Post by Laurasia on Mar 23, 2005 14:06:59 GMT -5
Past-Life Recollections - Lesson 4
"Hereditary & Environmental Influences"
Let's begin our examination of the role of
hereditary & environment play in our lives by looking
at the relationship between these influences & the
ones we bring with us from our previous incarnations.
Thus far, our work has been based on the assumption
that our interests & characteristics are strongly
shaped by our former lives. How, then, do we account
for the effects of heredity & environment?
Modern genetics has shown pretty conclusively that
we inherit through our genes not only our physical
makeup, but many of our mental & psychological traits
as well. If this is true, how can we say that
past-life influences, rather than simple genetics,
have caused a person to be fat or thin, a
mathematician rather than an artist, or whatever the
case may be?
We have a similar puzzle with respect to
environment. We know that our early childhood
experiences, our family setting, & virtually
everything go on in the world around us all have an
influence on the way we think about & react to life's
events. How, then, can we attribute traits of
temperament & personality to past-life experiences?
Are we denying the role of heredity & environment in
making us who we are?
Probably the best answer is, yes & no. Yes, we are
denying that heredity & environment are the absolute
molding agents in our lives, forces which shape us
without regard to our own choice. On the other hand,
no - we are not denying that heredity & environment
have a very real effect on our lives. But rather than
seeing them as factors which determine who we are,
perhaps we should view heredity & environment as
conditions that we're drawn to in order to meet the
results of choices we've made in the past. In other
words, heredity & environment interact with this thing
called karma in such a way that each life is a
continuation of patterns, good & bad, that we've
established in previous lives. Here's how it might
work.
First of all, it's important to remember that in
the reincarnation theory the essence of who we are is
nonphysical. It's the part of us that existed before
we were born into the current flesh-body & the part of
us that will live on after the body dies. If we
imagine, for the sake of illustration, that our
nonphysical essence is like a malleable substance -
say, a piece of clay - we can begin to see how our
choices shape our inner being. With each choice we
make, that clay-like substance is shaped, forming a
record of sorts. A talet developed here, a problem fed
here, a happy experience, a painful one - they each
leave their mark on our inner beings, shaping them
into forms that become our individual identities. And
when our nonphysical essence is drawn into physical
form, it attracts to itself just the right heredity &
environment to fit the inner identity. We might
imagine our heredity & environment to be a glove,
custom-made to fit the hand.
Or consider it this way: Suppose that clay-like
essence we spoke of a moment ago is also magnetic.
Just as our magnetic lump of clay would draw to itself
iron fillings that would encase it & give it a hard
outer shell, our inner identity encases itself in
physical & environmental circumstances.
It's important to remember that patterns which have
take on concrete form in our physical or environmental
circumstances usually can't be changed
instantaneously; the inner form must be changed before
a new outer shell can be constructed to conform to it.
For this reason, body traits can be some of our most
enduring records of past-life experiences. The
physical makeup we come in with is pretty much
indicative of some patterns built in prior lives.
Because of this, we can learn to read our body's
record of what we may have built or experienced in the
past.
Of course, not all body clues point to shortcomings
or lessons we need to learn. Some are simply records
of the past, like the skillful hands of a person who
had been an accomplished artist, the sharp hearing of
a former Indian, & the physical agility of someone
with a previous incarnation as a great athlete. These
clues become especially important when it seems that
the person was just born with them, rather than having
labored in this lifetime to develop such physical
traits.
Our bodies can also store memories of past-life
traumas that we haven't let go of yet. Birthmarks may
be the carryovers - scars, if you will - of injuries
incurred during former incarnations.
Sometimes our body clues point to compensation for
a past situation. There are, as we have seen, many
possible ways in which our bodies can reflect
experiences from our past. Thus it is important to
realize that a single body clue, all by itself, may
not instantly suggest a past-life theory. But it can
be an important piece in the puzzle.
Sincerely,
Laurasia
"Hereditary & Environmental Influences"
Let's begin our examination of the role of
hereditary & environment play in our lives by looking
at the relationship between these influences & the
ones we bring with us from our previous incarnations.
Thus far, our work has been based on the assumption
that our interests & characteristics are strongly
shaped by our former lives. How, then, do we account
for the effects of heredity & environment?
Modern genetics has shown pretty conclusively that
we inherit through our genes not only our physical
makeup, but many of our mental & psychological traits
as well. If this is true, how can we say that
past-life influences, rather than simple genetics,
have caused a person to be fat or thin, a
mathematician rather than an artist, or whatever the
case may be?
We have a similar puzzle with respect to
environment. We know that our early childhood
experiences, our family setting, & virtually
everything go on in the world around us all have an
influence on the way we think about & react to life's
events. How, then, can we attribute traits of
temperament & personality to past-life experiences?
Are we denying the role of heredity & environment in
making us who we are?
Probably the best answer is, yes & no. Yes, we are
denying that heredity & environment are the absolute
molding agents in our lives, forces which shape us
without regard to our own choice. On the other hand,
no - we are not denying that heredity & environment
have a very real effect on our lives. But rather than
seeing them as factors which determine who we are,
perhaps we should view heredity & environment as
conditions that we're drawn to in order to meet the
results of choices we've made in the past. In other
words, heredity & environment interact with this thing
called karma in such a way that each life is a
continuation of patterns, good & bad, that we've
established in previous lives. Here's how it might
work.
First of all, it's important to remember that in
the reincarnation theory the essence of who we are is
nonphysical. It's the part of us that existed before
we were born into the current flesh-body & the part of
us that will live on after the body dies. If we
imagine, for the sake of illustration, that our
nonphysical essence is like a malleable substance -
say, a piece of clay - we can begin to see how our
choices shape our inner being. With each choice we
make, that clay-like substance is shaped, forming a
record of sorts. A talet developed here, a problem fed
here, a happy experience, a painful one - they each
leave their mark on our inner beings, shaping them
into forms that become our individual identities. And
when our nonphysical essence is drawn into physical
form, it attracts to itself just the right heredity &
environment to fit the inner identity. We might
imagine our heredity & environment to be a glove,
custom-made to fit the hand.
Or consider it this way: Suppose that clay-like
essence we spoke of a moment ago is also magnetic.
Just as our magnetic lump of clay would draw to itself
iron fillings that would encase it & give it a hard
outer shell, our inner identity encases itself in
physical & environmental circumstances.
It's important to remember that patterns which have
take on concrete form in our physical or environmental
circumstances usually can't be changed
instantaneously; the inner form must be changed before
a new outer shell can be constructed to conform to it.
For this reason, body traits can be some of our most
enduring records of past-life experiences. The
physical makeup we come in with is pretty much
indicative of some patterns built in prior lives.
Because of this, we can learn to read our body's
record of what we may have built or experienced in the
past.
Of course, not all body clues point to shortcomings
or lessons we need to learn. Some are simply records
of the past, like the skillful hands of a person who
had been an accomplished artist, the sharp hearing of
a former Indian, & the physical agility of someone
with a previous incarnation as a great athlete. These
clues become especially important when it seems that
the person was just born with them, rather than having
labored in this lifetime to develop such physical
traits.
Our bodies can also store memories of past-life
traumas that we haven't let go of yet. Birthmarks may
be the carryovers - scars, if you will - of injuries
incurred during former incarnations.
Sometimes our body clues point to compensation for
a past situation. There are, as we have seen, many
possible ways in which our bodies can reflect
experiences from our past. Thus it is important to
realize that a single body clue, all by itself, may
not instantly suggest a past-life theory. But it can
be an important piece in the puzzle.
Sincerely,
Laurasia
