Into the Land Of Heaven

INTO THE LAND OF HEAVEN

G R Zee

Copyright 2003 by Gail Robin, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. All rights reserved.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. Thank you for downloading this book. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase you own copy. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from an authorized retailer. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my beautiful, smart, talented, daughter Hollie and my handsome, clever, creative, son Michael

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION: THE COLOR OF SOUL LIGHT

CHAPTER ONE: INTO THE LAND OF HEAVEN

CHAPTER TWO: CAUGHT BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH

CHAPTER THREE: BEYOND

CHAPTER FOUR: SOUL TRAIN

CHAPTER FIVE: HONEY I’M HOME

CHAPTER SIX: SOUL LESSONS

CHAPTER SEVEN: AMY

CHAPTER EIGHT: HI HO, HI HO, ITS OFF TO WORK WE GO

CHAPTER NINE: AMY’S LOVE LIFE

CHAPTER TEN: A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

CHAPTER ELEVEN: LAURA

CHAPTER TWELVE: A PRAYER AND A PROMISE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: BACK TO WORK

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: ALEX

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: LIFE GOES ON

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: THE BIRTH OF LOVE

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE DEATH OF LOVE

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: NEW LIVES AND NEW LOVES

CHAPTER NINETEEN: THE PRAYER OF THE GOLDEN HEART

CHAPTER TWENTY: DOWN TO EARTH

INTRODUCTION: THE COLOR OF SOUL LIGHT

There is a light in the universe that is not visible to the human eye. It is not like sunlight, or moonlight or starlight. It is the warm illumination that emanates from G-D and permeates the cosmos with love, hope and beauty. All of creation is fashioned from this light, including the human soul. In Heaven, the light of G-D is seen, felt, and shared by all souls. Everything in Heaven is made of light and all the divine environments are illusions of reality against the backdrop of G-D’s holy love-light.

All souls are beings of light. Every soul in Heaven shines with its own unique tints and depths of color. The maturity and experience gained by a soul is reflected in the intensity and hues of its soul-light. Newborn souls that have never incarnated into human form start as pure white light, then, (according to the research of Dr. Michael Newton), after living through many physical incarnations and spiritual between-lives, their soul-light attains colors such as yellow for wisdom, orange for bravery, red for passion, green for healing, blue for compassion, and purple for love. The Heavens are alight with an array of glittering colorful soul-lights.

CHAPTER ONE: INTO THE LAND OF HEAVEN

SPRING IN THE MID-LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY

The sun suddenly poked its head up over the horizon, and squirted the sky with streams of orange light. Danny Rosen yawned and stretched. Realizing it wasn’t a workday, he joyfully sprinted out of bed thinking, this is the first day of the rest of my life. He was quickly in vacation mode, ready to pack up, grab his wife, and sail away. He peeked out of his Miami Beach bedroom window and saw his adored sailboat tethered to the dock, happily bobbing as the waves tickled its underbelly.

At 6:50 A.M., Danny was ready for a weeklong trip to the Florida Keys. His wife, Marlene, donned in her designer sportswear, waited expectantly while Danny lifted the ropes, kicked the boat away from the dock, and jumped aboard in one smooth practiced motion. While Dan was in mid-jump, his heart exploded, and he toppled over the side of the boat. As he fell, he glimpsed the sun spin out of control, and crash into the silence of the bay. While descending into the cool depths of the sunlit waters, he suddenly heard a high-pitched sound ringing in his ears. When he turned his head to locate the source of the sound, he was suddenly above the scene looking down. He watched Marlene frantically reach over the side of the boat, and tug on something heavy. Marlene dragged a large object out of the water, and hauled it up over the side of the boat. After a few seconds, he was stunned to see that she had fished a man’s body out of the bay. Dan felt confused as he floated above the scene and watched her struggle with the limp, wet body.

He became aware of another person located slightly behind and above him. He turned and saw a lovely young woman in a gossamer lavender gown floating in the air and sweetly beckoning to him. He thought this seemed strange, but for the moment he chose to ignore her and return his attention to Marlene, who continued to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the unconscious man sprawled out on the deck of the sailboat.

I think he’s dead, his chest isn’t moving, Danny thought.

Marlene sobbed and pleaded, Wake up! Danny! Please don’t die, don’t leave me this way, Danny! Don’t leave me! I need you! Wake up! He saw her below. Wet, shivering, weeping. Her head on the man’s chest.

Why did she call the man Danny? Does she know him? It’s odd that he has the same name that I have. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and without looking, he knew it was the girl in the lavender gown. There was something familiar about this girl.

She had the sweetest voice he had ever heard.

It’s time to come home with me.

It suddenly dawned on Danny, what should have been obvious from the start, that he was the dead man who had collapsed on the deck below.

Have I died? he asked, incredulous.

She was serenely beautiful. Her lovely gown gently billowed out in a bell shape, her long shimmering strawberry blond locks floated gently around her. Her soft voice was like a caress.

Yes, you’ve passed on, that’s why I’m here. It’s your time to die. You might feel surprised that you didn’t recognize your body, below us. But then this is the first time you’ve ever seen yourself other than in a flat mirror. If you’ve never seen yourself in three-dimensional space it’s hard to recognize your own body. But don’t worry; you won’t need that body anymore. You will live on without it, I promise! Your physical body is deceased and your immortal soul has been released

Daniel Rosen was only fifty-four years old when he died from cardiac arrest while taking off on his sailboat this beautiful sun-laden morning. Yet, upon discovering that he had an immortal soul, he felt a mixture of fear, disbelieve, and humor.

Who are you?

I’m Orli, your spirit guide.

My what?

I am your spirit guide.

This is some kind of weird dream.

This is not a dream, Danny.

Great, she’s a mind reader. There was something oddly familiar about Orli, yet he couldn’t grasp how he knew her. Dan didn’t believe in life after death. He had always ignored all the religious, new age, and spiritual beliefs, because there was no scientific evidence to prove that human beings have immortal souls. Yet here he was, floating around in the air over his own dead body, talking to his spirit guide like it was perfectly normal. Nothing in his physical life had ever prepared him for this moment!

When Daniel’s grandfather had arrived in America at Ellis Island, at the turn of the twentieth century, the family name had been immediately changed from the original surname Rosenblum to the Americanized Rosen. The changing of the name was the first step that the family took in shedding their European lifestyle and beliefs as they set out to establish a new, contemporary American identity. In the fresh, modern, clean world of America, everything was scientific. All information had to be proven and based on objective research. Mysticism and religion were embarrassing old country concepts to be treated with contempt and ridicule. Souls, spirits, and ghosts were children’s fare and appropriate only on Halloween along with costumes, pumpkins and candy treats. Daniel was raised as a Reform American Jew, in a family that was devoutly American (and Jewish in name only).

Faced with the reality of life after death, Dan wasn’t prepared to deal with it. I’m not ready to die, he thought, I want to stay and finish my life.

This life is over, Orli told him.

Danny felt impatient and mildly frightened. Could I really be dead? He confronted the strange woman.

What kind of life is this, to be alive without a body to live in? To see without eyes, hear without ears, and think without a brain? Am I dead or alive? Am I dreaming or awake? Part of me wants to try to return to my body, lying lifeless below, but part of me wants to rise into the sky above.

Orli gently assured him, You cannot return to your physical body, Dan. Its life is extinguished. You are the immortal soul that abided in that body. This is your true essence, the life force that drives the body. This human life has ended and you are free to resume your spirit life. I know it will seem strange at first, but you will soon remember who and what you really are. Very soon I will assist you to ascend to the heights above.

Dan shook his head and stubbornly insisted, I don’t believe in all that nonsense, there is no life after death! This is a ridiculous dream.

This is not a dream, Danny, this is the truest reality you will ever face: Your time on Earth has ended. Your body is dead but your soul is alive.

Dan looked at her sweet and honest face. His heart told him that she was telling the truth, that this was his new reality. He felt exuberant, yet frightened to realize that the death of his corporeal body was not the end of his life, but what would happen next? Equally important, what would happen to his beloved child Amy?

Orli watched Dan as he assimilated this new information. When she knew he wondered what would happen next, she offered an explanation, When you are ready to leave Earth’s astral planes I will guide you back to the land of your soul’s home. There you will live and learn until you are ready to begin another human life.

Another human life? What do you mean by that?

You have lived many lives before the life of Danny Rosen, and you will live more lives after this one. Between physical lives you remain in your soul state, as you are right now, and abide in Heaven where you study your past lives to prepare for your next future life.

Are you talking about reincarnation?

Yes, I am, Danny. But you do not need to absorb all of this right now, there’s plenty of time to gain an understanding of your place in the cosmos. Are you ready to come home with me?

No. No, I’m not ready. Dan looked pleadingly at Orli, hoping that she would have the power to help him.

I can’t leave yet, I need to stay and see what will happen to my family, especially my daughter, Amy. How will she cope without me? Who will protect her?

You can communicate with Amy right now, if you want to.

How?

By entering her dream, she’s still sleeping.

It was 7:30 AM on a Saturday morning. Dan’s eighteen-year old daughter, Amy, was sleeping in her dormitory room at a local University where she was about to complete her freshman year. Orli gently guided Dan through time and space, as though gliding into an adjoining room, he found himself suspended above Amy, watching her sleep. His beautiful daughter was lightly sleeping, almost ready to awaken. Her long wavy chestnut hair, caught up in a braid, was draped across the mattress behind her. She was curled up in a fetal position, under her pink flowered quilt.

As he hovered over her narrow dormitory bed and watched her sleep, Dan realized that he was able to view her dream in his own mind as though it was a movie or a joint dream. With Orli’s help, he was actually able to project himself into her dream-mind. He understood that he could alter the setting and become a character in her dream. She was dreaming of walking down the street in a strong rain. He inserted himself beside her, as both of them in yellow vinyl rain slickers waded through puddles. He conversed with her subconscious mind.

The communication was very fast, they didn’t use words. Whole thoughts flew back and forth between them. In a flash, she gave him insight into all of her hopes and plans for her future. He saw her as a young art teacher, hopeful and energetic. He gave her encouragement for all of her hopes and future plans. He let her know he had died, but was still alive without his body. He felt her total love for him. Amy was the one person in his life who offered him a pure and unconditional love, void of motives, without any intention of manipulating or using him.

He instinctively promised her, I will watch over you and return here if you need me. I love you.

With those words, he slipped out of her dream, out of her physical life, and into his new existence as an immortal soul

I know you are reluctant to leave, Orli told him, you can stay on the Earthly plane longer if you like, but it would be a good idea to start your life review now. Are you willing to see your life review now?

I’m willing, although I have no idea what that is.

CHAPTER TWO: CAUGHT BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH

You will review all of the life events, thoughts and emotions that comprised your physical existence as Danny Rosen. From this experience, you will begin to learn which soul goals you have achieved and to what extent. Watch, you will see and experience your entire life.

A vision appeared, a ghostly panorama of another time and place. Dan saw his mother as a young woman in small old-fashioned hospital room in the process of giving birth to him. In what seemed to be a twinkle of time Dan saw every major and minor event in his life enacted in the space in front of him. He understood from this experience that every detail of each individual’s life is documented on a heavenly record. Every utterance, act, thought, desire, and dream remains in a permanent visual, auditory and sensory record of life.

So, this is what it means to see your life flash before your eyes.

So many events that Dan had forgotten were re-enacted in front of his eyes. Small acts became serious dramas, like the time he had grabbed his little sister’s favorite toy and broke it when they were toddlers. He felt her stunned and wounded baby feelings as though he were in her place. He saw random acts of kindness performed, for instance the time he offered an elderly woman his umbrella as they scuttled across a busy downtown street in a downpour of gusty rain. He felt her surprised gratitude for the kindness of a stranger.

He re-experienced the bigger life events as well, such as meeting and marrying Marlene and having their children. Every argument, every act of love or discipline, every impact, whether positive or negative was reviewed, replayed, and re-experienced from both his own and the other person’s viewpoint. Daniel both watched and felt the key events as well as the trivial events of his life. He was concurrently an impartial observer and an active participant as the episodes of his life swam across the mystical panoramic screen. It was a rude awakening to feel the pain he had caused other people during his life. It was also a positive feeling to enjoy those moments of kindness and love he had brought to others. It was an amazing experience to discover that whether deliberate or unintentional, off-hand comments, gestures, or even a fleeting facial expression can cause wounded feelings. It was a shock for Daniel to experience a lifetime of both good and bad feelings that he had caused, and all of this emotional passion was presented to his sensibilities in a rush and burst of time.

The emotional impact of this life review was staggering, it was impossible for him to swiftly integrate all of this new knowledge and experience. His mind reeled from the revelations of reliving fifty-four years in the space of what seemed to be few seconds. As he struggled to synthesize this experience he began to realize that all of the thoughts, acts, and motives that defined his being had apparently been recorded in a supernatural, multi-sensory movie of his life. It was beginning to dawn on him that we humans are accountable for every aspect of our lives for all eternity and, furthermore, we are important to every soul, stranger or loved one, whom we encounter in the course of our physical existence. He had frequently heard references to incidents being inscribed in the book of life but he had never imagined it would be anything like this. He thought it was just a poetic reference.

He was interrupted from these thoughts by Orli. Again, Danny felt her calming hand on his ethereal shoulder. Sensing the depth of his emotional response to his life review process, she sought to alleviate his anxiety by transmitting reassuring thoughts to his mind.

This was just a brief overview of your current life experience. Think about it and soon we will discuss the lessons you learned in this life. The purpose of life is to have a learning experience, there is no punishment, other than what you choose to inflict on yourself. Soon we will have a long talk about your life.

What will happen after we talk about my life?

"Then you will be invited to meet with your Council of Elders. They will help you identify every success and error of this past life and give you guidance in planning your soul lessons for your next life. There will be plenty of time to reflect, learn, and absorb the meaning of all of this. In fact, in this dimension of life-after-life we do not have linear time. Linear time is an earthly phenomenon that does not exist in this plane of life. You have all the time in the world. Whenever you are ready to proceed to the next step in your cosmic journey, when you are ready to resume your soul life, I will escort you to the next level of existence, into the land of Heaven.

Daniel understood, but he didn’t want to leave just yet. Let me watch over Amy until the funeral and the week of mourning is over, then I’ll be ready to move on.

I see that you aren’t ready to leave Earth’s astral planes yet. I will leave you here for now, while you adjust to your new situation. I will come back for you when you are ready to leave. With those words Orli disappeared in a sparkle.

Dan turned his attention to his wife, Marlene. As soon as he thought of her he was transported back to the sailboat. He hovered in the air above and looked down at the scene below. Apparently, Marlene had finally contacted the paramedics. The ambulance was parked in the backyard alongside the dock. While one medic was examining Dan’s deceased body the other was interviewing the sobbing and exhausted Marlene to discover what had happened to Dan. When they determined that Daniel Rosen was deceased from probable cardiac arrest they arranged to bring his body to the nearest hospital.

As the paramedics took Dan’s body off of the boat Marlene asked them to call her son Elliot. She really didn’t have the strength to talk to him in her current state, suffering from shock as she was, she could hardly process the events of the day. A few hours earlier she was the wife of a prominent Miami dentist and now at the age of fifty she was a widow.

Dan was surprised to realize that he could simultaneously view both Marlene at the house and his son Elliot in his office as this played out. Elliot, who was a newly minted CPA, was sitting at his desk working on a corporate financial statement, when the shrill sound of the phone disrupted his train of thought. He was an attractive and intense twenty four-year old man. Leaning his five foot eight-inch muscular frame over his desk he grabbed the phone.

Rosen speaking, he growled.

On the other end of the phone he heard a male voice ask, Mr. Rosen? This is a paramedic calling from your parent’s home, on behalf of your mother. There’s been an accident on your parent’s sailboat and your father is being transported to the hospital. Your mom is O.K., I’m bringing her to the hospital with your dad. We need for you to meet us at the hospital as well.

What happened? Elliot demanded anxiously, running his fingers through his dark brown hair.

Sir, I can’t tell you anything about your father’s condition, however I suggest that you have your family doctor contact the hospital to get the medical information for you. If you could meet us at the hospital I’m sure your mother would appreciate your assistance right now. She’ll need for you to drive her home from the hospital later as well.

The paramedic gave Elliot the name of the hospital and ended the call. While the paramedic spoke with Elliot, Marlene had called her mother on another phone line, quickly informed her of Dan’s death, and briefly discussed the impending funeral. She briefly mentioned the financial impact that Dan’s death would have on her lifestyle. This confirmed for Dan what he had long suspected, that Marlene was a cold and calculating woman. He thought, she won’t even miss me, but she sure will miss my income. Surprisingly though he didn’t feel angry, he was just sadly disappointed. If he hadn’t felt such a strong concern for his daughter Amy he would have left Earth’s astral planes at that moment.

Dan continued to follow Marlene and he observed the scene where Elliot met Marlene at the hospital. Elliot had called the family doctor and close family friend, Dr. Steve Weiss. Weiss in turn had called the hospital and discovered that his dear friend Dr. Danny Rosen was dead on arrival. By the time Elliot arrived at the hospital Dr. Weiss was already there