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Old 13-08-2015, 04:46 AM
Justme1981 Justme1981 is offline
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The Book Journey of Souls is bumming me out

I'm currently reading Journey of Soul by Michael Newton and it is really bumming me out. What is the general consensus in here about this book or what are your thoughts on it?

Here is what is bumming me out: I don't want to go to that afterlife. If you read the book closely, even Newton has his reservations about it which you can subtly pick up in his questions to his clients.

I'll start with the things about this conception of life and the after life I find comforting:

1) It creates in me a healthy sense of detachment from others. If we are all going to end up as balls of energy and have to return to this place anyway then there really is no need to want to help anyone; everyone is where they are at and they will have infinite tries to improve and there really is no gain in helping them because there is no reward for anyone.

2) The meaning of life is not within our control, we just enjoy the ride if we can because we are going to have to do it again anyway, whether we like it or not.

The things I find disturbing that bum me out:

1) I don't want to be a ball of energy, I kind of like this body and of some divine for can do it here in the Universe they can also do it there.

2) I don't want to come back to this place. I see no value in reincarnating. I'm a humble, polite, loving person there is nothing for me here or I would be doing it right now and there is nothing I can think of I would rather do. Maybe I have intimacy issues but really why do this whole thing to get over one issue. Why not just get over it there?

3) There is no conception of Evil in this system. Theoretically, after Hitler died he got a lecture on why genocide and conquest is wrong and off to the next life. Same with Stalin and the rest. Well, what about the souls who experienced it themselves, do they not at least get a turn to give them a beat down...at least...it seems like being a ball of energy rewards Evil by not allowing it to be given a beat down and the rest of us just have to chalk up as a learning lesson.

4) What is the goal? I don't want to be elder or an old soul or anyone more than who I am. I rather like myself and I would be more than happy just peacefully enjoying myself with others. I don't believe pain teaches much other than pain itself which is not a valuable lesson. Trust me, I've been through some pain and I've lucked out in this life in avoiding other pains but I don't think I or anyone else is better for experiencing it.

I'll present more issues I have that are bumming me out. Please, please, please, have an open mind. I'm not saying Newton is wrong. What I am saying is I fear Newton is correct. If he is correct, it shouldn't be this way and I would like to change it somehow.
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Old 13-08-2015, 05:36 AM
naturesflow naturesflow is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Justme1981
I'm currently reading Journey of Soul by Michael Newton and it is really bumming me out. What is the general consensus in here about this book or what are your thoughts on it?

I haven't read it but looking at the key points you have noted I am going to reflect on them.

Here is what is bumming me out: I don't want to go to that afterlife. If you read the book closely, even Newton has his reservations about it which you can subtly pick up in his questions to his clients.

I'll start with the things about this conception of life and the after life I find comforting:

1) It creates in me a healthy sense of detachment from others. If we are all going to end up as balls of energy and have to return to this place anyway then there really is no need to want to help anyone; everyone is where they are at and they will have infinite tries to improve and there really is no gain in helping them because there is no reward for anyone.

Pretty much I would agree with this, we are here together but attachment doesn't seem to be the glue that holds us altogether, but more binds us in ways where we cannot enjoy the full potential of ourselves and others and life. I would agree everyone is where they are at. So whether you decide to help others, or take up painting its simply a choice of path. The only thing I would add is that if your helping for reward your missing the ultimate reward which is just being yourself and that being enough of a reward of itself. The flow on from you is only your unique creative choice of being..

2) The meaning of life is not within our control, we just enjoy the ride if we can because we are going to have to do it again anyway, whether we like it or not.

The moment you grasp something as being something, your only attaching to something to make it solid and real for you. So for me enjoying the process or ride makes sense and flowing with all that is, rather than deciding that there is an ultimate meaning of life or a need to be doing something. As for doing it again, it will be what it will be. Letting go of control is realizing you don't know, even when you think you might know and no knowing, or knowing may show you something in between you may not have even considered.

The things I find disturbing that bum me out:

1) I don't want to be a ball of energy, I kind of like this body and of some divine for can do it here in the Universe they can also do it there.

I remember when I had a ball of energy come into my reality and serve me a few things to help and support me. They had no body and really it was impressive what they could do and create without body and only with their energy. It taught me a few things for here and now too in relation to my body and energy as one.

2) I don't want to come back to this place. I see no value in reincarnating. I'm a humble, polite, loving person there is nothing for me here or I would be doing it right now and there is nothing I can think of I would rather do. Maybe I have intimacy issues but really why do this whole thing to get over one issue. Why not just get over it there?

What if it has nothing to do with all those things you have named? What if its simply for the continuation of life and supporting the whole? You coming back may be more about what you were born as that piece of the greater as you are meant to be rather than what you think you need to be...The other thing is, if your here to get something for your own unique pathway and piece of the whole you will.

3) There is no conception of Evil in this system. Theoretically, after Hitler died he got a lecture on why genocide and conquest is wrong and off to the next life. Same with Stalin and the rest. Well, what about the souls who experienced it themselves, do they not at least get a turn to give them a beat down...at least...it seems like being a ball of energy rewards Evil by not allowing it to be given a beat down and the rest of us just have to chalk up as a learning lesson.

Who creates the experiences as they are as being evil? Humans do. You cant know how the continuation of life and cycles require you to be or what is next for yourself. Sometimes being present with now is all you really need to focus on when you opening up a greater mystery that can be fed to you in any number of ways. Your using this book as one source only, there are many ideas and sources available regarding this topic.

4) What is the goal? I don't want to be elder or an old soul or anyone more than who I am. I rather like myself and I would be more than happy just peacefully enjoying myself with others. I don't believe pain teaches much other than pain itself which is not a valuable lesson. Trust me, I've been through some pain and I've lucked out in this life in avoiding other pains but I don't think I or anyone else is better for experiencing it.

Your becoming aware of life in flow and how as we let go of what is, we let go of what we decided it was all about, it can be anything in the whole creation humans place over this stuff, yet its nothing too, so where are you focused in this space of what you make yourself to be or going to be? Does their need to be a goal? Just being yourself might just be enough, however you wish to be, humans love telling themselves stories around life experience, that is part of life experience, but the more you let go of things being a certain way, you are more flowing freely with life and whatever it reveals to you. That of course scares many, because it means we don't know, even when we try to know or think we know..


I'll present more issues I have that are bumming me out. Please, please, please, have an open mind. I'm not saying Newton is wrong. What I am saying is I fear Newton is correct. If he is correct, it shouldn't be this way and I would like to change it somehow.

Maybe when you let go of corrections and should be's and wrong and right around the greater mystery of life and just live it, you wouldn't have to worry so much, more enjoy it for what it is.
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Man has learned how to challenge both Nature and art to become the incitements to vice! His very cups he has delighted to engrave with libidinous subjects, and he takes pleasure in drinking from vessels of obscene form! Pliny the Elder
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Old 13-08-2015, 06:32 AM
RyanWind RyanWind is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Justme1981
1) It creates in me a healthy sense of detachment from others. If we are all going to end up as balls of energy and have to return to this place anyway then there really is no need to want to help anyone; everyone is where they are at and they will have infinite tries to improve and there really is no gain in helping them because there is no reward for anyone.

I got the opposite from the book. We work in soul groups and are very much intertwined with others. We help each other to learn and grow. We learn to love each other and ourselves unconditionally. We grow in the spiritual traits of compassion and empathy which also make us more involved with others. We suffer from our own actions and choices and karma. So while we may have infinite tries, we certainly don't want to suffer infinitely. So we will try our hardest each life to improve to make better futures for ourselves and those we love. Not sure why you concluded there are no rewards for spiritual growth.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Justme1981
1) I don't want to be a ball of energy, I kind of like this body ...
2) I don't want to come back to this place. I see no value in reincarnating
3) There is no conception of Evil in this system. Theoretically, after Hitler died he got a lecture on why genocide and conquest is wrong and off to the next life. Same with Stalin and the rest.

You may think differently about your body when you are elderly and things are going wrong with it. The body, while often great fun while you are younger, can become a source of a lot of suffering when you are old. Don't want to come back to this place? Well that's the point of reincarnation. To advance enough that you don't have to come back. There is evil and those who do it will suffer from it. Anyone who intentionally harms others will pay karmically for that. The payment is not as simple as a lecture. For example, if you disfigured someone you may come back in a disfigured body.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Justme1981
4) What is the goal? I don't want to be elder or an old soul or anyone more than who I am. I rather like myself and I would be more than happy just peacefully enjoying myself with others. I don't believe pain teaches much other than pain itself which is not a valuable lesson. Trust me, I've been through some pain and I've lucked out in this life in avoiding other pains but I don't think I or anyone else is better for experiencing it.

Love does not come easily. Have you ever passed someone begging for a dollar and not felt a thing? Have you ever laughed at someone hurting themselves on some tv show? Mother Teresa, who devoted her life to helping the poor and lepers, said she was walking down the street one day and noticed the poor who were suffering all around her and she thought, why does god allow such suffering without doing a thing about it? Then a thought came to her, if we are all a part of god, why do I allow such suffering and not do a thing about it? That thought led her to becoming a nun and devoting her life to helping the poor and sick.

We are all potential angels. My friend hates the whole idea of a god and the astral world. He says it sounds like a prison forcing people to some future they don't want. They way I see it is it's like a child who sees the world of adults and wants nothing more than to live in that seemingly magical world. The child thinks, some day I will ride a bike, decide for myself what I will eat and do, drive a car, see what is beyond those mountains in the distance. In the astral world, you feel the presence of the advanced souls and that also creates a longing in you to achieve that. Video games are a simple example of that. We always want to get to the next level, the next zone, get the next achievement. That longing to reach higher is part of our nature. But yea you have to get a taste for it. A glimpse of something higher. Once you get a glimpse of something higher that you can achieve, you will seek it.
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Old 13-08-2015, 08:13 AM
Gem Gem is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Justme1981
I'm currently reading Journey of Soul by Michael Newton and it is really bumming me out. What is the general consensus in here about this book or what are your thoughts on it?

Here is what is bumming me out: I don't want to go to that afterlife. If you read the book closely, even Newton has his reservations about it which you can subtly pick up in his questions to his clients.

I'll start with the things about this conception of life and the after life I find comforting:

1) It creates in me a healthy sense of detachment from others. If we are all going to end up as balls of energy and have to return to this place anyway then there really is no need to want to help anyone; everyone is where they are at and they will have infinite tries to improve and there really is no gain in helping them because there is no reward for anyone.

2) The meaning of life is not within our control, we just enjoy the ride if we can because we are going to have to do it again anyway, whether we like it or not.

The things I find disturbing that bum me out:

1) I don't want to be a ball of energy, I kind of like this body and of some divine for can do it here in the Universe they can also do it there.

2) I don't want to come back to this place. I see no value in reincarnating. I'm a humble, polite, loving person there is nothing for me here or I would be doing it right now and there is nothing I can think of I would rather do. Maybe I have intimacy issues but really why do this whole thing to get over one issue. Why not just get over it there?

3) There is no conception of Evil in this system. Theoretically, after Hitler died he got a lecture on why genocide and conquest is wrong and off to the next life. Same with Stalin and the rest. Well, what about the souls who experienced it themselves, do they not at least get a turn to give them a beat down...at least...it seems like being a ball of energy rewards Evil by not allowing it to be given a beat down and the rest of us just have to chalk up as a learning lesson.

4) What is the goal? I don't want to be elder or an old soul or anyone more than who I am. I rather like myself and I would be more than happy just peacefully enjoying myself with others. I don't believe pain teaches much other than pain itself which is not a valuable lesson. Trust me, I've been through some pain and I've lucked out in this life in avoiding other pains but I don't think I or anyone else is better for experiencing it.

I'll present more issues I have that are bumming me out. Please, please, please, have an open mind. I'm not saying Newton is wrong. What I am saying is I fear Newton is correct. If he is correct, it shouldn't be this way and I would like to change it somehow.

The way I see it is Newton has his bit to say, fair enough, but as soon as anyone presents their novel ideas as a truth or a knowledge, read with a critical eye and don't believe things wholesale.
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Old 13-08-2015, 12:29 PM
linen53 linen53 is offline
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You've left out emotions to your entire post OP. You see the afterlife as a drab, boring place. It's not! And on top of that, there are many planes of existence. Exciting ones! Where you go has everything to do with your vibration. You will go where the vibration exactly matches yours and you can go no further up.

There are no shortcuts. We can't just blink our eyes and be god-like. In order to be a god we have to experience every nook and cranny of life on places like Earth in the physical.

And yes, I do believe we learn through pain. I don't think we have to learn through pain. But usually we ignore our lessons until there is enough pain to get our attention.

I agree, Newton's books are a bit dry and regimented; there are other authors who I might suggest. Choices in the Afterlife by Gretchen Vogel and The Last Frontier: Exploring the Afterlife...by Julia Assante. Both excellent reads. Each author brings a different angle on the afterlife. So I have quite a collection on the subject.
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Old 13-08-2015, 12:32 PM
God-Like God-Like is offline
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Originally Posted by linen53
We can't just blink our eyes and be god-like.

Your right it took many incarnations ..

(couldn't resist .. my bad) ..


x daz x
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Old 18-08-2015, 01:15 AM
Sarian Sarian is offline
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I've never read the book but I can't help but wonder how he or anyone else know these things. I have my thoughts on the subject and I really am not sure why I think reincarnation is probably what is, but I can't know this for sure. Probably the only thing that troubles me about coming back (and really if life only gets better with each life, that's a fine thought...) but my concern would be this earth itself. I wonder if there would be any real nature left or would the soils be raped to the point they can't produce, would most animals be extinct? Would robots be controlling most everything, would wars be even more prevalent than they are now? Those issues give me the shivers and I think about another life thanks but no thanks, unless there's better planet out there. :-)

That all said, I don't remember other lives, so I guess if there are other lives to be had, I won't recall this one either.
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Old 18-08-2015, 01:27 AM
Justme1981 Justme1981 is offline
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I've never read the book but I can't help but wonder how he or anyone else know these things. I have my thoughts on the subject and I really am not sure why I think reincarnation is probably what is, but I can't know this for sure. Probably the only thing that troubles me about coming back (and really if life only gets better with each life, that's a fine thought...) but my concern would be this earth itself. I wonder if there would be any real nature left or would the soils be raped to the point they can't produce, would most animals be extinct? Would robots be controlling most everything, would wars be even more prevalent than they are now? Those issues give me the shivers and I think about another life thanks but no thanks, unless there's better planet out there. :-)

That all said, I don't remember other lives, so I guess if there are other lives to be had, I won't recall this one either.

That's a good point Sarian. The concept of the book is that Newton is a Psychologist who has been trained in Hypnosis and chanced upon previous lives with a client. From there he devoted himself to regressing people into past lives through hypnosis and then ultimately in what he terms their, "life between lives," i.e. where we are in between reincarnating between lives.

The concept of the book is that he has hypnotized thousands of individuals and they have all returned similar accounts of the after life. That is what is supposed to give the book credibility; the idea that there is, "evidence," for this reality Newton is exposing.
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Old 18-08-2015, 04:22 AM
skygazer skygazer is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Justme1981
I'm currently reading Journey of Soul by Michael Newton and it is really bumming me out. What is the general consensus in here about this book or what are your thoughts on it?

Here is what is bumming me out: I don't want to go to that afterlife. If you read the book closely, even Newton has his reservations about it which you can subtly pick up in his questions to his clients.

I'll start with the things about this conception of life and the after life I find comforting:

1) It creates in me a healthy sense of detachment from others. If we are all going to end up as balls of energy and have to return to this place anyway then there really is no need to want to help anyone; everyone is where they are at and they will have infinite tries to improve and there really is no gain in helping them because there is no reward for anyone.

2) The meaning of life is not within our control, we just enjoy the ride if we can because we are going to have to do it again anyway, whether we like it or not.

The things I find disturbing that bum me out:

1) I don't want to be a ball of energy, I kind of like this body and of some divine for can do it here in the Universe they can also do it there.

2) I don't want to come back to this place. I see no value in reincarnating. I'm a humble, polite, loving person there is nothing for me here or I would be doing it right now and there is nothing I can think of I would rather do. Maybe I have intimacy issues but really why do this whole thing to get over one issue. Why not just get over it there?

3) There is no conception of Evil in this system. Theoretically, after Hitler died he got a lecture on why genocide and conquest is wrong and off to the next life. Same with Stalin and the rest. Well, what about the souls who experienced it themselves, do they not at least get a turn to give them a beat down...at least...it seems like being a ball of energy rewards Evil by not allowing it to be given a beat down and the rest of us just have to chalk up as a learning lesson.

4) What is the goal? I don't want to be elder or an old soul or anyone more than who I am. I rather like myself and I would be more than happy just peacefully enjoying myself with others. I don't believe pain teaches much other than pain itself which is not a valuable lesson. Trust me, I've been through some pain and I've lucked out in this life in avoiding other pains but I don't think I or anyone else is better for experiencing it.

I'll present more issues I have that are bumming me out. Please, please, please, have an open mind. I'm not saying Newton is wrong. What I am saying is I fear Newton is correct. If he is correct, it shouldn't be this way and I would like to change it somehow.

Newton, probably unknowingly, describes a soul farm in the book, over and over.
Your instincts are conveying to you that you don't buy into the hierarchal game their selling. It is not part of your genetics.
Search for what is true for you.
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...nature does not know how to lie. It is such a simple observation, that there are no straight lines in Nature.
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Old 18-08-2015, 06:32 AM
Justme1981 Justme1981 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skygazer
Newton, probably unknowingly, describes a soul farm in the book, over and over.
Your instincts are conveying to you that you don't buy into the hierarchal game their selling. It is not part of your genetics.
Search for what is true for you.

Hey, thanks, for the insight. Can you elaborate on your comment. Can you describe what a soul farm is further? I'm being thoroughly honest my instinct is to want to liberate the souls there. I'm saving up for a hypnosis session by one of Newton's associates so that I can see what that place is about.
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