The Bridge between Heaven and Earth by Emily VanLaeys

Painting by Chris Lissandrello

I have been accused of living too much in the ethereal world; for not paying enough attention to current news events; for not paying enough attention to the physical world that I live in. My accuser is one who loves me very much and wants what’s best for me.  He loves humanity and the earth; he worries and prays about the greed and violence he sees in the world. He reads the Bible and tries to believe God’s promises, but it all looks so hopeless to him. He feels helpless and guilty because he isn’t doing more to bring about the change he wants to see. He says to me: “You can’t create peace and justice by wishing for it and imagining it.”

              

            I  have never used the word “wish” to describe what I do in meditation and prayer. I know that Jesus didn’t just wish that the sick would be well, that five loaves and two fish would be enough to feed five thousand, or that Lazarus would come back from the dead. Jesus brought these events into the physical world from the ethereal world where Spirit dwells and the patterns for material things are created. Jesus said: “The person that believes in me will do the same things I have done. Yes! He will do even greater things than I have done.” (John 14:12) His miracles were not meant to demonstrate that he alone was God’s son, but to demonstrate for us what we will all do when we recognize that we, too, are One with God and One with the Christ spirit.

               

            When Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is within you,” he was telling us that the ethereal, spiritual world, from where all good things come, is within us, just as it is in him. We lost our ability to access this inner kingdom when we separated ourselves from God, our divine source. This separation took place long ago, as symbolized by Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden. Prior to that time there had been no knowledge of evil; but God granted us the free will that allowed us to choose the delights of the physical world over the security of life in the bosom of divine will. Our decision to separate ourselves from our divine source was the cause of evil, which we actually blame on God every time we say that a death, a natural disaster, or a disease must be God’s will.

                

             Jesus talked a great deal about the difference between the earthly world and the spiritual world which he called his home. And he encouraged his followers not to attach themselves to the material world. Jesus said to Pilate: “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” (John 18:36) Jesus’ followers did not fight to save him because they knew he could save himself if he wanted to, and because Jesus had taught them that violence is not welcome in his peaceable kingdom. Likewise, we should not fight, whether with weapons, words, or angry thoughts, because the kingdom of heaven can’t be reached by any of these means.

                

             When God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness,” (Genesis 1:26) men and women were created as spiritual beings, infused with the breath of God: the breath of love, light, and creativity. Although we came to dwell on earth, we knew that our true home was the spiritual, ethereal world; and that we were all One, having the same divine breath coursing through our bodies.When we chose to make the earth our permanent home, we forgot our spiritual heritage and our oneness with each other and all of creation. We forgot how to manifest what we needed from the ethereal world, and so we felt the need to struggle against each other to get what we thought was “our fair share” of the earth’s abundance.

                

            Now, two thousand years after Jesus demonstrated how to produce “something from nothing,” how to live as God meant us to, in perfect health, and at peace with ourselves and with each other, large numbers of people are beginning to understand his lessons.  They are the ones who have eyes to see beneath the surface of the material world, and ears to hear the spiritual messages that are coming thick and fast from divine sources. They are learning to shine their own divine light, just as Jesus told us to when he said “You are the light of the world . . .  let your light shine among men.” (Matthew 5:14-17) Instead of engaging in politics with its “us against them” mentality, they recognize their oneness with all of humanity, even those that threaten to dim their light and disturb their inner peace. 

 Jesus said that when the age of hidden truth is nearing its end, “. . . many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase in lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:11-12) So this is the time to hold fast to the Law of Love, the law given by Jesus that leads to eternal life. Let us not be disturbed by the storms swirling around us, both man-made and natural – for even the tornados and hurricanes are the result of humanity’s separation from God, our Creator, who intended the earth to be a place of calm and beauty, as it was in the beginning.  Let us remain focused on love, radiate our light in the darkness, and be a beacon for others.  As the light of the world grows brighter and brighter, those who sleep in the dark will begin to awaken, and waking, they will join the celestial song of joy that Isaiah prophesied so many centuries ago:

We have won no victories on earth,

And no one is born to inhabit the world.

Your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise.

O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!

For your dew is a radiant dew,

And the earth will give birth to those long dead.

                                                (Isaiah 26:18-19)