Archive for the ‘Birth’ Category

This question has been asked since mankind reached consciousness and it has certainly driven me forward in my life quest, in searching for meaning in life.   I think many people, regardless of religious tradition or beliefs, will generally agree that our basic goals should be to make a difference in this world and to contribute to others.

Or, in loftier terms, as I suggested in the post “Searching for Nirvana” - to find peace and love, to live in harmony, to create a better world for our children and to surpass the limits of the form we were born into, to evolve the human spirit to new heights…

But while my underlying commitment is about living my life to achieve these ideals, I find that I often fall short of them in my everyday life.  The daily grind, the limits of our human bodies, the endless chatter of our mind, the upsets and frustration we all experience (not to mention the way business and society dictate our behaviours) not only get in the way but often derail us.  So, I sometimes find myself in conflict with people (which always depresses me) and not always exuding the warmth and balance that I strive to demonstrate to others.  This, in turn, can lead to a desire to escape, to be alone, to avoid too much contact or intimacy with the other humans on the planet, lest I misbehave further… hardly an enlightened approach.

One overriding lesson I’ve learned is that it is very difficult for an unhappy, depressed, or angry person to exude warmth and love, to create a space to truly contribute to others, or as Oprah has so eloquently put it: “to be the change you want to see in the world”.  So, our number one priority must be to take care of ourselves.  Consider that if you are ‘happy’ then you are more able to be with people such that they will feel better in your presence. (The old analogy of the airline’s safety rule stating that you must put your oxygen mask on first before assisting others holds true.)  I believe the enlightened individuals on our planet, those we look up to and strive to emulate, understand this, continuing to do the work on themselves while accomplishing monumental tasks for the planet.   They have a deeper sense of their soul’s purpose.

Speaking of giants, I came across Oprah’s Soul Series on XM Radio yesterday.  She was interviewing Brian Weiss which was a great ‘coincidence’ as I had recently read his first book ” Many Lives Many Masters: The True Story Of A Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient & The Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives”, as well as a book called “Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life between Lives” by Michael Newton, PhD.  If you haven’t read them and are open-minded (or perhaps, especially, if you are not), then I highly recommend both authors.  They are both professional therapists who have worked in the field of past-life regression for decades.  They both have a great many documented case studies of patients who have recounted stories about past lives, and even more interesting to me, the soul’s journey between lives.

The original question that I posed – “why are we here?” takes on a much deeper dimension when you consider this viewpoint.  If the heartaches and challenges and struggles of your life were actually selected especially for you (possibly by you), as lessons that you must learn, obstacles that you must overcome, on your soul’s journey, does this change your perspective?  Face them now or you’ll just come back and do it all over again.   Do the work on yourself now.  Be the best person you can be.  Contribute to the people around you with your whole heart.

Another thought-provoking angle is the idea of soul groups which means that many people closest to you have been part of your existence for many lives and beyond.  If you believe this then you can more easily accept their passing and your own when the time comes.  It also puts new meaning, for me, to the concept of contributing to others in this lifetime.  Some advanced souls may only be here for a short visit, to touch our lives, to steer us towards our life lessons.

I believe that everyone is here for a reason and that everybody begins life with something special.   To rise above our life circumstances, to be our best selves and recognize what those gifts are, is part of our quest, our life’s greater purpose.  Some are born rich or poor, beautiful or ugly, brilliant or dull, physically superior or handicapped.  Most of us are somewhere in the middle of these extremes but, regardless of our physical and situational traits, our deeper being has something more to offer in this life.  We all have a unique ability or vision to share with others that can make a difference and allow us to live a fulfilling life, to advance our soul’s journey.

Excerpt from “The Joinings“:

As we were born into new bodies and new capabilities, we walked upright and surveyed our world.  Our instincts and intellect drove us forward.  We built tools and fire.  We mastered the planet and its creatures.  We became self-aware and questioning.  We formed tribes and worked together to build homes and families.  We hunted together, collectively sensing the mystical forces at play in the universe.  Our early cultures honoured our elders, worshipped the beasts that we killed, developed cunning and resourcefulness, as well as a spiritual sense to help us not only survive but thrive in an untamed world.

But as our populations grew and agriculture led us to create permanent homes and settlements, our aggressive tendencies turned us away from our instinctive, spiritual natures and instead forged warriors and conquerors.  We built empires and dominated those that were weaker physically.  Groups that remained in the more primitive, mystical world of the past became easy targets for slavery and slaughter, oppression and cruelty.  Individual power became an ambition of man, overcoming the clan lifestyle.  The value of human life was low if it stood in the way of progress and domination.  Instead of honouring the natural world and the creatures that sustained us, we created new gods, powerful ones that would lead us forward in our quest for domination.

Ultimately, we awoke to a more sophisticated age and began to move away from the barbarianism of the past.  We formed governments and religion.  We created classes and rulers.  Laws governed our behaviour in society; religious leaders dictated morality.  The human consciousness imagined exultant possibilities and followed the new orders without question.

But our curious minds would always lead us to new territory. While authority and discipline, piety and unquestioning belief in a higher power may have been necessary at a particular stage to drive us forward, eventually, it became oppressive.  Despite the answers to life and creation offered by religion, we dug deeper.  Science and astronomy, philosophy and art triggered a renaissance of new ideas and new abilities.  We discovered ways to manipulate our planet’s resources, asked new questions about our existence, and uncovered previously unimagined answers.  Humanity’s progress could not be stopped.  Prosperity and technological advances transformed our way of life at an increasingly rapid pace.  Empire-building again became a focus but we discovered that war was not the only way to dominate other cultures.

At each stage in the development of our culture and our consciousness, the life conditions of previous stages influenced our direction, in some cases as a negative force.  We reacted to that which seemed wrong instead of out of pure creation and conscious choice.  Not all areas of the world progressed at the same pace and within regions one might find evidence of past and present cultures.  Yet, overall, our progress was steady.

A natural next stage was a revolutionary worldview, an understanding that many of our advances were endangering our planet.  For peoples who had been born and bred in a prosperous environment free of war and struggles, many grew more sensitive to less fortunate citizens of the world.  They understood the effect that man’s rapid progress was having on our natural resources.  They fought to bring harmony and spirituality, a return to more primitive principles when the earth was worshipped for sustaining us – not destroyed and used without concern.  This led to a philosophical merging of all great wisdoms, religion, and spirituality and a natural disdain for past structures that still sought to dominate the planet.

But a power struggle remained and for those cultures left out of the prosperity and advancement curve, still rooted in past cultural stages, resentment and violence brewed – particularly towards those who dominated the world stage. 

And it came to pass that with so many disparate cultures and worldviews, with violence and unhappiness rampant in some areas of the world, that a relatively small percentage of the human population were able to instigate unprecedented death and destruction upon the entire planet.

Copyright © Eden Remme Watt 2010

Grandma’s 93^rd birthday was last week but she is no longer alive on Earth so she missed it. 

Grandma Jean departed in March.    Although resistant for many years, in the end she understood that there was something more waiting. She knew it was her time and so she left us in peace.  It was a final gift from a generous and loving woman to those of us that would mourn her passing.  Instead we are left to wonder and muse upon what she might be doing now, to cherish her life lessons (primarily taught by example) and to always know her pride in us.

Grandma never met Jasper.  At least we don’t think so.  In any case, we didn’t witness their encounter if in fact there was one.  Jasper was born on June 14^th, the first child of my sister, so he is now 18 days old, having breathed his first breath less than three months after Grandma breathed her last.   

As it’s been years since I’ve spent time with a newborn, I’d forgotten how enthralling it is just to stare at the darling little face of burgeoning awareness, his instinctive cries for survival, his utter dependence on his loving caregivers, and, of course, his impact on everyone he touches. How does such a tiny little creature completely transform the nature of life to his new family?  One can only stand by in awe when confronted with the reality of how fast we can fall desperately in love, how immediately our own life can become secondary to another.

2010 is a landmark year for our family to have witnessed the wonder of both life and death in such an intimate manner.  

Both Grandma and Jasper have shown me that everything in the universe we need is available right now.  In this exact moment of time, everything is as it should be.   This is something that I will have to remind myself of every day.

Goodbye Grandma, you were an inspiration. I would love to know what you are up to now but I imagine I will find out soon enough..

And Jasper, welcome to our planet!  What a joy it will be to watch you grow…

Au revoir Grandma

A brand new life

My little sister is in the hospital tonight, giving birth to her first child.  Probably right now, she is screaming in agony as this new life struggles to escape from her womb.

We all started this way but don’t remember our own startling arrival on earth.  However, mothers around the world will never forget the excruciating pain, nor the exhilirating satisfaction that come hand in hand with delivering a child.

It’s hazy for me now, with almost two decades since the last experience, but some things are like yesterday.  For example, did I mention the pain?  Ouch!  Sorry, Becky, but as everyone tells you, it will be worth it, honestly.

So, as I’m waiting to hear news of my new nephew, I’m wondering at what point this little creature will become conscious.  With consciousness at the most basic level meaning awareness, is it the shock of the cold and light and emergence that forces him to awaken to life on earth? 

But perhaps he was already conscious, perhaps in unity with his mother…