[This is a brief excerpt from my book When the Stars Align, from a passage which takes up the question, “Why would someone even want to come back here to earthly existence, when it can be so painful here?” Following are a few possible answers, drawn from an assortment of mystical teachings presented by various teachers in the esoteric traditions.]
p.s. there is another viewpoint I didn't address in this Substack post - the "gnostic" notion that we keep incarnating because we're kept captive here by certain "archonic" forces. It's an interesting viewpoint, but a complicated one - for those who are interested, I address it in more detail in chaps. 7 and 9 of "In the Company of Gods."
It is on the denser planes of existence that we learn to come out of unconscious patterns as we learn to master being an Eternal having a human experience.
Through indulgence, we learn moderation. Through error, we come to discernment. Through material, emotional, and mental attachments we learn detachment and dispassion. And through our bihemispheric brain's tendency to pessimism, we learn conscious positivity.
It has been said "each incarnation furthers the experiment." The best part of it is the friends we meet along the way, and the ability to move away from painful patterns into those which bring happiness and fulfillment, if only temporarily.
Im trying to get it right this time and have surely burned off some karma in relationships...but will there be an earth to return to? For the first time, I wonder. Also read recently in Matthew Fox's Original Blessing that the Creative path was the one he sees as most dangerous. Humans are in
'god''s image because we are allowed to create...and looke what happens. I see his point. I have said before that it seems human mind only goes from A to B when consequences and other needs require at least C and maybe even D. This morning we have a major political example but my usual example is plastics. A "We need a container that is lighter and doesn't break" B "Plastic!" C "what are implications for Trash? Can it have any ill effects on humans?" D "how might it effect food, water systems, wild life...."
Much more uplifting than anything else I've read this morning! Thank you for that positive note as I head off to meditate while my coffee cools enough to drink comfortably -- an unintentional confession of sorts.
p.s. there is another viewpoint I didn't address in this Substack post - the "gnostic" notion that we keep incarnating because we're kept captive here by certain "archonic" forces. It's an interesting viewpoint, but a complicated one - for those who are interested, I address it in more detail in chaps. 7 and 9 of "In the Company of Gods."
It is on the denser planes of existence that we learn to come out of unconscious patterns as we learn to master being an Eternal having a human experience.
Through indulgence, we learn moderation. Through error, we come to discernment. Through material, emotional, and mental attachments we learn detachment and dispassion. And through our bihemispheric brain's tendency to pessimism, we learn conscious positivity.
It has been said "each incarnation furthers the experiment." The best part of it is the friends we meet along the way, and the ability to move away from painful patterns into those which bring happiness and fulfillment, if only temporarily.
Im trying to get it right this time and have surely burned off some karma in relationships...but will there be an earth to return to? For the first time, I wonder. Also read recently in Matthew Fox's Original Blessing that the Creative path was the one he sees as most dangerous. Humans are in
'god''s image because we are allowed to create...and looke what happens. I see his point. I have said before that it seems human mind only goes from A to B when consequences and other needs require at least C and maybe even D. This morning we have a major political example but my usual example is plastics. A "We need a container that is lighter and doesn't break" B "Plastic!" C "what are implications for Trash? Can it have any ill effects on humans?" D "how might it effect food, water systems, wild life...."
Much more uplifting than anything else I've read this morning! Thank you for that positive note as I head off to meditate while my coffee cools enough to drink comfortably -- an unintentional confession of sorts.