Are We In Heaven Now?

I think the Kingdom of God is within us and as such heaven is too. I do think there is coming a future heaven, but it will be a heaven manifested outside of us, just as it is within us. There will be peace, no war, no tears, sorrow or death. There will be life that we can't imagine, there will be an eternity of learning to love.

What Jesus taught is about living according to the principles of heaven now. He said that the Kingdom of God is at hand. But he did speak of a future kingdom that would rule and break in pieces all our lesser kingdoms.

Originally Posted by ciel_perdu

I think the Kingdom of God is within us and as such heaven is too. I do think there is coming a future heaven, but it will be a heaven manifested outside of us, just as it is within us. There will be peace, no war, no tears, sorrow or death. There will be life that we can't imagine, there will be an eternity of learning to love.

What Jesus taught is about living according to the principles of heaven now. He said that the Kingdom of God is at hand. But he did speak of a future kingdom that would rule and break in pieces all our lesser kingdoms.

Beautiful stated...

Peace to you

[Morpheus]

TeeHee:

The world refers to the wicked, rebellious, vicious men. They are Godless, and perhaps all is right in their world, with no standard of right and wrong.

Sure.
You are talkinjg about both Ego, and duality.
However we can see that tjhe apparent "World" is an illusion. And, in the End, Brownings statement in his poem is the greater reality, and Truth.
God is Truth, and, there is only God.

Likewise, Mara in Buddhism, being the devil, is about the carnal illusion, the sensual, and material, and about temptation herein.
Concerning the Far Eastern teachings of, "maya" the illusion, Jesus confirmed this in His teachings on Faith, and by His miracles performed, also.
Physics today is also confirming the ancient teachings.

"Reality is an illusion, albeit, a very persistant one." -Einstein

Concerning, "Ego", to be equated with the devil.
http://www.spiritual-experiences.com/articles-spirituality/ego.php

And involving this also, regarding, "the devil", the "Dragon", and the "Serpent"...
consider, "The Reptilian Brain".
http://www.myshrink.com/counseling-theory.php?t_id=86

The Reptilian Brain is also about, "The Survival Instinct" of this organic aspect of ourselves, within illusory time and space.
As we know, the devil is equated with the dragon and the serpent in scripture, and, referred to as the "prince and power of the air", as well as, "The god of this age", and present, "world".

So Browning's statement is in actuality is true. One can say equally, that, "God is good all the time".

When seeeming bad things happen to us, we need to realize that it is a perspective involving Ego, and involving the Reptilian Brain, and, we ought to analyze, and think about the situation as to why it is occurring and, why we consider it, "bad", or negative.

Yogananda also stated, regarding all of this involving Ego, and, the survival instinct:


"Death is only an experience through which you are meant to learn a great lesson: you cannot die."

Edited by SF Staff

The "world" and the world to come are distinguished, the world is sinful and in opposition towards the Father. The love of the world and of God are not reconcilable. Neither the things that are in the world. The ways of the world, its passions, pleasures and pursuits. The world here means man, and man's world, in his and its state as fallen from God. God loved with the love of compassion the world, and we should feel the same kind of love for the fallen world, but we are not to love the world with congeniality and sympathy in its alienation from God; we cannot have this latter kind of love for the God estranged world, and yet have also the love of the Father in us.

I John 2:15
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

To me, one can redefine the world to accept their views, ideas, passions, and desires into something good apart from their evil deeds, that's a dishonest approach. Or one can see the alienation that themselves have sided in, and understand that one can not be sided with the world, or by every Biblical definition of "worldly" they are an enemy to God.

Lastly, Browning if he acknowledged any sense, the context in which the world is used, would have known better to use this, the statement is false. But before you do, consider what other "literary greats have spoken"

Philo: "It is impossible for love to the world to coexist with love to God, as it is impossible for light and darkness to coexist."

Compare Plato. "Evils, Theodorus, can never pass away; for there must always remain something which is antagonist to good. Having no place among the gods in heaven, of necessity they hover around the earthly nature, and this mortal sphere. Wherefore we ought to fly away from earth to heaven as quickly as we can; and to fly away is to become like God, as far as this is possible; and to become like Him is to become holy and just and wise"

Here's what a a literary critic and blogger has to say about Browning's line in his poem:

7. “God is in His Heaven and All is Right with the World”

These well-known lines have been spoken by Browning. They express extreme optimism. They tell us that a divine power rules this world and right and justice prevail here. But this belief turns out to be false when we actually examine the human conditions and circumstances. God may be in His Heaven but the truth is that all is not well with the world which is a place of sorrow and suffering. Some poets have said that this world is a dim vale of tears. Hardy feels that happiness is but an occasional episode in the general drama of pain. In his famous poem ‘Ode to A Nightingale’ Keats says how young men die an untimely death, the suffering and the sick groan and get no relief, beauty is short-lived. Evil, wickedness, misery and injustice prevail in the world. It seems that God does not appear to care much for human welfare. It also appears that the world has been given over to the Devil himself. This is specially true of the modern age. Development of science has reached a stage at which even a very slight carelessness on the part of man can bring disaster to the world. Things are growing from bad to worse. Everywhere there are signs of danger ahead. Not only in the political field, but in other spheres of activity also, there are discontent, nervousness, fear, suspicion and mistrust. It is not possible to agree with Browning that ours is a world in which right and justice are more powerful than evil and wickedness.

[Morpheus]

"7. “God is in His Heaven and All is Right with the World”

These well-known lines have been spoken by Browning. They express extreme optimism. They tell us that a divine power rules this world and right and justice prevail here. But this belief turns out to be false when we actually examine the human conditions and circumstances. God may be in His Heaven but the truth is that all is not well with the world which is a place of sorrow and suffering. Some poets have said that this world is a dim vale of tears. Hardy feels that happiness is but an occasional episode in the general drama of pain. In his famous poem ‘Ode to A Nightingale’ Keats says how young men die an untimely death, the suffering and the sick groan and get no relief, beauty is short-lived. Evil, wickedness, misery and injustice prevail in the world. It seems that God does not appear to care much for human welfare. It also appears that the world has been given over to the Devil himself. This is specially true of the modern age. Development of science has reached a stage at which even a very slight carelessness on the part of man can bring disaster to the world. Things are growing from bad to worse. Everywhere there are signs of danger ahead. Not only in the political field, but in other spheres of activity also, there are discontent, nervousness, fear, suspicion and mistrust. It is not possible to agree with Browning that ours is a world in which right and justice are more powerful than evil and wickedness."

Of course, TeeHee, but, we are speaking of what is, "apparent" vs. that which is invisible, and non apparent.
I quoted Brownings lines in that sense.
Again, is God good all the time, or not?

This aligns and agrees also with Far Eastern teachings.
What is the greater Truth, and reality?

"The mind is everything. What you think you become." ~ The Buddha ~
"As a man thinketh, so he is"- Proverbs (The Bible)
Jesus said this: "According to your Faith, so be it unto you".

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
II Corinthians 4:18

[Left Behind]

Originally Posted by michael55

A Course In Miracles says that we are in Heaven now, and all that humans must do to see it is to recognize it or accept it. Is that true?

I sure hope this isn't Heaven!

[Morpheus]

I sure hope this isn't Heaven

What it comes down to, is that in the face of the illusion, the believer is to impose the Truth.

Which, involves Heaven.

In one sense, time passes as one proceeds from the cradle to the grave. Yet, upon our demise, we do not go way down to hell or way up to heaven. As spirit, in an infinite world of all-time and all-space, we remain right where we are. We are always at the center of being. I know it’s hard to accept, but there it is.
Islam and traditional Judaism, like most religions, foster the idea of life after death, but Christianity, in particular, seems preoccupied with resurrection of the dead as exemplified by Jesus. Upon leaving the physical body, it is said that one is “shining like the stars in heaven” (Dan. 12:3) or has become “like the angels” (Mark 12:25). Saint Paul said that the resurrected body will be new and spiritual (1 Cor. 15:35-54). Frankly, I like the idea of bobbing around in a spirit body, au naturale, as it were. Long hair is in, no clothes and – Yeek! Are spirits naked?

[Left Behind]

Originally Posted by Morpheus

What it comes down to, is that in the face of the illusion, the believer is to impose the Truth.

Which, involves Heaven.

Morpheus, I can accept that the material world is a reflection of an ultimate spiritual reality: but I don't believe that it is merely an illusion. It's here, we're here.

Jim

[Left Behind]

Originally Posted by Winepenny

In one sense, time passes as one proceeds from the cradle to the grave. Yet, upon our demise, we do not go way down to hell or way up to heaven. As spirit, in an infinite world of all-time and all-space, we remain right where we are. We are always at the center of being. I know it’s hard to accept, but there it is.
Islam and traditional Judaism, like most religions, foster the idea of life after death, but Christianity, in particular, seems preoccupied with resurrection of the dead as exemplified by Jesus. Upon leaving the physical body, it is said that one is “shining like the stars in heaven” (Dan. 12:3) or has become “like the angels” (Mark 12:25). Saint Paul said that the resurrected body will be new and spiritual (1 Cor. 15:35-54). Frankly, I like the idea of bobbing around in a spirit body, au naturale, as it were. Long hair is in, no clothes and – Yeek! Are spirits naked?

I think we move to another dimension: probably much different from a different location, as we think of it.

I badly need a haircut now! And no, I think that spirits are clothed.