You Have Chosen to Remember: A Journey of Self-Awareness, Peace of Mind and Joy

You Have Chosen to Remember:

A Journey from Perception to Knowledge, Peace of Mind and Joy

By James Blanchard Cisneros

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E-Book Smashwords Edition Copyright 2012 by James Blanchard Cisneros.

Paperback Copyright 2004, 2008 by James Blanchard Cisneros.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter One: The Dream

The Dream

The Unconscious Habitual Belief System or Ego

Self-Image Transformation

Being Born Into a Dream

The Dream of Separation

Judging the Dreamer

Dream Offered for Chapter One – The Gift

The Dreamer and the Dream

Forgiving the Dreamer

Knowing Your Power

Invitation #1 - The List

Invitation #2 - Act or Pretend to be Awake

Chapter Two: The Ego-Self

The Ego-Self

The Physical Manifestation of the Ego-Self

The Ego’s Advice

The Ego and Blame

The Ego and Separation

The Ego and Judgment

Invitation #3 - The Ego's Gifts

Dream Given for Chapter Two - A Child's Game

Words of Encouragement to People Experiencing a Mental Breakdown, Depression, Crisis or Burnout

Chapter Three: The Godself

The Godself

Living a Spiritually Fulfilling Life

Experiencing Your Godself in the Moment

In Search of My Godself: My First Spiritual Experience

Realizing My Mind’s Influence

Dream Given for Chapter Three - Who am I?

Turning Up the Volume in Your Life

Real Life

Honoring Different Paths to the Godself

Invitation #4 - Experiencing Peace

Chapter Four: A Fulfilling Life

A Fulfilling Life

Success and the Fulfilling Life

Being On or Off Your Path: OBE Given for Chapter Four

Success, Your Job and Life

Allow Others to Fulfill Their Dreams

Who Is the Homeless One?

Service

Will I Ever Make a Difference?

One at a Time

Chapter Five: Work On Yourself First

Work On Yourself First

Working Through the Illusion

Thought, Action, Faith and Gratitude

Thought - Align Yourself with God and Clarify the Goal

My Big Toe

Sarcasm

The God Bless You Kid

Action - Act with Unconditional Love

Faith - Trust that the Moment is Perfect

Gratitude - Give Thanks, Enjoy and Rejoice

Chapter Six: Trusting God

Trusting God

Trusting God's Plan

Trusting God Through Accidents

Accidents and Choice

Asking God for Inspiration

Remember Your Perfection

You Were Created in His Image

Why Are There So Many Religions in the World?

Daddy Loves Me Best

Chapter Seven: Freedom Through Forgiveness

Freedom Through Forgiveness

Forgiveness: The Key to Knowledge, Peace of Mind and Joy

Ego-self, Godself and Forgiveness

Invitation #5 - How to Forgive a Brother or Sister

OBE Given for Chapter Seven - Experiencing Only Love

Speaking with Anger vs. Speaking your Truth

Reacting to an Immature Action

Dealing with Negative Emotions or Feelings through the Ego-self

Dealing with Negative Emotions or Feelings through the Godself

Forgiving Parents and Other Family Members

Forgiving vs. Not Forgiving

Invitation #6 - Exchanging Pain for Peace

Chapter Eight: Being in the Now

Being in the Now

Invitation #7 - Friend vs. Stranger

Invitation #8 - How Your Thoughts Affect You in the Moment

You're Always in the Right Place at the Right Time

Being in the Now on the Road

Invitation #9 - Living in the Now: Four Steps to Choosing Peace on the Road

How Envy Keeps You from Living in the Moment

Chapter Nine: Choosing One's Attitude

Choosing One's Attitude

I Have Two Choices

Changing Attitudes - Expansion of Human Behavior

The Snowflake That Changed a Life

A Brother in Pain

Dream Offered for Chapter Nine - The Smile

Everything Happens for Your Own Good

Turning Blocks into Blessings

Chapter Ten: Taking Responsibility for Your Destiny

Taking Responsibility for Your Destiny

When Bad Things Happen

Bad Things: Levels of Perception

Blessing Every Step of Your Journey

Every Trip Helps Us Evolve

Experiencing God During Difficult Situations

Guideposts

Be Open to Changing Directions

Thank the Road for Its Bumps

Wipe the Windshields Clean: Getting Clear

There are No Limits on This Road

Other Passengers in the Car: Relationships

Buckle Your Child's Safety Belt, but Don't Leave Him in the Car

You are Now on the Road of Your Choosing

Chapter Eleven: Dreams, Prayer, Out-of-Body Experiences & Meditation

Dreams, Prayer, Out-of-Body Experiences, and Meditation

Dreams

Lucid Dreaming

Sleep Paralysis

Precognitive Dreams

Prayer

My First Experience with Prayer

God Answers Prayers

Do Pets Go to Heaven?

Invitation #10 - Reconnecting with a Loved One

Pluto

Chapter Twelve: At Peace with the Afterlife

At Peace with the Afterlife

So What Happens When We Die?

Suicide

Entering the Spirit World

Invitation #11 - A Physical Experience of How The Light Feels

The Tunnel

My Spiritual Home

Destination - Heaven or Hell

Will I Get Bored in Heaven?

Is This Hell?

Judgment: An Eye for an Eye

Lost Souls

Making Peace with a Loved One Who Has Passed On

Relationships Continue

Invitation #12 - Obtaining Peace with a Loved One Who Has Passed On

Have We Met Before?

Re-entry

To Be or Not To Be

Adoption

Are People Born Gay or Is It a Choice?

Epilogue

About the Author

StandUp For Kids

Bibliography

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my good friend and life coach Olaf Halvorssen. Thank you Olaf, for among many things introducing me to A Course In Miracles in 1991.

I would like to thank Renee Rosen for her kindness and the endurance that it took to read and review the first draft of this book.

I would like to thank my editors Jennifer Reinfeld (http://www.ReinfeldDesigns.com) and Arlene Allen-Mitchell for their discipline, professionalism and patience. I would also like to thank Jennifer for the design and management of my website, http://www.ChosenToRemember.com.

I would like to thank my Godfather Oswaldo Cisneros for his support. It is because of his work ethic that the members of our family have the freedom to follow their personal dreams.

I would like to thank my mother Linda for her continuous love and devotion.

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Dedication

To the reader: My friend, it is my honor to share a part of this journey with you. This book is my soul’s reflection on paper. If you choose to read this material with an open heart and mind you may very well see your soul’s reflection, and it will not surprise you to see and feel deep inner beauty and knowledge being reflected back.

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Introduction

When you eventually see through the veils to how things really are, you will keep saying again and again, this is certainly not like we thought it was.

- Rumi

I am a simple man. I am not a so-called expert in any one religion or spiritual practice. In this, I believe, lies my greatest strength. It is with the desire for simplicity and the hope for eloquence that I share what offers me peace of mind and joy in the present moment. Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote that eloquence is the power to translate a truth into language perfectly intelligible to the person to whom you speak. I trust this book will eloquently touch that part in all of us that is the same.

My friend, there are many paths we may choose to take to achieve peace of mind and joy in the present moment. The journey is as complicated as we choose to make it, or as easy as we allow it to be. You may choose one path now, and select another one later, or you may choose more than one path at any given time. Do not concern yourself with what others say is the right, trendy, truthful or acceptable way to grow. Move toward those paths that offer you peace of mind and joy and are in alignment with your present values. Within your heart, there lies a memory of your trueself. It is this memory you search for, and it is this memory you will one day remember. Once this memory is recalled, you will find a place that you have never left.

I am not looking to teach, for teaching implies that there is something you lack or still need to learn. Rejoice, for there is nothing you lack. There is nothing more for you to learn because all wisdom already resides within you. My aspiration is simply to assist you in remembering your true nature. Any moment that we are not at peace comes about because we have forgotten our true nature. My hope is that this book will assist you in remembering what you may have forgotten. Yet, even in forgetting there is good news and it is this: You must have known in order to have forgotten. In fact, once you begin to remember you will smile, for you will suddenly recall that, Yes, I feel as though I have always known this; this is familiar to me. I am at peace with this information. It will feel right, and you will be at peace, for truth brings about a peaceful state. My brother and sister, all truth lies within us. We may have temporarily forgotten this, but we have now chosen to remember.

I feel very blessed to have lived the life I've lived. At the time I began this writing, I was 30 years old. Although I understand that in life I may still be considered a young man, none of the thoughts in this book are new. I have not given origin to the thoughts in this book, for all truth is already available. I have simply reorganized them in an effort to find peace of mind and joy.

I believe that anyone reading this book is reading it for a reason. I hope that there is something in this book that will speak to you, something that will go directly to your heart - the God in you. If this book facilitates your journey in any way, then I am truly honored to have been of service. Service, I once read, is love put into action. I have been reminded of my mission in this life, and it is this: to love and serve. This book is part of that mission.

I will be using the G word throughout this book. If you're uncomfortable with this word, please forgive me and substitute it for any idea or word you like. If you think that what I just said is blasphemous, please forgive me and continue reading. Whatever you believe or not about God is fine. It is with an open and honest heart that I respect whatever God means to you. My personal view is simply this: There is nothing in this world more valuable than faith and trust in a loving God.

So with an open heart and mind I share my thoughts. Those thoughts that resonate with you will simply reinforce what you consciously or unconsciously already know. Those thoughts which do not resonate with you - I invite you to question or simply put aside. Regardless of what you choose to do with the thoughts that are presented, I do wish you well on your journey.

Peace, health, happiness, love, laughter and light.

Your brother,

James Blanchard Cisneros

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Chapter 1: The Dream

Imagine yourself in God's arms. You have fallen asleep, and you begin to dream. Some dreams take you outside your home, others to different countries, and still others to different worlds. Yet, if you were to awaken, you would still find yourself in God's arms. Regardless of the dreams you created, regardless of what you chose to believe and experience in those dreams, regardless of how scared you were, or the words you chose to use, God watched over you with everlasting love, patience and peace.

Imagine yourself smiling as you watch your children sleep. So too does God watch over you with absolute love. Regardless of what you choose to see as true, regardless of how you view Him or dream of Him, He waits patiently for you to awaken. You might scream or kick Him, but He understands that you dream, and that you are simply reacting to a dream. He embraces you with perfect love and acceptance. He strokes your head, and although you sleep, you feel His love. And deep within, although you sleep, you are grateful for His love. My friend, you will awaken. And when you do, you will awaken to a place you have never left.

Some of you have a difficult time believing that God loves you unconditionally. You may look at your life, having experienced pain, guilt, anger, suffering, envy, lust and jealousy, and ask, How could God really love me if I am all these things and more? How could God lovingly hold me in his arms while I experience such emotions? Remember, God is looking at you while you sleep. He also knows what you are like when you are awake. (Yes, we are still talking about God, not Santa Claus.) He created you in His image. If you choose to believe God knows you not, then allow as true that God knows Himself. If He knows Himself, then he knows His image, and if He knows His image, then He at least knows the truth about you.

God knows who you have always been, even if you don't know who you are now. My friend, we dream, and in our dreams we make ourselves into characters who can experience emotions such as pain, guilt, anger, suffering, envy, lust and jealousy. Yet, dreams and illusions are, by their very nature, temporary. In fact, our dreams are but a blink of eternity's eyes.

If you have not yet given birth to a son or a daughter, imagine creating such a being. Imagine the absolute love you would have for him or her. Now, imagine yourself suddenly judging or even hating this perfect creature because he or she chooses to blink. This is what many believe God could and is doing to us. Can you now begin to conceptualize the scale and magnitude of our illusions? God's love for us is changeless and eternal, and this life is a momentary blink in eternity's eyes. Would you judge or hate your child for blinking? Would God?

My friend, if God does not judge His creations, why would we ever want to judge them? God loves His creations, and if we do anything but love His creations, we will have a feeling of separation. The opposite of love is fear, and fear is manifested through judgment. Judgment is the basis for separation, which is the ego's goal. When we judge a brother or sister, be it in thought or action, we create a sense of separation, which then results in feelings of guilt. Inwardly, we feel guilty because we judge what God loves and sees as perfect. If we judge God’s child, then, by definition, we have judged ourselves. If we judge ourselves without knowing that we are doing so, then we create confusion. Once we experience enough confusion we create a chaotic state.

A life lived in chaos and confusion will not bring about peace of mind and joy. Our tolerance for chaos and confusion may be high, but it is not without limit. There comes a time for all of us when we say to ourselves, There must be a better way, a better, more productive answer than chaos and confusion. And as we begin to question ourselves, we start to awaken and remember our trueselves. We realize and remember that just as confusion and chaos are the result of meeting our brothers and sisters with judgment, so too are peace of mind and joy the result of meeting our brothers and sisters with acceptance and love.

My friend, allow your brothers and sisters to experience the illusions they perceive as real. Often it is only when our brothers and sisters physically, emotionally and spiritually experience the emptiness of their actions and reactions that they realize their futility. Please understand that I'm not saying that you should not make an effort to guide your brothers and sisters in a positive direction. But be very aware of the subtle differences between guidance and control. These differences are more often than not very muddled in the ego's thought system. If asked, we may offer our brothers and sisters guidance, but we need to refrain from attachment to its outcome. Be not attached to your brothers and sisters following your direction. Look within your heart, offer support and love, and trust that His will will be done. If your brothers and sisters insist on falling, let them fall, for sooner or later they will land on their knees, and when they do they will not experience pain but relief. One of the greatest gifts you can offer your brothers and sisters is the loving space they need to fall, land on their knees and experience their perfection.

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The Unconscious Habitual Belief System or Ego

Throughout this book, I will be discussing the ego because it is so intricately woven onto the fabric of our being. If we believe in limitations, separations, judgment and fear of any kind, we have bought into the illusion of reality that has been sold to us by the ego. Likewise, if we respond to any person, place or thing with judgment, sadness, negativity, stress, anxiety, annoyance or anger, know that we have bought into the same illusion. These beliefs and responses have been ingrained and reinforced in us in such a way that they have become habitual. These habits, this habitual belief system (simply referred to as the ego-self or ego) is what we use to react to our daily experiences. This habitual belief system is mostly an unconscious belief system that manifests itself as our beliefs and attitudes. These beliefs and attitudes influence our daily reactions, responses and behaviors toward ourselves, our fellow humans and the world in general. Like robots, any time we react with limitation, separation, judgment or fear, we are simply reacting as we have been programmed to. Eventually, we learn that this is not how we want to act, react, be or live. Slowly, we consciously become aware of our unconscious habitual belief system, and we can then begin to de-program ourselves. This is a time of great celebration, for as we become aware of our programming we also begin to understand the possibility of choice. We learn that we indeed have the choice of seeing things as we've been programmed to, or examining what we currently believe to see if it fits with what we truly desire. We can then choose whether we want to continue with that limited belief system or replace it with a more empowering understanding.

If we believe that we are not good enough, that we are not deserving of love, that we have limited possibilities, that we're separate from our brothers and sisters, or that fear is real, then these attitudes and perceptions have become part of our unconscious habitual belief system that we now see as our real selves. In the ego’s world there is a mass thought system, a deep-seated belief that we are unworthy, that we are not good enough, that we do not deserve happiness, and that our future and the world's future look grim. These perceptions have been programmed into us and have often become part of our belief system. We see our belief system as a reflection of our real selves - as our reality.

What we believe about ourselves, we look for and manifest in our daily experiences. This is what we allow as possibilities for ourselves, and in an unconscious way, we prove ourselves right when we experience it. It gives us a certain level of satisfaction to know that we are right, and yet, at the same time we are disturbed by what we are experiencing. This creates a level of confusion that slowly develops into a chaotic state. Most people wait for this chaotic state to manifest before they begin examining and questioning their unconscious habitual belief system. Eventually, as we look into and question our unconscious habitual belief system, we begin to recognize and remember that this is not how we want to react or behave, that this is not who we truly are. We begin to loosen our attachments to our old selves. And as we do, we begin to realize and remember that we have a choice - the choice of seeing and reacting to people and the world as we truly want to. Our old selves believed in limitations, separations, judgment and fear. We have now learned that these thought patterns are not who we are or what we want. We do not want to live in a confused or chaotic state any longer; we want to live in a peaceful and joyful state. New choices, new thought patterns begin to align themselves with our trueselves. Peace is the opposite of chaos, and in order to experience the opposite state, we must believe that its opposite is possible.

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Self-Image Transformation

Self-image transformation, becoming aware of our trueselves, begins with the willingness to accept that limitlessness, unity, forgiveness and love are things we truly desire in our lives. Self-image transformation means changing the way we perceive or see ourselves. For this to occur we do not need to change what we do, we simply need to change our perception of who we think we are. We do not need to change the outside environment or how others think, act or react. We simply need to change our minds. Because it is an inner change, we have the final and ultimate decision on whether or not this is something we truly want and desire. A little willingness to obtain this is all we'll ever need.

As you'll soon recall, peace is eternally available to you. Your recognition of its availability is all that is needed for you to obtain and experience peace. As peace is eternally available to you, so too are limitlessness, unity, forgiveness and love. They are eternally available to you because these are aspects of your trueself. Again, it is simply your willingness to obtain and experience them that will allow them to manifest in your life. The more you believe them to be available to you, the more you will see them being manifested in one way or another in your life. Slowly, what you once judged, you will now forgive. Who you once feared, you will now love. What once separated you from your brother will now join you. And what once caused you confusion and chaos will now bring understanding and peace.

To experience self-image transformation, allow the negative thoughts in your unconscious habitual belief system or ego to surface. For it is in their surfacing that light will shine on them, and you'll be able to finally see and understand what they are truly offering. When you understand that you truly do not want what they offer, you will release these limited beliefs. When you release them, you will let go of all you thought you were. Finding out who you are in truth, many times, begins with the realization of who you are not.

Many people have self-esteem issues, yet even those with high self esteem limit themselves when they use the ego to measure and define their trueselves. The ego-self only allows a limited level of self-esteem. If you consider yourself to be below this limited level, the ego labels you as shy and timid, causing your fellow humans to look down on you. If you consider yourself to be above the level it sets for you, it labels you as conceited, causing others to judge and ridicule your beliefs. If you fall within the ego's safe level of self-esteem, it still has every brother and sister whose views differ from yours judge and question your beliefs about yourself and the world. Understand that with the ego, even when you win you lose and any victory is conditional upon your feeling guilty and unworthy of it. This is what has been taught to us. This is what you have likely accepted to be true and to be the way life is. This is what you are now realizing you do not want. The more you realize what it is you do not want, the closer you come to finding out what it is you do want.

How would you like to give up your limited ego-self and replace it with an infinite Godself? How would you like to give up nothing and get everything in return? Would you like to give up judgment and receive forgiveness, give up fear and receive love, give up separation and receive unity, give up confusion and chaos and receive peace of mind and joy? This is God's offer to you but it is your choice through free will whether to accept it or not. God offered you this when you were created. It is your inheritance. It is your essence. It is your truth. There is only one thing that you need to do to obtain everything. Offer your brothers and sisters what you want to experience. For we are all one, and what you offer to them you gift yourself.

Allow what you wish to experience to flow through you. Let forgiveness, love, unity and peace flow through you. Let these thoughts and feelings expand to your brothers and sisters. As you acknowledge that they are worthy of these thoughts, you are also secretly acknowledging that you too are worthy of them. The more these types of unlimited thoughts are allowed in, accepted and expanded, the more they will manifest in your life. The more you offer these thoughts, the more you will want to experience them. The more you experience them, the less you will want their opposites.

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Being Born Into a Dream

Imagine being born into a dream - a mass illusion transformed over thousands of years by billions of people into what today we call reality. The billions of people subdivided into territories they called countries, into belief systems they called religions and into groups they called races. Countries subdivided into states, provinces and cities, which were then subdivided into neighborhoods that subdivided into buildings or single-family homes. Religions divided into conservative and liberal sects, which then grew into more conservative and liberal branches. Races divided themselves by all of the above, including color, tone, ethnic makeup and financial status.

Each group then teaches and defends that its way is the way, and its truth is the truth. And each group creates its own reality out of what it believes. Each group then tries to sell us on its current forms and laws, telling us that this is what is right. Each teaches us that the closer we are to following its form, the happier, more successful and peaceful we will be. And somewhere deep within, we know that it is our right to be happy and to be at peace. So we buy into it, and regardless of how little sense the illusion makes, we keep participating for if we stop we will be judged as outcasts, trouble-makers or bums. We are taught that if we stop participating in the group’s way of life, our hopes for happiness, success and peace will also end. The group we are in tells us that if we go against the norm, we will not find happiness, peace or success. So we buy into the illusion the group offers us, believing that there is no other way. We carefully weave and contour the illusion into one we can live with for now. But my friend, regardless of how we choose to weave, contour and experience the illusion, it is still an illusion.

All these divisions, separations and sects continuously punish and judge each other for being different, and punish their own group members for not being the same. This makes little sense to our trueselves so we create a mask, or false self that allows us to live more comfortably in the illusion. I refer to this mask, or false self, as the ego-self. The ego-self or ego is not part of our physical bodies. The ego is a belief system within our minds. And so with our ego-selves, we shape the illusion into one we can live with. We call it reality - not our reality, but reality nonetheless. We defend this reality with all our might, for if it fails, we believe that so too will our chances at happiness, success, peace and joy.

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The Dream of Separation

One of the ego's favorite games in this dream is the idea of separation. It teaches that we can find true peace of mind and joy through separation. It wants us to believe in the idea of separation so that it can serve as our only guide. The ego wants us to see it as valuable and useful, for it has trained us to discard the valueless and useless.

The ego wants us to believe in the idea of completion but never actually achieve completion. It doesn't want us to achieve completion because we would no longer need it. So it serves as our guide, offering us one treasure map after another, and we buy into this reality. We cannot yet acknowledge to ourselves that the treasure lies within, and so we look outside for what the ego says will make us happy and whole. We search but we rarely find. The few times we find the treasure chest, we become momentarily satisfied, only to open it and find it empty. We start to question the ego, but as we do, it offers us a new map and promises that this time it will bring us peace of mind, joy and completion.

Every map, every guidance the ego offers tells of an outward journey in a world of scarcity, where in order to succeed we must find the limited number of idols (false Gods) before our brother or sister does. It tells us that we should join those brothers and sisters who think as we do and shun those who do not. It begins its game by separating its illusion into thousands of different ideas that we make into idols. It whispers that we must obtain these idols, material things and ideas to achieve completion. This way it covers itself by making sure that we will bite at a few of these thousands of idols and spend our time trying to obtain them. For the more time we spend searching for them, the less time we have to question the ego's guidance. Like a wise old fisherman, the ego keeps switching bait until it finds the right one for the fish it is trying to catch. We then decide which idols are most important to our completion, and live our lives trying to acquire them. We look for brothers and sisters who are in search of similar idols in the form of ideas, material things and status. And we discard and separate from the brothers and sisters who do not share our views.

My friend, it is not the idols we seek, but completion itself. We will not find completion by discarding any brother or sister. We will not find completion by attaching ourselves to an individual brother or sister or to a specific group. We will never find completion by searching for illusions. For only in the illusion can parts of a whole join together at the exclusion of other parts and call themselves complete and whole. And only in a mass illusion can idols offer us something God can not. There is no end to illusions and the only way to find completion is to awaken.

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Judging the Dreamer

Every day we help mold and develop people by what we offer them. If we offer people patience, love and forgiveness, they have a greater chance of growing into patient, loving and forgiving beings. And we will live in gratitude if these people touch our lives or the lives of our children. These people will in turn be grateful to us and our children, for they will remember that it was our patience, love and forgiveness that allowed them to become who they are today.

My friend, offer what you want to experience. Offer patience, love and forgiveness, and you will manifest them in one way or another in your life. Offer judgment and ridicule, and sooner or later, this is what you will manifest into your life.

Each one of our brothers and sisters’ words and actions is a gift. If their words or actions are not understood as gifts, then we are misperceiving reality. We can perceive a person's words or actions as gifts to be grateful for, or as bricks we must defend against. One decision will bring us peace, and the other will bring us judgment and pain. Understand that only in the dream can a gift be turned into a brick that we must defend against.

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Dream Offered for Chapter One - The Gift

In every chapter of this book I asked for and received either a dream or an out-of-body experience (OBE) that could be useful in explaining this material. My hope is that each personal experience will be useful to you. I do a lot of lucid and non lucid dream and OBE work. I meditate before going to sleep and invite my spirit guides to offer me a dream that can enhance or clarify the material. This has been and is a very useful growth tool for me. In Chapter 11, I will invite you to try it. You can train yourself to remember the details of your dreams and OBEs. Much knowledge can be extracted from the dream state. Along with the message that is offered through the imagery of the dream, there are also verbal messages that are offered. For me, these messages sometimes sound like a young, yet mature baritone voice within my