Including Song: THE AFTERLIFE
Friday, March 20, 2015
THE HEREAFTER
(Including Song:
The Afterlife)
By
Francis William Bessler
Laramie, Wyoming
3/20/2015
Now - and Then!
Is there an afterlife? If so, what is it like? As I offer in a song below I just wrote:
Have you ever considered
you're now in the hereafter
compared to where you were
before in history.
Just think of each life
as being another chapter
as you go forward
into eternity.
Realistically, I think that is the way to begin to find an answer to this very puzzling question. We all want to believe there is something more to come after this life. It is, perhaps, just human nature - or the nature of an intelligent being. Intelligence drives us to know. Since we humans are intelligent, well, then, it is just natural to think about the future.
Personally, I have been driven in life to ask another question - why am I here? I wrote about that in a previous essay - WHAT AM I DOING HERE? My guess is that the two facets - this life and the afterlife - are related in that one is a reflection of the other. Accordingly, know one and you will probably know the other.
That makes it pretty simple. Doesn't it? Never mind wondering about what is to come. Just know what is now and you will also know what will be then, so to speak. The future is only an extension of the present as the present is only an extension of the past. To assure a wonderful future, we have to conduct ourselves in the present like we want to be in a future. It is simple as that. Don't you agree?
All Is Equally Sacred
When I look at the world in general - as far as I can see - there is one thing that becomes very clear to me: there is no part of it that can possibly be more sacred than another. I mean it takes a heck of an imagination to imagine that my home in Laramie, Wyoming is somehow less sacred than anywhere else.
Take anywhere - Rome, for instance. Is it possible that God is more present in Rome than It is here in Laramie, Wyoming? Of course not. Alright, take Jerusalem. What is there in Jerusalem, sacred wise, that is not here in Laramie, Wyoming? Nothing - absolutely nothing. Oh, I am sure some will claim that Jerusalem has some special Temple or other, but, hey, we have "temples" here in Laramie, Wyoming too. Is it likely at all that some temple in Jerusalem is going to have more of God in it than any temple here in Laramie, Wyoming? Again, one can imagine anything, but as for me, I can't imagine any temple in Jerusalem being any more "holy" than any temple here in Laramie, Wyoming. Can you?
We could go on, but why? That is, we could compare one place here on Earth with another place on Earth, but I think I have said enough about that. Right? So, let us imagine we are on Jupiter. Compared to any place at all on Jupiter, is it likely that there is more of God in one place on Jupiter than any place on Earth? I don't think so.
Venture outward, then, to another galaxy. Out there beyond our own Milky Way Galaxy, let's just imagine that we are on some planet circling some other Sun - going around and around and around that Sun like our Earth goes around our own Sun. There you are in some wonderful garden on Planet X of another galaxy.
Look around! Is God more "here" on Planet X than on that far distant planet, Earth, in that far distant galaxy called by those folks in it called The Milky Way? So, what is that to say? It is to say something very, very obvious. There can be no place in the entire scope of what we call Existence than can be any more holy than any other place. Period.
Not so, says my old mentor of a past life - Father Daniel Carroll. Francis, you are comparing what is physical with what is spiritual. The spiritual is not the physical. There may be no physical place that is more holy than any other physical place, but let us not put what is called Heaven in some physical definition. It is not, Dear Francis. Heaven is something entirely different. It is Spiritual.
Father Dan, my old friend, how do you know that? How do you know that I can't compare what is on Earth to some proverbial "Spiritual Heaven"? Well, it is a matter of belief, Francis. You have to believe there is a Spiritual Heaven in order to be confident that such a place - or is it, State of Existence - exists.
And I would counter. Father Dan, why should I want to imagine that there is some Spiritual Heaven someplace or somehow elsewhere when it is obvious to me that any God in that Spiritual Heaven must be the same God that is here on Earth?
But I think that is what we do. We hold onto to an idea that there is another place far more glorious than what we find here - and presto, we walk in Paradise everyday and miss it entirely. In truth, one has to be aware of any Paradise to know one is in it.
My Old Friend, Jesus
My old friend, Father Daniel Carroll, passed away in 2003 in his early '90s, but Father Dan would have it that when he died, he would be whisked away to what he thought is a "Spiritual Heaven." Maybe Father Dan is there now, but I strongly believe he has been reborn on Earth - maybe even to be reading these words now. I strongly believe that Father Dan was wrong; and one of the reasons I think that Father Dan was wrong is that in THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THOMAS, there is a verse about the afterlife that at least implies that we simply go on into another incarnation after we leave the one we are in.
In Verse 51 of that wonderful master work - that was banned, by the way, in the 4th Century by those who believed like my old friend, Father Dan - it is written: His disciples said to Him: When will the repose of the dead come about and when will the new world come? He said to them: What you expect has come, but you know it not.
Quite frankly, I think that the Jesus of Thomas put it very succinctly. That which we expect to come is already here. In other words, we are living again now. That is, our souls are living again now - through the present incarnation. We know it not because we came to extend our blindness by living again and not trying to find answers.
Or like THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THOMAS offered in Verse 43: His disciples said to Him: Who are Thou that Thou should say these things to us? Jesus said to them: From what I say to you, you do not know who I am, but you have become as the Jews, for they love the tree, they hate its fruit, and they love the fruit, they hate the tree.
In another verse of THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THOMAS, Verse 19, Jesus said: Blessed is he who was before he came into being. If you become disciples to me and hear my words, these stones will minister to you. For you have five trees in Paradise, which are unmoved in summer or in winter and their leaves do not fall. Whoever knows them will not taste death.
I suspect that in the area where Jesus was, there were five different evergreen type trees. Everyone knows that an evergreen tree does not die. It is the same in summer and in winter; but in truth all trees are the same in summer and in winter. All trees do not die, though upon Fall, it looks like they die. Doesn't it? Jesus, I think, was trying to say souls do not die, though it may seem they do. Practically speaking, then, souls are "like" evergreen trees.
That may be why he spoke of "five" trees in his reference to "Paradise," but it could be too that he was referencing our "five" senses. Either way, it was to offer than the wise person will know the land where he lives is sacred because it is host to that which is sacred - five trees that are the very definition of "Paradise." Five trees in Paradise, five senses in Paradise, five ways of knowing the truth. Think of it as you wish, but know the general meaning is that a wise one will know that life is ongoing and that one life is no more sacred than another - or to put it in positive terms, one life is as sacred as another.
Blessed is he who was before he came into being is only to say, I think, that "wise" are those who know that they lived before and that the present life is only an extension of all lives before. Why would the stones minister to you if you know you are living again? Because stones are only the basis of life. We are all "made of stone," if we but know of our physical beings. The "five trees of Paradise" are made of stone too. By knowing that all is the same, any one thing would "minister" to the other. That is how it is when you live in Paradise.
Our End - and Beginning
In this essay, I do not choose to get into any detail about why I think THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THOMAS may be the most insightful of all the Christian gospels, but if interested, just look at some of my past blogs for some commentary about that. Also, there is some commentary about that subject in my previous book - WILD FLOWERS.
Suffice it to say here that I believe that Jesus believed in reincarnation and that one life simply leads to another with each one inheriting the same blindness or wisdom that accompanied a previous life. It just makes sense. Why should I "change" upon death to somehow "see" life in some different way when in the past I believed as I did? Change only happens when one believes it is necessary; but if one does not believe some change is necessary, then one would likely keep with an old vision and an old set of standards.
Did Jesus really believe in reincarnation? I think he did; and it is in the idea of reincarnation that I base my idea of THE AFTERLIFE. In Verse 18 of THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THOMAS, it is written: The disciples said to Jesus: Tell us how our end will be. Jesus said: Have you then discovered the beginning so that you inquire about the end? Blessed is he who shall stand at the beginning, and he shall know the end and he shall not taste death.
And there it is in very simple terms - THE AFTERLIFE according to Jesus - and me.
Inheriting Myself
THE AFTERLIFE, then, for me is only to inherit myself. THE AFTERLIFE, for you, is to inherit yourself. It is as simple as that - if you believe the Jesus of Thomas. There will be no God waiting for me because God is not a Person to be about "waiting" for anyone. That is one of the things we humans have had totally wrong about life, I think - that some Supervisor God is outside of us to pass on some judgment.
Francis, I see that you had such a wonderful faith in me that you put a bomb in your car and then drove it into a crowd - presumably to blow them to Hell. Did you not know, Francis, that there is no Hell - except that you insist on making it true for others? Did you not know, Francis, that I would not be terribly happy to see you blow up others of my children under some guise that those other children are somehow infidels and deserve to be blown to Hell?
Alright, say that I am one of those who have followed the instructions of some other dubious master and have killed another upon his command. Then later I am caught and hung. What would happen to me? Is it reasonable to believe that somehow I will see the light and pledge to never do that again - or is it more likely that I will simply be reborn in another vessel to take my old ignorance on and continue on being the "idiot" I was before?
What do you think? I suppose it is "possible" there is some outside God out there who will commend me for doing injury to another, but is it "probable"? Is it probable that I will be whisked off to some Spiritual Heaven where I will be free forever more - perhaps sitting in some huge throng of believers who all bow at the count of 999 and say - Allah! or Jehovah! or Jesus! or Mohammed? or Moses? or Eurika! or whomever or whatever?
Resurrection -
Ourselves - Recycled!
One of the amazing things in this world, I think, is that we often think that when we put another to death - for whatever reason - we are dismissing him from our lives entirely. If the Jesus of Thomas is right, we do not dismiss anyone by putting him or her to death. We only delay his or her arrogance and/or meanness for a short while; and soon, very soon, that one will be reborn to come back to haunt an old rival once again.
Wouldn't it be much wiser to treat a terrible foe with courtesy or kindness - not just for his own sake, but for our sake as well? Wouldn't it be better and wiser to be kind to someone who was arrogant or unkind and maybe convert him to another way before it becomes too late and he has to die and be reborn for us to have to deal with him - or her - all over again?
Naturally, the same applies to me. Why would I want to be arrogant or hate, then die in my arrogance or hatred, and then have to live again hating and/or being arrogant all over again? Why? Why? Why? Wouldn't it be so much better to love by being courteous to all - and by so doing, forgive - and then be reborn to cherish life as the true gift it is and love all over again? You tell me!
Until next time,
Your Bella Vita host,
Francis William Bessler
Laramie, Wyoming
The Afterlife
by
Francis William Bessler
3/17/2015
Note:
Verses can be recited or sung.
REFRAIN:
Have you ever considered
you're now in the hereafter
compared to where you were
before in history.
Just think of each life
as being another chapter
as you go forward
into eternity.
I have long considered
that I have been here before -
and this is not my first go around.
I am only continuing
all that's in me
that's been found.
And I am not alone;
you're the same as me.
You, too, have been here before.
Who you have been
is who you are now -
and just who you will be, for sure.
Refrain.
Do you like what you see
as you are standing there?
Take a look in the mirror and view.
You can change what you are
by how you think,
but how you think will be you.
You will inherit yourself
and no one else.
You can be sure of that, My Friend.
So choose who you want to be
and follow that lead
all the way through the end.
Refrain.
If you believe you need another
to save you from a sin,
you've depended on someone before.
When you died last time,
your sin went with you
and that other was left at the door.
Jesus did not preach
he could save you from some sin.
He preached it's entirely up to you.
We all have worth,
but we must believe it
if Heaven is to be our view.
Refrain.
Some think that they can execute
another human being
or maybe kill them in some war.
They think that such
will dismiss them from all life
and maybe ship them to Hell's shore.
But all they are doing
is freeing another soul
who will just return and repeat.
Killing another does not rid
the world for long
of anyone - be they kind or mean.
Refrain.
So if we want to resolve
one that loves to be mean
and hopefully help them to be kind,
we have to be kind to them
so that such kindness might mend
a pattern of just being blind.
But if you insist on being mean
to another who is mean
all you'll do is keep him that way;
and they will return when they can
with another sword in their hand
continuing only to hate.
Refrain.
Jesus said we should be kind
to everyone, even an enemy,
because kindness is it's own reward.
Justice over kindness
only creates more hate
and leaves us all only begging for more.
That is begging to continue
our own stupidity
thinking we can make another cry
and therefore erase
all our hurting by his death
and all that he might have done in life.
Refrain.
But what he has done
he will continue to do
once he lives again to do more.
No one is really left behind
when we choose to be unkind;
they will only return with more force.
So if we want to get away from war,
and walk together in peace,
we have to know that no one dies.
We all live again,
be we kind or be we mean.
So in us our future does reside.
Refrain.
What will be my hereafter?
I will simply continue as I am
and all that I insist to be.
Regardless of what another
might choose for themselves
I can choose to be what I need.
My past has been my own.
My hereafter is what is now
and my soul is my security.
It all goes together -
the past, the present, and hereafter
and that all spells eternity.
Refrain (several times).