Chapter 1
The Beginning
“Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another.”
Albert Einstein
Everywhere you looked was filled with a thick blanket of the purest darkness ever known, salted with little stars made up of red rocky fire balls. Moving along the dark universe was this little atom whom we'll simply call Atom for the time being. He was doing his job flawlessly for all of eternity. Why eternity? Great question. Like we’ve learned in grade school, energy cannot be created nor destroyed; it can only be transferred. Atom has been around from the beginning of time and will remain in one form or another until the end of it. Atom knows nothing else other than being constant. He has no feelings, no freedom of choice, and no sense of what it is to have a choice. It is hard to imagine a being with no senses, but such is the case forAtom. The only thing Atom knows is to keep moving forward through the darkness.
Atom's boss, let's just call him God, came around to have a conversation with Atom.
God - “Hey Atom, stop for a minute, let's chat.”
Atom was startled as he has never stopped doing his job before or even had the choice to do so.
Adam - “Yes, God.”
God - “Atom, you've done such an amazing job for so very long that I wanted to give you a small token of appreciation. This week is employee appreciation week, and I've been picking an amazing employee here and there to send off on vacation for the week. Does that sound good to you?”
Adam - “Well, I have no idea what a vacation is or what it entails but if you are offering me something, I reckon I'll take it.”
God - “Well, Atom, I'm going to explain a little about what this whole vacation thing is all about. The funny thing about it all is that you'll never remember that we even had this conversation once you go on vacation”.
If Atom was confused prior to that statement, now he was at a total loss.
God - “First of all, a week in the galaxy I'm sending you off to is more like 75 years there, which is nothing but a blip in time, hence why it's only a week here. Moreover, I know you cannot even begin to imagine anything that I'm about to tell you, but I'm going to share it with you anyway.
The place I'm sending you to, I like to call heaven. But those who live there call it earth, world, and some even call it hell; how silly of them. If they only knew. One of the coolest things about your vacation is that you'll actually be in charge of roughly seven octillion atoms.”
Atom gasped.
Adam - “How am I going to be able to handle being in charge of them all; how is this a good thing?”
God smiled.
God - “Like I said before, I don't expect you to understand all of this at this time. In this place, you'll be equipped with the highest quality computer ever imagined in order to control all of your atoms. Folks there call this computer the brain; I call it a gift. You're going to have countless gifts while there. I'll describe a few of them for you.
Some of your gifts;
Vision or Seeing
As you know in our galaxy you see everything as it truly is, which is everything all at once. Therefore, all you see is black, the combination of everything at the same time. In this new place, this gift of vision will automatically separate colors, shapes and sizes in order for you to see objects and beings in a personal manner. Again, it may not be reality, but it is an amazing experience to be able to see life in this format. It’s not meant to be real. It’s meant to be a beautiful way of experiencing life, the human experience.
Hearing, tasting, smelling and touching
I can go on about each of these amazing gifts, but they're all very similar yet very different from vision. The gifts will separate sounds, tastes, smells, and textures to give you a very different experience than reality, which again, is everything all at once.
Free Will
One of my personal favorite gifts for you is this magical gift that I like to call free will. For eternity, you've had a job and you've never wavered on doing it. While in that galaxy, and a place most call earth, you'll be able to stop, rest, keep going, go for a coffee or a walk, or go to the bathroom (not going to explain this one) and virtually anything you want to do. You can even quit your job and look for a different one. Atom's don't get to have free will; they just do their job perfectly, so this one is truly magical. The beauty and absolute freedom in this gift is immense.
‘God is love.’
1 John 4:16
Love
Oh boy. Even if you could remember this conversation, you're very likely to never fully comprehend what love is, but you'll never be able to deny it. This one may be the hardest one to describe as it is the embodiment of myself within the gift. You'll find joy, sadness, hurt, excitement and a million other gifts with this one.
The gifts are countless, as I mentioned before. Your brain is going to be able to take you through this journey or vacation on pretty much autopilot while patiently waiting for your heart and soul to catch up and take over your life. For some Atom's, this can take a little bit, (25 years) or longer (55 years). I'm giving you free will so I won't press you to realize that the experience is only temporary. I may seem to be oversimplifying all these gifts, but I tell you please don’t take any for granted for they are gifts to be cherished and respected. The gifts are extremely powerful, powerful beyond belief.
Oh, like I said before, you're not going to recall any of this conversation, because another gift for you is for you to be able to experience this kind of life; the human experience on your own terms and learning all the gifts is part of the journey. Some will help you along your journey, and others will seem to hinder your progress. But they're all perfect for the journey. The mind, which is another gift, is an absolutely amazing thing. Most think the mind and brain are the same. It has a little thing called perception, which if you don't grab control of it, it will judge everything, everyone, and every situation. Ironically, many will encourage not to judge. However, I say to you, judge, but do so with virtue. Every seemingly negative situation, failure, pursuer, aggressor, adversary and bad time, brings forth a gift with it. Find it, figure out what the gift is. Nothing happens by accident in this perfect universe, but you won’t always understand the root cause or the why. If it happens, there’s a reason, so have faith and/or seek the reason and why in order to grow, evolve and gain understanding.
Unfortunately, some think that their vacation starts after their experience on earth is over. But unfortunately for them, they miss the reality that the true heaven they get to experience for around 75 years or so is the one they live in here and now. Some realize the amazing gifts and enjoy the journey, like a surfer rides his favorite waves. Some cannot handle the complexity of their gifts and decide to alter their brain so much that all the circuits get crossed to such a point that not even I can make sense of it. Life has challenges intertwined into it by design, it is not meant to cripple you but to help you grow, evolve and flourish.
‘The Japanese think it strange we paint our old wooden houses when it takes so long to find the wabi in them. They prefer the bonsai tree after the valiant blossoming is over, the leaves fallen. When bareness reveals a merit born in the vegetable struggling.’
Jack Gilbert
Throughout it all, I'll be watching you. You won't remember who or what I am, but we are of the same cloth at our core, so you'll have this little nagging feeling that I'm out there somewhere. Funny thing is that I'll be so much closer than you can ever imagine. You and I are not separate. The absolute truth is that you and I are one, we're all one. We're all in this together. The human experience is not meant to be absolute truth; it is meant to be lived and experienced. The flaws, the things that seem like imperfections, the negative perceptions, the hurt, all of it is absolute perfection. The truth cannot readily be told; it can only be experienced.
Although life on earth may not reflect true reality, it truly is an amazing gift and joy to experience. Enjoy it while you have it. You never know if I will choose you again to go on vacation. Some have gone on vacation many times and for some this is their 1st time. Some may even say that I make these choices based on their decisions in their last vacation.
There's lots of beliefs out there, heaven, hell, karma, reincarnation and so much more. Pondering and wondering are great ways to exercise the mind and ignite the imagination. Try not to fall in the trap that this is what you should focus on. Some fall down what they call a rabbit hole so deep they can never get out. Simply do your best with what you have and follow your instincts (some may say that's my voice in your head).
I'll leave you with very little pieces that nudge you into a knowing that you are there with a purpose. It could be to help others find and enjoy their gifts. It can be to love others as you love yourself because you realize you are all one. Some will realize that the whole purpose for everyone at their core is to leave that place better than they found it. It's an amazing experience that should be cherished deeply and without bounds.”
Atom takes a deep breath and says, “that is a lot to take in. I can only begin to imagine what this experience is like. I feel like I'm becoming all of this as I sit here with you God.”
God - “You definitely are indeed.”
Atom - “What if I don't learn all of this or if I don't realize that life is all a bunch of huge gifts? What if I feel that I'm being punished by not knowing what I'm doing there.”
God - “You will have some memories of this conversation before you learn to speak, this will give you some comfort and some guidance. You may even see me at times before you get to speak. Then as you bond closer to your new found family, I'll slowly take away your memories of our conversations. You'll be left with immense curiosity and you'll be asking a million questions, specifically, Why? You'll be hungry to understand everything around you because you now know nothing about this new life.”
Atom - “Will I ever remember you?”
“In the end you don’t so much find yourself as you find someone who knows who you are.”
Robert Brault
God - “Life is so beautiful, but at times it can seem very hard, even harsh and sometimes darn right lonely. This is when you'll truly yearn for me. The most common mistake most make is that they'll look above, behind, far away and elsewhere in search of me. The only way to get to me is through looking within yourself!”
Atom - “Through myself? I have me. If I'm lonely I need you, not me.”
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.”
Lao Tzu
God - “And that is why it is the most common mistake. Some very wise ones have touched the surface of what I mean. Some speak about a smokey mirror or a foggy mirror. Some will have a mirror to represent your relationship with me. The truth is that the better your relationship with yourself gets, the more you get to know me. Get to know your true self and you'll get to know me.”
Atom - “If you're erasing the memory of this conversation, how will I know to get to know myself?”
God - “Although I'm erasing this memory, you'll have some residual effects about it. Meaning, as you figure things out, it'll feel like you're remembering rather than learning something new. I trust you will get to know yourself but remember, the world is full of other Atom's just like you and some of them have realized many of life's gifts. Seek these beings for guidance. Be very careful and use your instincts when choosing a guide and/or mentor for they're not all walking the righteous path.
The righteous guides will lead you to learn about yourself, rather than about learning them or their ways. They will guide you to solitude to help you spend quality time with yourself. They may teach you how to focus internally. Some may call this meditation. Some may teach you to speak to me as if you were talking to a friend. Some may teach you to breathe slowly until you realize you are part of the whole and not beyond or below it. These are the guides and mentors you want.”
Atom - “So if it's all about knowing myself, why am I sharing this world with many others?”
“Synchronicity an ever-present reality for those who have eyes to see.”
Carl Jung
God - “Great question. You need to know yourself to truly understand love. Love is at our core. I am love and if you play your cards right, you'll realize love is all there is. Life on earth may be the most profound experience in all galaxies. A big part of life on earth, or the world is relationships. Relationships will be everywhere around you in the world. Relationships are many gifts per relationship. There's a certain flow of energy that seems to dance in synchronicity if the relationship on hand is healthy, and it will overflow with amazing energy everywhere.
On earth, if you accept the challenges of life, practice discipline and perseverance, you’ll often surprise yourself with what you can achieve. Some say I'm a creator, and although many have told the masses that we are the same, and that they too can do these things, most don't believe it. I'm telling you that it is true, but if you don't believe and have faith it won't be so. You can create and/or destroy, the choice is always yours. The gift is powerful and must be respected.
The power of believing in yourself and what you can achieve is a superpower. Faith is believing with little to no proof, and that's what it takes. Even though your vehicle or body as you'll call it down there will get older, be sure to keep the curiosity of the child's mind, that mindset will keep you growing in ways you cannot imagine.”
Atom - “So when does my vacation begin boss?”
God - “Close your eyes and take a deep breath.”
