Desperate People Might Appreciate Others Not Fearing The Worst
A Wake Doesn’t Mean You Have To Be Woke
Have you ever been reluctant to praise a spiritual or self-help book or program, thinking you’d sound like the book’s testimonials and not be in touch with real people?
As a longtime reader of various genres in these spheres, it had occurred to me to consider cataloging what struck me from various books, though I was never so moved as to make time for this — even after I finally thought of doing so online, having started reading such in the eighties.
Now that I really want to share one of my findings, a more general review doesn’t seem likely to be useful to any reader as everyone has different ideas of what they’d find useful; my eagerness is unlikely to align what would hit the spot for anyone craving what feels like a refreshing way to view things. Better to directly say what makes this author’s books speak to me.
I was once called an “old soul” by a friend who had never evinced any interest in topics that would suggest awareness of that. Recalling that recently, I wanted to find out what others had said on the subject — near-death experiences and the like hadn’t been a big topic for me.
But I ventured in a bit warily, because one of my favorite life coaches who (if I might risk the lightness of being sensational) speaks openly and relatively merrily about death is Abraham-Hicks, who is of the opinion that “new soul” is a fashionable New Age insult, and such a distinction among people was an excuse not to change, all souls being about equally old. Even with their lack of soberness, I wouldn’t want to make trouble for them by giving the impression that that source was indifferent to life; psychics, like the famous Sylvia Browne who claimed communication with the dead, and bereaved parent Elisa Medhus, whose intermediaries have reported her son to be having great experiences, are emphatic that suicide is not the answer.
But as I’ll show below, worrying need not be either. This subject might sound surprisingly flaky to friends who know me as more of an intellectual, but it matters not what one believes when it comes to discussing afterlife considerations; this weighty subject is one you would be careful how you mention to anyone, regardless of what makes sense to you. And in any case, what you might entertain in this regard is between you and whatever you believe knows. Feel free to secretly ponder new ideas among the knowing.
I’m all for persuading people not to hide (as Abrham-Hicks suggested above could be the case), but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a continuum expressing meaningful differences. In fact, Ainslee MacLeod’s The Instruction (and other books of his) makes quite the case that past lives are the biggest reason for differences among well-meaning and educated people. Profound as that is upon reflection, it wasn’t the most startling insight I garnered there.
Under his past lives discussion (which I expect is the largest area of interest to his readers) he spells out the magnitude of such a claim when it comes to understanding others — and our own past lives. Anyone on the lookout for a cynically facile approach need not struggle to imagine a testimonial that writes itself when combined with what strikes him as brilliantly obvious causes for the human condition.
Another reason I’d feel reluctant to praise his specific approach is that he goes so far as to suggest (as a psychic medium) that there are ten levels of reincarnation — a complete-sounding round number, along with ten life paths (even though it’s common to live combinations of them).
For example, level 2 and 3 souls (he argues) might want a small, righteous and moral community with strong rulers, and level 5 souls might be the most determined political and corporate leaders, whereas at level 6, souls question what they used to believe, at 7 they’re most creative, and by the time they’ve reached level 9 or 10 they can be ready to “quit,” but not without making sure they’ve tied up loose ends in every way they can reasonably think of.
Naturally, it can sound escapist to think too much of what lies beyond this world when we’re not there yet, but until you’ve considered how you or others might live differently during this life or a future one, I would submit you’re not making the most of your opportunities. I say “future one” because your life circumstances might make it much easier to consider what changes you’d make that are impractical now in practice, but why not start thinking about it? Or at least be aware of that possibility when hearing of the inspirational goals of others?
I was depressed recently. I wasn’t “in danger” of doing something reckless, though in even talking about any resigned feelings with others they might fear the worst. I don’t have a magic answer, but one that may be what you’re looking for if you’re moved to try a more hopeful approach. Even if someone has a more blithe attitude toward death than you can bring yourself to be in solidarity with, they might benefit from an awareness that they aren’t up for desperate measures.
The depression came after a stroke a couple of years ago, which contributed to my not having written for some time. I hesitated to bring this up partly because strokes are so varied, and if you know someone who experienced one it might be hard for you to picture the severity of what I’m describing. But more than that, I want to give a realistic picture of what I was experiencing — neither minimized nor overly dramatic. Walking and using both hands is difficult, but I drive, and my mind can handle complex problems if I’m motivated.
I’ve been depressed at other times in my life. The difficulties now made it easier to think of not wanting to relearn things and just be grateful for all I’ve had so far, and to go so far as to think of death like leaving a party when you’re tired. In other words, I wasn’t desperate or even miserable. Just reading about people feeling ready to go if they weren’t depressed gave me a way to know for myself that I wasn’t going to make myself surprise others.
Straightforward as I feel myself, I imagine this subject uncomfortable enough for others that I find it helpful to refer to it in euphemisms — if at all. That — this subject — made this the hardest writing I’ve ever done, and the most important.
Even if I couldn’t make them know it, it helped fuel my conviction when I told others how I felt. The understanding felt more personal and powerful than anything I can recall reading. This book apparently wasn’t intended for that purpose, but it felt like a real service to make that connection…beyond what I found to be its stunning clarity of how people are motivated due to their prior experiences.
When I read someone saying that old souls felt the way they do, it felt like more than something I resonated with; it felt like someone else had the awareness that I wanted to feel complete and wasn’t content to just find a way to run. Although not horribly depressed, I felt grateful for the life I’ve lived and just wanted to move on, in that sense. But this feels like the most important thing I’ve ever written. Not that I want anyone to feel like the stakes are high, but I’d like to see what comes of this more than I want the restfulness of quitting.
On another (related) subject, one goal I’ve been especially interested in lately has been to improve my intuition. Reading, or even practicing, has never helped me much there. Any suggestion that we simply listen to our urges makes me think they could say anything because of an overactive imagination, but reading books by psychic mediums who specialize in writing about death and near-death experiences feels like reading between the lines. Again, it matters not what you think of death-related experiences or alleged psychics, and as those who know me well realize I’m willing to theoretically consider speculative ideas — a practice you might find entertaining or otherwise useful.
In an area which little is known about, these self-proclaimed psychics often disagreed among themselves. For example, the famed Sylvia Browne said many souls had about fifty lives over time, and she went so far as to publish a book on how many past lives some famous ones had, what certain lives that shaped them were like, and how many more lives they plan to return for. Ainslee MacLeod believes many of us have had over 100 lives in the last six millennia or so, while others think many immediate prior lives were a century or two ago (in other words, not so close together Some think it’s common for someone’s grandmother, a few years after death, to become that person’s new grandson, while Echo Bodine says souls are discouraged (not forbidden) from reincarnating less than sixty years after dying (in case you’re wondering if a relative from your childhood has come back). I hope these examples affirm for my intellectual friends that there’s so much ambiguity one may consider.
But sometimes, knowing yourself and others generates more certainty. MacLeod believes in being politically active during this life and that those who’ve had many lives would be more tolerant of others — beyond libertarianism. I’ve felt deep injustice about the mistreatment of minorities, but why might I not care about possible conspiracy theories aimed at larger groups of people? If Covid contagion and illness were really handled in the sanest way possible, fearmongering media and governments accused of never letting a crisis go to waste left many openings for fearmongering skeptics to make their case as well. Maybe I’m not such an evolved gentle soul if I prefer the commotion of calling attention to relatively less-discussed or more controversial problems that people don’t agree on, but MacLeod acknowledges generalizations, and kudos to his online presence for encouraging others to consider their legacy, regardless of what others may think around them.
