Life after Life

Life After Life
Chad Fuller

It is said that two-thirds of the world's population believes in reincarnation. This concept is a belief in a cycle of rebirth, claimed by numerous world religions including, but not limited to, Paganism, Hinduism, and the spiritual path of Buddhism. Even though two-thirds of the world may hold this belief, it is still an awkward subject to approach in certain places. Living in a Christian household, it is slightly challenging to have beliefs much different from those of my parents. They tend to talk about salvation and the day of judgment, while others simply live out their lives until they are ready for the next one.

Some hold that once a life is lived, the soul retreats to another plane of existence to reside until it is ready to incarnate back into the physical world. During this period of rest, perhaps the soul dwells with other beings, or just simply exists on this other plane. We normally have no memories of that period of rest, just as we usually have no memory of past lives. This is why meditation and spell-working may be done to attempt to uncover these past lives. The consciousness is somehow altered as our souls inhabit new bodies.

Albert Einstein stated that energy cannot be created, nor can it be destroyed, but the energy simply changes from one form to another. Perhaps this explains reincarnation of our souls. If our energy can't be destroyed, where does it go? Some would say it goes into the ground or into ashes, when our physical bodies die away and the state of the physical body is changed upon burial or cremation. Another answer would be that our energy (soul) moves into the astral plane to actually await the next incarnation. During this time, the energy would build up and prepare to manifest on the physical plane once again.

Does this cycle of rebirth ever end? How could it have always been this way? With all these incarnating souls, I also believe new souls are being created, because the population is ever increasing. After many incarnations, the soul will finally break free from the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Pagans, and probably people of other paths, say that this cycle enables the soul to learn life lessons and evolve, for lack of a better word, spiritually. Once the soul has done all it needs to do, it may break away and reside on another plane of existence.

Reincarnation is one way to view life after death. Or as I put it, life after life. Because I believe in this particular theory, it also lets me know that I don't need "saving" from my mistakes. If I fail to gain what knowledge I need in this lifetime, perhaps I will finish the job next time. Like the mythical phoenix, a bird that rises from its ashes, my soul may rise from its original shell and live on.