Historically in psychology there has been a long-standing debate whether our behavior is a product of inheritance (genetic) or conditioning (learned). Most research supports that both interact to influence our health and happiness. My clinical study and experience suggest that other lifetimes (reincarnation) may actually have an even greater effect.My first introduction to reincarnation came from reading the books, Seth Speaks and The Nature of Personal Reality by Jane Roberts in 1972 and 1974. Her many books became a cornerstone of New Age philosophy, along with the channeled books by Edgar Cayce and a Course in Miracles (1975). The 70’s for me were a time of rethinking about almost everything, especially when I met Ken McCaulley.
I first met Ken in 1977 when I attended his self-improvement program. I began to study privately with him and soon became best friends and business partners. We meditated daily and at some point, Ken began to go into a trance-like state and speak a truth and wisdom far beyond his current extensive knowledge and intellect. For the next seven years I spoke daily through Ken with what we called spirit guides and master teachers, who claimed that the primary purpose of life was to learn to love.
Of course, this was confirmed by every major religion and philosophic system, which all believed in the Golden Rule. But I was particularly struck by this being a clear message coming from the research with near-death experiences, also. Psychiatrist Raymond Moody popularized this phenomenon with his 1975 book, Life After Life, but major additional research came from the University of Virginia and professors Ian Stevenson and Jim Tucker who studied thousands of cases of children who report memories of past lives.
I also found books by psychiatrist Brian Weiss, such as Many Lives, Many Masters and Same Soul, Many Bodies, and his extensive experience with hypnosis and past life regression very fascinating. He was given many messages about “life after death; our choosing when we are born and when we die; the sure and unerring guidance of the Masters; lifetimes measured in lessons learned and tasks fulfilled, not in years; charity, hope, faith, love.” This was completely in keeping with what Ken McCaulley and I were told.
I also learned a great deal about love and life due to my work and research with cancer and my book, Why Love Heals. I discovered through the research and book, Character Strengths and Virtues by Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman, that the historic dominate spiritual and philosophic traditions had six broad characteristics: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. This raised big questions for me. If life serves the purpose of learning to love, which would include these great virtues, why bother if when you die it’s all over? And is it reasonable to think that this could all be achieved in one lifetime?
Reincarnation is a central tenet of Indian religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. This includes the conceptual principal of Karma, where it is commonly believed how you act in this life affects your current and future lives; you reap what you sow. However, I would like to clarify this is not about “good” or “bad” or “punishment”. Karma and multiple lifetimes simply give you the opportunity to experience another perspective. It’s a concept of balance and the infinite expression and discovery of who we are.
I’ll give you an example. Once when I was speaking with a master teacher I asked about dealing with my personal anger. I was told to “research it”. So, I asked my dreams that night for an answer and discovered that it was related to another lifetime when I was a Roman soldier. The master teacher confirmed this and said that I chose this lifetime to learn and teach about love as a way to balance and experience another perspective.
In the book, Conversations with God book 1, Karma is explained in terms of your personal and spiritual growth:
…There is no such thing as karmic debt… A debt is something that must or should be repaid. You are not obligated to do anything.“
Still, there are certain things that you want to do; choose to experience, And some of these choices hinge on – the desire for them has been created by – what you have experienced before.
This is as close as words can come to this thing you call karma.
If karma is the innate desire to be better, to be bigger, to evolve and grow, and to look at past events and experiences as a measure of that, then, yes, karma does exist.
But it does not require anything. Nothing is ever required. You are, as always you have ever been, a being of free choice.”
So, when we consider genetics or conditioning as a way of understanding our current circumstances, perhaps you can see how reincarnation can offer additional insights. My clinical experience is that most phobias are related to other lifetime fears. A woman currently extremely afraid of fire discovered she and her family had burned to death in another lifetime. An extreme fear of water was related to having drowned in a shipwreck. A bad marriage was the result of a former terrible relationship.
Rob Schwartz has written and spoken extensively about pre-birth planning and discovering your soul’s life plan. He has found that the benefits of knowing your life purpose include: It gives you insight into the qualities you’re working on in this lifetime. It empowers you to emerge from victim consciousness. You can gain very meaningful information why certain people are in your life, and why some of those relationships are so challenging. You can learn forgiveness, acceptance, and gratitude in regard to the challenges of this lifetime, as well as an understanding of the deeper spiritual meaning, which can create deep healing. And, of course, you can know a greater peace and joy.
Just as I view medical symptoms as benevolent messengers (they’re there to get your attention that something is out of balance) so can you discover the underlying cause and remedy to all of your current concerns by going within and accessing your own inner wisdom. Your subconscious/intuition/soul can’t wait to tell you that you have chosen with great excitement this opportunity to learn and grow.
