Chapter 13, Reincarnation, Karma, and Meditation
As I’ve written earlier, I haven’t the slightest doubt that reincarnation is the natural order of the way things actually work. Let me share some thoughts on reincarnation and the related subject of Karma. For starters, we have already "been there and done that." Anyone attracted to this kind of book and reading this far into it, is probably a soul with many incarnations in their past. You’ve most likely been many nationalities, been both sexes, and had numerous occupations in many previous lives here on Earth. There is a reason that our previous incarnation is not made known to us in this present incarnation, and it's a simple one: We can't handle it. It would be nice to think that we have all been royalty in all of our past lives, but that's not realistic. Reality and common sense tell us that some of us in the process of evolving and growing have no doubt been criminals and have not always done the right thing. Sorry, but the odds that we were all "saints" in all our past incarnations aren't that good. I'm mentioning this because it's been my observation that we are better off not knowing our past. I only recommend doing hypnosis and past regression work when every other means for solving present incarnation problems have been exhausted. For most of us, to find out who and what we were in our most recent past incarnation would only serve to get our egos too involved, and would most likely hold us back in this present life. For example, if you did find out you were very wealthy in your last lifetime, and are just making ends meet now, it would be hard for some of us in a present incarnation, to not feel resentment.
Some thoughts about things I have learned about Karma. As you may already know, Karma is an old Sanskrit word that essentially means that all of our thoughts, emotions and actions eventually come back to us. In America we often use the phrase, “What goes around, comes around” to mean what the rest of the world refers to as Karma. Karma is a balancing of things. I've learned that it is a Universal balancing. This balancing is not just of individuals, but sometimes of entire nations upon the Earth. Often we get upset with what we perceive as a lack of justice in this plane of existence, but the Universe never forgets. If you intentionally think harm or do physical harm to another, unless that entity is willing to forgive, or Spirit "graces" you out of the issue, that Karma will have to be balanced one day.
I've experienced what happens when I did balance some Karma issues in this lifetime. I discovered that in that fleeting moment we get the answer to "Why is this happening?" If we stop for a moment and reflect on what we have learned, the Karma will be balanced and gone from our lives once and for all! I found that Spirit never rubs our noses in it, regardless of what we have done. It literally takes about thirty seconds to a minute to do what I have come to call "owning it." Once you own it, and acknowledge the lessons or mistakes of the past, the Karma is off the books and done with.
I’m going to share a personal experience about Karma that may help some of you reading this book. In the late ‘80s, when I was fascinated with reading things about and by Edgar Cayce, I was reading a book one day about what Cayce had to say about a bunch of different topics. I came across a section in the book where Cayce was asked about human beings who had unusually lonely lives, and Cayce’s response was that these individuals had committed suicide in a past life and must endure a lifetime of much loneliness, in order to feel for themselves what they put people around them through when they took their own life in a past lifetime. Well, I glanced at the words of what Cayce was saying, and being in total denial, quickly turned the pages of the book to a new section, thinking to myself, “Surely this section on lonely lives and suicide has nothing to do with me.”
About six to seven years later I was dating a sweet soul named Shirley, and she and I had gone to a park to sit back and enjoy nature and do a little reading. After about an hour there, she turned to me and said, “You know something Peter, this section in this book I’m reading sounds exactly just like you.” I had no clue at all what she had been reading and asked what it was she had been reading. It turned out to be that same book and same section on what Cayce had said about lonely people who had committed suicide in a past incarnation. In an instant I knew this was from Spirit, using my friend Shirley to offer me another opportunity to “own” a suicide I had obviously committed in a former third density incarnation in my past. For you see I grew up without a father present and a mother who died at an early age. I have no brothers or sisters, and I lost five close male friends to early deaths within my lifetime to date that were like brothers to me. One of these friends, who was like a brother to me that I knew for over 30 years, died suddenly of a single fatal heart attack at 56 years old. In that few minutes sitting in that serene park I owned the fact that I had indeed taken my own life in a previous incarnation, leaving people behind to grieve and be lonely, because of my selfish act. It all became very apparent and clear to me as to why I’d had a mostly lonely life up until then. After that day, I’ve never been lonely and I stopped losing close male friends.
That situation, where I denied my actions the first time I had an opportunity to own my past suicide, resulted in my having to experience additional loneliness for another half a dozen years or so! That’s exactly how Spirit seems to work with Karmic issues, if we don’t get “it” the first time, we are often given additional attempts by Spirit, to recognize and own our Karma in the future, so that we may balance that Karma within this lifetime.
Another thing: It is not your imagination — all things are speeding up, including the time it takes to balance Karma in this lifetime. I've noticed Karma in our present lives is speeding up with each passing year. A careless thought or intention, that a few years ago might have taken a year to come back to you, may now fully cycle in only days.
My knowingness has always told me that Karma stays on the books for many lifetimes for the individual soul to choose the very best opportunity to balance that Karma out. I also found this confirmed in The Law of One material and other sources. Someone once asked me why God allows children to suffer, and the example this person used was, such as when a young child loses a limb in a car accident. Spirit immediately presented me with the following scenario for me to be able to answer this person’s question.
Imagine an American civil war battlefield where the Union and Confederate armies had just fought a major battle in some woods. In the dense smoke, a soldier got separated from his unit and was by himself and came across one of the enemy lying on the ground with a bullet wound in his shoulder. The separated soldier, seeing the wounded enemy on the ground, who didn't pose any threat to himself, had the choice of walking away and leaving the enemy alone to be found by his own army. However, this separated soldier was very angry at the enemy, and seeing this wounded enemy soldier lying on the ground, took his bayonet and stabbed the already wounded soldier in one of his legs. He did this out of pure hatred. The wounded soldier on the ground recovered nicely from the bullet wound in his shoulder, but the bayonet wound in his upper leg was very deep and got infected, and this soldier ended up losing his leg to gangrene poisoning. That separated soldier who bayoneted the enemy out of hatred, when he wasn't in harm himself, reincarnated a few years ago. He was the three-year-old who lost his leg in a car accident and must experience what life is like with the loss of a leg. To have been a soldier in a war not of one's choosing hasn't ever been the cause of anyone's Karma. It was the free-will choice to harm another that required the balancing of Karma.
There is no right or proper way for everyone to meditate, to find peace and answers. I have learned that there are things that are in common with most of us. For instance, I always advise keeping pencil and paper handy in your bedroom along side of your bed, for Spirit often chooses the not quite awake time early in the morning as a window of opportunity energy wise to communicate with us. So, having something to write with by your bedside may pay off handsomely some day. It reminds me of the old expression, "I'll have to sleep on that." I have found that I often receive the answers to things that I have been pondering when I first wake up. Sometimes the answer is in words, sometimes a feeling, a vision, or in my case they usually blend together for me simultaneously, so I just use the word, knowingness.
I find that the key for me to get an answer on anything is how much do I really desire the answer, or am I just sort of curious? The greater my sincere desire to know something, the more I increase my chances of being shown the answer. I learned this from the Law of One material and have seen it proven out each and every time I’ve used it.
I also suggest being open to receiving answers anywhere and at any time. It would be nice if my answers came to me when I sit down to do what I call a formal meditation, but that seldom happens with me. I usually get my answers driving down the highway, brushing my teeth, watching television and in a whole host of other activities.
One thing I always do when I sit down to meditate is take several very deep breaths, with the emphasis on exhaling slowly. Then I focus on my breaths. This calms and settles me down and allows me to relax. I prefer silence or the natural sounds of nature the most, especially the rhythmic sound of the Gulf’s waves. I used to meditate mostly in the mornings, these days anytime around the clock, especially in the still of the night listening to just the sound of the critters roaming around outside. What I really like to do when I have the time and the cooperation of the weather is to walk and meditate. I am always very cognizant of where I am, and of traffic, but I get very relaxed by the walking process itself. Whenever I have a serious issue troubling me, that I need to meditate about, I will drive to a body of water such as the Gulf or a large lake and walk along the edge of the water. For me that works best.
The main goal of meditating is to be still and to get in touch with yourself and with Spirit, so as to achieve inner peace — and not, as some people think, to receive specific messages. To quiet your mind may take weeks and months, but don't get discouraged or disappointed if you don't have success at quieting your mind at all; some people are never able to achieve this, and perhaps weren’t meant to.
There is no one way method of meditating that is best for everyone. You will just have to do a little experimenting to find what brings you peace.