But who is to say we are allowed more than one lifetime to get it correct?
Both are speculation from where we stand now...
I have to disagree. The number of people that have
remembered their own future incarnations, even
shared incarnations -- or
friends from earlier lives, even who are once again incarnate, in company -- is probably millions at this point, easily.
I'm one of them.
I don't take too kindly to people saying things like,
"Oh, you are just imagining that," or,
"Yes, but how do you know?"
I know in the same way I know that the sun shines. And I can say a good bit about it, but believe it or not (and Juan, you've seen my ridiculous eight-screen posts), I actually keep pretty MUM when it comes to details of other lifetimes ... certainly when
identity/indentities are concerned.
The Cosmos, even as astronomy and physics understand it, is theorized as being
a repetitive cycle, something (and Someone, if you must) which
breathes out, breathes in, breathes out, breathes in, etc.
And, did I mention this goes on --
Forever?
The difference between God and man is SCALE. It could be described as a
quantitative one, not
a qualitative one. As God is, we shall be. As God was, we are. The only difference -- but the one that makes
ALL the difference
... is that
from where we stand, it would not be so easy to say,
"Oh, I created all this; I am the reason that the birds themselves sing, and that the grass itself grows."
However, the person who knows Christ, who understands Nature, and who has insight into the relationship between God and man,
does actually have the experience ... of knowing why birds sing, and even knowing the reason why --
grass grows. We cannot beat our chest and be
lord of the jungle, but we can learn to be a
part of something greater -- and we can start by trying to recall that
even the LEAST in the kingdom of God, matters. And yeah, that's
enough to forsake the 90 and 9 for saving.
Ahem.
Man and God are not, fundamentally,
dual, or apart. They are at-one, and we are here for the experience of
at-one-ing. Jesus taught this. And even showed us HOW. But he never,
never said that we had "only one shot at it."
Every religion, including early Christianity --
prior to being re-written -- has taught a cyclical process that governs ALL OF NATURE. This includes the tiniest atom, the cell and body of the human being, the seasons and changes of our planet, the movement of the planets around the stars and the stars around a galactic core ... and to propose that somehow the
spiritual side of things operates differently than the material (or observable) side, is unsupported.
We have NO evidence that this is the case. Scripture DOUBLY affirms the relationship between the Inner and the outer. As above, so below. As within, so without. If
you are close enough to PERFECTION that
you are ready to say,
"Ok, when I die, I KNOW there is NOTHING left I could accomplish on this planet, nothing more that I could learn or contribute" ... then yes,
at that point I'd say yes, your cycle of lives will be run.
Yet the irony is that a Perfect Being has
everything to contribute to life in our world, even when s/he has nothing remaining to learn, or any growth that can be gained by remaining here. Such are the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the
Christs of every Age; and it is
these Beings Who have taught us so much about our purpose. Is it any wonder they have tried to direct our attention to the alleviation of unnecessary human suffering (another good thread at CR right now) ... and eschew the endless debates about
utterly transcendent realms of being, which we ourselves shall not enter (and thus
could not possibly have full insight into) for many, many thousands of years???
~~~
All I ask, when it comes to the subject of reincarnation, is that if
you don't have any direct experience, memories, or proof ... then you express it thus. Don't assume that
others don't have proof, or experience, or memories, however. The difficult part, at least for me, is how to dialogue with people who have yet to come to this understanding. I do not say it is the
right one for you, or for everyone, NOW. But I am as certain that it will one day be understood as I am that grass is green and that the sky is blue.
What I cannot assert
as boldly from personal experience, yet something I think we can gain insight into -- and then seek to understand
for the rest of our many, many lifetimes -- is the relationship between Deity and humanity, as well as between
Spirit (and SOul) and body. A quote from Alexander Pope will make my point:
All are parts of one stupendous whole
Whose body Nature is, and God the Soul.
What Alexander Pope is saying here, is that
God ensouls all of Cosmos. He doesn't just mean that God is to be found in the flittering butterflies and on nature walks in spring. I mean, yes, the beauty of Nature can help us to move closer to the heart of God ... but Pope was able -- as are we all, if we choose -- to set anthropomorphisms aside, and to understand Deity as the very
essence of all Life, and, as Life Itself. What we actually
see around us, which he terms
Nature, is God's body of manifestation, which has been
created by God for the purposes of Divine Incarnation. God, like humanity,
comes into form that Cosmos might exist. Methinks this is a
good thing for all of those within Cosmos (having
also originated from the Godhead), yes?
The period of manifestation of the Godhead within Cosmos, God's body, is referred to as
an age (or 100 years) of Brahma, in Hindu teachings. After this period of embodiment, God, like each individualized portion of God's creation,
disincarnates, and returns to the Unknowable, utterly Beyond (or
Brahman, Godhead, etc.). Did I mention God was truly
ETERNAL?
Oh wait, you knew that part. So God
returns to Cosmic incarnation, a
new Cosmos is created, and the cycle begins anew. Who ever said anything about a
closed, endless loop?
Ohhh, I see. If you view a spiral on its SIDE, you can see how it goes around and around, yet is always
rising, or improving, as it moves from the darkest nether-reaches of
an infinite past ... toward the brighest hopeful imaginings of an
infinite future. It is only when we
turn this spiral and view it head-on that it might be symbolized, as the Ancients aptly chose, by the
Ourobouros:
I always groan a little when I hear someone expressing this horrid misunderstanding that has arisen in the west ... whereby they
"don't want to come back again and again in some endless cycle," with objections like,
"what's the point?" Does it not occur that a compassionate Deity, a God of
all possible Vision and potential, would maybe
PROVIDE (oh yeah,
Providence) us with EXACTLY what we need for our continued spiritual growth and human learning ... including a world-wide
field for service to others, whereby we may move closer & closer to the very Perfection which this same God has ordained for us?
"Not a sparrow falls," and yet we dare to fathom that
souls are lost. Unfortunate circumstances, truly the CHOICE of the
"fallen angel" (an epithet which designates us ALL) -- repeated for
many, many lifetimes -- may indeed leave one in such dire straits that frankly, these conditions ... these souls ... require extraordinary compassion, exhibited by extraordinary beings, in order for God's Plan for such souls to work out. Yet this is precisely what God has allowed for, and accommodated. In our short-sightedness, and in our
lack of compassion, we might imagine
forsaking one another. God does not think in these terms.
The cycles of evolution are not
infinite, each unto itself. The
100 Years of Brahma do not go on for
2 extra months because some goofball got lost over in the Andromeda Galaxy. Rather, the Logos in question (of or within that Galaxy) keeps a RECORD (I believe the Bible mentions the
"Book of God's Remembrance") ... and in the future cycle of Cosmos, which will open up after
100 Years of Rest, the goofball that did not complete his evolution will have another opportunity to continue it. In this way, no souls are
lost, no one is sent to this ridiculous hell of
eternal torment and damnation.
A little bit of insight will show, in fact, that WE are the
lost souls of a previous cycle. Either this, or we shall be the holdouts for a
future cycle. All of Cosmos is
one Great Chain, a Living Ladder (umm, Jacob's) of Being(s). Those on the steps above us extend their Loving arms down to those of us below, in assistance, and
we are expected to do likewise. Petted your animal companion recently? Hugged a tree? Held a living stone?
Each cycle begins with a
tabula rasa, yet there also come forth the
Sephiroth, or
Appointed Heads (and Hearts) of a Vast Hierarchy of Lives. These are the
Eldest of the preceding cycle, and Theirs is the duty to administer all else in Cosmos,
for the Lord, during the great cycle of manifestation. This greatest Hierarchy has
its subordinate hierarchy, on down through the worlds of increasing materiality, until finally -- even into our little
non-sacred and struggling planet -- "not a sparrow falls."
We forget, and we have never heard of it. Between these two, we look around and wonder sometimes,
where is God? And anthropomorphism
neatly tucks "him" away, when actually "SHE" is right here all around, every moment (quite literally actually, as the
feminine Person of the Trinity is the material world, both
God's and ours, thus including the body of manifestation of
both).
Not all attain to highest perfection in a given cycle. That cycle comes to a close, and when the worlds are again re-created, the
eldest of the prior cycle (per world or solar system) come forth as the forerunners. These pave the way, set the standards, start the processes which will later facilitate
new waves of involution ... until finally it is time for US, and for those who have been in
Eden-like conditions, to again INCARNATE.
And voila!
What's so confusing about that? It does not conflict with what the great relgions
actually teach. It only threatens the
status quo inasmuch as the clergy (of every religion) has learned that
religion sells, and thus has attempted to stamp
TM onto their particular
presentation. Don't buy that version over there,
buy ours, it's better.
Better how? What could be better than
the unadulterated teachings of the Great Ones Themselves?
Not sure where to
go for those? Well if what you've found
makes sense to you, then that's fine and dandy, but if it doesn't even make sense
logically, much less fit together in such a way that "god" doesn't come off as being incredibly
wasteful, bumbling and lacking any real shred of foresight ... then do you really expect me to buy into
that version of "an Almighty, All-Knowing, All-Loving and Forgiving PERFECTED BEING?"
I didn't think so. Sometimes, you
can have your cake and eat it too. You just have to remember to share. No one said it was super-sweet, however. Christ tasted
bitter herbs. The worlds of form,
God's, as ours, were not created for fun & games alone. These are worlds of work, of suffering - at times, yet also the
only worlds wherein we have
just what we need, because Divinely provided, for our Soul's purpose and evolution. I hope we can all learn to make the most of it!
Namaskar - Love and Light,
andrew
