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Add to FavoritesHeaven is indeed a state of being. I should know-I've experienced it! Not only in life, but in dreams as well. If we define heaven as a place of ultimate happiness, perfection, satisfaction, love, joy, and oneness with all being and the Source of Being(or, "God", if you will), then heaven is not just some carrot-on-a-stick leading the obedient and faithful to their ultimate reward available only after death, it is something accessible to all of us in the HERE and NOW!
Have you ever found yourself in a place of awesome beauty and serenity, whether alone or in the company of your nearest and dearest, and allowed yourself to let go of concerns of the future and mullings over the past, to experience the pure joy and bliss of the present moment? Have you ever felt connected with every living being, every time, every molecule, everything, and felt yourself overflowing with love and gratitude for it all? Have you ever felt like all is right with the world, in spite of its challenges and imperfections, and that you are not really alone? Have you ever experienced a moment in which you felt you could die completely satisfied? If so, then you have experienced heaven. How do I know? Because in such moments, it seems nothing could be more complete, perfect, clear, joyous, wonderful, and awesomely powerful. If not, then simply seek it, for "the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand", as even the bible states(I'm interpreting this verse more literally, as in "at hand" means you can just reach out and grab it!)
In dreams, one can experience this at perhaps an even deeper level. I'm recalling a certain place I've visited now and then in my sleep. Although it doesn't actually resemble a place I've been to, it feels as familiar as home. It can be found along some country road, not too far from civilization. There are rolling hills and breezy trees, a stream wanders through and it seems perpetually bathed in the shades of sunset. One can meet family, old friends and new about the various inns, restaurants, theaters, and just lounging around the grassy slopes. There is a rope swing dangling from a gracefully gnarled old tree. I remember being completely enraptured in the beauty and goodness of this place. Although I'm skeptical about the likelihood of an afterlife, if I did remain eternally "me" upon leaving my body, this would be the place I'd come home to. Mansions of gold and incessant white light and singing of hymns to the "Lord"(haven't we moved beyond medieval England by now?) No thanks!
As to the question of whether heaven is a "real" place, you may as well ask if we become, upon death, a feather on the giant duck in the sky, who hatched the world from a divine egg. I have no way of knowing and no reason for believing, apart from wishful thinking. But I suppose it could be as real as any dream.
Learn more about this author, Ashley Gutchess.
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Place
I gaze up into the sky and see the clouds gracefully dancing as the sunlight begs to break through and releases its powerful rays. I hear rain thunderously pounding the pavement, as the wind gently pushes me in directions that aren't always my choice. I have to believe that heaven is real; that forces exist stronger than our human will, and that after this crazy, beautiful life, there is a place for eternal happiness. Heaven is real.
Heaven is a spiritual haven, whether one believes it to be a real concrete palace, or a mansion for the soul and spirituality. It is hard to describe or support one's belief in the physical or spiritual existence of Heaven, because it is based on faith. Faith is not a physical commodity, it isn't tangible. Faith can't be physically given, but is a priceless and precious gift of the soul. Faith is learned, it is absorbed, and in it's most beautiful state, it is spiritually given from one soul to another. Faith should never be taken for granted; it is a gift that has to be nourished and nurtured, just like a newborn babe thirsting for its existence.
Once you have faith, the question isn't if Heaven exists in a physical or spiritual manner. The answer is simply and sweet;-Heaven exists. If you believe, as I do, in the bible scriptures, you can quote saint and sinner alike, to attest to the physical attributes of heaven. Or, you could simply read Don Piper's inspirational book, "Heaven is Real", and you with have no doubts that such a glorious existence with our maker exists. Piper introduces his experience with the physical and spiritual realm of Heaven by stating, "Heaven is real. I know it because I have been there and back." The author testifies to his documented death and journey to the golden strewed streets of heaven; meeting the precious relatives who had passed before him, and then his unwilling journey back to earth. Unwilling, because he found a beautiful state of being, where both the real physical place of Heaven coexists with the spiritual state. The author experienced a death experience, and miraculously was resuscitated after 90 minutes, only to confirm the physical and spiritual presence of Heaven and the glory of its existence.
Piper's experience is one that has been repetitive with others who have experienced near death journeys; with the mere exception that Piper, was in fact, pronounced dead and in that state for 90 minutes, as documented in medical records. One thing all these fortunate people have in common, is their desire to confirm an awesome place decribed as Heaven, that exists beyond this earthly state. They all have returned to this earth with the desire to profess the existence of Heaven and to help their fellow humanity living on earth. They all have lost their selfless ways and have journeyed to an existence far beyond our mundane lives.
Saint Paul is quoted below so very eloquently: Paul (1 Cor 13.9-13 RSV) wrote,
"For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
How glorious the day we meet again, in the glory of the Heavens, where life is eternal, pain is fleeting, and heaven is real.
Learn more about this author, Nancy Todisco.
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