Death, and an Apology

The apology first; it's been a week and a half since I posted here. I was ill, both physically and mentally (bronchitis/sinusitis and lack of depression/anxiety meds). But I'm doing better now, on both fronts.

And now...

Death and Dying

Similar to many Eastern belief systems, I hold the ideas of reincarnation and Karma to be true. The God is seen as being reborn each year, and indeed anyone can observe the whole of nature cycling to Her new life in the Spring. So, why should animals (humans included) be any different from the rest of nature? This is the logic behind the belief that, after death, our spiritual essences (or souls, if you prefer) journey to a paradise called Summerland, where we rest, commune with the Gods and loved ones, and reflect on our most recent life before being reincarnated into another form. Some even remember or have recovered memories of their past lives, and so trust not only the logic, but their own experiences as well.

Personal belief varies as to how many times one soul is reincarnated, but for me, I believe we all have lessons to learn, and that can take innumerable lives, or just a few. Views also differ on whether human souls are always human, or if we have been and can be other forms of life as well. Again, I feel some lessons are better learned as other forms; survival instincts may be better honed as a fox, and patience is essential if one is a tree. Some hold the original Hindu idea of a reincarnation progression to be true, believing that, once one is incarnated as a human, one can never revert to an animal. Others believe that we get to choose our next incarnation. I personally disagree with both these ideas, for much the same reasons as the previous item.

It’s also a matter of personal belief whether new souls are ever created, or if there are always the same number of souls being recycled over and over. I believe it’s a little of both. Just as with Divinity being like drops in the ocean, the same can be said of souls. I believe there is a constant and consistent amount of energy and “God stuff” in the Universe at all times (similar to the Law of Conservation of Energy), but it takes different forms and is parceled out in different ways. So, even if my specific soul learns all it needs to after this particular life and rejoins the whole of Divine Energy, it may then be re-infused into multiple entities later on.

I also believe that I have known and loved everyone I will ever meet in this life, in all my previous ones. However, it may have been in different capacities. Someone who is a casual acquaintance in this life may have been a lover or spouse in another, and my son could have been another family member, or simply a friend last time. This is so because of the way souls mingle together, as described in the last paragraph. Essentially, if all souls are re-absorbed into the Whole and then released in a slightly different way, of course pieces of the past will remain, and those pieces that were separated will again seek each other out.

Karma comes into play with these reincarnations, in that it determines what rewards and burdens are put upon us in our next life, in the same way that the Three-Fold Law determines consequences in this life.