Your Forever Home

As we all know, our earthly life does not last forever. In fact, we may not even want it to. If we live to be 120 years old, most of our friends will have passed away a long time ago. In fact, our children and even some of our grandchildren may already be gone. It may not be a very happy existence to lead a life alone without the company of old friends and family members. Most of us would welcome an ending of our earthly life followed by our reunification with old friends and family. The question we all need to ask ourselves is what kind life will we be leading after our earthly life has drawn to a close? While it is impossible to know for sure, our book investigates one couple's experiences and encounters within the spiritual world which sheds light on answering this question. This is not a book about other people's lives and experiences, this is a book about what Robert and Alice experienced during their actual lives. What happened to them was not expected to happen, but in fact, these unusual events have made it possible for Robert and Alice to overcome many of the challenges faced by them in their own private lives. Along the way, the couple vastly increased their perspective and understanding of both themselves and all creation. The life they led simultaneously became both frighting at times and rewarding beyond all measure. In fact, they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams in the areas of business success and personal happiness and fulfilment. The frightening aspects of their lives, which they didn't ask for or expect, and the success that came later were both remarkable and surprising. Let me say, speaking for both Alice and l, that we never dreamed something like this could happen but now that it has, I am so grateful that the two of us were chosen to receive the uncountable bounties of our gifts. I hope and pray for each of you that similar gifts will come your way and you will all lead lives as fulfilling as we have. Times of significant loss of life have always led to periods of national morning. Examples include the American civil war, World War I (primarily in the UK), and the 2020 to 2022 covid pandemic. Emanuel Swedenborg, who is believed to be the founder of Spiritualism, published a book in 1758 called "Heaven and Hell", in which he detailed the existence of "Spirits of the dead" and shares some of the details of their existences after passing away. Hellen Keller was a future disciple of Swedenborg. Many of Swedenborg's ideas are very compelling. First and foremost, Swedenborg was a believer in the principle of "Free will". He also believed in the dual principles of "Likes attract', and "Opposites repel". In Swedenborg's view, many newly deceased spirits would seek out spirits like themselves and avoid other spirits who were unlike themselves. The net effect was that spirits who had led pure and upstanding lives on earth would seek out similar spirit after they passed away. On the other hand, spirits who had led earthly lives of evil and advantages taking would be attracted to other spirits who shared similar backgrounds during their earthly lives. In this way, the spirits with pure upstanding backgrounds would cluster together within their own personal "heavens", while those who had led evil and advantage taking lives on the earth would also be drawn together into their own personal "Hells". In this way Swedenborg believed that each of our lives in eternity would be spent within our own personal "Heavens" or "Hells" which were created largely by the nature of the lives each of us had led on earth. From a completely different perspective, shamanism is thought to be the world oldest form of spirituality. Anthropologists believe that cave drawings associated with prehistoric humans are in fact the representations of their shamanic experiences. Such drawings are found on every continent. Therefore, we must assume that everywhere there is humanity, there is a history of shamanism. Historically, most shamans have served their tribe and not a particular individual. When we form a mental image of a shaman it is probably that of a tribal shaman who addresses the whole tribe while conveying messages vital to tribal existence. However, this model is changed in many parts of the world. In Korea, most shamans' function in many of the same ways as counselors and therapists. In this respect many Korean shaman are concerned with the special needs of their individual (or family) clients. Group ceremonies (i.e. like the "gut") are conducted by the shaman, but the intension is always to focus on the needs of a single individual or his or her immediate family. Shaman who functions in this way are called "urban shaman" because we see them filling a radically different role in their community than the more traditional "Tribal shaman". Another example of an "Urban shaman" is the "Oracle at Delphi" from the time of the ancient Greek and Roman culture of antiquity. For over 1000 years, the "Oracle at Delphi" gave answers to difficult questions posed by "consultants" from all over the Greco-Roman world. Sometimes the questions were relatively simple like should I marry a certain woman, but in other cases the questions could be major, for instance a king asking the Oracle if he should declare war on a neighboring country! Shamanism divides reality into two worlds, the material world is called the earth plane, and a vibratory world which is called the world of spirit. It is the shaman who connects these two worlds. The two worlds are separated by a veil, and the shaman locates his or herself right at the veil, serving as a conduit through which messages are passed back and forth between the two sides of reality. We are certain about the existence of the material world in which we live, but it is through the shaman's efforts that we are brought into contact with the world of spirit. It is this second world whose existence we are not sure about. If we receive messages from the world of spirit, provided by a shaman, does this PROVE the existence of the world of spirit? Maybe yes, maybe no, it depends on what significance you place on the messages themselves. If the messages are something very personal, and understood only by the message's receiver, this message may well bolster the credibility of the world of spirit's reality in the eyes of the individual who receives the message. However, if the message is of a nature that simply confirms what is common knowledge, this message does little to establishing the credibility of the spirit world.