rgray222
25th March 2011, 01:16
This story touches on what most of us call Enlightenment, Ascension or Spiritual Evolution. For the sake of this post I will confine the terminology to "Enlightenment".
This is a bit long but some is very entertaining reading, a short story by Steve Hammons.
Just some general thoughts and questions on the subject.
Is enlightenment real?
Is is necessary for our physical bodies to die to achieve some type of enlightenment?
Are there different levels of enlightenment, if so, how many?
What is the best way to achieve enlightenment?
There does not seem to be a guide, manual or a how to book to follow to achieve any form of enlightenment. If you pull up books on Amazon about enlightenment, the first page alone give you 40 titles. Some of those tell you how to be happy at work, how to use your wealth which are far from enlightenment. So deceptive titles that do nothing to help you achieve a new level of consciousness or enlightenment.
http://stevebeckow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Ascension-33.jpg
Then you have someone like Eckhart Tolle, his book The Power of Now, seem to be the first thing I ever read that started to put you on the right road. Then it seemed that he veered pretty hard in the money direction.If you take a look at his site it is a money machine, books, DVD and event costing a great deal of money. About 5-6 of the buttons on his site simply sell things (talk series, teacher series, intensive series, retreat series) then there are the live events. A one day pass $178, a two day pass $378. A three day workshop (food and hotel included) over $1000. Eckhart Tolle (http://www.eckharttolle.com/)
If you had the answers, don't you think you would give them away for free and maybe keep just enough to live on!!
American philosopher William James knew when his “second death” was going to happen. He felt premonitions of becoming too small for his psychological quarters.
“I feel myself growing out of myself in a certain fashion. My adopted characteristics are becoming too small and cramped to contain my new growth and development, and I will move on most certainly to larger psychological quarters. It is not only the physical body we outlive, but the psychological house we have chosen. First after death we add new rooms and suites to accommodate our greater experience, but it is soon obvious that the entire structure has had its day. We must move out of it completely.”
So to get to the point.......maybe we have been looking at enlightenment from wrong end of the spectrum. Could it be possible that enlightenment is coming to us instead of us achieving it on our own!
In Steve Hammons novel "Mission Into Light," He explore the ideas of NDEs (near death experience) , another dimension and encounters with beings who reside there.
The incident involves the main character, Mike Green. On an operation in the Red Rock-Secret mountain national wilderness area north of Sedona, Arizona, with the San Diego-based 10-person U.S. Joint Reconnaissance Study Group, Mike is shot by a sniper or snipers hidden on high ground and is hit in the leg. Another bullet grazes his skull.
He instantly looses consciousness, falls to the ground and starts loosing significant amounts of blood. Other team members immediately start first-aid for Mike and another wounded teammate.
Meanwhile, he has a near-death experience:
Slowly, Mike's awareness returns. He is disoriented. He looks below and sees his own body, unconscious and bleeding profusely from the leg and head. Another member of the group is bloody from his shoulder down to his hand, the arm of his shirt soaked with blood.
He sees his friends pinned-down by two snipers below him. Below him? Where is he? Had he somehow gotten to a high point along the cliffs?
Mike sees his Uncle Jack directly below him, firing bursts from his automatic weapon and pulling more ammo clips from his pockets.
Near Jack lies Mike's own body. Jack picks up Mike's body, throws him over his shoulders and tries to make his way down a hill, which Mike watches from above.
Slowly, the green forest below him fades from Mike's view. Darkness comes over him.
Then, a point of light becomes visible on the horizon. He is being drawn toward the point of light, first slowly, then more quickly, as if he were shooting river rapids in a canoe. The point of light draws closer and Mike finds himself in a tunnel of beautiful golden light.
He seems to slow down now, like the inevitable calm water at the end of a river's rapids. Mike drifts slowly through the tunnel and the golden light becomes brighter. Other colors seemed to sparkle through the golden light like hundreds of tiny rainbows.
Ahead, he can see figures that seemed to be people. As he flows closer to them he can make out four beings. They seem to be waiting for him as he comes closer and closer.
Then, he finds himself surrounded by the four figures. He knows them. They are his four grandparents and they embrace him. They passed on many years ago, though were a big part of his life when he was a kid. The five seem to float in the light. His grandparents communicate with him in unison.
They tell him, "Yes, Mike, this is the land of the Great Spirit. It is the beautiful place that many religions and philosophies have always taught."
"There is constant rejoicing and peace in this land. But we feel sadness at the hardships faced by our people in your world. And we feel a longing to help the people there."
"There are groups of beings who want to bring the two worlds together, to make Heaven and Earth one place. There are efforts underway to accomplish that very mission."
"That work is proceeding. One day soon, that miracle will come to pass, and there will be a great celebration, a great happiness among all the people."
"You, Mike, must return to the other world, and tell your family and friends about what you have seen."
"We have one more thing to show you, something you have a need to know."
Then, they help Mike take a fantastic journey into deep memories in his DNA, or maybe it is time travel into the ancient past of the Cherokee people in their Smokey Mountain homeland, or maybe both simultaneously. He learns some amazing things.
After this experience concludes, he finds himself with his grandparents again.
"Mike, you must now return to the other world. You still have many more seasons before you join us here in the Spirit land."
They embrace him again, with happiness. Slowly, the golden light begins to fade and Mike is moving back through the tunnel of light. He sees his grandparents waving good-bye to him until they fade from his sight.
The light grows dimmer and dimmer until it is only a point on a distant horizon. And then, darkness.
Mike's next sensation is the sound of other people talking. He opens his eyes and sees a hospital room in Sedona, his friends gathered around his hospital bed.
He tries to tell about his experience.
"I was floating above the fight at the canyon, watching you scrambling for safety. I saw my own bloody body being carried by Uncle Jack down the rocky path away from the snipers."
"A tunnel of golden light led to the land of Spirit ... It wasn't a dream."
"I was in the golden light, and saw my grandparents."
The others listen carefully as Mike tries to recall details of his journey and his meeting with his grandparents.
After he finishes his story, Mike looks closely into the faces of the friends around his bed. Some of their eyes are wider than usual. Some are expressionless, though a smile can be seen in their eyes.
The group's commanding officer, combat veteran Air Force Colonel Tom O'Brien, standing near the door, gives Mike a knowing wink.
Source: Steve Hammons
Any thoughts that you have have the subject would be greatly appreaciated!
This is a bit long but some is very entertaining reading, a short story by Steve Hammons.
Just some general thoughts and questions on the subject.
Is enlightenment real?
Is is necessary for our physical bodies to die to achieve some type of enlightenment?
Are there different levels of enlightenment, if so, how many?
What is the best way to achieve enlightenment?
There does not seem to be a guide, manual or a how to book to follow to achieve any form of enlightenment. If you pull up books on Amazon about enlightenment, the first page alone give you 40 titles. Some of those tell you how to be happy at work, how to use your wealth which are far from enlightenment. So deceptive titles that do nothing to help you achieve a new level of consciousness or enlightenment.
http://stevebeckow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Ascension-33.jpg
Then you have someone like Eckhart Tolle, his book The Power of Now, seem to be the first thing I ever read that started to put you on the right road. Then it seemed that he veered pretty hard in the money direction.If you take a look at his site it is a money machine, books, DVD and event costing a great deal of money. About 5-6 of the buttons on his site simply sell things (talk series, teacher series, intensive series, retreat series) then there are the live events. A one day pass $178, a two day pass $378. A three day workshop (food and hotel included) over $1000. Eckhart Tolle (http://www.eckharttolle.com/)
If you had the answers, don't you think you would give them away for free and maybe keep just enough to live on!!
American philosopher William James knew when his “second death” was going to happen. He felt premonitions of becoming too small for his psychological quarters.
“I feel myself growing out of myself in a certain fashion. My adopted characteristics are becoming too small and cramped to contain my new growth and development, and I will move on most certainly to larger psychological quarters. It is not only the physical body we outlive, but the psychological house we have chosen. First after death we add new rooms and suites to accommodate our greater experience, but it is soon obvious that the entire structure has had its day. We must move out of it completely.”
So to get to the point.......maybe we have been looking at enlightenment from wrong end of the spectrum. Could it be possible that enlightenment is coming to us instead of us achieving it on our own!
In Steve Hammons novel "Mission Into Light," He explore the ideas of NDEs (near death experience) , another dimension and encounters with beings who reside there.
The incident involves the main character, Mike Green. On an operation in the Red Rock-Secret mountain national wilderness area north of Sedona, Arizona, with the San Diego-based 10-person U.S. Joint Reconnaissance Study Group, Mike is shot by a sniper or snipers hidden on high ground and is hit in the leg. Another bullet grazes his skull.
He instantly looses consciousness, falls to the ground and starts loosing significant amounts of blood. Other team members immediately start first-aid for Mike and another wounded teammate.
Meanwhile, he has a near-death experience:
Slowly, Mike's awareness returns. He is disoriented. He looks below and sees his own body, unconscious and bleeding profusely from the leg and head. Another member of the group is bloody from his shoulder down to his hand, the arm of his shirt soaked with blood.
He sees his friends pinned-down by two snipers below him. Below him? Where is he? Had he somehow gotten to a high point along the cliffs?
Mike sees his Uncle Jack directly below him, firing bursts from his automatic weapon and pulling more ammo clips from his pockets.
Near Jack lies Mike's own body. Jack picks up Mike's body, throws him over his shoulders and tries to make his way down a hill, which Mike watches from above.
Slowly, the green forest below him fades from Mike's view. Darkness comes over him.
Then, a point of light becomes visible on the horizon. He is being drawn toward the point of light, first slowly, then more quickly, as if he were shooting river rapids in a canoe. The point of light draws closer and Mike finds himself in a tunnel of beautiful golden light.
He seems to slow down now, like the inevitable calm water at the end of a river's rapids. Mike drifts slowly through the tunnel and the golden light becomes brighter. Other colors seemed to sparkle through the golden light like hundreds of tiny rainbows.
Ahead, he can see figures that seemed to be people. As he flows closer to them he can make out four beings. They seem to be waiting for him as he comes closer and closer.
Then, he finds himself surrounded by the four figures. He knows them. They are his four grandparents and they embrace him. They passed on many years ago, though were a big part of his life when he was a kid. The five seem to float in the light. His grandparents communicate with him in unison.
They tell him, "Yes, Mike, this is the land of the Great Spirit. It is the beautiful place that many religions and philosophies have always taught."
"There is constant rejoicing and peace in this land. But we feel sadness at the hardships faced by our people in your world. And we feel a longing to help the people there."
"There are groups of beings who want to bring the two worlds together, to make Heaven and Earth one place. There are efforts underway to accomplish that very mission."
"That work is proceeding. One day soon, that miracle will come to pass, and there will be a great celebration, a great happiness among all the people."
"You, Mike, must return to the other world, and tell your family and friends about what you have seen."
"We have one more thing to show you, something you have a need to know."
Then, they help Mike take a fantastic journey into deep memories in his DNA, or maybe it is time travel into the ancient past of the Cherokee people in their Smokey Mountain homeland, or maybe both simultaneously. He learns some amazing things.
After this experience concludes, he finds himself with his grandparents again.
"Mike, you must now return to the other world. You still have many more seasons before you join us here in the Spirit land."
They embrace him again, with happiness. Slowly, the golden light begins to fade and Mike is moving back through the tunnel of light. He sees his grandparents waving good-bye to him until they fade from his sight.
The light grows dimmer and dimmer until it is only a point on a distant horizon. And then, darkness.
Mike's next sensation is the sound of other people talking. He opens his eyes and sees a hospital room in Sedona, his friends gathered around his hospital bed.
He tries to tell about his experience.
"I was floating above the fight at the canyon, watching you scrambling for safety. I saw my own bloody body being carried by Uncle Jack down the rocky path away from the snipers."
"A tunnel of golden light led to the land of Spirit ... It wasn't a dream."
"I was in the golden light, and saw my grandparents."
The others listen carefully as Mike tries to recall details of his journey and his meeting with his grandparents.
After he finishes his story, Mike looks closely into the faces of the friends around his bed. Some of their eyes are wider than usual. Some are expressionless, though a smile can be seen in their eyes.
The group's commanding officer, combat veteran Air Force Colonel Tom O'Brien, standing near the door, gives Mike a knowing wink.
Source: Steve Hammons
Any thoughts that you have have the subject would be greatly appreaciated!