We all live in a zoo, of sorts. Each of us sharing some cages, and others walled off in our own private cages within the bigger cage of life. In fact, some of us have enclosed ourselves within multiple cages, each smaller and more cramped than the next one. Others have managed to break out of most of their cages, and now only huddle within the largest of them, with edges so far flung that they can’t even see the bars. For others, the edge of their cage is so close that they feel hunched and crowded no matter what they do.

However, most of us don’t wish to see or acknowledge these cages, so we don’t; after all, we are the creators of our cages, so we are hardly going to admit (even to ourselves) that we have placed these boundaries around ourselves. But think about it…how often have you told yourself that you can’t do or say something, or that you mustn’t do or say something? Every time you do that, you put another layer of boundaries (another cage) around yourself. These are cages built of fear. Whether it’s the fear of being perceived as “different than the norm”, the fear of failing, the fear of being rejected, or the fear of appearing silly or stupid, it’s still a barrier that you create around yourself.

What if it didn’t matter what anyone else thought? What if there were no way to measure success and failure? Would you do or say something then? Probably. Because it would be more difficult for the fear to take hold. Maybe not impossible, but definitely more difficult.

Some fears cause you to create a cage of solitude, walling out anyone and everyone that would even try to get close to you. Arrogance builds a fear in people of being seen for what they are rather than what they want others to believe they are. This causes someone with arrogance to build a cage around themselves to lock others away; keeping them from coming too close. Greed is another one that causes people to create a cage of solitude because they are more intent on obtaining more of whatever it is they feel they don’t have enough of. This causes the greedy ones to push people away (unless, of course, it’s people that the greedy one needs to “collect”), because they only have time for people that can help them obtain what it is they need.

Some people build cages not just around themselves, but around others, too. It could be that they fear being alone so they cage themselves together with a select chosen few to keep them close. It could be a widow who holds her grown children too close, or a clingy friend. Some people are afraid of being abandoned, so they, too, build cages around family members or friends in an attempt to hold them close.

Others build cages of “love” but the love is unbalanced, because their love is based on fear. They’re afraid that their partner might leave them, or they’re afraid that their partner only loves them because they’re beautiful/rich/powerful.

Most people do not analyze their reasons for “loving” someone else, at least not until that relationship starts to fall apart. However, even then, they will rarely recognize that their love was anything but that all shining icon called true love that we were all raised to expect and so look for endlessly.

But even an honest, balanced love can become a cage; although, it is usually a less restrictive, less inhibiting one. That is because it is constructed by all the participants in an equal and balanced way. It is more of an exclusionary barrier, keeping out those too frightened by such beauty as pure love to be able to understand or share the emotion. However, this is a rare occurrence, and this type of cage is seldom seen by the majority of us, and when it is, we usually see it as something to fear.

So, next time you think we only put animals in zoos, think about the cages you’ve built around self, and realize that we’re all in our own personal zoo.

Riding my bike past the golf course, I watch as the van runs the stop sign; however, I’m unable to swerve out of his way. I’m staring through the van’s windshield at the driver and hoping he doesn’t hit his brakes. He does, though, and now I’m flying. It’s an odd sensation to be sailing through the air like some sort of awkward flightless bird.

I don’t remember hitting the pavement because I am distracted by the intensely bright column of white light shining out of the top of my body’s head. I have only a moment to grasp that I’m outside of my body, and then, swoosh! I’m sucked up the column of light like an envelope in a pneumatic mail tube.

I’m standing in a place of love. It’s completely enveloping, and I’m thoroughly immersed in feelings of loving acceptance, calmness, and of being home (of belonging).

There’s a glow of golden light ahead of me in the distance, and I need and want to get there. But as I take a step forward, a golden being blocks my way and a ball of blue white light hovers near my shoulder. I sense a type of musical speech emanating from both of the beings. I find the music pretty, yet disturbing at the same time, so I try not to listen to what it is saying. Instead, I focus on moving forward toward the glowing horizon and the feelings of acceptance and love that I feel even more strongly coming from there.

Now the glowing orb is in front of me, and it lightly touches my forehead. Very distinctly the singing evolves into words and feelings. The words are, “it’s not your time,” while the feelings are of sorrow and apology. It’s telling me that something has changed, that my plans must be altered and I can’t leave yet. Disappointment fills my very soul. I don’t want to go; I want to soar, I want to fly, I want to sing.

“Later,” it says; “later, we promise.” 

I’m devastated. I don’t want to go back. I want to stay in this place of love. “No, please — I want to stay…” I think back to it.

And suddenly there is a horrible shrieking sound that pierces my head.

I’m back in my body, which is lying on the street, and I’m screaming. There are EMTs and other people hovering around me, and the driver of the van is on his cell phone.

I was only gone for a few seconds, maybe a minute, yet it seemed longer, and the feelings of disappointment, of missing out on something stupendous, were strong and have stayed with me for a looooong time.

I need and want to get back (to stay), but until then the short trips I now take seem to help me. Each time I’ve stepped over the barrier between this life and that it’s been to help someone who is dying. Since the accident I’ve found myself acting as a “guide” to those crossing over. I understand their fears, and it has helped me overcome mine, too. My fear was that it wasn’t real, that it was a dream and that I’d never get that loving feeling back. But I can, and I do, and that has helped me overcome the horrible disappointment I felt in having to come back

I now know that I can cross over there and experience those feelings again and again, and once I’m done with my life here, I know what’s waiting for me, so I’m not afraid. And I’m not afraid to help others with their fears, either.

Was it an NDE or was it a simple hallucination created by me in response to the accident? I know what I believe, but what do you think? Care to comment?

[For other stories of NDEs please see the International Association for Near Death Studies.]

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Like a butterfly,
I burst free from the cocoon.
I soar into life,
A life of the soul without physicality.

From caterpillar,
To cocoon,
From life,
To death.

But death is not all;
There is more beyond.
There is love,
There is acceptance,
There is life – again.

Soar with me
And see the beauty.
Bathe in the glow
Of the light of pure love.

Spread your wings
And be the butterfly
You were always meant to be,
As we move from life to death to life once more.

 

Dedicated to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and her journey in life, death, and life beyond. Check out her books “On Life After Death”, ”Life After Life”, “The Tunnel and the Light”, and “Questions and Answers on Death and Dying”, to name just four.  

Near death experiences…what are they really? Most people who have near death experiences feel that they truly left their bodies. Some even feel that they traveled beyond this Earthly existence to another place (heaven, the astral plane, somewhere). However, some scientists and medical experts claim that these sensations and experiences are nothing more than the misfirings of the brain caused by the lack of oxygen and the chemicals released by our bodies as we begin to shut down into death.

So, is there something more beyond the physical realm, or is it just our own body’s reactions that we experience when we die?

I’m no expert, but I’ve had at least 1 NDE myself. When I combine that with what I’ve experienced as a planer, I’m pretty confident in my beliefs. I know that what I recognize as “me” is much more than this physical body. I know that my soul (awareness, consciousness, Ka, the sentient portion of who I am) will continue even when the physical form is no longer functioning (dead). But, just like those who have had near death experiences, I have no “proof” other than what I remember of my planer and out of body experiences. Unfortunately, those folks of a more scientific nature discount memories of these types of incidents because they can’t measure and quantify them. Memories, like rainbows, can’t be captured, bottled, tested and measured.

Some scientific and medical experts have tried to recreate near death experiences using a type of virtual reality, while others have tried to induce it through chemical means. However, because these experts have not experienced the bright light, the visions of ghostly loved ones, or the feelings of expansiveness and all encompassing love, they refuse to believe in the possibility of another reality, a reality where physical bodies are not needed, a reality where consciousness and awareness exist without physicality.

They insist that since they can only measure what is happening within the physical mind and body, that all those feelings and visions are nothing more than hallucinations, self-deception based on expectations and beliefs, or are created by chemical imbalances within the mind as the body prepares itself for death. But they have not yet figured out how to measure awareness or consciousness, and if they can’t measure or recognize this fundamental aspect of humanness, how can they say for certain that life cannot exist outside of the physical body? How can they be certain that what the mind remembers during death (or rather, near death) are the memories or experiences of the soul (consciousness and awareness) as it is leaving the body, yet is still connected to the body?

After all, all of life is lived within the brain and mind, so to say something is not real because it only exists within our mind, is to say that nothing is real. I think these scientists and medical experts who refuse to even consider the possibility that consciousness and awareness can exist beyond the physical body, are so limited by their own fears that they will never “believe” or “prove” that there is life beyond the death of the physical body. At least not until they die and see it for themselves.

How can you “remember” your past or future lives? How do you know what other realities you have, are, or will be participating in? For me, it’s always been easy to see. But with a little practice, it can be easy for anyone.

You see, we all “carry around” our own pasts, like books on tape they’re recorded within our soul. To “read” these books you just need to focus your energies (your self) on that chakra where the recordings are stored.

When I do that, I get short movie-type segments that play out in my mind—like waking dreams, but clearer. I liken it to watching a movie through a gauzy curtain, though sometimes the curtain isn’t there at all, in which case I can see the action and characters quite clearly.

Many times the conversations (if there are any) take place in the native language (in other words, if the memory is from Loir, France, then the language spoken is French). Yet, even though the characters are speaking their native language, I can understand them. It’s as if the meaning of the words is going straight to my brain, so I’m hearing the meaning of the conversation rather than the words of the conversation.

Rarely are there any literal signs to tell me when and where the memory is from. Usually, I have to try to match the mode of apparel and hair styles to a period of time, then try to match the language with a location. Sometimes the location is just “known” by me (the current me) but I still need to match the clothing and hair styles with the era. That’s why sometimes the era is noted by me as being between 1200-1300 AD, because the clothing worn is so generic (European peasantry didn’t have much in the way of style back then) that it’s difficult to match any closer.

Sometimes I’ll see something within the memory image that will be a large help (such as a crest on the side of a coach), and sometimes there is little to note, other than grass-covered hills in a springtime countryside. Without the players there I would have never identified the countryside as being in Asia (more specifically Japan), but several of the players were wearing the clothing of Shindo monks, which gave me the time period—feudal Japan.

The most common method I use for linking in and viewing some of my pasts (or possible futures) is meditation. The one I like best for this type of viewing is a focused meditation. You focus on your second and third chakras (the ones by your belly button and just below your genitals), because this is where the memories are stored.

When I first started, I would get quick flashes, like lightning flashing on a kaleidoscope of photographs. However, as I was able to hold my focus for longer periods of time, I found myself able to move from photographs to fragments of moving pictures. Even these fragments of movement, though, usually came without sound—perhaps a flash of insight (such as knowing where or when). But it wasn’t until it became full blown videos that the “sound” also began to work, and I would hear the conversations and arguments of these memories.

If you’re not into meditation, and I know a lot of people aren’t, you can focus on your pasts or futures just before falling asleep. This allows you to use your dreams as the window through which you can view your pasts and futures. Just before falling asleep, repeat to yourself that you want to the past or future that is having the most influence on your current life. This will trigger you (most times, anyway) to “remember”. Of course, you need to wake yourself up immediately following the memory replay so that you can write it down, just as you would with any other dream. But I think you’ll see the difference between the “memory” and normal dreams.

While dreams rarely make sense, and are usually non-linear in their “stories”, a memory will make sense and it will tell a logical, linear story. Most of us retain the memories of very emotional or traumatic events (which most of the time is the death sequence of the previous life). Many times this can be when the previous person we were died, but other times it can be some other event—a betrayal by lover, friend, co-worker, can be very emotional, so may appear; the los of a loved one, whether child, friend, spouse, etc. can be very emotional and may appear as a memory; or the loss of a major opportunity (especially if it will cause a major change in our lives or major regrets) can be “dreamed” about.

Think about your own life, and the types of memories you have—aren’t they all extremely emotional? Someone you loved, admired, or held in great esteem did something nice for you; a day when something happened that greatly embarrassed you; the horrible argument you had with a friend over 10 years ago; the time you got cheated out of your last dollar by someone. See, those are the types of things that stay in your memory—the emotional things. So, when you delve into your pasts or futures, those are also the types of memories you will find—the emotional ones.

Another way to open yourself up to remembering your pasts, is to look to your current life. Do you have a penchant for African art when all your other tastes are extremely modern? There’s probably a life connection with Africa. Do you find yourself decorating your house with hints of Ancient Egypt—a statue of Isis, an ankh, maybe just some wallpaper border with hieroglyphs on it? Perhaps you spent a life in and around that area during that time period. Perhaps you find that learning a particular language comes easily, while any other language is very difficult? Did you find it easy to learn Russian, but couldn’t figure out French or Spanish to save your soul? Maybe it’s because you’re connecting with a life spent in Russia or the Ukraine.

So if you’re really interested in finding out about your other lives, there are many ways to do it. There are hypno-therapists who will help you regress and remember, there are auric readers who can probably help you remember, but mostly there’s yourself. You have the recordings, you just need to “listen” to them.

Can we speak to God? Of course; and most of us do so, all of the time. Some call it prayer; others might call it just their own internal ramblings and dialogues; but each of us in our own way speaks to God.

So the real question is: does God speak back?

According to Buddha, each of us is a god, and so, each of us knows all. Therefore, each of us needs only to open our minds and hear our own (god’s) wisdom.

Science also says that within each of us is that spark of creation; that bit of energy that all creations of matter contain. And it is that bit of god-energy that also connects all things. (Pretty much what George Lucas in his Star Wars movie series elegantly described as The Force.)

The study of entanglement physics has shown that there are, in fact, connections between both animate and inanimate objects and creatures. It also has shown that a type of communication occurs between different species of animate creatures. This communication (according to entanglement physicists) can only be described as a type of invisible linking at the very basic levels (the energy levels) of each creature. These communications can alert a person’s pet to the moment of their master’s demise, even though the person was miles away at the time. It is also thought to be the link that allows humans to know when a loved one is in danger or has died.

This connection can link creatures, plants, and people—giving warnings or encouragement, or offering feelings of love or hostility. For instance, have you ever felt as if a forest was telling you to stay away? Perhaps it was. Just maybe the trees didn’t want you there, and so projected their energy as a barrier to your energy (the basis of what you are), which you then perceived as feelings of hostility or unwelcome. Or perhaps you see a bird flying overhead and it swoops down to land on your shoulder. Maybe that bird “felt” your intentions and knew that you meant it no harm. It trusted you, and so came down to say “hi”.

People receive “warnings” and messages all the time; however, not everyone knows how to interpret the signals that they perceive, and not everyone allows themselves to recognize that they are even receiving these signals. Many times people have received a feeling of impending doom and simply brushed it away. They might put it down to their understandable, yet negligible, fear of flying or traveling, but overall they don’t consider it worth thinking about. But just maybe that feeling is coming from the great connecting force of everyone who plans to be on that plane, and just maybe a decision has already been made to use that plane as a means to exit the physical world. The information, the warning, would go out to everyone as a way to keep those who don’t need or want to participate in this mass exodus from life, from boarding that plane.

But how many will listen? How many will acknowledge that voice of “god” and listen to the message. Will you open your heart and hear the warning, or will you prefer logic to feelings, and get on the plane, anyway?

Science is beginning to see the value of adding emotions and feelings into their equations. Oh, there are still branches that value pure logic, but more and more are we finding that if you want to study God, you need to incorporate feelings into the logic, because let’s face it—God (and religion) are based on emotions, not logic.

So, can we speak to God? Yes, of course. Can God speak to us? It depends on you and how you feel towards “God”.

If [space] aliens landed what would happen to us, could we survive? That was the question the people at the Discovery/Science channel posed to a group of “experts” consisting of scientists, SciFi writers, journalists, politicos, disaster recovery personnel, military, and police and firemen from the US, Canada, and different countries in Europe. The consensus of this esteemed panel was that the human race would survive but at the cost of society, culture, and nations. They all felt it would result in a global war to defeat the aliens and save the world.

My whole being bristles because not a single person even considered that ET might be benign or [gasp] even friendly. Instead, everyone assumed that anyone coming from another planet (after traveling for how many light years, while probably wondering the same things that we have–is there any other intelligent life out there?) is automatically out to conquer us. Really?!?!

Is that why we’re trying to find life outside of our own planet, so that we can conquer them? For goodness sake, we can’t even run our own planet, how in the world could we even imagine that we could conquer someone else and take over theirs?

So, why would someone come all that way just to wipe us out? When asked, some of the science and military folks offered explanations — the aliens want our resources (the ruined air and polluted water would be a splendid addition to anyone’s planet, I’m sure); they lost their own planet, so want ours (did they put an ad in the lost and found, maybe the folks on Alpha Centauri found a planet wandering by); they’re simply like us and like to fight with whomever they come across while wandering the galaxies (maybe they film the confrontations and televise it as reality TV); they might not consider us intelligent and so they would have no qualms about wiping us out (ahhh, sort of the way we treat all the other beings on our own planet, such as the dolphins, whales, and gorillas — okay, that one I might believe).

But not a single person put forth the idea that maybe, just maybe a group of explorers from another planet would want nothing more than to take a few photos to show their people to say, “Hey, guess what? There are other beings out here.” It just totally shocked me, I must admit, that our societies are so blood thirsty.

Why do we assume that everyone is as blood thirsty and as fond as war as we all seem to be? Why can’t we remember those explorers of long ago, such as Magellan, Thomas and Clark, or even Admiral Byrd, who merely wanted to find out what was out there. They didn’t set out wanting to kill anyone, they just wanted to know what was over the next hill. Well, maybe those [space] aliens that come to visit are simply trying to find out what’s beyond the next moon or the next galaxy.

My biggest solace, is that I believe that whatever form alien life takes, it will most likely be something we either don’t recognize as being alive or we don’t recognize as being sentient and intelligent — such as something plant-based or something that resembles an insect rather than oxygen breathing carbon-based bipeds. Therefore, we have most likely already seen and ignored it, finding it, in our arrogance, of little or no significance. Who knows, maybe that dragon fly that just zipped by is really an alien, and just maybe that flower it’s sitting on is its space ship. You never know…

My husband and I have spent the past few months searching for a home to rent. I was determined to use my “instincts” this time rather than my intellect. Following my intellect and overriding emotions is what had led us to be in this position of needing to find a rental, and I was intent on allowing my inner voice lead us this time.

When my husband and I moved to our current location I had pushed away the little voice that kept hollering at me. It kept saying that we needed to wait, not buy; we needed to rent an apartment or something and maybe buy something later. But rather than listen to that voice, I opted to go with my husband’s choice of moving once. So we purchased a home only to have the home values erode leaving us underwater with no life preservers.

After watching the home values plummet and the neighborhood collapse, we, too, finally succumbed to the realization that we could no longer maintain a home that was so far underwater. So, with a short sale on the verge of completion, I began hunting for some place for us to move to. However, it seems that the majority of people in our area were also trying to rent, either because they had also left homes they could no longer support or because they didn’t trust the housing market and refused to invest in it. Either way, competition was stiff.

The limited rental market, combined with the lack of a finalized closing date on our own home sale left me scrambling and my emotions running high. The heightened emotions were doing a wonderful job at blocking that inner voice that I swore I was going to listen to. Instead, all I could hear was “Grab it! Get it! There might not be anything else!”

With this overly emotional voice of panic screaming at me, it became difficult to be intuitive let alone logical about finding a place to live. We traipsed through places so filthy that I would have never even gotten out of the car to view them, let alone considered renting them had it not been for that screaming voice of panic. Call after call was made, never to be returned, or if returned, it was by a rude, and oftentimes snotty realtor or leasing agent who could care less about my plight. Most often the response was the same, “It’s rented already.” followed by them hanging up. (And this after the house, apartment, or condo had been on the market for only 3 or 4 days.)

I was, therefore, suspicious when I viewed some images online of a place for rent and felt a wrenching in my gut that said, “I recognize that place.” I looked at them again, and re-read the description of the home. My husband and I had never been in the community, so I know we had never seen the house, yet there it was again…that pull of recognition. Although the days on the rental market read 20, I called fully expecting that if I got to speak to anyone they would tell me that the place was already rented.

When the leasing agent called back, she was less than friendly, but not overtly rude. She pointed out that the place was in a 55+ community, as if she expected me to go “Oh sorry…” and hang up. Instead, I responded that both my husband and I were qualified, and suddenly her demeanor changed. We agreed on a time and date to view the home and when we walked inside, that pull of recognition was even stronger.

Because the voice of panic was also still there, I disbelieved my inner voice and I stressed and worried while our credit and work histories were checked and our references were reviewed, all the while expecting to hear them say, “sorry, your credit score sucks…” or “sorry, the owner has found someone else…”. Instead, we got a call from the leasing agent stating that the owner actually understood and empathised with our situation and was quite willing to give us a go.

I couldn’t believe it. Despite the inner voice, despite the instant recognition of the place via the pictures, I was still shocked. It made me realize that no matter how strong your “talents”, you can still be fooled; you can still end up following the voice of panic or other highly charged emotions. Luckily for us, I was trying to listen for the inner voice, so even though the emotions tried to drown it out, I did manage to hear it. But if I hadn’t been listening, or if my doubts had won out, my husband and I could still be struggling to find a place to live.

We all need to make an effort to listen to that inner voice and not let the sounds of our own highly charged emotions drown it out. We need to believe that the path is there if we can just calm down enough to find it. Hopefully, that lesson has burned its way into my brain and I won’t have such difficulties next time listening to, hearing, and following that inner voice.

I got into a discussion the other day with someone who objected to the use of the words ‘guide’ and ‘guardian’ (as in guardian angels). When I asked why, they said that there were no guides or guardians only essence doing what essence does.

Several others in the group disagreed and the discussion flowed back and forth with some agreeing and others disagreeing. As for me, I can see his point, but I also think that he’s not seeing the fuller picture.

Are guides or guardians essence? Of course, we all are. But it doesn’t necessarily follow that the essence that comes to us as a guide is our own essence (our higher self). Other fragments of ourselves (fragments no longer incarnate) can be acting as guides, as can entity mates, or even cadre or cadence companions. All would be in essence (especially if discarnate and astral), but they would also be guides or guardians.

A programmer is a person (or at least most of the ones I know are;-), but we don’t identify them as ‘person’, we identify them as ‘programmer’. In other words, we’re identifying them with the role they fulfill. To me it’s the same with guides and guardians. They may be essence, but if they perform the ‘job’ or task of guide, then that’s what I call them.

A guide, while some part of essence (yours or someone else’s), is still performing a specific function—they’re guiding you, whether it is through a particular challenging passage of your life or through your transition between physical lives. After all, if some piece of essence is helping you, providing dreams or other feedback in an effort to “guide” you along your path, aren’t they acting as a guide?

Sure the piece of essence might be part of your essence, but then we usually refer to that as your “higher self”; or it might be a different fragment of you (a fragment no longer incarnate on Earth). However, it could just as easily be part of your non-reunited entity (an entity mate). They are all essence, just as you yourself are; but each piece of essence doesn’t function as a guide.

While certainly no expert—I’m not sure anyone who is incarnate—I have spent a considerable amount of time in the astral planes (and not just on the transitional planes where most people go when they astral travel). Therefore, I feel somewhat protective and defensive of the term “guide”. I’ve “seen” (or maybe experienced is a better word) some of the different “jobs” that those beings of essence perform while in their astral phase of life. 

Sure, some of the “lessons” or experiences of the astral are more internal—reviewing the lives and choices they had and made while incarnate, or reuniting with all the other fragments of themselves and working through any residual links or minor imbalances with those still in the physical (which is usually done in the astral while the incarnate person is sleeping). But part of the experiences of the astral include acting as a guide for those either still physical or those transitioning between life and death (physicality and non-physicality). There are also those who offer advice, and others who simply monitor things—people, plants, animals, etc. So, it isn’t all just playing harps and floating around on clouds. Nor can it be wrong to call some of those non-corporeal beings guides—after all, it is what they do.

It isn’t just those who are discarnate, either, who function as guides in essence. I have also taken on that task during some of my nightly sojourns, as have others I’ve spoken with in the here and now.

I know one young woman who works on the transitional planes assuring those who have recently died (physically) that they are alright and that what they are experiencing is physical death. I’ve known others who work with those heading back to a physical life, helping them sort out all the various choices available to them as they plan the tasks and imbalances they want to complete or rectify.

As for myself, I’m what I call an EOCG—Emergency On-Call Guide. I take those “calls” from folks who are incarnate and seeking support and guidance, as well as those who have, perhaps, traveled to the astral (whether during sleep or an unplanned OBE) and are now “lost”. (This in addition to my “duties” in helping people cross over.)

Most of those I take calls from are entity mates, but I have also responded to cadre and cadence companions. Why do I do this? Because I chose to. I’ve chosen to do this through the past 7 lives. It’s to help them as well as myself. I look at it as a type of “on-the-job-training”. After all, it gives me a chance to learn more about how everything and everyone fits together in the overall scheme of things, and it helps me decide what type(s) of “jobs” or “tasks” I will continue with once I transition off the physical plane for good.

So, even though some people may not like the term guide, or angels, or guardians, I find that the term is quite appropriate in describing what some parts of essence are doing.

Have you ever read in the paper or seen on the web or TV some news item and instantly determined (at least in your mind) who was the good guy and who was the evil one in the situation? We all make judgements about others, and sometimes with very little information. Few of us would even think to consider that someone’s actions may not be dictated by events in this lifetime, because rarely do any of us consider anything other than this reality, this here and now.

Yet, if we were to stop to consider what past encounters between the two might have occurred (in this reality or another), and what the repercussions of those interactions might have been or might still be, we might not be so quick to judge. For instance, in this reality a child is abducted, held hostage, and sexually abused. That’s wrong, right? And the man who did it is evil, and we all breathe a sigh of relief when he’s caught and punished. But what if 15 lifetimes ago he was the child who was abused and the abuser is the child in the current life. What if the current event we’re reading or hearing about is occurring simply as a way of rebalancing the energies around them, and as a spiritual lesson for the participants.

We’ve all heard the expression, “What goes around, comes around,” but have we really thought about what that means. Do we really understand the greater picture. Most people are too busy just striving to exist within the “one life”, the life on which all their energies are focused—this here, and this now. But if we could all just take a moment and try to see the bigger picture, the picture that includes all the previous nows (past lives), and all the probable nows (future lives) we might realize that many of the incidents we judge as good or evil are simply a small part of a larger play.

If you push me down, and then die before I can push you back, my reality and yours are now out of balance. I owe you a shove and some feelings of inadequacy and embarrassment. But maybe the next 7 lives are spent in different realities, different geographic places with too much distance between us to allow us to bring balance back to our realities. Comes life number 8 following the incident and we’re back in proximity to each other. Do we restore balance between us by having me shove you? Do we even know each other, or as strangers will I knock you down with all the same intentions that you had when you attacked me? Those are some of the choices we will have to make–maybe not on a conscious level, but in our souls we choose.

The longer we ignore the imbalance the stronger it attracts us and the “bigger” it becomes as an event in our lives. If we ignore it long enough, there will come a life where we cannot NOT do it. Balance must be re-established, so we have to rectify the imbalance by me shoving you with all the same anger and intensity that you used when you attacked me.

The “rule” holds true for everyone in every situation. Yet here we are judging people based on what we see right here and right now. While I’m not advocating an overthrow of man’s laws—we all need to live within the imposed structures of the reality we accept , including societal and familial rules—I am saying that all of us should be a little less judgmental in our own minds regarding things we know so little about.