Having been immersed in the spirituality/science community for so many years, I am constantly coming across books written by others about finding our real purpose to this physical existence. Every book and lecturer preach the fact that we have been put on this Earth for a specific purpose, and they give us steps that we can take to discovering such meaning. I realize that I espouse a minority view on this subject, but I believe that once we set out on a search for this purpose, as if it were a scavenger hunt to solve the riddle and win the prize, we are lost.
I believe that our only purpose in the physical world is to experience, learn, and absorb. Other than that, we do not have a mission and we are not “meant” to do anything. Oddly enough, this is the only place like it in the great continuum of life. We discover meaning and purpose in the worlds to come, and some may catch glimpses of such things while here, but actively pursuing it is futile. Instead, we should find moments of inspiration as they come. There are no steps to follow. We simply absorb the wondrous and the horror for what they are, random occurrences that occur not by the hand of the divine or the universe, but as part of this physical experience. For example, when someone has a horrific car crash but escapes with minor injuries, the spiritualists rejoice in the fact that the person was saved by divine intervention. However, when a passenger in the same car dies, it is pronounced that “it was their time,” or “God needed another angel.” Really? Out of the billions of souls that have passed over since the dawn of man, God needs more assistance? I always remain open to any explanations, but I tend to think not. It is how we react to all that is put before us that matters, and this will play a part when we move on, but not necessarily now. The divine, as part of the design, set us up with a “hands off” approach to see what compassion and love we can muster amidst the chaos.
I am aware of the substantial evidence suggesting that some of us reincarnate, and the theory that we choose to return to learn more lessons in the physical realm, something needed by our soul that is the accumulation of many lifetimes of experiences. Some children have past life memories and can describe factual evidence of their previous life. However, even among these children, they rarely have any knowledge of lessons that they need to learn, and such memories usually fade over time. I prefer to believe that those who return to become embodied again do so for another round of experiences, as opposed to following a lesson plan.
One thing that I have learned from the study of psi phenomena is that you cannot make things happen by simply wishing them to come true. This is why advice is given to send a thought out into the ether and let it go, letting it percolate through fields of information. Trying to force something to happen seems to impede the process. You can send thoughts out into the universe, and they may have consequences on a macro level, but rarely do they influence individual direction. I do believe that there is power in numbers, and we can measure group consciousness, as evidenced by the Global Consciousness Project where a common thought among the masses can be measured scientifically. This shows that our thoughts are connected but does not provide any evidence that these common intentions can change the course of events, at least not yet.
I am a firm believer in the power of the mind. Changing the way that we think about death can transform grief. Changing brain patterns can manifest improved mental states and better health. I see many well meaning healers at work, and I believe that their healing powers have more to do with getting people to think differently than channeling non-worldly sources. Some healers tell you that they are instruments of God, who works directly through them to perform healing miracles. The same healers tell you that God is within all of us, and I suspect that this is true. But if this is the case, and God chooses to interfere by healing some and not others, why is this not done directly? Furthermore, when I read healing testimonials, most of the accounts involve people who had bad backs, or emotional trauma, or relatively minor ailments. I have yet to come across a documented account where someone is healed from stage five cancer or other end stage illness. Granted, my views have been influenced through my own experience, as I watched my wife suffer with pancreatic cancer as she tried multitude modalities of non-traditional healing with numerous healers, all having no healing effects. I view human suffering as just another part of physical life. I reject the argument that such suffering is part of a contract that we signed, or part of a designed plan. It’s just shit that happens.
However, I also believe that when we leave the body and move to a non-physical existence, we can review all that happened, learn from it, and grow from all the experiences and how we coped. There is a design to the universe, and that design dictates that not everything that happens here is for a reason. It really is the ultimate learning experience, but just not the way that most people think.