Heaven: A place to rest
(Is it really a reward for being good?)
Heaven is many things to many people. Originally, the communication was meant to say that the individual had, finally, achieved a level of peace, a level wherein the individual could finally put away the cares of the physical world, a level wherein the individual could finally rest while waiting for the rest of life to end; they could live out their old age doing what they wanted, without having to tend to the affairs of work.
Then, Religion got into the act. Heaven became a tool designed to reward or to punish. To the faithful went the rewards (whatever reward was payment enough for having obeyed the God of that specific religion) while the faithless went into the place of punishment (whatever punishment was payment enough for not having obeyed the teachings of the leaders/teachers of that way of life).
As a part of the rewards, the faithful, in an after life of sorts, had realized that their present life was at an end, and, there were no regrets towards leaving the affairs of that life; they even looked towards beginning the affairs of the next experience [usually, the rest of eternity] within the joys of the love and presence of God.
Throughout the ages, as major religions came and went, heaven became the label for the reward which the individual achieved after a life of good deeds. As an example, consider the following:
As we said earlier, Heaven is, indeed, many things to many people. Regardless of the many differences, the presence of the thoughts of rewards or punishments related to Heaven are very powerful tools which religion has learned to use well. In earlier days of Western Civilization, when the religions of the West were on the rise, the great majority of the masses were poor, uneducated serfs tied, by birth, to some lord or baron of a region.
It seemed that only the rich and/or the Noble were educated enough to never know hunger. Death and/or Pain was a constant, albeit unwelcome, visitor to the shire. If a man lived to be thirty, by the standard of the day, he was already an old man.
To control such men it did no good to promise them death or pain. The promise of pain had little value because pain was a constant companion which promised the escape into Death. The promise of Death was less effective still--it was an early journey to escape.
One day, someone came upon the reasoning that better control over the people could be had if the people believed that they could be placed into a pit of fire; where they would burn; where they would feel the pain, but they would not die; where they would suffer for all eternity at the hands of a legion of demons [demons that were under the control of a master devil] who were meeting out a just punishment for the sins of life [the rewards of having disobeyed the Lord, their better, or because they had dared to disobey the teachings of The Church (whose many priests seemed to live only for the power they gained over the people; the greater the fear, the greater the power). Indeed, heaven took on a very different meaning.
Few people know that when people die, they go to heaven; not just the "saintly", not just the do-gooders, not just the meek, everybody! Everybody goes to heaven. The most greedy of men go to heaven, the most vile go to heaven, the most evil of men go to heaven. There is only one way out of this physical Earth plane; and, that way is up; and, up is heaven! There is no such thing as down! The only difference between the so-called Heaven and the so-called Hell is how far up you go.
Heaven is just one place along the journey of each Man and each Woman. Though there is no specific place called Heaven, nor a specific place called Hell, there is an indeterminate place referred to as a heaven. This place loosely describes where the spirit goes when it leaves the physical body. It is that seemingly boundless place which lies in a higher plane of existence.
In fact, this mystical place called "Heaven," is not as mystical as one might believe. It is merely an extension of existence here on Earth. Whatever Illusion, whatever reality the individual has succeeded in weaving for himself while on physical Earth continues; such that, it is that same Illusion, that same reality that is waiting for him in his heaven. The only difference between being upon physical Earth and being in so-called heaven is a difference of frequency. Once the body dies on this physical Earth, the beta body (some refer to it as the soul or spirit) becomes the new physical body upon a higher frequency plane, wherein life continues where it left off .
Needless to say, there are a lot of other differences that come into being; but, they are differences that are a direct result of having crossed the barrier which separates what we know of as the living from what we know of as the dead; but, nonetheless, on the dead side of the barrier, it is essentially the same existence, the same illusion, the same reality, the same A Happenings of life that were experienced here, on the side of the living. Death is not the end of our illusions. We carry our karmic debts across the barrier with us. The only true end is change. To end an unwanted experience, we need only change our respective games, our respective attitudes that govern the experience that is received during our on-going games. The reports of euphoria, Godlike abilities and Cosmic love that is narrated by those who have had near-death experiences, or by those who have achieved meditative states of higher consciousness, are a result of moving the consciousness from a very obstructive Universe [here on physical Earth] into a less obstructive Universe [a higher vibratory plane of the Earth Experience]. Although the Universe that is in question in both accounts is the same Universe, the degree of awareness between the two accounts, with respect to consciousness, is not.
When an individual is born on physical Earth, he or she came from heaven. When that same individual dies, he or she will return to that same state; albeit, the illusions within the state of heaven will have been modified; such that, the new illusions will befit the achievements of Karma.
However, those who have followed an "evil" existence upon the Earth plane of existence will suffer the same degree, if not more, upon the next higher plane of existence--upon and within his new illusions of heaven. To these people, Heaven will seem like hell; because their evil deeds will now return to them and work their magic once more upon them, in full force. We are reminded of the law that states: All power must return to its source, bringing with it all its accumulated karmic debts.
The reason this can happen is explained by the vibratory rates of frequency within the same space. There are bands of existence separated only by degrees of frequencies. The more a life of love is led here upon physical Earth, the higher the consciousness will vibrate; and hence, be allowed to enter the higher frequency planes (a "heaven" wherein the illusions are not designed to punish, wherein the illusions do not have to force the individual to change negative attitudes). The more a life of hate is led, the lower the consciousness will vibrate; and hence, disallow entrance into the higher frequency planes (the individual will have to reside upon and within a Heaven whose illusions must aid the evil doer to have a change of heart, by allowing their Karma to return to them the very attitudes, the very behaviors that caused so much pain to others; the illusions of Heaven must reflect the true nature of the hell they inflicted upon others).
"Heaven" and "Hell" are within the same space; but, they are separated by the difference in the vibratory rate of the individual's MindForce. This difference, and this difference alone, will segregate Heaven's illusions from the pleasure of love [and thus the illusion of having entered Heaven] from illusions of the return of the torment of hate [and thus, the illusions of having entered Hell] The most interesting fact is that both sets of the illusion of heaven are of one's own making.
It is written that it is I, myself, who have chosen future's heaven... by the thoughts that have necessitated the happenings of their deeds. It is said that he who teaches himself the higher ways teaches not truths... If truth were to truly speak, what is taught is but the desires of self's satisfaction upon the altar of base emotions. It is written that each must bear the fruit of his own labors... If that be true, then why do I squeal so when I am stuck with my own karma... why am I so unpleasant to myself when I am forced, of not my own choosing, to look upon the deeds of my past which betray the coming of my Heaven's Illusions?