Beyond Psychotherapy: Introduction to Psychoenergetic Healing. Linda Stein-Luthke

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ as they have chosen to cultivate a frequency of consciousness that is mired in the illusion of separation. The more we suffer from the consequences of this illusion, the more we are driven to rediscover the oneness we have seemingly lost. All human experience is designed to afford us an opportunity to find again what has, in truth, never been lost.

      In this mind-boggling experiment in consciousness, we are co-creators who have been given the right to exercise free will. We can venture as far away from Infinite Source as we choose, but we can never be apart from Infinite Source. This setup makes for the most interesting and abundant manifestations of maya, or cosmic illusion.

      And this may be about as far as our human mind will take us. Why is there life? Why is there consciousness? Why is there maya? It just is . . . .

      Reincarnation

      If the purpose of human experience is to return to an awareness of our oneness with Infinite Source, it would be a cruel joke if we had only one lifetime to reach that goal. No matter how long we may live, most of us don’t even come close to such a realization. And how could we experiment with the myriad consequences that result from a consciousness of separation if a mere 50 or 80 years were all we had? Obviously, our version of the grand scheme would make little sense without the concept of reincarnation.

      Let us describe our understanding of this concept in simple terms: The eternal portion of our totality, which we called Higher Self, delegates an offspring of itself to go to school on the material plane in a human body. In the classroom called “life,” each being undergoes a learning process according to an individualized curriculum. The principal in this school is the being’s Higher Self, which supervises the curriculum in collaboration with higher-vibrational beings (the superintendents, so to speak) and in accordance with the laws set forth by Infinite Source (the legislature). The principal respects the free will of the student but insists on the supreme goal of learning and growing. If a student refuses to learn a lesson, the same lesson will be presented to him or her again and again in various versions and guises -- until the student is tired of avoiding growth, and decides to tackle the lesson.

      Most of us are inclined to avoid growth and change, even if our resistance comes at a high price. Only when the pain becomes intolerable are we willing to do our homework and learn our lessons. The prevalence of learning through painful experiences, of course, is not due to some cruel divine law; it is simply the consequence of our habits and our “forgetfulness.” Our Higher Self is primarily interested in our progress as student in the school of life, and not so much in our comfort. Like a wise and benevolent parent, the Higher Self orchestrates experiences for the student that provide the greatest growth opportunities for the highest good of all -- even if the student fights it tooth and nail.

      Obviously, no student enters the school of life as a blank page; we all bring some characteristics, dispositions, and attributes with us as we enter this plane. (Parents who have more than one child may not need to be convinced of this assumption.) Not only do we bring innate characteristics to a new embodiment, we also subscribe to a comprehensive curriculum for that particular lifetime. Both are intricately intertwined and in no way accidental. [Obviously, we do not believe in the idea of a genetic lottery. Our phenotype and personality traits are not the expression of a random recombination of DNA but of a finely crafted blueprint designed on the higher planes. The concepts of “coincidence” and “randomness” are convenient and widely-accepted excuses for a lack of true understanding.]

      What we are is determined by what we were and what we shall become. Using the school metaphor again, whether we go on to learn 11th grade math is determined by our performance in 10th grade math and our aspirations for our educational future. Eventually, all students have to master all subjects, but each one completes the curriculum in a unique order and at a unique pace.

      It requires numerous incarnations through eons of time until we have learned enough to graduate from the school of life on earth. To be precise, we don’t really learn anything new, we only learn to remember what we already know. Our graduation from a life in a human body, however, is not the end of the “grand experiment in consciousness.” In fact, there is no end to the expansion of consciousness -- just as there is no end to the expansion of the physical universe.

      Karma

      While each student has been given free will, the school of life only seems to be anarchic. We learn our lessons within the parameters of the Law of Karma, also known as the Law of Cause and Effect or the Law of Balance. Most religious traditions have based their ethical reasoning on some version of this law (for instance, “whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal 6:7) or the Golden Rule). According to such teachings, it is how we use our free will -- i.e., the intent behind our thoughts and actions -- that is the deciding factor in producing “good” or “bad” effects at some later day in one’s life, at the time of judgment, or in another lifetime, depending on the specific religious tradition.

      While such reasoning may be legitimate in the context of an effort to give ethical guidance, it may also be somewhat misguided. A slightly more neutral, less value-laden interpretation of the Law of Karma sees it only as the Law of Balance, providing us opportunities to “experience the other side,” accepting all experiences and rejecting none. This viewpoint would deny that there are “good” or “bad” experiences, and affirm that there are only opportunities to learn.

      Which interpretation is right? While all experiences are part of the grand experiment in consciousness, and thus all are principally neutral and valid, from a human point of view some causes and effects are clearly more pleasant than others. We should not forget, however, that the goal is learning, not comfort. And as students of life, we know that our most painful experiences often prove to be our best teachers.

      One could also think of karma as referring to debits and credits on our cosmic bank account. This perspective includes “good” karma as well as “bad,” the latter being the kind of karma that most would be concerned with in this context. We design each incarnation based on a balance sheet that lists imbalances with certain other individuals that we intend to address during a specific lifetime. This purpose is one of the factors entering into the design of a lifetime’s curriculum. Another factor would be the spiritual and karmic agreements with other souls that our Higher Self negotiated on the higher planes prior to our incarnation. These may be agreements to help a fellow soul advance on his or her spiritual path or to provide opportunities for learning and balancing of karma for others.

      Just as a businessman does not expect debits and credits to balance at the end of each day, but rather is striving for a balance over a longer period of time, so human beings do not reach a karmic balance within one lifetime. Instead, the karmic balance is being achieved over many incarnations. If we observe seeming injustices -- some “get away with murder” while others experience inexplicable suffering -- we should remind ourselves that ultimately, all is in perfect order. Lest this more “objective” view sounds callous, we should keep in mind, of course, that wisdom and compassion in the face of suffering -- seeing yourself as one with all others -- are of utmost importance.

      Furthermore, we should try to look beyond the human preference for comfort that underlies our judgment of events as “good” or “bad.” Just as eating ice cream and pastries every day is more pleasant than healthy, having a lifetime of ease and comfort may not truly be for our highest good. It is wiser to relinquish all judgment of what is “good” or “bad” for us or others, as we can never truly know a person’s karmic agenda or what is for that person’s highest good.

      We would misunderstand the Law of Karma if we equated it with some version of the Old Testament’s rule: “. . . as he has done it shall be done to him, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Lev 24:20). Correctly understood, there is no element of vengeance or punishment in the Law of Karma. Karmic law does not “condemn us” to live down the consequences of our actions. Indeed, the karma we decide СКАЧАТЬ