THE CORE ISSUE-WE ARE HERE TO LEARN TO LOVE OURSELVES

I've spent days rereading this chapter to be able to write something of value. This morning I wrote in my handwritten journal and feel ready.
I have read and heard before that we are here to work through our wounds and heal. Reading today I focused in on the words and realized that the author is saying that those wounds were brought into this world by us to heal, not received here. We came into the families that we have, found the friends and enemies we have and lived our lives as we have because we need to bring up wounds that help us find the thoughts that we were born into this life with to heal.
It makes more sense than being randomly born into a family and situations that give us pain and suffering or even joy.
Why else do the people we find surrounding us bring up the same emotional issues that we feel were given by our parents? In my last relationship, I remember calling Bobby "Esther" because he reminded me of my mother. Of course he did, I needed to heal.
With this deeper realization that it wasn't Esther I needed to heal from but that Esther was given to me as my mother because I already was born with these thoughts life takes on a whole new reason. Everything and everyone I have ever spent time with was given to me to learn my earthly lessons. Everything that has and will happen to me has a reason and that is to heal myself. We are blessed in relationships that when two or more meet they get to mirror off each other and learn from that experience. Blaming others when our response is negative is a waste of time. We are meant to take our lessons and let them take theirs.
In other words, the thought did come first and the situations are given to return the thought to love or as God thinks.
The author talks about judging and condemning others and that condemning only reinforces guilt and stands in the way of healing. I don't take this as a get out of jail free card. There are people who need to be put away from others for the safety of all. It's how we need to change our thoughts about these people. They are our brothers and sisters and it is their thoughts that are in need of change. Basically I see it as fear, anger, hate being their thoughts and it is their purpose to change those thoughts to forgiveness and love. We can jail them for their behavior while not condemning them as worthless. The thoughts they have are leading them to the decisions they make and if we reinforce those thoughts they will only deepen their own worthlessness. The change has to be to get through to them and have them see that they are worthy. We are what we believe. Our purpose in helping our brothers is to respond by seeing them as our brothers and helping them undo their errors. "To be right make right." Not by preaching right to them but by treating them right and showing them by our thoughts that all matter.
We have created God in our image and that image is one of fear, anger, judgment... Our purpose here is to return to God and once again see that we are created in God's image and that is one of love. God never abandoned us, we have looked away and created without him. Our reason to be here now is to return to God and create with God not apart on our own.
Moving on to the next Chapter with a deeper understanding of where I am going...