Okay, let's start with the basics.
Spiritually I’m coming from a place of I-don’t-know-how-I-got-here-but-I-have-some- pretty-good-ideas. I believe in reincarnation – along with about 80% of the world’s population. And it’s OK to believe in reincarnation and think Jesus is the heaven-sent Mack Daddy. I think that, too. I believe in GOD. I also believe in MYSELF.
That said, my spiritual journey began a few years ago. [Channeling Sophia from the Golden Girls now.]
Picture it. The year is 2008. I’m knocked up with baby #3, sitting on the couch watching Hollylwood’s Top Ten Best Bodies on E! with CG. For some reason I decide to share with her that I’m not connected to this lifetime. Like I'm not sure I'm supposed to be here. I’m feeling vacant while I say it. A bit lost maybe. It’s not an extraordinary moment in my life, but saying the words aloud causes a strangely physical effect. Sort of like the weight of truth squashing my skull but my head is full of air. Weird, I know. Moving on. Later that week I turn on Oprah and see my future hero Brian Weiss. (Can you tell I watch too much TV? Don’t even get me started on the epiphanies that occur while watching Real Housewives on Bravo.) Dr. Weiss is an Ivy League educated, world renowned psychotherapist who, after years of practice, specializes in healing through past life regression. I pick up Dr. W.’s book Many Lives Many Masters the next day and love every page. Sigh relief. And so the journey begins.
I have a few years of material stored up in my noggin now and am eager to share. However, I will take it slow. I want to start off with something we are all familiar with. The feeling that we've known someone "before" or that we share a soul connection with another human being.
We experience life on earth time and time again so that we can learn lessons in love, compassion and acceptance. Each of us is part of a larger soul family or soul group made up of many souls with a common purpose. We travel through multiple lifetimes with the same souls so that we can learn and evolve together, and also so we can clear up any karmic debt that exists between us (more on that later). These souls could be your family, friends, co-workers, you name it.
You may already connect with someone in a special way and call that person a soul mate. S/he can be your wife, your son, a sibling, an old lady who lives on your street, the trash man. Doesn’t matter. Just don’t limit your idea of soul mate to your significant other because you are missing the big picture. Example. Lynne Mazzoli (hi Lynne) is my BFFFFFF. We’ve know each other since we were 7 years old and I love her so dearly and deeply that there is not a speck of doubt we are tied together in this three-legged race called life. The parallels in our lives are no coincidence. We were meant to meet each other in Mrs. McGrath's 3rd grade class, experience our journeys together and help guide each other through this lifetime with compassion. She’s an easy soul mate to spot b/c our love is deep and obvious.
But your soul mates do not always spend 30 years by your side. Sometimes they pop up only for a moment but leave an enduring mark. Another example. I was in Paris last June with my kids and we stopped in a patisserie for sweets. On the way out there was a gypsy boy begging on the sidewalk. I gave him a raspberry yogurt and watched him gobbled it up with delight, my small gesture filling his belly for a few hours. I couldn’t shake that boy. I kept thinking about him - where he would sleep? Did he have family? Would he ever go to school?
His grubby little face haunted me while I walked back to our flat and 7 months later I’m still thinking about him. I wonder is he a soul mate who agreed to make a guest appearance that summer day? Reaching out to teach me COMPASSION. Maybe he was my baby boy in another lifetime. Maybe my sister. How could I ignore him? How could I not help him? We are all connected. (Does this make sense?)
When you understand that the beggar on the street or the thief outside your window was your mother in another lifetime, you will uncover a layer of compassion and acceptance that you didn’t know existed before. It’s really quite beautiful and powerful.
Peace!
V
This is me with my hero Brian Weiss. I attended one of his seminars at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY this summer. Amazing!
Very insightful to read and think about. I have such a vivid vision of the boy in Paris. I can just picture him.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to figure out how to upload picts to your post. Keep up the good work!
xoxo deb
thanks for the tutorial, deb! xoxoxoxoxox
ReplyDeleteDo you ever wonder if that little boys thinks of you? That is what I'm always wondering when I've been touched by a "soulmate" that is no longer in my life. I wish I could find out and know if our moment was significant in his/her life too. Or do I take the lesson, build character and savor the experience in my heart?
ReplyDeletewhat great questions! your post is exactly the reason i wanted to start this blog - to share beautiful ideas! sooooooooo happy! i've never wondered if the boy thinks of me. i always assumed it was a fleeting, anonymous moment for him. maybe he files me under "people who were kind to me"? or maybe not? hmmm...
ReplyDelete[disclaimer: my next statement is based on a few years of reading - though if you think this is all voodoo horseshit i totally understand.] generally, the members of our soul families come into our lives with jobs to do. before we are born, our souls participate in heavenly planning sessions, all dressed up in our human skin suits so our soul mates will recognize us when they see us down here. (weird.) in these sessions we figure out what challenges we'll face, accidents we'll have, drugs we'll use, homes we'll live in, pets we'll have, people we'll meet, so on. all of these factors will help us along in our souls' evolution. beautiful ain't it?
as they say in india... everything is written. or my other fave by shakespeare... life is a stage and we are all actors.
will blog more on this later. it's a little heavy!
the short response? yes, i think generally people know when they have been touched by a soul mate. the same way you do. and i love the way you express the savory experience that follows!!
if you want to learn more about pre birth planning check out "your soul's plan" by robert schwartz. AMAZING READ!!!!!!!!!!
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So one of my many questions for you is, is the concept that every moment, encounter, etc. in ones life is preplanned? I would love to hear more about what you think about this concept. Not sure where I stand on the subject but I do find it very interesting.
ReplyDeleteyou've gotta read this book - your soul's plan. here's an example...
ReplyDeleteimagine sitting down in front of a giant checkerboard. if you make this move then that happens. if you choose a different move, the other thing happens. each move, leads to a string of other moves. the choices are infinite, but the so is the Universe so it's okay.
while life is played out, the moves you make are called free will. YOU, your personality, decide each step. and your soul family shifts around to accommodate you.
this is reminding me of a great book by brian weiss called "only love is real". it's about two people who have traveled through several lifetimes together but are strangers in this one. both end up in therapy with dr. weiss in miami. during respective private regressions, he realizes that they are recalling similar stories. they are soul mates! dr. weiss wants them to meet but he can't introduce them for ethical reasons. they never meet in his office. if i remember correctly, the guys lives in miami and the girl ends up moving to boston. one day, they are both traveling and get stuck in logan airport. they are attracted to each other and start chatting. they soon figure out their commonalities. they are married now with a little girl.
the point is, they were "supposed to" meet. she made a free will decision to move away but the Universe brought them back together.
Great blog, Vanessa! Props to you for starting a blog and putting your thoughts out there. I too had some spiritual epiphanies while pregnant...I look forward to reading and learning!
ReplyDeleteVanessa, Cool ideas in your blog. It is interesting that life can seem so much more profound and complex after dramatic experiences that bring us closer to life/death. I have never experienced another life growing in my belly, but if i did, i imagine it would lead to some interesting revelations. I will have to settle for the more traditional feelings of mortality that hit us during traumatic times or when loved ones die. Or maybe i can channel back to a previous life and find my feminine side. Looking forward to hearing more.
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