Equity and Fairness

If each of us is the center of God’s undivided affection, then, we should find evidential support that, despite seemingly contrary results in the world, everyone is treated fairly and equitably by God as each makes his or her way toward eternal life in Summerland.

from the book, “The Power Of Myth,”
a discussion with Dr. Joseph Campbell 

Campbell: The shaman is a person, male or female, who has an overwhelming psychological experience that turns him totally inward [that is, to a realization of inner mystical energies; which all persons possess, but few are in tune with]. The whole unconscious opens up, and the shaman falls into it. Descriptions of this shaman experience are found all the way from Siberia right through the Americas down to Tierra del Fuego.

Bill Moyers: There’s a sense of ecstasy, isn’t there, in this experience?

Campbell: As reported, it’s always of ecstasy… [This breakthrough can happen, unexpectedly, to anyone. When] it comes… bang! - it’s like that.

Moyers: And the one who had this psychological experience, this traumatic experience, this ecstasy, would become the interpreter for others of things not seen.

Campbell: … yes.

Editor's note: Eventually, each one of us will have this "shamanistic" experience; each one of us will yet experience "consciousness opening up," and each one of us will yet become an interpreter of spiritual mysteries. There are no elites in the universe, and God will yet teach you as much as any "advanced" person. And then you will speak as Jesus did, "but I say to you..."

Moyers: And what draws him into that?

Campbell: The best example I know which might help to answer that is the experience of Black Elk. [He] was a young Sioux boy around the age of nine [who became very ill]. Well, what happened with this young boy was that he had a prophetic vision of the terrible future of his tribe [the coming wide scale slaughter and displacement. But he also saw a future beyond that of peace and harmony among all peoples and nations.]

[Black Elk’s dramatic vision] comes to one great statement, which, for me, is a key statement to the understanding of myth and symbols. He says, “I saw myself on the central mountain of the world, the highest place… But the central mountain is everywhere.”

The “center of the world” is the axis mundi, the central point, the pole around which all revolves… where stillness and movement are together… [and] stillness is eternity… And the center, Bill, is right where you’re sitting. And [it’s] right where I’m sitting. And each one of us is a manifestation of the mystery…

Moyers: So, it’s a metaphor, an image of reality.

Campbell: Yes. What you have here [could] be translated into raw [selfish] individualism, you see, if you didn’t realize that the center was also right there facing you in the other person… You are the central mountain, and the central mountain is everywhere.

Editor’s note: Summerland is a world where individual preference, individual definition of pleasure, individual goals and endeavor, will reign supreme.

This does not mean that people there do not voluntarily donate time to serve the disadvantaged; but, in the main, we live our lives in Summerland directed by a Jeffersonian “pursuit of happiness.” Gone will be the cultish collective-ego institutions ruling our lives, dealing with us as pawns and playthings.

Summerland is where Black Elk’s vision comes to full flower: Each one of us, individually, is the “central mountain,” the central focus, of God’s purpose and affection.

Russell Means was featured in “The Last Of The Mohicans.” A deeply spiritual scene of the movie was that of he and his sons shooting a deer for food, then praying over and, with deference to the sentiments of Saint Francis, apologizing to “brother deer” for needing to kill it.

The following channeled information is from Flashes of Light from the Spirit-land, through the mediumship of Mrs. J. H. Conant, by Allen Putnam, Frances Ann Conant, 1872.

Question. You say the Indian lives nearer God than the White man. Is he happier in the spirit-world?

Answer. Generally, he is. (see more below)

Jesus and the story of the investment capital

You may recall Jesus’ parable of the talents. Actually, there are two versions:

(1) in Matthew 25:14-30 Jesus speaks of a rich man, about to leave on a long journey, who gives each of his servants different amounts of money to invest; however,

equal amounts

(2) in Luke 19:11-28 Jesus changes the story somewhat, in that, now each servant is given an equal amount:

A nobleman living in a certain province was called away to the distant capital of the empire to be crowned king of his province. Before he left he called together ten assistants and gave them each $2,000 to invest while he was gone. (The Living Bible)

I like to think of the parable in Luke, with equal amounts of investment capital, as representing our time on planet Earth with equal long-term opportunities for happiness, growth, and development.

Editor’s note: In the parables, the fearful servant who did nothing lost that little which he had: from Excursions to the Spirit World by Frederick C. Sculthorp:

Consider the lot of the [selfish] person whose life on earth has fitted him or her for this [diminished] state or wavelength after passing over. What little love there is, is taken away, swamped by the mass thoughts of the other people, which reminds one of the quotation: For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.

is this game of life a mistake

Diana Ross and "The Happening"

But what about a case where someone has such a hard life, suffers so much injustice, so many disadvantages, that, in abject despair, the person takes his own life?

We do not want to trivialize a situation such as this. These things do happen, and it is more than terrible. However, even in such dire straits, I believe the equity and fairness of God is at work.

Spirit Guide Abu instructs us. In the article on “suicide” I quote extensively from a tape-recorded lecture he gave on this very subject, and I would encourage you to view the entire article. However, in brief, the Spirit Guide said this:

Everyone who crosses over is dealt with in a loving way. No one is despised or left behind. Regarding suicides, it should be said that this manner of entering the etheric world is not recommended; although, here we need to be careful in making any judgments, as circumstances will vary greatly. Many people on Earth worry that the suicide will have an especially difficult time. This will not necessarily be the case. In fact, in certain situations, it may be for the best. I do not want to be misunderstood. We go to the Earth to learn certain lessons, and the general rule is that we should not cut short our learning time; however, that said, some people suffer so much on the Earth that to stay there any longer could actually make them worse and set them back; in these situations, it could very well be better for that person to take himself to the next world.

in 100 years it will all be the same

The Spirit Guide continues:

But what about a case in which the suicide may not altogether offer 'just cause' for his departure? Even here, while he or she may suffer for a time due to a short-sighted, egocentric act - if that act represents a pattern of selfishness in one's entire life - even so, with the passage of some years (let's say, 100 years), it will all come out the same. The infraction will have been worked through, the 'payment,' so to speak, to one's higher self, will have been made, and that person will live just as happy a life as anyone else. Case closed.

Editor’s note: Nobody likes to suffer, of course, and we should not go looking for trouble; don’t worry, it will find us. Nevertheless, the purely human, materialistic view is often skewed in these matters.

We pity suffering ones, and it’s well that we should; however, they have a special opportunity of accessing a sightedness which can become future advantage. The suffering one, if he or she accepts trials bravely and wholeheartedly, trusting God in the process, invites a hidden and unexpected benefit. Suffering endured with equanimous and undespairing mind summons to itself an endowment of what will yet become an astonishing heightened capacity to experience joy, wonder, and bliss.

But not only this, suffering endured courageously fits and prepares one for important charitable service, in the higher realms, along with considerable concomitant accolade. Empathy is cultivated, the heart is sensitized, compassion is drawn forth. And now, once again, Jesus’ dictum of “the last shall be first” finds stellar representation.

The following channeled information is from Flashes of Light from the Spirit-land, through the mediumship of Mrs. J. H. Conant, by Allen Putnam, Frances Ann Conant, 1872.

Do you suppose you would appreciate the joys of what you call heaven, the heaven of the spirit-world, if you had always passed through a sort of an easy, free life here? Why, no... They who have been crushed under the wheels of adversity are the souls who know how to enjoy heaven. Why, I am only sorry I did not have more adversity when here. I am only sorry I did not drink deeper of the cup of bitterness, because if I had I should have a keener relish for the joys of heaven. My relish is very keen now, but it would have been enhanced a hundred fold if I had only suffered more when here. That is why the returning spirits always tell you that though they suffered much here, they cannot afford to part with the remembrance of it - they are very glad to have passed through it... What would you know about good, fine, pleasant weather, if there were no storms? You would weary of it very soon. What would you know about appreciating the sunshine, if there were no clouds that passed over the sun's face? Why, I think the [mythical] devil is one of our very best friends, and instead of putting horns and hoofs to him, we ought to array him in garments of light, and call him what God calls him - very good!

revisited: geography is not spirituality

Editor’s note: As I’ve stated elsewhere, some of the channeled afterlife testimonies from persons over there reveal a significant lack of understanding concerning human nature. Some are quite naïve. They think that more information will make people better. As such, many of these like to predict that things will be getting better in the world because more and more people will be learning about the afterlife. There were many of these “prophecies” about a hundred years ago, after WWI. They couldn’t have been more wrong, as we view the carnage of the later twentieth century.

How do they make mistakes like this? In the same manner that we might make them. They haven’t “gone within” and discovered both the “true self” and the potential evil of the “false self.”

Here is a classic example of all this. Afterlife researcher Michael Tymn reports on the Spirit Guides who sent messages to Stainton Moses in the latter 1800s:

“William Stainton Moses, an Anglican priest who became a gifted medium, was told by spirits that they overestimated their ability to help out, not anticipating so much abuse and ignorance on our side. Thus, they withdrew.”

This is quite telling: “overestimated their ability to help out, not anticipating so much abuse and ignorance on our side.”

But this was all foreseeable had they studied the Krishnamurti lectures. Note, too, that these Spirit Guides considered themselves very advanced and highly evolved. But “geography is not spirituality,” and living in the “seventh heaven” won’t help you a particle to see more clearly.

The point for all of us is that, never be impressed by “I’ve been over here for a few thousand years, and I really know.” It doesn’t work that way, and all of us, each one, can “go within” today and begin to perceive what escapes certain “exalted ones” on the other side.

As we’ve heard from Spirit Guides, facing suffering bravely creates an increased capacity to experience joy in the next world. However, is this an absolute advantage? meaning, will those who cross over with this psychological benefit always “be ahead” of the crowd for all time?

We’ve seen reports from the other side, and there are many more, stating that a “keener relish for the joys of heaven” is gained by facing adversity with trusting mind. Our Red brothers and sisters, case in point, generally speaking, as a group, have done better in this area than many others. Will they always enjoy a relatively advanced status in Summerland?

It’s an interesting question. My sense is that the answer is, no, or not necessarily, as nothing is static in a quantum universe. Here’s what I mean. As I survey a broader scope of this question, I find other factors in play.

The Guides are also on record to say, everyone has the opportunity to reach the highest heights of development, no matter how low “on the totem pole” you start. And if a divine fairness and equality direct an unfolding eternal destiny, it would have to be this way.

We're on Earth for a short time, and our stay is marked by great diversity of resource. Yes, granted, all this inequality might cause some to make better choices than others, allowing for a “better start” in Summerland, but if this “unlevel playing field” were to affect one’s eternal life in a permanent way, where’s the fairness and justice in that?

If some find themselves enjoying an immediate advantage in Summerland, with others counted as lackluster in the struggles of Earth-life, then there would be many heavy hearts wishing for one more mortal life on the "sorrowful planet", to do better this time, in order to set oneself up for good living in the real world; there would be a wistful looking back upon the “good old days” on Earth where one might take to oneself opportunities for growth that, which, under this view, are unavailable in Summerland.

But Summerland is not deficient, we are told, in any aspect of benefit, save the inducement to initial awakening. Further, as we’ve also learned from the Guides, reincarnation is not an option for us.

What does all this mean for the new arrival in the next world? Let’s say that someone lands in Summerland. His or her Earth-life broke no records for spirituality, but it wasn’t so overly selfish, either, and so one is granted opportunity to live in a good world.

What happens next?

For many, not much. The Guides lament the fact that the majority in Summerland do not seem interested in improving themselves, there is no rush to take part in the many educational activities.

In this case, the “great divide” between those who are alive to spiritual advancement and those who are careless of improving themselves might very well settle into a permanent state of being.

Alright then, but eternity is a long time, and maybe the disengaged person will, in fact, loaf around for many years, or even centuries, not doing much, or caring much; but what if a day comes when the half-alive person suddenly wakes up and says, “I have been wasting my life with trivialities, and now I want to change and do better”?

This scenario will not be unusual. And now what happens? Can the newly-energized rise to meet those more advanced? Let’s quickly mention that there’s no race, no contest, in any of this. What one does with one’s life is one’s own business, for better or worse, and no one is keeping score. The celebrity culture is dead over there, nobody collects ribbons or plaques.

Nevertheless, those counted as “more advanced” will very likely not have been sitting still during all those years of “comatose living” for some, and now the advanced will be still farther advanced.

But, again, there’s no contest in any of this, so this relative positioning is meaningless. What is to become, however, of the newly-ambitious? We’ve said that facing suffering while on Earth heightens one’s capacity to enjoy life later on. How will the newly-revived recapture some semblance of this lost capacity?

As we analyze this issue, we must remind ourselves once again of the primary purpose of the Earth-mission: It is to become an individual. The newly-awakened did become an individual, and so he or she is good to go, ready to embark upon a life replete of all that Summerland has to offer.

But what about all the talk of “heightened capacity”?

Heightened capacity for joy is a very nice benefit to gain during the Earth tour-of-duty, and it will give you a "quick start" in the "real world"; however, this is a not a primary goal of the trip. We can make up this deficit, we can get it in another way.

Erich Fromm: "The main task in everyone's life is to bring himself to light."

It’s easier, for sure, to obtain it on Earth because of all the stark contrast, the unpleasantness “down there,” but we can still achieve this “capacity for joy.” Here's why:

It’s not the suffering, not more content for the mind, as such, that creates the capacity – everyone suffers on Earth, but not so many create the “capacity.” It can be gained in Summerland, too. This is accomplished by “going within” and meeting the “heart of darkness” in a close mystical encounter via a “long dark night of the soul” program.

It’s not fun, and it’s not meant to be, but meeting the “evil of the false self”, whether on Earth or in Summerland, forms the basis of one’s eternal sense of spirituality. Once we embark upon this existential “lesson plan,” we will be treated to a barrage of daily insights, flashes of revelation, in terms of coming to know both the “false” and “true” selves. In this manner, one will elevate oneself, evolve oneself, unpack the riches of the soul, become something new, eternally so.

There’s an old saying, to the effect, when you reach the top, you’ll find there’s lots of room up there, because so few, it seems, are willing to pay the price -- to acquire sacred unfoldment of the soul.

how sane do you want to be, how powerful do you want to be

Everyone has the exactly the same chance to do this. But some will, and some won’t; and some will do it right away, and some will tarry a very long time. It’s up to each individual, and so the question becomes: How happy do you want to be? How sane do you want to be? How closely do you want to emulate Mother-Father God? – many, strangely, might answer, “I'm good mate, thanks anyway, I’m ok where I am, I'm happy.” But, even the tribal leader in the Dark Realms tried to glad-hand us with the line that he was happy.

But for those who catch a vision of what Brother Joshua meant with “Embrace this god-life, really embrace it!” then, every day, for the next million years and beyond, one will thrill to greater vistas of life, love, joy, plus an entire array of powers of mind – no matter if one “cut class” while on Earth and failed to “hand in homework.”

Editor’s note: As evidence that suffering per se is not the deciding factor which expands our spiritual powers, I would bring to our attention an item from the Dark-Realm missionary journeys of Franchezzo. He himself was a novice student-servant there, but some of the august senior Guides for whom he worked were so powerful that an image of a comicbook super-hero comes to mind.

heroic altruism: “ambitious for the sake of others”

Consider the example of one ancient Guide, Ahrinziman, whose “power of will” seemed invincible, and “when he chose to exert it, one sought in vain to fight.” Frenzied attackers in the Dark Realms “would be spell-bound and unable to move a limb, yet he had never touched them. It was but by his own powerful will, which was so much stronger than theirs, that for the time they were paralysed.”

How did he attain to such awesome abilities of mind? During his earth-life, we are told, he was a student of the powers of the mind, the false and the true selves. But his greatest advancement came “since his entry into the spirit world [as] he had expanded and increased his knowledge till to me it seemed there was no limit to his powers.”

Ahrinziman’s case is not so unusual. There is a brotherhood(s) and sisterhood(s) of servant Guides who specialize in such mental advancement. These enhancements were developed on their side of life, not so much ours. This suggests that the real key to super-charging the evolvement of the powers of the mind is not centered in the suffering endured on the Earth.

This may be a help -- and in many cases it is an advantage -- in that it could be a “sign marker”, an opening of the eyes, a catalyst, and pointer toward what needs to be done; but the actual growth and development, the real juice here, will come to us as a result of one's decision to “go within,” unfolding the latent soul riches, and this can be set in motion wherever we are in the universe, whatever we are, whenever we choose - at any time. As usual, it's up to us.

the purpose of the brain is to filter out, from universal consciousness, anything not correlating with the body’s perspective; in this ‘step-down transformer’ process, separate egos, with separate personal identities, emerge

Dr. Bernardo Kastrup, PhD philosophy, PhD computer science, for many years worked at CERN, the large hadron collider in Geneva.

“… the function of the brain is to localize consciousness, pinning it to the space-time reference point implied by the physical body. In doing so, the brain modulates conscious perception in accordance with the perspective of the body.

a brain that filters implies the existence of unbound mind, a universal consciousness

"When not subject to this localization and modulation mechanism, mind is unbound: it entails consciousness of all there is across space, time, and perhaps beyond. Therefore, by localizing mind, the brain also ‘filters out’ of consciousness anything that is not correlated with the body’s perspective… like a radio receiver selecting [a particular station], among the variety [with] all other stations being filtered out and never reaching the consciousness of the listener…

"[T]he filter hypothesis implies that consciousness, in its unfiltered state, is unbound. As such, consciousness must be fundamentally unitary and non-individualized, for separateness and individualization entail boundaries.

Editor’s note: Father Benson from the afterlife speaks of a being, formerly mortal, five billion years old, so advanced as to enjoy awareness of all life-forms in the universe; in this, we see the future of the ‘unfiltered’ mind. Read More on the “500 hundred tape-recorded messages from the other side” page.

the filtering brain creates the illusion of separateness, of disconnected personal egos

"The emergence of multiple, separate and different conscious perspectives or egos, is a consequence of the filtering and localization process: different egos, entailing different perspectives on space-time, retain awareness of different subsets of all potential subjective experiences, the rest being filtered out. It is the difference across subsets that give each ego its idiosyncratic vantage point, personal history, and sense of personal identity.

Editor’s note: A brain designed to filter, and reduce to a trickle, experience does not substantively support a theory of reincarnation which exalts much experience. We do not come to this planet to gain experience, as such, but to individualize, to transform one’s tiny sub-set of universal consciousness into a personal ego. With this, we become ready for what comes next in the afterlife, even if we are not yet “good” persons, which can be accomplished later, but only after one becomes a person in one’s own right. Read More on this need for individualization.

"The subjective experiences that are filtered out become the so-called ‘unconscious’ mind of the respective ego. Since each ego allows in only an infinitesimally small part of all potential experiences … the ‘unconscious’ minds of different egos will differ only minimally… As such, the filter hypothesis, unlike materialism, predicts the existence of a ‘collective unconscious’; a shared repository of potential experiences that far transcends mere genetic predispositions of a species…

the likely origin of the mystical experience

"[A]nd most importantly, the filter hypothesis predicts that one can have experiences that do not correlate with one’s brain states. Since here the brain is seen merely as a mechanism for filtering out experience … when this [filtering] mechanism is interfered with so as to be partially or temporarily deactivated, one’s subjective experience could delocalize, expand beyond the body in time and space, and perhaps even beyond time and space [giving rise to what is called the mystical experience]…”

READ MORE of Dr. Kastrup's work on the “quantum mechanics” page

there are Spirit-Guides who assert that Woman, all things considered, in her maturest state, is stronger, wiser, more capable, than Man

The following channeled information is from Flashes of Light from the Spirit-land, through the mediumship of Mrs. J. H. Conant, by Allen Putnam, Frances Ann Conant, 1872.

"Woman is mentally, morally, socially, and spiritually the equal of man, we do certainly know. Physically, she is his inferior, and by being physically inferior to man, she is raised [in terms of divine compensation] just so much higher in the spiritual scale, has become just so much more spiritual, just so much more intuitive, just so much in advance of man, with regard to the things of the real life..

"The man [in this world] knows generally more about [commerce and business] than the woman. Why? Because he [is not smarter but] has lived more in that [business] atmosphere than she… has become more accustomed to and assimilated with these conditions than the woman has; therefore, considering the case in that light, he should stand pre-eminent to the woman in regard to this particular kind of wisdom.

"But when considered from another stand-point, the woman rises above him [even in this]; and it is from this stand-point that we behold her spiritually his superior, even in this respect [concerning commerce]. Her intuitions being more unfolded, it is sometimes very possible that [teachers] in the spirit-world may be able to shed their influence upon the woman with regard to what is best to be done even in the things of this life.

"The woman may be able to receive the very best portion of spiritual knowledge with regard to the things here, while the man's senses may be entirely closed to them. And as man stands side by side with woman, and as God recognizes them both as standing upon one plane of life, it behooves both to seek to understand each other, and in seeking to understand, you seek to improve each other, too. Woman should lend of her wisdom to the man, and the man should lend of his physical strength to the woman."

Editor’s note: Why is Woman considered superior to Man? – because often she is in closer touch with her inner energies, the Guides say, “her intuitions being more unfolded". In other words, she’s often a better conduit and channel for God or the Spirit’s influence. There are the old jokes, containing a kernal of truth, about a couple on a car-trip who lose direction. She wants to stop and ask somebody, but he, the macho one, insists on plowing ahead.

Does God favor the anglo-saxon whites as defenders of Christendom, reason, civilization, the scientific method, “motherhood and apple pie”?

As stated elsewhere, as a young man I spent some considerable time in an “Old Testament” Christian church. Some of their literature and ideas had been adopted from the British-Israel Society (BIS) which preached that the anglo-saxons were a “covenant people” destined to enjoy special protection from God.

One booklet from the BIS was entitled “We Have A Guardian.” Therein, various claims were made concerning miraculous intervention during recent wars allowing the “covenant” armies to defeat enemies. One of these accounts, as I recall, spoke of a luminescent angelic being, on a horse, brandishing flaming sword, as it rescued British troops during a WWI fire-fight. (We hesitate to ask, however, where was the "flaming angel," the guardian, for the other nearly one million British soldiers killed during the war?)

This intrigued me. Could this really have happened? What might the evidence be? Almost 50 years ago, I sent a letter to the headquarters of the BIS, requesting confirmation concerning the alleged angel-on-a-horse. While quite aged, there would still be many survivors of “The Great War,” I thought, and, surely, given the prominence of this story in BIS literature, there must be those, still with us, who either experienced this spectacular event or, at very least, knew of those who had.

Some time later, I received an official reply. Those at the BIS hq had made enquiries, but no one knew anything about this; neither eye-witnesses nor second-hand accounts could be garnered. I thought this to be very strange given the salient billing in BIS literature of this purportedly “miraculous” account.

Editor’s note: In other words, it’s very likely that none this angel-on-a-horse affair ever happened. There’s no corroboration anywhere, even among those who claim the story as their own.

But, getting back to the original question: Does God favor the anglo-saxon whites as defenders of civilization, Christendom, and all the rest?

For a long time, I believed this had to be the case. Most people believe their own culture and society to be “the best” and next-to-God in importance. We create God in our own image, as discussed in other writings.

Is the “will and plan” of God furthered by the policies, governments, and way of life of the anglo-saxons? As a younger man, I entertained this prejudice. Was it inevitable that “the West” should surmount Nazi Germany? Were we destined to win that mega-conflict because of pivotal role of anglo-saxon civilization in the furtherance of godly principles? Is that what we do today?

Could we slip into another time, hundreds of years, of totalitarian Dark Age? - it's not as if this hasn't happened before to the West. Not only have we, ourselves, today, become a force in the world for totalitarian oppression, as we support and elect the Orwellian big sloppy grins who rule over us at the Ministry Of Truth, but we have killed millions of innocent babies in our pursuit of wanton hedonism. Shall God invariably elevate and protect a society such as this?

Editor's note: see the reports from the other side concerning what happens to those who kill their own babies. 

Can we expect, or deserve, the long-shot fortuitous outcome presenting itself in the Battle Of Midway? or the sudden favorable clement weather for the Channel crossing on D-Day? Will God rescue us in another ninth-inning “miraculous” intervention? – because we’re so important, so vital now, to God's work, because we live so close to his ways, he just can't do without our moral influence in the world, we're so far above that of other peoples? I have my severe doubts.

I look at history and, indeed, all the evidence offered on the Word Gems site, and what I see is this: God does not swoop in like Superman to save us from our own stupidity and evil. How could we learn to eschew evil if that were done? Every civilization of history eventually falls. God deals with humankind on a laissez-faire basis: we write our own tests and we also grade them ourselves. 

There are no free-passes to any nation, race, or culture. There are no free get-out-of-jail cards for those of any religion, political party, belief-system, or corporate cabal. Every individual will pay, must give an accounting, in strict justice, as Jesus used the phrase, for “every last penny’s worth” of malfeasance committed.

And who keeps track of the infractions? We ourselves do; it's all indelibly written -- every thought, word, motive, and deed -- upon our spirits like a video tape-recording.

We must "make good on the debt" - but, to whom? not to some vengeful mythical "sky-god" who, as Father Benson instructs, has no mercy to offer - because God, the real God, has never been offended by what we do. Then, to whom must the "debt" be paid? - to ourselves, our higher "made in the image" selves, which we've defrauded by denying manifestation of all that we ought to have become.

There are many oppressed and downtrodden minorities in the world; many have been brutalized. However, strange to note, none of them are so heavily or noticeably represented in Summerland's "ruling class" of Spirit Guides. Why is that?

While some of the Reds tormented and enslaved their own brethren, all this acknowledged, if God allowed the many peaceful Red tribes, the spiritually-minded, those in communion with the afterlife, those who lived their lives in the reality of the Great Spirit and with a knowledge of the meaning of death – if God allowed these “innocent lambs” to be slaughtered upon the altar of this world's dire lessons to be learned; slaughtered, some of the tribes, to near-extermination by "civilized" ones; slaughtered, despite their spirituality, their emulation of the Divine nature, far more closely than those of us in "the West"; then – it can happen to any society. Yes, there is good reason why so many of the college of Spirit Guides draw from the ranks of our Red brothers and sisters. And so it came to be, as their prayer (above) foretold, they entered the afterlife with "straight eyes" and "without shame."

In time, we will witness the reality of this assessment, the honor known to our Red brothers and sisters; each of us is but one missed heartbeat away, ready or not, from the "real world".

Editor’s note: When I was seven years old, I found a perfectly-chiseled flint arrowhead near the old chicken-coop on our farm. So shrewdly, I sold this valuable indigenous artifact, I still vividly recall, sold it to a school chum, Gerald, for fifty cents. I suspect my Spirit Guide, “Big Water,” as I’ve been informed of his name, smiled indulgently at his puerile charge during this fatuous transaction. In the poetic justice of life, I wouldn’t be surprised if his people, long ago, crafted that arrowhead.

Editor's last word:

As we might guess, one's own reaction to life's trials is key determinant to success. If we play the victim, like the politician totalitarians would have us do, we set ourselves back, possibly, hundreds of years.

No one lost more in this world than our Red brothers and sisters, and no one had greater excuse for bitterness. Some did succumb to an evil eye, but, in the main, as evidenced by how things turned out in the higher dimensions, their great spiritual traditions saved them.

See Jesus' dictum of "paying the last penny." Also see the Course In Miracles' assertion that God has arranged things so that no one will lose.