Welcome back my friends,
As I began working on Part II of the Series on Life Plans, I was reflecting on the fact that I started the discussion of Life Plans with two stories that illustrated how the soul chooses the means and timing of its death, or more accurately, its passing from an incarnation on Earth into its Spirit life on the Other Side. It wasn’t a conscious decision to begin the conversation there, but it was where my understanding of the soul’s influence over its own Earth-Life destiny began. I know from my work as a Medium, that it’s the same for many people. We try to make sense of the death of our loved ones, and it is this tragic event that puts us on the path of the Seeker.
It follows then, that just as a soul chooses the circumstances of her own death, so does she choose the circumstances of birth, her physical body, her family, her spouse(s) or significant others, her children, her best friends and others who play critical roles in her soul’s spiritual development on Earth, which is, in case you were wondering, why we’re all here.
The Seeker in me is always thrilled to find supporting evidence for claims and theories brought forward by brilliant minds around the world, across the millenia. I am also particularly fascinated by the teachings of Spirit entities channeled through humans while in trance. Seth, one such Spirit entity channeled by Jane Roberts in the 1960’s and ‘70’s, is particularly eloquent on the issues of soul agreements, reincarnation, the nature of man and God, the laws of the Universe. (Source: Seth Speaks) Other significant supporting work and research in this body of knowledge include: Sylvia Brown, Edgar Cayce, Dr. Michael Hathaway, Carolyn Myss, Dr. Michael Newton, Dick Sutphen, and Dr. Brian Weiss, to name a few.
In simple terms, life planning on The Other Side goes like this: Broad-based sacred agreements are reached between souls prior to being born into a new life on Earth. Every soul knows (or think she knows) what she is getting into and what she is expecting to get out of the life experiences, both the good and the bad, while on the Earth Plane. While certain events in the Life Plan are pre-destined, human’s free will, however, will determine whether the agreements surrounding these events are fulfilled in whole, in part, or not at all. The degree to which a person actually follows the path her soul has prescribed in her new incarnation (for the purpose of spiritual growth), is directly proportional to the degree to which she follows her heart, her conscience, and her gut feelings. The soul or higher self is constantly communicating with the personality in human form on Earth, guiding, nudging, or cajoling back to “the Plan.” And then there’s everyone else, in the same situation, doing their own thing while impacting this soul with whom agreements were made. “If, then…” statements are written into every agreement, and if needed, the “understudy,” steps in to help us accomplish our goals and further our soul’s development. Similarly, if one screws up a learning challenge, more opportunities are in the wings to try again—if not in this lifetime, in the next. That’s where Karma and Karmic debts and credits come into play—more on that later.
Now, keep in mind that what souls promise to do for others on Earth is not necessarily all nice and happy. For example, if I choose to experience oppression in my life, so that I may learn and grow from it, then others may agree to be my oppressors. Here’s the key takeaway: The oppression is just the setup. My soul’s challenge is to overcome and rise above the oppression, to free myself either physically or emotionally from it, and to take responsibility for this challenge. So, yes, sometimes when life really knocks the wind out of you, you did ask for it…the bright side is that you’ve arrived at an opportunity to grow from the experience, and to apply your learning purposefully and with wisdom the next time that situation comes around. You may even find yourself in a mentor situation helping others suffering from the same type of oppression.
The first time I read about the concept of Life Plans, I’ll be honest, I was of two minds. I loved the idea that I was indeed the architect of my life (with guidance from my Master Teachers), but there was this other niggling thought, especially while reading Seth Speaks, that went something like this: “If this is just a play we’re acting out here on Earth, then how important is it? If this isn’t our ‘real life,’ because our ‘real life’ is on The Other Side, then…so what if we screw up? We’ll get another chance, right? We can come back to Earth as often as we want…so why sweat it?”
Now, Seth Speaks is probably not the place to begin exploring these ideas, as they are more than mind-bending to the novice. Seth introduced me to the concepts of multiple lives, multiple realities, probabilities of events, probable lives, reincarnating civilizations, non-linear time, consciously creating our reality, and much more. Digesting his teachings was something of a philosophical low point in my “classroom” on Earth, and I spent many hours turning them over in my mind, discussing these concepts with others and reading everything I could get my hands on to feel better about the importance of my life, here and now. Today I have a much brighter perspective, a keener understanding of karmic influences, and a renewed sense of self and purpose, so let me tell you how I got there – and I’d love to hear more about your thoughts on the topic!
When I finally retired Seth Speaks, the next stop for me was Sylvia Brown’s book, The Other Side and Back. It’s really a very good introduction to these concepts, and a much easier read. What Sylvia presents in her book is rather one-dimensional compared to the Seth material, but when it comes to re-arranging my understanding of reality, baby steps were called for! The rest of her books add incremental knowledge to this one. I especially enjoyed her Book of Dreams. Spirit guides and loved ones regularly communicate with us via dreams, and her categorization of dreams is helpful in understanding which dreams are most likely message bearing vs. the mind simply working through and problem solving issues in our lives.
I eventually found my way to the works of renowned psychiatrist, Dr. Brian Weiss. His books chronicle client case studies in Past Life Regression and more recently, Future Life Progression. Regression is a form of hypnosis, where the trained hypnotherapist leads the client back through various life experiences, and then asks questions of the client while they are under hypnosis experiencing their past life. Dr. Weiss had no knowledge of, or even interest in past life regression in his early career—until one day, one of his clients regressed back to another lifetime without him actually leading her there. It was no accident however, as it marked the beginning his real life’s work—case studies and experiences that offer profound insights into the journey of the soul. In Dr. Wiess’ seminal works, Messages from the Masters and Many Lives, Many Masters, many of the same concepts as those introduced by Seth were explored, including messages directly from Spirit Masters who spoke through his client known as Katherine, while she was in a deep hypnotic state. I highly recommend his book, Only Love is Real for an amazing love story of two soul mates reunited in this lifetime. Dr. Weiss’ cases studies added significantly to my understanding of the soul’s journey. If you’re curious about past lives, read all of his books. They will keep your attention and provide so much food for thought regarding your present life and potential past life connections. In 2006, I was fortunate to study past life regression from the Master himself–an experience I’ll treasure always, for Dr. Weiss is a man of integrity and goodness. Now, when you are ready to explore your own past lives, I’ll be happy to be your guide.
They say we haven’t developed the capability to time travel. I disagree. Past life regression and future life progression is time travel via the mind. Chew on that for a moment…
Finally in 2007, I was introduced to the research of Dr. Michael Newton, a world-renowned psychotherapist, who has devoted his life’s work to understanding what happens to us after we die, and before we come back to Earth in another body to live again, in other words, our lives as Spirit beings on The Other Side.
As happened to Dr. Weiss—by chance (or so it seems), one of Dr. Newton’s clients, while under hypnosis, took Dr. Newton to the space between two of the client’s lives on Earth. From that point on, Dr. Newton dedicated his practice and his research solely to understanding “Life Between Lives.” In his books, Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls (the latter being the better of the two, in my opinion), Dr. Newton draws from his experience regressing thousands of clients over decades, to this space between lifetimes. He identifies consistent themes, symbols, activities, processes, and goals—all through his clients’ descriptions of The Other Side. He actively explores with his clients the metaphysics of The Other Side, how souls are born, how souls live on The Other Side and interact with others, the hierarchy of souls as they evolve, the many-faceted and fascinating process of reviewing our most recent lives with our Master teachers and Spiritual Advisors. He describes the detailed planning of our next life often hundreds of years later, and the various methods by which Spirits on the Other Side communicate with humans (or at least try to).
We learn from Dr. Newton’s research that in the life planning process (pre-birth), each of us enters into sacred agreements with a broad range of other souls, those in our inner circles, our middle circles, and our outer circles. We often reincarnate with the same soul group, each soul helping others in the group to reach their own development goals, and often working through Karmic relationships and debts incurred. Each of us agrees, of our own free will, to play a specific role for those in our soul circles. We agree to play out situations and circumstances through which optimal learning and growth is available to us, and as it turns out, we learn the most when the road has been strewn with obstacles. No surprise there, right? Often times, states Dr. Newton, the more advanced the soul, the more complex the human environment, the tougher the lessons, and the greater the soul’s positive impact on others. Beyond our Spiritual Masters, I imagine highly advanced souls to include such influential people as Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Dr. Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, the Dalai Lama, and Nelson Mandela, to name a few. The rest of us just keep working on our own personal evolution. With each lifetime we develop greater empathy with mankind’s plight; we develop a stronger connection to the Divine while still on Earth; we develop the ability to communicate, heal and console, and to bring light to the dark corners of our world.
I’ve given you plenty to think about, and gosh, isn’t that book list growing? With your holiday time off, pick up one of these inspiring books, and begin reflecting on your own soul’s journey.
In Part III, we’ll explore Karma further, and I’ll share my own experience in a 3-hour Life Between Lives regression (hypnosis session). To say it was enlightening hardly describes the impact it’s had on my outlook and sense of purpose in this lifetime.
My friends, I’m off for the holidays, but will be back blogging at the end of the year. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Joyous Kwanza! May all that your heart desires be yours in this holiday season and beyond. Remember, your Loved Ones in Spirit will be there celebrating right along with you, so take a moment to acknowledge them, invite them in, and thank them for their love and guidance in your life. And…with them fully participating, who knows what magic is in store?
With love and light ~ Renee Buck
Whispers From The Light 