Why Am I Here?

In the literature of near death experi-

ence, there are several occurrences

people report that seem to be universal.

They see a tunnel with a bright light at

the end. They are usually met by a fa-

miliar spirit who has crossed over. They

are asked one question, either by a ce-

lestial being or a disembodied voice.

That question is: What have you learned

about love and loving. They are not

asked about any other accomplishments

in their life. They are not asked about

wealth, status or station – only about

what they have learned about love. It's

easy to conclude from that research da-

ta that the sole purpose of our taking

physical bodies is to learn about love.

I am reminded of the preamble to A

Course In Miracles. It says that love is

a required course. One is not allowed to

change the curriculum, only the time in

which it is taken. It then goes on to de-

fine a Miracle as a shift in perception

that removes the blocks to loving –

loving yourself, loving others, and loving

your world. That necessarily also

requires learning to accept love from

others.

It would seem that these two sources:

one experiential, one Divine Revelation,

are telling us the same thing. Our sole

purpose in being in a body is to learn

about love. That answers the question

for me of: “Why am I here?” Along the

way of learning about love, we can also

have many interesting experiences for

our souls that are like frosting on the

cake of love-learning.

Sempre Amore!

Arthur,

President, Board of Trustees

OUR VISION STATEMENT

The Spiritual Light Center is a peaceful

and joyful fellowship of individuals, cen-

tered in love, dedicated to the God within,

and honoring the many paths to truth.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

We seek to develop our highest selves by

continuous sharing of spiritual ideas, in

an environment of unconditional love and

respect for others.

May 2017 Newsletter

ONGOING EVENTS AT SLC

Every Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. Join our group

in the Hall for Movie Night! We enjoy a

good spiritual movie or documentary and

afterward pick a place and go out to eat!

Thursday, May 11 and 25 at 4:00 p.m.

Please join us for our meditation group in

the Chapel led by Dr. Richard Kimball. We

have an informative discussion followed by

walking and sitting meditation. Call Richard

at 371-3425 for further details.

Monday May 17, 5 – 7 p.m. come to the

Sacred Circle/TEA, an open group dedi-

cated to spiritual sharing and growth. Con-

tact Denise Andrew for details.

ALSO: On May 8 from 7 – 8:30 p.m. is a

special TEA event with David Lonebear

Sanipass & Jaclyn Ouilette, Awakening

the Ancient Vibrations: Crystal Bowls &

Ancient Flute. A love offering of $15-20

is suggested for this TEA fund raiser.

UPCOMING SPEAKERS

May 7, 11 a.m.

Dr. Millard Deutsch is former VP of the Al-

pha Omega Research Foundation of Palm

Beach, past president of the Circle of Light,

and taught in Unity for many years. He will

share with us on “As We Approach the

Finish Line We Take a Greater Interest in

the After-Party.”

May 14, 11 a.m. Mother’s Day

Dale Allen Hoffman is an internationally

known scholar of the Aramaic Language

and one of our favorite speakers. He re-

turns to speak on the spirituality of mother-

hood “The Holy Breath of Emptiness.”

May 21, 11 a.m.

Rev. Mariah Brooks, an ordained minister

with James Twyman, attended the Oneness

University in India and Fiji. She returns to

speak on “Using Tantra to Awaken Our

Spiritual Senses.”

May 28, 11 a.m.

Michele Laub holds her Master’s Degree in

Mental Health and School Counseling and

has been a psychotherapist for over 20

years. She is certified in various fields and

is working toward licensure as a S.O.M

practitioner. She will speak on “Living the

Four Agreements.” Let’s welcome her!

During the Month of April

On Thursday, May 4 and 18 at 4 p.m.,

Dr. Millard Deutsch will lead a Guided

Meditation. Energize Higher and Lower

Bodies, Clear and Balance Karma, Soul

Travel, and Pray for All Life.

Barbara Woodall’s Sunday Metaphys-

ical Teaching will be postponed for a

while giving us time to reflect and digest.

We’ll announce when we will start again.

SPIRITUAL LIGHT CENTER INFORMATION

80 Heritage Hollow Drive, Franklin, NC 28734

Right behind the Gazebo Restaurant in Heritage Hollow

828-369-3065 slcfranklin@frontier.com www.spirituallightcenter.com

Why Are We On This Planet?

What on Earth am I Doing

Here? By Bill Groves I’ve read in several places that the primary reason peo-

ple lose their faith in a Divine Creator is the old question

of “Why do bad things happen to good people?” How

could a loving Supreme Being allow these awful things to

happen in the lives of the innocent? I mean, I could un-

derstand it if we were talking about adults here, but when

a horrific event ends the life of an infant, well, that just

closes the discussion. No excuse for it! How could that be just?

It is now extremely clear to me that the reason this issue is so poignant is that many people,

certainly most Westerners, look at it as though life was snatched away in its prime, before the

poor thing had a chance to live his or her life. What God would do such a thing!? Well, if I

looked at it that way I’d be cheerleading in the atheist camp for sure. If life, conscious existence,

is a one shot deal, created at birth and no chances after death, then there is no justice, no lov-

ing Creator. Only randomness. Gratefully, I don’t look at it that way.

But what if life were a continuum of consciousness that enters into each incarnation by choice,

exists in freedom of choice, and can return to as many countless existences as decided neces-

sary? Well, first of all, that wouldn’t be in keeping with the Bible, right? Wrong.

Institutional, fundamental Western Churches deny a flow of life transitions through many exist-

ences, but the Bible does not. It is quite clear the Bible proclaims our conscious pre-existence

before birth. “Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb, I

knew you; and before you were born I consecrated you, and I appointed you a prophet to the

nations" (Jeremiah 1:45). But, what about our returning after our “death”?

Although the Bible never uses the word “reincarnation” it makes it exceedingly clear that the

concept was alive and well at the writing of the New Testament. Take the example of Jesus

asking his disciples who they thought he actually was. “Jesus and his disciples went on to the

villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the proph-

ets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the

Messiah.” (Mark 27-29) Notice Jesus had zero qualms with his disciples’ belief in reincarnation

and seemed to accept it, or at least didn’t question it. There are a multitude of other New Tes-

tament passages that make undeniably clear references to the belief in people returning after

“death”, and not once are any of them questioned or contradicted. Here are a few you can look

into, if you choose, where folks were sure Elijah or John the Baptist had returned (or that John

was Elijah reincarnated): John 1:21, Matthew 17:12-13, Mark 6:14-16, Matthew 11:13-14. It is

evident the Bible teaches “In my Father’s house are many rooms…” (John 14:2) What is abun-

dantly clear to me is that the transmigration of souls was a universally accepted belief at the

time and none of the Biblical writers saw need to either question, affirm, or deny it. Sometimes I

wonder if institutional churches didn’t later deny it because the belief is too freeing and eliminat-

ed the element of fear of a judgmental God who would toss you into Hell without a second

chance if you didn’t go to Church and put money in the collection.

I share this particularly for those who were raised in the Christian tradition, as I was. Traditional

Christianity might deem me a heretic or at least a bit eccentric. I don’t believe the Bible would.

Regardless no one can make my decisions on what to hold true but me. Only I can build my

relationship with the Creator as I feel led, and all I can share is what I believe. So what I’m

sharing after this is what makes sense to me. There is no dogma.

First and foremost, nothing spiritually makes any sense unless I accept the eternal existence of

the soul and continuity of that soul as it migrates through as many lifetimes as necessary. Be-

fore God formed me in the womb God knew me. God knows all my experiences, and all my

growth needs in order to be fully happy and in utter Oneness with All That IS. As I see spiritual

reality through my own vision, I believe that each soul chooses its own path, and some are more

evolved/advanced than others. For that I am eternally grateful because it provides me with the

presence of many very advanced spiritual guides, supporters, and defenders to lead me on my

journey. We may call them angels, patron saints, spirit guides, council of elders, etc., but the

point is we are not alone. We have unconditionally loving assistance that does not judge nor

interfere. It is my belief that before each incarnation I receive the input and guidance of many

loving and wise spiritual entities who help me decide precisely when, where, and into what cir-

cumstances I will be incarnated in order to potentially accomplish what I need. These circum-

stances will provide me the best environment within which I might make the choices necessary

to develop as I hoped to during this life. I may choose to stray from the straightest path. That is

up to me, but fortunately those guides, angels, saints and protectors are with me every step of

the way to light my path. I sense them when I close my eyes and reach out my spiritual hand in

gratitude or supplication. Their presence is brilliant and never

waivers in love. I have long sensed Jesus (Yeshua) there, as

well as St. Francis and family members now in Spirit. I also def-

initely sense stately beings of tremendous stature and brilliance.

I don’t know who they are. I have forgotten, but I will rejoice in

seeing them again!

So, what am I here to accomplish? That’s a massive question!

As I’m tossing out my personal opinions here, this is what I

think. It seems there are two basic goals, and in order of im-

portance I believe they are 1) to grow and mature as an eternal

soul toward Oneness with the Divine, and 2) to assist all life

around me toward that same end. Sounds simple, eh? Well,

unless you add to the mix that I have a multitude of past-life

experiences I’m dealing with and trying to reconcile. And also that none of the souls around me

are at the same point in growth/evolution. I sense my past lives in my inexplicable tendencies,

traits, talents, beliefs, obsessions, and predispositions. I sense the diversity of evolution of

souls in that some around me seem so very wise, stable, and kind whereas others absolutely

seem to have been born yesterday. It is especially to those to whom I owe service, understand-

ing, compassion, and support. I seem to do OK with that on a good day. On a bad day I want

to throw up my hands and shriek “How could you be so #%!* thick-headed!” Apparently enlight-

enment still eludes me.

All that IS, all truth and existence, is ONE; there can be no contradiction. All flows from a singu-

larity and returns there. I choose to believe only one singular thing…God is Love. If something

seems to contradict that, I choose not to believe it. God as love is all that makes sense to me.

Because of that I cannot accept belief in a God who judges. God only loves. I do the judging

(unfortunately). I cannot accept a God who would allow a child to die in infancy or before with

no other chance. “Sorry, you just drew the short end of the stick.” Even if the infant forever gets

a cloud and a harp, that is not justice. That is not love, so I don’t believe it. I believe love gives

every being an equal chance to become all we can be and enter into eternal Oneness, even if

that takes forever. May I accomplish my own task in this existence by moving ever closer to

that goal and being of service to all life around me seeking the same end. Amen.

Do We Plan Our Lives

Before We’re Born? By Nikkie Gray

“Many people feel that reincarnation can’t exist

because they don’t remember their past and my

answer to the world is we do remember. We don’t

have the details but we have certain key hints as to

who we are. The type of music we like, the people

we are most attracted to, the types of food we like, the clothing we wear, certain periods of his-

tory that we identify with. These are indications this is where we have been before and so our

present incarnation or our present lifetime is a composite of all the fruits of what we were be-

fore.” Carey Williams – Co-Author: Reincarnation: A New Horizon

Through my research, the cycle of life to death to re-birth has been pretty much the same from

all the sources I studied, and let me tell you, there were many. It all starts with the Pre-Birth

Plan. You establish this plan with a council. Some people call this council the elders or the wise

ones. Pretty much, they are very old beings who know their stuff, so to speak. You meet with

them along with your spirit guides. You discuss the life ahead of you and are given the choice of

a few different lives to pick from in the current time period you are incarnating into. You choose

everything, including your parents. Once your choices have been given to you and you pick one,

the task starts of planning all the things you wish to experience in the upcoming life. Experience

isn’t the only thing we seek; we have goals to meet and challenges to overcome. Some wish to

learn patience or overcome jealousy. Many people have debated this theory but you also

choose to clear up karmas. There are a few other things like healing false beliefs or destructive

patterns. When the life plan is being created, our guides are there with us creating what Robert

Schwartz describes through his work as a “flow chart”. A flow chart is the plan, but with free will

incorporated into it. Our guides also create synchronicities in our lives to trigger awareness in us

and guide us on the best path to help us master our goals. After the plan is in place, we are

born and forget the plan and who we truly are.

“You close your eyes to the past in order to reopen them to a

new existence. You can get more expansion by forgetting” –

Teal Swan

“It wouldn’t be a test if you knew the answers” – Dolores Cannon

Forgetting is an integral part of the cycle. It’s how we truly get

to know ourselves and fully live the current life we are living.

We’re living in the time of remembering and many of us are

remembering who we are and why we came to Earth at this

time. Those who haven’t fully awakened to their abilities but

wish to have more insight on who they are and why they are

here seek out people who are in tune with higher frequencies

and can connect to help them access that kind of information.

The Pre-Birth Plan is set in place, but free will gives us the abil-

ity to create any reality we choose to live in. With that being

said, there are certain things we are meant to experience, and

because of that, I believe some things are out of our control.

For example: if you are meant to experience a certain illness or

disease, you will manifest that illness. If you are meant to experience a negative relationship,

you will attract that negative person into your life. I’ve seen some people get confused because

they know about the Laws of Attraction, how to manifest positive things and are on a high vibra-

tion but something negative comes into their life and they’re suddenly thrown off balance be-

cause they felt they were doing everything right, so how could they attract something negative?

When that happens, I’m led to believe that that is the Pre-Birth Plan kicking in, sometimes called

a contract. There’s a lesson to be learned, an experience to be had for growth, healing or bal-

ance or in some cases you have strayed pretty far away from your Pre-Birth Plan and things in

your life begin to fall apart.

On occasion, healing needs to take place from things that occurred in past lives. Other than

that, wanting to know about past lives just from sheer curiosity might not be a good idea for

many reasons.

“Meher Baba is fairly clear and I’m afraid maybe for many people’s taste, a bit frighteningly clear

on this. There is a wall between the consciousness of the present life and previous lifetime

stored records. He said it’s for a pretty good reason because the variety and strength of those

previous lifetime recordings is so varied, so complex and in many cases oppositional. If all of a

sudden we break through the protective wall and these things come out, he said this can be one

of the most upsetting things that could possibly occur. The individual is just not strong enough to

be able to digest and go beyond this experience. So Baba simply says don’t tamper too much

with the protective wall. He was talking primarily with people who were just for their own curiosi-

ty trying to recall previous lifetimes.” – Don E. Stevens – Disciple of Meher Baba

We come into each incarnation playing a role. The role is chosen with the help of our guides

and council before we are born. We take turns playing different roles. In one life you will choose

to be murdered and in another you will volunteer to be the murderer. The list of switching roles

is vast and complex. This information is really hard for some people to take in. There’s a part in

Kung Fu Panda that I always think of when I think about good versus bad. Master Shifu runs up

to Master Oogway and says to him that it’s very bad news. Master Oogway smiles and says,

“There is just news. No good or bad.” I truly believe in my heart is that negative is an illusion.

Negative and positive are both construction material. Negative is an evolutionary catalyst. We

come to Earth for many reasons but a big one is soul growth. Soul growth on the other side is

very slow because it is paradise. Also, because we are able to forget who we are, we can learn

things on a deeper level and expand even more from it. Let’s say you want to know love. What

better way to know love than to lose it or become separated from it, not even knowing that all of

our very existence is love. After I heard the theory of play roles, I no longer hated a single per-

son on this planet nor did I fear anything. Because we live in this world of duality, we must have

“negative.” If we didn’t have the villains, none of this would be possible. In every single one of

those villains (oppressors, abusers, etc.) is a beautiful soul living a human experience that was

all planned with soul growth in mind, or who has strayed very far from his plan.

At this time, I feel it is very important to find out what is truly going on in our world and why we

are here. All perspectives should be taken into consideration and anyone is free to believe what

they feel resonates with them. I’m not here to change beliefs. I’m sharing this theory, this belief,

because it helped me. I forgave the negative of this world and felt gratitude for it because it all

helped me to grow. Perhaps others could take something positive from it like I did.

"You are first a child, then grow old and drop the body, but

you never die and never were born. In the East, Vedantists

believe in reincarnation, in innumerable births and deaths, un-

til one attains Godhood. Muslims believe in one birth only and

one death only. Christians and Zoroastrians the same. All are

right. But Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, Zoroaster all meant

what I mean by real birth and real death. I say you are born

once and die once. All the so-called births and deaths are

only sleeps and wakings. The difference between sleep and

death is that when you sleep you awake and find yourself in

the same body; but after death you awake in a different body.

You never die. Only the blessed ones die and become one

with God." ~Meher Baba

"It is not more surprising to be born twice than once; eve-

rything in nature is resurrection." ~Francois Voltaire

Did You Ask to Be Born? By Yanki Tauber

Once upon a time there was a village full of disgruntled people. All day long they walked around

with these sour faces, each bemoaning his troubles, each jealous of her neighbor's successes.

One day, a wise old man arrived in the village. He assembled them all in the village square and

said to them: "I want you each to go and bring your most precious possession, the thing you

cherish most in your life, and place it here in middle of the square." Soon there was a large pile

of bundles and packages, of all shapes and sizes, in the center of the village square.

"Now," instructed the wise man, "you may each select for yourselves any one of these gifts. The

choice is yours--take any package you desire." Every man, woman and child in the village did

exactly the same thing. Each chose his own bundle.

The Torah, as we all know, begins at the beginning, describing

G-d's creation of the heavens and the earth, the continents and

the oceans, vegetation and animal life. Then, in its 26th verse,

we proceed to the creation of man. "And G-d said," we read,

"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..."

G-d is asking a council of human souls if He should create the

human soul! Let us? Up to this point--and from here on through

the rest of the Torah--G-d is spoken of as the ultimate singu-

larity. He is the Boss, the exclusive source and mover of all.

But in this single instance, there is an "us," a choir of opinions,

a supernatural boardroom before which the Creator places a

proposal and asks for approval.

With whom did G-d consult when He desired to create the hu-

man being? Sages offer a number of explanations. One is that

G-d asked the angels, so as to temper their later criticisms of

the failings of mortal man. Another explanation is that G-d was

involving all elements of the universe, or all aspects of His infi-

nitely potentialed being, in the formation of the multi-faceted

soul of man. All these explanations, of course, raise at least as many questions as they answer.

But there is one interpretation of this verse which presents us with a conundrum of a paradox.

The Midrash offers the following explanation: "With whom did He consult? With the souls of the

righteous." G-d is asking a council of human souls if He should create the human soul!

The plot thickens. Who are these "righteous" (tzaddikim) with whom G-d consulted? According

to the prophet Isaiah, "Your people are all tzaddikim." We each possess the soul of a tzaddik

(regardless of the extent to which we allow its expression). In other words, G-d asked each and

every one of us if we desire to be created, if we choose to accept the challenge of earthly life.

Only then did He proceed to create us. If asking a soul whether it wants to be created sounds

like a catch-22, this paradox in fact resolves a much deeper paradox--the paradox of divine de-

cree and human choice.

G-d is forever telling us what to do. Indeed, the very word Torah means "instruction," and that's

basically what the Torah is: a series of instructions from on high. And yet we are told that "a

fundamental principle of the Torah" is that "freedom of choice has been granted to man." What

exactly are our choices, if G-d is constantly instructing us?

The question runs deeper. Let us assume that, in any given situation, under any set of circum-

stances, the choice is ours as to how we should act. But what kind of choice is this if no one

asked us if we want to be in that situation and under those set of circumstances in the first

place? What kind of "choice" is there, if we didn't choose whether or not we should be presented

with that choice?

So the Torah reveals to us this amazing secret: that ultimate choice was made by us, before we

even existed. Before G-d emanated your soul and breathed it into your body, you were asked if

you should be. So in every situation in which you find yourself, in every challenge you face in

your life--you are there because you chose to be placed in that life. The life we have is the life

we want. We go through life complaining, "I didn't ask to be born...!" But a thousand times a day

we refute that claim. With countless choices and actions, we affirm that the life we have is the

life we want.

Of course we do. After all, we chose it.

Why Do We

Choose To Be Born?

By Caroline Nettle

Many people ask what the purpose of

life is here on earth. It seems to be one

of the eternal questions that is thought

provoking and emotive, depending on

your view of life, death, and why we

come here.

Firstly, we choose to come to earth to have experiences and feel life through our five senses.

Being on earth in earth school is a chance to really connect with the magic of human life and

Mother Nature.

Secondly, we choose to come here to develop and grow. We decide upon some areas that we

need to learn about, and then we come here to work through the lessons. These can be anger,

love, forgiveness, sadness, joy, jealousy, cruelty, narcissism, bigotry or any other lessons that

we have chosen to learn. As we learn the lessons that we agreed to, we pass on the information

to others and this way we help humanity to grow.

Thirdly, we come to develop spiritual awareness. We learn about the two states of being - either

love or fear- and we learn to choose to live from the heart instead of the mind.

The fourth reason we come here is to be of service to others. We learn that material posses-

sions are no replacement for the joy of being in service and we find ways to assist humankind

and the planet. This can come in many forms- whether or not you are a teacher, a librarian, a

doctor, a writer, a taxi driver, or a street cleaner- all of them are ways of being of service.

The fifth reason we come to earth is to experience pure joy. If we are able to attain this wonder-

ful feeling, we help to raise the frequency on earth. There are many ways on earth that we can

simulate this feeling, but the essence of pure joy is to be found when we are truly at peace with

ourselves and the universe. When this happens it helps to raise the frequency of the planet for

everyone.

Whatever your beliefs are, these are five reasons that we come to earth. It is evident that there

are many more. No matter why we choose to come to earth, we are here and we need to be

conscious of why, acting with integrity and authenticity to be the best version of yourself you

possibly can.

“This life is but a brief tenure, one of many perspectives a spirit must experience

in the quest for eternity.” ~Brian Rathbone

“Life by life, each man progresses (at his own pace, be it ever so erratic) toward

the goal of his own apotheosis. Death, no interruption in this onward sweep, simply of-

fers man the more congenial environment of an astral world in which to purify his dross.

'Let not your heart be troubled... In my Father's house are many mansions.' It is indeed

unlikely that God has exhausted His ingenuity in organizing this world, or that, in the

next world, He will offer nothing more challenging to our interest than the strumming of

harps. “ ~Paramahansa Yogananda

"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; The Soul that rises with us, our life's

Star, Hath had elsewhere its setting. And cometh from afar." ~William Wordsworth

◄ April May 2017 June ►

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2

4:30 p.m. Movie Night

3

4

4 p.m. Guided Meditation

5 Cinco De Mayo

6

7 11:00 Service Dr. Millard Deutsch

8

7-8:30 p.m. SpecialTEA fundraiser

9

4:30 p.m. Movie Night

10

11

4 p.m. Meditation

12

13

14 Mother's Day 11:00 Service Dale Allen Hoffman

15

16

4:30 p.m. Movie Night

17

5-7 p.m. TEA

18

4 p.m. Guided Meditation

19

20

21 11:00 Service Rev. Mariah Brooks

22

23

4:30 p.m. Movie Night

24

25

4 p.m. Meditation

26

27

28 11:00 Service Michele Laub

29 Memorial Day

30

4:30 p.m. Movie Night

31

Notes: