3. The Three Stages of Life

During the course of our lives we pass through three stages: formation, growth and completion. We pass from the realm of water in our mother’s womb to the realm of living on planet Earth, and then we pass on to the aerial realm in heaven. In other words, human beings go through three periods: the period in the womb when we live in water, the period that begins at birth and continues for up to a hundred years when we live on the earth, and the period when we fly in the heavens. (116-174, 01/01/1982)

Human beings are born from waters deep within the womb. During their period of gestation they live in water. Inside the mother’s womb, the fetus is floating in fluid. It lives by way of the umbilical cord connected to its mother’s body, through which it draws in and expels fluid.
How does a fetus take in nourishment? It is supplied through the navel. The navel functions as its mouth. So, do not be disdainful of your navel. Pat your navel and say, “Belly button, thanks for your hard work a long time ago.” Pat your navel often; it will be good for your health. Do it as an exercise. If you exercise this way often, it will make you healthier. Even when you sleep in a cold room, if you cover your navel, you won’t get diarrhea. During your time in the womb, your navel was your mouth. At birth, a new orifice for breathing opens at a place above the navel. What is this second mouth? It is the mouth you use for eating.
At this point, what is done with the umbilical cord attached to the navel? It is cut off. While we live in the world of air, our spirit self is attached to the physical self and feeds off the physical body, similar to the fetus in the womb feeding off nutrients supplied by its mother. When the physical body grows old, the spirit self discards the physical body and goes out on its own. This is its second birth, now as a person who can relate to the eternal God, the Father who is spirit. Physical birth and this second birth occur in accordance with the same fundamental principles.
Once the child is born in the earthly world, it gets acquainted with its mother and father. The earthly world is where we can share love with our mothers and fathers. In a similar way, we must eventually be born a second time into the spirit world, where we can share love with God, our Parent. He will connect us to the boundless world of spirit. (299-69, 02/04/1999)

After coming out of the womb, it is not enough just to breathe air. You have to develop your love by receiving elements of love. It is not enough just to eat food. If you live only to eat, you will begin to die. There is something more essential that you need to fill yourself with during your life on earth – the second stage of your life. What is it? It is love. You must renew your character with love. (139-214, 01/31/1986)

Love is what you need during your earthly life. Why do you call a child who lives without the love of mother and father an “orphan”? It is because that child is deprived of the love that can connect him eternally to the spirit world. For the same reason, we feel pity for people who live alone without marrying. (139-214, 01/31/1986)

Dying occurs when the spirit breaks free of the organs of the physical body, including those that had functioned in the second kind of breathing. From that time forth, the spirit subsists by breathing only love elements. The internal self had been developing the ability to engage with these invisible love elements on earth through experiencing parental love and conjugal love. That is why, just as an embryo should develop in the womb in accordance with God’s laws and principles in order to be born as a normal baby, we must grow in the earthly world in accordance with God’s laws and principles so that we can be born as a fully functioning spirit self. (299-69, 02/04/1999)

Dragonflies during their larval stage swim in the water at first, then crawl about on land for a while. Then they fly around, preying on bugs that they never would have imagined eating when they were crawling about on land. They fly about freely; the whole world is their stage.
There are many insects that go through three stages of life. Insects in general have wings. During their life-cycle they pass through the stages of living in the water, on land and in the air. What about human beings, who are called the lords of creation; do we have wings? We have a set of wings of a higher dimension. Death is the blessed gateway to our second birth. (299-71, 02/04/1999)

What is the meaning of death? Earthly life, the time of living in air, parallels the time when we were swimming in the womb. The air is like our swaddling-cloth; we are eager to take it off. Death is nothing special; it is merely birth into the third stage of life. That moment of transition is what we call death. (49-286, 02/04/1999)