Reincarnation and Karma

You have come from a place of perfection.
When this experience, which you have chosen, is through,
you shall return there.

How do we explain a Mozart? How do we explain a child with near perfect and provable recollection of a previous life? How do we explain the sense of having been in a place before? Let us not overlook past life regressions. Bridey Murphy has spawned many fascinating stories. These are all examples used to reinforce the belief in reincarnation. There are many others. Indeed, reincarnation has been called the “cycle of necessity”. Many perceptions are difficult to explain without this device.Reincarnation as a topic of discussion is fascinating and resonates with our impulse toward truth. The elaborate scenarios that are spread out before us are endless. The inferences we draw from these are useful in answering lingering age-old questions, questions, some of which remain ironically because of religions rather inept attempt to answer them.Although the evidence given in reincarnation beliefs is useful in strengthening the belief in life after death, it seems riddled with inconsistencies when viewed from a more lofty height. Overly detailed explanations of the process may well afford comfort to some. One truly on the path however will be quick to point out that much of what they have learned is true only until supplanted by a truth of greater understanding.The enlightened ones tell us that it is the nature of the soul to know. If we already know, why would we reincarnate so that we might learn? Surely, there is a more plausible reason for our existence here, one not tied to the paradigm of incremental education. Has no one observed that the “learning” process continues even when the drudgery of study is set aside? To dispel this construct will allow space for the awareness of truth to shine through. May the drudgery of study be tempered by the joy of learning.When our life is viewed as a chosen destiny rather than a forced exile, our focus can be on those things we need (want) to do, allowing us to more clearly intuit our true destiny. Consider the possibility that we are here to participate in the process of evolution of this plane (planet). The process may be called creation.Have we incorrectly assumed that God stopped creating? Have we yet to discover that God is the creative process and that we are co creators? Are we not made in the image and likeness of the creator and thus part of the creative process? Are we not imbued with divine creativity?Are we even now as homo-sapiens arrogantly pretending to be the epitome of Gods creative efforts? Look afar; there may be problems with this assumption.We cannot progress far on this plane if we base our beliefs on those things we have been taught, i.e. those things we have accepted without question.To know of the divine is helpful, yet when one knows the divine then one is divine and there is no need for officious meddling. There is no greater block to the realization of enlightenment than the pretense that we already know or that we even know what it is that we are looking for. Did the master not say, “Verily even the harlots are closer to the kingdom of heaven than thee”? Consider also the possibility that a facade of righteousness is an insurmountable barrier to enlightenment.Old souls do not come here with a resume in hand. They do come with a destiny, a commitment to participate in the creative process. View it all as a great adventure and you shall discover many marvelous things. You shall one day agree that God is in his heaven and all is well with the world. Your life and your works will then be filled with the omnipotence of divine love as guided by universal infinite spirit. The greater the self-realization, the greater the creation.The soul has but one lasting desire on this plane, and that is to reunify with the source from which it came, a place where there is no lingering desire, a place of ineffable joy and the peace that passeth understanding, a place where the manifestation of intent, of thoughts, words and deeds become one, the true reality. Adjust your concept of God so that it more closely mirrors that which you inwardly know to be true of yourself. Be as a child in your discovery of the many wondrous things awaiting you. Become not entangled in minutia, but rather contemplate your own eternality in a fresh light.The problem lies not in the veracity of any or all of the reincarnation ideas for they may all be true. The problem occurs when they become an infatuation, a fascinating side-trip that tends to inhibit further awakening. Paradoxically, with awakening and the realization of the eternality of all life, the question becomes mute. If we have moved into the awareness of the unity of all life, if our ego (That me thing) is viewed for what it is, the very mechanism that blocks that awareness, then we are in position to accept the possibility that there are other explanations for even the most compelling signs of reincarnation. We may still be aware of past lives, though they may not necessarily be yours or mine, they may simply be ours.Are we stuck with karma? Perhaps we are, perhaps not. If virtuous living is its own reward and if evil is a creation of the human condition, i.e. experiences of our own choosing, then what is the need for a system of balances obviously constructed by the mind of man? If we violate an unjust human law and are punished for so doing is this punishment karma? Is karma a vehicle for the creation of fear? Is karma a vehicle for inducing certain behaviors? Is karma a tool for exacting wishful revenge? If we perform good deeds for the sole purpose of accumulating good karma does the bad karma of selfishness we gather at the same time offset the good or are we simply debited for those moments when our thoughts were less than pure? Can we defer bad karma to a future life? If we ask for forgiveness for some wrong we have committed, will karma be meted out? Does it accrue to the forgiver? If we inherit a large sum of ill-gotten gains is this good karma or bad? Does the legal system assist with the delivery of karma or is it irrelevant or even counter productive? Do we treat just punishment as a debit or a credit? Seriously, are there enough lawyers and accountants in heaven to handle such an immense workload? May we, as mere mortals participate in the distribution of karma? Do we have a choice as to what form the karma will take? Are we capable of telling the difference between good karma and bad karma? How about a root canal? Is this good karma or bad? Do our pets reincarnate? Absolutely. It is all so confusing.“What goes around comes around”. Clichés such as this do not survive without truth. That truth however is not based on fear or the need for revenge or the lust for power. If we are to comprehend the truth of karma, we must first dispose of the boogey man brownie point nonsense, a thinly disguised human, not divine, artifact.Karma is real, it does exist, and yet it appears to transcend the law of cause and effect as we know it. To deal with karma, we must move our attention to the eternal now; there it functions as a guidance system or what some would call a conscience although there is an important difference. Conscience contains instructions from the sub-conscious mind that are based on conclusions and decisions that may be quite different from those of our current choosing. Karma gently tells us to do the right thing. Bear in mind that our karma comes from the unerring wisdom of our soul and there we know it quickly, before the fact so that we might make a choice as to our actions. The enlightened, having grasped the reality of the unity of all life, follow the golden rule, not because of karmic consequences, but because it is the natural and joyful thing to do.The human mind will not be denied its important function of trying to make sense of life’s experience. It will create castles of sand, ever more elaborate, delightful to contemplate while providing a resting place for eager travelers on the path, only then to be removed by the timeless breeze of understanding.