Incarnation
If you look
into the very center hole of a record... or lets say, if you stand
within the very center of a "Merry Go Round"... or in the extreme, the
center of a hurricane, there is an experience of stillness with very
little if no apparent movement. Yet, if one steps outside of that
center for just a fraction of an inch or for one moment... through
centrifugal force, one would spiral out of control - just as if you
placed an object on a spinning record - it will shift to the outer
regions of the disk.
Similarly,
if you took the slightest step from off the central (unity)
consciousness, you would be quickly moved into the consciousness of
duality – things would "appear" to speed up more and more...
as the vibrational acceleration gets stronger and denser... until what
appears timeless and space-less near the center, is hours or days or
years long. This movement from the center into manifestation and
duality (plurality) consciousness - epitomizes the incarnation process.
The
"Incarnation Process" begins from the higher and subtler dimensional
levels of spirit where souls may not even occupy or inhabit a "body",
but just exist as an insubstantial consciousness and light. From here,
the soul begins its descent into the lower and more denser vibrational
levels of creation... accumulating even more unique energetic
structures and distinct personalities... taking on more of a
substantial shape and bodily form... taking on an causal body, an
etheric body, a solar body, an astral body,... eventually (but not
necessarily) culminating in a physical (“carnal”)
body upon the material plane.
As the pure
Soul essence descends deeper and deeper into the greater and greater
densities of the lower realms of creation, it became more and more
clouded over (and further hidden) by the veils of these denser energies
that wrapped around it. This process is analogous to putting on a
successive layer of clothing - if your "Essence" was the innermost core
or sap of a tree (or candle wick), each ring (each dip into the vat of
wax) would be yet another bodily layer or life time, and each layer
would have different "Aspects" of color, consistency, density,
vibration, and even... a unique separate consciousness, memory and ego
identity "self" - including its own respective desires and will.
"Thy Rod
and thy Staff"
Technically
speaking, the incarnation process is initiated by a string of events
involving the Soul and its interaction with the "Kundalini" –
otherwise known as the “serpent” in the
“Garden of Eden”. This particular energy cycles and
flows downward and upward, around and around, assisting in the
manifestation/creation (Brahma Force) and dematerialization/destruction
(the Shiva Force) of the universe. (These concepts
“Kundalini”, “Brahma”, and
“Shiva” all derive from Hindi mysticism). This
kundalini energy may also be found within your own core or etheric
spine (as above so below, as within so without). King David was
probably referring to this energy when he stated (in his psalm) "Thy
Rod and thy Staff they comfort me" (being the energy of creation, it
would have to have been orgasmic).
The Bible
story of Adam and Eve and their subsequent "fall" illustrates the role
the serpent/kundalini had in throwing us off our center and forcing us
to go through the downward cycle of incarnation. But the
“tempting” to eat of the fruit itself (the desires
for pleasure) came from our ego-mind and its fondness for forming
attachments to limiting identifications. (The essence of our soul is
more than the desire for pleasure – these are experiences of
duality). The serpent energy of the kundalini is not bad or evil in
itself (it is in fact the force that creates and destroys the universe)
but it is our attachments to and desires for this force that cause us
to suffer. And it is no wonder that we do get so attached to it
– if it is as powerful a force that created the very
universe, it must be quite an orgasmic rush. Who wouldn’t
want that every day!
Relativity
Imagine yourself as a spinning disc or record
on the "record player" of life.
The outer rim is your physical and emotional being (birth - childhood).
Further in there is your astral and mental being (adolescence -
adulthood).
Closer to the center is your etheric and causal being (middle age -
sagehood).
And in the very center hole is God (ego death, ascension - Christhood).
It may be
that every individual life you have ever had (including this one),
and/or every level of consciousness you have ever been connected to
(and are still a part of) is a separate record - all of them layered
one upon another on this turntable.
All records
are interchangeable, depending upon which selections the MC - "Master
of Ceremonies" (i.e. your Higher Self and God) wishes to play.
Each grove
on these records is a sound, an experience, a vibration, a memory, an
image, a feeling.
In every
moment, the "stylus" that is life (the beat of time) is playing a grove
- ones that are being newly generated and some older ones that are
being replayed. Some of these grooves have scratches in them -
scratches created by played one sound, over and over again (otherwise
know as addictions, habits, programs or "samscaras"). As long as you
have these scratches, you are pretty much stuck in a rut and will not
be able to play any new tunes (new experiences) and move closer to "The
Center" of your life path.
The hole in
the center ("core") of your record (this one life) is designed to fit
into the rod or dowel (the unifying multi-dimensional consciousness) of
the player (life). When ones awareness is free of these scratches
(samscaras), it is free to move closer to the center. The idea of
spiritual healing is to get to the center of your core in one life
time, before you have to physically die. Otherwise, you would have to
come back and replay the same record, over and over till you got
through all the scratches and got to the end.
When one
stands at the outer fringes of the record, one is dizzy from the spin
of life’s drama. If from here one peers into the future -
towards (or even into) the center, there may be the subjective
perception of emptiness, a void, a timelessness –
“the unknown". Once a being begins to let go of the old
identities and dramas (attachments to the old songs) and leaps into
this "unknown", one can begin the spiritual journey through and beyond
ones astral – solar - etheric - causal selves, eventually to
ascend up the core (the dowel) of reality - this being the "ladder" of
transcendence and evolution. This is where the saying "let go and let
God" comes into play. This movement into the center and going upwards
in consciousness is the ascension process, yet it cannot begin if you
are not willing to be in “the unknown". Whenever you think
you know, you are already playing an old familiar song – you
are standing still (spinning your wheels). The required leap of faith
here is in going where you have never been before - and be willing to
go in blind.
When you
are first doing the healing work, your process may begin as an outer
one (from the physical on to the more peripheral astral levels). The
more you do the work (move through your samscaras and play through your
record), the closer you get to the inner levels (the solar, etheric and
causal levels). In either case, you must trust the process no matter
where it takes you. And it is not a one time thing - one must leap into
the unknown, over and over again, until it becomes a way of life.
Reincarnation
The
Life Force
Unlike this shell we call the
physical body,
the life force or “spirit” that inhabits it does
not die. Actually, this life force or “spirit”
lives forever, passing over from one body and lifetime unto the next.
This process or journey is called “the transmigration of the
soul” or simply “reincarnation”.
As the soul
reincarnates, much of its accumulated power, wisdom, knowledge, as well
as many of its collective subconscious memories, negative patterns and
karmas... tag along (this all depends on what the soul - while it is in
spirit – chooses to work on in any given incarnation). One
may ask, why doesn’t all of ones memories and powers and so
on come with it every time one incarnates? No one can stomach or
process such a massive amount of information and energies at any one
moment in time... it has to be spoon fed us, just like babies. As we
grow and mature, then we may be given more as we can handle it
(otherwise we are easily overwhelmed).
What you
may (potentially) manifest on this earth plane in one life time, is the
sum total of all of your choices and experiences... and a product of
who and what you have been (in spirit and in flesh) since you were
first created as a soul, how many million or billions of years ago.
Just within the context of the eternal past, most of us have lived
previous lives, perhaps upon this or other planets, perhaps even in
other dimensions higher or lower than this one. We have also played
many different roles, some "good", some "bad", some as angels, some as
devils (this is a very long and varied list).
Within the
context of eternity, our individual soul existence began long before we
were ever born - and will continue long after we die... yet through the
illusions of this dimension, we have forgotten this truth.
Reincarnation
as a concept and belief system is still found within most all other
religions on this planet. Tradition has it that reincarnation was even
a part of the teachings of the ancient Jewish religion. Since Jesus was
Jewish, he too may have taught about such things. Given that most of
Jesus' disciples were Jewish, the notions of reincarnation were
probably passed down to those in the early church. Unfortunately, so
much of this information has been lost over time, or hidden –
of this and other things we may never know for sure.
There are a
number of reasons for souls to reincarnate into this game that is
called "Life". One reason is to experience the diversity of life in all
its myriad forms, permutations and feelings. It is like a game of cards
- each time you get a new hand (a new life, a new record) the play is
totally different. Another reason is that the more you play, the more
you learn, the better you get. If you are an "old soul", you have
played this game of life many times. Like any game, the more you play,
the more likely you would develop bad habits or samscaras (this is why
old souls typically have more stuff to work out and heal). An old soul
could be likened to an old tree: some are gnarly with numerous knots,
maybe bent out of shape... others stand tall and straight (either way,
trees need to be trimmed).
There are
even souls who have only recently (maybe for the first time) incarnated
as human beings. They can be seen as fresh saplings, green, excited
about everything, wanting to experience all the new sensations of being
in a human physical body. Many may have angelic origins, and many
others may be "Star Seeds". The reasons for these beings to incarnate
are to be of selfless service to humanity, and to develop the personal
mastery that experiences of this world offer (one cannot become a
master of this physical dimension by remaining in spirit - this can
only be achieved through the challenges of being human). Unfortunately,
like cards, some people (even first time players) get attached to
certain aspects of the game and cannot let it go.
No
escape - Death is not the answer
We all think that everything is rosy and lovey dovey when we leave this
earthly existence, but this is not necessarily so - we take our
disturbing tendencies and selfish will with us wherever we go - we
cannot escape our selves. This may be the one reason why certain
religions do not support suicide and the death penalty - death is not a
cure (though it is a temporary reprieve that one may see from another
perspective, a clearer vantage point, distanced from the irritations of
the physical body). And what we leave behind us in one lifetime, comes
back to haunt us in the next. If anything, this is a pretty good
argument for reincarnation – it would reinforce our sense of
personal responsibility.
The
Collective Unconscious
Due to the many veils
of Maya
(“illusion”) that cover the consciousness of a soul
when entering and dwelling in this material dimension, our
understanding and remembrance of the spiritual reality is not as
straight forward or black and white as we would like. For instance,
from a “linear perspective” (which is the
simplistic and limited mind set that comes as a standard feature with
every human body) one would assume that if you somehow recalled
memories of a life time other than this one, those memories and that
life would be yours. However, the truth is not always so clear cut -
the possibility exists that one did live that past life, but then
again, maybe not. The explanation can be a little complicated and
confusing to the linear mind, but let me elaborate.
When a soul leaves their physical body (dies) and ascends into the
spirit realms, memories accumulated from their time on earth are held
in a sort of conscious energetic fog that surrounds the soul. Due to
the intangible, amorphous nature of this “fog”,
very lucid impressions of what is held in it can easily be transmitted
or rubbed off on to others as they are descending (or incarnating) down
into the physical dimension (there is something like an elevator that
goes up and down between the worlds where souls pass each other by).
This same thing may even occur between two or more embodied peoples, as
well as between spirit beings living on other dimensional realms of
existence (have you ever received an impression about someone when in
their presence? This is even more pronounced when you are in spirit,
where your consciousness is not clouded over by the material forces).
Take for example when you are so engrossed in some movie or play that
you actually come to believe you are the characters, and that you are
(albeit vicariously) living out their experiences. It’s so
easy for the subconscious to be imprinted in this way, that sometimes
it’s nearly impossible to tell the difference between what is
yours and what is another’s memories. It is even possible for
more than one soul to incarnate into and occupy the same bodily space
at any one time. These other souls could even have been present
throughout the entire incarnation – from birth on in to death
(it all depends on ones karmic agreements and soul contract, among
other things).
So you
might ask, why or how can this be possible? Unlike the physical body
(which is quite limited and has definitive boundaries) the eternal soul
is an amorphous accumulation of consciousness and energies that have no
real boundaries or limitations (except those the soul chooses to take
on). The implications here are enormous. The soul - depending upon its
unique and particular abilities - especially when it is not confined,
attached or chained down to a physical body, has the ability to (on
some degree) shift into physical matter at will. In other words, one
soul can be incarnate in one body, but that same bodily space may be
shared with other entities or souls (such as your spirit guides, or
worse, with negative entities). To the subjective consciousness (and
ego-mind) the experiences in that one life may be identified with (and
claimed as theirs) by any of the beings who shared that space with you.
Perhaps now you may understand why it’s possible for many to
lay claim to being the reincarnation of a certain person. Keep this in
mind the next time you go to a psychic or hypno-therapist to find out
about your past lives.
One may
spend a lot of thought and energy into trying to figure this all out,
but that’s not the point. If anything, the point is that
reality and truth is not a black and white thing - there are many grey
areas and much mystery. If anything, it’s important to keep
an open mind and not be attached to any one perspective. Remember, we
are trying to let go of our attachments, not make more – not
even attachments to philosophies or belief systems or knowledge. All of
them are meager attempts by the limited ego-mind to try and make sense
of life and the Universe, and all of them must eventually be released.
Even these writings are going to fall by the wayside when faced with
the ultimate truth - which is truly beyond words... yet, we persist.
Copyright
1999 - 2008. David Raphael Isaacson. No portion of information in this
website may be reproduced or distributed in any form without prior
permission from the author. All rights reserved.
