The Question
of Reincarnation:
Part Three
The
Process of Rebirth
For the most
part, the period between earthly lives is spent in synthesizing
the experiences of the past life and continuing in the life journey.
It is important to remember that we are spirits who live at all
times. We are not alive at certain times and dead at others.
Regardless
of where we happen to be, life is a continuous series of experiences,
sometimes upon the Earth plane and sometimes in other realms of
the spirit. How much time we each spend between earthly lives
is an individual matter, but this we can say with surety: we spend
more time away from the Earth plane than we do upon it. Our real
home is in the Spirit world. We incarnate upon the Earth plane
to achieve certain types of experiences, but we are more "at home"
out of the physical body than we are within it.
When the soul
feels it is time to link again with the Earth plane, it
does so freely. Reincarnation is never forced upon the soul.
Just as with everything else in life, reincarnation is a matter
of personal choice. Some souls choose to incarnate many times,
hoping they will move more quickly in their evolution; others
choose to spend less time in earthly incarnation; some choose
never to incarnate. There is a mistaken impression that we spirits
tend to hop in and out of bodies very quickly. The Earth plane
undoubtedly offers many unique experiences, and, for some, it
can be likened to a crash course. Therefore, life upon the earth
does tend to quicken evolution. Of course, one cannot make a categorical
statement, but for the average individual, the period between
earth lives spans centuries rather than years or decades.
Once the soul
desires to feel the uniquely special thrill of earthly
incarnation -- this thrill is known as trishna --
plans immediately begin: when; under what conditions; what parents;
what sex; what race; what general potentials will the soul seek
to unfold; what karmic circumstances need to be dealt with and
how; what type of body? All this, and so much more, come into
play while planning the new earth life.
These plans
are made in close cooperation and consultation with the soul's
spiritual guide, with others who plan to incarnate and work with
the soul, with special spirit agencies who help in this process,
with God and God's Holy Spirit, and with others. It is a wonderfully
orchestrated symphony of plans, hopes, aspirations, dreams, and
prayers, all intended to help the soul along his or her quest
for divine love and understanding. A tremendous amount of work
and planning goes into the creation of the new earthly life. The
birth of a soul onto the Earth plane is truly one of God's most
amazing miracles of creation. It must never be taken lightly,
regardless of circumstances.
Because the
soul, guided by the divine light of God and the spirit, makes these
plans, it is the needs of the individual, not the desires, which
receive the greatest attention. The new earth life is based on spiritual
needs, not personality wants and desires. Whether these spiritual
needs become the actual motivating force in the earth life depends
upon how well attuned the person will be to that higher self.
There are
three basic forces which influence an individual while planning
the new earth life:
-
Force
of Evolution:
This influences the individual to be born under conditions
which will give him or her an opportunity to develop spiritual
qualities and attributes most in need at the time.
-
Law
of Karma: This influences the individual to be born
under conditions which will create the best avenue to correct
errors of the past.
-
Force
of Attraction: This influences the individual to be
drawn to another person or group of people, based not on
evolution or karma, but on the attractive powers of love
and/or hate.
These three
forces guide the soul into making specific decisions about the
new earthly life.
Once the soul
finally transcends onto the Earth plane through birth, there is
still a period of spiritual planning and decision-making. This is
why infants spend so much time in the sleep state; they are still
very strongly linked to the Spirit world. For the first year or
so, the baby spends more time consciously within the Spirit world
than upon the Earth plane. From the moment of conception, through
this period, the soul looks carefully at the plans made some time
prior. If he or she decides that this was not the proper decision,
or if something within the family changes dramatically, which could
influence negatively the course of the soul's life, then the soul may make the decision to withdraw. This accounts partly for miscarriages
and sudden infant death. Of course, these tragedies may be specifically
planned to offer the parents and family a necessary experience of
pain and grief.
In looking
at the plans made by the soul, it is very important to understand
that nothing is etched in stone. Changes can be made, accidents
can occur, and outside influences can greatly affect the soul's
life course. The general plan of the earthly life is predetermined
before birth, but there is no guarantee that the individual will
follow this intended plan, or that some outside influence may not
affect or alter that plan. But here again, freedom of choice is
our heritage.
Many feel
that every little detail of their life is predetermined and that
everything that happens was planned in advance. Accidents and unforeseen
circumstances can and do occur. If we find ourselves in a negative
situation and feel, "Oh well, this was meant to be" and do not try
to change anything, we become trapped in our ignorance of the law.
Past
Lives and Their Problems
Any discussion
on reincarnation brings up the question of past lives: who, what,
when, and where was I? Is it wise to delve into the past in order
to determine the answer to these questions? The initial answer to
this question is YES and NO.
Past life
therapy has helped many to deal with current problems and frustrations,
and we feel this may be a valid and helpful form of assistance.
However, we also feel that delving into a past life merely for curiosity's
sake may open doors which are best left shut, at least for the time
being. The information is all there, and it should be allowed to
come forward in a natural manner: through inner awareness, spontaneous
memory, and dreams. To force this memory through artificial means
could very well bring to the surface something which the individual
is not intended to or capable of dealing with at the moment.
Here are a
few problems which we see with "peeking" into past lives.
- By looking
at specific past lives, we tend to section things off, rather
than look at life as one continuous series of experiences. This
could cause us to make present-day decisions based on information
received about a specific past life, without knowing what may
have happened in the interim. Remember, we are alive always,
and we continuously evolve and deal with errors of the past,
not just during earthly lives.
- Most people
have no, or very little, past life recall. There must be a good
reason for this. It is difficult enough dealing with the current
life. If we add another or multiple past lives, we can become
very confused and lose track of what is, as opposed to what
was.
- The fact
remains a simple one: what we are is based on what we have been,
and what we shall become is based on what we are. The key is
the present. We are living in the now. If we look at ourselves,
today, and determine what needs to be changed and, then, go
about changing it, then surely we are on the proper pathway.
Many people are dissatisfied with their current life and circumstances.
They will often go to past life readers, hoping to find a more
glamorous or exciting life, and very often they are given this.
We should never escape into the past, because we are not happy
with the present. This is a trap into which many past life inquirers
fall.
Should people
seek the advice of past life readers? There is no right or wrong
answer to this question. To be sure, there are some instances in
which this information can be helpful; but an alternative course
of action might be to study and understand life, karma, and reincarnation,
and then allow the necessary information to come forward naturally.
As unfortunate
as this may be, the truth speaks for itself: there are too many
past life readers who are willing to conjure up fascinating past
lives, in order to make the gullible feel better or worse about
themselves. A sincere and genuine past life worker should link with
his or her sitter on a soul level and offer information regarding
past lives under guidance. Syrsha, spirit guide to Rev. Stephen
Fulton, offers information on past lives. But, he states clearly
that this information is given only with permission from that person's
own spirit guide.
We must never
seek to escape into the past, in order to avoid dealing with the
present.
The whole
notion of past lives is rather exciting, glamorous, and mysterious;
but so, too, is our present life. The possible glamour of the past
must never overshadow the reality of the present. Past lives are
very much like karma. We know they are there. We know we have lived.
We know that the information is within us. But we should deal with
the present. For most of us it should be quite enough to know that
we have lived on the Earth plane before and that we shall very likely
do so again. What is of essence is that we live!
For
clarification on the difference between Spirit and Soul, you may
wish to read an article on the Spirit-Soul-Body
trinity.
Further
information on this and other related subjects on the Journey
of Your Soul and Spirit is available.
©
2001 First Spiritual Temple. All rights reserved.
Reproduction or reuse of any pages without written permission is strictly prohibited.
First Spiritual Temple
The Ayer Institute
16 Monmouth Street, Brookline, MA, 02446-5605 USA
Telephone 617 566-7639
E-mail to the FST
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