Heaven and Hell

Picture by Jane Brideson ©

Skype is a wonderful communications tool, fast and generally a very efficient mode for talking to friends who live hundreds or thousands of miles away. More importantly it is a free service.

During the week I received a skype call from New Zealand, a friend who left the Emerald Isle to make longish visit there.

After us making the usual comments to each other, a question was asked that tweaked my pagan understanding of life.

Q. What is Hell ?

There followed statements by me which I now reiterate here.

To me both Heaven and Hell are situations that we can find ourselves in on earth.

For example: Hell may very well be a marriage, relationship or a situation in which we are totally unhappy and due to the prevailing circumstances are unable to extricate ourselves from. Staying in such a relationship is hell as the health crumbles from negativity that surrounds us.

Q. Well what about Heaven?

Heaven is the complete opposite of Hell. It is being in a marriage, relationship or a situation in which we are extremely happy, which we work at continually, because we never want it to end.

What exists in between the two poles of Hell & Heaven are life experiences.

And before you ask: Paradise is Planet Earth along with all of it's faults or imperfections, because just as the earth is not perfect nor are it's inhabitants.

Q. Well what about after death ?

If any person tries to tell you about 'after death' they are talking crap because nobody actually knows, no person has any experience or knowledge of this. It is pure supposition and mostly based on religious fear.

Yes, there are those who can tell you of their experiences of dying during an operation and of their return; even so that in its self is not the same as being dead.

What I do know is that there is some sort of existence and I have yet to meet anyone who has any precise knowledge of what it is and nor have I.

Q. What are your beliefs then ?

I do not have any beliefs.

What I do have is: the experience of living and the accumulated knowledge from my observations of life and learning. Beliefs are not based upon fact, they are mental assumptions of how we would like/expect things to be, they are mostly false notions.

Q. I know that you have your own take on God, but what about the many Gods & Goddesses, how do you see them ?

I see them as the archetypes within the collective unconsciousness and my own take is that 'God' is primal energy which I refer to as Pip.

PIP

I find that the word G O D does not for me totally express all that I would like it to - when meaning that which created the world, this planet the universes and planets of outer space , etc.

That word G O D has been sorely misused, to such an extent that it now has connotations of the dominant Patriarchal Society that has ruled high and mighty over women (and men) for three and a half thousand years from the Judaic to the Christians. Neither do I want to use the word G O D D E S S for that could be seen as a retribution.

To me that which created and made physically manifest this world of ours, is far beyond even the High titles of Goddesses and Gods of the Celtic pantheon,or other pantheons for that matter.

My name for The Energy which created this world, the planets plus all Matter and Non-Matter is 'PIP'

I chose 'PIP' because it is seed energy and is contained within the fruit of all life for regeneration, also I cannot find a better name......

Years ago I studied the Cabala looking in at it as a methodology, a tool that can be used much the same as Algebra in maths in quantifying 'x' . I found that with the cabala one could insert into its structure literally anything.

Therefore

I insert it into the top sphere of the Cabala PIP a sphere from where the energy flows up & down the central line, as well as horizontally and diagonally; for the cabala is a totally integrated structure.

In the two spheres beneath the singular energies of Positive and Negative, then down from them the Feminine and Masculine in their highest state. Following that the animal, plant and mineral dominions, followed by the deities of Gods and Goddesses, next the attributes of the deities and then woman and man followed by their indivi-duality.