Friday, March 29, 2013

Easter Sunday brings opportunities for Heavenly miracles


By Steve Hammons

As Easter Sunday 2013 approaches, it seems like a good time to explore theories, beliefs and personal accounts of the afterlife and Heaven.

The book “Proof of Heaven” by neurosurgeon Eben Alexander, M.D., is one of the most recent reports about near-death experiences (NDEs). Alexander was previously an atheist who relied on medical and conventional scientific explanations about the human brain, body, life and death.

Alexander experienced an acute brain infection and was in a coma when he had an experience that changed his view about human consciousness and a larger consciousness in the Universe. He now believes that there is an afterlife and it is beautiful.

Alexander has been reported as saying, “It is the most comforting thing beyond any kind of comfort and joy and bliss you could ever feel in this world.”

Since his experience, Alexander has explored the vast literature on near-death experiences and now realizes that he took the same journey as millions of other human beings, though his experience was also apparently quite unique. He has also looked into other research efforts about these kinds of topics, such as those at the Monroe Institute in Faber, Virginia.

MERGING HEAVEN AND EARTH

If we believe that people like Alexander, children as well as adults, have experienced a larger consciousness deep within our souls, and visited others who have passed on, it surely must resonate with many of us. And the contrast between that reality and some of the very difficult situations on Earth seems particularly important.

People like Alexander and the youngster Colton Burpo have put their experiences in recently-published books that have been immensely popular. Young Colton’s NDE was described in the book “Heaven is For Real,” written by his father, Todd Burpo.

Respected researchers like Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, M.D., and Raymond Moody, M.D., Ph.D., have long been known for their thorough and credible explorations and analysis of NDEs and what they seem to indicate.

Other credible groups and organizations such as the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) have also tackled the crucial questions involved.

Researchers like these have helped educate millions of people around the world about the apparent reality of another dimension. Apart from enhancing the spiritual faith of many people, NDE research and education have introduced millions of others with more secular viewpoints to the evidence about Heaven.

TIPPING POINT

Over the centuries, there have been predictions by many indicating that a day will come when our troubled Earth and the dimension we call Heaven will merge in a significant way. What might that look like? How would it play out?

Are we getting close to that emerging development? And, are there things we can all do to help that miracle take place?

The distance between our everyday reality and what neurosurgeon Alexander described as “the most comforting thing beyond any kind of comfort and joy and bliss you could ever feel in this world” may not be as vast as we might think. In fact, Heaven may be close at hand. Sometimes that distance is described as nothing more than a "veil,” a very light curtain or membrane.

Are there angels and our other loved ones and ancestors nearby? Are they working toward a miracle to help transform this troubled Earth of ours into a better place? It is comforting for many people to feel this way and to hope for such a positive change.

Between the efforts and goodness of many people in our world, and the plans and activities in the place we call Heaven, maybe we can achieve the breakthrough that many people hope and pray for. And again we might wonder how such a change would occur. Will human consciousness just gradually evolve or might there be some type of event that gets us past the goal line?

What better time than Easter to think about the ideas of the afterlife and the higher Force, God, Great Spirit or whatever name we give to the Creator. It’s a time of forgiveness, family love, healing, mutual community support and transcending the problems of the everyday world.

Easter of 2013 could bring us closer to a tipping point, a paradigm shift, a new day when the old world is transformed – maybe a little, maybe a lot. Joy and peace could expand significantly.

And every tear will be washed away.