The Homecoming – A (Very) Short Story

Posted on August 8, 2025 by Author Richard F Holmes

“How is he doing?”

“His breathing has become very shallow but he seems comfortable, oh wait… I think he’s gone.”

“I don’t know what’s happening to me. I thought I could hear distant voices, then the light; so bright yet so comforting… and the tunnel. But I feel so peaceful.”

“I don’t know what’s happened to my bed, it just seems to have disappeared, and I don’t recognise any of these characters, they just seem to be going about their work quietly and efficiently.”

“Welcome home friend, we’ve been expecting you!”

Work In Progress

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Author Richard F Holmes

As a species, this is exactly what we are; a work in progress, and, if we are the microcosm to the macrocosm that generally gets referred to as “God,” then God too is a work in progress. God is Life itself, which is constantly in a state of evolution. So, this is why that old adage that there are only two certainties in life; death and taxes, is wrong. There is a third certainty; change, or as I’ve already stated, evolution.

The way things are going in our world, you would think that there won’t be much scope for evolution soon if the human race carries on the way it is. We seem to be creating the same old problems for ourselves, which usually involves our fellow human beings having to experience untold suffering, and then trying to solve these problems with the same methods that have already failed time and time and time again for centuries.

It seems that the institutions in place that are meant to be helping and guiding our evolution in a positive way, namely our political institutions and religions have failed miserably. I’m reluctant to turn this blog into a platform for expressing political opinions, so I’ll stick with the spiritual stuff. Is it any wonder that our religion here in the West has failed. The first thing that Western religion teaches is that there is a God who is separate from all “His” children and that this God can get pretty shirty if you don’t conform to his needs and love “Him” in the way he demands. Some branches of this religion also teach us to feel guilt and shame because we are unworthy of the God. This is ridiculous!

There is only One soul, no other, although that One soul has appeared to split itself up into billions of separate souls. These apparent individual souls are God expressing and experiencing itself in billions of different ways simultaneously. Eternal life (God) evolves by way of this beautiful and wondrous process. Religion would have us believe that God itself, does not evolve but simply stays up there in the clouds, loving some and condemning others. The very nature of Life is evolution and God is Life itself, therefore it’s ludicrous to believe that God has simply stayed the same since time immemorial.

But, the religions are reluctant or unwilling to change; still preaching from the same outdated scriptures. What is needed is a shift in consciousness; you can’t solve old problems with the same old and tired mind-set. I genuinely believe that this shift is happening now, even as I type. It may not be overly apparent at this present time, but there are signs that the collective consciousness of the human race is indeed shifting to a higher level. It is impossible to stop evolution, that big old wheel keeps on turning and it always will, but our actions as a species can slow things down.

It is understandable that old and stale beliefs are very difficult to shake off, but shake them off we will…eventually. We are a work in progress, we have a long way to go, but we will get there.

Two Eternities? I Don’t Think So!

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Author Richard F Holmes

Those who know me will be aware that I accept that organised religion can help people find a purpose in life and a blueprint for “right” living. However, I also know that ultimately, organised religion can only ever be a stepping stone to absolute truth. I hold this view mainly because the whole purpose of the spirit is to be free and to evolve within that freedom. This of course, includes the freedom to make mistakes. With organised religions you are required to believe things; things that quite often have no substance or credibility. Whilst it is true that our beliefs create our reality, it is also true that our beliefs are nothing more than thoughts and opinions, which are not necessarily representative of truth.

A classic example of this, is the concept of going to either Heaven or Hell. As a Westerner, I am of course, talking about Christianity; it would be unfair of me to use another religion as the example because I don’t have enough experience of other religions. Let me first just clarify a few things. In Christian mythology, it is stated that the world, the universe and beyond was created by a personal god. Presumably, the god created everything, not just a bit of this and a bit of that. So surely, that must include the mechanism via which everything functions. A religious person would probably refer to this as “God’s Law.” But, depending on what your leanings are, this could also be referred to as Natural Law, The Laws of the Universe, Spiritual Law or The Laws of Physics. I think we can agree that it is all pretty much the same thing. Either way, these laws are very precise and cannot be interfered with or altered.

We are told, that when we die we have to stand before God to be judged. If we are deemed to have been good we ascend to eternal life in Heaven. Alternatively, if we are deemed to have been bad, then we descend to eternal damnation in Hell. Now, it has occurred to me that having already established that the god’s own laws are very precise, and also that whether we go to Heaven or Hell, it is still an eternal life; be it one of bliss or damnation. Regardless of the name of the place, eternal life must surely take place in eternity, which in accordance with the god’s laws “does exactly what it says on the tin.” What I mean is that eternity is just that; it is eternal, boundless, unlimited, infinite.

So, forgive me for questioning religious dogma, but how can you have two different eternities? This would imply that there is a cut-off point or boundary between Heaven and Hell. Or even, a boundary between Heaven and a kind of no-man’s-land and another boundary between that and Hell. If there is a cut-off point or boundary, then either Heaven and Hell are not eternal, or they are one and the same place. I would even take this a step further and say that if we “GO” to Heaven, Hell or eternity, whatever name you want to use in the example, then there is no such thing. How can you go somewhere that is boundless? Where is the cut-off point that distinguishes between where we are now and the place of eternal life? How can infinity have a cut-off point?

The truth is, that Heaven and Hell are mind-made concepts that we create for ourselves here on earth. We already have eternal life, we are just experiencing an aspect of it here in the physical body, and when we eventually shed our bodies, we will go on to experience another aspect of it.

Eternal Life? Just WHAT Is There To Be Sceptical About?

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Author Richard F Holmes

Why is there still a prevalent mindset amongst sceptics that does not accept that we cannot die? Eternal life can be proven scientifically in a very simple way. Firstly, science has proved that everything in the universe and beyond, without exception, is energy. Science has also proved that energy is eternal and cannot be created or destroyed; this must surely apply to our physical bodies, which simply change form at so-called death and continue to exist (either merging with the earth if a body is buried, or merging as heat energy with the total energy mass if a body is cremated). So, what about our consciousness?

Well, science has also proved that our thoughts (brainwaves) are electrical pulses. If electricity is energy (which of course it is), it also means that our thoughts (consciousness) are energy, which, yes you’ve guessed it, can neither be created or destroyed and are therefore eternal. So, the concept of eternal life (no pun intended) is a no-brainer!

We don’t die, we only evolve, and we have all the proof we need to support this; so what is there to be sceptical about?

From Ears To Eternity

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Author Richard F Holmes

Some religions tell us that we will attain eternal life by behaving in a certain way and adhering to certain doctrines and dogma. However, I wish to put forward my own take on this because I do not believe that it is possible to attain something that we already have.

Where will this eternal life take place anyway? Presumably in a place called “eternity”; but if eternity exists, how can it be a place that we go to? The very name suggests boundless infinity; therefore if we had to attain eternity, eternity would not exist because to attain it would imply that where we are now is a separate place. If where we are now is a separate place it implies that there must be some sort of cut-off point between our current existence and this place called eternity. That being the case, eternity would not be eternity because it would not be infinite and boundless.

We are eternal beings of spirit; pure consciousness. We have always existed, even if we have not always been individualised. The “stuff” of which we are made is eternal, so whichever way we look at it, we have always been in existence. Therefore we cannot attain eternal life because we already have it, and we do not go to a place called eternity because we are already there; this life is merely an aspect of the boundless and infinite Super-Consciousness we call God. The formless manifested as form.