According to many spiritual teachers, all human beings are, in reality, spiritual beings on a human journey. We reincarnate as human beings in order to evolve as souls.
Our ultimate aim is to become fully conscious and capable as unique individual expressions of All That Is. It is a long journey, but that’s okay because the soul is eternal.
Contents
Soul Evolution
The soul’s journey is really a process of evolving. This means growing in consciousness, steadily progressing through different levels or stages of consciousness. How do we grow in consciousness? Through taking on challenging experiences in physical form. These cause us to make important, “soul-searching” choices and call upon us to discover our inner resources. But why in physical form? Why would a perfectly happy spiritual being decide to inhabit the physical realm with all of its limitations and difficulties? It is precisely so that we can experience the state of what feels like total separation from others and from the rest of reality. Only by going into this physically separated human form can we know ourselves as beings in our own right, and not just as … well … undifferentiated blobs of energy. Being physical throws our experiences and choices into extremely sharp relief in a way that is not possible otherwise. This is how we learn who we are and how to become all that we are. In other words:
Choice and the ramifications of choice provide the essential lessons of life. In a very real sense, you choose to be here in order to make choices.
Messages from Michael
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
The 35 Steps
We are here to know ourselves and be all we can be, step by step. And according to the teachings of the entity known as Michael, there are 35 steps to the reincarnational process. The body and personality you have now are merely the vehicles you have chosen for this latest step in your journey.
But why 35 steps? Why not 36 steps? Or 10? Or 100?
It is simply because, according to Michael, we go through five major stages of evolution through reincarnation. And, within each stage there are seven increments or levels to be completed. (Yes, it is rather like a computer game.) 5 x 7 = 35. 
Each single step requires a whole lifetime to complete. In fact, each step usually requires more than one lifetime. Typically, the entire journey of 35 steps takes well over a hundred lifetimes. So let’s look at the journey in more detail. We’ll start with the five major stages of soul evolution through reincarnation.
The Five Stages
The Michael teachings describe a sequence of five “cycles” or stages of soul evolution. They are named after the stages of human development:
- Stage 1: The INFANT Soul
- Stage 2: The BABY Soul [also known as CHILD Soul]
- Stage 3: The YOUNG Soul
- Stage 4: The MATURE Soul
- Stage 5: The OLD Soul
Each of these five corresponds to a specific level of development in capability and self-awareness within the individual soul. As the soul goes through each stage, the focus changes, more experience is gained, and consciousness expands. 
Incidentally, the same pattern of soul evolution has been identified by the hypnotherapist Michael Newton (right). His groundbreaking research was published in the best-selling book Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives (Llewellyn, 1994). The books by Newton and his students draw upon thousands of transcripts of people who, under hypnotic regression, have re-experienced being between lives. From the higher perspective of their soul they are able to explain what happens after death and before birth. This includes information about the levels of consciousness through which reincarnating souls evolve. What Newton and others have discovered is that souls between lives exist in light-form, and that each soul emanates a particular colour of the spectrum which indicates its current level of consciousness. The spectrum begins at white (all colours) but then goes through red, yellow, green, blue, to deep purple and violet. From low frequency to high frequency. The least evolved souls — the “newbies” — have a pinkish hue. The oldest souls — those nearing the end of the whole reincarnational cycle — have a blueish hue. Although the spectrum is a continuum, Dr. Newton has found that it can be divided into five distinct stages or levels of evolvement, from Level I to Level V. These can be mapped onto the five stages given in the Michael teachings, from Infant soul to Old soul.
So, for example, souls in the middle (or third) stage of reincarnation are referred to as “Young souls” in the Michael teachings and they are at what Newton would call “Level III”. They will have a yellowish or golden hue. (As an aside, both Newton and the Michael entity also identify higher levels of soul evolution which do not involve reincarnation.) The stages of reincarnation (or soul age) can also be likened to the stages of metamorphosis we see in nature, such as egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly. In reincarnation, though, what changes is not the physical form but the mode of consciousness, especially the form of self-awareness and — as a result — the way of relating to others.
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
Soul age characteristics
Soul age affects how an individual lives, thinks, acts, and comes across to others. 
Stage 1 — Infant Souls
Infant souls focus on immediate survival needs. They flourish in simple environments close to nature, such as remote tribes or rural, pastoral settings.
In the context of modern society, however, they can come across as uncivilised simpletons or yokels, and may even be deemed to be psychopathic or have some sort of developmental disorder.
Psychologically, infant souls are naive, impulsive and “pre-conventional”, acting on impulse or habit with little or no thought for consequences.
Because they lack both social understanding and self-inhibition, they are capable of committing antisocial or immoral acts without any sense of wrongdoing. As such, they do not fit well within modern society and may end up in prison or in psychiatric units.
While they may lack the moral principles, social graces and cultural understanding of older souls, Infant souls are in a sense completely innocent, being without pretense or agenda.
Stage 2 — Baby Souls
In contrast to Infant souls, Baby souls think a great deal about the rights and wrongs of their actions. Their lives are about safety, security, structure and order — rigidly so. They like to live in communities that are highly principled and “civilized” (think of the Amish).
Baby souls come across to older souls as rather “square” – strictly conventional and conformist. Both their beliefs and their actions are largely rule-bound, so they are often ultra-conservative, traditionalist, orthodox, upright, moralistic, religiously devout, and mindful of law and order.
That said, they will occasionally give in to temptation, or temper tantrum, and break the rules themselves — but then might find themselves tortured with guilt and shame.
They are acutely aware of the rights and wrongs of people’s actions, including their own, though they have little insight into the motives behind them. Bad behaviour is sinful, and that’s that.
Stage 3 — Young Souls 
Young souls tend to be extravert, outward-bound, worldly, frenetically energetic, brash, competitive, political, ambitious and individualistic. Life at this stage is about thinking for oneself and asserting oneself as an individual.
Young souls are more ego-driven than others, keen to make their mark in the world. They are generally attracted to some form of worldly success — fame, fortune, power, glory. In fact, they are more fearful of death than souls at other stages, and those who aren’t sure about life after death may be anxious to make a big impact on the world stage, to create some kind of symbolic immortality for themselves.
Young souls cling to their own opinions, with a certainty that their own perspective is the right perspective, and their way ahead is by far the best way. They are very aware of their own agenda but do not really question it.
Stage 4 Mature souls 
Mature souls tend to be more reflective than younger souls, with a growing understanding of self, growing empathy for others, and a desire for authenticity in both. Life is less about proving oneself, and more about exploring “right relationship”.
Mature soul consciousness is no longer egocentric, in the sense of being limited to one’s own perspective and agenda, but is capable of accommodating multiple perspectives and different agendas. In fact, there is now a tension between “what I want” and “appreciating what you want,” or between the personal and the interpersonal.
This makes life much more complicated — sometimes overwhelmingly so. On the one hand, mature souls reject narrow-minded values. Yet on the other hand, they are able to empathise with whoever holds those same values. Fixed opinions are replaced by a sense of ever-shifting perspectives — “It all depends on how you look at it”.
This disappearance of solid ground can be hugely stressful, but it kicks off a search for deeper meaning and self-understanding, whether through art, psychology, philosophy or spirituality.
Mature souls tend to question everything, including their own motives, and are prone to do a lot of soul-searching (literally).
Stage 5 — Old Souls 
Old souls tend to exude some degree of depth, gravitas or wisdom that is quite obvious. In children, it can be most striking (think: old head on young shoulders) For having moved beyond the stresses and conflicts of the Mature soul, Old souls have a growing sense of inner peace and freedom — the freedom to enjoy being very much in the world, but not of it.
Compared to younger souls they are relatively calm, measured, untroubled and stable, unattached to social structures and cultural expectations, being sure of their own existence and inner strengths and their compassion for others.
On the other hand, finding themselves in a world that is so conflicted, chaotic, frantic, and superficial can be utterly depressing.
For Old souls, the aim of life is to find true self-expression and fulfillment. As such, they tend to go their own unique way in life, letting go and letting be, in a detached way that may seem very weird and eccentric to younger souls.
Late-stage old souls find themselves consciously participating in the evolution of all-that-is, and often focus on teaching spiritual wisdom with great compassion.
Note: These descriptions emphasise the differences between stages. In reality, though, there is a gradual blend from one stage to the next. A person at the start of the Mature stage, for example, will act mostly like a Young soul but with elements of Mature soul nature beginning to emerge.
The lessons of each stage
Here are the five stages of soul evolution through human reincarnation, together with the typical learning experiences associated with each stage:
So we begin reincarnating as Infant souls, complete novices at physical existence. At this first stage we are largely in a state of incompetence and terror, frankly. But through experiences and choices we learn and grow. We steadily progress from being Infant souls to Baby souls to Young souls to Mature souls. Finally, we enter the fifth stage as accomplished Old souls, the experts of human existence.
As infant souls we learned about choices having to do with survival, as baby souls choices having to do with moral codes and ethics, as young souls choices having to do with mastery of achievement, as mature souls choices having to do with relationships, and as old souls choices having to do with the nature of oneness with the Tao. An infant soul would therefore not understand the choices of an old soul although an older soul would likely have more understanding of the nature of younger soul choice having had them.
Michael, via Victoria Marina
To look at each stage in more detail see:
Stage 1. The Infant Soul
Stage 2. The Baby Soul
Stage 3. The Young Soul
Stage 4. The Mature Soul
Stage 5. The Old Soul
Soul levels in the human population
The six or seven billion people on the planet span the whole range of stages, but the average is said to be somewhere just past the mid-point of stage 3 (see chart below). In other words, this world is currently dominated by Young souls whose primary focus is competitive self-advancement.
The seven steps within each stage
Within each stage there are seven discrete steps to go through. In the Michael teachings, they are called “levels”, so in each stage we proceed from 1st level to 7th level. Calling these “levels” can be a bit confusing (since Newton refers to the five major stages as “levels”), so I sometimes prefer to call them “steps”. So each stage of reincarnation has seven distinct learning steps. For example, we begin the whole journey at step 1 as Infant souls, learn that lesson, then undertake step 2 as Infant souls, and so on. On completing the 7th step of the Infant stage, we then begin the 1st step of the Baby stage.
The early steps in any stage are about experiencing life at this new stage of evolution, learning the essential lessons through appropriate experiences. The later steps are about expressing those lessons, demonstrating this level of consciousness in action. For example, in the Young soul stage, the first three steps — from 1st level Young soul to 3rd level Young soul — are about discovering the meaning of free will and self-determination; the last three steps — 5th level Young soul to 7th level Young soul — are about demonstrating the meaning of free will and self-determination in action. (The middle step — 4th level Young soul — is about consolidating the lessons learned.) The first step or level of any stage is like putting a toe in the water; the final step is like teaching others how to swim:
| 1st Level | Initiation into the new stage. “Toe in the water.” First glimpses of the new consciousness. We come to recognise that there is a whole new way of being ahead of us, and we respond to the call, even though as yet it is beyond our comprehension. |
| 2nd Level | Building foundations. Wading in and out. Comparing and contrasting the old and new consciousness. We come to understand what is essential and different about this higher level, though it still remains ‘ahead’ of us, not quite within us. |
| 3rd Level | Rising to the challenge. Taking the plunge. We determinedly commit ourselves to actively embrace and explore the new consciousness. |
| 4th Level | Integration. Relaxing into it, “enjoying the water.” We now identify ourselves with this way of understanding self, life and others – this is our truth. We fully incorporate and consolidate the new consciousness into our own being. |
| 5th Level | Expression. Splashing about – “Look at me!” We openly share and communicate our new, true sense of self and of life’s meaning. We feel drawn to broadcast our truth, to “go public” with it. |
| 6th Level | Demonstration. Giving value and benefit to others. “Being a life guard.” Our new consciousness is put to the test. We also burn off any outstanding karma incurred in the earlier steps of this stage. |
| 7th Level | Mastery. Peak performance. We have complete understanding and control of our awareness at this level. We know exactly what we are doing. We may feel like a role model. Hmm… What’s next? |
This sequence of seven steps is repeated through each stage, making 35 steps in all from the beginning of reincarnation to the end. In case you’re wondering, I’m at the 5th level of the Mature soul stage. My current life’s lesson is about outwardly expressing my Mature soul consciousness.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
Many lives
So, we start our evolutionary journey at level 1 of stage I (as “1st Level Infant souls”) and end it at level 7 of stage 5 (as “7th Level Old souls”). There are 35 steps in all. And each single step requires at least one lifetime to complete. A single step can be done in one lifetime but often that’s too big a stretch, so an initial life may undertaken as a taster, followed by one or two more which really go for it. Sometimes a life is interrupted, and the soul will just have to start over in the next life. Also, some lives are undertaken for reasons other than the specific intent to develop. For example, one lifetime might be undertaken primarily to assist another soul in their development. And some lives are taken on primarily for the death experience, for karmic reasons. These can be very short, of the order of days, weeks or months. Taking into account all the gaps spent in the non-physical state between lives, a single step is typically accomplished in about 100-300 years of Earth time. The whole journey of 35 steps usually takes well over 100 lifetimes. Hence, the whole journey is likely to take of the order of 7,000-8,000 years, but possibly a lot more if the population is low and opportunities to incarnate are few.
Questions and Answers
Coming back again and again sounds dreadful. Why don’t we just give up and be done with it? Can’t I just decide that this is my last time?
You cannot skip any of the steps, nor would you want to (from the soul’s perspective). You wouldn’t rent a movie but then skip to the final credits just to avoid the whole process of sitting through the movie. In fact, it’s more like a computer game. You are playing the game because you want to, and at some level you actually love it. And you know perfectly well that you need to master one level before you can move on to the next level. That’s what the game is all about.
Who says?
There’s no tyrannical deity controlling the game, forcing you to keep at it, deciding who gets to “graduate” and who doesn’t. It’s just the natural dynamic of life and the evolution of consciousness. A tadpole cannot suddenly transform into a full-grown frog. A baby human cannot suddenly take on a professional career or family responsibilities. There’s a natural, inevitable sequence to go through. And we’ve all signed up for it.
But why? What’s it all about?
Well, at the level of spirit or essence, all is one, all is love, all is joy. This is all very nice, but consciousness longs to experience more and more of what there is to experience, the utter richness and fullness of life.
How does it do that?
By fragmenting into zillions of conscious entities, each of whom has its own experiences and perspective, and each of whom can make its own choices about what to experience. Any soul can choose to continue being submerged in all-that-is, albeit with little sense of self. Alternatively, any soul can choose to undergo the experience of life in a separate physical form, interacting with other souls in their own physical forms. This is the ultimate way to experience oneself as a self.
And that’s why we are here?
We have all made this choice: to use the human form as a vehicle to help us become more conscious of ourselves as the amazing beings we are. The aim is to experience every possible experience that enables us to emerge more and more consciously and fearlessly as ourselves. We begin as helpless infants for whom the experience of separate existence is quite terrifying. But we end as autonomous, self-realised beings for whom human existence is the most amazing way of being, feeling joyful and free and sharing love with the whole of life.
More frequently asked questions
- What happens to our souls after our last reincarnation?
- How can I speed up / skip levels / stop reincarnating?
- How can I know my soul age level, etc?
More on Soul Evolution
Books
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The Michael Handbook by José Stevens and Simon Warwick-Smith [Amazon] |
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Sojourn: Karma, Reincarnation, and the Evolution of the Soul by Gina Lake [Amazon] |
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Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives by Michael Newton [Amazon] |
Barry,
Thanks so much for your input too, and for sharing this article with us all! It has given me some hope and solace when I needed it the most… I was also very happy to be able to gauge where I am at in this developmental process, and believe that I am a Mature Soul transitioning from the 2nd to 3rd levels at this point in my life. I also find that I tend to be drawn to other mature souls, as I was to my husband. The few friends I do have are all somewhere within that stage, or very close to it.
~Christine
I believe one can re-incarnate in many forms of life , not just man. Some of these, like butterflies, may only last month of life.
Add the word “the” after “I believe” and I would have to agree with you. 🙂
Fair enough 🙂 Now by “the One” do you mean that which is a collective pool of soul that portions of then incarnate to pass through these ‘lessons’ experienced in physical existence?
as opposed to “the One” as a higher being god-like?
Hi barry, i have heard that all suiciders go to hell n all but if anyone is dying everyday because of physical illness & just want to get rid of that pain. Is that true about hell & judgement day or he will have to reincarnate again & live in same pain again.
Hi Rajesh,
Hell is a myth and Judgement Day is a myth. There is really no Hell as such awaiting anyone after death. Ultimately, there is only the eternal love of the Divine, which includes automatic forgiveness for any “sin”, including suicide or even genocide.
There is one minor exception. If you die fully BELIEVING that you are going straight to Hell, or FEELING that you should go straight to Hell (because you’ve committed the “sin” of suicide, for example), then you will initially PERCEIVE yourself in Hell at the moment you leave the body.
This is because our first experience after leaving the body is to become immersed in our own human minds, which are still intact. (Without the usual flood of data from the physical senses, we are now flooded by own own thoughts and feelings.) We see the universe around us through whatever concepts and emotions are most active at the point of death.
Although this is an illusionary Hell (as are some versions of Heaven seen at first), it is 100% real to the individual who knows no better. They will probably tell themselves that they are in Hell and that’s because they deserve it.
At this point, a deceased relative or a wise and loving guide will step in and try to reassure the individual that it’s not real, just a projection of their thoughts and feelings, and that they should now move on … Into the Light.
For example, imagine a soldier who dies on the battlefield. Let’s say that at the point of death he is riddled with guilt over an atrocity he committed on a recent mission. Because of his firm religious convictions, he just “knows” he is now destined for Hell, though the thought of it scares him to death (as it were). So on leaving the body he soon finds himself surrounded by a Hell that is somehow exactly what he expected/feared. This “Hell” is just a projection, a virtual reality, a bit like the holo-deck in Star Trek. It disappears the very instant he recognises that it is just his own mental state expressed in 3D technicolor. At that point, the the soul is free from the human mind (as well as the body), and is drawn to the light of our Home between lives.
The only problem with suicide is if it was done to avoid a feared issue (rather than constant physical pain, which is understandable). In other words, if you “exit” as a way to avoid the very life challenge you had decided (before birth) to face. In that case, you just have to go back and do it all again, hopefully with more courage and fortitude.
Hope this makes sense!
Barry
+1. Barry is completely correct. There is no hell, no judgment day. Its all Christian dogma. Suicides usually are if two types. People who checked out of their contracts before their time by free will..After some Rand R they must come back and still deal with unresolved issues they intended to deal with. Sometimes they “soften” the contract just a bit but generally you have to finish what you started. The suicide is an “incomplete” grade.
Some suicides are planned to help others grow. In this case there are no karmic repercussions as the suicide was a “gift” to another for soul evolution.
Hello Barry,
I have heard that in bible its written that after suicide u go to hell n in hindu bhagvad gita its written that after suicide our souls have to stay on earth till its life span is completed & then we have to go to hell till next reincarnation & in bhagvad gita its written that on past life sins it is decided that we will reincarnate as humans or animals. do we really incarnate as animals?& i appreciate all your information & really hope that what u r saying thats true but i didnt understand that from where did u get all these information & how can u say that what u r saying is 100% true & bible & gita’s information is not real.
Have no fear Rajesh, the Bible and the Gita are not the ultimate authorities on anything. Well, not unless YOU decide (or are taught) to believe that they are, in which case they are *for you*.
We are actually free to choose who and what we consider to be reliable sources of true knowledge. If you decide that the Bible or the Gita are infallible records of literal truth, containing the right and final answer on any moral, religious, philosophical or spiritual question, then that is up to you.
Personally, I would say that true revealed higher knowledge applies to less than 5% of the material, at least in the case of the Bible. The rest consists of biographies, lists, legends, moral lectures, speculative history, a few songs, poems and flights of fancy, and the odd rant — much like the web, come to think of it.
The Bible and the Gita were written during the Iron Age by a wide range of people from different backgrounds and with different personalities, perspectives and agendas. Dozens of stories from ancient oral tradition were eventually recorded in writing, and then compiled together centuries later to look like a coherent narrative, from the Creation to Judgement Day.
But now. two or three thousand years later, we do actually have MORE insight into higher truth than our ancestors did back then.
We have the benefit of many thousands of people – not just one or two revered avatars – who have had true spiritual awakenings, and have shared their insights first-hand – Zen monks, Christian nuns, Muslim dervishes – and also many ordinary people who have spontaneously slipped into cosmic consciousness.
In the last century we have seen an explosion in the number of people who have been past death’s door but then returned (through medical resuscitation techniques) to report exactly what it was like, again at first hand.
Then we also have the phenomenon of past life regression, which again gives people direct insight into higher realms and truths which again they can pass on first hand.
Another recent development is the use of psychotropic drugs such as LSD which, far from just making you want to jump out of a window, often gives direct insight into the living spiritual fabric and intelligence of all reality.
Another source of higher insight comes directly from non-physical beings of higher consciousness – angels, ascended masters, soul groups, aspects of God – who are more than happy to communicate with us and answer all our many questions about our troubled existence.
What’s great is that the more time goes on and the more information and insight we gather from these many sources, the more we can appreciate how they converge and fit. They are different approaches to the same higher order of reality.
I have spent much of my life studying all these sources of insight (including the ancient scriptures), and I think I’m old enough and wise enough to decide for myself what’s what. Besides, having had several of my own spiritual awakening experiences and had direct contact with our inner heavenly perfect nature, I have a pretty reliable compass to show me which way lies the Truth.
If you are willing and ready to take this kind of information as having as much or more authority as those ancient scrolls, then here are some things we can now say with good confidence:
There is no Hell. That’s just an idea made up to scare people.
Same goes for Judgement Day.
How do we know? Because there is no such thing as judgement … except in the human mind and human society. From the divine perspective, judgement is irrelevant because the truth about all our actions and WHY we do all our actions, even those we know to be “bad”, is already transparent to the divine Source whose compassion for you is boundless. There is nothing any of us can do that will ever make God say, “Wow, I didn’t see that coming. Maybe I was wrong to love you unconditionally…” !
There is a “Heaven”, but it ISN’T some sort of gated residential community in the sky, reserved just for those who went to the right church. It’s our original state of being, collectively, which we all share within us, and that is the state to which we all return when we exit our physical life.
Heaven is a state of infinite shared bliss, togetherness, love, freedom, peace, knowing, learning … and excitement at what we can achieve as human beings the next time we re-enter the physical.
(We can access this perfect state while in human form, but only briefly, as must of us find the degree of love, passion and freedom we feel inside us to be completely overwhelming.)
We come into this Earthly form so as to directly experience the opposite of Heaven, i.e., separation, fear, suffering, unrest, constraint, conflict, ignorance.
We do this in order to discover what it is like NOT being in our original state of perfection, thereby finding ourselves as pure individuals, seemingly alone in a hostile universe at first, but as we do it over and over again we gradually reawaken a bit more in each life, and eventually we discover that our perfect qualities are still inside us, and that we just need the courage to be and express more of who and what we really are in this seemingly loveless world. In truth, we are not nasty people competing for dominance, but perfect beings who gradually dare to extend their love to others despite the fear that we feel in this world.
No one is punished for their bad deeds. Bad deeds are all part of the human setup; first we do them, then we experience the consequences of being on the receiving end, so that then we understand and choose not to do them because we genuinely don’t want to inflict suffering on others.
No one is sent back to reincarnate as a simpler life-form. What point would that serve? This is just another myth made up to scare children (or entire societies) to stop them from misbehaving.
All of us here on Earth are souls on a “school trip”. We come out of our original perfect state to play the massive multiplayer game of life as an imperfect human organism.
This is voluntary, by the way — none of us is chained to any wheel of birth and rebirth. We choose to reincarnate because we love to participate in this amazing divine project, and we love to become more and more conscious of our true nature.
We really are spiritual beings on a human journey
B
A beautiful, cogent and coherent reply Barry.
i have a question barry so basically if im reading this kinds of things then im an mature soul or a young soul?
also i am lazy i don’t have any ambition in life so far im unemployed after graduating in college and all i want is to enjoy life and strive for more knowledge like surfing the net
and sharing my knowledge to others and achieve love and harmony in my community. what are your thoughts on what level of soul do i have?
Hi Coco
It’s difficult to say much without knowing a bit more about you (sadly I’m not psychic!). That said, most people who come to this website and get something from it are Mature souls. Young souls might recognise themselves but they don’t have much interest in all the discussions about inner issues. The same is true, oddly, for (very) Old souls: they resonate with what it’s all about but it’s a case of “been there done that”, so they don’t hang around much either.
Also it’s worth bearing in mind that it’s not until mid-life (approx 35 on) that we begin to manifest our true soul age in our everyday behaviour. Before that point, we tend to act “younger” on the outside than we really are on the inside.
As for lack of ambition, there could be all sorts of factors but you might find it of value to read about the life goal of (what I call) Contentment –
https://personalityspirituality.net/articles/the-michael-teachings/goal/contentment/
The challenge is to “just be” rather than “do”, and see where life takes you.
Striving for knowledge is the most obvious feature of the Scholar soul, by the way. (Same as me.)
Cheers
Barry
thank you for the answer much appreciated
That’s a beautiful detail : that in general, souls start acting their “soul age” only after around 35 years of physical age ; prior to that they act younger.
That clarification makes many, many things clear, about oneself as well as about others.
Agreed!
Cheers Siddharth
B
Hi Barry,
How are you? While putting together my family tree I had this thought about my ancesters…. Are they part of my soul family? I feel I have lived all over the world in past lives so I cannot understand how my current human ancestors play into my story. If you have already discussed this somewhere please point me in that direction. Thank you for all that you do.
Hi Lisa,
I’m not too bad, thanks.
The chances are that you have indeed lived all over the world – and so your current ancestors are, in a sense, irrelevant to your story. If you were to trace your own past lives, you might find that (for example, off the top of my head), before this one you were a Romanian gypsy, before that an Irish girl in Victorian Canada, before that a Spanish hill farmer, before that a Japanese boat builder, before that a French nobleman… There might not be much consistency. So tracing your BODY’s bloodline/ancestry would not necessarily reveal anything to do with your SOUL’s prior incarnations.
On the other hand, it sometimes happens that an entire soul group will repeatedly incarnate in a small, close-knit place – say, a French hamlet. Souls sometimes develop a fondness for a certain place, and soul mates often like to live and grow together, so you could find that this is, say, your third incarnation in a row in the French Alps (or wherever!) with certain family members. There are many cases of this type described in Carol Bowman’s book Return From Heaven. (I think Edgar Cayce said that his grandfather had returned as his grandson, so he was a ‘grandad sandwich’.)
It’s even remotely possible that you have been one of your own ancestors!
Barry
Hi Barry,
Awesome site, finally figured the rainbow correlation and why I’m attracted to it, and in particular Aqua. I like to paint abstract art and everything I paint ends up being white red to purple then black, in order, either as one canvas or sets of 8, aqua being a colour I favour subconsciously.
At age 2 I stared talking to my parents about my previous life and how I was killed, while my mum humoured me my dad shushed me, later as an adult, he stated I scared him. At that age, I remembered my previous name, later this memory passed, however some memories have never faded, such as the noise of the Gun, the smell of the earth as I took my last breath, the surroundings, what I was wearing and my job. I know I was a Catholic Preist and was executed by firing Squad along with 4 others and buried in a mass grave, sometime during the Second World War in either Spain or Holland. I have traveled to both and have a strong connection and familiarity to both. I was able to navigate both countries without assistance, as well as guessing what was around the corner while informing my companion of what to expect. I travel a bit and while places like Cape Town reminds me of home which is because of the smell of eucalyptus trees, and being Southern Hemisphere on the coast like where I live in Byron Australia. Nothing about Spain nor Holland reminds me of home, especially cobble stones, which I distinctly remember from a previous material life.
I have had people tell me that what I’m feeling is cellular memory passed down through generations, my mothers family were either Roms or Jewish. Their is no family history piror to their migration nor any identifiable surmane prior to it being changed, no religious or tribal affiliation, nothing prior to their migration from Spain. Some 30 family members intotal who freely independantly migrated to Australia in the late 1800’s. I dismiss the cellar theory because I was killed in the 1900’s some 60-70 years later. I also feel no connection to my mother and have over the years accused her of stealing me from someone else, adopting me or just not being my birth mother. However I have a connection to her mother, who passed when I was five, I also have identical markings on both hands which look like scars created by a blade in the shpe of the letter L. At her death she woke me at 3 am and told me to tell my mother goodby, I complied but this wasn’t welcomed by either of my sleeping parents who ordered me to return to bed but this was interrupted by the Telephone informing them of her passing.
When she passed she appeared as a green mist, for the next 5 years she would return intermittently, until one day she stopped. Her husband appeared to me on his passing as a black bird darting in and out of my car as I drove, he was a drunk and closeted bisexual but was always good to me. I would later experience the same of My other grandmother on her passing was a black swirl she hovered over me then slammed into my chest, she had an awful upbringing and expressed her hurt by hurting others. My fathers passing was orange warm short comforting, more of a see ya soon rather than a good bye.
So within the spectrum where is black, and grey ? Are these shades associated with doing harm to self, such as suicide, or harm to others such as murder?
I work in the disability sector and have encountered several instances where people of a particular religious belief have suggested people with disabilities are being punished for harmful acts in a previous life. I strongly disagree with this belief, and as I have been been in a position of authority, I have dismissed them. Now I’m a tad taken back as suggested in the infant stage is development delay, while other conditions like Autism is Psychological Mental health which mainly relates to being socially awkward in the opinion of neuro-typical’s. Some people with Autism are highly intellectual, wise gifted humans but socially awkward. Several other psychological conditions are simply a vitamin related condition frequently misdiagnosed easily cured if tested and treated. Behaviour is changeable, as well a form of communication, only one is not that being a Psychopath.
You mention the law of attraction, my ass-sumption The Secret ? Tried Hermaics?
The Nag Hammandi contains many stories of reincarnation, one in particular suggest every time you eat an animal it becomes a ‘new human sole’! …….would this then suggest we should stop eating animals to prevent further expansion and would speed up all returning to One?
Best leave it there,
Peace Light Love Life Will
Rob
Hi Rob
Interestingly, there’s a whole esoteric tradition involving the colours white/red/black (or whichever way it goes) – something to do with alchemical processes. Black or darkness, in an auric sense, would likely indicate negativity – a hostile or life-hating attitude. However, souls after passing are usually cleansed of such influences – as their eyes are re-opened to the light, their own light is healed of human negativity and refreshed. So a “dark spirit” is presumably one who has left the body but has not yet moved on Home – maybe just venting one last time before following the light.
I’m impressed with (and slightly envious of) your past life recall. I’ve had a few glimpses myself, some spontaneous but mostly in regression sessions. However, it’s the spontaneous ones that stand out as more compelling.
I think the whole cellular memory idea is probably nonsense. Someone came up with it as a plausible “scientific” explanation for past life memories, yet it has no scientific basis.
The Nag Hammadi idea about souls sounds pretty spurious to me.
Law of Attraction – I came to it via Orin/DaBen, then Abraham; both very inspiring.
Cheers
Barry
Rob,
The idea that disabilities are a karmic punishment or reflect immature souls is a primitive understanding of karma. Souls continually are exploring various aspects of the human and other existence. You might read Robert Schwartz’s “Your Soul’s Plan” to see how two souls chose autism as an experience and learning tool and why their mother chose to assume that role. Everything involves experience, learning, balance and growth. There is no punishment and every soul agrees to their incarnation.
Everyone is a master and expert… A wise man recognizes his own ignorance. On to the next area for a true master to follow.
Hi. I came across this paradigm, these “teachings”, for the first time today. I’d like to know more, if I may.
Three questions please:
First, all of these 35 stages, are they necessarily all human “incarnations”? Do non-human living beings figure in this scheme of things, are are we human beings a class apart so to say, per this paradigm?
Two, what would be the duration between two incarnations? Is re-incarnation immediate, or is there a fixed duration in between, or perhaps a range? Can you detail anything here?
And three: how exactly is all this known? In what way is this information (7 sub-stages, 5 “ages”), as well as their nature, plus answers to my above question (if they be forthcoming) : in what way exactly are these answers known?
Thanks a lot.
Can you have a link or something sent to my email id (registered below) when you answer this question, so I know my question is answered? Much obliged, thanks.
Hi Siddharth
According to these teachings, individual soul reincarnation is a special case. All species are animated by the cosmic life force, but mostly it is with a simple form of consciousness. Self-awareness is a step up in the complexity of consciousness, and sets the soul on a path of self-evolution through karmic lessons. A wave of such souls will pick a suitable some species to be their physical vehicles for individual experiences, choices and interactions.
There is no set time period between lives, but a typical figure would be several decades.
The information given here is a channelled teaching that has been accumulating since the 1970s. The source is a collective of souls on a higher plane, all of whom completed their reincarnational cycles some time ago and are now serving as teachers. There are dozens of people purportedly receiving the same information from the same source. Most of them refer to the source as “Michael”, but that’s just for the convenience of having a name. Skepticism is encouraged; belief is not expected or required.
Cheers
Barry
Fascinating article to say the least.
My only questions are:
What happens when you reach the level of soul elder and beyond?
Is there any end to the soul’s evolution, do you eventually come full circle back to total oneness, unity, and self-knowing and bask in that state of indescribable ecstatic bliss for all eternity?
When you reach the “highest” level, do you perhaps decide to start over again and go back to the beginning as an infant soul just to have another unique experience?
Do you transcend suffering at a certain stage or is suffering a potential part of all incarnations regardless of the evolutionary level of the soul?
Also, this is kind of random, but would intellectual intelligence or brilliance like that of Einstein be associated with a higher soul level?
I know some of these things are probably difficult to comprehend from this physical, linear perspective but any clarification would be much appreciated.
Hi Alex
Sorry for the super-long wait – I am slowly getting through my backlog of unanswered comments and queries (I wasn’t very well for a couple of months).
1. Beyond the old soul… I’ve answered this one several times – which reminds me, I must put together a FAQs page.
According to these teachings, beyond the physical plane lie several higher planes – the ‘astral’, the ‘causal’, the ‘mental’. These aren’t geographically different places, of course, just different depths of consciousness. Each has its own lower, middle and upper levels. Generally, there is greater fragmentation/differentiation in the lower levels of any given plane and greater integration at the upper levels.
The lower astral is where we transit through after death, processing the life just lived and dropping the human personality. The mid-astral is our home where we reside between lives, as astral (or light) bodies. The upper astral is home to those souls who have completed reincarnation, have integrated all the lessons, and are now serving as ‘elders’ or ‘ascended masters’ before moving into the 6th cycle.
The 6th stage/cycle of evolution is the coming-together of soul mates who have completed reincarnation. The causal plane is where these soul mates merge perspectives with one another to develop a much greater consciousness, one complete/whole being, a ‘causal body’. (The Michael entity, consisting of over 1,000 Warrior and King soul-mates, is one of these integrated groups; it resides on the mid-causal level. Their teaching through channelling is their current method of evolution towards greater integration.)
The mental plane is where whole entities begin to coalesce with the Source or Tao itself. At the upper mental level there is no longer any sense of separation between self and other, or subject and object. (We can all experience this in moments of enlightenment, but to permanently be in that state as a natural way of being is a different kettle of fish.)
Those on the causal and mental planes do not usually seek, or require, reincarnation for their evolution: those lessons have already been learned. However, it sometimes happens that an integrated being on the causal or mental plane will be ‘called’ to enter the physical to inspire a mass spiritual or philosophical change. In these case, they do not inhabit the body from birth. Rather, an old soul will volunteer to incarnate, and then when the time is right they will step aside and allow the full blast of the integrated being to come through and manifest in human form.
A manifestation like this from the causal plane is referred to as a “transcendental soul”. Examples are said to include Socrates and Gandhi. A manifestation from the mental plane is known as “the infinite soul”, and is essentially an avatar. For example, upon his great enlightenment, Siddartha was able to step aside and allow the infinite soul to manifest as the Buddha. In his final period on Earth, Jesus stepped aside to allow the infinite soul to manifest as The Christ.
But according to the teachings, these human manifestations are exceptional events, and incarnation is not *required* for evolution through the sixth and seventh stages.
2. Full circle… Yes and no. Yes, we evolve to the point at which we re-merge with the universal life force, which is where we sprang from in the first place, only now we have evolved to the point at which we can recognise it as ourselves; we are no longer unaware that It is who/what we are. On the other hand, in a sense we never actually leave “that state of indescribable ecstatic bliss for all eternity” — it is readily accessible at the very core of our being, if we allow ourselves to relax into it. That is our true nature. Through reincarnation and beyond, we are growing around that essential core a layer of consciousness that eventually understands everything through its own experiences and choices. (Hope that makes sense.)
3. Can we do it all over again starting out as infant souls? As far as I understand it, yes, we have exactly that option. If you get a reading from a Michael channel, for example, you might be told that this is your “8th Grand Cycle”, which means you’ve already done the whole journey seven times previously. (I’m not sure how one can validate that experientially, though it would explain why some people remember having “alien” past lives on other planets.)
4. Is suffering transcended ….? I can’t give a complete answer here as it is something I am still seeking to answer for myself. There have been periods in my life where I know I have “transcended suffering” because my mind was not at all conflicted and so I was not attracting anything painful. (Note: pain is an experience, whether physical or emotional; suffering is a state in which we continually attribute a negative meaning to the pain, rather than look for the true meaning behind the pain.)
Yes, I do believe suffering can be transcended, though pain itself may be part of the human condition and how we learn. Ramana Maharshi, one of the most self-realised souls of the last century, died with the pain of cancer – but he did not suffer. The cancer, he said, was just one last karmic thing to go through.
5, intellectual brilliance … As far as I understand it, this is down to the individual being able to access the “higher centers”, which is not something most people do or even know about. The higher intellectual center is, if you like, a portal to the intelligence of the soul, while the lower intellectual center is oriented to the body and the physical world. The lower intellect seems to correlate with our left brain: the analytical, linear, problem-solving mind. The higher intellect is perhaps our right brain: holistic, transcendent, panoramic, visionary, capable of profound insights into he meaning of things. I recall that some of Einstein’s greatest insights came to him in the dream state. I would guess that a conscious intention to have insight into something specific, PLUS a willingness to access and trust the nonlinear and nonverbal right brain (or the higher intellectual center if you like), are the keys to genius.
Cheers Alex,
Barry
I think Barry covered this quite well. There are references in several recent teachings about the levels beyond the physical and they line up mostly as he posits. One thing to keep in mind is that to try and conceptualize a lot of this has no relationship to the power and brilliance of what the experience might actually be. What we are talking about is far, far beyond human intellect and the reaches of “soul decision” and merger really I think are past our grasp, except that we can know that its part of the process.
Generally my understanding is those at lower levels have a vibrational “ceiling” that restricts them, but those more advanced can travel into any dimension desired at will.
One thing Barry did nor mention is there is an option for complete return to source where any identity ceases in the absolute because there is no individuation, even most subtle, to observe. Its possible that the potentiality of individuation coming forth again when needed from that merger can happen.
I agree on the pain vs suffering issue. There is no pain or suffering on the other side. That is one of the “gifts” of the separation experience.
For me, I have enough on my plate dealing with here and now which I think impacts the potentials of what might happen after. So my concentration is here. The rest will take care of itself. Dealing with the emotional body is quite a trip.
Fantastic response…well worth the wait. Thanks!
Interesting article. I am a Christian and am sure The Bible is true and Jesus is the Savior of the world. That being said, The Bible in my opinion even though all true, does include ALL truths as God does not want us to know everything while here learning on earth.
Souls did not just “happen”. God created your soul. It take too much faith to believe otherwise. God has shown Himself to me and will you too if He has not already. You owe it to yourself to ask God if you are a skeptic. He will show Himself to you just like he has the millions of other Christians. Plus The Bible, especially The Revelation, explains where the world is headed and you can see it clearly.
The artilce is interesting but leaves a lot of things missed like evil, the struggle with the flesh (like addiction, war, envy, adultry, etc.), unconditional love, prophecy, free will, etc.. The Bible explains all of this perfectly.
I appreciate your sincerity. I think you wandered into the wrong classroom. Kindergarten is down the hall.
Lol. Too many complexities in nature to believe all of this was created by some “cosmic” force or rocks banging together. How can you get a shark from an ape?
Plus if evolution was real the female or male species, whatever is weaker depending on the species, would be rooted out.
Also, where does one get the moral code that many of us have?
Please debate my post though, even though I have humility and can take critisism. I am not from this world though and thus flunked kindergarten.
I will pray for you.
Matt,
A full discussion would take books as most of us here have been studying this kind of thing for years(45 for me). But I will answer a few of your questions or issues.
Your above quote assumes that we do not believe” God” is the Source of all of this, that this is not God’s expression. Why do you assume that? I put “God” in quotation marks because the word “God” is a symbol. It stands for something, as all human language is symbolic. Words stand for or point to something. In this case our definition of “God” may be different. To me God is neither someone in the sky nor is it apart from me. The great Mantra of Hinduism is “Thou Art That”. In Buddhism it is that “Buddha Nature” is the essence of self. In other words, you are God having allowed yourself to forget for the purpose of learning and experience. I am part of God the way my hand is part of my body. Where is the separation?
But this is incomprehensible to the Abrahamic religions which posit essential separation. God is there, I am here. So I FULLY believe all of this comes from God. The problem arises when you put God in a small box dominated by human thinking. That’s called projection. The purpose of this site and teachings is to help EXPAND our understanding of God and the manner in which God (infinite consciousness) operates. To see behind the veil. This does not diminish love of God (our own higher order consciousness) for in duality devotion is given to us to negotiate the terrain.
Are you familiar with quantum mechanics? QM demonstrates that this world is an illusion, that matter and energy are one, that what we perceive is a vast energy field slowed to a density and it is 99% emptiness. The ancients termed this “Maya”, or the illusion God creates.
The Bible says “My ways are not your ways.” What exactly does this mean? To me it means this. You are obviously used to a computer. You are using one. Are you still using IBM before windows was invented? No you are using up to date software. Are you still in first grade even though you are presumably an adult? No you learned and went on to higher grades. Why is it different with God? Why does not spiritual as well as physical evolution (guided by God) not exist as the way in which God chooses to express itself?
We are in a period of spiritual expansion, where “God” is downloading advanced material because we are ready for it and are doing higher level work. The Bible was appropriate for its time and conditions? But it is archaic. It still has some value but consider teachings like this ( and there are many) to be the Bible “updated”.
I will give you two resources. They deal with some of your concerns such as evil. I recommend you read “Journey of Souls” by Michael Newton. Beyond duality, all is Love and what we think is going on is not what is going on. This explains part of it. It is a glimpse (as is this site into “my ways”.
The other is this link. It is from one of the greatest spiritual people ever to walk the planet, Paramahansa Yogananda. His book “Autobiography of a Yogi” is a classic. (The full book is online)
He explains here http://www.theself.com/lifeisadream_yogananda.cfm why God created the world and allows evil.
Here http://www.crystalclarity.com/yogananda/chap32.php is one of the most astounding accounts he knew, an experience of his teacher.
All of this will be challenging to you and is the tip of a very large iceberg. Most of us have been swimming in these waters for years. This is the deep end of the pool.
Did you think Jesus revealed in scripture most of what he knew? They could barely comprehend him so he taught in simple parables. Here is part of what he truly knew. I have had many personal encounters and conversations with him. He was not the unique Son of God, he was one with God as are all of us. The great difference is he remembered and we don’t. HE graduated and we are still in school. In all communications he prefers to be regarded as an “elder brother” who acts as a guide and mentor, as the Michael group of these teachings was assigned by God (Source) to also be a guide and mentor. Many keys on the piano.
Teachings and knowledge like this are part of the wake up call. You have stumbled into deep waters.
Good luck. This is the best I can sincerely do, I can’t condense a lifetime of experience and learning into a short treatise.
Ken,
I appreciate your civility and comments and look forward to discussing this with you. I am 47 years young and now quite grown in my spritual knowledge after many trials, falls, searching, and praying. This is not challenging to me I can assure you thanks to God, the Creator.
This answers your first point. “God” is not a symbol. God is the Creator of all things. Nature, morality, evil, The Bible, His Son Jesus Christ the Savior from the sins we know we have committed, everything. Even most atheists who believe in the literal Big Bang have a moral code about right and wrong. This comes from God the Creator. Humans cannot make up their own moral code of what is right and wrong any more than they can make up who the true God is. God did this. Humans cannot put God in a box correct, The Bible says all things are possible with God. But you cannot stretch outside of the Bible either or who God is.
You see the problem I am having with your post is you quote Scripture and then you deviate from it. You cannot have it both ways. God says in The Bible Jesus is His Son who died on the cross for the sins of man. I believe this. I see the sins in man and the need for a Savior.
When God says “My ways are not your ways” to me it means this: humans with their small minds question why things happen. Why evil? Why addiction? Why greed to detriment of others? How can a loving God let these things happen? Because His ways are not our ways.
My spiritual maturity has taught me that many so called bad things happen to bring us to God. Addiction, pain, loss, etc. These so called bad things happen because in a large portion of the cases they bring families together, bring people to God, sprout love, forgiveness, etc.
I have a lot more to say but I am going to end this post with this: If anybody is reading this please look around you and the spiritual battle we face. There is an enemy, Satan, who wants to lead us away from the true God of The Bible. Why do you think Christianity is under such attack in this nation? It’s because it’s the truth and dark spiritual forces know this.
You owe it to yourself if you are searching to at least read The Bible and what Jesus taught and then ask God to reveal the truth to you. If you think of yourself as a thinking human being you owe this to yourself. After all, The Bible is the most read book in history by far and has supernaturally changed millions and millions of lives. I can guarantee you this though, The Bible states that the enemy Satan can plant thoughts in our mind so Satan will try and take you away from The Bible. Don’t listen!
God Bless.
Matt,
Clearly we are on different wave lengths and I see no fruitfulness coming from any further discussion. There is no amount of intellectual sharing that can bridge the divide in our understandings of these matters. May you be blessed in your journey.
Hey Ken, have you written any books or have a website? If not do you have a list of your favorite resources? You seem to contribute a lot to discussions and I like your style…we’ve had discussions in the recent past.
~ Mike
Mike,
I am in the process of writing a book on dream interpretation and I have an idea for a book which would look at Jesus from the viewpoint of the modern great Yogi’s. One website I use is kenstory458@msn.com. Write to me there and I will attach a resource sheet I use. I teach a lot of this in this area. I need to get a web site going.
Thanks for the props.
Thanks Ken, I will hit you up when I get the chance. I am also in the process of developing a website that encompasses topics like reincarnation and soul evolution so I can share resources as well if you would like.
Good news.
Yo man the whole concept of numbers would be completely different to higher dimensional entities possibly to infinity. I read your concepts and i liked it as I am looking for something to believe in I am very well educated in string theory and multi-dimension theories and lets just say it may be much more complex than what you have put here as much as I like the ideas. Have you ever wondered maybe each unique consciousnesses may be its own separate universe woven within other universes woven within an external universe. Billions of black holes exist within our universe and most likely on the otherside of these are entirely separate universes which therefore would be within our own. We are 3rd dimensional entities with boundaries locked from higher dimensions until we ascend somehow. On a sidenote, some scientific study has shown that this may infact be a simulation or a matrix type world maybe even simulations within simulations the possiblities are endless but thats all they are even the most powerful monks and guru’s cant by will leave their physical bodies and ascend to higher dimensions without some aid of dmt release we aren’t at the stage of technology where we can fuse our cells with nanotechnology and somehow replicate any type of matter by thought then and only then would one be able to break through dimensions in the physical realm
I’m 20 years old
There may be a lot of truth to what you say but its not verifiable at this moment and the practical value to us is limited. Teachings are given for a reason and at the level they are useful.
“Yo man the whole concept of numbers would be completely different to higher dimensional entities possibly to infinity.”
Both Seth and Abraham address this and its not just numbers. The reason they don’t get into it is trying ti use the mind is useless as communication of differences is not fathomable.
“On a side note, some scientific study has shown that this may in fact be a simulation or a matrix type world maybe even simulations within simulations the possibilities are endless…”
The idea that this is a giant hologram 9or matrixed within matrix) is not foreign to this. The ancients called it Maya (illusion) for a reason. Quantum mechanics is catching up.
“even the most powerful monks and guru’s cant by will leave their physical bodies and ascend to higher dimensions without some aid of dmt release we aren’t at the stage of technology where we can fuse our cells with nanotechnology and somehow replicate any type of matter by thought…”
Don’t know what :dmt” is but the statement is not true..A Yogi’s conscious exit from the body is called “mahasamadhi” and the creation of physical bodies for bilocation and resurrection is well known.
Read Autobiography of a Yogi by Yogananda (Its online). They do this all the time at will.
Interesting musing.
Vist india and observe keenly than is the understanding of the nature of souls the evolution and if you are able to crack the egg of existence you understand whole life and formation of souls there is nothing called maturity of souls but there exists nature of souls which exhibits different behavior in a body @ different point of time.Understanding the different behavioral pattern is nothing but understanding life and secret is intact in our simple society but not easily observed…but again in case you really need to know what its all about make sure ” Can you handle it all ” :).
—– HAVE A NICE DAY —-
Gee. I only studied intensively with a true Indian Sat Guru for 20 years and even though there was no real “He” ( in ego personality terms), “He” still guided me here and demanded I teach this subject. Even though “He” never spoke of it once in body.
Who, then, was”He” anyway?
Strange isn’t it?
does anyone have any information on planetary souls that come to earth and what dimension they go to when they die?
There is a lot of writing of souls from other systems incarnating as humans, especially at this time. My understanding of my home system is the Pleiades. For the past year with a study group we have been working with beings from other systems who are energetic but still part of this Universe.
I haven’t read about souls fro other systems on the other side but my assumption would be since what is beyond form is beyond time and space and boundless, all soul’s who were incarnated in a physical Universe would find their way back to spiritual “Grand Central Station”.
A good resource to use is from Dolores Cannon, who does hypnotic regression on people who have been abducted or feel that they don’t “belong on this planet”. Information either comes from the person being regressed or the actual planetary beings themselves (aliens) who channel themselves through that person. There are many species of intelligent beings that have been watching over and helping to evolve our planet for a very long time. Many of them are very evolved and do not have to inhabit a physical body, which means they are pure energy and can manifest and travel by thought. If you start with “The Custodians” you will get a good picture of their purpose (if you are familiar with the Ancient Astronaut Theories her books will be of great interest). Her newest book “3 Waves of Volunteers and the New Earth” depicts those advanced souls that are incarnating on Earth, outside of the Earthly physical karmic cycle, who are here to bring in a new age of consciousness. A very fascinating read. The Seth material (Jane Roberts) is also another good source of channeled information, where these beings are called “The Watchers”.
As far as where these types of souls go when they ‘die’, there are many levels of the spiritual planes (The Michael Teachings cover this well) and since many of these ‘alien’ beings are so highly evolved, they reside on higher spiritual levels and can come and go from these levels as they wish (similar to some highly evolved yogis, mystics and sages). They live very long physical lives (in comparison to Earth lives) and choose to exit the physical body when they are finished with their purpose. Hope this helps.
This will sound crazy perhaps, but I’m bothered by the fact that we’re reunited with ‘friends’ in our soul group. Personally, I’m far more attached to my parents than friends, even as a grown adult. Why is it that we’re not able to be with them in our groups? Has anyone under hypnosis remarked that they were indeed with their parents when they returned? Granted ‘parents’ change each life but those bonds should be indefinite. I don’t feel as much comfort as others due to this issue..also, where do animal souls go? We form tight bonds with our pets – they become family as well, yet I never read anything that speaks to where their souls reside…why is everything so human oriented?
Finally, I’m shocked people aren’t terrified about what lies ahead. In my current life, I live in a good situation all around with typical life stresses – ie. temporary unemployment and grief over losing loved ones. I dread the idea of coming back as some starving child from a third world country who’s parents are negligent – type idea, all to achieve soul growth. Who the heck wants to live a tortured life?! So all in all I’m not terribly comforted by all of this stuff.
Hi clamel
Ok, you’ve raised some interesting points.
1. Family v. Soul-mates
You seem to be making negative inferences about the spiritual life ahead based on (presumably) unsatisfying experiences in your current life. You also seem to be imagining that things are forced upon you against your will. Something like, “Friends are pretty useless in this life, so why should I be forced to share a room with more so-called mates in the afterlife?” Perhaps the word “mate” has negative connotations for you? Anyway, a few clarifications seem to be in order.
The afterlife or “inter life” as some call it is one of utter freedom – so much so that we can barely imagine it. There are things to do, but nothing is compulsory and no one is coerced into anything. You follow your own thoughts and desires as you will. You are a being of light, a part of the creative life force of the universe. Your only mission, “should you choose to accept it,” is to be yourself.
The bond between soul mates is one of great, pure, eternal love. You understand one another inside out. It is a level of mutual acceptance and endless warmth that even the most loving families on Earth would struggle to emulate. The irony is, if you and your current parents love each other so much, then they are quite possibly among your closest soul mates.
When you leave this body and return Home to the realm of light, they will certainly be there to greet you — even if they are also alive on Earth at the same time. This is one of the great acts of love all souls do for one another — greet our beloveds at their “birth” into other realm. It is a transition that many find terrifying while in human form, expecting either some terrible judgement from God, or being dragged off by devils with pitchforks, or being completely alone forever in empty space… Those we have loved the most come to make us happy and to reassure us that it’s all good. This includes our pets.
Even if your beloved parents (and pets) are not in your innermost circle, they will never be any more than a thought’s distance away from you. And no one in a uniform is ever going to try and stop you from being with each other as much as you want. No one will shout at you, “that’s quite enough of that, now get back to your own neighbourhood where you belong.” Nothing gets in the way of love. Why would it? Love is what it’s all about.
2. Who the heck wants to live a tortured life?
If we do not want a tortured life next time around, then we simply won’t choose one. It’s all a matter of choice.
But it is also a matter of perception. One man’s “tortured life” is another man’s “rich and intense learning experience.” The homeless drunk on a street corner could be living exactly the life he planned for all we know. He could even be the most fulfilled person on that street.
Those who want to experience the fullness of life will dive in, and may end up having what we might call a tortured life, but for them at the time it’s just “life.” We learn from our own experience. We might eventually decide that some experiences are too horrible to repeat. (One experience of being burnt alive is enough, thank you.) We might even go on to decide that we can learn as much from joy as we can from misery, and thereafter choose only lives of great joy.
The bottom line is, if you don’t want to come back and live in a third world slum, no one “up there” is going to hold a gun to your head and make you. Instead, you and your beloved guides will get together and figure out a life plan that suits you. If you want to surround yourself with those you love in a technologically advanced society, then so be it. I’ll see you there!
Something we have to be careful about, though, is making sure the entire planet doesn’t end up like one big third world slum through pollution, war, corruption, etc.
Hope this helps
Barry
Wonderful reply from Barry. Just to piggyback. The Soul’s journey is not capricious. It follows karmic principles that are misunderstood. Karma is the Soul’s continual desire to balance. Thus if there has been brutality visited on others, the Soul, from its higher perspective, will seek to understand and experience the consequences of its actions or it could balance out through service. Either way it is highly individualized, perfect in its inception, and agreed upon by choice.
If you are conversing here, it is imo highly doubtful you are destined or would choose a life of terror or extreme hardship as most likely you’ve been there, done that. Those kind of lives are for those who are more unconscious and need to be awakened further or need deeper cleansing.
We confuse roles people play for us in physical form with our soul relationships. I agree with Barry that on the other side the only currency is deep love. Remember the truth of our being is we are all one thing. Everyone is truly an aspect of everyone else.
There is nothing to fear from this knowledge or process. Its intent is liberation through greater truth of who we really are and the fact that we are in complete control. That is the secret of life.
This site is a reflection of and awakening to that truth, that what was usually the provence of knowledge gained only from death has moved to the waking state in form.
Do the souls choose time, date and type of death before taking birth?
Certainly many things can be chosen, and maybe in one life the place is a key choice while in the next life it’s not so important. You can choose your manner of death if there is a specific reason to (eg, I have made an agreement that my next life will be to create grief, so I plan to die suddenly at age 17, a motorbike accident should do the trick), or you can leave it open (eg, probably die of natural causes in my 70s). Not sure if time and day of birth are picked by the soul for any special reason, or if they simply jump into their chosen body at the appropriate moment, regardless of date/time. That said, I have seen examples where a soul might be born at, say, the exact same time and date as their last life to indicate to living relatives “yes, it’s me, I’m back!”
I agree with Barry. Its somewhat fluid. Some lives are fairly tightly scripted and manner of death is ordained for a reason. My first experience with all of this was walking with a friend in a Center City Park and he was grieving over the murder of a young (23) female friend of his. Suddenly the information “descended” on me and I said “she died to deepen the appreciation of the preciousness of life for those around her. It was a contract”. A similar situation happened when a niece of a friend who’s father (his brother, very shallow and materialistic) died of a freak accident from a falling tree branch.
Since all are probabilities with main aspects of life being hard to move ones, often times there are windows or “periods” of time where our behavior can affect when we die. And one can go off the reservation, so to speak, from a contract (or intention) and die when the plan was to live a long,fruitful life. There is a story on this by Joel Witton in “Life Between Life”.
So its kind of case by case. There are apparently a lot of ordained deaths by souls. And sometimes the “window” is fairly short and in accordance with the original intention. I just did a reading for a woman whose husband died rather recently. It was clear it was in the plan because there were self empowerment needs she had to work on and his passing forced her to face them.
Personally I believe birth is chosen specifically to line up with astrological influences as to characteristics. When the soul comes in is more up for debate but usually well after the third month. From one channel the analogy was “would you want to stuff yourself into a sardine can?” I have heard of souls jumping in or joining even at birth although I have heard it takes time for the soul and body to unite. One young woman, very psychic, told me she died as a freedom fighter in Nicaragua and did not enter her body until after a year after birth. The baby (body) was hooked up to feeding tubes for that year.
Its hard for many, but all this makes abortion irrelevant, imo. In all metaphysical reading I have never seen abortion addressed as an issue. To the contrary, in “Your Soul’s Gift” by Robert Schawrtz, there is a chapter specifically given to address the issue and to clarify why it is not an issue. The soul has primacy over its contract and will not incarnate into a fetus-body vehicle where a high probability of abortion exists. It will wait. Since 90% of all abortions happen in the first trimester, no soul is present to harm. Being immortal, if it were the soul’s karma, it would just reincarnate later, often to the same parent.
Carol Bowman has an example of this in “Return From Heaven”.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for this post! It really helps to put a lot of the different points of view about soul age into perspective. I’m wondering if there, however, a test to determine at what level in soul development I might be at. If not, how does one know for sure that they are at level 1,2,3, or so on? For instance, I do feel like I’m dealing with a lot of past karma and I have been told by a psychic that part of the reason I came into this incarnation was to get rid of a lot of unwanted karma built up from previous lives. Does one only do this in the sixth level, or is it a little more complicated than that?
Sorry for the delay Chaya, I’m just trying to clear my backlog of unprocessed questions and comments after a long spell of poor health and domestic concerns …
I am not yet sure of a perfect way to determine the exact soul level without getting a reading. There are some “clues” which I’ll mention in a second, but I would certainly encourage you and anyone else to get a reading if you really want to know. (See a list of channels at the bottom of my page on the Michael teachings.)
Aside from that, I have been looking into possible “clues” that could be identified. One is that your current level presents you with a challenge (or lesson) that will eventually take you out of your comfort zone, but in a way that feels right. In my case, for example, the lesson at the 5th level is to do with communication and expression. So my life from 0-40 was marked by a great reluctance to communicate and be expressive, to the point of near-constant anxiety and dread. But by the time I was 40+ I knew in my heart that honest communication/expression is my life task, or what is also called “True Work”. And with hindsight, my earlier life experiences had given me the means and confidence to get on with it.
Another clue that occurred to me just recently is to correlate the 7 levels with the 7 chakras, the 7 soul ages, the 7 “internal monads” of life transitions (from birth to death), etc. This isn’t perfectly clear, because there are different interpretations of the chakra functions. But I think everyone agrees, for example, that chakra 5 (throat) is to do with communication and expression of one’s truth and wisdom, which neatly fits 5th-level life lessons. I’ll do a special article on this soon, but in the meantime I would say it’s something like this (nb – work in progress):
Within any given soul age cycle —
Level 1 = Courageous new venture
Resonances: Root chakra / Birth / Infant soul
Challenge: “I must be willing to experience life anew, from a new perspective.”
Level 2 = Differences & similarities
Resonances: Sacrum chakra / Social relating / Baby soul
Challenge: “I must know how my emerging perspective fits (or doesn’t fit) in relation to others.”
Level 3 = Turning ideas into action
Resonances: Solar plexus chakra / Personal power & independence / Young soul
Challenge: “I must discover the consequences of my emerging perspective by asserting my own choices.”
Level 4 = Finding inner truth
Resonances: Heart chakra / Self-realisation & integration / Mature soul
Challenge: “I must recognise, integrate and embrace my true self within this new perspective.”
Level 5 = Sharing the wisdom
Resonances: Throat chakra / Communication & self-expression / Old soul
Challenge: “I must explicitly define and publicly express my own sense of truth.”
Level 6 = Lighting up the way
Resonances: Third eye chakra / Vision & self-transcendence / Surrender
Challenge: “I must hold up this truth as a light to illuminate darkness (both my own and others’).”
Level 7 = Peak experience
Resonances: Crown chakra / Union / Death
Challenge: “I can now just enjoy being in the world, giving it the full benefit of my truth before I move on.”
Karma is generally made in the earlier levels and then cleared up in the later levels, especially level 6, so that level 7 – the peak experience of the cycle – is relatively free and untroubled.
barry
Barry. Thanks for this. Based on your structure, I think I actually may be 6th level or transitioning to it as communication comes easy but dealing with shadow of emotional body seems very prominent at this time
But Chaya, I would add this caveat. Its good to know these things in a ball park manner. But in the end “wherever you go, there you are”. Dealing in the here and now with life and our stuff is more than an intellectual exercise and “information is not transformation. (Boy do I know that.)
I think it helps that if you are drawn to this site, most likely you are a mature soul. Understanding the levels helps but in the end we still must live. Rest assured you are loved and guided by the Universe.
Very interesting article, with which I mostly agree, except for the statement that it MUST take a minimum of 35 lives to reach ultimate soul maturity-karmic liberation-enlightenment. It is always possible for us to learn more than one life lesson in one lifetime, if we are intelligent and conscious. This then goes back to the old gradual v. sudden enlightenment debate. Any it is a good article!
I think circumstances must be extraordinary to bypass the process. Such as incarnating already advanced from another galactic civilization. According to the idea of soul evolution, “sudden” enlightenment is not possible. The vehicle (soul) is not ready. Its like expecting a fifth grader to complete a PhD. I suppose in very rare conditions a soul could move faster as you suggest, but its my suspicion that 35 lives would be almost warp speed.
And I’m not sure this process is confined to this planet alone.
I would agree with Ken very much here. I would also have to ask, what’s wrong with taking at least 35 lives? No-one is in a hurry, and there are no prizes for ending the journey sooner.
As for sudden enlightenment, I think we are at risk of some semantic confusion. By “enlightenment”, some people mean achieving the final transcendence of the human condition, the end of all illusion and the suffering that goes with it, and hence the end of reincarnation, or Moksha. On the other hand, by “enlightenment” some people mean achieving (or rather stumbling into) a temporary state of direct essence contact, or cosmic consciousness, where in an instant one understands some ultimate Truth, e.g. or our true nature, the essential unity of self, life and others. This is known in Zen as Satori or Kensho.
I have had several “sudden enlightenment” experiences of this sort through my participation in a process called an Enlightenment Intensive. By working on the staff at scores of these Intensives I have also seen literally dozens of people – usually with tears streaming down their cheeks while their awestruck faces glow like a newborn baby opening their eyes for the first time – have the same moment of awakening to the Absolute – and often finding (much to their surprise) that the truth of all being is the same as their own true nature. It’s all a lot simpler than we imagine.
Nevertheless, unless we are already evolved to the last level of the Old Soul stage, we lack the inner,experiential know-how to convert this life-changing awareness into non-stop enlightened behaviour. This can only come through the exploration of choices and experiences gained through reincarnation – our testbed for relating as best we know how so far.
barry
what the f**k is this about? huh!!! michael how did you know such theory..why u published such a bullshit stuff?
I’ll answer your question. This material is consistent with a huge number of channeled material from other sources plus hypnotherapy regressions, Near Death and mystic-medium experiences. I call it the emerging “Technology of Consciousness” or modern revelation of how “God” works in terms of the Soul and the human experience.
If you cannot “grok” (get) what this is about, I suggest it is for one of three reasons. You are a baby soul who has stumbled upon a mature soul site and your reaction is violent because its shocking to the system.
You are a young soul who resents systems.
You are an atheist, possibly mature, who detests spirituality because you want to get away from religion in this life.
Either way its a frequency thing. Those of us in tune with this experience the entire paradigm (not just the Michael teachings) energetically. (In other words one can directly contact the truth of it.) This is one of its verbal expressions.
I invite you to read Journey of Souls by Michael Newton. He was a hypnotherapist who had 2000 clients in 20 years and did “Life Between Life” regression. There are others who had similar results.What they all saw was identical to this. Its on Amazon and is very inexpensive used.These teachings are a refinement of some aspects of that information.
Debate is fine but we are not into fighting over this here.The core idea is not up for being changed (such as to a Christian Biblical belief of Last Judgment.) Skepticism is fine. We encourage however an open mind. If your intention is to be assaulting and vulgar, you will not be engaged and probably blocked from participating.
I was a bit confused as to which stage I am. Because I want independence .. I want success in my career .. though sometimes I doubt myself .. seems to me that this is something my young soul
but I also try to face my demons, heal me inside .. And that is something mature soul .. so I was kind of confused
Hi Luciana – Success and independence are not necessarily incompatible with being a Mature soul. But it is typical of a Mature soul to think that they are!
Mature souls want to demonstrate integrity, but you can still do that while pursuing dreams of a successful career. Many highly successful (well paid) artists, composers, authors, scientists, philosophers, teachers, business owners, etc are Mature souls – their success comes from being true to themselves as well as being responsible in their relationships.
cheers
we all being detached from essence and being on our evolutionary journey as souls taking rebirths is being preached by the ancient Hindu Vedanta philosophy for more than 5000 years now what’s new? The ancient Hindu Vedanta philosophy being the only one explaining the existence of universe as well as ours as per quantum mechanics. 2 things that
I would want to know as per your thinking that again have already been described sufficiently by the Hindu Vedanta philosophy is 1) what is the origin of the essence? 2) When does a soul realize that it doesn’t have to take any more births?
My writing on this website is a sincere attempt to share whatever wisdom I have found, through my own experiences, to best facilitate my understanding of self, appreciation of life and compassion for others, in the hope that others in a similar place of confusion or curiosity can experience those same benefits. You appear to see no more than someone trespassing on your philosophical turf, so you’re up for an argument. I guess you win because I have absolutely zero motivation, time or energy to engage in that way.
First, when you say “Vedanta”, you are using a word that is a broad brush stroke. There are actually several traditions or “schools” in Vedanta. Although there is a basic core, there are differences in philosophy among many of them. I was the disciple of a Yogic Sat Guru who taught from what would appear to be the Vishishtadvaita tradition, as did Yogananda. Thus Brahman (or Parmapurusha)-Supreme consciousness’ essential nature is unqualified, beyond all attributes. This is known as NIrguna. The Creation is a temporal expression of this eternal absolute known as Saguna. Saguna is ultimately an illusionary expression of Brahma covered by the veil of Maya but is not a phantom, for although not eternal in its own right. nothing truly exists but God. (The GIta says, “The unreal never is: the Real never is not. This truth indeed has been seen by those who can see the true.
**Interwoven** in his creation, the Spirit is beyond destruction. No one can bring to an end the Spirit which is everlasting.)
Quantum mechanics would seem to support this view, which is not supported by all schools of Vedanta. QM shows us _something_ is here. This is not illusionary in the sense that it has no structural or energetic component, but what one sees is not what is the true nature or ground of the expressive world.
If one reads Kabir #7 in Tagore’s translation, http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/5326/ he expresses the same sentiment from a personal exalted mystical state.
Although I agree with you that much of modern “New Age” thinking derives or is influenced by the great philosophies of the past, especially from the East (truth is truth after all), I would suggest that each period has its unique gifts.
We are a technological society. Sites like this explore and reveal a “technology of Consciousness” that imo are far more explicit and direct than the ancient texts. They fill in the gaps in an enlightening way. There is nothing I have seen in ancient philosophical writing including the Tibetan Book of the Dead that shows the clarity of the Soul’s journey and its interface with reincarnation as given here or in a book like Journey of Souls by Michael Newton.
Thus we can respect the gifts of each period without declaring one is “greater” or “better” than the other, especially if they are coming from a very high vibration.
In answer to your questions,
1) what is the origin of the essence? 2) When does a soul realize that it doesn’t have to take any more births?
I’m not sure what you mean by origin of essence? True essence has no origin as it is eternal. Atman and Brahman are one. If you are asking how does essence arise in individuation in physicality (or even in non physicality-subtle alms)), this is in process of exploration. Clearly God (Brahma) is the source of individuating itself. Exactly how this process occurs is not fully known. We have gone between the more Hindu position (essence embodies itself in the simplest of forms and gradually moves up the ranks, attaining ever more complex form), or human souls always were human and started as primitive, raw (aka young) souls and have been on a journey of maturation. Thus God is like a great diamond cutter finding bliss in the process of working with itself in a grand “drama” or “sport” known as Lila. Thus the true nature of the infinite is unfathomable and beyond all of this. As Yogananda said, “This is God’s hobby”.
I vacillate between the two poles as I am friends with a remarkable animal communicator who is quite adamant that animals and plants have their own distinct journey and the human experience is nether higher or lower than theirs. I do believe there is cross pollination (incarnations) between forms but at this point am not sure, even though I was taught the “up the ladder” philosophy, which has its own merits.
In any event my preference is not to rely for truth on any text, but to incorporate that which I can verify through personal experience.
As to #2, Barry has already commented on this. When a soul matures enough, it no longer has need of the incarnational cycle. However I have seen this decision has some fluidity built into it. The soul (us) being Brahman itself (Atman and Brahman are one) will know from its deepest recesses when this cycle is over. There are two more major levels above this one in the non physical. And according to these teachings, a soul can decide to go through the entire process numerous times (some people like more than one visit to the amusement park and all the rides). I have not personally experienced this as part of the game but I don’t rule it out.
Thus what you are talking about is termed liberation or Mukti. Compete merger and loss of identity (Moksa) is possible. However these terms describe states or experiences so far beyond where we are that to try and be serious beyond knowing about them, to me, is a fruitless exercise.
We should “Be Here Now.” Which is all there is and where any of this is happening or will happen.
Well Barry first of all I must tell you that my intention was not at all to offend you or to get into some kind of rat race that my religion or ideas are superior or are the only one as many deluded souls on this planet try to promote. Being a true Hindu I am always open to new concepts, ideas and views on creation, existence and evolution itself. I must also appreciate kens reply and must say that I am impressed with the grip he has on Hindu philosophical views. By the way I am a follower of Advaita Vedanta(Monism). Anyway, Somewhere I am trying to merge the ancient oriental wisdom with the modern day research to get to a more holistic view. I would agree with ken on the fact that east had the fundamentals in place and now west is trying to get into details of it. Your
35 steps to soul evolution is definitely a preposition worth evaluating and incorporating in the ancient Hindu tradition. Its a very practical concept and I appreciate you on your efforts.
On my question about the origin of the essence, it was an oxymoron of sorts,as essence in itself is the origin of everything that is. as I believe essence doesn’t not have an origin, it has an all pervading eternal existence beyond time and space. Its just there , always has been and always will be.
On the question of when does a soul realize that it doesn’t have to take anymore births I would slightly disagree with ken on his views that when the time comes the soul inherently realizes that it doesn’t have to. For me the entire purpose of this game of evolving through reincarnation goes for a toss if it had to be left to souls understanding after gaining X numbers, or X types of experiences, that it doesn’t have to be born anymore. There is no end to kind of experiences one may attain as every experience has infinite possibilities of being fine tuned. The game has been created by the essence by fragmenting itself into tiny bits of souls, giving them a layer of ego that makes them feel that they are something different from the essence. The purpose of reincarnation being to evolve to the point where the soul realizes that it was under the delusion of duality and it is nothing but the essence. Now that’s self realization. For me the end to the game of reincarnation comes at a point when the soul realizes that its one with the essence, literally. Termed in eastern philosophy as a state of Mukti (liberation), Samadhi or nirvana. Though Samadhi in itself have different stages namely Savikalpa, Asamprajñata and Nirvikalpa but that’s deviating from the topic. A soul may grow into an old soul, or an older soul or the oldest soul yet not get out of the cycle of rebirths till it doesn’t attain self realization of being one with the essence. Then you need not evolve anymore from experiences as you would have evolved into essence by the act of realization.
I would also disagree to barys preposition that as souls we are in no real hurry to evolve. I feel we are hopelessly desperate to evolve and to get back to our roots, to be one with essence. It plays on the subconsience of every soul. If a child gets detached from its parents lets say in a fair an it is lost wont it be desperate to get back and be one with its parents. wont it cry its heart out to get back to its parents. We as souls are crying our heart out subconsciously to be one with our parents the essence. But the churns of this dillusional world propelled by maya the illusionary force just wont let us.
Anyway, One thing that I feel that the concept of 35 steps of evolution is completely missing on “yet”, and I am surprised that Michael didn’t talk about it “yet”, would be the concept of chakra centers (7 psychic knots in the human body) and the concept of kundalini energy(corporeal energy) as described in details in ancient Hindu texts. In this physical plain of existence if we were given tools like a brain to think, eyes to see, ears to hear, mouth to speak then we were also given kundalini energy and the chakra system as a means to self realization. Anything that is charismatic, intuitive, instinctive, creative, evolutionary, revolutionary, all stems from the development of these psychic centers and the flow of kundalini through them. Why is it that if I say some words the world wont listen but if a Christ or a Buddha or a Krishna would say the same words the world will become a follower? Its all because of their highly developed Kundalini energy and opened up psychic knots. I do strongly believe that the soul evolution on a spiritual plane directly corresponds to the opening up of various chakras (each one having a specific purpose, expression and manifestation) on the physical sphere. All the physicts, mystics, sons and messengers of gods, god men, scientists, writers, philosophers, orators, leaders, etc had at least some levels (and for some all), of this kundalini energy getting exposed and maneuvering through the various psychic knots. There have been examples one too many of the kundali getting aroused in individuals including scientific research being done on the fact that the arousal of kundalini energy compleltely changes the brain and body chemistry. The brain becomes more holistic.
As per Hindu philosophy the state of Samadhi or Nirvana or self realization is achieved when this kundalini energy that seats itself in the base of spine when dormant, reaches the cranial chakra, the state of enlightenment is reached. There is no second way, in the end every thing in physica world boils down to exposition of this primodial energy at different levels. Its the kundalini Shakti playing around with the chakra system as per the state of the souls evolutionary stages that brings in so much of varience in human exposition. I am bringing this in as I dont want the west to loose another 5000 years to come to tearms with this concept. perhaps they can get into more detalis of it 🙂
OK, I’ll respond to a few points there, not because I want to argue or debate, but to clarify for the benefit of you and others what has been said in the Michael teachings and what I have learned by inner experience.
1. The Michael teachings do share several overlaps with Hinduism, but there is no reference to personified deities (God or gods), as that tends to evoke a regressive attitude in devotees of having to appease an almighty father-figure. The teachings refer to our essential nature as essence, and the source / force / way of evolution as the Tao, for lack of a better neutral word.
2. The question about the origin of the essence: I felt that this was a “test” in the way that you put it (you obviously knew the ‘correct’ answer already). But for the record, I would totally agree and so do the Michael teachings.
3. The end of reincarnation: There is no need for one soul to undergo an infinite variety of subtly different experiences. There is a set of archetypal experiences to undergo, which present a soul with particular feelings (e.g. Grief) which may be new to it, and also present the soul with stark choices. These choices are pivotal, life-defining moments (e.g., “To be, or not to be?”). Having undergone any specific experience, the soul assimilates the lessons of that after the return to the Astral, and so there is growth, evolution. The soul is wiser, more aware. The individual soul does not explore an infinity of experiences – there is an infinity of souls each having their own experiences.
Here on Earth, billions of souls are evolving by doing this set of key experiences, each in their own way. Then, the experiences are brought together as the fragments reunite at the end of reincarnation, and beyond. Thus the Tao is exploring the vast infinity of possible experiences, but not by having one soul do it all over and over again, never experiencing growth.
Growth is the inevitable result of experience, and once you have learned the lesson of, say, how to honourably serve a corrupt leader, there is no point in doing it again – unless, that is, the first attempt didn’t give you enough of the experience in order to learn the lesson or expand in awareness. So you might want to do it again once or twice if your first attempt wasn’t enough But once you’ve fully incorporated the essential meaning, and understood the inherent choices involved and how the choices impact self and others, there is no purpose in repeating it.
4. The end of reincarnation (part 2): The soul already has liberation. It does not seek or need liberation from the Earth plane. It enjoys that liberation every time it passes through death and returns Home. An older soul feels the pull to reunite with soul mates to become a greater whole, but a younger soul feels the pull to experience individual separation by incarnating in a solid form. Younger souls love the complexity of human life – older souls have had enough of it.
Many human beings imagine there is a desperately urgent need for them to evolve beyond the physical realm and achieve ultimate liberation as soon as possible. This, ironically, is maya – illusion. Between lives, they know it to be a folly of the human condition. I dare say that this may be one of the key lessons in soul growth: be as free and happy in your human body as you are in your astral body.
5: Kundalini and the chakras. There is much in the teachings on this topic; I simply haven’t covered much of it on the website yet. I would point out though that a human being doesn’t need the conscious knowledge of kundalini in order to have those energies of awakening released. I also suspect that all valid teachings (such as the chakras) have become part of our global knowledge base and will not be lost.
Cheers
Also I would completely disagree with kens proposition of his friend being an animal communicator discovering that the animals and plants have a completely different evolutionary process running parallel to humans. it defies basic logic and common sense. For me every living being in this universe has a soul….and for a soul the ultimate aim would be to realize that its just been detached from essence and to be one with it. be it an ant a tadpole or a virus. As we know that all the animals are simply driven by basic instincts. That would want me to assume that even plants are driven by basic instincts. Only humans have been given the privilege of being allowed to get over their basic instincts and think who they are, where they are coming from what is there purpose and reason to be in here. I have never seen a dog sitting down and contemplating where they are coming from what’s its purpose in life . I have never seen a dog meditating, I have never heard of a plant attaining a nirvana. They are locked up because of their under developed nervous systems as compared to humans. even if we think about some parallel birth and rebirth process of the other species I don’t find them to be evolving much in terms of consciousness. Why would the all knowing all knowledgeable all just full essence debar the animal and the plant kingdom to evolve into a more proficient specie that would lead them to it? I feel that its very difficult for some humans to believe that they might have just been a virus or a bacteria at some point in time of their evolutionary cycle to spread such rumors that they have been superior to be born just as humans. Even if we look at science for that matter the Darvins theory of evolution clearly states that all the living creatures on this planet originated from a single celled Cocervate and then slowly evolved into multicellular organisms. Essence is really not as stupid as some of us are to create 64million parallel universes one for each species and then worry about their individual realization specially when they have not been loaded with the basics. I see all this imagination of every animal specie having a separate realm reaching a complete dead end. Creatures evolving biologically . from slightly less complex species to a more complex species and so as their consciousness also evolving till it reaches a human body and human consciousness to be able to realize itself definitely makes more sense to me……..
@ barrys reply…. If you have any Idea about Hinduism then personified deities are a very small fraction of the Hindu philosophy. The personified deities came into existence in Hinduism for two reasons 1) For a commoner it was impossible to fathom the nature of absolute. Simple, can your brain fathom where the universe ends? of course not. Hinduism believed that even a piece of stone is the expression of universal self so even if you focus on worshipping a stone you are worshiping the universal self. Focusing on a piece of stone make it all the more easier for a common person who cant really focus on something form less, dimension less, beyond the comprehension of the senses. 2) Our sub conscious have a very strong power. So if you give individual pieces of stones some characteristics and powers and then focus on it day and night you tend to develop those powers sub consciously. its a simple concept, if you pray before your idol day and knight parsing his or her virtues the subconscious transforms you into it.
I would slightly disagree with the fact that if a soul takes up the same experiences over and over again it would not evolve. As I mentioned earlier that there could be a million different variations to the same experience. If you talk about grief there could be a million different circumstances bringing in grief and the propensity and dynamics of each situation might vary considerably. How do you call it a complete experience by experiencing grief in one particular life in one particular way?
dying and getting back to a spiritual realm and feeling liberated? I seriously doubt. They are not liberated but have entered just another dimension of life and birth cycle. Liberation from earth? who said, how about liberation from the spirit world?
if according to you Growth is the inevitable result of experience, how about getting the real experience, experiencing the essence?
most athletes grow by performing the same routine over and over again a million times. Ask them and they will tell you that its a new experience every time even if they repeat the same thing…..
@….Many human beings imagine there is a desperately urgent need for them to evolve beyond the physical realm and achieve ultimate liberation as soon as possible. This, ironically, is maya – illusion.
I would beg to disagree. it seems you have badly messed up the concept of Maya. Maya is the force that forces you to think that you are a human being, that you are a soul. Both are untrue, hence delusional.
@Kundalini and the chakras. There is much in the teachings on this topic;
Somehow at least I couldn’t find anything sensible on Kundalini energy under the heading of Michael. That really makes me wonder are they really a bunch of all those evolved souls.
@ I would point out though that a human being doesn’t need the conscious knowledge of kundalini in order to have those energies of awakening released.
I would disagree on that, it only points out your lack of knowledge and understanding on the subject. That’s why I mentioned that it took west 5000 years to come to teams with the fact of reincarnation being preached in east, so don’t make it another 5000 years before you come to teams with the concept of Kundalini energy and how it manifests in creation.
Take care and all the best……let the time tell…. 🙂
I spent twenty years under the tutelage of the Sat Guru while he was in the body. Then I was directed by God into the realm of channeling as a primary vehicle for Source. If I do a “Hindu” meditation or chanting, such as I did last Saturday, a form from Sivabalayogi, my perception of Guru’s presence is quite strong. This ability to commune deeply has grown markedly through the years and has accelerated the last 5.
I find that God and life have taken me spiritually to paths and experiences far beyond my initial conception of what awakening would be like. I still have areas in the emotional body that need healing.
I would ask how much of your knowledge is from personal experience and samadhi (even small ones) and how much is from book learning and teachings from others?
You misconstrued my answer to 2 a the Soul is one with Brahma. Ultimately the Soul makes no decisions because foundationally identity itself is an illusion. Everything comes from Brahma. Therefore any decision as to Miukti is not “individual” but comes from a deeper place. I agree with Barry that in this dream, the prime directive of each Soul (and according to Michael) oversoul is expansion and growth. I also agree that from the Soul’s perspective, which is timeless, urgency does not exist although i believe there is a speed up as one begins the process of awakening and remembrance rather than continuing the urge toward separation.
However, if your thoughts are derived from book learning and reading of texts, or what others have taught you, I’m not especially interested in continuing the conversation. As I said, there are things I know, and there are things I don’t and I am not interested in expressing any philosophy that I have not personally validated through experience.
Religions and sacred texts are meant to be guides to the experience of truth. They are not truth themselves. YOU, ME, Barry, everyone, We are the living truth as we are not only expressions of but literally one with Brahma itself. This was, is and always will be the truth and is the goal itself, realization of one’s true nature after a vat forgetting.
We all have unique ways of understanding and pursuing that goal but for me, to get into a highly extended intellectual discussion based on text learning or reading is a waste of time. It becomes how many angels can dance on the head of a pin and feels very much like fundamentalism.
Take what this site gives if it enhances your understanding and helps you on your path. That is what its for. God comes in many forms and to use a computer analogy, God is downloading new “software”, especially in this time of rapid spiritual acceleration. Extended discussions about things I cannot verify do not interest me.
Again, some things are very simple. The rest comes of it. There is only one reality. My job is to use the tools I have been given to join with it and to realize my true nature. All else flows, follows and is revealed. Doership is an illusion. I can’t be distracted by anything except my own laziness because God has forcefully come into my life many years ago and the guidance is impeccable.
Therefore there is no true teaching for me “out there” because I am the teaching. The rest is just words.
@….However, if your thoughts are derived from book learning and reading of texts, or what others have taught you, I’m not especially interested in continuing the conversation. As I said, there are things I know, and there are things I don’t and I am not interested in expressing any philosophy that I have not personally validated through experience
That sounds pretty hypocritical. After all where did the knowledge in the books come from, obliviously out of someone else’s experience. are you the one who doesnt give others experiences any respect? they might be completely wrong but then they might be completely right. Now if a book tells me that don’t jump from a 20th story building or else u will die. Will I be stupid enough to say that after all its just written in a book I would believe in only real experience so I must jump from a 20 story building to see if I die or not . How stupid!
On what others have taught me….let me ask you , you keep mentioning your guru too often, you are nothing but a product of what your guru has taught you….but remember he is others after all. you are just a monkey of what your guru has taught you (others).
You not expressing any philosophy that you have not personally validated? 2 things, 1 just because you don’t have the capability or enough evolutionary potential to validate a philosophy doesn’t imply that it doesn’t exist. Second if you really believe so what are you doing here in this forum? A forum that talks about transient souls? Are you a transient soul? by my evaluation of you are not by a long way. I s barry a transient soul? of course not. So what are you doing in a forum that preaches transient souls when none of you have been one. is that what you call knowing by experience. You are promoting views of some third party channel named Michel not actually by experiencing it but only by reading through it.
On your views on channeling your guru why do you have to rely on his views. Why not experience all that is yourself? Your guru is just another evolutionary being and cant be perfect. He is not the all knower he is just evolving like us. Stop seeing the world through his eyes and get real.
About my personal experiences there have been one too many. I had started having astral projections and out of body experiences at the age of 2 and a half years . I grew up with these involuntary experiences for almost 4 years and always used to get scared. I had device many means to try and avoid them till the time I grew out of the fear and started enjoying the experiences and the journeys. I was a veracious reader of the Hindu philosophy as it made sense to my otherwise intellectual mind and use to try and find an answer to my experiences. at the age of 20 I and my parents went to Rishikesh where we accidently met a divine being who later turned out to be my guru. I told him that I wanted to be his disciple. He interviewed me for almost 2 hours and several times touched my fore head during the conversation. Finally he agreed to be my guru to teach me kundalini tantra. During initiation he had put his toe on my chest and that was it, I entered a state of divine bliss that is completely unimaginable and inexplicable. The entire world turned upside down. My parents some how managed to get me back to the hotel room but I was in a different world. Everything just dissolved in front of my eyes there were no walls, tables for that matter beds. it was an altered state of consciousness. I kept having the feeling that I was having a 1000 orgasms at the same time with no stopping. My parents tried to feed me but I couldn’t eat, I would get a feeling that I was eating myself. several times I would just pass out……
this continued for 3 days. after that it all just fizzled out. I went back to my now guru and requested him to give that experience one more time but he declined. He said that I have shown you the apple now you find it. With my deep reading and understanding of the eastern philosophy I could understand that what he had done to me was a Shakti pat initiation (transfer of energy to awaken my kundalini temporarily). Since then it became my aim in life to explore under his divine guidance to explore kundalini tantra and to arouse my kundalini. its been 14 years now that I have been practicing kundalini tantra under his guidance. Initially on even my mooladhar was under developed.
But slowly and steadily with constant yogic practices now I have reached a point where my eyebrow chakra is ever expanding.
The eyebrow chakra is associated with the powers of intuition. I still shake a bit mentioning this incident. I was at the office working when I all of a sudden out of no where asked one of my junior friends to just go out and have a fag. Next thing that came out of my mind completely involuntarily was that I will show you how a dog dies. It was completely involuntary utterance nor did my junior pay much attention to what I said. We were outside the office building gossiping over a few drags when all of a sudden this truck came on the road and crushed the favorite dog of the entire office under its wheels right in front of our eyes. The accident was so bad that the dogs brain had popped out, literally. My friend became all jittery as he now recollected what I had said. He became so scared of me that he completely started avoiding me from then on.
that’s just one incident but there have been several more that occurred as an when my chakras were opening. My kundalini energy is still not on a permanent rising state, it comes on in flashes. every time it comes on it leaves me with varied experiences. Some of them are real scary. But I know with the guidance of my guru I would be able to awaken the dormant energy into its sustenance and will be able to deal with all the pros and cons. After the brow chakra opening up the cranial would be the toughest and most daunting. But I am sure I would be able to make it and reach the state of eternal bliss that I had experienced 14 years back. That has been my story I am on an evolutionary journey of my own. So are you and so is barry. My aim is not to try and prove superiority of any religious concept but to bring forth my understanding and experiences of creation existence universe and life as it is.
I am experiencing your tone, point of view and attitude as hostile and derisive. Therefore, I am not interested in any engagement as it serves no purpose for me. I am glad your path and experiences have worked for you. However I would suggest not posting here anymore as you will most likely not get any responses, at least not from me.
Well to begin with I never asked you to comment on my point of view in the first place. My question was very much for Barry. But u decided to jump in with your own comment without an invitation. Perhaps you were trying to prove a point of your own without any initiation. On the question of hostility I would say that just because some one would not want to get down and believe in what you are preaching as a truth labeling him a fundamentalist , is being hostile. As the law of karma says every action has an equal an opposite reaction, reverse hostility was expected. You reacting or not reacting to my comments doesn’t make even a V bit of difference to me as I don’t find anything constructive coming out of it, given your evolutionary level as per my intuition .
Brining in my experience on my evolutionary journey to this forum was not my intent till you provoked me on asking what has been my direct experience on it. I have had one to many. But that would not stop me from saying that my intention to pursue something at a practical level came very much from books and the feed from people around me and a bit of internal inspiration. A baby gets to call a mom a mom only by getting constant feeds from the world around that she is your mom. Its upto you once you grow up and mature to decide whether you would still want to keep calling her your mom or not. I have been lucky enough to have been brought upon values of reading first deeply on what the till existing world has to say about this creation existence and evolution by reading their views and experiences, in books and listening to people around me. For me books are the repository of the knowledge that have been brought upon us through times, about the direct and indirect experiences of sometimes much more evolve beings to be paid attention to. By the age of 12 I had engulfed all of Hindu textures be it the Vedas the Shasrta’s the puranas the Upanishads and the Vedanta’s, Then I had turned my interest in exploring the bible, the Quran, Buddhist philosophy, Jainism, Sikhism and some of the contemporary philosophers like mux Muller, ralph waldo emerson, Cg jung, Voltaire, Confucius, Zorathustra just one too many, to understand there views on the concept. Then as per my evaluating process and my evolutionary make up I ended up landing into the land of advaita Vedanta and kundalini tantra. That suited me most as I could relate to it and make sense of it. I went on my journey to pursue it on a practical level. Not till the point my basic understanding came about the philosophies and by listening to others on their views upon it.
Anyway lets get back to your stupid question on how much of a direct experience have I had about the entire concept. As I said I have had one to many but if that had to be the only yardstick I would rather want to ask you in return that how much of the concepts you are trying to preach over here are coming from direct experiences that you have had yourself.
Let me begin with your fascination about Michael Newton and his book journey of the souls that you seem to be considering a land mark in the theory of evolution and seem to be promoting. I would want to ask you How much of a direct experience of the concepts that Newton has put forward in his book. I mean how many of past life regressions have you performed as a direct experience to come to the conclusion that what he is telling is the truth? Deciphering your evolutionary pattern as per my intuition I would say none. Basically you haven’t had any direct experience with putting people to past life regression to have a direct experience but you are still promoting a “book” obviously because you just assume it to be true. Let me also tell you that I have been through his book several times but I feel that he is seriously lacking holistic view as none of his subjects have been a transient soul or beyond.
On the basic question of you being here in this forum and propagating your views on the 35 steps of evolution. I would want to ask you, how many times did you ask barry about what kind of direct experience has he had with it all. I mean how much of the concept that he has been promoting on his web site has come through a direct experience of he actually channeling Michale? I feel that everything that has originated on this website has come through other text sources on Michaels channeled interviews. Basically you are believing in something that has not at all come from a direct experience of barry but you are believing because you want to believe in it..
You talk about having a guru for last 20 years. I assume he must have given you several prophecies. How many times did you challenge him that what you are saying I don’t believe in as I have never had a direct experience to it. Scrolling down through all these comments through the blog I can find many instances of you preaching words of your guru as the fact. I would want to ask you has that been your direct experience. You mentioned your gurus comments on non vegetarianism for an example wasn’t that just your gurus views on it? Have you had any direct experiences on it to promote that as a view?
You basically have no direct experience on most of the views that you promote. But when you ask me about my direct experiences on the views that I promote that makes you sound like a hypocrite a person with double standards to say the least. I would not consider channeling your guru as a direct experience at all. but just a direct experience of the concept of channeling. In the end you are not having any direct experience yourself but only listening to or believing in the direct or indirect experiences of your guru.
Finally, I don’t think that I would be on this forum anymore as I am on my evolutionary journey of its own. Though I feel that this forum is on the right direction but there are still a million of prepositions that this forum has to evolve upon. I must also tell you that there are other parallel forums who are dealing with this concept of channeling and analyzing the source of evolution on the basis of channeling information. Some of them are even providing the transcripts of the actual channeling moment in form of videos and audio tapes. There have been many conflicting views.
Lastly let it not be you to decide to order me whether I should bring forth my views on this forum or not as this is really not your forum. Its Barrys forum and he has a complete control on what post should come up on it. If Barry tells me not to post anymore on this forum I would definitely not and rather find one of my own. Somehow I find Barry mature enough to let all the views come through even if it might sound completely against him. If you want to subdue any person who does not believe in your thought process not even to express his though, then come up with your own biased forum. Believe me I will be the last to visit a forum that would entertain people who would abide only by your mind set. Stop piggybacking and force feeding yourself on others forum.
First I apologize if I offended you by asking about direct experience but I will explain why. Second on this forum, if a person posts, generally others weigh in because various takes and points of view might have merit.
If you remember, Barry’s initial inclination was not to engage you. His exact words “You appear to see no more than someone trespassing on your philosophical turf, so you’re up for an argument. I guess you win because I have absolutely zero motivation, time or energy to engage in that way.” So on some level he perceived what I also felt. And still feel.
I asked about direct experience because you “went off” quite strongly about Hinduism . the Vedas, its philosophy, and their superiority. This is a red flag for me because it feels as if someone is not coming from the heart with a desire to dialogue. Rather they are interested in a power trip .Or as Barry put it ” “You appear to see no more than someone trespassing on your philosophical turf, so you’re up for an argument.”
I felt this way too but tried in a gentle way to engage. I missed one of your posts so I am sorry. But when you responded
“On what others have taught me….let me ask you , you keep mentioning your guru too often, you are nothing but a product of what your guru has taught you….but remember he is others after all. you are just a monkey of what your guru has taught you (others).”
This is about as insulting and derogatory a remark as I have ever experienced from another “spiritual” person. And what is ironic is if you felt offended, you responded in kind, rather than demonstrating with a loving heart my mistake.
Thus I responded that I did not wish to engage any further.
I have had many…many (thousands of) experiences beyond the personal encounter with the Guru. You know nothing about me but as i apparently erred, you also made huge assumptions abut my life and experience without checking any of it out.
I applaud the grace that has come your way, and the blessings you have had. However one must rely on one’s own intuition and both Barry and myself felt that your first attempts at communication were not authentic in terms of any real sharing.
Take it for what you will. I also honor the mirror you present to me of my own shadow and longing to look for fights. I had a dream once from God in the form of a very exalted friend and she said “:You want love but crave power”. That’s my responsibility to clear and I own it.
I will not get into an extended spiritual “gunfight” with someone I bow to the lesson here and vow to work more on my own issues.
Take it for what you will. There is no “winning” in this for either of us and I believe it would be a gigantic waste of time for both of us.
As you said it is Barry’s forum. These have been my thoughts. In retrospect it was inappropriate of me to make assumptions. You might look at, again, what appears to be a very hostile tone in your responses.
And yes I have probed with Barry the depth of his experience that validates these teachings. My own validation comes from my intuitive ability, direct contact with the angelic and Ascended Master realms, extended connection with Guru beyond the physical (in many forms since Guru is not a person) and the fact that I am a medium. If I did not have some important first hand knowledge, I would not promote nor teach (which I do) these expressions.
I would only suggest that in the future you share more personally rather than expounding forcefully about scripture. It sends up red flags for those of us who have had too much dealings with fundamentalists.
Well to begin with I keep coming back to these religious spiritual forums every 5,6 months interval, on the internet putting in my comments that would provoke a reaction and then a chain reaction and then I would sit back and laugh at the reactions and disappear after some time on my own evolutionary journey. Putting in my comments to provoke the arguments further every now and then once in a while. I have been to many Christian forums, Muslim forums and for that matter Hindu forums. As per my experience there are no winners or losers in these battles , as there are no end to these battles. Every side would come up with their own preposition as per what they understand to be truth till the T. I appreciate Barrys comments that he accepted me to be the winner already, and that would kill the argument completely. Of course that would take away a lot of entertainment factor on my part. lol.
I would still be a promoter of Hindu philosophy as much as I could make sense of it and some parts of the Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, Sikhist, Jainist, zorastrian, Yehudis philosophies. As they all originate from the essence and contain some element of truth to it. Let them all have been contaminated by human interventions and interpretations through ages. Same goes for Michael teachings. I feel even it is open to human interventions and interpretations already.
@ my comment …….“On what others have taught me….let me ask you , you keep mentioning your guru too often, you are nothing but a product of what your guru has taught you….but remember he is others after all. you are just a monkey of what your guru has taught you (others).”
And then your comments….. This is about as insulting and derogatory a remark as I have ever experienced from another “spiritual” person. And what is ironic is if you felt offended, you responded in kind, rather than demonstrating with a loving heart my mistake.
…….Let me tell you that my whole intention was to come up with as insulting and derogatory remark to come up with, to stir your reactions. That has been my game plan. Calling you a monkey of your guru is very innocuous a thought, my mischievous brain could come up with. Typically speaking it could have come up with even more detrimental metaphors. I don’t understand your phrase where you say….. from another “spiritual” person. For me every human being or for that matter animal or plant being, is a spiritual being. How do you classify a spiritual being from a non spiritual being? For me even an Osama been laden is a spiritual being perhaps under evolved, but he still is a spiritual being on his own evolutionary journey. My whole intention was just to try an offend you , and it seems you got offended, Yipeeepee I succeeded to offend you haha. But believe me it never came out of my heart, it was just coming out of my brains. I keep labelling myself as a “monkey” of my own tough process a million times. Still if I ended up offending you, I am sorry about it. I wont say that wasn’t my intention but I am sorry about the end results.
Let me tell you that I respect you and your guru as I have a guru of my own and I understand how much a guru can mean to his/her disciple. Insulting a guru can be just like insulting your father or worse. As I said that was my brains intention but not of my hearts. I can very much feel it that you are a much more evolved being than an average tom, dick and harry. Thats my intuition. I also understand that you have had many spiritually enlightening experiences yourself. There are no denial of the fact. I was just trying to hurt you with my rude comments to see how you react, and that’s it.
I would also agree to the fact that there are two ways of reacting to hostility 1) fight fire with fire and turn up being hostile in reverse, the most natural reaction. Second is to tackle hostility with love. However the second path is a very difficult path as the people you are trying to show your love to might not be evolved enough to understand your love and might end up hurting you to the extent that would be detrimental to your own evolutionary journey. Just a small story, that has not come out of the Vedas or the Upanishads of any of the hindu “Scriptures” as you call it. I am not sure of the origins of this story.
It might not be a true story at all but I am more interested in the moral coming out of it. There used to be a small village near the forests and children used to play in it, some times venturing near that forest. In that forest used to live a very poisonous snake. By chance if any boy or girl would get near the forest while playing or any villager would go near the forest the snake would bite them and kill them. There turned out to be a terror of the snake in that village. One day one yogi (a spiritual seeker) happen to go by that village. The kids playing around warned him that you dare not go through that forest, there is a poisonous snake that will kill you. The yogi being a spiritually enlightened being didn’t pay any heed to what they were saying. he went in and happen to be face to face with that snake. The snake falling into the aura of the yogi fell down helplessly to his feet and surrendered. The yogi asked him , why are you torturing innocent people and killing them like this. The snake asked him for the path of liberation. The yogi said that I will give you a mantra keep reciting it, stop killing innocent people and you will attain liberation. Then he told him that I will come back after some time to track on your progress. and the yogi went away.
After a few days the children and the villagers who accidentally stumbled across the jungle realized that the snake was no more reacting to them. They collected courage and started pelting stones at it, but the snake would still not react. On seeing this the villagers gained courage beat the snake black and blue, held it through its tail rotated it several times and throw it away. Assuming that it was dead they all went back. After several months the yogi came back to the same village and enquired with the children about the snake in the jungle. They were all more than happy to tell him that we all managed to kill the snake. The yogi was distraughted. But he still believed that as long as the snake would be chanting
his mantra it would not go dead so easily. Finally the yogi managed to find that snake under the bark of a tree in a massively injured state still chanting the mantra. It showed some sense of delight on seeing back the yogi. The yogi asked him, how the hell did you reach such a dilapidated state? The snake replied that yogi it was only you who had asked me not to attack or harm anyone by killing them. I stopped attacking people and the villagers realizing that I am not attacking them attacked back on me to kill me. The yogi on listening to this said, of you fool I had asked you not to kill anyone but I had never asked you not to hiss back at people. Its your right to try and protect yourself by hissing at them and threatening them for your own protection but not necessarily killing them.
So the moral of the story is that you need a bit of reverse hostility to protect yourself from attack of others to avoid damage. If you want to react with love always to others hostility, they might not be evolved enough to understand your gesture and might react with further hostility to damage you and derail you from your path of evolution. Not every evolving being is as evolved as a Buddha who would venture out in the jungle to meet the Angulimal dacoit (the bandit, one who would kill everyone passing through that jungle and cut their fingers as a souvenir). Buddha had such an evolved kundalini that by just the presence and contact of his aura Angulimal got transformed instantaneously. I dont have that capacity yet. Nor everyone is like as evolved as Christ who would ask the almighty to forgive everyone who were persecuting him, to forgive them as they didn’t know what they were doing. I must say that I haven’t evolved as much as them and I would still want to keep that little bit of armour of reverse hostility as a protecting force or survival instinct on this planet.
rest everything is fine. We all are evolving. V bit of differences in our opinions but ultimately we will al reach the same point, sooner or later. All the best to you on your journeys.
For the record I am currently in Rome for the first time (in this life at least), enjoying a sightseeing journey with my family. 🙂
very interesting…my question is, why do we choose the human form? do you suggest that the soul is somehow born and must go through all of these stages as a human to be aware of our connections to one another? if so, where did we come from, how were we born and why go through this process as a human?
Well you’ve asked the million dollar question? There are hundreds of philosophies but I will give you what I have gleaned and is pretty consistent with what comes from Michael.
This Universe is a creative aspect of All That I which has an imperative to express itself Because it is “All That Is”, every latent potentiality in what is called the formless (beyond all attributes), EVERY possible potentiality of being, vibration, you name it eventually must find expression.
The unique, defining aspects of this piece of the limitless Cosmos are physical form and *separation*. (You might want to look at Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch for an in depth, very accessible exploration of this view.)
Thus “God”, aka “All That Is” finds unbounded joy in the vastness and diversity of this particular experience. (Universe) One could say “why”. And one answer would be for the sheer experience of it. Wouldn’t you like to be the waterfall, the Ocean, the cloud, the Eagle, every possible creature and element all at once? And yes, the human. All on just one small planet. The diversity of the Universe is almost inconceivable.
So the human is a sub set of this larger set, a bringing into form of a particularly advanced intelligence, emotional range and creative side that is relatively unique. Built into this amazing aspect of one’s self is an egoic oriented conundrum that forces introspection and ultimately remembrance of one’s true essence.
What a playground.
I don’t mean to be flip but when you are eternal, infinite and inviolable, the depth of the drama-experience is what gives it its “juice”. The Soul is beyond all permanent harm.
From the infinite plasma of its own self, the ALL creates *individuation* (the soul) which takes expression in life on Earth as *separation (ultimate distinctness),
This is an illusion (all are one thing) but its magnificent in its application.
The human drama, as articulated here, has as its arc, a development cycle from raw and primitive (Infant) to expanded and magnanimous (old). The core of the arc is for individuated beings to move “out” into this experience and slowly “remember” or rejoin with their primary essence, which is love, which you cannot lose because it is who you are. Connection to it is the crux of the matter but if all were connected, there would be no “game, “no drama”, no grand movie.
That already exists. Its called “heaven” or the “Other Side”. So why replicate it here? This has had other purposes but it moves in cycles of greater and lesser awareness.
We are not sure whether Souls move “Up” the ladder from other forms (Hindu version) or come right into the human (Journey of Souls version). Usually once in the human grand arc (35 stages), one stays there until completion of it. Mostly.
So as the great comedian Bill Hicks said, “Its all just a ride”.
A ride with profound depth and meaning given to it. It is not a frivolous matter and the reaping of difficult karma will kick your butt pretty good.
That’s the best I can do in a short space.
Or you can believe in the Lucifer rebellion and the Devil and Adam and Eve and the ruining of paradise and how man ignores God and one life is all you get, etc.and all that.
Whatever resonates.
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Great, Sohalla.
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Good luck with the website. Love the photos by the way!
Barry 🙂
Nice text with nice words and thoughts. In my opinion, the best part is that your article makes people ask questions. It’s kind of funny when you realize everybody else is a soul too, and not little flesh robots. (:
Everybody is evolving, and you must be patiente with theirs mistakes as you would be with your own. Be light if you can, and it feels like you are being light right now.
Oh, and it doesn’t matter which stage you are in. They are all good as long as you are learning.
Love.
Exactly.
Thanks Gabriela
B
Hi Barry, it’s great to know that you are having a nice time Roaming around in Rome :). Take your time for whenever you return. I will leave a question for you on your everlasting comment that says, that you will respond eventually. I will always come back to read the response sometime soon or may be eventually.
Let me tell you in advance that I am not clinging to any Hindu turf as you would say as it couldn’t give me a concrete answer to my question. I also tried to explore the philosophy that somewhat promoted a similar idea I.e. Buddhism but even it could not give me a solid answer. I haven’t asked my guru about it yet, and I would want to leave it for the end.
Now I would wonder if you or someone else could channel Michael and get his/her opinion on the concept. That would be the best. Else even your humane opinions are appreciated on the concept to get a different view point on the subject.
My question is a very simple one, why some human beings would tend to remember their previous lives and others not? In both Hindu and Buddhist philosophies there have been several instances where people could remember, at times one or else several of their previous births. It is claimed that after attaining nirvana Buddha revealed last 500 births of his that conceptualized into the Jataka tales. Several of them seem to be animal lives, but that would deviate the topic. In Gita Krishna seemed to have told Arjuna that both you and I have taken several births but the difference is that you don’t remember even one of them but I seem to remember them all. So there are examples one too many of people remembering their previous lives. However the question is why they would?
In modern times the most compelling reincarnation cases are those in which small children spontaneously remember past lives that can be factually verified. Ian Stevenson, MD, of the University of Virginia, compiled over 1200 of these objectively validated cases, which in aggregate provide proof of reincarnation. His academic research is presented on the IISIS web site as children’s past life stories for ease of understanding.
Typically, in these cases, the child starts telling his or her parents about the past incarnation as soon as they learn to speak.
Theses memories can include their name in the past lifetime, as well as the names of their parents and family members from the prior incarnation. The child may also recall the name of the city or town that they lived in.
When the child provides detailed enough information, the parents or involved researchers are able to locate the past life family and introduce the child to this family. Often, the child will be able to identify these past life family members by name, individuals that the child has never met in their contemporary lifetime. The child can know information and secrets about their past lifetime that only members of the past life family are aware of.
I have studied many of these case studies myself and find a striking pattern where in many of the instances where the child remembers the past life have been an untimely accidental or violent death. I would want to understand that why is it so? Why not people having a normal natural death due to longevity would not tend to remember their past lives as frequently? Why is this propensity towards accidental and violent deaths to remember their past lives more often. If you say that their lives plan is to revel some secrets about their deaths I don’t find anything like that coming out of their past life remembrance that people in their past life don’t already know about. In most cases the people from past life are very well aware about the circumstances of their deaths.
Only one example I can find out of so many case studies that I studied where a 5 year old girl child remembered being a male soldier in her previous life (and she already knew how to load a gun and deactivate a mine at the age of 5) claimed after reaching her previous life home, (after 8 years) that her stories of she as a soldier committing a suicide by jumping of a train in the previous life were completely false. She claimed that she in the previous life was simply thrown out of the train by his colleagues after an altercation that escalated. The family demanded a reinvestigation into the soldiers death after 8 years.
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So basically why would people having an accidental or violent untimely death have much more probability of remembering their previous lives. And why not all the people having such a death remember their past lives. Why people dying out of a natural death have such less probability of remembering their past life. I can recollect one more such case where a lady could remember last 3 of her past lives and all 3 were accidental deaths at a young age. What purpose is it serving them by remembering their past lives when most often they are not disclosing what the previous family doesn’t already know. Except for the initial euphoria of finding a loved one in a reincarnated child’s body it doesn’t seem to be leading anywhere. In many cases by the age of 8 or 9 the child prefers forgetting about the past life and would want to lead a normal present life. Why would creation abstain from enveloping a rebirthing soul in past life amnesia in certain typical cases when it doesn’t seem to solve any purpose.
So that’s my question for whenever you return. I would personally prefer a direct reply from Michael through some channelling source. However if that’s not a possibility even your views or some other souls views will be appreciated perhaps to get a different perspective.
Thanks for your question, Vedanta. I am not a channel, though, so I’m afraid you will have to put up with my limited perspective as a Mature Scholar with a goal of Growth, currently living as a mere human, but also living in alignment with my current life task.
Past-life memories:
As far as I understand it, it is a deliberate strategy for most, especially younger souls, to incarnate with no explicit memory of previous lives or the between-lives realm. I have noted various reasons for this:
The whole point of reincarnation is to experience being a specific person having a specific life in specific circumstances. Each life is designed to be experienced raw and real, not merely observed as the latest episode in a long-running TV series. At least to begin with, our mission is to become fully immersed in and identified with each new human life. This is how we find and grow ourselves as individuals, and in relation to others.
As the soul fuses with a physical body at or around birth, it is as if a veil of amnesia is thrown over our higher awareness. In other words, the soul’s memories are not normally “downloaded” into the human brain. Rather, they remain encoded at some subtle higher level (the astral or the akashic). At the same time, our conscious attention becomes enveloped by the sensations of embodiment and our interactions with the physical and social environments.
Again, this is because life is supposed to be experienced from inside the body, as a growing person, with all the physical sensations and limitations that go with it. Being physically embodied, for example, means that we are bound to experience pain. Also, we do not have telepathic contact with others. These two factors alone can be shocking and confusing to the newborn, creating a sense of separation and isolation — but this is precisely what we have come to deal with. It all goes with the territory, so the sooner we adapt to our immediate life circumstances the better.
By the way, Warriors are particularly adept at being physical. (Priests not so much.)
For most souls incarnating as human beings, having all our soul memories would merely serve as a distraction. Imagine being a toddler who is constantly traumatised by memories of being beheaded, whipped, shot, raped, abandoned, etc. … Or by the constant guilt of remembering having beheaded, whipped, shot, raped and abandoned others.
Occasionally, however, such memories do leak into the present personality’s awareness. Usually it is just one memory — the sudden and/or violent end of one’s last life. And mostly it happens to small children, who are not yet completely identified with their present life, but still somewhat “open to the unknown.”
There are exceptions, ie sometimes adults can have spontaneous flashes, and this seems to be to do with an emerging situation in their adult life (such as getting married) having a close emotional resonance to a recent-life trauma (such as being killed by a spouse). Whether children or adults, though, it seems there is a particular experience from a recent life whose impact is still etched into their emotional structure, as though it were haunting them at a visceral level, demanding attention.
This, as far as I can gather, is purely because of the unusual shock and intensity of the recent experience. The terror is still felt in their bones, as it were, and as they tune into that feeling they can also bump into the associated memories. It’s as if their unconscious is saying, “The last time I was here I got shot in the face and died. What if that could happen again … today?”
Usually the memory fades from view once the troubling experience (or emotion) has been perceived and/or reframed and the individual returns to focusing entirely on their present life. Therapeutically, it really helps them to move on if they can articulate their subjective experiences (the feelings and/or any memory images) — and to have those heard and accepted/understood by another. Then it’s as if the feelings and memories are finally filed away in the archives where they belong, rather than left sitting in the individual’s mental ‘inbox’.
There is a different phenomenon going on when we talk about highly evolved souls such as the Buddha. In this case, the “game” of life is already over, or very nearly so. The “rule” of becoming totally immersed in one life at a time with no access to higher consciousness or deeper memory is no longer important. Late-stage old souls are often aware that they are approaching their last life, and while some souls (especially Warriors) might struggle with this, others (especially Priests) can finally let themselves go, and live in two worlds at once – both at Home in higher consciousness and “down here” as a living, breathing person. As such, past life memories (among other things) are easily accessible to them.
Many Mature and early Old souls are somewhere between these two extremes — identified with the physical here-and-now, but willing to let go of it through meditation, hypnosis or drugs or whatever, and getting the occasional glimpse.
That’s my current understanding, and it hope it makes sense.
Barry
PS:
“I would personally prefer a direct reply from Michael through some channelling source. However if that’s not a possibility even your views or some other souls views will be appreciated perhaps to get a different perspective.”
Of course it’s a possibility. You simply find a channel you can relate to, arrange a Q&A session, and pay the required fee for their service.
I am yet not too clear on why the premature untimely deaths as accidents or as an act of violence would have more propensity to be remembered as a past life than lets say a highly aged person dying a natural death. If young souls were to remember more of their past lives I would want to know the reasons and some kind of proof out of the research done in the direction. Lets not talk about assumptions or concepts we assume to be true. If you are not a channel you should not have come up with a website that completely constituted of channelling information from other sources. You are not at all in a position to verify by personal experience on what you are preaching. I am left disappointed.
I would also want to understand why u couldn’t be a channel? Is that limited by any way of your stage of evolution? I definitely require more clarity on who can be a channel and who can be not? What is the minimum requirement as per your understanding? And who says that? What are Michaels views on that? Whats Michaels view on people remembering their last life, else I can come up with 10 different theories on why they ended up remembering their past lives. I need a direct answer from essence or someone supposedly as evolved as Michael. Human explanations are just human I can come up with much better humanistic explanations. Grow up and be a channel to Michael thats the only way you can bring in some validity to your site or your explanations. How would you defend yourself till you havent had a direct contact with Michael? Every word you say is a result of your brain chemistry . Give me something solid to rely upon more than just your brain chemistry.
Dear all,
One of the clear lessons for me of having chronic fatigue syndrome over the last 5 years — something which I increasingly sense was pre-planned — is learning when to say “no” to time- and energy-sapping activities that serve no nutritional purpose. Part of “living on purpose” is choosing where and when to deploy our best efforts. On that note, I am respectfully leaving this particular questioner here in order to better devote my energy to communicating with others who are on the same wavelength. If anyone thinks that’s a mistake, do let me know.
Meanwhile … Ken, feel free to run with it if you like.
Barry
I doubt Vedanta wants to hear anything from me. I will only say this. What he is asking from you, me or anyone is to recapitulate a lifetime of experiences that are mutually reinforcing, complex and layered that lead one to trust certain sources and to discard or not to be drawn toward others. For example I have a great disagreement with the Course in Miracles in its “origin of separation” theory. I come by this from about a hundred vectors which include dozens and dozens of channeled encounters with Angelic and Ascended Master energies. plus the teachings of mine and other great Gurus and the entire Vedic tradition. of which Vedanta is well aware as well as my own intuitive experiences. Yet I got into an extended discussion with ACIM teacher which was fruitless because he chose to accept what I perceived to be an irrational (and from conversations with my guides) a deliberate distortion on the part of the Course author in order to bypass the then collective resistance to the greater truth (This is God’s creation. not a rebellion) in order for the central message to be delivered.
I think Vedanta you are sincere but asking for far too much which would take way too long and perhaps would not satisfy you anyway. I “resonate” with these teachings because they dovetail with personal experience, other intuitive sources and a harmonic that can only be felt for there is no scientific “test” to “validate” intuitional science.
Atheists make similar claims of need of proof or validation and it just can’t be done. Vedanta, you shared a very valuable, meaningful and rare set of truly blessed experiences which I think are remarkable. Yet if an atheist asked you to prove it, then said it was a fantasy generated by your brain, how could you respond in a manner that would satisfy them? I’m only using this as an analogy. Clearly you bear no resemblance to an atheist.
My only answer to your question would be that Barry is in the right ball park. Traumatic past lives and deaths, because of their intense nature, tend to leave greater “scars” on the soul which create higher recognition, either through remembrance in dream or vision-memory or in phobias. Also in things we are drawn to. Children remember as you have pointed out in the work of Stevenson and others (see Carol Bowman) seem to have a higher propensity for memory, even if lives and circumstances are not traumatic. A common statement is “remember when I was big and you were little?” People *fee connections intensely to past life close ones immediately but usually don’t remember why.
But WHY one person remembers and another doesn’t generally is a mystery because it involves intimacy with their karmic condition and their contract. I find in the literature and in my experience, although there are general “rules of the road” (as indicated by the Michael teachings), there is a lot of leeway and flexibility to the process.
Therefore although we can see the general outline fairly well, knowing why THIS person remembers and THAT one doesn’t would need strong investigation into that person’s soul’s process. And I agree with Barry that most don’t remember for the very reasons he articulated.
I think knowing how we got here can be helpful to a degree but in the end we are still left with whatever dilemmas and jobs we created for ourselves and in this regard “information is not transformation”. Thus we still are faced with the very human-spiritual task(s) before us.
That is the best I can do. Vedanta, if that does not satisfy, you are welcome to think of us as disappointments or frauds. The gift of channeling at this level does not come “willy nilly”, it is the result of previous karma and contract. IMO Barry does an excellent job of compiling and interpreting the material at what would be termed a “lay” level which is what I believe he contracted to do..
If you truly feel “On the question of matching wavelengths, if you only want people who would abide by what you say to be on this forum as the ultimate truth and wouldn’t come up with contradicting ideas then I would rather want to end up being on a completely different wavelength.” I suggest you follow though because there is a need for some “resonance agreement” in any discussion of mostly common beliefs. The Michael teachings interface with other similar teachings and personal experiences that transmit a validity to those drawn to them. I have a friend who found out about them independent of me and although our personal journey’s were completely different, we found ourselves in harmony with this material. It is an example of the Law of Attraction in action.
If one is at odds deeply with any presentation one most likely needs to focus elsewhere. I have had to learn my lesson staying far too long with a political but zealously atheist magazine. There is not one possibility of any of my ideas or experiences being accepted there in that area. Since I have been there for a long time, and it served me well for years before changing editors, it has been hard to let go.
It is also not helpful to be derisive and hostile. If this doesn’t work for you, perhaps you will get the answers you seek elsewhere. If you want to come at me again, its your prerogative, but I will not respond.
Barry and I have come from the heart. Sorry if that’s not good enough.
P.S. You wrote, “Get real dude. put some efforts on actually channelling Michael and it would be great to get some direct information rather than just another human like me assumptions. I would still wait on the reasons why you could be a channel yourself and what is the basic requisite to be one?”
The answer is we all have the latent ability and can bring it out to a degree but not all are “equipped” coming in to channel at a very high level. An analogy would be we all probably have some musical capacity to sing or play an instrument but very few end up as professional Opera singers or master musicians.
Recently my intuitive abilities have gone up significantly but I don’t channel in this way. Maybe down the road.
You could ask yourself the same question. Why aren’t you tuning in to get your answers? Why rely on someone else?
Its not that easy.
P.P.S. Traditionally the best way to deal with past life remembrance is to find a good past life regression professional. Usually our inner spirit will direct us to the life or lives most appropriate in relationship to issues we have in this one. For me it is more important to understand my purpose and prime issues that I came to work on based on past karma and other factors rather than just general knowledge of where I might have been. Been is a relative term since time actually does not exist but we process these things linearly because that’s what our minds can comprehend.
Thats a great excuse to avoid the basics. Your Chronic fatigue syndrome over the last 5 years doest give you an excuse to run away from some basic questions that I asked about rebirth. I simply wanted to know why the people with untimely accidental or violent deaths would have more likeliness to remember their past lives. You couldnt give me a convincing answer.
Then I asked you why the hell you cant be a channel yourself but u obviously had no answer for that as well. Your entire website is based on channelling information and here I find you not able to channel yourself to validate that information.
On the question of matching wavelengths, if you only want people who would abide by what you say to be on this forum as the ultimate truth and wouldnt come up with contradicting ideas then I would rather want to end up being on a completely different wavelength. Several of your ideas on this web site have been ridiculous. Very much a creation of your own imagination rather than any validation with Michael.
My advice to you would be that if you are not in a position to get directly in touch with Michael to get the answers from supposedly much more evolved being stop coming up with the figment of your own imagination. Believe me I am much better than you on imagining things. Get real dude. put some efforts on actually channelling Michael and it would be great to get some direct information rather than just another human like me assumptions. I would still wait on the reasons why you could be a channel yourself and what is the basic requisite to be one?
Get over that chronic fatigue syndrome. Every time I ask you a genuine question I find you hiding behind that syndrome of yours. Understand that you have been presented with that syndrome to get over it and not to put that as an excuse on your failures to answer some questions. Get over it dude. Stop making excuses. Answer back. Get over it. Else you will have to live another several lives trying to get over that chronic fatigue syndrome.Get real and answer me!
Vedanta,
I have a very highly intuitive friend who is running a past lives teleclass tomorrow night (28th). Here is part of the description.
“Many of us don’t know the story of our past and where we’ve been and what we’ve done. Peter will tap into higher consciousness to hear about the past lives of each student in the class.
He’s (Peter) led this class many times before and students have been fascinated about the details he receives and the helpfulness of the information in relationship to this life.
Join this class on Monday night to learn so much more about yourself and your past.
Here is the link
You can register on the heartriver.org website for this tele and/or webcam class. You’ll see a button on the right to Join Monday classes. Even if you only call in, you can attend. If you have a webcam, you can join that way as well. You’ll receive information how to do that once you register.
Classes are all on Mondays from 7:00 to 9:00 PM although might run longer if it’s a large class. The cost is $30 per class unless you sign up for a package of any 5 classes. You can register for each class at heartriver.org and click on “Join Peter’s tele-classes. Space is limited. For more info, call 212-222-7748 or email peter@heartriver.org
Ask and ye shall receive.
How many splits do we get aafter we die and reincarnate
“Splits”?
Hi Barry
I wonder if you can help me. I have been fascinated by reincarnation my whole life, ever since I can remember. I hope you can answer some questions for me.
When I was an infant, i was very timid, frightened and scared of everything. I was afraid of just about anything. It took a long time for me to come out of it – not until high school. I was always anxious.
I have suffered anxiety attacks on and off for since i was 18. They only begin when I encounter a life crisis. They are very debilitating and scary.I have managed to overcome them and control them now. What I don’t understand it that although I know i have lived before I am very frightened of dying.
I had a very abusive family too. My parents and older sisters were horrible, nasty people and i always felt i never ‘belonged’ in that place or time. My whole childhood was traumtic and I suffered greatly. I was miserable the whole time. I also had poor health and was badly bullied throughout school. I was mocked at my appearance.
However, I achieved many things and am proud of what I have accomplished. I could have easily have descended into bad things or ended up bitter but the reverse has happened. I was the first person in my family to get a degree. I bought my own house. I wrote a book. i have been on four continents, I have a friendship that has lasted over forty years and a happy marriage. I volunteer at the local hospital too.
Please can you explain why I had to suffer so much at a vulnerable age.
Did I have a traumatic death or is the anxiety due to a bad childhood? Why has my life had extreme highs and extreme lows?
What level am I at? I am free spirit and very compassionate. Please can you enlight me. Thank you. H x
Hi Barry
Just to say I re read your article and i believe I am a mature soul, but unsure what level. It came to me after I submitted my questions.I realise now that I suffered in order to truly understand what suffering means to others and so I can help them. I am intending to volunteer to help the homeless. However, I wish my early life wasn’t quite so painful as it has deeply affected me.
On another note, the fear of dying and panic attacks I think comes from a traumatic past life. I have an idea, but am unsure and I don’t want to be hypnotised to find out. Perhaps you can advise me.
Thank you. H x
Hi H
Putting together what you have said, it seems likely you had a traumatic death in your most recent life before this one – so probably in the 20th Century. The association with a “life crisis” is intriguing – can you be more specific? For example, do you mean crises like losing a job/spouse/home, or more literally the life crisis of coming close to dying?
The sense of not belonging to one’s family and childhood environment seems to be pretty common (given the number of people who write about it here). I think what happens is that we sometimes take birth in an environment where most people around happen to be younger souls. After all, currently on the planet there are more baby and young souls available as parents than there are mature and old souls. In these cases, we will almost certainly have the experience of being misunderstood and “unseen” for who we are. That doesn’t mean it’s a cosmic mistake, though. Having a birth family whose souls are relatively unfamiliar to you and not on the same wavelength is inevitably going to cause friction and, eventually, will stimulate the desire to express “who I really am”. This is probably what was planned all along.
A nasty childhood experience is – however painful and undesirable – often a way to kick-start a lifetime’s search for true harmony, peace, meaning and purpose.
That’s not to say that on seeing child abuse occurring we should look away and tell ourselves it’s that soul’s choice. If we are seeing it, then no doubt that is OUR soul’s plan – we are seeing it precisely so that we can choose what to do about it, e.g., whether or not to intervene out of compassion.
But back to you – you might want to take a look at the goal of Growth, which is one of the archetypal paths we can choose to take in each life. A life of Growth will tend to involve a series of intense ups and downs, allowing you to learn about yourself and others more deeply through a process of “compare and contrast”. We learn to rise above the swings and roundabouts (or is that “slings and arrows”?) – by developing wisdom. The end result is an acceleration in the soul’s evolution.
I would guess that you are indeed a mature soul. The precise level is always tricky for me to get at (not being psychic!). Generally, the early levels (1-3) are about separating from and rising above the previous stage (young), the mid level (4) is about internal integration, incorporating, consolidating. The later levels (5-7) are about putting it all to use in the world. It is also said that level 6 in any stage is where the karma from earlier levels in that stage is worked through – so there is another possibility you might want to consider.
As an aside, Barack Obama (a Priest) has been channelled variously as mature levels 4-7. I would say his lack of assertive and expressive traits (something that doesn’t endear him to those who prefer a more outgoing president) would suggest he is more “mid” (4) than “late” mature (5-7). He may be the leader of the free world, which in itself is a pretty humungous life path, but mostly he seems to be putting stuff together inside himself rather than revealing himself to the world.
With regards to hypnosis – can you describe your reluctance there? Do you fear losing or handing over control to another person? Have you read my own accounts of undergoing hypnotic regression? (If not, see Dark, satanic mills, At the cliff edge, and In search of harmony.)
cheers
Barry
Good reply. Mostly what I would have said.Very interesting the 6th stage of mature and karmic burn off. I see many folks with that dynamic and it was certainly true for me. I can see that the extreme difficulties of early life and youth served to deepen Wisdom and Empathy and to force me to turn more deeply to God. I definitely am applying what I know to the world. I thought I was stage 5 but given this piece, I may actually be stage 6 mature.
But however we decide or think of whatever stage we are, it does not change what is before us and our responsibility and accountability to process. “Wherever you go, there you are”.
Hi Barry
I refer to a ‘life crisis’ as losing one’s job, financial difficulties or when a marriage hits choppy, uncertain waters. Even with the happiest of marriages, it isn’t always a bed of roses!
The thought of hypnosis is unnerving on two levels. 1) I don’t like the idea of handing over my will to another – it would make me feel very vulnerable. 2) i have a feeling one of my recent lives was dying in wartime (I think so – I am unsure, just a hunch). If that is the case, i don’t want to experience it all over again. Once was enough! I want to know, but at arms length, so to speak. I am not a coward, but I don’t think I could handle feelings of intense fear. I would just like to be told instead. Do you understand? However, i do intend to read your articles. I sincerely hope that your health is better.
Love & light
H (Helen)
I didn’t read all (not very fast reader) I would like to know what will happen when I die in this physical body, then refuse to reincarnate? also if God loves us so much, surely he would grant me my wish of ceasing to exist?
I promise you Brian, it isn’t **your** wish to cease to exist. That’s just an emotion or attitude within your current human state. The essence of you is eternal and integral to the very fabric of reality, and loves it. The whole process of being and becoming is a joy, even if the conscious you at the sharp end doesn’t like it from time to time. Likewise the the idea that you might stubbornly “refuse” to reincarnate. There is no law to stop you, but I believe that once you step out of this goldfish bowl when you die and see the bigger picture it will all make sense, and you will be more than ready to jump right back in, eager to make an even better job of it.
Brian,
The great illusion here is that God and you are separate. It is the foundational issue of this Universe-separation. There is no possibility for “you” to cease to exist because who you truly are is existence itself. You ARE God having forgotten. Therefore there is a no “God” “out there” who loves you or not. The sense of “otherness” is a game or “tool” devised by infinite eternal existence in this time space reality to help itself in the “parts” of itself it has created to negotiate the terrain. At journey’s end we remember, “Oh, I am that, there is nothing else”. That’s why its called “awakening”
Barry dealt with the Soul level pretty well. You forgot also you designed this life and its challenges.
I suggest reading “Journey of Souls ” by Michael Newton and/or “Your Soul’s Plan” by Robert Schwartz.They should help clarify the interface between the seen and the unseen.
Hi Barry
I sent you a few questions recently & I hope you can answer them for me. i have patiently been awaiting your response, but ebery day I look and find no reply. I would be ever so grateful if you could respond to them.
Thank you.
Hi Helen
My apologies. I am aware of your questions and 50 or so others waiting in line. To put it simply, apart from the odd spurt of energetic activity I am almost constantly on the brink of exhaustion. I’m afraid I’m also struggling with the negative pole of Growth (overwhelm) brought on by a perfect storm of domestic stresses and traumas, but trying to get myself back together by “practicing what I preach” as it were – in this case relaxing and easing off, seeking the insights that make better sense of it all.
All of which means my momentum in responding to comments/questions has had to take a back seat for the moment. I am dealing with each as I can when I can, often at random, but I hate the idea of letting anyone down or letting an important question going unanswered.
(I did also waste considerable time and energy recently engaging with two people who just wanted an intellectual spat — never again!)
I do appreciate your patience, and I will do my best to catch up. Perhaps this is just a reminder to myself that I am not immune to inner conflicts and questions of my own.
Barry
Hi Barry
I am genuinely sorry to hear you have been unwell. I was unaware you have so many questions to answer. It goes to prove how popular and helpful your website is! I found it fascinating and it answered a lot of questions. I hope you get better soon.
Kind Regards,
Helen
The reply used to take you to the post. Now its general. I don’t know if Helen posted publicly or privately sent you questions. I can’t find her post. I had to look all over for Joe’s which was near the top. Some of us can help if you wish, if people would ask on the forum.
Hi Ken
I don’t know what happened to my post, so I thought I would re-write it again.
I believe I am a mature soul, but unsure what level. I had a very difficult, traumatic childhood. I was ill, badly bullied, and brought up in a very fractious household. I was constantly put down which led to poor self esteem and confidence issues. I realise from this website both my parents were probably infant souls. Everything was rigid rules with no love. All I wanted was to feel loved but never got it.
I could have easily gone down the wrong path, but instead achieved many goals. I was the first person in my family to go to college. I bought my own house. I have written a book. I have visited four continents and have a happy marriage with my soulmate. I also volunteer at the local hospital and help wildlife.
The reason I write is because I cannot understand why my soul would chose such a nasty family. My two sisters are also argumentative, conflictive, materalistic people who treat others like dirt. I am just so grateful and thankful I am kind, spiritual and compassionate. It caused me a LOT of deep pain, which I have never really got over but have had to live with.
Secondly, as a child, I was extremely fearful and timid to the point of being very withdrawn. I was frightened all the time. I have experienced panic attacks most of my life which are very frightening, athough I can control them. I am also scared of death, which I cannot understand as a mature soul. Is it to do with a bad childhood, or did I have a traumatic past life? I always felt I never belonged in the place and time where I grew up. I hope you can answer my questions, because it has nagged at me for a very long time.
Thank you very much for your wisdom and compassion to help others.
Love & light, Helen x
Helen, this is a big question, one I teach on so I’ll cover the basics. We create contracts and intentions before we come in with agreements with other souls to play roles we need. When here, we usually can’t see the “back story” of why things happen. We are now in a period when we can access this information.
Many mature souls who are drawn to advanced spirituality take on difficult lives. They do this for several reasons. This is a very good time for “karmic clean up” so many of us asked for the “kitchen sink” treatment. I went though this as well and suffered a horrific nervous breakdown for a decade. But this clearing serves other purposes. It advances one’s spirituality. Michael Newton in Journey of Souls calls such lives “accelerated lives”. These lives are fraught with difficult circumstances. But these challenges usually deepen the soul in terms of empathy and compassion. It also gives the soul opportunity to use its spiritual nature and tools to strengthen and to make octave leaps toward inner Divinity. Think of all this as a “cosmic weight room”. From the earthly perspective it seems unthinkable, but from the realm of the soul, which knows its eternal nature, it is a golden opportunity.
Nothing is by chance in this Cosmos. There are profound reasons why we make these choices. Usually we are offered variety of ways to deal with things. It surprises us to think we actually chose the hardest road, but we do.
My suspicion is your life circumstances are clearing karma and allowing you to deal with very deep issues around personal power and abuse and forcing you into areas of strength you may not know you had.
I suggest reading Robert Schwartz’s Your Soul’s Plan and Your Soul’s Gift in addition to Journey of Souls. They all are relatively inexpensive (used) on Amazon. Schwartz examines in detail people who chose exceptionally challenging lives and why.
It helps to see the bigger picture and to realize you have been in control all the time from the higher place. One would think mature souls would have an easier time of it but ironically it is often the other way around. This is the true meaning of maturity, the willingness to forgo the easy path for the greatest learning and depth.
Just finding this web site, by law of attraction, demonstrates your growth. Its a high vibration here for those who get it and to resonate with it means a strong measure of advancement.
Hi Ken
Thank you very much for your swift response. I am beginning to understand why I had to endure much difficulties and hardship at a vulnerable age, which continued into early adulthood.
I can begin to ‘see’ and understand ‘why’, and because of that, I hope one day I will be able to truly forgive and let go. At least my eyes are ‘open’ now, and i shall read the books you have recommended.
I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you once again to both you and barry, and your remarkable work in helping others.
I wish you both peace, joy and love.
Helen x
Hi Ken, and thanks for picking up the slack – your wise words are perfect.
Helen’s original is still in my “pending” queue. Out of habit (or principle, I cant remember), I don’t usually publish a question until I know I’m up to answering it. An unfortunate side-effect of that is that I sometimes spontaneously publish and answer the more “trivial” things rather than those which require reflection.
When I get a question about a personal issue, I like to meditate on it to make sure I not just trotting out a standard intellectual answer from Psychology Today magazine or even just referring to channelled teachings. I try to feel my way into the heart and mind of the questioner, until I feel like I know where they are coming from, what’s blocking them, and what they can do to really help themselves. Sometimes the information I come out with doesn’t seem to of come from me at all, but whenever I’ve taken the risk to say “I don’t know why I’m saying this but have you thought about….”, this usually hits home for them in ways I didn’t expect.
So, surrendering to the question and sensing the questioner are what I love to do. Sometimes I don’t get down to it, however, because the process takes time and focus and energy and my physical condition of late has been “not conducive” to that I kind of heartfelt response. I’ve explained my basic physical conditions on the About page, but I am increasingly aware of psychological/spiritual elements to it as well. An article full of insights is brewing!
Chronic fatigue syndrome sucks for sure. But now I know it has something to do with claiming my power more fully. More to come……. 🙂
Another belated “hi”, Helen
I would just like to add to Ken’s words with some additional perspective from the Michael teachings (which inform much of what I write on the website). There are also some things I can relate to from my own experience.
Your ability or tendency to reflect on your own life’s meaning (or apparent lack of) is indeed typical of those in the Mature soul age. I certainly include myself in that.
I also suspect that you have come into this life with what is known here as the goal of Growth, which is what Michael Newton’s work (as Ken already mentioned) refers to as an “accelerated life”. The idea is to expand your consciousness as a soul by deliberately living a life of challenges, contrasts and conflicts. Think of the tension of opposites as a rocket booster. Typically, the early part of life (childhood) is set up to give you something to push away from, so that you are motivated to find your own way to something that has, for you, real value or meaning. For example, a loveless upbringing might propel you to learn what love really is and to share your insights.
(Personal example:- I resented my childhood for decades until I stopped and reviewed my life so far. I was born in a bleak and relatively impoverished environment; my parents had zero expectations for my life beyond hoping I would get by as a coal miner. Home life was sometimes tense, but school was unpleasant and hostile. I retreated into a state of robotic semi-consciousness, just sleepwalking through my childhood. This finally changed later in my teens when I suddenly got that I could plan my own life, perhaps even escape (what seemed to be) my miserable fate. It caused friction with some people around me, but living my own life was more important to me than just fitting in with theirs. After school I moved the big city, went to university, found some exciting and prestigious work, visited different countries, took an interest in philosophy and then spirituality and mysticism, discovered who I was, met the love of my life, and so on….. On reflection, not only was it all worth it, but the early unpleasantness seemed to be exactly the right stimulus for my later choices.)
Incidentally, you mention a home of “rigid rules with no love”. That sort of by-the-book harsh environment is more indicative of Baby souls than Infant souls. Infant souls don’t really “get” rules and laws. But Baby souls can’t live without them, and they tend to find free-thinking individualism disgusting and threatening.
Your anxiety and panic attacks may be – though I’m speculating here – the result of living through a period of constant, random danger/threat/violence in a recent life. For example, someone who died young in the trenches of the First World War, traumatised out of his mind, shell-shocked, panic-stricken, might have a severe nervous tic and a fear of sudden noises in the present life. It might be worth reflecting quietly on whether anything like that holds any resonance for you, at least as an experiment.
And as Ken says, actual early trauma such as bullying could be a case of karmic rebalancing. If we’ve agreed to deal with some karma in a certain life, we often try to get it over with quickly, i.e. In childhood. If it’s a death karma, then we are more likely to die young (why hang around?). If it’s abuse or neglect, again it’s usually convenient to get it over with early on. There are exceptions that require us to be adults when the experience happens. But a harsh experience at an early physical age will become embedded in our character makeup. For example, recovering from a stabbing at the age of 4 will leave its “mark” in more ways than one. We might grow up resentful, or fearful — or we might change and grow up with an awareness of, say, the dangers of using of violence to solve problems. With karmic experiences dropped on us in early life, we have more opportunity to move on and refocus on living a more purposeful and conscious life with whatever insight, compassion or wisdom we’ve gained as a result.
Hope this helps
Hello Barry
I hope you are feeling better today.
When I read your comments, I thought “wow!” as your personal example so mirrored my own. It gave me much comfort to know others have had similar experiences. I have not come across anyone able to fully understand and explain so clearly my questions as Ken & yourself. Thank you for your wisdom and insight. I think you are both remarkable.
One or two things you mentioned hit the nail on the head, so to speak. I cherish love and never take it for granted. I love my Husband without suffocating him and he loves me. It is the greatest gift for two people to have unconditional love for one another. I appreciate it a thousand fold and always shall. It has been the best experience in my whole life.
Secondly, it is a funny thing you should mention WW1. i have seen two psychics who said I had been a soldier, but couldn’t elaborate further, so I have no idea when or where or anything.
I am not a bag of nerves, but I hate loud sudden bangs. I react more than others and jump out of my skin. Without sounding neurotic, I also hate balloons at kids parties, and tense up when I know they are going to pop one. It makes me cringe!
As a child , I had poor health, especially the lungs, suffering from asthma, chest infections and bronchitis. i use to gasp for breath. I don’t know if this is anyway connected or not. My lung capacity today is below average, although I am not afflicted anywhere as badly as when I was very young.
The late Victorian/Edwardian age (1880 – 1914) leading up to WW1 is one of my favourite periods in time, also late Georgian (1800 – 1830).
When i first started having panic attacks, I felt quite alone as I never knew anyone else who suffered them. Now, I have read about, seen on TV and meet in the flesh many people who have suffered them too, So I don’t feel like so isolated now.
I have ordered the books Ken recommended and look forward to reading them.
I hope your health improves and I wish you many blessings.
Love & light, Helen x
Hi, How do we know the difference between God’s Will and Free Will? Thank You.
Great question – one that plagued me through many hours off surrender meditation! Here’s what I’ve come away with:
Your free will is God’s will. In other words, the divine plan is for you to be free to exercise choice as as you wish.
From our human perspective, how we exercise our human free will is never “perfect” in the way that we imagine God’s will would be. We exercise free will from with the framework of our own personal egos, agendas, illusions, fears, etc. But even so, none of that is a violation of the overriding divine will, which is for us to find our divinity through our humanity.
Some imagine that doing this or doing that, especially something negative or destructive like murder, goes against God’s will. It certainly goes against the will of the other person, and that causes karma, but in the grand scheme of things karma is inevitable – all part of God’s will if you like. That is, we will find our complete love for one another (and self) precisely through these karmic pitfalls.
That’s not to say you are doing God’s will by going around killing who you please, on the grounds that anything you choose to do is an expression of divine will. (There was a Christian sect around 1000 AD who believed just that – “we can be immoral as we like because God allows it.” It doesn’t quite work like that…)
Choosing immoral acts would only make sense at a very low level of awareness. Most of us (mature souls at least) are more aware than that. We are all free to kill, yet generally choose not to kill because we understand that our motives are not as pure as they could be. We also understand that others have an equal right to exist no matter how much we resent them.
Does that mean new have lost some of our free will? No, it means that our choices are freely based on a higher level of wisdom than we had as, say, infant souls.
To answer your question more positively: God’s will is universally all-encompassing, yet it is played out in every choice and action at the human level, which we experience as free will. “Should I be a poet or a car mechanic? Which is God’s will?” God doesn’t really care whether you become a poet or a car mechanic – what God cares about is how freely you make the choice.
In fact, the more evolved we become, the more we experience freedom of choice and – paradoxically – the closer our ‘personal choice’ comes to resemble ‘divine will’.
B
Barry
Here I have to either disagree or refine Barry’s answer according to my understanding. First I think we have to redefine your question. It is not “God’s Will” vs “Free Will” but “God’s Will” vs “Ego Will”. They are different.
Also we must redefine “God”. There is no separate “God”. You, we, all is God. Since you are God, having forgotten that you are God, you can never, as Barry points out _ultimately_ be in conflict with YOUR will at the highest level. I say ultimately. For from the highest place all roads must lead to Rome and it is the variation on experience that makes the journey.
Better terms are ego self and higher self. Although Barry says we can choose whatever we want, a poet or a car mechanic, this is true but in a sense not most probable.
In the state before we incarnate, we -as “God”-, choose a plan or intention for our lives. These are probabilities and encompass the “fate” or “destiny”portion we give ourselves. These include things like parents, country, area, culture, body, inclinations, intelligence and major life events (diseases, life changing accidents, major relationships and friends, etc). Although these are all probabilities, most are like tree trunks, very hard to move.
Thus this destiny-fate portion of life WE have given ourselves (when united with our “God self) is “God’s Will”. Once on the ground, how we react, deal with, and make choices is “free will”. There are certain crucial choice points, timing issues, and ways in which we handle both challenges and blessings. Some lives are pretty well scripted “I want a great life this time, a 50 year marriage, and little problems” to “I want to set up an extremely abusive childhood and have severe emotional issues so I can confront them, grow, mature more and reach greater potential”. Most of us have some built in growth challenges.
Example. I am a dream specialist. Years go the Angels told me they were holding me back on dream work because I had other gifts they wished to bring forth. (My God Will). I did not understand this until I felt a wave pulling me to be a spiritual coach which I had never imagined with much more enhanced intuitive ability, which I also had not envisaged (Years ago a woman told me I was a “reader which I did not believe. Now I do readings for people.) But I went with it. I still have struggled with it and I have a “choice” about fighting it or surrendering to it. Slowly, because I believe I am ready, I have been yielding to the larger flow. It is harder because the dream work comes easier and I have to confront greater fears in stepping into my intuitive gifts. But this is part of a larger pattern of accepting my true power and feelings of worth. So the conflict and coping is the “Free Will” part, what has been inlaid and encouraged is the “God Will” part. Its not easy.
So how we cope, deal, expand or not is our “free will”. “God’s Will” is usually the most beneficial highest good outcome we can have and the issue is how much do we align with that with our “free will”.
But not always. “God” is much vaster than our limited human notions of good and evil. Thus at certain less developed stages of soul growth it might be “God’s Will” for us to be a serial killer for that stage may be necessary to lay the seeds for a long arc of lives concerning power, its abuses, getting past a very immature phase of lust of killing, and the nature of abuse, bringing one ultimately to a much higher appreciation of “morality” and empathy. So here “God’s Will” and “Free Will” and “Ego Will” are pretty much the same as the soul is not ready yet to exercise higher choice and needs to immerse itself in the experience.
So I would say technically, yes, one could be a mechanic or poet but that choice is either unlikely or part of a Soul plan to come to greater inner authority. Thus many souls confront issues of parental desires vs their own inner longings. The set up or agreements that CREATE the conflict as well as the true gifts given are our our own “God Will”, and how we choose to deal with it is our “Free Will.” We can end up denying self for a lifetime. But then we will come back to confront the same issues again.
Most of the mistakes on this, imo, come from forgetting that WE are God in the first place. Nobody outside of us is pulling any strings.
This is very hard for most to get.
Hope this helps.
Thank You very much. You have explained it beautifully, this helped me in understanding Karma also. God Bless.
Hi, I cannot think of anything worse than reincarnation. I can only hope that God in his love will grant me one wish when the time comes. I won’t go into my life except to say it’s made me want nothing more than to be nothing, to cease existence completely, I wondered what your thoughts are on this?
Hi Brian
Sounds like you hate the way your life has turned out thus far. I don’t know why but… Perhaps you were brought up with high expectations of life, maybe in a religious context, but you have found out the hard way that life can go “badly wrong” – whatever that now means to you in your own experience. Perhaps you are not sure who to blame – did your upbringing lead you up the garden path? Did God fail you just when you most needed help? Or have you simply made one bad choice after another, but are reluctant to accept responsibility for doing so because you didn’t see any of this coming, and so that feels unfair?
When this life is over you will look back over it, examining each turning point, and come to understand exactly what you and others did, and why. You won’t blame yourself, or others, or even God; it will all be transparent to you — no matter how things ended up at each turn, behind it all there was always some kind of love and joy within you trying to find its way into life, but then just losing its way in the darkness of our human ignorance.
On seeing all this, your greatest wish then will be to jump right back in and do it all again only differently, with a bit more hope, courage and wisdom.
That said, you don’t have to wait for life to actually end before you can look back on it to gain such insight and self-compassion. What is your story so far? In what ways has it turned out differently from what you expected? Is there something you can learn from that?
How about this: Draw an arrow representing your life so far, from A to B, from “birth” to “shitty mess” or whatever you think about your present life. Now extend the arrow as far as you like in one or more different directions. Each new direction represents a better way your life can develop from here on, provided you don’t simply resign yourself to some self-defeating thought like “this is how it is, and how it always will be”.
The field is wide open.
Brian,
Its hard to comment without knowing what has created this level of despondency in your life. I would suggest reading through many of the previous posts as some of them cover this feeling many people have and will give you a sense of the philosophy and experience of these teachings.
I had a horrific early emotional childhood and college experience that left me with a severe case of PTSD that led to a terrible nervous breakdown that lasted in the acute phase for about 8 years and took 20 years to restabiliize about 75% after that. Fortunately I had spiritual supports given before that that installed in me motivation to get better. But for years I was bitter and angry at God for what I perceived as being abandoned. As I healed, I came to see this was not the case.
Now looking back I can see the purpose and necessity for all of the trauma I had to endure. The development of compassion and empathy for others was high on the list.
If you read my posts, you will see I have come to experience (not believe) that we are in charge of our circumstances, not only as Barry says, from here forward, but we were the ones (with God if you like) that created them in the first place.
Here as humans, we often think if we did that we were nuts. We cannot see into the depths of what would be called soul and our “soul back story” as to why what has happened was necessary and important for our learning.
It doesn’t feel that way, but the love of God you wish is actually expressing itself completely in the very life you have in this moment and is not separate from it. There is a deep purpose and reason for everything and these are not just platitudes for we live in a time when intuitiives (Psychics) are available who can pretty much tell us exactly why we are experiencing what we are and what our life lessons are about.
This has been a very challenging year for me but there also have been great blessings. So I can relate even now. But I know I have challenged myself to learn and grow and and I do not want to give up on what I consider to be the profound gift of a physical incarnation, however shitty it has been at times. I understand the struggle when deep rooted stuff is just hard to get rid of and it feels like joy is far away.
There is great value in praying to the angel of Hope. (there really is such an angel)
Take it from one who has been there. and still has important stuff to work with. I don’t want to leave this place without having given 100%. Life is precious, even when it doesn’t feel like it. I don’t want any regrets when I go for things left undone when I was given opportunity to achieve them. Self love and forgiveness are high on the list.,
I admire your strength and courage and determination….you are an inspiration and you are right to hope as it is what propels us forward when we are about to sink……..wishing you blessings of love and abundance in all areas of your life.
Hello my name is Emerald Phoenix. From childhood I knew that this was not my home. I had many challenges to overcome. Now I am 56. When asked I tell people that I am everything and I am nothing. I don’t know where this places me on the chart of spiritual evolution. Frankly it does not matter. All that I know is the connection to my higher power governs my existence. There are times when words come through me that are not of me. They are usually meant for someone else’s benefit. I rarely remember the exact words or why they were uttered. As a massage therapist and bodyworker , I feel like a vessel through which healing occurs. I don’t read books on the matter or go to seminars. Everything seems to occur on its own. From childhood, I have had what I call a counsel of Elders. I see them without my eyes. They sit in last supper fashion behind a wooden table. They are made up of Jesus, Buddah, Muhammad, etc. They have been my guides through my earthly journey. Again I have no words for what I experience. Neither do I need words. The act of speaking is often inadequate. Thank you. Emerald Phoenix
And thank you, Emerald Phoenix. (As someone who’s still fixated on words, I’d say Old Priest at a guess)
I resonated with your answer in that I have always felt Jesus standing next to me, almost as if when I am deciding how to react in a situation, I can feel him standing beside me telepathically going through the scenarios together but I can feel his answer as spoken words in my head ” you know what to do” and I always answer him out loud…. ”I know” and smile. It is true what you say about the words being inadequate…..I have always felt a connection to that of the Native American peoples, White Eagle I believe being one of my guides as well as Jesus……..White Eagle’s presence is always stronger when I am in Nature and I have always felt connected to the very soil itself and very rarely mention this as it is a very deep and I think old memory that I feel would not be adequately understood in it’s depth so I have kept it to myself and hence I find myself mostly on my own and not in groups and I have a deeply profound connection to whales and trees the emotion of which I can not adequately describe but the emotional love connection that stirs can move me to tears within seconds. I feel I have spent at least a lifetime with the whales and I was told once that i used to speak the language of Trees………there is SO much to discover about ourselves which in turn teaches exactly what we need to know about everything else in our Universe and beyond……..its so awesome that it makes me catch my breath sometimes!!!
Blessings to you and may you continue your journey and discover all that you wish for in your life.
Interesting stories and perspectives in here.
I’ve enjoyed reading about this, it has verified many things about life which Ive spent a lot of energy suspecting and digging at.
Funny to say, 7 months ago, conciously I were a near militant atheist firmly believing that after one cease to live, one also cease to exist. It didn’t make sense to me, nor did I want to believe in an afterlife.. seeing all the misery, pain and suffering on this planet I would have a hard time resting in peace, ever.
But experience changes you, and in the past 7 months I’ve had many.. in retrospect, another experience making time meaningless.. I’ve changed equally much in the past 7 months then I did in the previous 23 years of my life. Like a flood gate that was waiting to be open’d poured the river of expanded conciousness over me once the trigger mechanism were found.
I do not know whether I’m an old, a young, mature or baby soul, I can relate aspects of my personality to all stages, but it doesn’t matter anyway. Young, old.. what matter’s is this very moment, the continous moment of our concious excistence. If I were to guess I’d say a late stage mature soul, as young, mature and old soul are those stages I can relate the most to as of this moment.. but neither give me any more joy then the other. Fact is, I’d be sad if this were among my last lives on earth.
Like school, it’s dreadful while going through it.. but as your last year of school is coming to an end and you realize it’s time to say goodbye, it’s with sorrow. Like saying goodbye to a home you’ve grown up in. Saying goodbye to something that occupied so much of your energy over an endless amount of moments.
This planet truely is an amazing teacher to those of us who recognise ourselves as her students.
I’ve yet to fully connect with the world tho.. I was trying to find out whether or not a brew such as ayahuasca would be good or bad thing for me while spending many many months making the decission whether to go for it or not.. lately I’ve started realizing that there is no good or bad.. whether it turns out ‘bad’ for me, ultimately it would be a good learning experience for me. Although I must admit, a relatively sized part of me is still hoping for that it will be a ‘good’ thing 🙂
I dunno about having to go through all stages as we incarnate into new bodies tho.. maybe it depends on the body as much as the soul but I’ve been acting a mature soul most of my life.. I can vividly recall moments when I’ve been as young as 5 years old asking the same kind of questions I’m asking myself today. Often I would feel like a grandpa around other children, or classmates as I grew older. I understood why they were doing good and bad things to eachother, and I would try not to interfer either way because intuitively I knew they were both equally good of an experience, ultimately it wouldn’t matter if I interfered.. I felt my job was to be on the sideline of the game of childhood, spectate it, study it closer from the distance.. and support the players that would approach me.
I can hardly say that I got it right in this life tho, despite my deeper personality, I were to scared to show it to the public, still am to some degree, although I feel the mask is coming off little by little as I embrace spirituality more.. It’s an interesting experience indeed.. but as recognize the indications.. I could believe that I were approaching an older soul stage.. Boy how I would miss being young if this happens to be true.. I miss my childhood years of summer holidays going swimming with friends, having a waterfight and so on.. I miss being able to enjoy it as much as I did back then.. this is how I feel about the soul stages aswell..
I suppose it doesn’t matter either way .. like I wrote earlier, the only thing that truely matters is the continous moment of our existence.
Love your hardships cause they tell you how much you should value your good times, love your good times while they last before you must yet again attempt to climb another hill in your life 🙂 Most empowering feeling in the world is to have gone through hell and find yourself asking for seconds. Much love <3
Definitely mature or older. Too much wisdom, experience, perspective. The Soul’s needs often seem at odds with that of the personality incarnation. The Soul will decide on its needed moves.
I can not express how well your inner thoughts and perspectives on this topic, and this thing we call life resonate with my own! Beautifully written, much love <3
I’m completely intrigued by how at the 6th level we begin to burn off karma insued at the earlier stages. Is this a conscious effort or a bonus we insue? Through my travels I’ve found that burning has a reaction which insues more karma. So are we less sensitive to the new karma or purposely less aware? I guess my point being at this stage are we pro or digressing? I took your statement to be a positive affirmation about the progression up the stages. To have a spot or timeline to tally up karmas workings seems wonderful, yet I find it to be missleading. An to be frank confusing and distracting. We cannot burn off karma we can apologize and forgive. As everyone should know insues more…Karma burns off, rather, out. We have no place or way to control how when or where this happens. So to categorize in level 6 gave me a false sense of elation that now has me raising an eyebrow to you sir. Why was karma even mentioned what was/ is Micheals premise here/ there?
Not really sure what you’re trying to say here Donald. Why shouldn’t karma be mentioned in the context of a long-running discussion about reincarnation?
The Michael teachings are very explicit about karma. It’s like a “ribbon” that keeps a pair of souls tied together in a state of imbalance until the karma between them is resolved. Karma between souls is caused when, while they are both incarnate, one person chooses to deny the freedom of choice of the other in some way. (It can only happen on the physical plane.)
Typical examples are murder (I decide when you die), rape (I’m forcing you to experience something you would never choose), deliberate neglect (I’ll teach my screaming baby a lesson by not feeding it for a week), imprisonment (I lock you up against your will), and what is charmingly referred to as mind-fuck (I tell you something totally untrue but once you believe you will have no choice but to do as I say.”
In addition to these ‘freedom-crushing’ karmic acts, there are also Philanthropic Karmic acts, where one person decides to improve another person’s freedom of choice, with no expectation of a reward.
Generally, we create ‘bad’ karmas with our fellow souls during the early stages of reincarnation. So infant, baby and young souls are where the real action is, in terms of bad karma. Mature souls fear to create karma at all, though in the early level of the cycle they could still do so. The karmas incurred by Mature souls tend to be non-violent and are more directed at the self (Self-Karmas) as opposed to “proper” karma with another soul. An example of a self-karma would be, say, addiction to alcohol – the same life problem is repeated in one life after another until the soul finally finds its own way out out. Old souls are more likely to develop Philanthropic Karma.
Within each cycle, eg the Young soul cycle, karma is usually incurred early on (levels 1-3) while the soul is still clumsily trying to get to grips with its new level of awareness. By mid-cycle (level 4) the soul has pretty much grasped it, and late-cycle (5-7) is more about putting this new awareness to good use. Level 6 is spefically to do with harmonising self with others, and part of this is focusing on the burning of karmic ribbons. That way, one is karmically free and well balanced to enjoy the grand heights of level 7.
Hope that makes sense
Barry
Is it possible to make contact with Crappy situation please as I resonated with her very much and would love to correspond with her
As I am reading the replies…….I am feeling that this site is truly helpful in a much needed topic and the understanding and expansion it brings is tremendous and I can feel it is helping the overall ascension process of this entire planet………through each of us that is finding another piece of the jigsaw puzzle as we read!
One of the hardest things to bear in this human life, I personally feel, is the feeling of not belonging……….and not finding anyone to help you understand why……….one of your replies stated that sharing what you have learned will help you and I totally agree………and that is why I have and will only ever help someone with something that I have experienced myself in the flesh so to speak……….theories are still theories unless experienced (but discussion of theories especially spiritual has always attracted me like a magnet!).
My own personal eureka moment was to realize (remember)……….effectively………that we are SIMPLY IN A PROCESS OF REMEMBERING WHO WE ALREADY ARE, but our Higher Soul has chosen this particular aspect of itself(you/I) to do this on this beautiful physical planet earth, within this physical form/body/vehicle…….which I believe can be one of the most uniquely blissful experiences you can have……..to remember all that you truly are and your absolute connection to Source within the energy of love…….and then if you manage…..even for a short time, even for fleeting moments which can also happen (but can still be as powerful)……..to integrate this remembrance within your physical human being self………….for me it was transcendent and very empowering ……..but getting your memory back,can and most probably, will require a very profound, dark period, (but if you ask for guidance /help from above)……..you eventually emerge from this dark episode stronger and more importantly, one step or maybe two, higher than where you were. The “feeling” of liberation and actual liberation of this (which may not be immediate and still may need a lot of ongoing work to integrate into your psyche)… can be profound………Stick with it and always always, try to stay true to what you feel in your heart and your inner feelings as they are the truth….. your truth. You simply CANNOT go wrong if you honor truth.
This site feels, to me, like it has amazing truth and wisdom behind it and I commend and thank the author for sharing and helping us……..and this is EXACTLY what we are here, at this time in our human evolution, to try and achieve………..UNITY! Simply put…….. we are ACTUAL…facets/aspects of our CREATOR…….. the energy of which is a perfect and complimentary balance of MALE and FEMALE energy. THAT is who, in fact, WE ARE!!! WE ARE AWESOME……please remind yourselves every day if possible……!
Thank you!
How exactly do I figure out which level soul I am? Just from reading the descriptions and guessing, I think I’m a level 1 young soul, but obviously I don’t know for sure. Is there anyway that I can find out for sure?
Hi there
This is a common question.
Option 1 is to get a reading from a reliable Michael channel. If you look at the bottom of my page on the Michael teachings I’ve listed a few who I’ve had good readings from, or who seem to be generally reliable. (Channelling is never 100% accurate – even with what is clearly a good reading, still bear in mind that one or two elements of it could be “off”.)
Option 2 is to know yourself so well that it becomes clear to you. But here I should point out once more that this isn’t so easy if you’re still in your youth or early adulthood (before approx 35).
Why? Because while our soul may be at 1st level Young or 7th level Old or whatever, in each lifetime it takes 3 or 4 decades for our new human self or personality to “catch up” with our true soul age. The moment we incarnate into a new body, our self-awareness within that body is back at square 1, equivalent to an Infant soul. But over the years, we gradually climb our way up the spiral ladder of awareness until, around 35-40, we find our natural level – in other words, we manifest our full soul age.
I’m a 5th-level Mature soul, but at the age of 20 I would have assumed that I was a Young soul based on my ego and ambition. That was as far as I’d got to know myself by that age based on observing myself in action (I had overlooked the more subtle signs of my inner maturity, such as a high degree of empathy).
I suspect that an Old soul around the age of 20 will be acting pretty much like a typical Mature soul. On the other hand, a Young soul by the age of 20 will still be acting more like a Baby soul. (One day soon I’m going to do an illustrated article to explain all this!)
So the fact that at 17 you perceive yourself as 1st level Young, I would take that as a clue that you are probably a Mature soul. But don’t take my word for it. Just keep observing yourself and in particular see if you can get a sense of the inner depths of your true self.
… Or do it the easy way and get a channelled reading!
Hope that helps,
Barry
Mary, I would recommend reading “Ask and It is Given” by Abraham-Hicks (*Esther Hicks). It explains the Law of Attraction which is a governing principle of this Universe.
From my understanding, according to this principle, you can’t be a level I Young Soul. You would never get within a galaxy of this type of learning. “Viibrationally”, a level one Young Soul would have no interest whatsoever in these ideas and would never “gravitate” to them.
You are most likely a mature Soul, most likely mid range or higher. If you are 17, you could be above Barry and I.
Greetings!!
How do Spirits see people on earth? Is it light(energy) or vibrations?
Thank you.
This is hard to answer. Perhaps other intuitives know more. If you watch a show like “Long Island Medium”, they appear to see, sense, and know. Beyond the human form, capabilities may be much greater. You might read the opening chapters of “Destiny of Souls” by Michael Newton who describes how Souls sense and communicate soon after departure.
Perhaps a more important question is not how they see or sense, but how do you or are you seeing, sensing or communicating with them?
Yep, my impression is that to see a physical object you first need physical eyes, so non-physical beings probably don’t see us as solid bodies the way we do. They see us on our soul level, just as they see themselves, as blobs of bright, multicoloured light.
Our perception is pretty limited, e.g. we can only see the visible light spectrum (tautology, I know). Perhaps they “see” a whole different energy spectrum.
I believe, though, that they can also tune in to our subjective experiences and so see what we see, etc. By getting inside us, as it were, they can even watch TV! I recall Esther Hicks, one fine day, wondering why she was enjoying the sights and smells of being outdoors so much, in a way that was so ecstatic it didn’t feel like she was herself — then she realised that it was Abraham who was enjoying “themselves”, smelling the fresh air etc, through her senses.
Barry
Hi,
I have been struggling with my belief in God, reincarnation, and all things spiritual. It seems that you and the people on this site have much spiritual knowledge that I don’t have. I just have a few questions to ask;
1. How do I know that God and reincarnation is real? Is there any indisputable reasons for me to believe? Its pretty hard with atheists loud and rampant in everyday life.
2. How do you know that the Michael teachings are legitimate? What makes these teachings special so that I should believe them?
3. After being depressed for a while and hating my life I decided to write out my ideal life. It has a lot of details in it and specific events that I want to happen in my life. Would it be possible that I could live that life?
I desperately want to undoubtedly believe in this but with so many people saying “That’s mumbo jumbo because [insert reason here].”
Thank you for your time. I greatly appreciate it.
Shannon,
There is no indisputable proof of God through the intellect. The reason is God is a frequency of higher order consciousness within you. “God” is a word. Words are *symbols*. They stand for or point toward something but are not the thing itself. the number 2 is not two itself. It represents something in the world, two concrete objects.
The great divide between religion and spirituality is that religion relies on *belief*, and that belief is in the authority outside of oneself. (Pope, Bible, teachings, tradition Holy Scripture, etc) Spirituality relies on one’s *experience* and authority comes from one’s own self, not an outside source. One verifies truth through experience, connection, with it.
Atheism primarily is all about the material intellect. There is no scientific ” proof” of God. It can’t be found in the laboratory. That is because the frequency or vibration of the “God” energy is beyond the capacity of their instruments to measure it. There are many analogies but the easiest is that one group of people have an AM radio. This site and the world it represents is on FM. You try and tell someone who only has AM about FM and they loudly proclaim FM doesn’t exist. But you say “I hear it all the time and it is clearer, more expansive and greater than AM.” But because they can’t “tune in”, because they are using a limited intellect, they proclaim there is no FM. Meanwhile you hear it all the time when you turn your FM radio on.
So most of us here who teach this stuff or explain it answer two of your questions. One, we have had years of contact, connection, communion with what one would call “God” in diverse and plentiful ways. So the idea that God is not real is absurd. This communion is self validating trough extensive experience. One builds up a powerful cross intersecting understanding in the same way a house gets built. It is not dependent upon or even related to the belief systems of others.
What I find interesting is most of my “new age: friends” have all arrived at their path through unique, individual sets of experience, yet the common understanding of the landscape is the same. There is no Pope or Priest or scripture to tell them “what’s what” but there is an agreement as to how things work.
The experience of God and the validity of the Michael teachings are scientific in that they are open to observation and internal validation. These take time to build one’s own inner sense of “reality”, although one powerful mystical experience can change your life. The primary tool for this is the INTUITION, which material science does not understand.
Don’t you find it interesting that there are thousands of recorded mystical experiences, Near Death Experiences, hynotherapeautic experiences, incredibly accurate psychic medium experiences but because they can’t be subjected to a ‘scientific test”. but are anecdotal, science shuts the door and says ‘don’t look there”. It doesn’t fit our conception of things and we can’t measure it. Therefore its not real.
Silly.
In the end you must find “God” for yourself. I usually suggest the simplest way is to begin asking “God” (aka your higher self and your guides) to begin to show you the reality of this frequency. If intent is authentic, it will open a door where you give “God” (guides, higher self) room to move. There is no “God” out there. Its a universal energy and consciousness of self and YOU have the power to connect to it. This is one of the great secrets of human life.
As to questions 2 and three, I have been involved with channeling for over 20 years. Just as if I was married to someone and got to know them intimately, the “God” energy I find expressed in the process (over and over and over) becomes extremely validating. There are frequencies and harmonics of peace, love, wisdom, and more that not only are apparent but at times are *enveloping*. One knows when something is “real” and not just imagination. Grace becomes self evident.
I have been studying with and living this stuff for over 45 years. At this point its like my breath. This site is valuable to me because its another room in a very large house. It builds upon through its wisdom and harmonic, which I can feel, other things I have read about AND experienced personally. You might search through the archives of my posts where I have listed many of these.
Years ago if you told people they were surrounded by these things called “radio and TV waves”, that they were everywhere, they would have killed you,. Now we have developed instruments that can use them. The atheists don’t understand that there are no instruments from their realm to measure what they claim does not exist. Furthermore they expect “God: to fit their conceptions of how things should be. The Cosmos does not conform to the limited demands of the human intellect.
I suggest reading “Journey of Souls” by Michael Newton. It is a classic, very inexpensive on Amazon ( might be in your library) and will open your eyes. It dovetails with these teachings perfectly. Newton never heard of the Michael teachings. It sheds great light on reincarnation through a great deal of experiences of his subjects.
As to number 3, yes.
Take care.
A few more points. I have been involved with an atheist online magazine (also political) and I find the discourse from Atheists rather primitive and irrational. The main object is to disparage the “God in the Sky’. This is to take the most base expression of “God” and the nature of reality and make it as if everyone thinks this way. In debate this is called a “straw man” argument. You project someone you disagree with having a position that is not theirs, then you argue against it.
What they don’t realize is by arguing from the most primitive spiritual premise, they are by default accepting it as a credible basis for discussion. This is ridiculous.
Second, although they talk about science a lot, they don’t understand it. Quantum Mechanics tells us this Universe is an illusion. There is no “there” there. Einstein discovered energy and matter were the same (E=MC squared). Thus the entire physical Universe is really a vast energy field composed to appear as if it were solid. Or as the great comedian Bill Hicks said
“Today, a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration—that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we’re the imagination of ourselves. Here’s Tom with the weather.”
The amount of “solid matter” in this place is infinitesimal compared to the whole. There really are no “bodies”, “buildings”, “rivers”, mountains, etc, etc. as we perceive them. The ancients understood this (which atheists never address) and called this “Maya”, the one indivisible self cloaking itself as many.
Furthermore, atheists don’t follow science because they do something no scientist would ever do. They use a sample size of one. The scientific method would never allow this. There a trillion times a trillion planets in this Universe. Ya think we might have a greater sample size of life and other civilizations before expounding on God and its nature? Do you think the infinite intelligence which created all this is meant to follow human linear thinking?
The value of the Michael teachings is it allows us to see the back story of what’s happening in a very precise way/. Its credibility lies in the observable truth of its teachings. Fundamentalists fit “baby souls” to a “T”
I find from a soul point three reasons why souls are atheists. (could be more) “Baby Soul” atheists have had real bad experiences with religion and are reacting. But they are just as zealous and dogmatic and “black and white” as their Evangelical brethren. “Young Soul” atheists, as written on this site, want freedom and desire to get away from the rigid structure of “baby souldom”. Mature atheists (Carl Sagan) need room to explore without a religious overlay. Julia Sweeney (“Pat” on SNL) did a one woman show, “Letting Go of God” in which she gradually embraced atheism. It was clear to me that her life contract was to rid herself of religious overlays from past lives so she could arrive at an unfettered existential ability to be present with life that she had not achieved before. This she did and it is how the Soul balances things out. In another life she will return to a more mature understanding of “God”. She is a mature soul.
I have no issue with someone wanting to be an atheist. It is a Soul path. It has usefulness. Many aren’t ready and if you haven’t “experienced”, then “God” can’t be real for you.
Hope this helps.
Kabir was one of the highest guys to ever walk the planet. Nothing to do with a “Man in the Sky”.
VII
I. 85. Sadho, Brahm alakh lakhaya
“When He Himself reveals Himself, Brahma brings into manifestation
That which can never be seen.
As the seed is in the plant, as the shade is in the tree, as the void is in the sky, as infinite forms are in the void–
So from beyond the Infinite, the Infinite comes; and from the Infinite the finite extends.
The creature is in Brahma, and Brahma is in the creature: they are ever distinct, yet ever united.
He Himself is the tree, the seed, and the germ.
He Himself is the flower, the fruit, and the shade.
He Himself is the sun, the light, and the lighted.
He Himself is Brahma, creature, and Maya.
He Himself is the manifold form, the infinite space;
He is the breath, the word, and the meaning.
He Himself is the limit and the limitless: and beyond both the limited and the limitless is He, the Pure Being.
He is the Immanent Mind in Brahma and in the creature.
The Supreme Soul is seen within the soul,
The Point is seen within the Supreme Soul,
And within the Point, the reflection is seen again.
Kabir is blest because he has this supreme vision!”
P.s. Read also “Your Soul’s Plan” by Robert Schwartz. It fits with this site beautifully and Journey of Souls. You now have 3-6 months of homework to answer your questions.
Ken,
I would like to thank you so much for the wonderful reply. I know that I am replying to this very late but I read your reply to my original questions the very next day. Your reply was thought-provoking and I find myself re-reading it whenever my faith is in question. Thanks again for such an amazing answer.
Take care,
Shannon
Shannon,
Thank you very much. Feel free to ask Barry or others anytime. As you progress, you will help others in turn. I would only advise to keep looking to make connection and deepen your experience. Life here was not meant to be easy. It is only said it is worth it.
Hello Ken,
You reply is quite simple and excellent. I also used to think on the same lines about Atheism. But thinking deep, I came to an understanding that all happens on a meticulously planned and executed framework. So nothing can be said to be off the plan. There are souls incarnated of different maturity levels who are born into diverse set of experiences. So all these are varied experiences.
Its just like a high-schooler may feel, the curriculum followed in grade two as stupid, funny and lacking solid theoretical foundation. But that curriculum is devised for the second grade based on the recipient’s intellectual and mental maturity. Its improper to be labelled as stupid by a highly evolved person.
This universe is complete. everything is contained within. We can get data on any mundane belief. If one believe that sept 11 was executed by US govt, he can find many conspiracy theories. So mind decided what one should look for and believe.
Here comes the holographic universe principle. The picture shown in a hologram is based on the frequency with which its is seen. So one’s basic vibrational frequency state decides the time and space he” believe” to occupy among with his mental faculty. So nothing is bad even death. All is well.
Thanks.
You mention, “One knows when something is ‘real’ and not just imagination.” I don’t entirely believe that.
Several years ago I was in a very dark place and some close people in my life turned me on to Messianic Christianity. I had several “experiences” that I believed to have been real at the time, but eventually came to realize that I was only tricking myself into believing they were real because I wanted them to be so badly.
Since then I have come to the conclusion that there is no heaven and hell, that I am not being constantly judged by some deity, and I am very untrusting of organized religion.
However, I am a spiritual person. I do believe that there is *something* binding everything together. Call it the divine spark, pure energy, whatever. I don’t believe in a conscious creator god who has given us a list of rules to follow Or Else, but I do believe that there is a life force that runs through everything and lately I have been contemplating the concept of reincarnation.
It’s something I have always wished to be a real thing and when I was younger (I’m 38, now) I thought certain dreams were really past life memories.
I have always had deja vu–usually in the form of a dream. Something will happen and I’ll be sure that I dreamed about it at some point. It’s never anything deeply meaningful–just random people I meet in my life. Which brings me to another point: Some people I meet in my life I immediately feel connected to. The closest people in my life are those with whom an intense attachment was created–on both sides. A few of them believe we are soul mates. My husband is an atheist, but doesn’t assume my beliefs are bullshit, he just hasn’t had any experiences to make him feel the same way. But we both felt that we had been searching for each other our whole lives. I just take that more seriously than he does.
I really don’t know what my point is, just that I have a hard time with the whole *what’s real and what’s imagination* thing. Because I don’t know. I have experiences that can be explained with science, but there’s always a voice in the back of my head wondering if it’s more. I have a history of emotional and mental illness, so how can I be sure?
All I know is at the moment I have a strong conviction to learn as much as I can about this stuff, and I long to have an experience that shows me some possible *truth.* But then if I have the experience, who knows if I won’t chalk it up to hallucination or a manifestation of my own desires?
Your question is one of the foundational questions people ask on the spiritual path, along with “how can there be evil in a world created by a supposed loving God?” In essence, how do I discern between what may be “real” vs that which is created by my ego (or in the case of the atheist or materialist, mt “brain”. The brain is God to the atheist (though they won’t admit it) because in their view it is the pregenitor of all perception, not the functional conduit of expression for a greater part of ourselves.
I don’t think anyone can tell you or *convince* you what is “real” or not. That is why spirituality in this time is so gnostic (based on direct experience-“gnosis”- literally “inner knowing” -the *agnostic* does _not know_.).
This conundrum is shown deeply in the divide between Buddhism and Yogic Hinduism and mystical traditions of theism such as the Sufi poets, Kabbalah, Christian mystics, etc (belief in “God” or central organizing intelligence.) Tibetan Buddhism I know is non theistic. There is no belief or tradition of any deity in any form. Yogic Hinduism, of which I was “raised spiritually” via a very high Guru has at its center a specific generative consciousness that is quite explicit and extensive
Who is “right”. How can two of the greatest spiritual traditions in the world be at odds over such a primary issue? One is totally theistic, the other not? How can great Yogic Masters experience “God” (as larger self) -here is an example-http://www.crystalclarity.com/yogananda/chap14.php -Yogananda’s greatest Samadhi (super conscious experience) and a high Buddhist Rimpoche will never have such an experience?
I have my own answer. A Buddhist probably would not like it or disagree and certainly would not subscribe in general to the spiritual theory of this site. “Souls” as a vehicle for infinite Divine center do not exist in Buddhist philosophy in the manner described here.
So I applaud your skepticism and openness rather than being dogmatic and zealous and I applaud your husband for his openness. You hit the nail on the head. What has one experienced and how does that becomes validating to *oneself*?
Years ago I got very sick and delusional. I had a set of experiences, like you, that seemed very real but were not. They were products of a sick mind. So there is a very valid question you ask. What makes your perception now “real” as opposed to what you then thought was “real” (or in your case the experiences with the Messianic Christian group?)
I can only answer in three ways.
1) It is only “real” for you. I have learned that one of the mysteries of life is that “what is”: is so vast, there are a gazillion angles into it. I have a friend who is theistic, extremely bright, but very different than my perception. he HATES the idea of the separate self. We both agree individuation *ultimately* is an illusion, that there is one thing only, but he wants no part of anything like what is on this web site. So we do not agree but I find value in much of his thought and expression as there is a piece he has that resonates for me that I don’t find in too many places.
2) For me, the distinguishing factor between delusion and reality is experience over time when one is healthy (relatively). That which is real, imo, slowly surfaces through its consistency and constant reinforcement from a diverse variety of vectors. In science this is called a “theory”. People confuse in science the difference between a “postulate” (idea or proposal about something) vs a “theory”- an explanation of how things work or are that over time withstands any other explanation from any other source. Each person has their own “spiritual or religious” theory of existence, even atheists.
My belief for example is that New Age theory (of which this site is a sub set) is a better explanatory theory than Christian doctrine of Adam and Eve, creation in 6 days, one life only, and Day of judgment and Hell. (Heaven or the “other side” does exist for me).
There is no way for me to validate what is real for you through my experience, although I can share it to help you form an opinion. I believe in the other side not because I’ve read about it, but because I’m a medium and I’ve experienced the presence and wisdom of those who have crossed over. When I can nail twelve to fifteen validating aspects of a departed loved one and feel their energy to someone I do not know, there is a powerful self referencing nature to the experience.
Especially when these many experiences happen *over time*. When a certain consistency appears time and time again and becomes more and more clear, revealing, and powerful, it becomes revelatory for oneself in its truth. This is what “awakening” or “enlightenment” is about. There is a landscape that gradually reveals itself. The landscape was always there, one just “wakes up” slowly to see it. I’ve been doing this 45 years. One trusts over time to separate wheat from chaff.
Why do you trust your perception of connection to others which hints at reincarnation (Yogananda said such strong attraction indicates running into someone you knew well in a former life) vs rejecting the delusional (for you) other experiences?
3) I teach about “Soul Contracts”, the idea you planned major themes of your life before you were born. I tell people this theory and knowledge comes from a set of divergent yet reinforcing vectors, all experiential which include my own.
1) NDE (Near Death Experiences)
2) Works of hypnotherapists who specialize in life between life regression
3) Consistent mystical revelatory experiences throughout history of literally thousands if not millions of people, some very famous
4) Experiences of gifted psychic mediums
5) Spontaneous spiritual utterances of children
When the body of my experiences lines up with all of this in general as well, it is another self validating tool.
In the end my baseline suggestion is only you (or anyone) can determine what is “real” and what would just come from the mind. Over time one learns one’s inner landscape and learns also how to distinguish. One does not build a house or become proficient at anything in a day.
I know the fervent wishes of the atheist that the mind or brain can do anything, and technically they are right but practically, in my experience, there are energies and things I have gone though my mind cannot generally generate in its normal sate. When one has thousands of these, patterns emerge,.
It sounds like you are beginning to tap in and I think you will,see over time what sustains itself and what fades away. I do not accept anything as “true” or “real” unless it has become a valid part of my body of experience, no matter how cool it sounds.
Hope this helps. Ask further for clarification if you desire. You might read Barry’s latest posts on some profound awakenings he is going through. He and others might add to this discussion.
Good for you. You are being grounded in this process. That leads to authenticity.
I feel like I jumped ahead 7 steps in this life.
What about our soul families? Will I have to reincarnate because someone in my soul family is an infant soul? I truly feel I don’t want to come back to this world, and I heard there will be a new earth in the next lifetime for those enlightened. This info came from other’s who channel as well.
Hi there,
I doubt very much that someone in your soul family is an Infant soul. Whatever stage you are at, your entire soul family will be in pretty much the same level, give or take.
Coming back to Earth — Your present personality/ego may not like the idea, but your soul — the greater part of you that is eternal — will reincarnate. Not because anyone is forcing you to but because every evolving soul actually wants to.
If you don’t like this world, why not? It is part of the perfection of all that is, just cunningly designed to appear imperfect – to present as much darkness as there is light – thereby serving as an arena for us to explore who we are through the choices we make. Examining and exploring your relationship to this world is something you could work on in this life, if you like.
Enlightenment — If you mean the state of consciousness that is so aware of and in command of how it creates Reality that it no longer requires the constraints of physical embodiment in order to explore and experience this, then it comes to all of us naturally when we complete our sequence of lessons at the end of the Old soul cycle of development. After that, one is simply on a new cycle of development in the nonphysical realms.
Speaking of which, there is a whole nonphysical realm of perfect love and joy awaiting us after every single lifetime on Earth. Our task isn’t to escape from Earth to some nicer planet, but to make our existence on this Earth become more like the perfection we know between lives.
I hope that clarifies things!
cheers
barry
Thanks Barry for the excellent and precise reply. For more info, I would urge readers to try reading a book named, “I am That’ by Nisargadatta Maharaj. Its in a Q & A format and its very enlightening. Its not recommended for those who are new arrivals into the field of spirituality. You can read its reviews on amazon. It can be freely downloaded too, from the web. Thanks.
Nisargadatta is awesome. Teachers like him work at a level usually beyond what we do here. This site is dedicated (imo) to the subtle realm (Soul) where individuation matters. He is dealing with the end game, who are we beyond all personal. identification. “Thou Art That” is the realization that beyond all form, everything is God and that is our true identity. Wave realizes it is ocean, but it was ALWAYS ocean, never distinct in reality, only in illusion.
I think Barry gave a very good answer. just to add, I would be careful of predictions or prophesies that take us out of the here and now. We are here for reasons as Barry indicated and this idea of a “New Earth” feels a lot like the rapture reconfigured.
Whatever channels say, almost all spirituality focuses on this life and what we came here to get out of it and what we do with it. It may feel unpleasant, but perhaps that is one of the main things you came to deal with, to learn to grow and accept it and yourself while here, not to flee from it. I’m dealing with this rather intensely right now. This understanding helps greatly.
No one has to assume karma of others, btw.
Can a soul memory stuck to mother’s womb and still believing that the soul still there while the person is a grown up now? What happen to his memories of before life?
Krishna
Just to check what you mean – Are you describing a woman who believes that a baby’s soul (or something) is still in her womb, even though it is long after the baby has been born and grown up?
Nope the other way around!
What if the soul thinks that it has not left the mother’s womb yet?
What will happen to such souls?
I have never heard of such a phenomena. Can you give an example?
Krishna – Is this purely hypothetical or something you have experience of?