Heaven & Hell

If Hell is a place, then we are in it, 
For we are separate from God, 
Finding our way back home. 

 If Heaven is real, it’s our true home; the 
Final destination of 
Our soul’s earthly journey. 

This poem is an Israeli Kimo – a type of Haiku. It is composed of three lines with a syllable count of 10/7/6 and some other rules which I willfully ignored. This is Prompt #14 of the Around the World poetry challenge given to us by murisopsis. She suggested a theme of heaven and hell, so I wrote two Kimos , one for hell and one for heaven.

I’ve been reading books by Brian Weiss and Michael Newton over the past year or two. They’ve challenged some of my beliefs and disbeliefs and made me think more deeply about the purpose of life, the idea of soulmates, what heaven is like (hint: probably not Michaelangelo’s vision above), the human body, and the soul. None of it has shaken my belief in a divine Creator; in fact, if anything that’s been strengthened. Dr. Newton’s book, Journey of Souls, gave me more food for thought than I could digest in one reading, and I plan to read it again whenever it stops making the rounds in my family.

My spiritual beliefs no longer line up with mainstream American Christianity, for which I’m grateful. I’ve been very disappointed in the direction of many American denominations over the past twenty years and no longer want a man-made religious institution dictating my life. I know this seems radical to some of my friends and loved ones, but toxic behavior and spiritual abuse are not things I am eager to re-embrace.