May 2017 Newsletter
Why Am I Here?
In the literature of near death experience, there are several occurrences
people report that seem to be universal.
They see a tunnel with a bright light at
the end. They are usually met by a familiar spirit who has crossed over. They
are asked one question, either by a celestial being or a disembodied voice.
That question is: What have you learned
about love and loving. They are not
asked about any other accomplishments
in their life. They are not asked about
wealth, status or station – only about
what they have learned about love. It's
easy to conclude from that research data that the sole purpose of our taking
physical bodies is to learn about love.
It would seem that these two sources:
one experiential, one Divine Revelation,
are telling us the same thing. Our sole
purpose in being in a body is to learn
about love. That answers the question
for me of: “Why am I here?” Along the
way of learning about love, we can also
have many interesting experiences for
our souls that are like frosting on the
cake of love-learning.
I am reminded of the preamble to A
Course In Miracles. It says that love is
a required course. One is not allowed to
change the curriculum, only the time in
which it is taken. It then goes on to define a Miracle as a shift in perception
that removes the blocks to loving –
loving yourself, loving others, and loving
your world.
That necessarily also
requires learning to accept love from
others.
OUR VISION STATEMENT
Sempre Amore!
Arthur,
President, Board of Trustees
The Spiritual Light Center is a peaceful
and joyful fellowship of individuals, centered in love, dedicated to the God within,
and honoring the many paths to truth.
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
We seek to develop our highest selves by
continuous sharing of spiritual ideas, in
an environment of unconditional love and
respect for others.
Beach, past president of the Circle of Light,
and taught in Unity for many years. He will
share with us on “As We Approach the
Finish Line We Take a Greater Interest in
the After-Party.”
May 14, 11 a.m. Mother’s Day
ONGOING EVENTS AT SLC
Every Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. Join our group
in the Hall for Movie Night! We enjoy a
good spiritual movie or documentary and
afterward pick a place and go out to eat!
Thursday, May 11 and 25 at 4:00 p.m.
Please join us for our meditation group in
the Chapel led by Dr. Richard Kimball. We
have an informative discussion followed by
walking and sitting meditation. Call Richard
at 371-3425 for further details.
Monday May 17, 5 – 7 p.m. come to the
Sacred Circle/TEA, an open group dedicated to spiritual sharing and growth. Contact Denise Andrew for details.
ALSO: On May 8 from 7 – 8:30 p.m. is a
special TEA event with David Lonebear
Sanipass & Jaclyn Ouilette, Awakening
the Ancient Vibrations: Crystal Bowls &
Ancient Flute. A love offering of $15-20
is suggested for this TEA fund raiser.
UPCOMING SPEAKERS
May 7, 11 a.m.
Dr. Millard Deutsch is former VP of the Alpha Omega Research Foundation of Palm
Dale Allen Hoffman is an internationally
known scholar of the Aramaic Language
and one of our favorite speakers. He returns to speak on the spirituality of motherhood “The Holy Breath of Emptiness.”
May 21, 11 a.m.
Rev. Mariah Brooks, an ordained minister
with James Twyman, attended the Oneness
University in India and Fiji. She returns to
speak on “Using Tantra to Awaken Our
Spiritual Senses.”
May 28, 11 a.m.
Michele Laub holds her Master’s Degree in
Mental Health and School Counseling and
has been a psychotherapist for over 20
years. She is certified in various fields and
is working toward licensure as a S.O.M
practitioner. She will speak on “Living the
Four Agreements.” Let’s welcome her!
During the Month of April
On Thursday, May 4 and 18 at 4 p.m.,
Dr. Millard Deutsch will lead a Guided
Meditation. Energize Higher and Lower
Bodies, Clear and Balance Karma, Soul
Travel, and Pray for All Life.
Barbara Woodall’s Sunday Metaphysical Teaching will be postponed for a
while giving us time to reflect and digest.
We’ll announce when we will start again.
SPIRITUAL LIGHT CENTER INFORMATION
80 Heritage Hollow Drive, Franklin, NC 28734
Right behind the Gazebo Restaurant in Heritage Hollow
828-369-3065 [email protected] www.spirituallightcenter.com
Why Are We On This Planet?
What on Earth am I Doing
Here? By Bill Groves
I’ve read in several places that the primary reason people lose their faith in a Divine Creator is the old question
of “Why do bad things happen to good people?” How
could a loving Supreme Being allow these awful things to
happen in the lives of the innocent? I mean, I could understand it if we were talking about adults here, but when
a horrific event ends the life of an infant, well, that just
closes the discussion. No excuse for it! How could that be just?
It is now extremely clear to me that the reason this issue is so poignant is that many people,
certainly most Westerners, look at it as though life was snatched away in its prime, before the
poor thing had a chance to live his or her life. What God would do such a thing!? Well, if I
looked at it that way I’d be cheerleading in the atheist camp for sure. If life, conscious existence,
is a one shot deal, created at birth and no chances after death, then there is no justice, no loving Creator. Only randomness. Gratefully, I don’t look at it that way.
But what if life were a continuum of consciousness that enters into each incarnation by choice,
exists in freedom of choice, and can return to as many countless existences as decided necessary? Well, first of all, that wouldn’t be in keeping with the Bible, right? Wrong.
Institutional, fundamental Western Churches deny a flow of life transitions through many existences, but the Bible does not. It is quite clear the Bible proclaims our conscious pre-existence
before birth. “Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb, I
knew you; and before you were born I consecrated you, and I appointed you a prophet to the
nations" (Jeremiah 1:45). But, what about our returning after our “death”?
Although the Bible never uses the word “reincarnation” it makes it exceedingly clear that the
concept was alive and well at the writing of the New Testament. Take the example of Jesus
asking his disciples who they thought he actually was. “Jesus and his disciples went on to the
villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the
Messiah.” (Mark 27-29) Notice Jesus had zero qualms with his disciples’ belief in reincarnation
and seemed to accept it, or at least didn’t question it. There are a multitude of other New Tes-
tament passages that make undeniably clear references to the belief in people returning after
“death”, and not once are any of them questioned or contradicted. Here are a few you can look
into, if you choose, where folks were sure Elijah or John the Baptist had returned (or that John
was Elijah reincarnated): John 1:21, Matthew 17:12-13, Mark 6:14-16, Matthew 11:13-14. It is
evident the Bible teaches “In my Father’s house are many rooms…” (John 14:2) What is abundantly clear to me is that the transmigration of souls was a universally accepted belief at the
time and none of the Biblical writers saw need to either question, affirm, or deny it. Sometimes I
wonder if institutional churches didn’t later deny it because the belief is too freeing and eliminated the element of fear of a judgmental God who would toss you into Hell without a second
chance if you didn’t go to Church and put money in the collection.
I share this particularly for those who were raised in the Christian tradition, as I was. Traditional
Christianity might deem me a heretic or at least a bit eccentric. I don’t believe the Bible would.
Regardless no one can make my decisions on what to hold true but me. Only I can build my
relationship with the Creator as I feel led, and all I can share is what I believe. So what I’m
sharing after this is what makes sense to me. There is no dogma.
First and foremost, nothing spiritually makes any sense unless I accept the eternal existence of
the soul and continuity of that soul as it migrates through as many lifetimes as necessary. Before God formed me in the womb God knew me. God knows all my experiences, and all my
growth needs in order to be fully happy and in utter Oneness with All That IS. As I see spiritual
reality through my own vision, I believe that each soul chooses its own path, and some are more
evolved/advanced than others. For that I am eternally grateful because it provides me with the
presence of many very advanced spiritual guides, supporters, and defenders to lead me on my
journey. We may call them angels, patron saints, spirit guides, council of elders, etc., but the
point is we are not alone. We have unconditionally loving assistance that does not judge nor
interfere. It is my belief that before each incarnation I receive the input and guidance of many
loving and wise spiritual entities who help me decide precisely when, where, and into what circumstances I will be incarnated in order to potentially accomplish what I need. These circumstances will provide me the best environment within which I might make the choices necessary
to develop as I hoped to during this life. I may choose to stray from the straightest path. That is
up to me, but fortunately those guides, angels, saints and protectors are with me every step of
the way to light my path. I sense them when I close my eyes and reach out my spiritual hand in
gratitude or supplication. Their presence is brilliant and never
waivers in love. I have long sensed Jesus (Yeshua) there, as
well as St. Francis and family members now in Spirit. I also definitely sense stately beings of tremendous stature and brilliance.
I don’t know who they are. I have forgotten, but I will rejoice in
seeing them again!
So, what am I here to accomplish? That’s a massive question!
As I’m tossing out my personal opinions here, this is what I
think. It seems there are two basic goals, and in order of importance I believe they are 1) to grow and mature as an eternal
soul toward Oneness with the Divine, and 2) to assist all life
around me toward that same end. Sounds simple, eh? Well,
unless you add to the mix that I have a multitude of past-life
experiences I’m dealing with and trying to reconcile. And also that none of the souls around me
are at the same point in growth/evolution. I sense my past lives in my inexplicable tendencies,
traits, talents, beliefs, obsessions, and predispositions. I sense the diversity of evolution of
souls in that some around me seem so very wise, stable, and kind whereas others absolutely
seem to have been born yesterday. It is especially to those to whom I owe service, understanding, compassion, and support. I seem to do OK with that on a good day. On a bad day I want
to throw up my hands and shriek “How could you be so #%!* thick-headed!” Apparently enlightenment still eludes me.
All that IS, all truth and existence, is ONE; there can be no contradiction. All flows from a singularity and returns there. I choose to believe only one singular thing…God is Love. If something
seems to contradict that, I choose not to believe it. God as love is all that makes sense to me.
Because of that I cannot accept belief in a God who judges. God only loves. I do the judging
(unfortunately). I cannot accept a God who would allow a child to die in infancy or before with
no other chance. “Sorry, you just drew the short end of the stick.” Even if the infant forever gets
a cloud and a harp, that is not justice. That is not love, so I don’t believe it. I believe love gives
every being an equal chance to become all we can be and enter into eternal Oneness, even if
that takes forever. May I accomplish my own task in this existence by moving ever closer to
that goal and being of service to all life around me seeking the same end. Amen.
Do We Plan Our Lives
Before We’re Born?
By Nikkie Gray
“Many people feel that reincarnation can’t exist
because they don’t remember their past and my
answer to the world is we do remember. We don’t
have the details but we have certain key hints as to
who we are. The type of music we like, the people
we are most attracted to, the types of food we like, the clothing we wear, certain periods of history that we identify with. These are indications this is where we have been before and so our
present incarnation or our present lifetime is a composite of all the fruits of what we were before.” Carey Williams – Co-Author: Reincarnation: A New Horizon
Through my research, the cycle of life to death to re-birth has been pretty much the same from
all the sources I studied, and let me tell you, there were many. It all starts with the Pre-Birth
Plan. You establish this plan with a council. Some people call this council the elders or the wise
ones. Pretty much, they are very old beings who know their stuff, so to speak. You meet with
them along with your spirit guides. You discuss the life ahead of you and are given the choice of
a few different lives to pick from in the current time period you are incarnating into. You choose
everything, including your parents. Once your choices have been given to you and you pick one,
the task starts of planning all the things you wish to experience in the upcoming life. Experience
isn’t the only thing we seek; we have goals to meet and challenges to overcome. Some wish to
learn patience or overcome jealousy. Many people have debated this theory but you also
choose to clear up karmas. There are a few other things like healing false beliefs or destructive
patterns. When the life plan is being created, our guides are there with us creating what Robert
Schwartz describes through his work as a “flow chart”. A flow chart is the plan, but with free will
incorporated into it. Our guides also create synchronicities in our lives to trigger awareness in us
and guide us on the best path to help us master our goals. After the plan is in place, we are
born and forget the plan and who we truly are.
“You close your eyes to the past in order to reopen them to a
new existence. You can get more expansion by forgetting” –
Teal Swan
“It wouldn’t be a test if you knew the answers” – Dolores Cannon
Forgetting is an integral part of the cycle. It’s how we truly get
to know ourselves and fully live the current life we are living.
We’re living in the time of remembering and many of us are
remembering who we are and why we came to Earth at this
time. Those who haven’t fully awakened to their abilities but
wish to have more insight on who they are and why they are
here seek out people who are in tune with higher frequencies
and can connect to help them access that kind of information.
The Pre-Birth Plan is set in place, but free will gives us the ability to create any reality we choose to live in. With that being
said, there are certain things we are meant to experience, and
because of that, I believe some things are out of our control.
For example: if you are meant to experience a certain illness or
disease, you will manifest that illness. If you are meant to experience a negative relationship,
you will attract that negative person into your life. I’ve seen some people get confused because
they know about the Laws of Attraction, how to manifest positive things and are on a high vibration but something negative comes into their life and they’re suddenly thrown off balance because they felt they were doing everything right, so how could they attract something negative?
When that happens, I’m led to believe that that is the Pre-Birth Plan kicking in, sometimes called
a contract. There’s a lesson to be learned, an experience to be had for growth, healing or balance or in some cases you have strayed pretty far away from your Pre-Birth Plan and things in
your life begin to fall apart.
On occasion, healing needs to take place from things that occurred in past lives. Other than
that, wanting to know about past lives just from sheer curiosity might not be a good idea for
many reasons.
“Meher Baba is fairly clear and I’m afraid maybe for many people’s taste, a bit frighteningly clear
on this. There is a wall between the consciousness of the present life and previous lifetime
stored records. He said it’s for a pretty good reason because the variety and strength of those
previous lifetime recordings is so varied, so complex and in many cases oppositional. If all of a
sudden we break through the protective wall and these things come out, he said this can be one
of the most upsetting things that could possibly occur. The individual is just not strong enough to
be able to digest and go beyond this experience. So Baba simply says don’t tamper too much
with the protective wall. He was talking primarily with people who were just for their own curiosity trying to recall previous lifetimes.” – Don E. Stevens – Disciple of Meher Baba
We come into each incarnation playing a role. The role is chosen with the help of our guides
and council before we are born. We take turns playing different roles. In one life you will choose
to be murdered and in another you will volunteer to be the murderer. The list of switching roles
is vast and complex. This information is really hard for some people to take in. There’s a part in
Kung Fu Panda that I always think of when I think about good versus bad. Master Shifu runs up
to Master Oogway and says to him that it’s very bad news. Master Oogway smiles and says,
“There is just news. No good or bad.” I truly believe in my heart is that negative is an illusion.
Negative and positive are both construction material. Negative is an evolutionary catalyst. We
come to Earth for many reasons but a big one is soul growth. Soul growth on the other side is
very slow because it is paradise. Also, because we are able to forget who we are, we can learn
things on a deeper level and expand even more from it. Let’s say you want to know love. What
better way to know love than to lose it or become separated from it, not even knowing that all of
our very existence is love. After I heard the theory of play roles, I no longer hated a single person on this planet nor did I fear anything. Because we live in this world of duality, we must have
“negative.” If we didn’t have the villains, none of this would be possible. In every single one of
those villains (oppressors, abusers, etc.) is a beautiful soul living a human experience that was
all planned with soul growth in mind, or who has strayed very far from his plan.
At this time, I feel it is very important to find out what is truly going on in our world and why we
are here. All perspectives should be taken into consideration and anyone is free to believe what
they feel resonates with them. I’m not here to change beliefs. I’m sharing this theory, this belief,
because it helped me. I forgave the negative of this world and felt gratitude for it because it all
helped me to grow. Perhaps others could take something positive from it like I did.
"You are first a child, then grow old and drop the body, but
you never die and never were born. In the East, Vedantists
believe in reincarnation, in innumerable births and deaths, until one attains Godhood. Muslims believe in one birth only and
one death only. Christians and Zoroastrians the same. All are
right. But Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, Zoroaster all meant
what I mean by real birth and real death. I say you are born
once and die once. All the so-called births and deaths are
only sleeps and wakings. The difference between sleep and
death is that when you sleep you awake and find yourself in
the same body; but after death you awake in a different body.
You never die. Only the blessed ones die and become one
with God." ~Meher Baba
"It is not more surprising to be born twice than once; everything in nature is resurrection."
~Francois Voltaire
Did You Ask to Be Born?
By Yanki Tauber
Once upon a time there was a village full of disgruntled people. All day long they walked around
with these sour faces, each bemoaning his troubles, each jealous of her neighbor's successes.
One day, a wise old man arrived in the village. He assembled them all in the village square and
said to them: "I want you each to go and bring your most precious possession, the thing you
cherish most in your life, and place it here in middle of the square." Soon there was a large pile
of bundles and packages, of all shapes and sizes, in the center of the village square.
"Now," instructed the wise man, "you may each select for yourselves any one of these gifts. The
choice is yours--take any package you desire." Every man, woman and child in the village did
exactly the same thing. Each chose his own bundle.
The Torah, as we all know, begins at the beginning, describing
G-d's creation of the heavens and the earth, the continents and
the oceans, vegetation and animal life. Then, in its 26th verse,
we proceed to the creation of man. "And G-d said," we read,
"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..."
G-d is asking a council of human souls if He should create the
human soul! Let us? Up to this point--and from here on through
the rest of the Torah--G-d is spoken of as the ultimate singularity. He is the Boss, the exclusive source and mover of all.
But in this single instance, there is an "us," a choir of opinions,
a supernatural boardroom before which the Creator places a
proposal and asks for approval.
With whom did G-d consult when He desired to create the human being? Sages offer a number of explanations. One is that
G-d asked the angels, so as to temper their later criticisms of
the failings of mortal man. Another explanation is that G-d was
involving all elements of the universe, or all aspects of His infinitely potentialed being, in the formation of the multi-faceted
soul of man. All these explanations, of course, raise at least as many questions as they answer.
But there is one interpretation of this verse which presents us with a conundrum of a paradox.
The Midrash offers the following explanation: "With whom did He consult? With the souls of the
righteous." G-d is asking a council of human souls if He should create the human soul!
The plot thickens. Who are these "righteous" (tzaddikim) with whom G-d consulted? According
to the prophet Isaiah, "Your people are all tzaddikim." We each possess the soul of a tzaddik
(regardless of the extent to which we allow its expression). In other words, G-d asked each and
every one of us if we desire to be created, if we choose to accept the challenge of earthly life.
Only then did He proceed to create us. If asking a soul whether it wants to be created sounds
like a catch-22, this paradox in fact resolves a much deeper paradox--the paradox of divine decree and human choice.
G-d is forever telling us what to do. Indeed, the very word Torah means "instruction," and that's
basically what the Torah is: a series of instructions from on high. And yet we are told that "a
fundamental principle of the Torah" is that "freedom of choice has been granted to man." What
exactly are our choices, if G-d is constantly instructing us?
The question runs deeper. Let us assume that, in any given situation, under any set of circumstances, the choice is ours as to how we should act. But what kind of choice is this if no one
asked us if we want to be in that situation and under those set of circumstances in the first
place? What kind of "choice" is there, if we didn't choose whether or not we should be presented
with that choice?
So the Torah reveals to us this amazing secret: that ultimate choice was made by us, before we
even existed. Before G-d emanated your soul and breathed it into your body, you were asked if
you should be. So in every situation in which you find yourself, in every challenge you face in
your life--you are there because you chose to be placed in that life. The life we have is the life
we want. We go through life complaining, "I didn't ask to be born...!" But a thousand times a day
we refute that claim. With countless choices and actions, we affirm that the life we have is the
life we want.
Of course we do. After all, we chose it.
Why Do We
Choose To Be Born?
By Caroline Nettle
Many people ask what the purpose of
life is here on earth. It seems to be one
of the eternal questions that is thought
provoking and emotive, depending on
your view of life, death, and why we
come here.
Firstly, we choose to come to earth to have experiences and feel life through our five senses.
Being on earth in earth school is a chance to really connect with the magic of human life and
Mother Nature.
Secondly, we choose to come here to develop and grow. We decide upon some areas that we
need to learn about, and then we come here to work through the lessons. These can be anger,
love, forgiveness, sadness, joy, jealousy, cruelty, narcissism, bigotry or any other lessons that
we have chosen to learn. As we learn the lessons that we agreed to, we pass on the information
to others and this way we help humanity to grow.
Thirdly, we come to develop spiritual awareness. We learn about the two states of being - either
love or fear- and we learn to choose to live from the heart instead of the mind.
The fourth reason we come here is to be of service to others. We learn that material possessions are no replacement for the joy of being in service and we find ways to assist humankind
and the planet. This can come in many forms- whether or not you are a teacher, a librarian, a
doctor, a writer, a taxi driver, or a street cleaner- all of them are ways of being of service.
The fifth reason we come to earth is to experience pure joy. If we are able to attain this wonderful feeling, we help to raise the frequency on earth. There are many ways on earth that we can
simulate this feeling, but the essence of pure joy is to be found when we are truly at peace with
ourselves and the universe. When this happens it helps to raise the frequency of the planet for
everyone.
Whatever your beliefs are, these are five reasons that we come to earth. It is evident that there
are many more. No matter why we choose to come to earth, we are here and we need to be
conscious of why, acting with integrity and authenticity to be the best version of yourself you
possibly can.
 “This life is but a brief tenure, one of many perspectives a spirit must experience
in the quest for eternity.”
~Brian Rathbone
“Life by life, each man progresses (at his own pace, be it ever so erratic) toward
the goal of his own apotheosis. Death, no interruption in this onward sweep, simply offers man the more congenial environment of an astral world in which to purify his dross.
'Let not your heart be troubled... In my Father's house are many mansions.' It is indeed
unlikely that God has exhausted His ingenuity in organizing this world, or that, in the
next world, He will offer nothing more challenging to our interest than the strumming of
harps. “ ~Paramahansa Yogananda
"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; The Soul that rises with us, our life's
Star, Hath had elsewhere its setting. And cometh from afar."
~William Wordsworth
May 2017
◄ April
Sun
Mon
1
Tue
2
3
4:30 p.m.
Movie Night
7
8
9
11:00 Service
Dr. Millard
Deutsch
7-8:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m.
SpecialTEA Movie Night
fundraiser
June ►
Wed
Thu
4
10
11
11:00 Service
Dale Allen
Hoffman
4:30 p.m. 5-7 p.m.
Movie Night TEA
4 p.m.
Guided
Meditation
23
25
11:00 Service
Rev. Mariah
Brooks
28
11:00 Service
Michele Laub
17
24
4:30 p.m.
Movie Night
29 Memorial Day 30
4:30 p.m.
Movie Night
5 Cinco De Mayo
6
12
13
19
20
26
27
4 p.m.
Meditation
16
22
Sat
4 p.m.
Guided
Meditation
14 Mother's Day 15
21
Fri
18
4 p.m.
Meditation
31
Notes: