We have looked at the concepts of God and our concepts of the human soul. We have looked at the aspects of life that hinder our spiritual growth. Now let us examine the doors that open the understanding of these concepts. It is up to us to determine the doorway or the portal that allows us to enter the world of spirituality. Here is one way I found my portal to eternity.

One day I closed the kitchen door and put the junk mail down on the counter. On the top of the pile was a flyer that said Enter The Portal To Heaven. It was an advertisement from a religious group asking for money. The word portal stuck in my mind and I compared my kitchen door to what I conceived a portal to be. They were not the same. Portal meant doorway, but it appeared to mean more than just a plain door. I wondered, "What was the difference between a door and a portal?"

Being somewhat anal retentive in my approach to life, (Everyone has said this about me. I just ignore them.) I could not dismiss this question. I went to my desk and looked up the meanings of the words door and portal. A door was a "hinged sliding or revolving barrier for closing and opening an entrance to a building, room or cupboard." A portal was a "doorway or a gate--a large, majestic, grandiose, elaborate or lavish entrance."

I determined the major difference between the two words was that the portal was more imposing and impressive than just an ordinary door. I felt that there was something important on the other side of a portal and there was nothing but the kitchen and the back porch on the other side of my door. The words door and portal haunted me the rest of the afternoon. Words have a way of consuming a writer’s thoughts. Finally, I went out to my thinking chair and sat down. I thought seriously about doorways and portals. I listed the doors and portals that were a part of my life, but I could not think of many portals to put on the list. There were plenty of doors, but few portals.

The first portal that came to mind was from the movies. Doors were a common element in movies, especially horror movies. There was often a monster on the other side of the door. Sometimes there were Indians trying to get into the cabin or a burglar getting ready to break into the house.

The only thing I could remember that could be considered a portal was when Dorothy opened the door to Munchkin Land in the Wizard of Oz. She entered a world of magic and adventure.

All my life I had been opening and closing doors, but only once could I recall a portal? And that was from a fantasy movie? I wondered about this. Suddenly, I recalled another door that was more like a portal. I stood in a hospital corridor. The door to the nursery opened. and a nurse came out and placed my son in my arms. That was more than just a door opening. He was a premature baby and we were frantic with worry, but when I held him in my arms and prayed for him I felt more positive about the situation. A terrifying moment became a tender moment of prayer. That nursery door certainly could be called a portal.

Another thought came to mind. At the age of seventeen I stood on the steps of the administration building at the University Of The Pacific. I looked up at the doors. I knew a whole new world waited for me on the other side of those massive doors. All my life I had lived on an isolated farm and this was a new world for me. Those doors were a true portal. My life changed the moment I climbed those steps and opened the impressive portals.

After more serious thinking I realized that there were other portals in my life. Like so many of us, I just did not realize the difference between a door and a portal. There were many portals in life that I had not seen as such. Think about the portals in your life. How many can you remember?

There are two doors that we all experience opening. They are both more than just doors. They are definitely portals. One is the entrance to life, birth. The other is the exit of life, death. Both of these are more than just doors in that one opens the pathway to human life and the other opens the portal to the some form of afterlife. We have little control over the portal that opens our lives, but we do have some influence over the gateway through which we exit this life and enter the pathway leading to the unknown. The way in which we live our lives determines the way we open that final portal.

When we open the door to go out for the afternoon, we take things with us, our car keys, the check book and whatever else we think we need. When we step thought the portal that leads to the afterlife, we take with us more intrinsic and intimate items such as our souls, our character and all that is the real us.

What we leave behind is important as well. When we leave the house we leave behind our possessions. When we leave this world we leave behind a memory of one who reflected goodness with the actions of their lives, or the memory of one who was selfish and unkind. We leave behind businesses and institutions we have spent a lifetime developing. We leave behind books and art works if we are artists. We leave behind inventions and cures for diseases, and we leave behind children who carry on both our species and our dreams for tomorrow. We all might ask ourselves what we are leaving behind when we enter the afterlife.

So far this morning I counted 14 doors that I have opened. There was the kitchen door, the front door, the bedroom door, the bathroom door and the door to the outside. I opened several of them more than once. None of these doors could be considered portals.

I asked myself, "Where I could find a portal? How is it that I could remember so few portals and so many doors? How could I open a gateway to a more exciting life that would require a portal for an entrance instead of a door?" I decided to meditate using the word portal for my meditation subject. When I meditate I choose a prayer or a topic and concentrate on just that one idea. I sat quietly for at least twenty minutes concentrating on doors. The results of this meditation were two-fold. I discovered that I had spent my life just opening doors, and I never looked for portals or anything out of the ordinary. This is the way most of us are much of the time. The other concept I came up with was that portals were there, I just did not realize them, and because of this I was missing a positive part of life.

A good example of what I mean is what your are reading now. Before I thought about it, the idea of writing about doors and portals was just something to do, something I could write into my new book. But actually doing the writing was another story. What if creating something that can be food for thought for others was more than just opening a door? What if it was a portal? After all, how many other men are writing about doors and portals? That is something different. It is a new idea. It is different and exciting. Opening my portal could help someone have a more rewarding day.

Another difference between a door and a portal is that portals have a purpose. What I am trying to say is that our attitude determines whether we open a door or a portal. Our days can be filled with beauty and warmth or they can be miserable and cold. It is entirely up to us to create in our minds what each day will be like and then open the door or portal that leads to what we have created.

Let me use a another personal example here. I thought about doors and portals all last evening, and this morning I put my thoughts to work. Every morning I get on my scooter and take my border collie, Molly, out for a run. She is a working dog and needs the exercise. I enjoy these runs except on cold winter days when the temperature is below 45 degrees. I dread those days. Cold and arthritis do not mix well.

I opened the door and got a blast of cold air. I still had my hand on the knob when I remembered doors and portals. I closed the door and rearranged my thinking.

"I am not going to open the door to a freezing cold morning," I told myself. "I’m going to open the door to a beautiful day. Even though it is cold out there, the sun is shining and it is a beautiful morning."

I took a deep breath and opened the door. It was still cold, but the cold was not important now. The sun was shining and Molly was ready to go. I climbed on the scooter and we took off. The sky was filled with colorful morning clouds, fringed with gray and red and yellow tints. A high wind moved them slowly across the horizon. The trees were ablaze with autumn color and the air was scented with the melancholy fragrance of Fall. My door suddenly became a portal instead of a plain kitchen door. An unpleasant task suddenly became a beautiful experience. This can happen to you as well. Find an unpleasant task that you have to do, and turn your door into a portal. I challenge you.

Think about the doors and portals in your own life. You are reading this book because you want to open the door to a more spiritual life. The first thing to do is to change your concept of a door to a portal, for it is impossible to enter the presence of God through anything other than a portal.