knowledge of Jesus and past lives

I have not arrived at this conclusion lightly, but I feel the need to express it.

I am aware of many past lives, and I'm also aware of how my life changed when I returned to church. Reconciling my knowledge of past lives and belief in Jesus Christ has been exceedingly difficult for me as I believe in both, but couldn't find any explanation as to why I could believe in both simultaneously. And I was not about to deny or pretend that the knowledge of my past lives didn't exist. Denial land is not where I want to live.

The concept of Jesus as an avatar did not resonate with me at all. Not one bit. And I am an extraordinary skeptic of Christianity, but, again, I have to follow my intuition.

After much listening, learning, and thinking, I have arrived at what I believe is the reconciliation between reincarnation and belief in Jesus.

When I examine my past lives, there is a recurrent feeling of loss, disappointment, even suicide. Some lives were exceedingly reckless just because I knew they could be reckless. Others were far more serious and for the cause of that life's values. But none of them that I can recall had any belief or major importance in the spiritual world except two...and that's a very long story.

In this life, I have felt very alone and away from my soul group, though I know who they are. My soul-mate is beloved, but he is not for me in this life. I have had the knowledge that I am deliberately alone in this life. Why?

A possible answer is that this life has the only knowledge of Jesus. Not because of the grandoise promise of heaven or the ridiculous threat of hell, but because I actually feel Jesus' presence in my life. I have experienced that peace that surpasses all understanding many times, and I have come to believe completely in the benevolent trio.

So I reconcile my knowledge of my past lives and my belief in Jesus in this manner: when we are ready to return home, he calls us. I believe that Jesus is calling me to come home, to be with loved ones again, and that I may finally stop reincarnating. Or at least move on to the next stage in existence.

I've been through some difficult times these last few days, and I've felt Jesus' and my guardians' presence.

I am grateful.

[ROM]

Re-incarnation is not mandatory, and one certainly is not caught up in a cycle of re-incarnations just to redeem some past karmic debts. It's a choice to come here and experience this physical plane for whatever reason or purpose. One may get lost along the way, but one quickly regains his balance once he is ready to do so. Re-incarnation is also available to those of the highest realms in existence. There's no threshold or limit to which it is granted. But that's good that you have found the presence of Jesus within and if it helps you along the path of truth then go for it. He helps those who help themselves.

It is when you let go of beliefs that things start making sense. As Rom says, "Re-incarnation is not mandatory". I would like to add that incarnation is not mandatory.

What makes sense when reconciling Jesus and reincarnation? Throw away what is believed to be mandatory and toss out the misconceptions. We start off as Spirit, that's where we come from so what sense is there in the concept that we are climbing the Spiritual ladder? We come from the top of that ladder, we are Spirit on a human Journey. We become incarnate for our own reasons, and it is our choice as to whether or not we become incarnate in the first place. We don't become incarnate to learn because we already 'knew it all'. It is not mandatory to have numerous Past Lives, it is not mandatory to become incarnate.

You had your reasons for your numerous Past Lives, Jesus had his reasons for his one. Jesus' reasons are pretty well documented and known.

Sometimes knowledge and sense aren't easy bed partners.

When are knowledge and sense easy bed partners?

Originally Posted by nalan

When are knowledge and sense easy bed partners?

When the knowledge makes sense :-)

*snarf*
That was pretty funny.

Originally Posted by nalan

When I examine my past lives, there is a recurrent feeling of loss, disappointment, even suicide. Some lives were exceedingly reckless just because I knew they could be reckless. Others were far more serious and for the cause of that life's values. But none of them that I can recall had any belief or major importance in the spiritual world except two...and that's a very long story.

In this life, I have felt very alone and away from my soul group, though I know who they are. My soul-mate is beloved, but he is not for me in this life. I have had the knowledge that I am deliberately alone in this life. Why?

I have come to adopt the paradigm of "life lessons", that there's a certain number of life lesson's we're presented with in our life time. We can choose to engage the lesson and let it teach us or we can set it aside and work on a different lesson and come back to the first one when we're ready. But I do know that if we don't process our lessons we end up repeating them until we do.

With respect to the past, what does it matter whether you did something 100 lifetimes ago or yesterday, when you're ready to look and learn from the experience its going to be full of remorse and regret. The same techniques come into play as well, acknowledge the deed, do you know thar you are going to be different? Apologize to those involved and wish them nothing but the best, and then forgive yourself. While you regret and blame yourself, you are keeping the event tied to you and you will have to drag it around like a weight upon your soul. Often what we blame ourselves for, others have long forgiven us and forgotten.

I do not presume to know what lessons you're processing. From your speech there is a theme that is sticking out for me... The body is immaterial, spirit is all. While you may be away from your soul group physically you can still commune with their spirit and essence within yourself. Perhaps that is why you are feeling the non-corporeal presences so strongly. They are trying to show you that essence and spirit is more real than matter.

I am also picking up a theme of wholeness. our life likes to bring us into being alone when we need to learn to be complete, whole and self-sufficient. We do not need others, but we enjoy the hell out of them being around. We can be at peace with ourselves when we are alone, communing with all there is.

The final comment is to be careful with your speech. The more you speak of a belief in being alone and away, the more you make it true for yourself. Why speak your future in this way? Why not be open to whatever life brings? Again this is being at peace with oneself and not needing anything and simply enjoying everything.

Over time I've come to appreciate the things I used to regret. I really couldn't have learned how not to stick my foot in my mouth without discovering first all the ways I could fit that size 12 shoe in there. And let me tell you it doesn't taste good. But I appreciate the lessons now. I appreciate where I am and I can only get to that state by appreciating where I've been.

Just remember, in the end, you never really hurt anyone. You just think you did. The soul is immortal. People may think themselves as separate little beings. If you have learned, then you have changed, and you are not that person any more. Your immortal and immaculate soul is yours to have any time you want to release the psychic baggage you feel you need to punish yourself with.

I am feeling ... and I am not getting a sense that I was involved in any way in those past lives. But if I was, then I have forgotten and there is nothing to forgive. You are immaculate in my eyes. I see nothing but God from you and we're just anticipating eagerly when you see nothing but God in yourself. :)

I think the person of Jesus is an accepting one, not a condemning one, so I think it is cool that you could find how to reconcile yourself.
Fundamentalist churches that teach that people will burn in hell are not for me-not everyone on planet Earth has been exposed to the concept of Christ, but have other religious systems that I feel are just another version of worshipping the same overall Divine. That's just my feeling, and it's not well defined yet, as I'm only just arriving there. I come from a Western mindset, not raised in a church, but baptized RC, and then attended mainline Protestant churches that I felt weren't judgmental, but still ultimately left because I got no spiritual growth. I'm now going to yoga and doing chakra work and feeling more spiritual in the last few weeks than I have my whole life. and the Eastern yoga principles are not incongruent with a Christ figure either. So, anyway, good for you!

You could be a Christian pagan or Christian withch. It does seem contradictory but it's a real path that allows you the freedom to practice both paganized beliefs (such as reincarnation) and the teaching of Christ. I consider myself one. It's kind of a mix and match path, and you kind go with what flows with you.

I think the key phrase here is "knowledge of Jesus". Is it your knowledge of Jesus, or your knowledge of what has been taught before? That makes the crucial difference, I feel. In the early days, the leaders of Christianity tried to distance themselves from what they saw as Pagan beliefs as much as possible, whilst still carrying over enough of those beliefs so that the 'natives' would find them more palatable. While they tried to convert all and sundry, telling them that Christianity was the only true religion, there are still vestiges like the holidays and the image of the Green Man in churches.

Perhaps it's not you that's confused but the knowledge.