This article is undoubtedly going to be both the most difficult and most important one I’ve ever written. It is an attempt to explain the inexplicable, and it requires your willingness to suspend your disbelief, if you so choose. It is a lot to ask, I realize; it was a lot to ask of myself, once upon a time. But to say the result of doing so was worthwhile would be the ultimate understatement. The result, for me, was/is the meaning of life itself.
As promised, this article is addressing the issue that many, Oprah included, have/had with The Law of Attraction- which is the notion that small children, even babies, bring certain tragedies (cancer, premature death, etc.) upon themselves due to their energetic output. This Law suggests this is true for adults as well, which is a hard enough pill to swallow when bad things inevitably happen to good (adult) people. As upsetting as all this can be, I do agree that there are conscious energies at play; but before you give up on me entirely, please hear me out.
I understand darkness. I understand loss. I understand chronic depression and anxiety-I have three (luckily unsuccessful) suicide attempts under my belt. I’ve spent the better part of my adult life in search of one thing…inner peace. Given the current state of things, I think you would agree that peace is one of the most valuable commodities there is. In addition, I’ve read many books hoping to tap into this precious resource, and one stood out among the rest- Journey of Souls by Dr. Michael Newton. In it, there are three principles that are absolutely pivotal to the belief system I subscribe to:
- We sign up for every life we have prior to incarnating.
- We never actually die.
- The more challenging our life experiences, the more quickly and effectively our soul evolves.
This is the juncture where I feel compelled to point out that I am not trying to convince you of anything. Our beliefs are a choice we make- they are unique to the individual and their own path in life. What I’m in the process of sharing is the belief system that has helped me make sense of things past and present that once brought me to my knees- the pain, anger and sadness they caused was justifiable and very real. It is this newfound mindset that restored my faith in humanity and hope. It allowed me to truly live- not merely endure whatever this crazy world throws my way.
It is critical to note that when you view life as eternal, death loses a lot of its power- at least in terms of the hopelessness that often accompanies it. As humans, we tend to avoid the topic of death at all costs, and we define life as almost exclusively being associated with our physical body. We do this to such a degree that once that body is no more, we feel that we also cease to exist. All we’ve ever known is life experienced by our five senses- therefore, it never occurred to us that we could actually be limited by them.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t mourn those who pass on, we must; it’s essential that we process and take time to heal. But grief is meant to be a place we visit- not a destination where we permanently reside. Those who’ve passed on (not away), are in a better place (the spirit world). They wouldn’t want you to suffer, and they don’t consider your healing as a betrayal- they want you to heal. Honoring their memory is not akin to eternal suffering. Honoring them demands you live your life to its fullest! Perceiving death as simply the next step in a beautiful, infinite process, as opposed to “the end” has changed my relationship with this stage for the better.
Subsequently, when you consider that we sign up for each life, then yes, even babies knew coming into this particular incarnation what would happen. But because we sign up for each life as well-informed, higher versions of ourselves; it’s not as though a child was forced into making such a decision. We are never under duress. We can take as much time (time doesn’t exist in the spirit world, but you catch my drift) as we like between lives. We cannot be forced or pressured to incarnate, so rest-assured, when we do, we are fully prepared for what our next lifetime will entail.
In terms of why anyone would choose painful/difficult outcomes, there are many things to consider. The main answer is that the ultimate goal is to evolve as souls, and the only way to achieve this is through contrast (bad stuff). Consider this- nothing makes us value and appreciate life more than death. Nothing makes us appreciate anything more than the absence of those very things.
Keep in mind, sometimes our lives aren’t even about us. Sometimes our purpose is to help other people on their journey towards growth and evolution.
The true length/duration of an average lifespan, in the grand scheme of things, is comparable to the size of the head of a pin. So, if we die as a baby or young child, yes, it’s tragic- especially for those directly impacted- but the baby/child is in the spirit world, possibly onto their next incarnation while those left behind are still grieving.
I also believe we all get a turn walking in one another’s’ shoes. We’re all victims and we’re all perpetrators. We’re all ethnicities. We’re all spectrums of emotions/conditions. We’re all poor and wealthy. We’re all genders. We’re all rockstars and we’re all groupies. We’re all janitors and we’re all CEO’s. We all die at birth and we all live to be 100- despite a penchant for booze and cigarettes.
This is how I view the world. There is an order to everything, a meaning to it all. Nothing is random or coincidental, and therefore, we are never victims of circumstance.
In full transparency, after I published The Gifts That Haunt Me I was emotionally preparing for a profound loss. My memoir contains a chapter called The Universe Within, which is about me forgoing organized religion for a more spiritual approach, and Norma, the lady who I consider to be my spiritual mom (my biological mom passed in 2009), is a devout Catholic. I was worried she may feel in opposition to my current thought process and would therefore disown me; and all I could do was prepare for the worst. Fortunately, her response was not only unexpected, it blew me away. “Mahita, all I care about is that you believe in a higher power, and you do. That is all that ever mattered to me. I love you.”
The beauty of free will is that at some point, every one of us gets to put our faith in something. Although I cannot prove any of the spiritual claims I’ve made throughout this article, nor do I have credentials that make me qualified to state them as unequivocal fact, but what I do have is the knowledge that this belief system has been instrumental in elevating me from constant suffering and suicidality to a state of peace and joy.
So, with all that said- whatever path you choose in this crazy adventure called life, my hope is that it will always serve you well and bring you the peace you are meant to feel:)