Disasters

I admit to my fears sometimes. I mean, I admit them to myself all the time, but rarely outside of my comfort zone. Natural disasters are horrific. As much as I enjoy watching the occasional storm, gazing at lightning crossing the sky and waiting for the roaring thunder that follows, I feel like returning to the womb front a possible flood, fire, hurricane or tornado. With all that I know and believe in, I am all human when it comes to being afraid of dying in pain or suffering. As a matter of fact, the best thing and yet the most boring aspect of growing older is, in my case, taking more precautions in everything. Swimming in deep waters? Not anymore, thank you. There might be sharks. Drive my car holding a sandwich in one hand, my phone between my shoulder and ear while trying to take note of something on some random piece of paper? Um - no. Go bungee-jumping? Heck, no! My MVP condition may turn into a cardiac arrest and than its me DOA at the hospital. Delusional? Exaggeration? Maybe, but I'm not taking the risk. In other words, I meet the requirements for SELF-PRESERVATION.

Still in the matter of being human and all, the most respected medium of all times, Francisco Candido Xavier, had a near encounter with disaster once. He was on a plane going I remember not where to do something that is not really important for this matter. There was turbulence during some twenty minutes which got worse and worse, and most people starting crying and shouting. He felt no different from others who panicked, and one priest recognized him "There's Chico Xavier", to which he replied in frantic fear, "Thank Goodness, Father. Let's pray together. Help! Help! God Almighty save us!" He reports that suddenly he sees Emmanuel, his spiritual guide, calmly walking up to him from the corridor:

"What seems to be the matter, Chico?"
"We are in danger!"
"Yes, you all are. So?"
"We can all die!"
"And? There's no one with priviliges around here", Emmanuel replied, annoyed. "If you have to die, at least do it politely."
"If I'm going to die, I'm going to die screaming. Help! Oh, Lord!"

Chico would later tell this story in good heart and laughter. As he said afterwards, "How can one die politely?"

This being said, The Spirits' Book tells us that destruction gives way to renewal and regeneration, as Providence uses all beings as instruments for attaining its purpose, just like the food chain where the nourishment of some beings depend on the destruction of others. Its objective is to maintain balance in the population of a species and to transform matter. What dies is merely the physical envelope, an accessory to the spirit. The spirit, the essential thinking principle is indestructible. Questions 729 through 733 from the above mentioned book gives us some insight:

729. If destruction is necessary for transformation, why does Nature instill species with the self-preservation instinct?

"This is to prevent premature destruction, which would impede the development of the intelligent principle. This is also why God gave the instinct to live and to reproduce each being."

730. Since death will lead us to a better life and liberate us from the evils of the world, it is something we should desire more than fear. Why does each of us, then, feel such instinctive horror and apprehension when facing it?

" We have already told you. Humans must seek to prolong their lives in order to fulfill their tasks. It was for this reason that God gave you the instinct of self-preservation, which sustains you during your trials. Without it you would frequently fall into despair. But the secret voice that makes you reject death also tells you that you can do something to improve your lot. Every brush with death is a call for you to spend your time more usefully. But the ungrateful, instead of thanking God for this warning, bless their lucky star that they have escaped."

731. Why, along with the means of preservation, did Nature simultaneously place the means of destruction in our path?

"The medicine comes with the sickness. As we previously told you, destruction is designed to establish balance, to maintain an equilibrium in nature."

732. Is the need for destruction the same on all planets?

" It exists in proportion to the materiality of each planet. As inhabitants reach more refined physical and spiritual states, it disappears. On more advanced planets, living conditions are quite different from yours."

733. Will the need for destruction always exist among us on Earth?

" It will diminish as the spirit gains mastery over matter. This is why the horror at destruction grows with intellectual and moral development".

The questions and explanations continue on the fairness of both the good and evil perishing at the same time in natural calamities, the killing of animals and so on. Something I will gladly explore later on. The good part is that my instincts for survival, my being cautious (not to say a chicken), absolute horror at unecessary violence and blood shedding mean I am advancing. Yes!

And So a New Year Begins

2011 is literally around the corner, barely three hours or so away, and all around me (neighborhood) is loud music, laughter and fire works. It is nice to have a moment's happiness, however empty one might feel the next day with a hangover, the memories of the departed, an empty bed as a reminder of a relationship that has not worked out, or another one night stand. Is it really nice and healthy? I never thought so and thankfully have not indulged lightly. Nonetheless, it took me three decades to come to terms with myself, with what life is really about, and to gratefully enjoy inner peace regardless of circumstances. This year I am not going to make any resolutions, I will not ask for more money, a better job, a man in my life. I will not ask for anything that is remotely linked to the selfish "I". Many things that people ask for can be conquered with hard honest work, others are just a matter of what God has reserved for us. Most of it is what we had agreed to pursue when once again upon Earth: forgiveness, togetherness, and peace.



The Portal has evacuated most of the unhappy brothers and sisters who are now in flesh upon this planet. As hard as it is to survive in this jungle, I am determined to live in peace, and think and breathe light and throw this shining white light upon all who have have crossed my path one way or another in this life and in the past. No encounter is by chance, even painful ones.



The key is Personal Transformation, and it is not as simple as it sounds. One of the first steps is determination, slowly but surely confronting yourself in daily meditations. Admit at least to yourself what it is in your attitude that is unhealthy. Recognize you dislike people whose faults reflect your own, and analyze what and how it can be changed. Each step forward is a victory, almost like an AA meeting when each day without drinking is a mark. Except that we are still very much imperfect and live in a world of atonement... we are bound to fall back a couple of times. What we cannot allow is to fall back all the way as if we were an AA follower back to being a drunken addict. Here is an excerpt from The Gospel Explained By the Spiritist Doctrine on the subject:

"There are two kinds of suffering on earth; or, if you prefer, our trials have their origin in two different sources. The first kind has its cause in present-day life; the second arises from causes outside the present life.

In considering the troubles of earthly life, it is evident that a great number of them arethe consequence of a person's own attitudes and actions. Many of us flounder because of our faults - victimized by our thoughtlessness, arrogance, and ambition. Many of us destroy ourselves through lack of discipline and perserverance, and through bad conduct and an inability to control our own desires. Likewise many marriages turn sour simply because they are built not by the heart, but by partners' calculating self-interest and vanity. So many disagreements and disastrous hostilities could be avoided with the help of a little restraint and more tolerance. In the same way, how many illnesses and diseases result from overindulgence and abuses of all sorts?

Families, particularly, pay a price for these failures. Parents find they are disappointed in their children because they didn't intervene early enough to overcome their children's harmful impulses. In spoiling or neglecting their children, these parents let the seeds of pride, selfishness, and foolish conceit take root in them, so that their hearts became dried and shriveled. Later on, when parents start reaping what they had sown, they will be surprised and at the indifference and lack of gratitude their children show them.

We ask each of you who has experienced heartaches because of disappointments and losses to study your own consciences closely, going back, step by step, to the origins of each problem that is causing you pain. More likely than not, most will be able to say: If I had done, or not done, such and such thing, I wouldn't be where I am today.

Who is, in such cases, responsible for the sufferings if not the person who suffers? In most cases, men and women are the architects of their own troubles. Yet rather than admit this fact, they usually find it easier and less humiliating to their egos to blame their troubles on fate, God, bad luck, or even on an unlucky star. However, this 'unlucky star' is actually no more than their own carelessness.

When we consider life's problems, we find that this kind of suffering makes up the greatest part of our problems. Only when we make the commitment to work at SELF-TRANSFORMATION, raising ourselves both morally and intellectually, will we be able to avoid suffering of this kind." (Chapter 5:4 Present Causes of Suffering)

It's no walk in the park, I'll tell you that much. I am a far cry from being a quarter of the steps up the proverbial Jacob's ladder, but the enormous amount of effort I have put in to achieve a little transformation has made me happier than I have ever been. I had been temporarily blessed with relative wealth, and then came an avalanche of ups and downs that put a toll on my nerves and my trust in Humanity. Personal transformation led me to understand that a) I own nothing knowing that earthly goods are ephemeral, and also that I own no one; b) no one owns me; c) God is a Father of Light and Love, not one of vengeance; d)I am capable of confronting my own faults without diminishing myself - I am responsible for who I am and my own evolution; e) I can help others many times unbeknownst to them, and not expect anything in return; f) I am capable of learning and retaining valuable information that helps in stressful times, thus I keep an even temper for the most part; g) and not lastly, but should suffice for today, I have managed to be more forgiving.For the first time in years I am able to quiet my thoughts and sad memories during meditation/prayers, during which I can now include the names of people I once devoted bitter anger and hatred, and truly ask for their safety, enlightenment and understanding of what should and should not have happened - similar conclusions I have finally made. My late father, my estranged sister, and a man I had sworn never to forgive until our dying day and beyond. The first one is in the spirtual plane although perhaps not a happy one. The other two I feel we are not apt to make amends in this lifetime if we ever meet face to face, but I sincerely hope transformation occurs enough in all of us for it to happen in another life. I fervently wish that we all can progress and be able, sooner rather than later, leave this planet of atonement and return to inhabit a better one. One where beauty is what is within, where love is understood as fraternity and not to be confused with sexual desire alone or short-lived passion, where peace is a given and grace is more than a woman's name. And so let it be, and so it will!

Peace always,

B