After much research, I am beginning to buy into the idea of reincarnation because it makes sense. I love my life, so I hate the idea of not remembering my past lives and being apart from loved ones, but I'm willing to accept it on one condition. I hear that when we reincarnate, we naturally gravitate back toward those whom we really love. I have read that it is possible for roles to change from one lifetime to another, so that my husband could be my daughter in the next life and vice versa. I'm willing to believe in reincarnation but the thought of this role change truly saddens/disgusts me. I'd rather be an atheist, but I can't force myself to believe that either. Is it possible that unconditional love exists, but we still have types of love such as parental, platonic, romantic, etc., and it is all equal? I'd like to think we have the same type of relationship with certain individuals from one lifetime to the next.
Chelle
Susyn:
Though you have understandable concerns about the concept of reincarnation, it does answer many questions we have about life, love and spiritual experiences. Reincarnation is a beautiful explanation as to why we feel drawn to a certain person, place or culture that we have no tangible connection to in our current life. The idea that we have shared past lives with others or lived in other countries and cultures is not so far-fetched when we consider the strange feelings of familiarity we sometimes experience.
We like to feel we have complete control over our lives and are free to choose the people we will love, the kind of relationships we will have with them, and the places we will live. In truth, the karmic energy that drives our lives to a certain destiny is pre-ordained. Though we may not be able to see them from our earthly perspective, there are deep reasons why our lives take certain paths.
It is commonly accepted that we reincarnate with certain groups of people. When they incarnate as a parent in one life and a child in another, their spirits offer us new and different perspectives of themselves. This is vital to our journey to self-actualization and spiritual fulfillment. If we came back in the same relationships each time, our lessons and growth would be limited and we would not be able to experience these multi-faceted aspects of each other.
The other side of this coin is represented by past-life karma. If we have harmed another in a past life or vice versa, we are given a second chance to rectify the situation. One example of this can be seen in the evolution of love relationships. Never before have so many people found themselves unable to connect with their soul mates. They gravitate from relationship to another, only to have everything end in frustration, divorce and broken hearts. This is happening because at this time in history, we are choosing to clear out as much past-life karma as possible before we enjoy being with our true loves.
On the other hand, in our past lives, we may have not been able to be with our twin flame or soul mate. Perhaps class differences, war or contract marriages prevented us from being together. In this lifetime, most of us are free to rectify that and spend our lives with our soul mates.
As you become more comfortable with the idea of reincarnation, it will be easier to accept the fact that our relationships change and evolve. It doesn't really matter what earthly form a relationship takes; the important thing is that it is ever growing in unconditional love.
*****
Oceania:
All forms of love are equal because love is about YOU - not who's on the receiving end. Love's about opening yourself to the grace that surrounds you, accepting and embracing it, and then allowing it to flow from you into the world. Love accepts what is, and in so doing, it transforms what is just as sunshine turns seeds into gardens.
While I don't rule out reincarnation, neither my training in science nor my spiritual intuition can confirm it for me. I sometimes have an experience of feeling I knew someone in a previous life, but I think that feeling can be explained by the person unconsciously reminding me of someone from my past in THIS lifetime, probably my pre-verbal past, which therefore stirs a sense of long-lost familiarity. Science is ever-evolving, and I'm humble enough to admit anything's possible, but from what we know so far, consciousness, memory and personality die with the brain. When a brain is damaged through injury or dementia, personalities can change and memories disappear.
We're overly attached to our egos, names and identities, which probably all dissolve at death like a raindrop in the ocean. I see ego as a sparkle in the light or a wiggle in the motion of the cosmos. Perhaps Jesus dying on the cross is a metaphor for death of the ego: once we let it go, our sense of self expands and we feel part of something greater.
The eternal part of me may be a wisp of energy that'll take on a new form, just as the molecules of my scattered ashes may mix with the soil and get sucked up by the root of a tree, which may bear fruit that someone will eat, transforming the old me into the new them. Perhaps my new level of awareness will not be consciousness but rather the lull of peaceful slumber I experience in the dark in the middle of the night.
I like what Byron Katie has to say about death: It's the pure unknown and I love that. We imagine death is a state of being or a state of nothingness, and we frighten ourselves with our own concepts. Death is kind enough to be still and silent, and I appreciate that. Everything else is projected into that stillness by your mind.
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The universe is filled with orbiting, revolving spheres, and cycles like night and day, winter and summer, sleep and wakefulness, death and life. We can trust that it will all keep rolling around. Just as light, sound and other energy waves ripple through time and space, so do our thoughts, words and actions! The choices we make each and every moment will echo long after we're gone, and in that sense, we will live forever.
Astrea:
Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.
Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!
While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!
I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!
As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.
I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.
You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!
Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.
A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.
You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.