Heavenletters

Jochen, I find what you have to add is interesting and provocative to further explorations.

I agree that disempowerment can go very far in the hands of those who are out to disempower others. This is a good characterization of human history, the story of a few who disempower the many. We call it civilization. But, it seems to me, that once we are aware of the Truth about who we are, we realize that our empowerment or our disempowerment becomes a matter of our choice. Once we break free of the spell imposed by the story we have traditionally told about ourselves, we are free to choose. Our awareness empowers us and simultaneously prevents others from continuing to cut off our access to our natural abilities and spiritual heritage.

You also mention the powerlessness that is a natural result of the materialistic/scientific worldview. The logic can be quite seductive. Science and technology have been so marvelously successful in solving so many problems that it does seem that it is only a matter of time before any problem we can identify will be solved under this same paradigm. Through most of my life I have completely bought into this set of assumptions, especially the implicit, unstated belief that human intellect and reasoning can answer any question we choose to ask. The Heavenletters, though, propose what is for me a new and revolutionary concept that is potent in its implications. God speaks of certain observations that for human beings (at least at our stage of awareness) are “unfathomable” and are topics that we are totally incapable of understanding. I see this concept as powerfully freeing and emancipating. We are potentially freed from the compulsion to continually focus on and study the past, freeing us from looking for laws, rules and understandings that will allow us to accurately plan for and anticipate the future. If much of what is truly important about our experiences are unfathomable by our logic, we are free to react to experience in the present as it occurs, since we know that the past frameworks used for viewing what is occurring now are irrelevant to what is happening in the present. I can’t say that I am completely ready to accept these assertions at this point, but I will give them careful consideration.

The last point you raise seems to me to be the toughest (not that any of these are a breeze). You mention “reality” and “illusion” and I must confess to having used these terms without having a very solid idea of what they mean. The usual way we use these terms in our day to day lives seems pretty straight forward. We refer to an illusion as a mistaken impression that is not born out and supported by a careful examination of the event in question. This all pre-supposes, of course, that an independent external reality exists that anyone in the right location at the right time can verify (as we do when we repeat scientific experiments, for example). The Heavenletters, though, seem to use somewhat different meanings for these terms (reality and illusion) which I find unclear. There seems to be two different ways that you can view these two terms as you read the various letters. I will take my best shot at describing these two possibilities in what follows.

The first interpretation is that the word “real” describes eternal states of being that transcend the physical, whereas “illusion” is applied to those things of the world that are temporary and constantly changing. The illusory physical objects and events are composed of groupings of particles (such as our physical body) that are temporary and constantly evolving in time. Since all such physical groupings are temporary they are time dependent, and since time is not real (as pointed out numerous times in the letters), such temporary groupings are illusion. By this interpretation, only the spiritual, heavenly aspects of the universe are real.

An alternative way of viewing these terms as used in the letters, could be that what is called illusion does not refer to the material objects or events, but rather it refers to the meaning and significance we ascribe to what we perceive. For example, say we hear a report of an elderly woman being beaten and robbed by a thief who invaded her home. We react in anger and disgust -- wanting to see the thief caught and punished, wanting “justice” to be administered. If we accept the premise of the Heavenletters, that everything that happens in the world is purposeful and helps to further the Divine Plan, our perception that an “evil” occurrence has taken place is an illusion. It is our misunderstanding about what is true and important in life that produces our negative emotional reactions, and these are the illusion.

Both of these meanings seem to me to apply in various letters. I continue to watch out for these terms as I read new letters trying to find a clear (to me) statement of their meaning. I would be interested in any reflections you might offer about these ideas. Hopefully, I haven’t made you tired of my rambling on. With great appreciation for your insights and generosity……..Chuck