Hello Kim,

The illusion of separation is part of the play called the Earth plane. We begin with being taught by our experiences as children and our models from the adults that things are separate. As David Bohm said, this feeling that things, including people, are separate is the primary reason for suffering and antagonism on the Earth plane. The most critical part of our spiritual growth, that is the precursor to higher levels of growth, is to allow the illusion of separation to dissolve. What remains, then, is the knowledge of oneness. With the knowledge of oneness come love, compassion, other-centeredness, servanthood, sensitivity, and all of the other qualities that are spiritually desirable. The more deeply we’re immersed in the illusion of separation, the more we’ll experience self-centeredness, feelings of being mistreated, tragedies inflicted on us by a cold universe, anger, separation into religious, national, or ethnic groups, greed, frustration, feelings of being unappreciated and unloved, and all the other characteristics that result in human suffering. Life seems to be a prison we must suffer through.

To change that, we must break out of prison. We need to die to the old self, give up on the material realm, let the feeling of separation fall away, and immerse ourselves, wholly and naively, in the sense of oneness with others, the Higher Power, nature, and the universe. When we do that, we eliminate suffering and become intimately engaged with others, the Higher Power, nature, and the universe. We become One.

As to why we are now at a point in humankind’s history when the illusion of separation is stronger than it has ever been, the fact is that this is just the time we’re living in, as individuals and soul groups. We see this as the reality in time or the only moment in time because we’re absorbed in it. However, we could have incarnated into any scene that has ever or will ever be available to exist. We could have incarnated into a time when humankind was primitive, but imbued with the feeling of Oneness with nature, the gods, and the members of the tribe. There, we would have learned lessons that could be learned in that time. Or we could have incarnated into a time when humankind is spiritually mature, full of love and compassion, peaceful, and balanced. We would have learned lessons in that set of scenery, with the other players experiencing it. However, we’ve incarnated into the crucible of the most spiritually dead time humankind has ever experienced. Before the eighteenth century, there were no atheists. True, the beliefs were in the old tribal religions, that were controlling and self-absorbed, but humankind was dedicated to them. Only since the eighteenth century has humankind thrown off the belief in humankind’s spiritual, eternal nature in favor of materialism. At the same time, the old tribal religions have changed so they now separate man from man, man from God, man from nature, and man from his own inner self. We are in a spiritual dark age.

But we’ve incarnated into this time for reasons that involve our spiritual growth. We’re here to learn lessons and to help grow humankind into that loving, compassionate species that is the other plane of life we aren’t in now.

So asking why things are as they are now is really asking “Why have we incarnated into humanity’s history where things are as they are now?” And so it comes back to question about our individual spiritual growth, which is the prominent question for us in this period in Earth school.

The Higher Power, working through people on this side of life and outside of this Earth plane who are dedicated to helping us grow, is offering guidance, but isn’t directing us in the sense of telling us what to do or moving us like pieces on a chess board. We have free will, and can do what we wish. We’re given all the help we need. All we have to do is ask and we’ll receive the answers, knock and the door will open, seek and we will find. But until we do ask, knock, and seek, looking for help and until we do open ourselves to receive it, we can wander through the spiritual winter that results from the feeling of separation that is so prominent now in individuals and society.

It’s up to us which world we want to live in.

As to whether we're to enjoy our time on the Earth plane, yes, absolutely. "Follow your bliss," Joseph Campbell said repeatedly. During our stay on the Earth plane, we should be joyous and happy, with those we love. When I'm overwhelmed with joy and awe at the wonders of the Earth plane, I think to myself the words of the old hymn, "This is my Father's world." It is the creation of the mind of God, full of delights and wondrous experiences for us to enjoy. As we grow spiritually, we should do what gives us the most joy. We'll be given guidance to help us develop spiritually, and we'll know from our spiritual openness and development what to do to continue our spiritual growth. It will happen if we're open to it. And in the meantime, have a wonderful life!

Love and peace, Craig