Life is messy. Sometimes, it is just plain messy. Like affairs. They shouldn’t happen. But they do. Sometimes. We’ve talked about this before here. And the questions just keep rolling in.
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Wednesday is Question and Answer Day on the blog…a time for exploring many of the questions that people have recently asked about the nine Conversations with God books and the New Spirituality. Here’s this week’s entry…
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Question: Dear Neale: For two years I have been searching, trying to understand my life. My husband of 25 years had an affair that devastated me to the point of emotional and physical illness. Your book has been much comfort to me. We continue to try to put our marriage back together.
You say, “All of us have many, many soul partners, and that explains why all of us fall in love with many, many different people. Let yourself have that love when you experience it. Let yourself move through the experience itself and embrace it fully and richly.” By this, are you advocating that affairs are acceptable?
My other question is from page 132 of CWG Book 1, where God talks of ungodly acts. What might ungodly acts be or what is the definition thereof? You cannot know the importance of your books, or perhaps there are not words to describe the help and comfort they provide. Thank you. Carol, New York, NY.
Neale’s Response: Carol, to your first question: no, I do not find what you call “affairs” acceptable. Of course, I make no judgments (nor does God) about the behavior of others. But you are asking my opinion here, and my opinion and decision about this is that “affairs” are unacceptable. That is because affairs, by the most popular definition, involve a breaking of a promise, a shattering of a sacred agreement, and the deepest breech of trust.
Whatever experience you “let yourself have” must be had in integrity. That is, if you wish to let yourself demonstrate, in a sexual way, your love for a person other than your spouse, you must first tell your spouse of your decision, so that everyone at the table has five cards. If you have five cards while you are dealing your beloved partner four, then you are way out of integrity, by my lights.
Again, this is just my own idea about it. This is how I am making it up in my life. I believe people should be allowed to love everybody, in whatever way is appropriate to the moment. What defines an action as appropriate to me is that it is taken in complete integrity. Does that help?
Regarding your second question, an “ungodly act” is any act that speaks a lie about you, that causes you to behave or appear as less than Who You Really Are. In my life these have usually been acts which have been damaging to others—in many cases I knew these would be hurtful to others—and which I undertook anyway, generally in secret.
(Ask Neale may be accessed on a daily basis in the Messengers’ Circle at Neale’s personal website: www.nealedonaldwalsch.com. Each week Neale selects a question from those posted there and publishes it in this blog.)
THIS IS JUST ABOUT YOUR LAST CHANCE…
Since the Conversations with God books were released I have been asked many times, “How did this affect you? What have you learned? How can I apply the messages you received to my own daily life?”
People often want to sit down with me quietly to talk about these things, in small groups or even alone. I have received over 60,000 letters and emails from readers requesting personal responses. Of course, it is impossible for me to reply to these questions and requests for advice and counsel in the way that people want me to, as much as I wish that I could.
As it is I spend 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, nearly 50 weeks a year traveling, lecturing, workshopping, writing and doing media interviews. It’s always hard to find time to break away from what I am doing at a land-based retreat or workshop, because it’s packed into a short time and every minute of every hour is scheduled. Then I found one way that I could have some personal time, at least with a handful of people. Do it while I’m on vacation!
I created the 2008 Alaska Conversations with God Cruise. On board this ship, free time is plentiful. There’s always a moment for me to sit down in the Game Room or the Library or the Cafeteria for personal visits and quiet chats with those who are traveling with me. It’s almost impossible for me to have that kind of personal one-on-one time with people at my events during the year.
Also on board ship the group sessions are not crunched in, all in a day or two, but stretched out across seven relaxing days at sea. All the days are enjoyable, with New York caliber entertainment nightly in the Show Lounge, sing-alongs at the piano, fun in the casino, dancing, or whatever else one wants to do — from bingo to swimming to massage. The cruise ship is like a small city on wheels!
The food is always terrific and the supply of it is unending—and we’ve not even mentioned the shore trips, which are always fabulous in Alaska. So folks just have a good, old fashioned, wonderful time.
I invite you to grab one of the final staterooms available for The Alaskan Conversations with God program, when I will share with you what I consider to be the most significant messages and life-changing revelations of my 10-year conversation with God.
Just follow this link for more info…
http://nealedonaldwalsch.com/cruise.cfm