Why Does God Allow These Things?
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Do you ever look around (or turn on the evening news), see or hear about how some people treat others—acts of fraud and abuse, oppressive regimes, mass murders, acts of genocide, sex slavery, pedophilia—and literally feel your heart ache? Do you ever read headlines or see news reports about such heinous and despicable acts of violence and abuse that you simply cannot understand how God could allow these things to happen?
Most of us do, and if we’re really sensitive, we often weep out loud at the pain we see (and feel) inflicted on people by other people. The world of humans is not one for wimps, or the weak of heart, or the overly sensitive and empathic, especially in these days of great change and transformation (aka great destabilization and great fear).
So why does God allow these things to happen? Why doesn’t God intervene and simply put a stop to it? The answer is simple (and we already know what it is): Humans have Free Will. And this is truly the greatest gift, for without it, we would just be robots, without the freedom to make choices, experience the results, and learn from our successes and mistakes.
What would be the point of humans having Free Will, if a powerful omniscient Being routinely intervened or interfered with the expression of that Free Will, like a parent breaking up a fight between two squabbling children? There would be no point, really; and yet, when we hear about something particularly horrendous, we still ask that question.
Human beings have Free Will, and these acts are the doings of humans. God has nothing to do with it, except, perhaps, to weep at all the unnecessary pain in the world that humans inflict on each other. Because God is part of us and we are each part of God, God does feel our pain. But it is up to us to take responsibility, learn from our experiences, make or demand better choices, and heal ourselves. And, in essence, stop inflicting violence and abuse on each other; and stop tolerating it when we see it.
And as long as we are asking that question—Why does God allow these things?—we are doomed to be confused and disappointed. Asking that question—blaming God for challenging situations, and/or waiting for God to rescue us and fix it—only keeps us from accepting responsibility for ourselves, keeps us feeling victimized and powerless, and exemplifies our tendency to act like spoiled children, heedlessly creating messes and waiting for our parents to clean them up and bail us out. (And if you're doing that for your kids: STOP!)
So the real question is: Why do humans allow these things to happen? Why do some humans do these terrible things, and why do other humans allow them?
Every single day, thanks to our fear- and violence-peddling media, we have our collective noses rubbed in all the evils that men (and women) do, 24/7, around the world. The disproportionate amount of media coverage (and the virtual absence of coverage of loving, kind actions) implies that these evil acts are rampant and multiplying, far exceeding the number and scope of acts of goodness in the world; that humanity has become so evil that there really is no hope and we should all just stay inside our homes, living in fear of each other. That is a totally false impression, which breeds greater fear and distrust and further separates us. But that doesn’t stop the media from reinforcing it.
Yes, these actions do exist in the world, and they always have. They are the acts of deeply troubled humans, probably living in a deep state of fear—fear of not having enough, of not being enough, fear of loss, or fear of losing control. These are the extreme ways that humans act when they are enraged, grief-stricken, filled with pain, deeply self-loathing, and deeply dysfunctional—when they feel completely separate from others and completely separate from the very Love and Light inside them, and when they have borne the burden of life alone, without trusting and allowing God/the Universe/All That Is to help them.
Even as we shudder and turn our eyes away from the horrendous acts, violence, and abuse that we are constantly exposed to—on the "news," in the movies, in television shows, in video games—we need to remember that each and every one of us has that same Darkness (and potential) within us.
No matter how spiritual, enlightened, ethical, religious, kind, caring, etc., etc., we think we are, each of us carries both Light and Darkness within ourselves. And some of us carry our Darkness closer to the surface than others. This is not a judgment, it is simple truth. We live on the planet of duality, and we all came here (repeatedly) to learn about duality: good/bad, love/fear, up/down, us/them, Light/Dark. We have both polarities within ourselves, within our lives, and within our external world. It really was designed that way. And each of us knew that coming in!
In fact, encountering "the Dark Side," and learning discernment—learning to determine within ourselves the truth of any situation, any information, any teacher—is an essential (and difficult) part of every spiritual journey. It provides the essential honing of the Self, of the Consciousness. It provides the needed humbling along the path, as these encounters show us our own Darkness, our own anger, hostility, and fear, and show us that, essentially, we are no better (and no worse) than our fellow humans, who are all struggling with the same things, the same urges, the same pain, in one way or another.
The energetic boomerang effect
Many spiritual seekers were taught that a fundamental part of the path to Awareness and Enlightenment is to recognize the Darkness within ourselves… and cast it out. Similarly, many learned that the spiritual process involves casting out, overcoming, or subduing the ego. But with true and deep discernment, we move past those ideas and learn that casting out and subduing parts of ourselves is not the answer. It simply will not work.
Anything that we deny or suppress in ourselves will come out, sooner or later, one way or another, like an inflated ball being held under water will pop up, often hitting us in the face. Usually it comes out in an ill-timed explosion (like unexpressed, suppressed rage) or in extremely inappropriate, and often very harmful ways (like unexpressed, suppressed sexual energy). When we have a reaction that is way out of proportion to something that happened, we are experiencing this. And perhaps we see in these seemingly evil perpetrators the result of long-term suppression of intolerable pain that finally has to come out—in a horrible way.
There but for Fortune…
Whether we like to admit it or not, each of us has the potential to act in those horrendous "headline making" ways, given the "right" circumstances. Perhaps that is why we recoil to such a degree, because on some deep level we see ourselves not only in the victims, but also in the perpetrators? Both show us the loss of control that most of us fear so much. Perhaps we recoil because, deep down, we understand the horrible conditions that induce humans to act in such "inhuman" ways, and we fear it would not take much to push us to those extremes?
Perhaps we have all been serial killers and violent abusers in one lifetime or another? Perhaps many of us have souls that have already learned the hard way that violence only begets more violence, and that what we dish out to others comes back on us tenfold? Perhaps those of us who are very sensitive and empathic (and sometimes feel self-righteous and superior about it) chose to be that way because of lifetimes when we were callously indifferent to other people’s pain and suffering?
The spiritual journey is one of finding balance in duality (not denying either polarity), learning to live without fear (or moving forward in the face of it), acknowledging and embracing all the different parts of ourselves (without judgment), stripping away all that is not Who We Are, allowing the ego its proper job while allowing the Spirit to drive the vehicle, allowing others their own journey (again, without judgment), by coming to fully understand that the idea of separation is the great illusion, and gaining mastery over ourselves.
We're Not Going to Hell in a Hand Cart
So is the world really going to Hell in a hand cart? No. Despite the horrendous acts we see almost non-stop on the evening news, that is not the case. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Violence, brutality, abuse, and grave injustices have always been part of human expression. Until recently, if it didn’t happen in our own small village, we didn’t hear about it. In the modern age, with the world as our village, we hear about it all. But we are not hearing both sides of the story, because of the disproportionate emphasis on the worst humans do to each other. We can choose to live in fear of our fellow humans, as we are being "led to believe," or we can choose to recognize that good people far outnumber the bad.
Remember, these are the times of the Great Shift. We have undergone the destabilizing energies of the Uranus/Pluto square, and we will feel and experience the after-effects for many years to come. The huge influx of energies on the planet, including the influx of the Sacred Feminine energies, are hitting people at deep, unconscious levels, pushing people to heal and rebalance. Deeply suppressed energies and pain—fear, rage, bitterness, shame, guilt, despair—are being triggered in our energy fields and the cells of our bodies to be healed and released.
Most of us are experiencing this consciously in one way or another, whether we know what it is or not. Relationships on rocky ground are suddenly breaking up. Memories of past pain and unresolved issues come back to haunt us "for no apparent reason." Old situations smack us in the face, demanding closure. Job situations that seem to provide security suddenly become intolerable, and we are forced to make difficult choices. There is tremendous pressure, and people are cracking under the strain.
And yes, those who are feeling severely triggered and threatened, and those that are too far unbalanced or mentally/emotionally unstable to integrate and work with the energies, are going off the deep end and acting out in particularly extreme and spectacular ways. Some are trying desperately to prevent the future and return to some idealized time of the past—using religion and/or politics to raise up one group and suppress another. And a few are acting out in desperate and violent ways, trying to release their own deep pain by imposing pain on others, trying to escape their sense of powerlessness by exerting power over others.
And in the middle of all this, our dear planet Gaia, Mother Earth, is also using these incoming energies to release and clear all the deeply embedded negative energy, built up over Millenia, of fear, hate, war, and the cumulative projection of humanity’s Darkness—often through earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and extreme weather.
As with everything else, it all comes back to each of us.
The dramatic events in the outer world serve as a powerful ego distraction. The "real world" and the real work lies inside each of us. We cannot change the world without changing ourselves, and because changing ourselves can be painful and difficult, it is easy to see why we would rather blame God and grab the TV remote. It is far easier to distract ourselves from looking at the mayhem inside by focusing on all the mayhem outside. It is far easier to sit in self-righteousness and judgment of someone who has let despair turn into violence, than to look inside at our own Darkness, despair, fear, and hypocrisy (individually and nationally) and where it might drive us. But just as art mirrors life, the outer world is merely the projected movie of what is going on inside us.
So how should we respond to all this? First, we can send love to everyone involved in any disaster or violent event that comes to our attention. This includes victims and perpetrators, because no one acts in those ways except from deep, crushing, abiding pain. All of our fellow humans deserve love and compassion, rather than judgment and condemnation, just as we deserve that when our own fear and pain push us into acting in ways that are hurtful to others. Love and compassion do not in any way condone horrendous actions; rather, they recognize that these are fellow humans who are carrying such pain and despair that they feel pushed to act out—and cry out—in such horrendous ways. If 10 percent of us could routinely replace condemnation for compassion in all instances, we would change the world in an instant.
Second (you saw this coming!), we can get real and embrace our own Darkness. Instead of denying it and, therefore, shoving it deep inside and projecting it onto that big movie screen in the sky (aka the outer world), we can recognize that it’s there, gather it into our embrace like the fearful hurt child part of us that it is, and give it some love. We can give it a place at the table and listen to its fears, let it vent its anger and despair, and let it know that it is loved and does not have to "act out" in order to be seen and heard. We can surround it—surround all the parts of ourselves—with Love and Light.
Of course, listening to our fears and pain can be quite daunting: recognizing our deep-seated intolerance, fear, bigotry, and hypocrisy and how we really feel about certain things can be shocking, but also freeing! And it is the first step to deep healing.
Once we embrace our Dark side, it is no longer an unclaimed, rejected appendage that periodically has to smack us (or others) to get noticed. Instead, it becomes integrated and woven into the fabric of ourselves and we begin to heal. And in the process, it helps us recognize that we are all just humans doing the best we can in a world we created (and perpetuate) that can be extremely harsh and difficult. It moves us into more compassion and love for ourselves and others, and we learn to let go of our fear of this small shadow part of ourselves that only wants to be recognized, heard, and loved.
Third, do something out in the world to make it better. No one can prevent unhinged people from acting out. But we can do our part to make a better, more loving world. When we learn to love even the painful dark parts of ourselves and heal our own pain; and when we begin to take action to help each other and create a world culture that alleviates struggle and pain—rather than creating it for most people—the unconscious projection of that pain will diminish, and we will be closer to creating Heaven on Earth.
All content copyright © Ellyn Dye, 2015
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Is it Spiritual to be an Activist? Or Better to Stay
"Above the Fray"??
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A funny thing happened to me a few weeks ago. I saw something in the news that totally outraged my sense of justice, and I posted about it on Facebook. I generally do not post about political issues, but this was about proposed legislation that, in my view, seemed to be legalizing bigotry and discrimination. Worse, it did so in the name of religion. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me about anything, and I really don’t try to convince or convert anyone. I merely express my opinion.
I was surprised and fascinated when a couple of people commented that they were "disappointed" that I would comment on something political, because I have had an NDE; I generally try to present spiritual, uplifting, and positive messages; and I am apparently supposed to "take the high road," and not stoop to being involved in political discourse.
Obviously, they disagreed with the comments I made—I hit one of their buttons—and they wanted me to butt out and return to my "place"!
One of the gifts of having an NDE, and any enlightening spiritual experience, is being able to see the bigger picture, to take a wider and more long-term view of things. It’s a two-edged sword, because we can then see the chasm between humanity’s potential and what is actually manifesting on the ground. We can see this in individuals, groups/organizations, and the world at large.
Seeing the bigger picture while operating out in the 3-dimensional world can be difficult and heartbreaking and, yes, it inclines many of us to withdraw from the fray, focus our attention on that bigger, higher view, and "dwell" in the good, rather than focusing on the bad (which are all judgments anyway, of course). It can incline us to become hermits, turning away from this life that we agreed to live on this planet we chose.
There was a time when spiritual people lived in caves or temples or monasteries, far away from everyday life and everyday humans, so they could focus all their attention on spiritual growth and be shielded from painful lower vibrations and vicious human actions. That was then, and this is now.
The goal now is to bring the spiritual into everyday life, to integrate the spiritual into ourselves and to live our spirituality, to live as an awakened and enlightened human to the extent possible.
As a result, I believe that one of the most spiritual things we can do (in addition to loving, laughing, and helping each other!) is to stand up for what we perceive is right, and speak out against injustice when we see it. And we can do this on the personal level—in our homes, our jobs, and our communities—and on the national or global level. It often takes moral courage to stand up and speak out, to risk ridicule and retaliation, especially when speaking out against the actions of authority figures or any other kind of bully.
We had a saying in the 60s that still applies today: "If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem."
Instead of Spiritual Activism, I often see people living in such fear that they observe or experience repeated injustice and abuse—particularly in the work place—and remain silent. Or worse, they collaborate and inform on those who have not yet sold out, in order to protect themselves or gain favor. They live in fear, telling themselves to not make waves and not call attention to themselves, to go along to get along. And all the while, they moan and complain about injustice, blaming it on others and feeling self-righteous in their victimhood and feelings of powerlessness.
Worse, some people wrap themselves up in spiritual self-superiority and distance themselves from others, claiming that if "those people" did their spiritual work and raised their vibration enough, they would not experience those injustices. They use Spirituality as their justification to do nothing to help their fellow beings or create a better world.
To me, that is the New Age cop-out ("not my job, not my aisle"), blaming individuals for all their own suffering. It is the same attitude taken by the barons toward the serfs (or the 1% toward the 99%). On a higher, soul level, perhaps that is true, as souls choose the conditions and major events they will experience in a life. But we each agreed to live our lives in human form at this time, on this planet, in these conditions. We each agreed to come and make a contribution; to make a difference. If we see the need for a "clean-up on Aisle 9," as responsible spiritual adults, it’s up to us to get the mop and go at it! Perhaps the person next to us agreed to experience a tragedy to allow us the opportunity to do the right thing and help someone?
If we deplore what is happening out in the world, we must follow our conscience and speak out about it. Many of us call ourselves Light Workers, and one of our most important roles is to summon our courage and shine that Light on situations that are abusive and unjust, and to take action.
Granted, it is not helpful to become mired, lost, and despairing in the negative, or to feed negativity with constant emotional focus. But taking action to make things better—for those undergoing a tragedy or ongoing suffering—is the work of the Light. After all, we’re here to create Heaven on Earth, and sitting in our spiritual ivory towers waiting for others—or God—to make it all better won’t work!!
If you find yourself upset about injustices in the world, stand up, speak up, and find a way to contribute to the solution. If you can't solve the particular problem, find a problem you can solve and a person you can help!
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
~ Edmund Burke
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We'll See Progress in the
Second Half of the Year
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Summer is here and we begin the second half of an event-filled, pivotal year. The first half of the year was tough, as each of us continued acknowledging things we didn’t want to, releasing things we didn’t want to, and making changes we didn’t want to!!
Well, maybe we got to make some changes we wanted to make, but most of us felt pushed to make difficult decisions.
By most accounts, the second half of the year will be easier (assuming we accomplished what we needed to accomplish in the "clearing out phase").
July started with a conjunction of benevolent planets, Venus and Jupiter, with a full moon in Capricorn. Auspicious, indeed! The Light will shine brightly this month, and we will have a second full moon, a Blue Moon, on July 31.
2015 is still a pivotal year and, in addition to "time" seeming to pass with increased speed, we will see an uptick in technological advances and revelations of the truth. It’s already been happening in a big way: look at how our collective attention has been brought to the problem of unresolved racial relations issues.
The "outer world big screen" will continue showing us our still-unresolved issues, collectively and individually, and we will be finding out more—and probably more shocking—secrets about how the world has been operating behind the scenes, and what "business as usual" has really entailed.
As more and more people "awaken" in July and throughout the second half of the year, there will be more anger and irritation about the reality they see!
Remember to shine the Light and remain positive! Instead of focusing on all that is "wrong" in the world, and getting caught up in your inability to fix it all (which isn’t really any one person’s job!), be creative and find ways to do something to create a better world. If each of us took one action every week to make someone else’s life better and easier (and not just family members and friends), we could change the world in a couple of months!
Since 2012 we have been in the shake-down phase and in 2015 we begin turning to the build-up phase. So think big! What kind of world do you want to build and live in? Hold that vision of a better world—for yourself and others—and start taking steps to bring it into being.
I envision:
- a world in which people stop being intolerant of each other’s skin color, nationality, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation, and start being intolerant of economic abuses and inequality, inequality of opportunity, oppressive and dishonest governments/leaders, and pollution of the environment in pursuit of wealth for the few;
- a world in which parents, schools, and churches teach children love, tolerance, sharing, cooperation, self-respect, responsibility, and care of the planet;
- a world in which our wonderful men and women in the military are deployed to use their exceptional skills to help people and build infrastructure, rather than make war; and
- a world in which "news" stations no longer incite fear, judgment, and hatred, and provide proportionate coverage of the good news that abounds in the world.
Well, at least that’s the start of my list. Looks like I’ve got to get busy!!
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Need Some Help Navigating the Waves of Change?
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These are the best of times and the worst of times! Humans hate going through change, and we usually resist like crazy, even when we are undergoing changes that we want. And resistance only makes it all much harder!
If you need help navigating these waves of change, stepping into Who You Really Are, and making some of the difficult choices that often come with that, check out my Intuitive Life Coaching services on my website.
With my knowledge of the times of Shift that we are experiencing, and the perspective and wisdom I gained from my Near-Death Experience, I can help you understand what you're going through, where you're headed, and how to get there with as much joy and ease as possible.
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Here's what you'll find on my website, www.LionMagic.com:
My me taphysical fantasy novel, The Search for the Crystal Key, is an adventure for all ages about believing in yourself and the power of love, with tools for living and information about how life works that I received during my NDE. Available now in paperback, EPub, and Kindle! This is a great life "primer" for those "new kids" ages 10 and above!
 Downloadable mp3s of my Journey Through the Tunnel presentation and guided meditation to go through the Tunnel of Light, feel the unconditional Love of Home, and bring it back to planet earth.
Information about my Intuitive Coaching (by phone and Skype) and my Reconnective Healing Services, offered long distance and now in Virginia Beach.
And FREE for your information:
Recordings of new radio interviews, with discussions of my NDE, what I learned, and what's going on "out there."
My "3 minutes of fame" on Fox News talking about my NDE!!
The complete list of "What I Learned from Dying."
The video of "Creating Heaven from Hell," my September 2012 presentation at the conference of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS), with details about the Great Shift and the astrological influences, what is happening, and what we can do to navigate through these times of radical and dramatic change.
The Archives of all past issues of Tunnel Vision!
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Please Share Tunnel Vision
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If you liked this issue of Tunnel Vision— if it inspired you or caused you to stop and think about something in a different way—please share it! If you re-post an article, please credit my authorship and add a link or reference to my website, www.LionMagic.com. Thank you!
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 I am an Intuitive Coach, Public Speaker, Author, Reconnective Healing® practitioner, and Practical Mystic.
A Near-Death Experience (NDE) in 1985 expanded my psychic abilities and created a link with some very loving—and humorous—Guardians of humanity and the ancient wisdom, who gave me a huge amount of information about life and the evolution of mankind.
I bring this knowledge and connection to my clients and audiences, along with over 30 years’ accumulated wisdom and understanding of metaphysics, life on earth, and Who We Really Are.
I am the author of the metaphysical fantasy novel, The Search for the Crystal Key—an adventure about believing in yourself and the power of Love; and I am currently writing a new book, Creating Heaven on Earth... One Soul at a Time; A How-To Manual from the Perspective of a Near-Death Experience.
Find out more at LionMagic.com.
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