A letter from a
newsletter subscriber named Hillary
brought up an important question.
'In a recent
newsletter you talked about your aunt in
her eighties, and her impending
transition. You told her that she would
see her parents, friends, anyone who has
moved on before her. My question
to you is: how can
this be if we live many lives? Wouldn't
those people who came before her already
be living another life in another body?'
There are several
levels of answers. Remember that we're
trying to sensibly discuss nonphysical
dimensions with a vocabulary and
body-mind that exist in a physical
plane. That's why the answers
may seem a bit
complex and may even paradoxical at
times.
First of all, there
are usually several hundred earth-years
in between physical incarnations.
That's an average. Some souls take a
long time before leaving spiritual
realms again while others return very
quickly.
So my aunt's
departed loved ones would likely still
be on the other side.
Next, there's a big
difference between earth-time and
spirit-time. Time is a human construct
and doesn't exist in an absolute sense.
The concept of time is useful for
functioning on this earth plane,
but problems arise
when we try to extend earthly constructs
into dimensions where time and space are
only relatively real.
Wise teachers from
various disciplines say there is only
the eternal now moment. The past,
present and future are folded into
the golden
present.
Spiritual entities
aren't constrained by time or space and
could greet recently departed souls even
if they were visiting elsewhere.
They could
transport their essence to the receiving
line and welcome loved ones whose
earthly journey just ended.
Finally, remember
that the model of separate souls with
different lives in distinct places
throughout time is just that--a model.
It's an improvement over the one most of
us were brought up with and it's a
stretch for most people to comprehend.
However, the most
common description of reality from
wisdom sources is that everything is
composed of energy, intelligence, love
and light. It's all God.
This phenomenon is
everywhere at all times--that means
within you
and me. God is
like an ocean, we each are like drops of
water, and
one lifetime is
like the fleeting crest of a wave. It's
never-ending but
ever-changing. Viewed from a
sufficiently
enlightened
perspective, life reveals itself as
One.
So, in the most
real way of looking at things, my aunt,
all of her departed loved ones, you, me
and everyone else are one big family.
It's all Life, variously manifesting
itself in formed and formless
ways.
Any other cosmology
is, I believe, limited and limiting.
But not everyone can understand this
level of perception, let alone talk
about it. That's why spiritual
traditions have said things like: 'He
who speaks does not know; he who knows
does not speak.'
That may have been
true in the past. However, we now live
in a time when converging spiritual and
scientific perspectives help us to
meaningfully discuss these topics. The
more we comprehend about how life is set
up, the more we are free, joyful,
peaceful,
empowered, and on
purpose.
It's really very
simple. Remember to employ daily
centering practices so you know within:
we each truly are one with the One.
Namaste,
Mark
