Reincarnation

I believe in reincarnation, but obviously I can't be sure. I believe in Heaven, too--mostly as a way-station between incarnations where we wait for our group to catch up with us before embarking on the next adventure. I don't believe in any type of permanent Hell, but I have come to believe that perhaps there are pieces of the afterlife that sort of resemble the old concept of purgatory. Then again, some earthly incarnations could easily serve the purpose of purgatory. But yet again, I don't want to get into the idea that people are starving in the third world because they were slow learners in a previous life. That they somehow deserve it. No one deserves it. Yet, of course, I am familiar with the school of thought that asserts souls voluntarily take on earthly lives in which they suffer or starve because they either want or need the learning experience for themselves, or because they are willing to do these things in order for others to have learning experiences. Though I can buy into this because it's the only way suffering makes sense, I can't imagine signing up for one of these lives myself. I believe in this possibility, but I also believe in the possibility of randomness.

One thing I don't really believe in is the ancient Eastern concept of reincarnation as some kind of wheel that we are bound to in suffering, some kind of cycle from which we must try to break free. Nirvana as some kind of ultimate nothingness, in which all individuality is lost, does not strike me as a goal I want to win. Of course, I freely admit that this could be my Western bias, my ego, or all of the above. I can't help thinking about a friend of mine who attended a Course in Miracles discussion group, who told me they had been talking about reincarnation and why the soul might do it. One of her group members asserted: "Because this (this earthly life) is Disneyland...." I have to agree with that sentiment. There is part of me, at least right now, that doesn't really want to attain perfection if it means I don't get to keep coming back....

Sigh. Even with the protection of my pseudonym, I feel compelled to admit that I don't know for sure if we really live on after death. I feel that we do, as much as I feel anything. I feel I've been visited by loved ones who've passed away. But aside from admitting the distasteful possibility that we might just die, I also admit that there could just be a more conventional heaven. And while honesty forces me to disclose that they were probably giving me some very nice drugs at the time, I can tell you about my own experience when my daughter was born. Until she was born, I had been afraid of death all my life. The first time I looked in her eyes, however, I felt like she was saying, "Here we go again, Mom." I have not been afraid of death since. Of course, the hard science types can cite (in addition to the nice drugs) the possibility of my subconscious realizing I'd fulfilled my biological purpose of reproducing, and turning off the fear.  All I can say is, I don't think so.  I think I had her before, and I lost her, the way so many people used to lose children before the era of modern medicine, the way too many people in less privileged lands lose them today. There has been much joy in our reunion.

Disclaimers

I never want to come across as an expert in any of the belief systems I talk about.  I am just exploring, so if I make any factual errors, feel free to correct me.  I suppose I have the most experience in Unity; I've attended off and on for several years, and have taken a few classes.  I am not a minister by any means, however, or even a licensed Unity teacher.  And when it comes to Sophian Gnosticism, I am just beginning to learn.

I had wanted to spend more time on things related to the above paragraph for my second blog, but the decision to allow ads on it presented me with an unexpected spiritual dilemma.  I clicked on my first entry, and discovered some fairly fundamentalist advertisers!  I will probably talk frequently and at length about one of my friends who is of that bent but is nonetheless one of the most beautiful souls I've ever encountered, but I do not wish to promote what I feel is a basically narrow mindset.  I may get the hang of filtering the ads, or I may just try to blog so much about the New Age side of things that the ads wind up reforming themselves.  I'm still weighing my options. 

Wishing all of you peace and joy in all you do today.

In the Beginning

My real name doesn't matter.  I've decided that the only way to really talk about things that do matter is to take a name my friends and family will not recognize.

It's not that I'm going to talk--at least not always--about anything that shocking. As the title suggests, this blog will mostly concern explorations of a spiritual nature. My viewpoint at this step in my adventure is definitely New Age, and decidedly non-fundamentalist, though I do consider myself Christian. I've spent the longest part of my church-going life thus far in the Unity movement, have deep Wiccan sympathies, and have recently begun to associate with Sophian Gnostics. I have friends, however, who are born-again Christians; and family members and other entanglements who are deeply skeptical agnostics--and I have no desire to upset them, argue with them, or flinch at their scorn. In my real life, I have trouble voicing my opinions on books, film, and music, let alone anything more important and more controversial. So I have decided to become Marie. As Marie, I invite discussion and commentary, and hope to be able to contribute--even in the smallest, humblest way--to the enlightenment process of all humankind. This same enlightenment process is what will make the kingdom of heaven a reality on earth.