July 14, 1998

• All souls are drawn to God

• Spiritual journeys vary in style, not substance

• Hell does not exist

God surrounds each one of you with intense and unique love and endless blessings.

You are all embarked on journeys, journeys through life that carry you into uncharted territory, journeys that have their share of rain and sunshine, journeys that are supported by hope and love and buffeted by fears, but they are nevertheless journeys. For each soul experiencing human life, the journey is unique. There are no two who share the same journey from beginning to end. There are many whose paths intersect and may for a time be parallel with one another, but the character of those journeys is always individual in nature.

There is no way any of you can walk in the shoes of another. There is, of course, the popular admonition about walking in such shoes, but although that admonition carries with it a grain of truth, one cannot actually do it. Despite this independence and individuality of life's journey, the interdependence, those moments when paths intersect and perhaps move along together, is essential. When all souls are evolving toward their ultimate union with God, they are also evolving closer to one another, for all roads are directed similarly if not identically.

There is no road whose direction is in total opposition to God. However you may view the life of another, the truth remains that such other person continues to develop and evolve and move closer to God. It is not God's will that some souls be lost, lost in an oblivion that some religions refer to as a kind of hell. That destination does not exist. There are those whose lives contain more suffering than the lives of some others, but that is not a kind of hell. They contain all the ingredients necessary for spiritual growth in the only direction that a soul may grow.

Plants react to sunlight and they grow toward sunlight. Plants react to moisture. There is a growth that takes place encouraging the nourishment that comes from water and nutrients in the soil. All that lives grows according to its own properties, and so it is with the journey of your soul. It is the natural response of the soul to be drawn towards God's light. Your soul is more aware of this light than you may be on a conscious level, but that growth leads in the end toward one goal.

How the soul reaches that objective is very different from all other souls. Each soul has lessons that are particularly appropriate for its own growth. For some, the soul requires great struggle and chooses a life that also requires such struggle. Other souls require different lessons, and therefore the outward sign of that spiritual journey will be different.

You are all traveling. You are all traveling in the most appropriate manner, in the most appropriate direction, at the most appropriate speed, if you will, necessary for that growth. No individual can be judged by another as moving too slowly toward God. No individual can be judged by another as moving away from God. There are no grounds for such judgment. The human life as moved and directed by the soul develops as it is meant to develop. We do not imply that there is no room for guidance, for instruction, for encouragement, for various kinds of manipulation, for such responses as are offered are also part of the experiences needed by that particular soul. But to categorically deny the direction of an individual as being wholly and thoroughly inappropriate is incorrect.

Life's complexities are observed most intently and graphically through our observations of individual and differentiating characteristics of life around us. We are aware of differences. We do need to further investigate the value that is a part of every individual demonstrating those differences. This independent journeying, despite the variety of character employed, is nevertheless a journey that all souls take. And because all are engaged in such an effort, in such learning, all souls are therefore the same.

In the game of pool, each ball responds differently, each ball has a different color, but each ball rolls, each ball is affected by another and has an effect on others, and therefore each ball is essentially equal, virtually the same. And so it is with your souls. There is absolutely no difference. You are affected by other souls. You all can affect another soul. There are so many characteristics of each soul that are shared among the totality of souls that there is no room to entertain any notions of ultimate differences. The differences are in style but not in substance. The differences in the journeys that you are embarked on are only differences in style. They are never differences in substance, further emphasizing the absolute equality of each soul, and therefore every individual.

It is fine to recognize the different paths that you take, for such recognition can actually enhance your perception of your own individual path. Your paths take on character because of the context of their shape. The fact that one life seems more difficult than another and the question of what that may teach can only be addressed when one recognizes that another path is different. If you are not aware of those differences, you are not presented with the questions. And it is those questions that arise from your awareness of other paths that help to define and give your own lives meaning. They give you perspective. They give you an understanding and a sense of acceptance, of necessity, and of a loving recognition that somehow, in some way, even when not clearly seen, God is present for each path.

The paths that you follow are always lit. There is always a view forward. You are never totally at a loss at some crossroad with no inkling of how to proceed. Sometimes your view of that path is clouded by self-doubt, anger or frustration, but the light pointing in the appropriate direction is always there. It's up to you to remove the fear, to remove the anxiety, so that you can see clearly the light that God places before you.

The journey is the thing. The journey is what your lives are about. It is the journey that fulfills the yearning of the soul. It is your journey that gives character and strength to your soul. These journeys are not to be feared. They are not to be resisted. They are to be understood, embraced, accepted. With such acceptance comes the recognition of God's presence in that journey. It is when you are fighting the path, when you are resisting the tug, as it were, that you are less able to see the light in front of you.

Allow that light to shine in all of its brilliance. Remove your fears. Reach out with your souls in prayer and thanksgiving that the light is indeed always present. Allow God's love to be a part of your spiritual travels. Allow yourselves the beauty of recognizing other paths. Accept your own and validate the paths of all others whom you meet along the way.

Your lives are enhanced by the lives of everyone. Recognize that gift, and allow yourselves to be present to enhance the lives of souls whose paths approach yours. You are indeed a community of souls, individual and unique, but you are still a community, and it is your actions toward community that will continue to give meaning to your own lives.

Our prayers are for your wider vision, your clearer vision, and for your comfort and acceptance. You are blessed with that light that leads all of us forward.

Amen.