River Of Souls "Of all the options available, a life focused on helping others-on giving versus taking-is of the highest magnitude. Our own soul and the souls of others are greatly enriched the more we contribute to the betterment of mankind." — Jeffrey Alan Hall The phone rang with the intensity of an air-raid siren, shooting adrenaline through my entire body and forcing me from a deep sleep. I reached in the dark for the receiver, knocking the lamp from the nightstand—the cat sprang to her feet in a flourish of activity that was certain to cause her cardiac arrest. It's Saturday, I thought. Who on earth would be calling at 5:30 in the morning? "Let's ride to the top of Bergen Peak," the voice on the phone exclaimed as I untangled the cord and turned the mouthpiece from my ear to its proper position. "It's supposed to be in the high 80s; a beautiful Colorado day. Let's do it!" It was Emily. With her cancer now in remission, phone calls like this one were becoming the norm. Tears of joy began to wash the sand from my tired eyes as I thought about the spiritual transformation that had recently taken place in her life—a transformation that had left her doctors scratching their heads and Emily scratching to live the life she was meant to live. She had beaten the poison of cancer, for now at least. But, as she was so fond of saying, "Now is all we ever get." "Sounds good to me," I said, as the words "mind over mattress" went round and round in my head. "I'll meet you in an hour." All my senses rejoiced in the beauty of a newborn mountain day as we lifted our bikes from their rooftop carriers and began to prepare for the 2,000-foot ascent. I had just locked in one toe clip and was about to swing my other leg over the saddle when Emily approached me with wide-eyed jubilation. "I have to tell you about my meditation this morning," she said. "Once again, God spoke to me offering both strength and hope. It's apparent to me now that I still have a good deal more to contribute. It's clear that my time here on earth is not up yet. You have to hear this, Jeffrey! God has a lot to say!" Emily had attributed her success in the battle against cancer to the spiritual awakening that had so profoundly changed her life. On many occasions during the past several months, she had shared with me the revelations that God had made known to her—revelations, that I knew, must be captured and written down. As the morning sun began to peek its head over the mountains, Emily began to speak and I began to write... "Life on earth is replenished over and over again by an ever-flowing river of souls. All around us, souls can be seen arriving and departing as they manifest themselves into physical form, live their physical life and then return once again to be embraced in the arms of God. Each and every soul will have eternal life. Death need not be feared. Each soul chooses when to arrive on earth. Once here, free will allows each soul to choose how it will manifest itself and create the physical reality it desires based on the lessons it came to learn. Of all the options available, a life focused on helping others-on giving versus taking-is of the highest magnitude. Our own soul and the souls of others are greatly enriched the more we contribute to the betterment of mankind. Nothing is coincidental. Other souls arrive in our lives at just the right moment. As the student is ready, the teacher will appear, reaching out in his or her own way to enrich and improve the spiritual walk of the student. This is the meaning of life-our magnificent mission-to teach what we know and to learn what we do not. It is within this environment of mutual trust and respect that the possibility of heaven on earth exists. The energy source of the soul is love, though it is often confused with fear. You will always know that you are "on purpose" and fulfilling your life's mission, when love is what drives you. The difference is quite clear; Love will propel you, fear will prevent you. Love manifests itself through giving, while fear manifests itself through taking. Love pulls towards, while fear pushes away. Souls look very similar as the river brings them into and out of this physical life. That is why babies and the elderly often resemble each other physically. Our skin, our hair and even our teeth, manifest as the soul enters the earth plane, but are no longer of any use as a soul reaches the end of its physical life and prepares to return to God. In the spiritual world, nothing physical is required. Religious differences, as well as those of skin color, are but two of the many lessons that souls have come to earth to learn. But these lessons alone have had a more profound effect on the human experience than any other. Many a war has been fought over race and religion. All such wars will continue to manifest themselves until this lesson has been learned: All souls are connected by love to the same body, the same God Force. Hurting another hurts all of mankind. Just as you would not put out your own eye or cut off your own arm, nor should you harm one another. The power of love should never be underestimated. What we have come to know as love, is the ultimate connection of souls at the deepest level. As souls connect in this way, their ability to influence the physical lives of other souls becomes greatly increased. This is why the Bible and other great spiritual works speak of the idea that there is love where "two or more are gathered." The collective power and energy of souls connected by love, can light a thousand cities and improve the quality of life for all of mankind. Finally, understand that contribution to the greater good has nothing to do with size or scale. Many people think they must contribute to the universe in some grand way or their time on earth will have been for naught. This is not necessarily true. Look for little ways in your own world to make life better for others, and use the gifts God has given you. The fruits of your labor may not be immediately apparent to you, but that should not cause you worry. Focus only on the doing, not on the outcome." As the lesson ended, we mounted our bikes and headed for the summit. We arrived at the top of Bergen Peak, physically exhausted but spiritually nourished. During the entire ride I thought about all that Emily had said that morning. She had touched me in ways I had never known before. I now recognized that she was teaching me some of the very lessons that my soul had come to earth to learn. Lessons, that until now, I had overlooked. The student was ready. The teacher appeared. Some Things To Consider How is God speaking to you? What is the God force saying? The first step towards hearing God speak in your life is simply to believe that it can happen. God didn't stop speaking to us a couple of thousand years ago. He, She, It speaks to each of us 24/7. How often do you take the time to listen? All Rights Reserved © 2002 By Jeffrey Alan Hall