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

Down Syndrome, Reincarnation and Sprituality

M

mnmchecky

New Member
Hi all. I am the mother of a beautiful 9 month old boy named Andrew. Andrew has Down syndrome. When I was pregnant for him our Dr. told us that there would a 4% chance that he would have DS. I cried for a while and then convinced myself that he would be fine. Everyone around me seemed to have the same feeling... not based on the percentages but just their gut feelings. Imagine my surprise when he was born and we were told that he indeed had DS!
But Andrew fooled even a 30 year veteran pediatrician. He doesn't show the typical characteristics of DS and his muscle tone is excellent...with no other symtoms/traits typical of DS. I have no doubt that he has it...and it simply isn't a factor anymore, because he is simply WONDERFUL. However, as of late I have wondered why some souls choose to come as mentally or physically impaired people. I have read some perspectives that credit this to suicides and to violent criminals... but I don't want to think that that is true. Any ideas ...out there?
 
Welcome to the forum mnmchecky,

Your son sounds beautiful -and he is such a lucky boy to have a mother like you.

My ex-husbands oldest brother has cerebral palsy. He is in his 50's - and a very devote Mormon. Sweet man. Ten years ago -my mother had a very strong vision of him in his past life. He was a captain of a ship -that went down. He died - along with the individuals on the ship (no not Titanic.)

He had made a choice as the Captain that caused the wreck and the lives of the people on the ship. Mom suggested - he had created in this life -- a situation where he was to be humble, to make no decisions for himself or others, and to be dependent on other souls to care for him.

God was not punishing him....his condition in this life, was a result of his thoughts, feelings, and emotions. It is not always that the soul did something bad -- or evil, it's just that the way they FELT about what happened created a life that causes advanced learning -- this time around.

My first thoughts.... I hope you enjoy the forum.

------------------
Deborah

"I have no more words. Let the soul speak with the silent articulation of a face." ---Rumi


[This message has been edited by Deborah (edited 11-09-2002).]
 
" However, as of late I have wondered why some souls choose to come as mentally or physically impaired people. I have read some perspectives that credit this to suicides and to violent criminals... but I don't want to think that that is true. Any ideas ...out there?"

Hello mnm, I don't know how karma operates in every detail. But here is what I can tell based on my study of ancient Indian thoughts on this subject. (You may want to read my post on "Reincarnation and mental illness?") We created our present circumstance by our actions in the past. But our actions do not define who we are. We have the ability to transcend our actions. Your son is, as you say, simply wonderful and no one can change that. And indeed he is fortunate to have you as his parent. Many children exhibit past life memory when they are two to three years old. We can learn a lot from children's memories. I will suggest that you pay close attention to him as he starts expressing himself. But whatever our past was, it is now behind us. We must concentrate on how to make the best of our present. May God bless you and your son.

Kris
 
Deborah and Kris:
Thank you for your thoughts. I appreciate you taking the time to give me your insights. I have often heard what you both have said "He (Andrew) is lucky to have Mark (my husband) and I as his parents, and that is very kind. Yet, we feel lucky to have Andrew as our son--maybe not at first, but definitely now.
Andrew has an older sister, Katia, who is gifted. A natural talent with any learning quest that she embarks on. In my opinion an old soul. She stands to learn so much from him. And he from her, and in the process they will teach us all about love--unconditionally- and about the true essence of what we consider perfection!

Thanks again!


[This message has been edited by mnmchecky (edited 11-10-2002).]
 
I think Rabbi Yonassan Gershom who suggested that a soul which has had a number of lifetimes as a person of high intelligence might choose to have down syndrome. The idea would be to learn to relate to others and to God through the emotions instead of the intellect.

Note: I realize other people's mileage as to God here will vary. Rabbi Gershom is of course a devout Jew and I am a Christian. Others should interpret this aspect of the comment in whatever way is valid for them.

Anyway, it makes sense to me. I have a close friend who has down syndrome, close to becoming blind and very hard of hearing. She is a constant inspiration because she is also open, loving, eager to help anyone she can in any way, and never complains. (She used to have normal sight and hearing.) It wouldn't surprise me a bit to discover that she came into this life for just the reason Rabbi Gershom supposes.

Cecily
 
Hi, I have absolutely no answers to your question other than to possibly guess that a soul might want or need to learn something by living a life from a different point of view. If I were born blind, as an example, I would have such a vastly different experience in life than I would if I could see, but I couldn't even guess exactly what I would learn or gain by that. Still, there must be a reason. I think it would vary depending on the soul. I do NOT believe that it is because the soul is being punished, just as I also don't believe the soul is superior either (there ARE criminals who commit violent crimes that are mentally impaired, which for me, blows the theory that mentally impaired people are spiritually superior out of the water. I think it's an individual thing. We don't run around saying everyone with, say, red hair, is that way because they are just spiritually average, right?). I think it just helps facilitate a unique lesson that a soul needed or wanted to learn.

One of my best friends has a child with Down's Syndrome, whose name is also Andrew. :-) My friend did not have any tests before his birth, so she found out at his birth that he had Down's Syndrome. He is now 2.5 years old and does demonstrate the muscle tone difficulties, etc., but overall he hasn't had any very serious things like heart problems, etc. I see him every day and I also wonder your same question. But I will see him looking at things and I can tell he is really thinking about them in his own unique way, that he is seeing things in an almost artistic way, and I see that he is so uniquely HIM that it makes me think, "what is an "impairment" anyway?" What would make a person WANT to have an IQ of 200, either? Would they be any happier? Any more fulfilled? I don't think I would.

I find, though, that I am drawn to people with Down's Syndrome. When I was a child, one of my good friends, Emily, had Down's (and I apologize for saying "had" like it's a disease. I don't think it is.). Some of my best childhood memories are of playing marbles with Emily. Andrew likewise warms my heart.

Anyway, that's my .02. You sound like a great mom.

Kim

[This message has been edited by redkim (edited 11-13-2002).]
 
Kim:
Thanks very much for your thoughts. I truly appreciate your input. Like your friend's son, Andrew, I see my Andrew approaching life with joy and curiosity. And I have found that there is so much that the rest of us stand to learn simply by being around people with special needs. When Andrew was given a confirmed diagnosis based on chromosome analysis, I pictured a horrible life for him and us, his family. My ignorance told me that he would not be able to form affective bonds and that basically I would be imprisioned to caring for this little human being for ever. My god!!! I was so wrong!!! Andrew has formed beautiful bonds with each member of his family and interacts just as a normal baby would. He loves pulling hair and making all kinds of happy sounds when he is enraptured with a toy or an engaging person.
He and I have a very special bond ... that I am convinced, comes from previous lifetime experiences together. By that I mean, he is keenly in tune with my feelings --- happy or sad. All I need to do is look at him and he responds one way or the other. It's really quite interesting to see -- since he is so young still. I am looking forward to looking at him grow and enjoying the company of the person that he will become...as I am enjoying the little person that he is now.

Thanks again, Kim. God bless you for being so open minded ... even when you were a child! I am certain that Emily's mother sure appreciated you playing marbles with her.
 
Hi mnmchecky...I just wanted to add that I have a younger brother, now 35, who is mentally retarded. It has been extremely hard for everyone in our family as he is very needy, BUT we all have experienced great joy by knowing him also.

I don't know why a soul may choose to be born into a body that is not "normal." It certainly shows a lot of trust on their part to be dependant on those of us that they come in contact with! I guess I have never thought that it was something that he "had" to do for karmic reasons (like you mentioned in your post that they did something "bad")but have looked at it more in the terms of what lessons he has taught all of us. I have no doubt that he is quite an accomplished soul.

Congratulations on the birth of your son! Children are the greatest teachers, don't you think? *S*

Warmly, Vicki

[This message has been edited by vickilynn (edited 11-16-2002).]
 
As far as Downs and other disabilities, sometimes I feel a soul might be assigned a less than perfect body as a lesson (ie the soul choosing an opposite balancing life from the previous one - like a life as a wealthy person followed by a life of poverty, OR the soul might choose such a life for a different than "normal" life experience (being simple & down to earth in a complicated society), OR an advanced soul might choose a less than perfect body to burn off karma - i.e. take on a bunch of difficulties (as a Down's child) and atone for many things done in past lives (though I don't much like the word 'atone') in order to be closer to enlightenment.

I think Andrew has much to teach you, as much as you have to teach him.

Everyone I have heard of who has a child with Downs is at first shocked and disappointed (and going through the stages of grieving) but then realizes these children (and adults) are usually happy, unusually loving, straightforward people with so much to offer and teach about unconditional love.

Many blessings to you and your family!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top