Sep 24 2013

Why are we frightened of reincarnation?

Ever-Flowing Streams: Tapping into Healing Energy

Chapter 9

Reincarnation

This excerpt is Part II in a series on reincarnation:

I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have changed several times since then.–Alice in Wonderland

Born Again?

Great minds and mystics have grappled with the theory of reincarnation for eons. The modern Christian church dismisses the concept. The party line is that we are born once; we have the option of accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior for our ticket to heaven; if we don’t, we are condemned to hell. This interpretation of scripture promotes church membership quite effectively.

But looking historically and globally, I found that reincarnation has been embraced by cultures far and wide. Even the Bible retains passages that allude to it. Besides the reference above from Matthew naming John the Baptist and Elijah as the same soul, Jesus seemed to convey the concept in several references:

John 8:58–Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.

Luke 9:18-20–“Who do the people say that I am?” And they answered, “John the Baptist; but others say Elijah; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen.”

John 9:2—As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

If you take the above passages at face value, it appears there was a cultural acceptance of the idea that souls return to the earthly plane. Clearly, the people of the time exhibited a belief in reincarnation if they conjectured Jesus might be the returning spirits of Elijah or an Old Testament prophet.

Also implied in the last quotation is an understanding of karma, the cosmic law of cause and effect. Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? The question indicates a belief that a child born blind could be the result of previous misdeeds.

Other scriptures point to a karmic philosophy:

Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap-Galatians 6:7

Do unto others what you would have them do to you—Matthew 7:12

All who draw the sword will die by the sword—Matthew 26:52

Theologians have argued these passages for two thousand years. One of the earliest and most respected was Origen of Alexandria who lived from 185-254 A.D. According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, he believed in the “pre-existence and fall of souls; multiple ages and transmigration of souls; and the eventual restoration of all souls to a state of dynamic perfection in proximity to the godhead.” Quite the metaphysician, Origen. He devoted his life to teaching and writing his Christian beliefs until the Roman Emperor of the day ordered a purging of the followers of Christ. Origen was martyred in Tyre.

The debate continued for another two hundred years until the church grew into a political institution. According to Life Between Life by Joel L. Whitton, Ph. D, “The new Church-State alliance, aiming for the cultivated dependence of the masses, felt threatened by those who believed in rebirth because such Christians tended to be self-reliant, free-thinking individuals whose subservience could not be guaranteed.”

In 553 A.D., the Fifth Ecumenical Council condemned Origen’s theories as heresy (the root definition meaning “able to choose”).  Emperor Justinian formally denounced the concept of rebirth in no uncertain terms:

If anyone assert the fabulous pre-existence of souls and shall assert the monstrous restoration which follows from it: let him be anathema

Wow–let him be anathema– as in a “person or thing accursed or consigned to damnation or destruction.” [1]

Zealous church leaders followed up that dictate by slaughtering a half million reincarnation-believing Cathars in Southern France during the 1200’s. Not satisfied with that carnage, the Inquisition was born.

Carol Bowman sums up the legacy of such repression in Children’s Past Lives thus:

The murderous efficiency of the Inquisition proved effective. The persecution by the institutional Church has scarred our collective psyche, and it has surrounded us with an invisible fence dividing what is safe from what is dangerous to believe. Since then, people who harbor forbidden ideas have learned to keep their thoughts to themselves. Our cultural memory still carries the fear of reprisal for publicly associating with any occult practices, the use of psychic powers or a belief in reincarnation.

Consequently, believers in reincarnation were effectively wiped out or muzzled. In time, the masses of the West generally forgot about it. The day-to-day struggle to survive and the poor education of the eras erased reincarnation concept from cultural memory.

History marched on—the Renaissance, the split of church by the Reformation, and the Industrial Revolution transformed the West, but reincarnation did not figure into the world-view paradigm. And maybe that was a good thing.

End of excerpt

All of Chapter 9 is available to read at Scribd.com

Tapping400Ever-Flowing Streams: Tapping into Healing Energy is available at:

Ebook Amazon.com

Paperback  Lulu.com 

© 2010 by Dana Taylor
All rights reserved

 

 

Sep 17 2013

Children Recalling Past Lives

Past-Life Memories: Part One

Past-life recollection appears to be on the rise in the West. Soul Survivor by Bruce and Andrea Leininger of Layfette, Louisiana details the story of their son, James, who at two years old began recalling being shot down in an airplane during World War II. Texas-born Bruce Leininger did not consider reincarnation a valid worldview and set out to find another explanation for the details his young son supplied about the life of a World War II pilot named James M. Huston, Jr. As a mother, Andrea Leininger found herself in uncharted territory, trying to help her child deal with the recall of a former life and yet forge a new life in a new time.

Bruce Leininger’s research to debunk the mystery, ultimately provides a compelling argument for reincarnation being the most logical explanation for his son’s behavior. The father goes from hostile skeptic to believer. Their family journey is fascinating and a good blue print for parents of children beginning to deal with similar situations.

Product DetailsCarol Bowman’s book, Children’s Past Lives, began with the memories of her son, Chase, and the horrors of the Civil War. In an effort to help her son, Carol embarked on a spiritual discovery that led to a life’s work. Carol Bowman helps parents confronted with children remembering past lives often ended in trauma. This book will challenge your world view.

TODAY Show Feature–March 16, 2015

Was he remembering a life from the early days of Hollywood? Cynthia McFadden features 10-year-old Ryan from the Midwest who began speaking of another life when he was five years old. Once he recognized “his” face from an old movie still, his family and past life researchers from the University of Virginia began checking into the facts he could remember. See the interview here:

Today Show Story of Ryan’s Past Life

 

 

Tapping400My spiritual memoir, Ever-Flowing Streams, follows the thread of my discovery of a past-life connection that affected the quality of my life for over fifty years. Coming to terms with past-life traumas and connections can be the key to unlocking personal mysteries. This is the first in a series of blogs on past-life connection. I hope you find them intriguing and enlightening.

Dana Taylor

 

 

Aug 22 2013

The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope

Book Review by Dana Taylor

Debut author Rhonda Riley has produced one of the most exquisitely written books I’ve read in a long while. The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope has a mystical quality that warms my Supernal heart. The story is told by Evelyn, born in North Carolina during the Depression, who comes into womanhood as World War II is ending. At the age of seventeen she is charged with keeping her aunt’s farm functioning to provide food for her mill-town family. One stormy night she discovers the naked body of a man she at first thinks must be a burned soldier returned from the war. A, as she comes to think of him, morphs into the love of her life. The world ultimately comes to know him as Adam Hope. He and Evelyn share an abiding devotion and amazing secret. Adam is either un-human or the ultimate human.

Their extraordinary story unfolds against an ordinary background of farm life and the post-war years of America. This is a beautiful book. Every word is carefully chosen for full effect. Adam’s appreciation of life, land, and love is a reminder that we should embrace the moments of our lives.

The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope by Rhonda Riley–highly recommended!

Aug 16 2013

When Angels Speak

 Angelic Life Coach, Peg Jones, has brought together messages from her angels in a daily devotional and spiritual exercise format to foster personal growth. Begin your days with a word from the Angelic Realm!

619EqTQCSAL._SL1024_Living in the Heart Place with Your Angels: Daily Angelical Whispers throughout The Year is a three year project of channeling inspiring messages from author Peg Jones’ angels. There is a message for each day of the year with a journal exercise.  The angels speak of  many different things, such as love, peace, heart place, joy, healing and healing with color.  They offer self empowerment and hope for you in the dreams you may have for yourself and others. An example of the message is as follows:

April 2

Today we find that when we heal, we heal from the inside out. We get rid of all that is not serving our personal good. The many layers that there are will clear when we are diligent about the healing process. As these layers peel away we will start to feel better and we will be able to see and feel what living in the heart place truly is. We will feel more love and peace within ourselves than we’ve ever felt before. We will feel the clarity of the healing that is taking place. We will understand that we don’t have to hold on to what no longer serves us. Let the Universe help you with this.

Journal exercise:

What are you letting go of and healing today? Think about it and journal about it.

The daily journal exercises will help you to see how you can learn to see how the angels can guide you in your life on a daily basis.

Available at Amazon and author central on Amazon. http://amzn.to/17sEmGv The book can also be purchased on Create Space at the Create Space Store.

Peg Jones is a certified Angelic Life Coach, Author of many ezines that are online, and also a Reiki II practitioner, and an Akashic Records Practitioner. She teaches classes on her website and will be starting her mastermind classes for her book starting in the fall.  Peg also has her own radio show on Blog Talk Radio.  Her page on Blog Talk is Angelical Whispers.  Peg’s website is http://pegsangelcalwhispers.com Visit her blog at http://angelicalwhispers.wordpress.com/     Peg lives in Massachusetts with her husband Jonathan.  Peg had been a teacher of pre-school and special needs for many years before she became an Angelic Life Coach.

Aug 9 2013

Grace in Grief: Six Months After My Husband’s Passing

051It’s been six months since my husband was suddenly gone in a car accident last February. Only six months, yet, a lifetime. The surreal first month, caught in a flurry of details and rituals. The memorial service panorama of faces across a thirty-six year marriage passing before me in one afternoon…. Carrying a box of ashes to a droughty cemetery in Norman, Oklahoma. Leaving them on the desk of a friendly, Okie-speak girl for later burial in his parents’ plot.

I kept waiting to see my phone ringing showing “husband” and I’d tell him all about it.

The weeks back home in California melted into tasks accomplished–sending death certificates, a new trust drawn up, closets cleaned, home repairs. Long, quiet nights.

Emotion held at bay until a witching hour visit last month. Supposedly between 4 and 5 o’clock in the morning our spirit selves can make contact with the other side. There have been similar “dreams” where I’m lying in my bed, asleep and yet aware. I can see and hear a normally unseen dimension around me. One night I heard a grand party going on and a man stood next to my bed playing a saxophone. As I awakened to complete consciousness, he disappeared; the music faded. Last January my dear friend, Jeanie, appeared a week after she’d passed over. Her grandson sat on the foot of my bed as she spoke lovingly to me to say goodbye.

The visitation/dream from my husband, David, came five months after he got confused driving in road construction along I-35, hit a cone, spun into a concrete wall and was then broadsided by a van.

As I lay in my bed, dawn was an hour away, when I was awakened by the sound of running water. David stood next to the window, his back to me, wearing only his boxers, which was always his sleeping attire. He seemed to be washing his hands, another night-time ritual. My first thought was, “There’s no sink there.” (Our Oklahoma bedroom had a sink outside the shower. In my California home, the bathroom is down the hall.)

He looked at me over his shoulder and smiled. I got the impression he could do special things in this spirit dimension, even conjure up a sink. He stepped to the bed and slipped between the covers with me. After months of solitary sleeping, the intense joy of feeling my husband next me was beyond description. Our arms joined like, two halves of whole fitting together.

Image 13His face was bathed in a golden glow. He looked 35 again. The handsome guy I married. “You look good,” I said.

“So do you,” he said. He pulled me closer. “I was so stupid. I crawled away. I wrecked the car.”

An image played in my mind of his spirit body seeing the aftermath of his accident, the chaos and destruction. He watched helplessly, irritated with himself for making an irrevocable error of judgment.

Until that moment, I’d pictured him going to the light, surrounded by angels walking into a pink sunset. A Hollywood ending. Maybe that came later.

In our bed, I felt the regret and the longing and the last goodbye. He stretched out over me. So wonderful, so right, so fleeting. My arms gathered across his back and held on as long as it would last. I knew it wasn’t real and yet it was utterly real.

Don’t go…don’t go….

As the rays of sunlight rose above the horizon, he dissolved in my arms. I came to full consciousness, flat on my back, tears trailing into my hair. I lay there two more hours, flummoxed, gob-smocked.

A true period of grief began. Sadness, weeping spells. Also, came the grace. A prophetic friend living hundreds of miles away sent me a “word from the Lord.” My pain was not unnoticed…. A wonderful healer gave me a full body massage and therapy session… I took a class in sound therapy and received a whole array of healing frequencies from bells, singing bowls, tuning forks and Reiki…. My Supernal friend, Sue, administered a healing energy treatment to heal regret.

After thirty-six years, there were regrets. I was focusing on the lost opportunities and missed moments. The healers helped me turn from regret, move toward gratitude and remember the happy times. I needed to be grateful for the family we created–first, two fabulous daughters and now two wonderful grand kids and the joyful anticipation of the next one next in February. Yes, a year from David’s departure, we will be welcoming our younger daughter’s first child into our lives.

It seems only appropriate to end this with a passage from the Bible, the book that held my husband’s constant fascination and guided his life.

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness Psalms 30:11

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Life reflected in books:

A Spiritual Memoir and Introduction to Energy Healing

“Powerful memoir that touched my soul”

EVER-FLOWING STREAMS: Christ, Reiki, Reincarnation & Me

“What I needed on my journey of spirit”   

Available as ebook and paperback Amazon or paperback at

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Life-inspired fiction:

The Healer & the Lawyer: Opposites Attract AIN’T LOVE GRAND?  Visit Author Den Page

 

Aug 3 2013

Coo-Coo for Coconuts

A few weeks ago during my meditation hour I asked, “Is there anything I should be adding to my life?”

The answer came quickly, “Coconuts.”

Interesting. You know how it goes, suddenly coconuts were everywhere. I walked into Sprouts and couldn’t miss hundreds of cans of coconut water. Did you know coconut water is so close to human blood plasma, that it is administered intravenously in emergency situations  to save lives? It’s a great pick-me-up with electrolytes and potassium. I stocked up and use it as the base of my shakes.

Next, I went for a massage and energy treatment from the wonderful Dale Arend, aka Dahlia, (author of  Follow the River) and she slathered me from head to toe in coconut oil.

Finally, a book on the benefits of coconut oil popped up in my email. Coconut Oil: Miraculous Benefits for a Healthier, Skinnier, and More Beautiful You  by Amber Cavill extols coconut oil in all its glory. While it used to get a bad rap as a heart clogging menace, those fears have been disproven. In fact, coconut oil may actually lower cholesterol levels. It improves thyroid function and can reduce belly fat. See Dr. Oz’s article on the benefits of coconut oil here.

Cavill’s book covers the range of ways coconut oil can be incorporated into a healthy life style. Use it for cooking, skin care and even your sex life!

Here are a few items from the list of 100 uses for coconut oil at the back of the book:

  • Substitute for other cooking oils
  • Use in salad dressing
  • Natural antibacterial skin cream
  • Use as a diaper and baby cream
  • Use a natural sunscreen (SPF4)
  • Condition damaged hair

Order Coconut Oil: Miraculous Benefits for a Healthier, Skinnier, and More Beautiful You  and discover for yourself all the joys of coconut oil. Personally, I love it as a chemical-free skin cream. Look for an organic version in your grocery store with the baked good items.

I’m definitely coo-coo for coconuts!