[ Setting: A Japanese garden. ]
RACHEL: My goodness! This place is like a perfect, idealized version of an Oriental Garden. Well, if heaven has such wonders, I would love to take an extended gardens tour.
ALLEGENTIA: That can be arranged. There are many ways you can continue your journey to perfection. The appreciation of beauty is just as valuable as the search for truth or the embodiment of goodness, especially when shared with another.
RACHEL: I know I was not the most mature woman, far less than perfect. Since I have so much to learn, what you said about moving from less perfect to more perfect makes complete sense to me. But I was a lawyer and then a judge and I know there were a lot of people on our planet who were broken. How are these people dealt with in heaven?
ALLEGENTIA: Many believe in a magic spiritual gift of wholeness being automatic when they arrive on the shores of heaven. And although all of your physical problems have been left back on Earth, and many other problems will clear themselves up once your new body, mind, and Spirit are in sync; you retain the habits, the thought patterns, and the choices of a lifetime – these do not get wiped out or reprogrammed without your consent. Everyone is still the person they were when they died, and they will know themselves as themselves when they wake up.
When you get to heaven you will not just be shown the lay of the land and then left to your own devises. Angels are created to help. As you say, many people are broken and we angels have had ages of experience working with millions of people coming to us from every imaginable situation. Our job is not to fix what is broken; our job is to help each person fix themselves. We first show each individual a true and clear picture of themselves. Then we, and they, work together to make positive personal progress.
RACHEL: I can imagine the crazy people on our planet have been quite a handful. Of course, many of us thought our job would be done when we got to heaven. Frankly, I am relieved to hear there will be things to do and goals to attain.
ALLEGENTIA: We all live in time and will have many more opportunities to gain additional valuable experience and knowledge; or to re-gain what we have lost. Much of the structure of the Progress Worlds is designed to make up for defaults and derelictions, but also for deficiencies a person could not control. On Earth opportunities could have been missed because of physical, social, economic, racial, political, or other systemic handicaps. We provide the essential stimulus to compensate for all of these shortcomings.
For instance, there are some people, particularly men, who were loners or even hermits. One of the necessary features of expanded growth is relationships, especially a close personal association with one special person. A previously reclusive person, or one who was “unlucky in love,” will not only get the opportunity to have such a relationship but will be encouraged to do so.
Once these inadequacies have been identified and put in the past, the real work of soul growth begins. You will all encounter enlarged concepts, and need to master a more harmonious integration of values as precursors to the advanced steps in fulfilling your greater potential. The quest for perfection is not just the accumulation of merit badges, it is the story of substantive changes. Each of you will truly be remaking yourself.
RACHEL: I think you said something about larger and smaller souls. It is obvious to me some souls have more work to do than others. Does that effect how you deal with us?
ALLEGENTIA: Yes, soul substance does mean differing levels of communication with each of you. Individuals covering a wide range of values are heaven bound. Some souls are below the threshold of understanding and therefore I cannot communicate with them. These undeveloped souls include infants and young children. But anyone and everyone has the potential for cosmic growth. Everyone is given a chance to gain the necessary experience, one way or another. The heavenly environment for these children will be far different from the one they would have had, but they will not be sent back to Earth.
Among the souls coming from Earth are those who had a neurological handicap preventing them from grasping larger concepts. Also are adults who either did not care to grow, chose only the most minimal good, or who made decisions which stunted their growth potentials. They will all begin again with what small value they have securely procured.
For those small souls who are just large enough to comprehend some ideas, I can begin to satisfy their curiosity, even though I know they are incapable of grasping things in depth. I often have to distill a rich and complex concept down to a very simple notion to make it understandable. But one has to start somewhere and their desire to learn will eventually lead to the fulfillment of their potential capacity.
RACHEL: So the saints and prophets, and the like, had the largest souls?
ALLEGENTIA: Spiritual greatness was often appreciated on Earth, and yet greatness must be closely associated with goodness for true soul capacity to be measured. Good choices create soul substance. As you have seen, there are theoretically good choices, better choices, and excellent choices. These all increase the size of your soul to associated qualitative degrees. It is critical for a person to have a soul, but, presently, the size of the soul is not as important.
If you had taken perfect advantage of every available opportunity, your soul would be as large as it could possibly be – at this point. But there is always more to accomplish. Everyone was less than perfect. The person who turned the highest percentage of their potential soul growth into actual soul accomplishment was Jesus. And he understood how much more expansion was possible when he said, “Why do you call me good, none is good but God.” Such sublime self-forgetfulness was very inspiring for the rest of us.
RACHEL: Did you transport Jesus to heaven?
ALLEGENTIA: He was able to move himself.
RACHEL: Oh, I suppose so, he was someone pretty special. Was anyone else able to go on their own?
ALLEGENTIA: No, he was the only one. No human has ever had the capability to move themselves from Earth. Even in the far future (in the ages of light and life) when humans can reach their maximum human potential while on Earth, they will still need Seraphic or Spirit Transport to get to the Progress Worlds.
Christ was different because of his pre-existing divine nature. Although, while he was on earth, he decided to live exclusively as a human so he could experience precisely what it was like to be human.
RACHEL: You said you could see our souls. Would two souls of the same size have the same make up? Do they look alike?
ALLEGENTIA: You need only remember how your life was so very different from all other lives. Of course, some of these differences are inherent in the uniqueness of the personality, but each soul is individualized by the decisions they made.
Similarly sized souls could be described as a certain aspect of luminosity. The variation of qualities acquired can be seen quite clearly if you know how to read them, as I do, but I have been doing this for a long time. Yet even on Earth you were able to perceive the soul, more or less. Your powers of observation were much more than skin deep. A person, of course, can be recognized by how they act and the attitudes they express. You used your subtle intuitions all of the time to decide who others were. But the most accurate recognition had nothing to do with logic or emotion; it was one’s spiritual insight which allowed them to appreciate another soul.
RACHEL: I know what you mean. As a judge I often was envious of a friend of mine with a natural, empathetic affinity to read people. She told me once it was mainly in the eyes, “the windows of the soul” and all that, but she certainly had a sixth sense about people.
Can we go back to something you mentioned earlier? You said a person can stunt the growth of their soul?
ALLEGENTIA: That is correct. Every positive or negative decision/action has consequences. The soul’s makeup and growth are thus directly effected.
You might think the smallest souls are from innocent children who died before they had a chance to grow, but an adult who made very bad choices is able to diminish their soul size; they regress. Poor choices, sinful choices taken on purpose, or habitually evil choices will, at least, cloud judgment influencing future decisions and, at worst, reduce the size and ‘color’ of the soul. However if there is even the tiniest flicker of value shining, the opportunity to continue is available. Simply put, if you have a soul you can proceed, if not, there is nothing to move on.
RACHEL: I can imagine you have seen the whole gamut of human accomplishment and degeneracy.
ALLEGENTIA: Yes, over the ages I have transported every manner of soul, and there have been some who led very misguided lives. Yet many were able to maintain fundamental, albeit, immature souls. They had every opportunity, as do all humans, to make more of themselves but chose otherwise. Nonetheless, whatever salvageable portion there was, it was worth preserving.
You will remember the so-called “good thief” on the cross next to Jesus. I assure you; you would not have wanted to meet him in a dark alleyway in Jerusalem. Yet he did have a glimmer of goodness, and his faith was worth kindling. God’s cosmic plan has an important place for every person. He responds to the value in all of us. We all manifest each value differently, and, if a person can attach a value to themselves, they will be given every possibility to expand each quality to use it to their advantage, as well as for the greater good.
RACHEL: It is comforting to know God sees our value and gives us every chance to grow.
ALLEGENTIA: When you get to heaven all of your life’s past choices will still be a part of each of you. Everything of value, actual or potential, is forever yours. The soul naturally craves to know God and, if heeded, finds ways open to continue such good efforts. And if a person was headed in the wrong direction, they are given the chance to get back on the right track.
God (and the angels on his behalf) takes into consideration the whole of a person’s life, good or ill. If a person is sorry for the negative actions they took, they will have already paid out a portion of the price for their misdeeds. We rejoice with God with the recovery of every repentant soul.
RACHEL: So, what do you see in a soul? What do you see in my soul?
ALLEGENTIA: Unlike on the world of your origin, henceforth, your spiritual nature will be more obvious since your new body is designed to show your true soul character. And your new vision is keyed to “see” a broader and keener sense of reality.
The main features of any soul is how much you have identified yourself with the real spiritual substances of the universe: the so-called fruits of the spirit. How much have you yielded to the Spirit leading? How sincere and persistent have you been in seeking Goodness and true Reality? Where is your moral compass directed?
I can see you are a person who made relatively good use of your possibilities. You have a reasonably healthy degree of patience, and the subtlety and color of your patience is such to indicate you were a parent. All of the more important qualities are made up of sub-components. For instance parental patience cannot be acquired without a willingness to understand the situation and the child. And I see the self-discipline needed when a child is present in your life. You also have a social patience you probably acquired while in the legal system.
You are a thoughtful and open soul, always willing to give the other person the benefit of the doubt, and yet this is also tempered with decisiveness. I also see a decent measure of humility. These qualities will continue to serve you well. It is of great value for a person to see themselves accurately. All angels can read the amalgamation of qualities each person possesses, but there are special angels who reflect this information back to you so you can see for yourself.
RACHEL: That will be interesting. Okay, let me ask you this. The whole cross section of humanity, every kind of person imaginable, get to take this trip? –. Right?
ALLEGENTIA: That’s right.
RACHEL: Well then, from what I saw back on Earth we are a pretty raw bunch. How do you keep some semblance of order with such an unruly mob?
ALLEGENTIA: It is true your planet has, on the whole, produced more troublemakers than most places, but the majority are not trying to cause real trouble. Yet the freedoms of your new estate will again prove to be too enticing for some, and they will abuse their liberty. Freewill is very important to us so we take care to note how each person treats other people and angels. We give everyone special instructions on how to properly handle their freedom without disrupting others.
RACHEL: How very civilized. But I’m talking about the real rowdies.
ALLEGENTIA: You have certainly seen how a few determined, evil people can affect a segment of society, and even infect, an entire planet. People without internal control make it necessary to impose external controls until they learn to handle privilege with poise, and personal liberty with mutual respect. Our initial control is segregation. Different populations have their own residential areas on the Progress Worlds. The more disruptive an individual, the more he is surrounded by angels and people of good influence. Yet, in general, your neighbors will be like-minded folks. This has nothing to do with class, politics, wealth, or ethnicity; it has only to do with soul makeup.
RACHEL: So you keep the bad apples bottled up, just like we did on Earth?
ALLEGENTIA: Freedom of movement is directly related to self-control. On Earth a person could hide their true nature until they let it be known with either positive or negative behavior. For instance, it was obvious when a person had a great deal of enthusiasm without a controlling measure of wisdom. But, as we have been discussing, we can see a person’s true nature. We are very capable of controlling who needs to be controlled; there are many angels and we have more power. But we are not overly dominating.
The Lucifer rebellion taught us many things, and how to handle the freedom of the individual in combination with the needs of the many, was one of our more valuable lessons. We have found it wiser to let a belief, or any thought process, fulfill its natural destiny. And we can enhance a person’s foresight to see down the road a bit if they persist in a certain line of behavior.
RACHEL: All good solutions. I wish we had more angels around our court. Anyway, since we are given new bodies, that alone should change our behavior considerably, won’t it?
ALLEGENTIA: On Earth you were housed in a body of animal origin and nature. Although you have been separated from it, you still have some emotional remnants. On your world, and all young planets, there are all sorts of genetic disorders, chemical imbalances, and neurological problems. Humanity, as a whole, will eventually outgrow and conquer them all, but for now, you have to live with their destructive manifestations.
The soul, mind, and personality will be properly reintegrated with a new body without any physical problems. But everyone is not automatically mature and caring. The growth process, long or short, is why the Progress Worlds exist.
RACHEL: I was worried we would have to continue to contend with the same problems we just left.
ALLEGENTIA: Not long since, I was in a certain neighborhood on Progress World number one where they had an interesting saying, “Dying changes everything; death changes nothing.”
On Earth nearly everything about dying affects how you live – your fear and avoidance of it, any pain leading up to it, and the grief and loss family and friends feel when it comes. Nonetheless it is inevitable and you do eventually resign to it. Plus, you do get to take with you the experience of actually going through it.
But then, suddenly, the light is on again, and you experience that exhilarating moment of survival. As your new life unfolds in a new body on a new world, you will know surprise, relief, and wonder. Your unique personality along with your mind, soul, and Spirit resume from where you were when you died. There are still things to do, rules to observed, relationships to enjoy, and growth to be attained. Life is a continuum of change. God designed you to continue, and so you will.
RACHEL: I’m glad you have things well managed. It sounds like we are in store for a wonderful new world.