, hiding his shame, seeking his own elusive identity?

To dwell upon a thought is to give it energy. To act upon a thought is to give it life. The Lord discusses this principle in Mark 7:15. "There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man." When we give something place within our nature, it manifests itself physically and spiritually. Giving place to negative thoughts by repeating them, pondering them, gnawing on them, gives them energy and thus the power to transform us into their image.

In his letter, the man shares his love for God, and this can become his opportunity for further growth. When a negative thought comes, he should remind himself of this love and know absolutely that God loves him even in that moment. Then he must look for the cause of the negativity and cast it out, again replacing it with his love for God. In time, the negativity will die for lack of support. Also, it is crucial to know that no one's spirit is inherently evil. Bits of darkness may creep into us because mortality is a test that teaches and strengthens us, but we are children of God and like him are beings of truth and beauty and light. Ugliness in all its forms is foreign to our true nature.

Often we can recognize something evil inside as it is mirrored back by people around us. In this way we can learn and grow. One man, disturbed by the behavior of some, wrote this:

Your book stated that we should love everybody, just like Jesus said in the Bible, but some people are just downright rotten, and not only would it be hard to even attempt to like them, but it's very difficult not to loathe them for what they do. If a spirit chose to come to this earth for a growing process, how did that particular person turn out to be so evil?

Other readers voiced the same concern.

It's so sad that the spirits who came to earth come so excited and full of hope, ready to bring love and receive it, but end up bitter and mean. I know only God can judge, but there are so many fallen spirits, it seems.

Yes, evil exists in the world, but what we see as evil is a matter of perception. What is quite normal and understandable to one person may be the height of immorality to another. As a child, I was taught I was evil by nature and that my Indian heritage proved God's displeasure with me and my sinful tendencies. I was born a heathen and would die a heathen, I was told, unless the church reached into my life and saved me. I was only a girl of four and living in a church-run school, so I accepted this completely. I saw God as mean and vengeful and myself as wholly unworthy of his notice, unless it was to punish me as a "sinner." Eventually I saw the error of these teachings, and I worked hard over many years to develop a belief in myself and in my people. But despite the false teachings I received, I harbor no ill will toward my Christian instructors. I am not to judge them. They gave me life when others abandoned me. They taught me to read and write. They even shared love with me when they had a chance. God will judge their characters and lives, and I will be grateful for the good they brought to my life. After all, they could only give me what they themselves believed to be right.

This statement may appear contradictory, but in an important respect I no longer view evil as evil. I view it as opposition with a purpose. People choose the wrong, not because they want to hurt themselves, but because they have not yet learned to choose the good. Through false traditions of those who teach them or through the enticements of Satan, people are led to believe that negativity will solve their problems.

Negativity seems to have the instant ability to serve without effort and so is usually the first route taken. As people choose a path not intended by God for them, they will eventually learn, but through a harder, longer process than necessary. Regardless of the process, though, whether in this life or in the next, it will yet turn them to God. "For it is written,... saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God" (Romans 14:11). Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. God will use any means at his command to reclaim his lost children---even if it is through the things which they suffer. Hell is a tool at God's command both here and in the hereafter and is a state of being that individuals place themselves into. It claims its own: those who refuse to turn from negativity. But since all will eventually confess that God is God, we know he will eventually reclaim all his sheep, even the one who leaves the ninety and nine for a time.

I know the endless love of God, and I know that if there is a way to reach any soul, he will find it and use it---for eternity if need be. Every spirit has the seed of God in it, a seed that only he knows the greatness of, and we cannot judge.

Evil exists for a divine purpose. Because of it, we become aware of our weaknesses. As we gain control of appetites and desires, we begin to see how the influence of evil has strengthened us. The force of opposition can actually propel us forward. When we see it for what it is, we become less susceptible to its negative influence, more able to let our spirits take command of our bodies. We become free from ignorance and fear and therefore more wise in choosing our course down the river of life. Moreover, we are awakened to the multifaceted nature of God's love for his children.

While accepting that God's mercy claims all his children, some wonder if the wicked will ever get punished for their deeds. One man asked "What happens to those who murder and hurt people? When they die, do their spirits go to heaven, and all of a sudden they are loving spirits and have no punishment for their rotten deeds here on earth?"

All who commit heinous sins against others must one day come to know what they have done and to understand their reasons for doing it. They must also come to know what their victims felt because of the pain inflicted upon them. Some choose to delay this awareness, refusing to take responsibility by refusing to learn. But one day they will awaken to a full knowledge of what they have done, and this knowledge can be punish­ment in itself. It can be hell.

When I died and witnessed my life review, I experienced every nuance and meaning of my past actions. I understood exactly how my actions on earth had affected other people and what those people had done to others as a result of my actions. By this I came to fully understand in what ways each action had been either positive or negative. I also clearly understood my reasons behind each action and discovered motives that Freud never dreamed of! But because I now perfectly understood my motives, I had the power to forgive myself for the wrongs I had done. I understood my own ignorance in life, that the reason behind many wrong-doings was that I had simply not learned internally to do the right things yet. I had been blind to the affects of my deeds and habits. To know but not to do, is not to know. And on earth I had not known. Now I understood why others had done negative things to me. Seeing events from their perspectives, I could forgive them freely because I perceived their ignorance, too. We can only give what we have to give, and there are many on earth who are raised in negativity, who have adopted negative words and actions as their response to every stimulus. I could not blame them for responding to their own negativity in negative ways. Nor could I blame myself.

God weighs not only the actions of a person but the intents of the heart as well. Because of his perfect knowledge and love, we could never receive a more thorough or merciful judgment by any other means. I had sinned and had broken spiritual laws that I never knew existed. I had hurt people, doubted God, acted ignorantly in countless ways. Yet standing before Christ, I marveled that he did not judge me at all. He knew the tiniest remotest thing about me and yet accepted me just as I was. He even delighted in me. I was no saint, yet he claimed me as his own and held me in what seemed an eternal embrace.

In discussing matters of evil, many people ask if there is a literal place called hell. I learned that God has many mansions, and that there are many kingdoms and levels in heaven. Where we end up will be the perfect place for us. But I can say that I did not see "hell," and also that I find it hard to conceive of such a place, given what I experienced. I felt greater mercy and under­standing from God than I had ever imagined. To say that the fires of hell will claim anyone forever is to deny the extent of God's love, of his understanding, and of his willingness to forgive. We doubt his judgment in the first place if we believe he would send us here, block us from heaven, and then expect us to return to him unblemished.

We must not think in black and white, but more like God thinks, without limiting any possibility for love and redemption. We should try everyday to see the good in people as he sees it. Not that we should blindly trust all people, but we can temper our judgment with the recognition that a piece of God dwells in each person, which is always redeemable.

For 25 years I have thought about this judgment and forgive­ness and about the worth of each soul to God. My experience was just my personal experience, not the collective experience of all, but in pondering these things I have come to the conclusion that no soul, once remembering his or her true nature and previous life with God, would behave in ways God would not approve of. To do so would damage their own happiness. But in life we don't remember. We cannot hear, see, or physically feel God. We act blindly and perhaps our true colors or our true ignorance comes out. These revelations about ourselves teach us what we need to work on to become more like God, and he kindly gives us the time and space to work on them. No purpose of life is given to force us from God. Every purpose brings us nearer to him and prepares us to become more like him.

But there is more to our lives than individual progression. We have billions of spirit brothers and sisters with whom we share this life, and we are collectively responsible for this world we live on. We all lend our energy to it. Our thoughts, words, actions, talents, and light blend to form a collective environment and experience. Our combined energy helps create or destroy the well being of each person. Therefore, each action of each individual blesses or lessens the welfare of every other. This interdependence of all things living and non-living is perhaps best understood by our native peoples---in America and elsewhere. By listening to their teachings and weaving them into our own ways, we may bring a simple and priceless harmony into our lives that is missing. Each soul is unique, but the principles of life are eternal.

Often connected to the question of evil is the question of calamity and natural disaster. In witnessing the terrible suffering on earth, some wonder just how constant God's love is. One reader wrote, "You said the Lord is all loving. Why, then, do some people suffer so from disease and acts of nature such as earth­quakes and flood, etc.?"

Natural afflictions of the world come for many reasons, but we must put them all under the general heading of "Blessings." Some afflictions come as a result of personal choice. Gluttony, for example, brings natural health problems. Fear and anxiety produce their own forms of ailment. Some physical conditions occur as a result of our spiritual health. But every opposition is a gift from God and can be used to refine spiritual awareness and increase love if we choose to use them that way. The same is true for earthquakes, famine, pestilence, and other natural disasters even though they appear to be random and not brought on by choice. We knew before coming here that some trials would be very traumatic and that we might not understand them or learn all we could from them. But we volunteered for them anyway, seeking all things that might refine us, humble us, and empower us to use our divine gifts to overcome and grow beyond these adversities. We hoped and we covenanted that by enduring these trials we would return to God stronger and more like him.

However, knowing that we chose to endure tragedy, and knowing that God allows it, does not make tragedy any less painful. The pain is part of the growth process, with the greater pain often triggering the greater growth. At times the pain or the calamity can be so severe that we need the love and prayers of others to enable us to endure it. The increase of love and prayer leading to greater faith among people may be the purpose behind some disasters. Or this may be one purpose among many as multiple truths are taught to all involved. A loving God allows tragedies to occur because he loves us and knows exactly what we need and what we can endure in order to grow.

We live in troubling times. Evil seems to be reaching new depths and broader acceptance in the lives of many. But truth is also expanding in the world, surging with new light and new ideas and generating exciting opportunities and challenges. For many this is a frightening time as old orders change and new values seep in. Time is speeding up. "What is the world coming to?" is a question as old as the world but perhaps more appli­cable today than ever. But regardless of its condition, this crazy, mind-boggling world is ours. We chose to come to it, and we chose this period of time in which to come. Many of us were among the strong ones, ready and determined to come and bless this world in these chaotic times.
Now's our chance.

Our action or lack of action will have an impact. Planet Earth possesses a spirit, a life-force all its own. In a very real way it is a living entity. Currently the earth suffers from evil and abuse heaped upon it. It suffers from the misuse of its energy by man, and this abuse has taken its toll. Mankind has now changed the nature of the energy within and surrounding the earth. Like a magnetic force, this energy is beginning to pull and distort the earth's harmony, throwing natural forces off balance. If we do not return to the truths of God, seasons will continue to be altered, earthquakes will split the earth, floods will rage, disaster will follow disaster, and all this will be a direct result of our collective disregard for universal laws. Our actions magnified by billions of souls will literally change our environment, first spiritually, then physically.

As dire and unavoidable as this sounds, we must not become fatalistic. We have the power to reverse this process. As I came back from death, I was shown many catastrophes that await the earth if mankind collectively continues to break universal laws. These catastrophes are not for our punishment; they come as natural results of our choices. We determine our own destiny and will face the evil or good that we create. I was told that denying our Creator, who is God himself, would be the foremost cause of these consequences. So I was given to know that calamities need never occur if we will bring ourselves into harmony with God and the universe. We can restore the spiritual balance of our creation if we choose to.
And many are choosing to.

Our world stands on the brink of a spiritual renaissance, a revival of spirituality that will sweep the earth and change it in significant ways. To effect these changes, the great Awakening has already begun. Light and knowledge have begun to flow from heaven in greater intensity. Those sensitive to it will respond and fill their lives with this light and knowledge. Evil, by its opposing nature, is rising up to challenge this Awakening. But the harder the opposition, the harder the angels and good people will work to create it. If not for evil and its polarizing effects, the Awakening in fact could not happen as quickly as it will. God has set this in motion, and it will not be stopped. Once he begins a work, his energy quickly fills it and expands until the work is finished. The world will suffer greatly through this process of rebirth, but its outcome is sure---not just because God has ordained it, but because millions of good people will exercise their free will to embrace this gift from heaven. We can fail individually, but we will not fail collectively.

Those who understand the message of God's love must share it with courage and confidence. People not yet sure in spiritual truth will be supported and guided by those who are sure until they come into their own understanding. We can and will see our world cleansed of all evil and blanketed with a greater glory, even the glory and love of God. But we must each believe and act in that belief. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
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RE: Virgin Mary apparitions that occurred from 1961 to 1965 in Garabandal, Spain.

The Virgin Mary appeared to four girls: Conchita Gonzales (the principle spokesperson with the Blessed Virgin); Mari Lou Mazon, Jacinta Gonzalez; and Mari Cruz Gonzalez

The following was taken from Conchita Gonzalez' Diary June 2, 1965.

A WORLD-WIDE WARNING

"The Warning is something that is first seen in the air everywhere in the world and immediately is transmitted into the interior of our souls. It will last for a very little time, but it will seem a very long time because of its effect within us. It will be for the good of our souls in order to see in ourselves our conscience; the good that we have failed to do, and the bad that we have done. Then we will feel a great love towards our Heavenly Parents and ask forgiveness for all our offenses. The Warning is for us to draw closer to Him and to increase our faith. Therefore, one should prepare for that day, but not await it with fear. God does not send things for the sake of fear, but rather with justice and love. He does it for the good of all His children so they might enjoy eternal happiness and not be lost."