what are your thoughts on ''HEAVEN''?

[90_hour_sleep]

i don't have a particular religious background, myself...but i'm curious to hear what some of you think about in regards to 'heaven'. is it a place? is it a belief? is it where you find salvation? comments?

 

i read something today...

 

i'll quote one of the passages. any feedback is welcome.

 

"...speaks of the collapse of the existing world order and the arising of 'a new heaven and a new earth'. we need to understand here that heaven is not a location but refers to the inner realm of consciousness. this is the esoteric meaning of the word, and this is also its meaning in the teachings of Jesus. earth, on the other hand, is the outer manifestation in form, which is always a reflection of the inner. collective human consciousness and life on our planet are intrinsically connected. 'a new heaven' is the emergence of a transformed state of human consciousness, and 'a new earth' is its reflection in the physical realm. since human life and human consciousness are intrinsically one with the life of the planet, as the old consciousness dissolves, there are bound to be synchronistic geographic and climatic natural upheavals in many parts of the planet, some of which we are already witnessing now.''

[thejigsup]

For what it's worth, my belief regarding the afterlife is this: we are all here for a reason. We have lessons to learn and a mission to fulfill. When we fill that mission and learn what we need to know, we are done. Now, we may be born, or not born, to teach a lesson to someone who is already here, so some never actually have what we would call a life, but it still counts. When we are done, I believe that we go to a place where we are given more wisdom and when we are ready, we return to earth on another mission. When we have learned all of our lessons, we are then finished with earthly lives and are rewarded accordingly. If we fail at our given mission, or commit suicide (we aborted the mission without permission) we will find ourselves in a very bad place, indeed. All things that live are a part of God and we are all interconnected. To hurt one of us, is to hurt God. Treat others, and yourself, well.

[greywolf]

If there is a heaven, it's probably beyond human comprehension.

[90_hour_sleep]

thanks for the response

 

so, the afterlife (heaven?) is a place for you? do you think there is salvation for yourself there? you believe that greater wisdom comes only when you are no longer of a physical body?

 

i have to admit, i share your feeling that we are all interconnected...although the word 'God' is not something i'm really accustomed to relating that to.

 

do you believe that your beliefs are influenced by your upbringing?

[greywolf]

OP, have read any of Carl Jung's stuff? I think a lot of the concepts in that passage are his ideas.

[thejigsup]

To a degree they come from Jung, but most of it came from a near death experience I had when I was 20.

[90_hour_sleep]

If there is a heaven, it's probably beyond human comprehension.

 

 

"...speaks of the collapse of the existing world order and the arising of 'a new heaven and a new earth'. we need to understand here that heaven is not a location but refers to the inner realm of consciousness. this is the esoteric meaning of the word, and this is also its meaning in the teachings of Jesus. earth, on the other hand, is the outer manifestation in form, which is always a reflection of the inner. collective human consciousness and life on our planet are intrinsically connected. 'a new heaven' is the emergence of a transformed state of human consciousness, and 'a new earth' is its reflection in the physical realm. since human life and human consciousness are intrinsically one with the life of the planet, as the old consciousness dissolves, there are bound to be synchronistic geographic and climatic natural upheavals in many parts of the planet, some of which we are already witnessing now.''

 

thanks for the reply greywolf.

 

let's say that 'heaven' from one perspective is a transformed state of human consciousness. you see that as unattainable? to transcend the compulsiveness of thought...the whole concept of conflict and continual suffering (for some suffering seems necessary from my perspective)?

do you believe that it's possible to find inner peace now? is it possible to live in a state where love is always possible? i just have the impression that love is generally obscured for most of us. if it weren't obscured, there would not be an abundance of violence, judgement, anger, hostility, attack, defense, etc. (these things apply to personal relationships as well as on the larger social - human - scale).

 

any thoughts appreciated.

[Capricorn3]

My thoughts are identical to "thejigsup" for the same reasons.

[DN]

Religious threads become too contentious and are therefore not allowed on this forum.

 

Thread closed.