Summary
From the bestselling author of the Conversations with God series comes an uplifting masterwork of comfort and compassion o the perennial subject of death and dying.
Author Notes
Neale Donald Walsch and his wife formed the Conversations with God Foundation, a nonprofit organization offering programs in personal growth and spiritual understanding, with the state mission of helping the world to help itself. He lives in Ashland, Oregon.
Excerpts
Everybody is doing everything for themselves. . . . When you understand that this is true even about dying, you will never fear dying again. 1 It is impossible to live or to die without God, but it is not impossible to think that you are. If you think that you are living or dying without God, you will experience that you are. You may have this experience as long as you wish. You may end this experience whenever you choose. I believe those are holy words. I believe they came directly from God. Those words have been floating around in my mind for the past four years. I see now that they were my invitation. An invitation from God for a larger conversation. You're right. I wanted to make sure that we had this larger conversation, and so I placed those words in your mind every time you thought seriously about life or death, even for a moment. This is a conversation you've been reluctant to have, and have put off repeatedly. Yes, I know. It's not that I'm afraid to talk deeply about life, or even about death, it's just that these are very complex subjects and I wanted to make sure I was really prepared to enter into a huge conversation about them. I wanted to be psychologically and, well, I guess, spiritually ready. Do you feel that you are now? I hope so. I can't keep putting off this conversation forever. Even if I tried, you'd just keep placing those words into my head. That's right, I would. Because those are the words I want you to hear even if you never get to the rest of the conversation. Okay, I've heard them. I want you to hear them over and over again. It is impossible to live or to die without God, but it is not impossible to think that you are. If you think that you are living or dying without God, you will experience that you are. You may have this experience as long as you wish. You may end this experience whenever you choose. Those words convey all that anyone who is afraid of living or dying will ever need to know. Then we can end the conversation right here. We can. How deep do you wish to go in your higher understandings? Should you choose to continue with this conversation, I will present you with 100 more words -- a 100 Word Formula for All of Life. Well, there's a tease. That's exactly what it was meant to be. And it worked. I'm not about to cut the conversation short now. So here I am having a conversation with God about living and dying. Again. Yes, but looking at many things that we have never discussed before. Who would believe this . . . It doesn't matter. You're not having the conversation for anyone else, you're having it for yourself. I have to keep reminding myself of that. So often people see themselves as doing something for someone else when they're really doing it for themselves. Everybody is doing everything for themselves. When you awaken to this awareness, you will have reached Breakthrough. And when you understand that this is true even about dying, you will never fear dying again. And when you no longer fear dying, you will no longer fear living. You will live your life fully, right up until the very last moment. Hold it. Wait a minute. You're saying that when I'm dying, I am doing it for myself? Of course. Who else would you be doing it for? Copyright ©2006 by Neale Donald Walsch Excerpted from Home with God: In a Life That Never Ends by Neale Donald Walsch All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
