Free Will and Reality

Sometimes life isn’t what you think.

A journey into the unknown. Open new avenues in your spiritual journey

Written by Gary Wonning

A group of us were having a friendly discussion last evening when the subject of free will and  when bad things happen to good people came up. 

Most in the group agreed that we are in charge of our lives and can choose the type of life to lead, and if some so called negative event does happen, we can change it into something good, thus we all have free will. 

However, when I mentioned that by having free will, we choose everything that we encounter on some level of consciousness, most couldn’t fathom holding themselves accountable for such misfortune. Some blamed God, or a couple only had for an explanation that sometimes S— happens. 

The statement was met with shock and dismay, how could I suggest something this extreme. I wan’t surprised, that is the reaction I most encounter when making this statement. 

S— doesn’t just happen, there is a reason for everything, there are no coincidences.  The universe doesn’t work that way, or the God we all know and love. 

Even though many of us believe in free will, and the ability to live the life we desire, for most there are limits as to how far they are willing to push the envelope. It is really difficult to believe that we would individually be  responsible for our own misfortune. 

Many times these are the same souls that blame God for  misfortune right after stating the individual has free will and they are in charge of their own life.

News flash, you can’t have it both ways, either we have free will or we don’t , it isn’t multiple choice. 

We come into this life to evolve spiritually and learn lessons that will contribute to our spiritual advancement. We map out a life plan with the consul of others in the spirit world. This life plan is a rough draft of what we volunteer to encounter in life and is subject to change by all souls involved. 

Having said this, and realizing how difficult it is for us mere humans to comprehend creating hardship for ourselves; living on school house earth, many lessens we learn are difficult and hard to understand.

But those difficult lessons are the most rewarding once we completely understand why we had to endure them.  

We and the other souls who volunteer for this life lesson are all here to learn and gain knowledge and understanding of the earth existence.  Those that help us create and sometimes give their own life to make it happen, understand this scenario and volunteer to help us in our learning, they also learn much by the experience, their evolvement is magnified by sacrificing for others and are often times settling karma in the process. 

Once the lesson is comprehended and we totally understand we do create our own reality, and it is us and us alone who can change it, it releases a lot of power to the soul. 

Once we come to terms that it is our doing and our responsibility, we own it, it is then we realize that we own it and we are the only one who can do anything to change our reality and create the life we desire, it is up to us and no one an stand in our way.

At that moment, we are free of karma.  

That is powerful!

Gary has been a writer/photographer for over thirty years. Specializing in nature and landscape photography, while studying native cultures.

His travels have taken him to most of the United States, as well as Australia, Belize, Egypt and the Canary Islands.

He has studied the Mayan culture of Central America and the aborigines of

Australia. Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in various parts of the world.

He has observed that many of the forgotten cultures had spiritual beliefs that were stronger than ours in modern times.

While we have advanced technically far superior to those that came before us, we have lagged behind in acquiring  spiritual knowledge.

For us to advance as the human race, we need to combine the spiritual knowledge of those that came before us, not only that of the ancients but the knowledge of our direct ancestors as well, with the technical knowledge we have today for us to propel into the twenty-first century and beyond.

He has published several books about his adventures.

For more information, please consult his website,www.journeysthrulife.com.

Your comments are welcome

 

 

 

Does A Person In A Coma Have A Soul?

A journey into the unknown. Open new avenues in your spiritual journey

Written by Gary Wonning

There is always  controversy concerning the human soul and what it is, if it exists at all. 

We can’t actually see the soul and many people believe that if something can’t be  seen, it doesn’t exist. They forget that we can’t see electricity but we all know electricity exists.

I think most clear thinking people do believe we have a soul. Falsely thinking that we are a body who has a soul, when in actuality, we are a soul that occupies a human body.

Our soul is who we really are, we only occupy a body in order to be able to express ourselves in a worldly form.

Along with this issue, many debate when and if the soul enters the human body.

My personal opinion is the soul enters the fetus at conception,  it only makes sense that the soul would need time to acclimate itself with its new form of transportation for the next ninety or so years. The soul may come and for for a time during pregnancy while it decides if it really wants to experience the chosen life, but in the long run, the soul is almost always present in the fetus.

The soul needs this time, along with childhood to to learn its new environment and to adjust to its new body. 

There is also discussion as to whether the soul leaves the body when a person is in a coma  after a traumatic life experience. 

Many people, after recovering from a coma relive experiences they encountered while in a coma, sometimes remembering going somewhere to learn new skills and talents.

Often times after they re-enter the human existence, their lifestyle and belief structure changes completely, often to the amazement of fellow workers and friends.

This would mean that the soul of a person in a coma is no longer in its body, especially if the body is on life support. The human body is then supported by artificial means, leaving the soul to wander about the universe as it pleases. 

Many times the person can remember meeting Jesus, God, or some other spiritual leader, which often changes their life completely and they go on to accomplish many acts which they wouldn’t not have had the skills before the out of body experience.

We actually think with our soul, the brain is just a physical manifestation of our soul, the vehicle which enables the body to function, taking orders from our soul or Higher Self. 

In my way of thinking, the body cannot function on it’s own without a soul.

It would be like trying to operate a computer without a hard drive.

The Tree of Life

 

Gary has been a writer/photographer for over thirty years. Specializing in nature and landscape photography, as well as studying native cultures.

His travels have taken him to most of the United States, as well as Australia, Belize, Egypt and the Canary Islands.

He has studied the Mayan culture of Central America as well as the aborigines of Australia. Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in various parts of the world.

He has published several books about his adventures.

For more information, please consult his website,www.journeysthrulife.com.

Your comments are welcome

 

Scenic Wall Clock

by lifejourneysimages

Using Logic to Right the World

Wisdom lost through the ages, common sense is no longer common.

Written By: Gary Wonning

Logic teaches us to guide our reasoning discretionary in the general knowledge of things, and directs our inquiries after truth.  a regular train of argument whence we infer, deduce, and conclude according to certain premises laid down and we are given the facilities to conceive and reason where we are able to move from one graduation to another until the point in question is finally known or determined.

Sometimes life unknowingly follows logic and we often wind up somewhere and learn something other than what our original intentions may have been.

The life of the Australian Aborigine

Such was the case several years ago when I had the opportunity to spend some time in the outback of Australia. Originally, the purpose of the expedition was to photograph various areas of the country with the goal to publish a photo book on the life of the Australian people, including the aborigines.

This particular morning, we were on our way to Ayres Rock, or Uluru as the aborigines call it. A giant monolith in the middle of Australia, the largest sacred site in the world.

The bus picked us up at about 6 AM and as it made the final stop at another hotel to pick up the last two people, a cute young lady and her brother boarded the bus.

By the time the young lady boarded the bus the only remaining seat was next to me, being quite shy, she reluctantly sat next to me.

More interested in getting some sleep than starting up a conversation, it was nap time.

A few hours later I woke from my nap and discovered the young girl had fallen asleep on my shoulder.

Being the perfect gentleman that I am, and quietly deciding what my next  move would be , I never moved so as to not disturb her.

Here I am, on a bus , 10,000 miles from  home,in the middle of nowhere, with a bunch of people I’m never going to see again, and I have a cute young girl sleeping on my shoulder, I’m just going to savor this for a while.thank you God.

Soon she woke up, and realizing where she was , she was quite embarrassed.

Wanting to strike up a conversation, I asked where she was From. “Switzerland”  was the reply. She said she was traveling around the world with her brother and her final stop would be in the United States to visit her fiance who was a cadet at the Air Force Academy in Colorado.

So much for my well thought out plans.

She then asked about me and I informed her I was from the United States.

She then asked rather rudely, I thought,”What are you doing over here in Australia?”

Searching for an answer, I replied that I was with a group of 150 photographers that were photographing various parts of the continent and were planning on publishing a book upon returning to the states.

I asked her why she asked why I was in Australia.

Her reply,”If I lived in the United States I would never go anywhere else, you have everything there anyone could ever want or need.”

“WOW” I had never thought that before.

A 19-year-old kid from Switzerland just told me something I had never really totally realized before. I never forgot that.

A couple of weeks later, nearing the end of our journey, we entered the tiny town of Daly Waters in the Northern Territory a couple of hundred miles south of Darwin.

After spending nearly a month in the outback removed from the rest of the world, most of us had forgotten what day it was, it really didn’t matter as long as the driver got us where we needed to be when we needed to be there. By that time most of us didn’t want the adventure to end and remembering the day just made the time seem shorter.

As we entered the tiny village of a population of seventeen, I noticed an old C-47 with U.S. markings sitting on an abandoned runway. At the time I never thought much of it.

We entered the pub, looking for something to quench our thirst.

To our surprise, the pub was nearly full, this was unusual, even by Aussie standards. It was the middle of the afternoon in the middle of the week.

I wasn’t sure what day it was, but I knew it wasn’t the weekend, we were scheduled to be in Darwin on Saturday, this wasn’t Darwin, so it had to be the middle of the week.

Getting a drink, someone asked an older gentleman what they were celebrating.

  He replied they were celebrating the fourth of July.

We were startled, why would they be celebrating this America holiday?

His answer was that Australia was really appreciative about how the Yanks had bailed the Aussies out during WW2 when the Japanese attacked them during the war.

Totally unprepared, Australia would have fallen had it not been for help from the United States.

It was gratifying to see people appreciate what America had done in the past.

It was sure a far cry from the rhetoric from the media and the left.

I could go on and on, there have been numerous times the same theme has been conveyed to myself, and I’m sure to others as well.

Most people, even today realize, in spite of our faults, what a force for good the United States has been in world affairs.

Our local Shriner’s center has a weekly luncheon for the nobles who are able to attend.

A few years ago, a visiting noble from Massachusetts introduced himself and related how he was ninety-three years old, a world war two and Korean war veteran and how he was concerned about the direction the country was headed.

As he walked back to his seat, he stopped, put his hand on my shoulder and with a tear in his eye, said,”I just don’t want to leave this world in the shape it’s in.”

Here is a retired veteran, who has already given more to his country than most of us would even think about doing, wanting to do more.

That’s something you can hang your hat on.

In this country, We don’t fight for a president, a congress or a government, we fight for an idea, an idea born several thousand years ago carried down through the ages by men seeking light. An idea that finally reached fruition by a group of about two hundred men a couple hundred years ago in a hot humid room in Philadelphia.

The idea of freedom and liberty, the idea that men and women should be able to choose how to live and run their lives with the least amount of government interference possible.

That is what our men and women in the military and law enforcement fight for every day of their lives.

We Americans sometimes forget how lucky we are to live in the country we do, and enjoy the freedoms most others in the world can only dream about.

The same can be said for masonry, and its appendant bodies, masonry or a version of it has been around since the dawn of time. The secrets of masons in masonry will tell you everything you need to know, to not only lead a good life, but improve the lives of others and our country.

We don’t have to do anything new, the mysteries of masons in masonry aren’t secrets, they are out in the open for those able to see them.

The planet is rebooting we did in the 60s, some things are disappearing and many others are appearing.

Many of the old ways, thankfully, are falling by the wayside, making way for a new and better version.

All we need to do is to not throw the baby out with the bathwater, discard what doesn’t work and keep what works.

How do we know what to keep?

Remember what made this country great and all the good we as Americans have done in the world.

As I try to explain in my book, “The Wisdom of Our Ancestors,” by the way, it’s available on Amazon along with the six other books I have written, I list 39 different principles we were taught growing up that are no longer taught to many of our young people,

All we need to do is get back to the basics and apply the time-worn principles of masonry.

In this country, We don’t fight for a president, a congress or a government, we fight for an idea, an idea born several thousand years ago and carried down through the ages by men seeking light. An idea that finally reached fruition by a group of about two hundred men a couple hundred years ago in a hot humid room in Philadelphia.

The idea of freedom and liberty, the idea that men and women should be able to choose how to live and run their lives with the least amount of government interference possible.

Those are the principles we stand for.

How do we, as masons, return our country to its rightful standing in the world and before God?

We just use logic, Logic teaches us to guide our reasoning discretionary in the general knowledge of things, and directs our inquiries after truth.A regular train of argument whence we infer, deduce, and conclude according to certain premises laid down and we are given the facilities to conceive and reason where we are able to move from one graduation to another until the point in question is finally known or determined.

We don’t have all the answers, we just take one step forward, and follow our guide, the answers will be given to us at the proper time.

We walk by faith, not by sight.

Masonic truths are universal truths

Retiring in 1994 from United Parcel Service where he became a member of the distinguished UPS Circle of Honor, whose nine thousand plus members have all attained over twenty-five years of safe accident-free driving

Gary has done everything but retire.   After moving from his native state of Indiana to Sedona Arizona, he continued to not only drive but study native cultures and the changes in our own American culture.

The author of seven books, all published on Amazon.

www.journeysthrulife.com

He has seen the decline of a once great nation, to one that has become lost and struggling for a new identity.

Just like some of the great cultures of the past, America has become a victim of it’s own success, achieving much in the field of science and technology, but losing the spiritual foundation that once made it great.

We also run the risk of losing our culture and our way of life if we don’t once again return to the doctrines that made this great nation great.

  

America’s Mission

The Gnostic Resurrection

a personal spiritual journey

In the Gnostic work, Treatise Resurrection, ordinary human existence is described as spiritual death whereas the resurrection is the moment of enlightenment revealing what truly exists. Whoever grasps this idea becomes spiritually alive and can be resurrected from the dead immediately.

The Gospel of Phillip says:

Those who say they will die first and then rise are in error, they must receive the resurrection while they live.

This is in direct conflict with the church that believes only those who have had direct access to Christ, or their representatives have direct access to the resurrection, all others must go through them.

Most Gnostics view Jesus, not as a God, but as the man who illuminated the pathway.

Whoever sees the Lord through inner vision can claim his or her own authority equals or surpasses that of the apostles and their successors.

In other words, they don’t need an intermediary to communicate with God.

The concept of gnosis(knowledge) is the exact opposite of the Church’s concept of faith. and it is the type of thought process that fits well with masonry.

Improve your health, Increase your wealth through Young Living

The blogger has been a writer/photographer for over thirty years. Specializing in nature and landscape photography, as well as studying native cultures.

His travels have taken him to most of the United States, as well as Australia, Belize, Egypt and the Canary Islands.

He has studied the Mayan culture of Central America as well as the aborigines of Australia. Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in various parts of the world.

He has published several books about his adventures.

For more information, please consult his website,www.journeysthrulife.com.

Your comments are welcome

Masonic Quote Tie

by lifejourneysimages

The Wisdom of our Ancestors: Return to the Land

 

Wisdom lost through the ages, common sense is no longer common.

Written by; Gary Wonning

Return to the Land

Because modern technology has resulted in an easier life style, America as well as much of the rest of the world has moved away from being an agrarian society. Societies before ours lived much closer to the land, their whole life centered on the weather, and the abundance or lack thereof, of the annual harvest. When the harvest was bad, people grouped together because of a need to survive. The ancient aborigines didn’t even reproduce during years of severe drought.

With all of our modern advances, we have theoretically eliminated starvation and need in modern society. If one is willing to work and place their priorities in the proper perspective, one can achieve anything his or her heart desires as long as they have the human capabilities to do it.

In most cases this is a good thing, however, there is a down side also. By eliminating much of the hardships our ancestors endured, we have also eliminated the sense of community and dependence on each other, as well as our closeness to the earth and our natural world.

Even our native cultures, what is left of them, have moved away from their basic moral structure and become less spiritual than in previous generations. Many have lost their way and have resorted to drugs and alcohol as a means of dealing with life’s problems.

I don’t think there are many people alive today that if they had a choice, would want to live in a teepee or a “humpie” in the outback of Australia and many people no longer have a spiritual foundation, as is evidenced in their life style. Having said that, there are still many people who would like to be able to follow the customs and beliefs of their native peoples, while maintaining their current lifestyle.

Civilization, as we know it started with a high spiritual base and slowly moved to a more materialistic society, with it came an easier, safer life with more comfort than our ancestors could have imagined in their wildest dreams.

Along the way, we have lost sight of what is really important in life, we, as a whole have lost sight of our moral values, the values which built this great society in which we live. It is now time to return to the beliefs of our forefathers, they knew what they were talking about.

The secrets our founders knew

The author has been a writer/photographer for over thirty years. Specializing in nature and landscape photography, as well as studying native cultures.

His travels have taken him to most of the United States, as well as Australia, Belize, Egypt and the Canary Islands.

He has studied the Mayan culture of Central America as well as the aborigines of Australia. Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in various parts of the world.

He has published several books about his adventures.

For more information, please consult his website,www.journeysthrulife.com.

Your comments are welcome

Improve your health through essential oils and Isagenix.

The Power Of The Mind

Written By: Gary Wonning

At the time I had a customized van which was in excellent condition. I drove into the little town mulling through my mind my financial condition. I determined I had all the bases covered as long as nothing major come down the pike. The thought suddenly came into my head I only had one method of transportation, my van, and if anything happened to it, I would have a problem.

As I glanced down at the dashboard, the oil light suddenly came on, fear gripped me. I then realized I was creating this event and began thinking about how good a condition the van was in and I wasn’t going to have any problems with it.

As quickly as the light came on, it went off and stayed off. The van ran for many thousands of miles after that with no mechanical problems whatsoever.

A good lesson on how powerful the mind is, and how we do create our reality. There are times we do need to attend to the “real” life, but many times it is a figment of our imagination.

The spiritual journey of a bashful country boy

a personal spiritual journey

The author has been a writer/photographer for over thirty years. Specializing in nature and landscape photography, as well as studying native cultures.

His travels have taken him to most of the United States, as well as Australia, Belize, Egypt and the Canary Islands.

He has studied the Mayan culture of Central America as well as the aborigines of Australia. Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in various parts of the world.

He has published several books about his adventures.

For more information, please consult his website,www.journeysthrulife.com.

Your comments are welcome

 

Inspirational Quotes Cutting Board

by lifejourneysimages

Restore Your Spiritual Foundation

Wisdom lost through the ages, common sense is no longer common.

 

Written By: Gary Wonning

Many people have no spiritual foundation, they have nothing to believe in, the wealth and fame creates guilt because they have so much more than others and when they strike out at the establishment, they are actually striking out at themselves. They feel like they don’t deserve it and unconsciously compensate by blaming someone else for their insecurities.

The best way to give people a sense of worth is to have them work for what they have, when people are given what they want and need with no effort on their part, what they are given has no value to them because there was no effort to earn it. The worst thing society can do is to give an individual or group of individuals a free ride, it never works to any one’s advantage.

To restore your spiritual foundation, one needs to develop a sense of self-worth and a belief in a supreme being.

The sun rises over the Egyptian plain

The author has been a writer/photographer for over thirty years. Specializing in nature and landscape photography, as well as studying native cultures.

His travels have taken him to most of the United States, as well as Australia, Belize, Egypt and the Canary Islands.

He has studied the Mayan culture of Central America as well as the aborigines of Australia. Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in various parts of the world.

He has published several books about his adventures.

For more information, please consult his website,www.journeysthrulife.com.

Your comments are welcome

 

 

 

 

We Are In Control Of Our Destiny

 

A New World is Revolving

We have all been taught in church at least a million times that Jesus healed the sick. He also said,”These things that I do,you shall do also”. Jesus came to be a teacher, to show us the way back to our own God-Form, he was trying to teach us to perform the “miracles” he performed, he didn’t come to be worshiped. When are we going to get this? We all have in us the ability to do the same things he did.

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That is what we as a people need to be learning, all of us can reclaim our heritage, we can become Gods, as Jesus did. By reclaiming our heritage, then, we will be able to change our destiny, heal ourselves and others,and evolve in a positive manner, not in the negative way we on this planet have chosen. When that is comprehended, there will be no more wars, crime ,disease, or any of the other so-called abominations  known to man. It is entirely our decision,no one can make it for us, Jesus will not save anyone, we save ourselves, he only tried to show us the way to enlightenment.

A personal journey of enlightenment

a personal spiritual journey

The author has been a writer/photographer for over thirty years. Specializing in nature and landscape photography, as well as studying native cultures.

His travels have taken him to most of the United States, as well as Australia, Belize, Egypt and the Canary Islands.

He has studied the Mayan culture of Central America as well as the aborigines of Australia. Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in various parts of the world.

He has published several books about his adventures.

For more information, please consult his website,www.journeysthrulife.com.

Your comments are welcome

Trust your gut follow your instincts insulated water bottle

by lifejourneysimages

My First Past Life Regression

Written By; Gary Wonning

January 22,1985 will be a day I will never forget. It had taken me quite some time to build my confidence enough to undergo hypnosis. I had been wanting to try hypnosis for quite some time, but the only people that I knew that had undergone this were in the books that I had read, I didn’t know any real people that had “been there”

The sunsets behind the Egyptian sphnix

Earlier in the fall of 1984, Tom had placed an ad in the local paper stating that he could stop someone from smoking by the use of hypnosis. Seeing this ad, I thought about it for about a month, and finally, after working up my courage I went to see him.

This was back in 1984, very few people believed this stuff back then, and I will have to admit that I was more than just a little nervous about discussing this with a professional in a town where everyone knew me.

“Have you done any past life regressions?” I asked.

“Well, yes I have done three.” Was his nervous reply.

Needless to say, this didn’t build my confidence any. I thought about it for about three months and finally decided to give it a try.

After putting most of my fears behind me, I scheduled an appointment with Tom. My wife who had always been open to a lot of new ideas, had in the past few months suddenly become more fundamentalist in her thinking and was extremely opposed to my new way of thought, saying that because of what I was doing I would surely wind up in Hell. Since I didn’t believe in Hell I kept my appointment with Tom.

A Lifetime Adventure

A journey of spiritual discovery

The author has been a writer/photographer for over thirty years. Specializing in nature and landscape photography, as well as studying native cultures.

His travels have taken him to most of the United States, as well as Australia, Belize, Egypt and the Canary Islands.

He has studied the Mayan culture of Central America as well as the aborigines of Australia. Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in various parts of the world.

He has published several books about his adventures.

For more information, please consult his website,www.journeysthrulife.com.

Your comments are welcome

The secret path to wisdom journal
by lifejourneysimages

Accepting New Realities

Written By: Gary Wonning

It is said every time we make a decision in life, be it a small decision such as buying a hot fudge sundae or changing our life completely, there is an alternate reality where we are living our life based on the decision we didn’t make.

To access these realities, we only need to focus on them and they enter our life. Most of the time this is done subconsciously as most of us don’t possess the ability or desire to enter different dimensions. We have enough to deal with in this reality.

Occasionally something “bleeds” through and we encounter beings from other dimensions and are at a loss as to how this could be, it normally is beyond our understanding and what we have been taught to believe. We may contemplate it for a while but the event is soon to be forgotten and only occasionally remembered.

I believe these particular events are gentle reminders from our own consciousness to help us remember there is more to life than the reality we are living in the present. Many times these events come about when an individual or group of individuals are about to engage some form of spiritual or religious experience, such as going to church or praying. That fact leads me to believe the mind has to be in a certain state of consciousness for the event to come about.

A journey of spiritual discovery

When these situations come upon us, we humans need to examine why it came about and begin to understand the possibility of there being alternate realities and universes. Many times fear or the unwillingness to go beyond what we have been taught keeps us from researching it further. Researching the event can alter our religious beliefs and thus can be very scary.

The sunsets behind the Egyptian sphinx

What we have been taught spiritually forms our whole basic belief system and to change that can tear at our very soul. There is a basic human thought that to change our beliefs is to destroy our self. Nothing can be farther from the truth, to alter our beliefs only adds to and complements what we already believe and should make our values stronger.

The author has been a writer/photographer for over thirty years. Specializing in nature and landscape photography, as well as studying native cultures.

His travels have taken him to most of the United States, as well as Australia, Belize, Egypt and the Canary Islands.

He has studied the Mayan culture of Central America as well as the aborigines of Australia. Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in various parts of the world.

He has published several books about his adventures.

For more information, please consult his website,www.journeysthrulife.com.

Your comments are welcome

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