HEAVEN

The topic about heaven has always intrigued me. Is there really a place somewhere over the rainbow where after death the good souls end up with other good souls to forever "live" the afterlife?  Is it supposed to be such a wonderful place as so many have been led to believe by countless religions? If so then why not just skip the living on earth part and go right to it?  Before I dive into this topic, the reader needs to know that I am not a religious person.  As a youngster I was involved in the Catholic religion through my parents but as soon as I became an adult, I had many questions religion could not answer.  I therefore have not been involved in organized religion for a very long time.  I am a spiritual person.  Spirituality does not need religion.  But, the reverse is not true.  Religion does need spirituality.  Also I respect individuals' freedom of religion.  It is not my position to judge or offend the reader regarding their faith.  I am not selling or attempting to convert anyone into any beliefs.  How hypocritical and insulting would that be? In fact, I encourage everyone to read, research and come to their own conclusions as I did.  So the following article is my conclusions and my opinion from my research.  
 The word heaven, in Greek means, Ouranos which translates into expansion, the action of becoming larger or more extensive. I will refer at times to the bible because I believe that it is one of the two best books for answers in the area of spirituality and self healing.  The other book being the Tao Te Ching which was written long before the bible.  Expansion as aforementioned is the action of becoming larger.  In the bible, Jesus assures us that the kingdom of heaven is within us, not a distant far away place.  So if we use common sense, what within us can we point to that can expand and continue to grow constantly without barriers?  Not our organs for sure because once they reach adulthood they obviously continue to function but healthy organs do not get any bigger.  And, organs can expand to a point but within reason or else they would blow up.  For example, if you're a runner your lungs and heart will expand to allow the increase of blood and oxygen but, only to a point.  The only thing that can expand without limits is the MIND.  Historically, in the bible there are countless examples of expansions and references to obtain whatever it is that you want in life.  Jesus directed that "Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven, and all these things shall be added unto you."  And, he goes on to say, that "...the Kingdom of Heaven is within you."
 I believe Jesus was a person who "got it."  He was enlightened and it reflected on the way he conducted himself.  He encouraged others to understand that they have the power to do what ever they wanted as long as it was for the common good.    However, this wasn't a power that only he possessed.  It is a power that we all possess.  Through your way of thinking you can shape your life in whatever you want.  We are all created in god's image.  Not one of us are left out.  What we do with our life is our choice.  Some will say but look at the evil all around us, how can god have created that since we are all created in his image?  That exactly gives credence to what I am saying,  that we have the power to create out of life whatever it is we want.  Through our mind and our way of thinking.  God is in all of us.  When Jesus was accused of blasphemy for claiming to be the son of god, he responded, "Is it not written in your laws in Psalms 82:6, "I said you are gods?" We are god. God is pure love.  What we do with it is our choice through our free will.  We are not robots.  The kingdom of heaven is in every single one of us.  The problem is that we either don't want to believe that or we have been taught otherwise.  "Give evil nothing to oppose and it will disappear by itself." Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching.  I leave you with a poem on point;
 "Wish pure love and soft peace upon the ones who've been unkind to you and keep moving forward.  This will free you both."  
      Author unknown
  Just a thought.   
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