Many decades ago, I read about an incident in the life of the great Indian sage, Ramana Maharshi. Toward the end of his days cancer had spread through his body and he was struggling to get up from his bed.

An attendant, overcome with emotion, begged him, “Bhagavan, you are an enlightened being. You can undoubtedly cure your body of this disease. Please do this so you can continue to guide us.” With great compassion Ramana Maharshi turned to him, “My son, do you not see that the body is the disease?”

I could not understand it at the time, but I sensed that it was important, so I filed it away in my mental cabinet.

What Ramana Maharshi shared is profoundly life altering. In fact, it can completely upend everything you ‘know’, and think and believe.

Before I explain this, I would like you to remember that you are a liar. You have always been a liar. You are so entrenched in your lies that you do not even realize that you are a liar. Generally your lies have been of omission, not commission.

You go to bed at night, and you dream that you are Julius Caesar. You are fighting Pompeii and your legions clash with his and you pursue him over vast territories. You enter Egypt and help Cleopatra in her dispute with her brother. For good measure you have an affair with her. Then you return to Rome and the Ides of March happens.

Then you wake up and realize it was all a dream. It was all in your mind. You created all of it. You created the Roman empire, and Pompeii and Egypt and the legions and the battles and the centurions. Having created all of it you identified with a tiny part of what you created. The part of Julius Caesar.

If someone asks you who you are, you say something like, “I am John, a software engineer. I have two wonderful children and my marriage is shaky. I don’t like my job all that much any more….”

You do not say “Some of the time I am John, a software engineer and some of the time I am Julius Caesar and at other times I just seem to disappear…”

You lie by omission.

You are ready to push back. “That was just a dream,” you say. “I was never Julius Caesar.”

Fair enough. But, when the dream was going on, you were Julius Caesar. It is only when you ‘woke up’ that you realized you were not Caesar. In your dream you felt the thrill of victory as Pompeii retreated and his legionnaires deserted, the excitement of coupling with Cleopatra and the sense of betrayal when Brutus also stuck his knife in you.

So you were Julius Caesar – only it was a dream.

So how about you as John, the software engineer? How do you know that this John is not a dream character, exactly like Julius Caesar.

This is a conundrum that has intrigued philosophers for centuries. One expression of its importance is the famous question, “Did the sage dream he was a butterfly, or did the butterfly dream that it was a sage?”

I have dealt with this topic in an earlier blog.

So, are you a dream? If so, whose dream are you?

I will say more about this in my next post.

This article and spiritual story is from Professor Srikumar S. Rao. You can learn directly from him during his free masterclass “A System To Totally Eradicate Stress & Anxiety.”

Click here to register for Professor Rao’s free masterclass

The post (Part 1) Nothing Ails Your Body – Your Body Is the Ailment! – By Srikumar Rao appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

Breathwork lets your body speak, and opens you to true integrity… your inner authority and wholeness as a unique and fully realized being.

Studies have also shown that breathwork can help reduce symptoms associated with anxiety, depression, insomnia, and PTSD.

In this free spiritual class, world-renowned breathwork trainer Anthony Abbagnano will help you discover how conscious breathwork can help you get to the roots of stuck patterns buried in your subconscious

You'll not only learn how to release their obstructive energies, but allow exciting new perspectives and possibilities to surface as your deepest wisdom is revealed, integrated, and lived.

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In this 60-minute free online event, you’ll discover:

• Experience a breathing exercise to make friends with resistance — and free up its energy for initiating something new
• Experience a powerful practice to help you ease anxiety — and understand how conscious breathwork goes beyond physical release to integrate a shift in perception and a new way of being
• Understand how conscious, connected breathwork uses the breath to guide you into your subconscious, break old patterns, and open you to new possibilities as you align with deeper parts of yourself
• Discover breathwork as a means for connecting with your self-worth, reclaiming wholeness, and deepening your relationship with yourself
• Explore how conscious breathwork can be used in the moment to help you instantly shift your state of being when you’re triggered — from stressed to self-aware, grounded, and clear

Breathwork is also one of the best healing modalities to help us break through our resistance to growth, and stepping into the fullness of life that our deepest Self knows we crave and are capable of attaining.

You’ll experience how conscious breathwork can instantly change your state of being and point of view in any moment — whenever you need to release stress and find your groundedness.

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About Your Teacher – Anthony Abbagnano

Anthony Abbagnano is the founder of Alchemy of Breath, an international organization that offers transformational breathwork training program and promotes the union of Western medicine with all other modalities. He’s also the founder of Alchemy School of Healing Arts (ASHA), a retreat and community center located in Southern Tuscany.

Having been a conscious breather for decades, Anthony first incorporated breathwork into his other wellness practices in 2012. The nephew of Italy’s most renowned philosopher Nicola Abbagnano, Anthony weaves many talents into his breathwork practice, including philosophy, Jungian psychology, spirituality, Conscious Loving, hypnotherapy, and Matrix Energetics (the study of miracles) into his work.

Anthony has successfully taken breathwork into festivals, yoga spaces, the corporate world, prisons, The Psychedelic Society, hospitals, and the dying. His work is noted for its application in the fields of addiction, transformation, personal empowerment, the integration of psychotropic and plant medicine experiences, and the opening of humanity’s hope for a heart-centered harmonious existence.

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🌟 Even if you can’t attend live… 🌟

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The post Conscious Breathwork to Break Through Resistance & Awaken Your Authentic, Luminous Self – with Anthony Abbagnano appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

It’s like I knew something was coming in 2020, and and my guides wanted me to prepare.

My motivation for a new perspective beckoned me to use a fascinating plant medicine from the shamans, Ayahuasca, to expand my perceptions.

During my ayahuasca medicinal journeys I received life altering insights, prophecies, as well as deep and profound healings…

And some of them were about you.

First I was shown… just how amazing YOU are.

That may sound strange, but I actually got to see, in a clear and unobstructed way, how those like you, in communities like ours, are the way showers, the light warriors, here to make THE difference.

My guides showed me how important and powerful you are.

AND these guides ALSO revealed that the Healer Types that had recently been channeled through to me, were valid and real and quite important.

My guides in this remarkable journey proved to me that the 5 Healer Types I discovered, were not only accurate, but they delivered an energetic clarity to those who received this knowledge.

I was shown that all that is happening in the world is part of the plan to bring the healers (like you) into their strength and power at this time.

And this time is here to bring forward humanity's shadow, coming up and out for transformation.

I have subsequently created a powerful quiz to show you in real terms, that you are that change agent they were telling me about.

Understanding your Healer Type is a part of that awakening.

You see, we need you now more than ever.

We need you to KNOW, and be ignited into your power, strength, confidence, AND capacity for success.

So if you are ready to…

1) Know that you are a healer.

2) Discover that you really do have gifts.

AND

3) Identify and claim which type of healer you are, then…

​GO HERE NOW to take the quiz ​

Whether you're a certified healer in one or several disciplines…

Are a coach or facilitator…

Or you're just starting and think you have some natural gifts…

This quiz will reveal what YOUR Healer Type means for you now, and who you can be.

And, knowing your “healer type” creates an evolutionary expansion of your capacity to make THE difference.

​Click here to take the “What Healer Type Are You?” Quiz now and in just 90-seconds you are about to experience a real shift.

Prepare to know why you are being nudged to embrace and ignite the healer within, and how these Types confirm your suspicions.

And it's free.

On your results page you can register for a Video Masterclass where Jennifer will be revealing all 5 Healer Types in depth. PLUS… and this is a BIG DEAL… you will learn how to TURN ON on YOUR unique personal MODALITY OF HEALING. AND receive personal healing from this master. These are never-before-revealed insights and activations. So be sure to choose a date and time that works for you for this special bonus Masterclass Video Presentation (found on your results page). SO FUN!

But FIRST you have to take the Quiz.​

This guest post is from Jennifer McLean. She is an internationally acclaimed Healer, Author, Speaker, Edge Pusher, and Transformational Change Agent. She is the creator of the renowned healing accelerant: “The Spontaneous Transformation Technique (STT),” that delivers instant transformation and healing. Jennifer has appeared on FOX, ABC, CBS, and online summits and is featured in renowned media publications. STT and other healing philosophies are covered in her 5 best selling books and dozens of online healing programs.

The post Startling Revelation in an Ayahuasca Journey – By Jennifer McLean appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

A while back I suffered with a medical issue that lasted for over a month. I didn't share it with everyone because I thought it was so weird to say “I'm in pain but I don't know what's wrong.” It sounded so trivial but as time has progressed I've come to realize it was so much more than that.

On February 13, 2017, I was in my kitchen preparing dinner with my youngest son. All of a sudden I felt a sharp pain in my head, I was nauseated, seeing stars and very dizzy. I could see the concern in my sons eyes as he asked me to rest on the sofa while he finished cooking dinner.

As I lay there, I acted as if I was OK but I wasn't, it got worse. This headache along with other symptoms continued non-stop for the next seven weeks. After countless doctor and specialist appointments, CT scans, three MRI's, a lumbar puncture, four rounds of bloodwork, a horrible visit to the ER, and tons of meds, the pain persisted.

Both doctors and several radiologists were at a loss. I'm a believer and I always have been but sadly I was losing hope and I felt as if my faith was being tested. The emotional distress began to take a toll on my spirit. I believe in the power of positive thinking so that was not cool!

Thankfully I continued to pray and be grateful that I was fortunate to have medical care. So many people have no money for healthcare and suffer daily. After 48 long days of waking up and going to bed with an excruciating headache my answer and healing finally came through a wonderful doctor and physical therapist.

To God goes the glory!

Looking back I feel so grateful for all the love and support everyone gave so freely. I have a beautiful family, friends that I consider family, generous and caring coworkers, a very loving and sweet husband and three amazing kids that show me every day how much I mean to them. I'm a very lucky Girl!

My mind went so many places during this uncertain time and I was reminded that life is so fragile. That evening, in the middle of my kitchen, I was given a wake-up call. My body was talking and I needed to listen. As challenging as it may be, I'm trying to live each day as if it were my last, remaining positive and happy. I vow to take time for myself, be healthy, exercise, and do my best to rest and relax. I will laugh, have fun, be grateful and celebrate life! I'll continue to be thankful and give back whenever and as much I can. I challenge you to do the same.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow…

Thanks to Rebecca Flores for sharing her spiritual story with us!

The post My Healing – A Spiritual Story by Rebecca Flores appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

The Seer of Lublin was one of the most famous and formidable of the Hassidic Rabbis at the end of the 18th century. His greatest disciple (who had exactly the same name as his master) was called the Yehudi in Lublin, and the Holy Yehudi everywhere else. The two Rabbis loved each other very much, although they suffered many heartaches due to rivalries among their own disciples, especially those in Lublin. The Seer, as his appellation indicates, was a visionary who was interested in large movements and long term developments. The Holy Yehudi was a humble saint, famous for the power of his worship of God, who developed a reputation (which he always denied) as a healer of souls.

The Seer's wife Beile, often overheard the gossip and slanders of the Seer's disciples and began to believe what she had heard. When her young child fell ill she feared it was an evil eye from the Yehudi. Beile begged her husband to pray for the child's recovery. He replied, “You know to whom you must turn.” meaning God. But perhaps because she felt guilty about the slanders she overheard and, like her husband, had failed to rebuke, Beile decided to go to Pshysha, where the Holy Yehudi held his court. She begged him to forgive her sins against him and to pray for her son's recovery. The Holy Yehudi was struck dumb that the Seer's wife could think he would wish her or her child ill; and he sobbed for a few minuets. Finally he told her, “I will pray without ceasing.” Being generally naive, he neglected to tell her that he forgave her. When Beile returned home her son was dying.

What the Seer and his wife concluded from all this no one knows. But some weeks later, the Yehudi's son, who was almost 12, now fell ill. At first, it did not seem serious, but then it got worse. His mother Schoendel, cried hysterically for days. Once the told her husband, “This is their vengeance!” The Yehudi replied, “Don't go to pieces!” She gave all that she had to charity, but the boy only got worse. Then something extraordinary happened.

Rabbi Yissachar Baer come to visit. The Yehudi took him by the hand to the bed where Asher his son lay moaning. The Holy Yehudi said, “I am at the end of my strength. I can pray no more. Take him upon yourself and you will surely give him back to me healed.” With that he took his sobbing wife and left the room.

Rabbi Yissachar Baer was dismayed. He had never practiced healing; and he was sure he was not a holy man. But Rabbi Baer was a man of peace; and he knew that one of his teachers, the Maggid of Kosnitz, had on several occasions tried, with some success, to reduce the Seer's suspicions and tensions with the Yehudi. He thought Asher would be old enough to understand the nature of his illness.

“I am just an ordinary Rabbi; I am not a holy man like your father, or a great mystic like the Seer, or even a wise sage like the Maggid of Kosnitz. Every year I visit each of them for a few weeks, to learn and be inspired. Each of them is different, and their disciples are different. Their Torah is one Torah, but they teach it differently. Their Shabbat is on the same day, but they celebrate it in different ways. Each congregation says the Sh'ma but they sing it with different melodies. They do not even eat the same food. Some of the Seer's disciples like Rabbi Meir, who is a leader of those who oppose everything your father does, are narrow minded and resistant to change. Other disciples are fearful of competition, and resent those who have come to your father instead of their own Rabbi, the Seer. But I tell you that I learn from each one of them, and each of them speak the words of the living God. No one anywhere wishes you ill. A Jew, no matter how pious, learned or Kosher he is, who slanders another Jew, is a Jew hater and not a real Jew. ”

Asher harkened to the words of Rabbi Baer and he began to feel better. Neither of them ever spoke about what had happened that day in that room. Rabbi Baer suggested to the Yehudi that Asher should live for a few months with the Maggid of Kosnitz until he fully recovered; and he did. Rabbi Baer also talked to the Seer and the Seer instructed Rabbi Meir to say a prayer every day for the long life of the Yehudi. And Rabbi Baer, much to his surprise, found that the story of his miracle cure spread, and many people with wounded souls came to him. Thank God he was able to help many of them.

Every year when he visited the three great Rabbis, he always told the disciples of the Seer, the Maggid and the Holy Yehudi, that self-righteousness, gossip, and slander cause an illness of the soul that can lead to death.

From: FOR THE SAKE OF HEAVEN by Martin Buber pp. 205-210

Rabbi Maller's web site is: rabbimaller.com

The post An Illness unto Death – A Spiritual Story By Rabbi Allen Maller appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

Her mother once gave her a bag of nails and told her that every time she lost her temper or insulted somebody she must hammer a nail into the back of their fence.

The first day the girl hit 14 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as she learned to control her anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled. She discovered it was easier to hold her temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the girl didn't lose her temper at all. She told her mother about it and the mother suggested that the girl now pull out one nail for each day that she was able to hold her temper. The days passed. Finally, she told her mother that all the nails were gone.

The mother took her daughter by the hand and led her to the fence. She said, You have done well, my daughter, but look at all the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like these. You can put a knife in a person and draw it out. It does not matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is almost as bad as a physical one.

“How can I repair the fence?” asked the girl. “Will it have to remain damaged forever?”

“Yes and no” said the mother. “Our Rabbis say that if the fence is alive and responds to the way you have changed, it too can change and heal itself. If the fence is dead to the possibility of your repentance it will carry its scars onward. The fence will never be as it was before, but it doesn't have to become like new to be a good fence. If you do your part and change, and the fence does its part in response, God will do something wonderful. God will promote a healing that will make you and the fence better. This process is called Atonement. It means that the changes that come about from repentance and forgiveness lead people to higher levels of relationship than was the case before.”

“What happens if the fence doesn't respond?” asked the girl. “Can I ever make it whole?”

“You should try on three different occasions,” said the mother, “but if the fence remains dead even after you have changed, YOU can't force it to become whole. In that case you should fix another fence somewhere else. There are always lots of fences that need fixing, and whenever you fix a fence God will make something wonderful happen. That is the miracle of Atonement. God always responds to our attempts to change by helping us change and always responds to our change by giving us new and wonderful opportunities for Atonement. This is why we have a Day of Atonement ten days after the beginning of every New Year; so the New Year will be a better one than the last one.”

After 39 years as Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City Calif. Allen Maller retired in 2006. He is the editor of a series of High Holy Days prayer books; the author of a book on Jewish mysticism, “God, Sex and Kabbalah”; and the husband since 1966 of Judy Coopersmith. Visit his website at http://www.rabbimaller.com for more information.

The post Repentance, Atonement, and Nails – A Spiritual Story by Rabbi Allen Maller appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

The heavy handed specialist gave us no hope at all. There was nothing they could do, he informed us. He thought John had a year at the outside.

I went home and in a kind of timeless pause where the infinite and the material meet, I decided that if I believed the doctors, John would feel it in my milk and would give up.

Who wouldn't?

I saw the choice not to believe them and instead to put my faith in John. Maybe I could fuel his decision to live.

All that hugely powerful, maternal passion went into this decision. I willed him to get better. I held him. I nursed him. I loved him with my full being. I realized that before when I had loved people, I had loved them with about 10 per cent of my being. John got 100 percent and I got a lesson in what love really is.

We needed a miracle here and I received several. First, my dad came in behind me, believing too, that John would live. He was the one person who stood with me, trusting in something intangible when the obvious data pointed the other way. (Others tended to think I was just in denial…)

The miracle of it was that while growing up, my father had caused me enormous pain. So for him to come alongside me at this time, in a place so deep in our hearts, was a Godsend.

Another miracle was more of a sequence.

It started when two pictures of John fell off the wall and the glass inside both of them broke. A few days later, one of his Peter Rabit plates fell and smashed. Then, very soon after that, a small child came over and while her mother and I were talking, the little girl got a hammer and crushed a beloved music box I had bought for John.

I had bought the box at the onset of John's illness to cheer us all up. It had turned into a symbol of eventual triumph.

And now it was smashed. And so fragile was my faith that its demise smashed our lives too. The bottom just fell out.

Life now just seemed so stark and unloving. God just seemed like a bad joke. I could barely stand to be alive, could hardly bare the agony of it. The only thing that kept me going was John who needed my love, hugs and adoration and I gave myself to him 100 per cent.

Even if God didn't exist, I could still believe John was going to get better. If the Great Spirit's love didn't exist, at least mine did.

It took me several weeks to feel my love strong again. I was still scared and things looked stark but my love flowed utterly to John. Then one day, I had to go to the store. Depressed and worried though I was, I followed an unusual impulse into a nearby gift shop.

There on a shelf was a single music box, identical to the other one. That was truly amazing as I had bought it overseas. And don't you know it was on sale at half price!

I bought it. I took it as a signal of the Great Spirit's assurance that the child would live which he did, despite such a terminal diagnosis.

(Maybe doctors should ask mothers what they think more.)

This brings me to the third and biggest miracle of all. Two days after I had made that crucial decision to ignore the doctor's death sentence, my mother, plus an incredible series of coincidences, put me in touch with a famous healer named Olgas Worral.

Olga Worral, then a woman in her 80's, had once lost her infant twins to dysentery and now worked with sick children, sending compassion to ailing youngsters all over the world. We spoke. Olga asked for no payment. Nor did she need to touch or meet John to help. She just needed to know his full name. Then she asked me to put my hands on him every night at 7pm to ground the compassion she was sending.

I knew Olga was gold.

The cancer clinic monitored John's white cell count, checking him once every two weeks. We had watched it climb steadily.

When John was 10 months, it hit 60,000, six times higher than normal. The cell count left his skin so white, it was almost transparent. He hardly moved or made any noise. He was a sick baby.

We started working with Olga. The next checkup showed the count had dropped by 1,000 and that John had gained a pound in weight. The time after that, his blood count fell another 1,500 and he had gained another pound.

This continued. Gradually over the next three years, John's white blood cell count fell to normal and he began to grow and flourish.

The doctors didn't say much.

I phoned Olga regularly to thank her and heard that people seldom let her know how their loved ones fared. Sometimes they'd phone up three years later.

‘Thanks for helping Uncle Bill. He's fully recovered.. Can you help Aunt Sara now?'

She would.

Much later, after Olga had died, I read an article in which she'd participated in an experiment which featured an dysentery culture and penicillin. When she spent time in a laboratory, maybe an hour or so a day, the penicillin took 10 times as long to kill the bacteria as usual.

I think Olga embodied so much of her own godself, her mere presence strengthened all of life, even the dysentery bacteria.

But what impressed me was that when she gazed into the petri dish, at the same type of bacteria, that had killed her children some 50 years earlier, her capacity for unconditiional love was so strong, her comment was:

Cute little critters, aren't they?

My hat off to her.

After spending her 20's as a journalist, publishing in Canada, the US and in Europe, Janet Hobbs' life changed when her son experienced a miraculous healing from terminal Leukemia. This experience sent her on the path of healing and study with aboriginal and East Indian spiritual masters. For the last 15 years, Janet has had a Shamanic healing practice in Vancouver and the interior of BC. Clients report emotional and physical healings.

Visit her website at http://thecompassionateshaman.com/ to learn more.

The post The Roller Coaster of Life – Spiritual Story by Janet Hobbs appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

It was like going from believing the earth to be flat to it being a sphere.

James demonstrates that the soul survives the dimensions of time and space.

Soul Survivor is that story-period!!

As a Christian the story challenged my faith in every way that faith can be challenged — the journey of discovery was a fearful one — the destination of fact affirmed it. Soul Survivor suggests the answer to our salvation and redemption that Christians chase throughout this life on earth. Other than the acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Savior — this experience is the most profound of my life.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Bruce had staged a fighting retreat from the wild conjectures over the meaning of his son's nightmares. He had dug in and insisted that, whatever they were, they were not proof of a past life. Yet, he had lost the battle over the name, Natoma Bay — it was an American ship, not Japanese. Jack Larson turned out to be a real person who flew off of a real aircraft carrier. The knowledge his son had of airplanes and flying was uncanny; the battles in the Pacific were real and the veterans vouched for the details. Finally, he had to accept that James Huston was the pilot who was killed in his son's horrific nightmares.

Still, he had held out over the fact that James insisted that he flew a Corsair in the war and no Corsairs were reported on Natoma Bay. And now that last bunker had fallen. He had the picture of James Huston standing in front of a Corsair.

He was starting to believe in something beyond reason.

I was baptized and raised as a Methodist. I grew up going to church every Sunday with my mother and sister. My father had very little to do with church. Church is a place that makes me feel comfortable, safe, welcome.

In college, my attendance slipped, but I went to church with friends of different denominations — to see what they were like. I went to Buddhist Temples, Catholic cathedrals, Lutheran, Pentacostal, Episcopalian . . . most of the other Protestant churches. I even went to Synagogues.

But as I matured, I became connected to the Evangelical Christian movement, eventually finding myself involved with a Full Gospel Christian Businessman's Fellowship.

We met every two weeks for Bible study, discussion and trying to assimilate the Word into our lives. It was a dramatic journey. I studied the Bible intensely. The Holy Spirit was demonstrated for me in praying in Tongues, Faith Healing and what we call Discernment.

I have witnessed Healings that I know were genuine.

I have personally realized the true power of Prayer. I prayed for a second chance after my first marriage failed because I was spiritually lost. I prayed for a wife with green eyes — and one who was Asian — and my second wife, Dre, has green eyes and her mother is one half Philippino.

Suffice to say that I feel I am a developed Christian on a continuous path of spiritual growth.

If James' nightmares were truly a manifestation of a past life — a proof of reincarnation — then, as I saw it, it would threaten the Biblical promise of Salvation. If the immortal soul can randomly transfer from person to person, generation to generation, then what does that imply for the Christian orthodoxy of Redemption?What happens on Judgment Day if the immortal soul is handed off like that? It goes against the Evangelical teaching of rebirth through a spiritually transformed personal life through Jesus Christ.

The impact of James's story on my spiritual well-being . . . well, it felt like spiritual warfare. My purpose for disproving what was happening to my son was to establish that this was all a coincidence — as astronomically remote as that possibility seems.

Of course, I was drawn into this by setting up these tests, establishing questions that had to be answered, all the while, I was getting closer and closer to something . . . dangerous . . . it was like putting my hand in a fire . . . ¹
One may put their hand into a fire and in time it would heal — but ferreting out answers that could threaten a complete belief system was scary.

I was traveling a strange road lost in the fog searching for an unknown destination. The questions were simple — but the answers could destroy my lifelong beliefs and threaten my salvation. During the journey there were plenty of times I wanted to stop — but a voice of compulsion drove me forward. My effort centered on my love and concern for my son. When I first encountered the full force of his nightmares a movie “The Exorcist” hit me square in the face.

James might be demon possessed! With every step of validation about what he told us the fog began to lift and the destination became clearly visible.

James had experienced a past life and/or reincarnation had occurred — the exact conclusion I did not want to accept. It took time as I measured the fruit that this tree of experience produced.

In the end Faith and Fact collided like atoms in an atomic accelerator to form a new reality. It was like going from believing the earth to be flat to it being a sphere. James demonstrated the soul survives the dimensions of time and space.

As a Christian the story challenged my faith in every way that faith can be challenged. “Soul Survivor” suggests the answer to our yearning for salvation and redemption that Christians chase throughout their life on earth. Other than the acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Savior — this experience is the most profound of my life. “Soul Survivor” is that story-period!! It left me with many unanswered questions that involve how and why.
Endnotes
¹The above is an excerpt from the book Soul Survivor: The Reincarnation of a World War II Fighter Pilot by Bruce and Andrea Leininger with Ken Gross. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.
Copyright © 2009 Bruce and Andrea Leininger with Ken Gross, authors of Soul Survivor: The Reincarnation of a World War II Fighter Pilot

©2009 Bruce Leininger, coauthor of Soul Survivor: The Reincarnation of a World War II Fighter Pilot

The post The Collision of Faith and Fact – Spiritual Story by Bruce Leininger appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

I stopped suddenly and excused myself. As I turned my back, I saw confusion from the faces of the audience through the back wall made up of mirrors.

As my topic was so appropriate to the way I reacted to the situation, I kept myself calmed, composed and collected.

At first I thought it was just an ordinary pain but as minutes went by, it got worst. The audience started panicking. I could not stand up anymore nor sit down so some of them came to hold me whatever or whichever way they thought would be comfortable for me.

They started praying together. I heard one lady praying in tongue and the rest were stunned and just sat there and didn't know what to do.

The pain was so intense that I could not even utter a word so somebody called the ambulance and when it came the pain on my back shot up to my chest.

At the emergency room, as much as the pain was so unbearable, I could still hear the doctor saying, Oh, that is just anxiety. You women always suffer from anxiety.

I knew it wasn't anxiety. It felt like a whole elephant landed on my chest. I never ever had that kind of pain before. Multiple tests were carried out and while these procedures were being done I prayed to God and said, God, please forgive me for my sins but if you are ready for me, I am ready. Then I added, But God, I still have so much things to do for you.

Think about it. How many of those who died suddenly had the opportunity to repent and asked for forgiveness for their sins from the Lord? It would be more tragic if they didn't.

Then the nurses took me to have a CAT Scan and that was when they found out that I have Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm which is commonly called Triple A.

I was taken straight to ICU and very carefully monitored me. I didn't know at the time that my blood pressure was 290/210.

The doctors could not fly me over to another more equipped hospital as my condition would not take the flight and chances were I would die on the way with a 20% survival rate. They just continued with the necessary medical procedures keeping me alive and comfortable.

Two days after, the doctor asked me to sign a form which stated, NO RESUSCITATION just in case anything happened to me. He said to call my family or whoever I needed or wanted to call to discuss the matter.

When the doctor left, I prayed to God saying, God, I know you gave these doctors a gift of healing and I don't care what they say because I know You are the greatest Healer of them all.

My family came, closest friends and had asked for the Bishop and the parish priest who came also. After praying and blessing me, the Bishop said to me that whatever my decision would be, they would respect it.

Little did I know that nobody believed that I would survive after two days but they did not know about the power of thoughts, words, belief and faith. I DID.

Then my father who is living on the other side of the world called me and said, My child, you are healed. Right there and then I knew I was healed because I believed that. After almost a month at the ICU, I was transferred to the general ward and two more weeks I was discharged.

After five weeks, I was back to the hospital via ambulance and found out that the AAA was getting worst so I was flown away to Lahey Clinic in Boston via air ambulance. There, I stayed for few more weeks. I had all the unbelievable healings that anybody we encountered considered them miracles. I do too. I was able to go home escaping the bypass operation as well.

December 6th, 2006, I had a sharp pain on my chest. Again, I was taken to the hospital via ambulance. Examinations revealed that I was developing fluid in my right lung so again they took me straight to ICU. Two big tubes were inserted on my back to drain the fluid but in vain. I was not tolerating any food nor any liquid so I began to shed some weight off which was against all odds with my small frame already.

I was feeling worst and developing fever and still no drainage. Another x-ray was taken and showed that the fluids were filling up my lung very quickly so the doctor decided to fly me over again at Lahey Clinic in Boston for operation. Off I went via air ambulance.

More and more procedures were instituted. My arms were tattoed with IV's and injections everyday. More X-rays, ECG's, CAT Scan, MRI's, blood tests. The doctor scheduled me to have the operation the next day which was on Decmber 11, 2006 instead of the scheduled day.

It was a very long battle but I never gave up hope nor faith in God.

Christmas time, I was alone in a foreign land, in the hospital, sick in bed with no family, nor relative and not a single friend with me. But I knew that the Good Lord was always there for me and never left me and guiding me and protecting me all the way.

After a month, I went home.

Everybody went through something maybe even worst than what I have been through. We do hear a lot about that it's not what happened to us that matters. It's what we do with what happens to us that is more important.

Three chances I was given in life and very grateful that I am still being showered with many of God's blessings. My life has received miracles after miracles after miracles.

It has been more than three years since the first incident and I am still recovering. I am still under the doctor's supervision and still having frequent check-ups and maintenace. Although I am homebound, I owe it to God, big time, to me and to everybody to continue to get better so I can be an instrument for Him which is one of my passions.

I am very grateful for what had happened to me because even though I considered myself a devout Catholic, not until I stayed home and spent one on one with God that I realized I have so much catching up to do.

Elizabeth Lawrence is a Registered Nurse, Human Behavior Consultant, Life Coach, Spiritual Counselor, Author and Motivational Speaker. Due to her illness, she stays home still recovering but devotes most of her time to her own personal growth and development especially on the spiritual aspect of her being thus her obsessive passion to teach, encourage and empower teens and young adults to the same journey. Life is a waste without a purpose and more so if not being able to express and share that purpose with others, as she would put it. The author lives in Bermuda.

The post Have Faith Will Travel – A Spiritual Story By Elizabeth Lawrence appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

Consumed by drugs for about 3 years, I ignored the parental responsibility to our 5 children. They lived in poverty and obtain help from social welfare organization, CDC, relatives and in laws. Our maid had to work to take care of our children without being paid for about 3 years. Under the influence of drugs and in the circle of wicked friends, I was also involved in manslaughters in Batam. I felt no remorse then, because the blood belonged to the dark society anyway. But, remained deep in my heart was the guilt for the victims and the innocent family left behind.

To feed by drug addiction I sold everything I had and became officially bankrupt in 2005. I lost my job and planned to smuggle drugs into Singapore. I purchased 3 packs at 7grams or total of 21 grams of ICE Cristal in Batam, and carried with me by ferry to Singapore together with my wife. However, through a betrayal of some friends in the drug circle, I was caught by the Singapore authorities at the Tanah Merah ferry terminal in Singapore on my way back from Batam. While under detention, my father died in Surabaya, and I had no chance to pay my last respect.

My life seemed to have collapsed when I was detained at Queenstown Remand prison (QRP) in Nov 2006. My 2nd son got me an affordable lawyer whom was his own lecturer (my son studied law diploma at an external university with the help a catholic church's fund). The lawyer told me my minimum sentence by law will be 5 years and 5 strokes of rotan, because the drug in my possession had been weighed by HSA (Singapore Health Science Authority) to be 18grams of class A drugs, and worse still I was considered trafficking the drugs from Batam (Indonesia) to Singapore. The Law states death penalty for trafficking in 20grams or more of class A drugs, and I was only short of 2 grams to the death penalty. The best sentence he can bargain with the prosecutor would be 7 years with 5 strokes. That was the best he can do. I was really devastated, depressed and tried to commit suicide in QRP. Then, came the court order to put me in IMH mental hospital for evaluation. I was warded for 3 weeks in IMH (mental hospital) and released back under medication to QRP with a report.

It came the right time God made Himself known to me through a person by the name of Lim in QRP, He built faith and hope in me. He assured me that God loves me, and waiting for me to come back to Him through this hard way. He told me that it was not coincidence that I met him in Singapore prison, and it was not coincidence that drug was the only subject of my arrest lest other crimes I had committed, like murder, and it was not coincidence that I was caught by Singapore justice system and not Batam's which might be more unbearable. It was all God's Love, plan and work of mercy towards me.

Lim gave me my first Christian book called “healing your heart from the painful memory“. I confessed all my sins through Lim without hesitation, because he assured me for what Jesus Christ has done, that no sin is so great that it cannot be forgiven, and he read to me the sinners prayer. Lim always prayed for me, my wife, and my children, and assured me to seek first the Kingdom of God and Its righteousness first and the rest just leave it to Him, as God will take care of my family at home, that I should not be worried now as God will provide all my family's needs through His blessing, and what I should do was only to surrender myself to Him, concentrate with God and be as close as possible with Him while I was in prison. Lim's most hopeful statement was: “with God, nothing is impossible, HE will show His miracle when we trust Him”.

This was the first time I experienced some peace and Hope of miracle in my life. I started reading Bibles and Christian books. The most memorable verses that God touched me in QRPrison, was the story of Joseph. In which God assured me that “although they meant harmed to you, but I will make it work for the good of you”. Since, then I always looked forward to prison's yard time just to be able to listen to Lim's preaching of Parables in Bible together with a group of 4-6 inmates, the same people always together, and always ended the gathering when the yard time was over, with some prayers together, and Lim always prayed specifically for me and my family every time. Coincidentally, every time the prison changed cell-rooms for me, somehow I always had a good Christian inmate to accompany me, and shared God's word with me.

I remembered vividly the following event, which has been the anchor of my faith to God, was that one very day, which was about a week before my final hearing for sentence to be passed. I had one inmate in my cell-room, a very young man about 17years old but behaving like a 5years old child, and he had a disfigured face (like human-pig face). And I remember meeting him during my treatment in IMH, where I was told by the warden to bathe this boy and changed the diaper for him. Here, he was said to have committed a mild crime, charged with burning his neighbor's laundry and molested a girl by touching her. And he was pending a transfer to IMH (Mental Hospital) again for his mental treatment. He never talked to anyone but only mumbling to himself in hokkien dialect. I shared my ex-visit food rations from my wife with him because I pitied him for he had no one to visit him. I did not talk much with him for I knew it was useless to talk to him, as well as my fear from looking at his face that he may get violent.

That night he suddenly woke me up in the middle of night and said in English, (it may not be precisely words by words, but I am very certain this was exactly he said in a clear tone): “I want you to know and not to worry because your sentence would only be a while (and he mentioned the number of months), you are here because God wants you to discover your purpose in life” and then he hugged me, I cried like a child in his hug because I was happy touched by a hopeful news, the hope of a miracle from God, although I did not actually know what it meant with “the purpose”. But I surely know that God has spoken to help me like a father through this young man, who would never have spoken any sensible words to anyone, not only because he was so young and seemed to speak only in hokkien dialect, but also at his mentally retarded condition!, yet, he could speak with me like this!, I kept saying thank you to him. And he was transferred out the next morning.

This experience gave me a stronger peace and faith in my prayer till the actual sentence day. I told my wife through glass-partition during her visit at QRP before the sentencing day that “God spoke to me through a young retarded man that my sentence would only be a while for 6 months”. I saw her red-eyes, I didn't know if that meant she believed me or not, or thought I turned crazy, but I was certainly very cooled and confident when I sat at court room bench, when the sentence was read.

The young man told me 6 months, but the judge passed the sentence as 9 months and 3 weeks with no Rotan canning; I had some confusion for a while because I was so convinced of God's message to me was 6 months, but still I felt very happy and relieved because 9 months and 6 months both were quite close anyway, until my Lawyer approached me and said: “congratulation, you would only serve 6 months and 2 weeks after remission”. That was the striking convincing moment for me of God's miracle and grace. God did not just make a miracle by passing an impossibly light sentence for my heavy crime, but he actually let me know in advance that it was He who did it!

After that I was transferred from QRP to non remand prisons (Admiralty prison about 2 months, and then KhalsaC Prison about 1 months), and since then I had been telling this testimony of God's miracle and grace to any Christian brothers I met, through out serving my prison's remaining sentence of 3 months plus, and I shared with many, the hope of a miracle and I believed it had given them more faith to be close to God. And truly, I found all drug offenders with similar cases like me in both prisons whomever I met, were all way high above 5 years sentence with permanent bruises on their buttock caused by rotan canning. They were all surprised by my short-sentence. Those who were non-believers reasoned out that it was my IMH report that worked out the miracle or some said: the new Chief Justice who was more lenient to offenders; but the truth which I know was God who worked things out. (It might be through my wife's hands of persistent fight on my case, it might be through the IMH report, it might be through the sudden compassion of the Judicial system when passing the sentence, etc). Whatever that happened; I know God had spoken to me that it was Him who did it!

At this moment in Admiralty prison serving almost halfway the total term, I was still having a lot of queries in my mind about what that young retarded boy said, about ‘finding my purpose in life'. In my thinking I had a great value and purpose as declared by God. And probably God wanted to use me greatly on planet earth like being a great preacher or pastor to transform a vast majority of people. Until I met an inmate by the name of Jabez, he was an Indian Christian who liked to have fellowship with other inmates during the yard time. He suddenly passed me a book by Rick Warren titled: ‘the purpose driven life', he asked me to read just one section a day for 40 days, and no rushing. Then only that I realized my purpose in life was to come back to the Father like the prodigal son in the bible. It may not be like that great imagination I had beforehand, but it is still the greatest thing I ever did in my life.

My wife was somehow made it on her own while I was in prison; she could live clean from drugs and had a good job that could support all the children needs. Even, she was able to move to a bigger 5-room HDB flat while I was in prison. And she was getting more job-offers with better pay then. She got a job interview in Shanghai — China. However, her preference to work in China disturbed my mind, as I thought she wanted to avoid me after my release, and lead a life on her own far from me. I felt depressed and hopeless.

Then, God again strengthen my faith as this Christian brother, Jabez passed me a letter quoting Jeremiah 29:11 “for I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future”. I believed it was the message from God, because I never told this brother about my marriage life, and my most recent intention to give up my marriage when released from prison, and yet he could write after that verse: “God wants you not to leave your wife, as your wife needs you, and your children needs you, God wants you to love them like Jesus Christ loves you”. The letter also contained a HP number of Brother Francis Sim, and asked me to contact this brother upon my release. (Brother Francis has since become like my spiritual father after my release).

On 19 May 2007, I was released from KCprison after serving exactly 6 months and 2 weeks. It was the day I breathed freedom, the first time I appreciated life in my life. A life of knowing there is God who loves me so dearly.

To keep faith in the prison is much easier than outside prison, where the real world is. After the release from prison in May 2007, I had deep depression. The reality sucked: I could not have my passport as I was under Police Urine Supervision for the next 2 years, and I could not find jobs even lower level job than my last job because of my background record as an ex-convict as well as a bankrupt, and my relationship with my wife was still getting nowhere, although I had much stronger patience in me after prison, but still I felt a low self esteemed, suppressed emotion, as I could not communicate with my wife at all, I feel rejected by everyone, even my own mother and siblings still thought I was a drug addicts and my siblings put a cold shoulder on me with avoiding attitude, and my 1st son accused me of stealing my wife's money and expressed words like I am a useless person, banging table and chair at me. I resisted myself from anger instead I could only cry. I felt it was my own sin of dishonoring my parents and my violent acts against my wife in the past that I had to suffer the curse of a permanent prisoner now. A self pity's feeling, and I felt like committing suicide.

You see, I could only imagine the Love of God and Jesus. But I could not see nor feel it. And I felt God had distanced away from me and left me with a shattered life. So it is hard for me to sustain my faith in the real world, although I believe strongly and undoubtedly true that God has touched me in prison, but still my faith was shattered by the bitterness of life. I drowned my self in alcohol and cigarettes to forget the reality.

But my brother Francis Sim, in him I could feel Jesus' love again, because Brother Francis never gave up to show his persistence and perseverance to guide and advise me through his sharing of God's words, and showed me care and taught me to persevere with Jesus in my heart. He never gave up and spent his own time and money for me. And finally, he brought me to the Encounter weekend of FCBC (Community Baptist Church). To come to the Encounter itself had actually brought a heavy struggle inside me. I even had nightmares and uneasy feelings like my soul being pulled in 2 opposite directions in my dreams. I almost gave up the Encounter, and ask for the next session. But, Brother Francis still never gave me up.

I made it to the Encounter out of God's will. Because in there, I received a more complete healing. In the Encounter, Pastor Vincent Teo and Brother Francis have delivered me, they lifted out my emotional baggage caused by damaged soul and erased my guilt-ridden burden, I had full confessions and repentance, and I received the forgiveness from the Lord during the encounter. They also prayed for the deliverance of my alcohol and cigarettes addiction, and prayed for breaking all curses in my family line. I felt mentally light, felt the joy of forgiveness, and for the first time I felt no self pity anymore, I feel confident of my future life walking with Jesus in my heart.

Also, for the first time, I could feel confident to shower my wife with love and feel the joy of just expressing my love to her, without worry whether or not she would return me the same love. In the encounter, the words that touched me in regards to this was that “how are we going to fulfill God's greatest commandment, i.e. to love Him and Love one another, if we cannot even express our love to our wife who is just next to us. It has been wonderful to feel like I am a newly born person of confidence; my old self had completely died, put to death on the cross.

But, to tell the truth, Satan has and would try harder to pull me back after the encounter, as within the next week after the encounter, Satan disturbed me with the flashes of the past again to make me feel depressed. Satan whispered in my mind to touch cigarettes and alcohol again, to alleviate the sorrow. “The Bible never mentioned that you cannot smoke!, and even you smoke God will understand and forgive you” And “never mind you still have whisky; drink it, even Jesus requested to drink sour wine at the moment of His suffering on the cross”.

I may stumble and I may fall, but I believe and know for sure that Jesus Christ will never let me go, because He is not done yet with me; and He will always hold my hands and bring me back to stand up every time I fall and ask for sincere forgiveness. My faith may be as small as a mustard seed, but I intend to plant that seed deep in my heart. I discovered myself that those things of the past which might have been enjoyable to be indulged with, are now so distasteful and remorseful, and this makes me more confident to avoid them. They will never bring me peace and happiness, only meditating on God's words and Jesus' unfailing love will bring peace and joy to me.

Currently, God has shown blessing to restore my life slowly but surely. Because, miraculously my Urine Supervision has been revoked within only 9 months after my prison release instead of 2 years, with the help of a letter of recommendation from a Church in Jakarta (Indonesia), this is certainly a very rare case, and then my passport has also been returned to me and I can now travel in and out of Singapore, and although I was still unable to find a permanent job, my wife has a substantial earning power that all my family's needs can be fully provided, and we can even put aside substantial savings every month now. And best of all, I can now communicate with my wife especially by sharing bible knowledge and reading to each other on Christian books. My relationship with her is somehow in the restoration process as we walk together in Christ, I thank and praise the Lord.

My life had been in constant turbulences, darkness and never at peace before I found God. It went a long way from cradle to yard, until the most hopeless moment in my life where nothing and nowhere I could run nor turn to, but to admit that I was hopeless and submit myself to the God almighty, the father, and the son, Jesus Christ, for my only source of help and hope. This is my true testimony of life, however private it may be to me but I believe God wants me to write it out, and I will do it out of my deepest gratitude for what God has done for me in my life, for HIS true Glory and Greatness. Furthermore, my past is dead now, and I am a newly born person in Christ.

I grew up in Surabaya, Indonesia, where I was the eldest son of a well to do businessman and we prayed to ancestors and many Chinese Gods. In 1982 when I was 20 years old, my father sent me to study in Spore where three years later I met and married my wife. After marriage, I realized we both had a completely opposing set of personality and values. I did not know how to resolve our differences, as I was young, naïve, idealist, impatient, short-tempered, and stubborn. I tried to dominate her in words and physical violence to gain her submission.

Strained relationship also developed with my parents and siblings. I was under the impression they were against my wife and I fought with them to be at her side. I banged table at my father and displayed my anger to all my siblings. My father then asked me to leave his house in 1991 and he actually cursed me that I would one day suffer the consequences of my wrong decisions. I was young and proud to admit my wrongs. However, my father still gave me a sum of capital to start my own business, with a condition that I would have no future legal rights to his heir and property. I agreed and left the house with my wife and 5 children then.

We rented a small house and started a Singapore flavor family restaurant in Surabaya in 1992. Within 2 years it went bankrupt. I lost all the capital and had only enough money to buy air-tickets for my wife, a maid, and 5 children to migrate back to Spore in 1994. We all stayed in my Mother in Law’s house. My wife and I started life all over again from working as junior office assistant, and at the same time we were taking night classes to get our degree. Within 5 years, we owned our first HDB house; and my wife and I made it to the top corporate ladder. I was a financial controller in one reputable MNC and was posted to Batam (Indonesia), while my wife – a senior manager of one MNC stayed in Singapore. The distance of Batam – Singapore is only 45 minutes by ferry crossing.

– This spiritual story was written by John M Lukamto.

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The post He Put Me In Jail to Save Me – Spiritual Story by John M Lukamto appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.