Entrance exam

"John, Are you awake?"

"How many times did you already ask?"

"Several. I placed a new idea in your mind while you were dreaming. Can you recall it?"

"Let me try. The one about the Pearly Gates?"

"Right! Great teamwork."

"What's on your mind?"

"Much of the human population lacks the understanding of the spirit we all share. Many are still stagnant in their lack of motivation to seek truth and set themselves free. They are in misery, especially in the light of the pandemic going on."

"And your point is..."

"You have been toiling through almost forty years of research to find words common enough to communicate to the average person. You have arrived at the point of realizing that telling people the truth does not work. What I want you to do is create a test for those who wish to own the key to the Pearly Gates."

"But they already have the key!"

"Somewhere on their worldly path, it must have fallen into some sewer. The test is to help them recover it. For the most part, those taking the test will be forced to think critically and, hopefully, come to recognize the perfect spirit in all living things, including themselves."

"Why me? I rejoice every day about being alive in heaven. The Pearly Gates are imaginary."

"That's true, but it is a point of reference that people can relate to. It would relate to Paradise and Nirvana as well, but we must let them figure that out for themselves. The test will be called 'Entrance Exam to Heaven' and those who pass it will be granted entry."

"What will be the passing grade?"

"Irrelevant. If someone gets even one question right that opens their thinking process, the test will be a success for them. We can post the answer key after they submit their answers."

"So, how do we start?"

"There will be more keys than just one to the portal of Eternal Bliss. Getting to the Gates will be similar to negotiating stepping stones to get to the riverbank across a river. Each question must provide a key to mental and emotional blocks people have created in their lives. Each stone is a mental or emotional block that must be conquered to make progress.

"The first key is when we discover that the only element that prevents deeper understanding is ignorance. Those who refuse to acknowledge their ignorance are hopeless. They will stop reading shortly, if they haven't already done so. Do not judge, just leave them behind. We cannot help those who refuse to help themselves."

"What question should be prioritized first?"

"Self-Awareness has to come first. It is necessary to understand what we are before we can find our source. To achieve self-awareness, we must remove all thoughts and acknowledge emotion. That is where all decisions are made to maintain inner balance. In the human animal, thought is processed in the frontal cortex and creates what we call the ego. It represents the executive in us. If our executive uses lies and/or faulty knowledge when making decisions, we will suffer consequences. Emotion (existing in the amygdala) is never wrong. It is our intuition (tuition we were born with), gut-feel, or sixth sense. We'll finalize the structure later, but here are some examples:"

Each of us create our own reality with our thoughts -- True or false?

To try and fail is at least to learn. To fail to try is never knowing the inestimable loss of what could have been -- True or false?

Truth removes lies we live by -- True or false?

"What happens next?"

"We take inventory. Whenever we prepare for a journey, we take resources and capability into consideration. We identify what we need as best we can and stand ready to make adjustments as needed. Joseph Campbell wrote about the Hero's journey to discover himself. That is the journey we are starting today. It necessitates experiencing the unknown as a stepping stone leading to truth and understanding. Once we have found that understanding the unknown is the key to progress, we are on the right path. Taking the first step will be daunting to some, but it must be done."

All living things are in a constant state of evolution -- True or false?

"Where do we go from here?"

"We become aware that human beings have qualities and capabilities unique in the animal kingdom. One is imagination and another is the ability to stop a thought. These are the two elements required to create the future. A thought may be stopped by meditating into a calm state that settles into the Here and Now. Once there, we analyze our existence."

"Once centered, we are in creative mode. Most of the time, we are in reactive mode -- same spelling, different attitude. When we react to stimuli with our thoughts rather than our emotion, we make mistakes (mis-takes). This produces pain, suffering and illness. When we follow our emotion's guidance, the energy will flow THROUGH the thoughts to create a healing response. If we allow thought to determine corrective action, we will compound our suffering."

The truth will set us free -- True or false?

It is a metaphysical fact that for each minute of time we spend in thoughts of unfavorable impressions, unkind criticism, or hate toward any stimulus, we create hours of physical and mental suffering as a reaction. The first thing to do, then, in considering the relief of any mental or physical condition is to analyze our mental states over a period of time preceding the condition and discover what thoughts, attitudes, and conditions of mind we have held or expressed, and immediately eliminate this attitude by reversing our opinions, thoughts, and holding thoughts of love and kindness instead. In other words, the poison from the mind that has been eating at the very heart of every cell in our body must be eliminated before any treatment can be given to relieve the outer manifestations. Any other process is merely treating symptoms, not causes. This process is what led Mary Baker Eddy to write "Science and Health."

Healthy Mind, Healthy Body -- True or false?

"Let's discover another key -- Mysticism."

Mystic: "A person who seeks by contemplation and self-surrender to obtain unity with or absorption into the absolute by the spiritual apprehension of truths that are beyond the intellect."

"Through mysticism, we develop spiritual wisdom, expanded awareness and a sense of connectivity with everything and everyone around us, and, in the process, we become captains of our ship and masters of our fate. This state of mind is evidenced by the Toltec Spiritual Warrior, the Arhat of Buddhism, the Hindu yogi of hatha yoga, the Jesus (Christ Nature) of Christianity and the Sufi of Islam, as well as many other examples. Reaching this level of enlightenment necessitates total understanding of what we are. Everyone can find their mystical being, but few will make the effort to do so. The mystic lives in a perfect state of being and becomes oblivious to mundane human activities. He has risen above and beyond his animal body because he lives according to Natural Law. An immature ego will always try to defend its point of view, rather than seek connection with the truth. Truth does not succumb to majority vote."

Truth is immutable -- True or false?

"Being a mystic is to be aware of and shoulder one's responsibilities in one's family life, working life, and spiritual life. A thinking, active, responsible mystic does not feed on what is negative and unhealthy. A mystic does not make judgments nor condemn. They seek to understand the why and the how of things and events. The WHY is a cause or a goal and the HOW can be a myriad of methods to achieve the WHY. The mystic's attitude is an open one, respecting everyone's right to be different and to exercise freedom of expression. A mystic can give assistance, bring calm, and speak in a compassionate manner to whoever is in need. A mystic accepts philosophically -- without becoming disenchanted -- the tests that are experienced during one's life for a mystic is not exempt from lessons, they just find it a little bit easier to learn them. The true role of a mystic is that of a catalyst for others to develop. Simply put, they are there to remove mental and emotional blocks to enlightenment."

To be continued....