The Reality of the Spiritual World
One Man's Journey Into and Out of The Abyss
by
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My life has unfolded in 10-year cycles. As I reflect on those cycles I recall that some were stressful and slow, while others were fulfilling and moved like time did not exist. I have come to realize that the slow years were periods of learning. They were hard times that tested my endurance and commitment to my chosen path, or in some cases, a path yet to be known. The fast years were the fulfillment of my purpose. Things moved smoothly, with seemingly little or no effort on my part. As I begin to write about these experiences in my life I am coming out of my sixth life cycle. This one has been hard and slow. This time I am better prepared than I was for my cycles as a younger man. Experience is a great equalizer. It gives one the advantage of having lived through the ups and downs of life. Like a picture is worth a thousand words, memories of experiences offer myriad pictures of a lifetime.
If you choose to read this book, you will read true stories of how one man sees himself making his way retrospectively through the awakening of the unknown side of his life and then, in later years, in the presence of the Now. While my memory is clear back to my third year of life, I can only be aware of an unseen force in my life since the age of 17 years and 11 months, when I met my soul mate and instantly recognized she would be my wife.
I have divided the book in to two Parts. Part I describes my initial, unexpected interaction with the paranormal; the struggles with holding on to my sanity and those who were there to support me. Part II is a compilation of stories that describe the lessons I learned as I continually sought to know more about the God who had revealed himself to me through my physical senses.
These are stories that took me through unsolicited and bizarre experiences into the unknown. To date I have no clear vision of why I was granted what I have come to call “My Blessings.” I am a Christian who has experienced the reality of the spiritual world. There is a difference between being spiritual and experiencing a Christian salvation. The sequence of stories will reflect the spiritual evolution from shedding spiritual attachments, to the acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, to receiving daily gifts of spiritual intervention.
Some will say it is fiction. Some will say it was Satan. I hope that this writing will reveal that God works in mysterious ways with all of His created souls. Christian churches have historically discouraged their members from pursuing unsupervised contact with the spiritual world, and I have come to understand their position. For there is no way to be sure if the contact is of God, or of Satan, until one is fairly well down the road. My intention was to tether myself to God and make it perfectly clear that I was only interested in seeking a contact with God. In Matthew (
Some may say I have misinterpreted the Bible. In the 1500s the church accused Martin Luther of heresy for changes that have become known as the Protestant Reformation. Psychologists may deem these stories as illusionary and having no basis of reality. I am not selling my theology, nor am I concerned with proving my sanity. These are simply true stories I have experienced in the company of my loving wife and soul mate, Carroll Ann, who always has been there to steady me when I felt that I might be losing my mind, or that I was about to fall into the abyss.
Each of us journeys through our earthly life alone. We may find a loving soul mate whom we know is our stabilizing partner. We may have close friends from whom we can seek counsel in our sometimes lengthy periods of need. We may or may not belong to an organized church that offers spiritual and practical fellowship. Yet with all of these crutches we come to understand that we make this trip into, and ultimately out of, this world alone. Or do we?
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About the Book
Since before the Middle Ages man has struggled with trying to separate his mind from his soul and to this day asks the question, “Where is the ultimate truth found, in the physical, or in the spiritual?”
In his book Nathan relates how he unexpectedly was led to experience the supernatural with his physical senses. In his words, “Once you have experienced the spiritual reality with your physical senses, you can never be the same.”
The true story takes the reader through the emotional roller-coaster of the author’s physical senses being touched by the paranormal. He takes you through the initial fears of the unknown, of being lost in the abyss, and then slowly he takes you with him through the healing process and across the bridges that brought him back.
About the Author
Nathan A. Pera, III is Chairman and CEO of three environmental engineering and testing firms he founded, beginning in 1972. He is active in inter-denominational youth ministries in
A talented athlete, a good, but not great student, he was twenty-one years of age and a senior at Christian Brothers University before he discovered his capacity to succeed in school and later in what ever he was led to do.
His writing style, he says, “just showed up one day. I sat down one day to tell my story hoping just one person might benefit from reading it. For some reason I haven’t stopped writing.”
The author has two more books in the editing stage (Prostate & Cancer, I’ve Been Where You are Going, and Contemplating the Presence of God) due for release later this year. If they are as compelling and graphic as this one they will be well received.
Nathan lives in