The question is not were you challenged? The question is were you changed?
I have spent the better part of the last three decades studying mystical phenomenon – and much of my own research has been done on the mystical states that are experienced by the dying.
Yesterday I was talking with a grieving friend and she was wondering out loud about the ‘life review’ process that the newly crossed over are often reported to experience. She wondered if this would cause suffering for those who had exhibited less than stellar earthly behavior.
Well, I could write a lengthy discourse on what I think about this- and I could back it up with years of qualitative and quantitative research- and I could even reach out to my friend (and world renown Near Death Experience Researcher) Dr. Raymond Moody to chime in on the equation….
…but today’s quote says it all.
Leonard Ravenhill’s words capture perfectly what lay persons who’ve dipped one toe into the white light say, as well as what study after study reveals about ‘life reviews’ during end of life or a near death event.
This quote is simple wisdom at its best.
Deep introspection should ALWAYS challenge us- whether our reflective thinking occurs at the end of a regular day in our life, or at the end of OUR LIFE .
We are imperfect creatures who behave in imperfect ways. Yes, we will have failures, and yes, we will have regrets. These mis-steps of course should challenge us — but then —- they should CHANGE us.
Transformation is what takes the sting away. Every. Single. Time.
The question is not were you challenged? The question is were you changed?