I'm working on a 2010 book, New England Ghosts, and took a break yesterday while working on a Massachusetts story. One element of that tale involves a psychic woman seeking the cause of ghost activity in her house. Her intuition directed her to the portrait of her male ancestor which hung on the wall. It seems that the man was unable to make the transition into the light. What held him back, he told her, was the teaching of his childhood religion; he confessed to her that he expected to be in Hell the minute he released his hold upon the earth plane--therefore, he held on tenaciously. He willed not to be dead, though he was a goner. The punishment of Hell, he had been taught, was his lot because he had held sexual thoughts toward another female during his marriage. This scenario is not at all uncommon when dealing with ghosts--they remain in denial that death has occurred because they fear any alternative to the life patterns they once lived. All that many religious organizations can offer their adherents is fear, which paralyzes the free operation of the will.

Taking a break from the manuscript, I sat down to watch some news and instantly was thrust into the controversy over whether the government was going to initiate "death panels" under the proposed national health bill. Most thinking people have already disregarded this bit of nonsense, as it was raised only to scare (control)people. Still, many, many people who are disinclined to do their own research and who rely totally on media or political authority figures for their facts, are now in a situation similar to the old Massachusetts businessman whose portrait still hangs in Newton.

Occasionally, readers of this blog write to urge me to stick to what I know about ghosts, and to leave off my speculations about spiritual matters. However, the two issues are intimately joined, and one cannot address the one without reference to the other.

I have come to know the Creator of All That Is as an essentially benefic entity, incapable of punishment, though this Creator does let us take our lumps under the universal laws that were set forth long ago. We, in fact, through the Law of Cause and Effect, punish ourselves in the afterlife or its preludes. But if like leads to like, then what about the political purveyors of fear? Fear is diametrically opposite to love, so the fearmongers are operating in opposition to the Universal Mind. I wonder how many clergy across America are preaching this to their flocks. Sadly, religious teachers and political operatives too often choose to set up a negative force field constructed of fears as the easiest way to manipulate and control their members. And little fears will attract great fears for our nation--it is universal law--what we send out always returns to us. And I don't think that we need to have a massive 50% of the population cringing in paranoia in order to bring on very negative experiences for America.
As there has always been, there is much ego posturing and manipulation of the simple by individuals who seek simply their own glorification. In this world, they will reap a whirlwind--but the rest of us will have to endure it along with them. So it behooves truth-seekers to speak up.

And when the manipulators' time in the physical body is done, how can these fearmongers find companionship with the Loving Force that made us all? And what, then, will their spirits have to do to "make things right" in eternity?