This book is valuable if you are wondering what your life is all about. Our parents oftentimes didn't know how to explain the purpose of our existence. The author's experience of being an adult child of divorce and searching through his lifetime has put this explanation down in writing as a passionate gift to his children. "DEAR CHILDREN", A Manual for Adult Children of Divorce 25 Year Study of Spirituality and Overcoming the Effects of Divorce; Healing the World By William Hinckley Balboa Press Copyright © 2012 William Hinckley All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4525-5316-0 Contents Dedication..........................................................vPreface.............................................................ixIntroduction........................................................xiPrologue............................................................xixPART 1: LIFE IN THE IRON AGE........................................XXVChapter 1: Life Before Birth........................................1Chapter 2: Childhood................................................7Chapter 3: Teenage Adolescence......................................17Chapter 4: Young Adulthood..........................................24Chapter 5: Adulthood................................................30Chapter 6: Parenthood...............................................43PART 2: THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT....................................57Chapter 7: Who Am I?................................................59Chapter 8: Why Am I Here?...........................................76Chapter 9: What Is My Purpose?......................................91Chapter 10: What's Next? Graduation!................................102Chapter 11: How Do We Obtain Knowledge?.............................117PART 3: APPLICATION ENGINEERING OF SPIRITUALISM.....................127Chapter 12: Religion vs. Spirituality...............................129Chapter 13: Understanding True Principles...........................136Chapter 14: Understanding the Drama.................................145Chapter 15: Understanding God.......................................156Chapter 16: Understanding Life......................................166Chapter 17: Putting It All Together.................................174Conclusion..........................................................187Book Credits........................................................189 Chapter One Life Before Birth Dear Children, When I was a child no one told me where I came from before I was born. Obviously, I didn't have the mental maturity at that age to comprehend even if someone would have taken the time to sit down and explain the concept of creation and the spiritual connection that we all have. While growing up, I heard a simple story about a stork that happened to drop off newborns from the sky. For such an important question of life, I think we do a rather poor job of understanding let alone explaining this to our children. I think in many ways, parents become desensitized to the whole miracle of birth from the sleepless nights and endless number of diaper changes – the insomnia and stress somehow makes them forget that this miraculous event could have only occurred through some act of faith. Modern day science has advanced by untold leaps and bounds in our understanding of embryology, DNA, chromosomes and genetics, but while fascinating us with the process of cellular development and genetic trait determination, it has fallen short in defining the romance between the soul and the human body. With our enhanced understanding of neural connections and synaptic chemical transfer defining the cognitive process in the brain, we have almost come to convince ourselves that this human body is nothing more than certain elements from the periodic table and that it is self-operated rather than directed in life. The reason I want to start talking about life before birth is because this is where we really all begin. Our life as a soul, an energy, an intention or life force - whatever you want to call it – our life began eternities before this planet earth ever existed. When I look out at the stars and the great expanse of the universe and galaxy, I am in awe of the astounding display of stars that we have identified and organized into constellations. Back when I was a child, the big excitement of the day was when the Apollo mission landed on the moon. It was a mind-blowing event – to have a man leave planet earth and walk on the surface of the circular orb suspended in space. And the immortalized word of Neil Armstrong, the American astronaut who took that first step and declared, "One small step for man, one large step for mankind". I remember so clearly watching this event on television as the astronauts stepped out of their capsule and actually walked on the surface of the moon. It was particularly revealing to see pictures of the Apollo space shuttle with the image of the ea