Our Multitudinal Lives

"The souls must reenter the absolute substance whence they have emerged. But to accomplish this, they must develop all the perfections, the germ of which is planted in them; and if they have not fulfilled this condition during one life, they must commence another, a third, and so forth, until they have acquired the condition which fits them for reunion with God."

-- Zohar, the chief text of the Jewish Kabbalah

A question was floated into the ether the other day:  "We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one. Do you agree?"  

The question received two answers, the first, "No, “realization” does not change reality, it is altogether passive.  Metaphorically, if one realizes they are a soul rather than merely a physical being, there is a “beginning” to their understanding, but this is not a beginning of the soul itself. We exist as souls whether one realizes it or not."

The second answer was from me, "No. We have many lives to live, just not in this reality. We live these lives as a way of learning, and we bring what we learn back to the ether when our souls return after each death. The knowledge we share is then spread throughout the universe as cosmic knowledge."

"I am certain that I have been here as I am now a thousand times before, and I hope to return a thousand times."

-- Goethe

Personally, I had no knowledge of Zohar, the chief text of the Jewish Kabbalah when I developed my views on multiple lives.  Zohar states: "The souls must reenter the absolute substance whence they have emerged. But to accomplish this, they must develop all the perfections, the germ of which is planted in them; and if they have not fulfilled this condition during one life, they must commence another, a third, and so forth, until they have acquired the condition which fits them for a reunion with God."  I've done this quite often throughout my life, formed a philosophy just to find the philosophy already exists.  But it bears out the truth in my premise that ideas are continuously transmitted through the ether for all to learn from and build upon.  It is why great ideas occur at the same time in different parts of the world without any of the parties even knowing of the other's existence.

"The soul comes from without into the human body, as into a temporary abode, and it goes out of it anew… it passes into other habitations, for the soul is immortal."

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our lives are lived to learn lessons and record data for greater knowledge of all life.  When our life in the realm is complete we download and move into our next existence to learn more.  As we learn and become more aware of why we are, we progress upward toward our reunion with the creative force of all things.  Ever have a sense of déjà vu?  If we don't learn the lessons we are required, we will keep reliving a particular existence until we do.  How many times must you jump off a twelve-story building, just to find yourself back there in your next life?   A cat has nine times to learn the lessons.  How many do we have?

“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.”

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. “Pooh?” he whispered.

“Yes, Piglet?”

“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s hand. “I just wanted to be sure of you.”

“We’ll be Friends Forever, won’t we, Pooh?’ asked Piglet. Even longer,’ Pooh answered.”

Have you ever just known you have loved somebody forever?  You feel you keep dying and finding them in your next life, over and over again?  Our souls are charged particles if you will, and the charge is what it is through each existence we live.  Hence, we are drawn toward each other in each existence for this very reason.  It is why we feel we've known someone before, loved someone before, or have that sense needing to be somewhere and not knowing why.  It is why some of us can feel so deeply for someone we really don't know, and we can't explain why.

"He saw all these forms and faces in a thousand relationships… become newly born. Each one was mortal, a passionate, painful example of all that is transitory. Yet none of them died, they only changed, were always reborn, continually had a new face: only time stood between one face and another."

-- Herman Hesse

Once you own the why of things it is easier to smile and move forward.  I have a pretty good mind and I have used it for nothing.  Or, have I?  My childhood was a confusion of high activity with no focus.  Why?  Because my young mind was confused.  I wanted to learn but I couldn't.  I was being torn to another path.  Once I understood this, life became more focused.  Intellect was not why I was put here, "smarts" was why.  The path before me was philosophical, and where philosophy requires good sense, intelligence ofttimes is like trying to combine oil and water.

We need to stop worrying over the who, what, when, and how of things and concentrate on "why" things are what they are.  By asking "why" we can discover the truth of the universe working or not working.  You can explain what gravity is but to really understand gravity you must discover why it is.   This is one reason the answer "because" is meaningless, without further explanation, to any question of why?

If you do nothing else while you're here, discover how to be happy always.  You will be reborn to many existences so stressing over this one, or any of them, for that matter, makes little sense.  Learn to be happy now and you will probably remember how to be happy in the next life and the one after that, and so on.  Live, learn, be happy, move forward, repeat, and remember that time does not exist.  

How simple is this?

"I did not begin when I was born, nor when I was conceived. I have been growing, developing, through incalculable myriads of millenniums… All my previous selves have their voices, echoes, promptings in me… Oh, incalculable times again shall I be born."

-- Jack London

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with the United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world-renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.