• Thank you to Carol and Steve Bowman, the forum owners, for our new upgrade!

Compassion and reincarnation

fireflydancing

just a fly in the sky
Staff member
Super Moderator
How does your belief in reincarnation influence your view of other people?

I am very curious about your thoughts. After having the experience of viewing several past lives and after reading a lot about the subject, I think I changed my attitude towards other people.

When I was still a girl living at my parent's house, the idea of reincarnation was not taboo. We could discuss it freely. My parents, especially my mom, were involved in spiritualism. I was not so active in this field, because I wanted to live a normal life, although I silently read all of their books. I didn't discuss those things with my peers because they were not open to these ideas and I desperately wanted to learn how 'normal people' interacted. I was very shy and silent and easily overwhelmed by the energy of others.
I often thought others were rude, insensitive, stupid, cruel, or mindless. I guess you can see the picture of little firefly.
I can't remember a moral judgment, other than that I didn't like those behaviors.

The next step was leaving my hometown and going to university. I was no longer silent and shy, but rather the opposite. I enjoyed student life. The topic of reincarnation popped up now and then. In The Netherlands, it is easily discussed among people of all kinds of religions or other backgrounds. It doesn't mean everyone is very involved or even a believer. Paradoxically, even non-believers enjoy the discussions and share some experiences.
I was mostly an observer, always interested in new stories. Mostly I was like: you do you, I do me. I wasn't even sure if reincarnation happened to all of us. I believed it had happened in my history but I can't remember me putting consequences for that in my daily life.

So, I became more involved when my two children both talked about reincarnation memories. I became more involved and I developed personal theories, and I became judgmental. Instead of embracing love, peace, and compassion concerning this topic, I became kind of harsh. I reasoned that if people chose to encounter hardship in life, then I'd better not help them. I couldn't fathom the idea of becoming a healer for other people. If it was their lesson to be learned, I didn't feel allowed to help them in any way. I still felt repulsed by stupid and cruel people and I made sure that I would never be a victim by any of them.

And life went on, and I came into positions where I needed help from others. And I was so grateful to those who gave it to me and my family. And my perspective on life and reincarnation changed gradually as well. Through Buddhist teachings, I became aware of the concept of compassion in a different light. The lamas showed me this concept as a way of being. Compassion without reflection, just immediate action.

I came to a point where I threw out all the assumptions about reincarnation and focussed on who I wanted to be, regardless of others, or dogmas, or theories. I no longer see progression throughout consequential past lives. When I see stupid people (I am not talking about IQ intelligence, I am talking about stupid behavior and harmful shortsighted decisions) I now assume that the veil of amnesia is much stronger in their case than in mine. So, in some lives the veil is thicker, while in other lives, the veil is thinner. The Soul seems to like some kind of experience which is only possible under certain circumstances.
My view on the concept of reincarnation has changed drastically. And it made me so much more compassionate. When I look around, I see people, but I also see beautiful perfect spirits hidden inside. We're thrown into this world to make the best of it. We bring some skills with us, we lack a lot of other skills, so we need to take care of each other to make our stay a pleasant one.
Now I have a different reasoning about helping each other. Maybe the higher reason is to help each other and enjoy that feeling of oneness between humans. Maybe the real purpose behind all of this is just to walk a path together for a short while.

A 180-degree different approach than before. I am still using logic to understand the meaning of reincarnation. And probably I will keep on changing my opinions until the day I die. 😋

...

(Maybe I should add that I have never given importance to the concept of karma. I don't care about that, not a believer of karma. I don't go for earning good points or fearing bad points. I don't care for Heaven or Hell either. Deep down inside me, I know I will always be ok. And I want the 'bad' people to be ok too after this life or in the next life.)

...


This is how I came to change my opinions about other people during my life, from feeling too vulnerable to feeling indifferent to judgmental, to much more compassion towards others. The concept of reincarnation didn't change much, but my interpretations and conclusions went in all kinds of directions.
I am really curious how other people deal with all of this. I know that a lot of people on this forum strongly believe in karma and in soul contracts. And some people have always been compassionate from birth. And some people believe that souls are growing and evolving through their consequential lives on Earth. And some people knew their purpose in life from childhood.

So many variables that might give another outcome.

- For what reason do you help others? (other than your family members)
- Do you think it is important to do 'good' things for a better outcome in the future (next life, karma in general)
- Is doing 'good' a chore for you, even when you don't feel like it
- Do you judge other people for their bad circumstances based on reincarnation theories?
- Do you believe in a spiritual hierarchy among humans, from slightly conscious to highly evolved? Like from baby soul to enlightened soul?
- Or maybe you don't care at all and live your life according whatever pleases you in the moment?
 
Your post somehow reminded a Seth quote that I think might hold the key to how to search for your best answers to those questions:

"He who knows who and what he is need not say so.

([Gene]: “Unless it is his intent to teach.”)

Saying so in those terms will not help teaching. Example—yes; existence —yes. You need not say who you are, when you know who you are; and if you say who you are, you do not know who you are. Beware who speaks in those terms. There may be distortion. (Too fast to follow.) It is dangerous to have highly distorted truth. If you know who you are, you do not need these words."

--- The Early Sessions: Book 7 of The Seth Material; Session 303 Elmira, New York November 26, 1966k
 
@baro-san , thank you for this quote but I am not sure if I understand what you mean. Is it about distortion, in the way I mention the more known term (veil of) amnesia?
In that case, yeah, a thick veil of amnesia is a big distortion. However, the word 'truth' in the quote of Seth is also tricky. It implies that there is a truth, available to be discovered. Maybe yes, maybe no. For now, I don't pinpoint on ultimate truth. (Ask me again five years from now, haha, interesting to compare one's point of view through time).

I still haven't read the Seth material, although you have recommended this work several times.
 
@fireflydancing , I think Seth refers here to distortions caused by one's beliefs, especially those beliefs thought to be truths, like what is good / evil, what is real / illusion, cause and effect, time, God, existence, ...

As I understand, what is to be discovered is infinite, and not only in "size", but in discrimination, in clarity of detail. So, those who believe that they have "realized The truth" are in a dead end, and they have no idea.

Seth says "You need not say who you are, when you know who you are; and if you say who you are, you do not know who you are". This sounds like a play on words, but I interpret it as putting the accent on "say": if you believe that saying something to another could be for the other's benefit, that means that you don't know yet what you are, what everything else is.

Everyone perceives (creates) a reality through the filter of their own beliefs. That filtered / distorted / illusory reality is what one perceives through their five physical senses. A truer, more accurate reality can only be perceived through one's inner senses.

This is how I interpret Seth's saying that teaching can't be done through words, but through example and experience, as the latter are perceived and decoded at a deeper / inner level, and are less distorted by one's beliefs about reality.
 
This is another Seth quote that points to the nature of physical-reality:

"There is every reason to explore inner reality, but this exploration should lead you to understand the nature of physical reality also. Perhaps your physical existence could be compared with an excellent book, given to you by a teacher.
You are completely immersed in it. Because you realize that you are reading such a book and acting out the part of the main character, and plunged into a three-dimensional existence, this does not mean that you can afford to throw the book away nor that you should refuse to read it.

You may of course realize its nature, and this is a step forward. The teacher who gives you the book is reading another book, and acting another part. There are some shortcomings in Zen philosophies that we shall discuss at another time. The system is basically a good one but the flaw, one in particular, is a tragic one. And within your system such flaws can lead many astray."

—The Early Sessions: Book 7 of The Seth Material; Session 304 November 28, 1966
 
I believe that the most constructive thing you can do whenever you realize that you're feeling compassion is to generate positive expectations about the situation that caused your feelings. Prolonged compassion, no matter if you're doing something or not for the subject of your compassion, will exacerbate the problem as you perceive it. Adding to it fear and / or anger is even more detrimental to the situation as you perceive it. Your emotions attract into your reality situations that will cause the same kind of emotions, augmenting them. You don't want to attract into your reality more and more situations that cause you to feel more and more compassion.
 
How does your belief in reincarnation influence your view of other people?

Firefly Dancing,

I read your post, and it looks like you have greatly matured and grown a lot over the years in your journey to understand yourself as soul and how you approach and handle others in life that might not share your point of view. One of the things I have found in my own journey in all this is that when we reincarnate into the physical plane, we all are coming from different stages of spiritual evolution as soul. It's as if we are all thrown together in one large heap and are forced to get along and make senses of it all. Which is why we have so many cultures, religions and spiritual beliefs on this planet.

When I come across people that don't always make the smartest decisions or are narrow minded and bigoted I have to remind myself that I too was once in that mind set and state of consciousness in lifetimes long ago. You wish you could help them understand that all life is inwardly connected thru divide love as we are all apart of God regardless of what religion or culture you belong to. Yet they come from a much different place in their spiritual understanding of God and themselves seeing it as outside of themselves instead of being a part of them from within. Many don't see the bigger picture or question if there is more to life than just being born, living and dying never wanting to expand their minds and hearts. I tell people that in order to obtain enlightenment their hearts need to be open fully. Because without an open heart how can one t open their mind from within. As both of these things are connected. So, until they are ready its ok to let them be as it takes soul many lifetimes to mature and grow. Remember as soul they are already eternal by nature, so they have all of eternity to unfold and mature into the spiritual beings that will one day be fully aware and enlighten someday. So, learning to be patience, compassionate, kind and loving goes a long way.

After all it's not the destination that changes us but rather the journey getting there that does. And from the sound of it you my dear have grown leaps and bounds in just this lifetime alone. As for karma I know you don't believe in it. At one time either did I. However, I have learned that it's physics in motion. For every action there is a opposite and equal reaction. It's not a system of punishment or reward but a tool for the soul to learn how to master and handle its own reality thru trial and error. When soul first starts off reincarnating into the physical plane it's kind of like a diamond in the rough. The potential is there from within. It's just needing the rough edges to be smoothed out and polish so that it sparkles and shines with all its glory as it is in reality a spark of consciousness from God as it's receiving its spiritual education while in the lower worlds of duality, time and space.


Love and peace always....

P.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It's a good post, so I'll answer to the best of my abilities to keep it going.

- For what reason do you help others? (other than your family members)

I don't think I have a reason. All of my decisions are based on gut feelings and intuition, but not in the esoterical sense necessarily, more like "does this decision sit right with me? Even if it seems irrational at the moment? Or does it feel bad to make this decision, even if from a logical point of view it makes sense?". So I trust that my intuition is picking up things that my mind can't, and then I make a decision. So while it takes me a while to rationalize or justify a decision, actually making it is very fast.
So why do I decide to help or not help others? Entirely based on my mood that day, I don't have a strict moral code in that sense and I may not always do the same thing. If there's a spider in my room sometimes I'll put it outside, other times I'll let it be, other times I may kill it (and I can always justify it later, so rationalization is useless).


- Do you think it is important to do 'good' things for a better outcome in the future (next life, karma in general)

Not for a better outcome in the future, no. I've seen enough reincarnation cases to not believe in divine karma. Self-created Karma where people are just stuck in the same circle sure, but nothing external and no divine judge. Helping others can also backfire, so it's not always good. If I help someone out of good will and then I find out that I was lied to, I'd feel worse than if I never helped them. I'm a consequentialist, not a Kantian. So I think it's important to do things that feel good FOR YOU (within reason) and align with your values, just for the pleasure of feeling good/increasing your vibrations, etc. If helping others with something in particular makes you feel good, then do it. To be fair, depending on what it is maybe the other person does not want to be helped and feels worse. If someone falls in the street and I help them up and ask if they are ok, I may feel good with myself. However, the other person may feel ashamed and wished that I would have pretended not to see it but accepted my help out of politeness.


- Is doing 'good' a chore for you, even when you don't feel like it

Absolutely not. But I can see the utility of feeling this way and making it a chore, similarly to how keeping a gratitude journal helps you stay positive. If I go out of my way to do good, ESPECIALLY if I'm not feeling it, then not only I'm shifting my focus from why I'm not feeling it, but I'm also actively seeking feeling better, because when we feel we do something good we feel better. And the better we feel the more actions we take, and life is about doing things.

- Do you judge other people for their bad circumstances based on reincarnation theories?

If they use their past to not change their future, then yes, whether it's a past life or their past from this life. Excuses are just staying in a victim's mentality to not get out of their comfort zone. If someone wants to change, nothing is stopping them but themselves, and if "they can't", then they don't want to change.


- Do you believe in a spiritual hierarchy among humans, from slightly conscious to highly evolved? Like from baby soul to enlightened soul?

No. Time doesn't exist, and even if it did, time does not make one wiser. Experiences and reflecting on those experiences make us wiser, not how old we are or how many lives we lived.


- Or maybe you don't care at all and live your life according whatever pleases you in the moment?

It may be the case. I choose to believe that there is a destiny while also acknowledging that destiny doesn't exist. But it makes me happy to believe in it, so it really doesn't matter if it "truly" exists or not. So I live my life thinking that I'm following my destiny, and everyone else is following theirs.

Sometimes something bad that happens, even if it's something that annoys us or makes us feel sad, turns up being a blessing in the future because if it wasn't for that we wouldn't have made XYZ choices. And the same goes for something good.
 
Last edited:
As for the original question: does my belief in reincarnation affect how I see other people? Absolutely. I mean, I still judge them, haha (as I'm sure I'm also judged as well) but I judge them based on a larger timeframe if I know details of their past lives or if I have suspicions. One of my coworkers said she would never take a bus because she has a bad feeling about them and she doesn't travel anywhere if she needs to take a bus. If didn't believe in reincarnation I would just try to convince her of the benefits of behavioral conductive therapy and slow exposure to buses, etc. Believing in reincarnation, I just assume that she died in a bus crash in some past life and take a different approach or no approach at all, she would need to remember for herself. As long as she reaches her destination (which is the objective) it doesn't matter if it's by bus or by car.

I no longer see progression throughout consequential past lives. When I see stupid people (I am not talking about IQ intelligence, I am talking about stupid behavior and harmful shortsighted decisions) I now assume that the veil of amnesia is much stronger in their case than in mine. So, in some lives the veil is thicker, while in other lives, the veil is thinner. The Soul seems to like some kind of experience which is only possible under certain circumstances.

I don't know if it's so much a matter of a veil of amnesia, not remembering, or a matter of not wanting to change. Many people remember but they still keep doing the same things. They have a deeper understanding of where that's coming from, but it's not going to stop them if they see nothing wrong with it. And it goes beyond past lives as well.
 
Last edited:
@Polaris8

Thank you for your point of view. I already knew a bit about how you see Life and Souls. It is slightly different from how I perceive it, but it is still interesting to read. You have a lot of experience seeking knowledge in various directions.
Do you think cultivating a relationship with God/Source is important in a journey to higher understanding? Is it possible for atheïsts to reach the same understanding about Life and beyond?
 
- For what reason do you help others? (other than your family members)

Because I can.

- Do you think it is important to do 'good' things for a better outcome in the future (next life, karma in general)

Yes and no. I think karma in a way is a reward system, it basically bribes people to do the good thing. It is also not always the right thing, which is often much harder to do. However, doing good for the sake of doing it rather than a reward today, tomorrow, next life is very grounding to ones sense of self which does provide a better outcome, even in a minute way. I avoided hitting a squirrel the other day driving. It was a "good" deed, and then got to the farm and about an hour later had one of its brethren toss a nest on my head. Good action did not yield a good result (I let one live to be assaulted by another an hour later) but I still would let the squirrel live in any event.

- Is doing 'good' a chore for you, even when you don't feel like it

On rare occasions, but this is directly linked to a past life. 99.9% of the time I never think about it, but there are times. A few years ago, I was sitting at a red light and looked over at a jewelry shop in town with some very nice, very large windows. It happened to be a day where it was a chore...all I wanted to do was throw a large rock through those windows. I could hear the glass tinkling, the alarm going and SEE the holes...but I did the right thing and drove on. And I had regrets that day I did not (I still do on rare occasions, lol).

- Do you judge other people for their bad circumstances based on reincarnation theories?

No. I rarely judge anyone for much anyway. If there is a repeated choice to stay in the bad circumstances that are beyond normal comprehension (an example is a drug addict hitting bottom more than once and still robbing their 30th house after 10 trips to rehab) then yes, I am going to judge based on this life. Past lives have very little to do with it because all I have is my own references.

- Do you believe in a spiritual hierarchy among humans, from slightly conscious to highly evolved? Like from baby soul to enlightened soul?

Yes because I grew up with it. My mother was a child soul, dad was a teenaged one and my siblings were somewhere in between baby and child. It was tiring not being that way.

Quoting Owl:
Experiences and reflecting on those experiences make us wiser, not how old we are or how many lives we lived.

Possibly, but more lives=more experiences. My mother was an unwanted child by her mother, her father was her world. He died when she was 11, and my mother had a hard time for the rest of her life. She reflected on her past to the point that there was no wisdom left to be gained from it. She was deeply religious, very much role defined and set in her own moral compass...and threw fits if you did not do her regiments. Things largely attributed to child souls. She never did find peace with her family. My dad cut ties when he was in his late 30s/early 40s because his mother was very similar and embodied the traits reflected with young souls. Because of seeing them in action all my life from baby souls to old ones, I have a hard time not thinking soul age is a thing. Plus, soul ages explain why more people are able to be alive at one time...new souls are able to be created if they have "ages".

- Or maybe you don't care at all and live your life according whatever pleases you in the moment?

Laregely I don't care and do my own thing, but I still have to live on this planet at this time. I can't really throw rocks.
 
- Is doing 'good' a chore for you, even when you don't feel like it

On rare occasions, but this is directly linked to a past life. 99.9% of the time I never think about it, but there are times. A few years ago, I was sitting at a red light and looked over at a jewelry shop in town with some very nice, very large windows. It happened to be a day where it was a chore...all I wanted to do was throw a large rock through those windows. I could hear the glass tinkling, the alarm going and SEE the holes...but I did the right thing and drove on. And I had regrets that day I did not (I still do on rare occasions, lol).
Well, that's an interesting take. I took the original question as going out of one's way to do good instead of refraining from committing crimes. But it's an equally valid interpretation and gives us even more to think about. If we supress our desire to rob a store, for example, are we being good? And here the different philosophical interpretations come into play. Are we good because we didn't do it? Or are we evil because we thought about it in the first place? Are we good because we didn't do it because it's morally wrong? Or are we bad because the reason we didn't do it is to not suffer the consequences? Since it gets too complicated, for more than a decade and thanks to the same discussion in a reincarnation forum, I choose to believe that there are no good or bad people, just actions that are deemed useful or unuseful to a particular society at a particular time.

I can talk more about it but I don't want to derail too much.

Quoting Owl:
Experiences and reflecting on those experiences make us wiser, not how old we are or how many lives we lived.

Possibly, but more lives=more experiences.

Not necessarily. A 25 year old who traveled the world intereracting with different societies and holding different jobs may have had more experiences than a 60 year old who just worked for 40 years as a cashier in McDonalds. The latter can probably tell you in-detail how a McDonalds run, but that ultra specialized knowledge does not necessarily invite reflection. Or it could also be that the 25 was just drunk all the time and partying around the world while the 60 year-old is able to make accurate sociological predictions based on the consumption patterns of the clients.

So I change my original statement, it's not about the amount of time, not even about how many experiences we have, is about how much we reflect.
 
On rare occasions, but this is directly linked to a past life. 99.9% of the time I never think about it, but there are times. A few years ago, I was sitting at a red light and looked over at a jewelry shop in town with some very nice, very large windows. It happened to be a day where it was a chore...all I wanted to do was throw a large rock through those windows. I could hear the glass tinkling, the alarm going and SEE the holes...but I did the right thing and drove on. And I had regrets that day I did not (I still do on rare occasions, lol).
Let's call them intrusive thoughts. OMG, I could have been so wicked if I had listened to them. I would have thrown multiple newborns out of the window, revealed family top secrets, slapped on bold heads in public for no reason at all. I would have made more victims than Jack the Ripper in far more creative ways. 😂 😂 😂
 
So I change my original statement, it's not about the amount of time, not even about how many experiences we have, is about how much we reflect.

Infant mortality was often very high in history. That didn't give us souls much opportunity to reflect and grow spiritually. So that could be an explanation of why we collectively give away our power and adopt insights and dogmas from religious institutions and charlatans. This just popped into my mind, although I prefer my other theory of a conscious decision to be born with huge amnesia. Intelligent souls choose to live stupid lives, just for the fun of experiencing something completely different.
 
Infant mortality was often very high in history. That didn't give us souls much opportunity to reflect and grow spiritually. So that could be an explanation of why we collectively give away our power and adopt insights and dogmas from religious institutions and charlatans. This just popped into my mind, although I prefer my other theory of a conscious decision to be born with huge amnesia. Intelligent souls choose to live stupid lives, just for the fun of experiencing something completely different.
Reflecting could go beyond the timeframe of a lifetime, even memories are not always needed for reflection. If I died when I was 2, maybe I don't remember particular details in subsequent lives but I always had a fear of dying young, or a fear of scarlet fever, or the sensation I would leave my family, I don't know. The fear of dying young could manifest as wanting to accomplish many things in a short amount of time. And then I can ask myself: Why do I have this compulsion? And even if PL memories don't resurface, it would still incite reflection.

That's what I meant by reflecting.
 
Owl,

You make a good point in not always remembering our recent PL's especially if that lifetime was short lived. Nature usually puts a block on the conscious mind to prevent any emotional or mental harm to the lower ego and personality being lived out in the present. Such was the case in my situation being I died has a young boy around 13 or 14 years old in Germany in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. I never was able to watch those videos in Junior high school in history class of what they did to the Jews in those camps. It made me sick to my stomach and very emotional.

I only found out years later why I reacted that way after having a past life regression done as an adult. The regression therapist had a hard time getting me to get pass a block on my conscious mind as she told me in the reading (it was audio taped) that all I could see was blackness and hearing people screaming. I was clenching my throat and sweating while crying hysterically. She had to back me up and then try to remember this event from a third person perspective from up above instead. It was only then I descripted the horror of being in a room full of people who thought we were all going to take a shower before being processed from Auschwitz to another camp. However, when the lights went out instead of water coming out of the shower heads it was gas burning everyone's lungs from the inside out. In this lifetime I have seasonal asthma which is part of the karmic residue leaving an imprint on the conscious mind from that last life. I often thought why that lifetime as cut short. It's my opinion that in some lifetimes we don't have a lot of karma to burn off being most of it has been resolved from the previous life so in the next lifetime some small residue from the past that was left over is finally being played out. Once that major life lessons is finally learned and ingrained in the soul consciousness it exists that lifetime early so that it can perhaps go on to its next level of spiritual evolution. From our perspective on the physical this may seems gruel and harsh that a child should die so young. Yet we forget that soul is eternal by nature. That young child is just as old as you from a soul's perspective. In many ways birth and death are merely the comings and goings of soul's manifested personality in the physical arena called life. Much like an actor on stage as William Shakespeare would put it.

Love and peace...

Polaris
 
Last edited:
Back
Top