Do We Plan Our Lives/Incarnations?
Life Planning: Review
Unlocking the Soul explains that life planning happens on higher planes of existence after we’ve completed our readjustment period in the subtle world. Life planning includes life review, life selection, and life programming. Life reviews seem to be more extensive than what NDEs frequently describe as their lives flashing before their eyes. Life reviews or assimilated experiences (Law of One: 47:15, 82:25-28) are when souls evaluate their most recent incarnations, perhaps using our indigo ray bodies. The Seth Material, channeled by Jane Roberts, explains that life reviews are where we experience key moments from our recent past life — not only from our own perspective but also from the perspective of others involved.
No worries. There is no judgment from our guides during this time, only compassion and forgiveness. If there is any judgment it’s likely it would come from ourselves. This is because life reviews are said to be self-directed so we have the ability to relive joyous, along with traumatic experiences. Could this be the reason entities feel like they’re in “hell”? Perhaps the torment they’re experiencing is self-induced as they choose to relive trauma over and over again for what seems like an eternity. This process could take days or years depending on how quickly we process our experiences.
What’s the purpose of life reviews? Life reviews help us uncover attachments, ripples we’ve made, our impact on others, and karma that should have been addressed. It’s the stepping stone for life planning as it helps us determine the karma we need to work out and appropriate material (worldly) and spiritual duties we should perform. For example, the Bhagavad Gita (9:32, 13:22) explains that our attachment to the three gunas dictates which families we’re born into – determining if we’re educated with decent or not so decent values. Swami Mukundananda (Bhakti Yog Saint & Yoga Teacher) even suggests we can ascend spiritually, remain at the same level, or even slide down to the animal level (Bhagavad Gita: 2:40, 14:14-14).
Life Planning: Selection
Determining Aspects for Next Incarnation
According to Unlocking the Soul and the Law of One (33:6-7, 71:6), life selection is the process where we determine aspects of our next incarnation. This will help us learn the necessary lessons to spiritually ascend. By we, we mean our higher selves, our personal guides, and our cosmic guides from helper groups. In the context of a movie, the unliberated soul would be an actor, the higher self would be the director, and the cosmic guide(s) would manage the movie set. Cosmic guides could include those from cosmic helper groups like the Confederation and Council of Saturn. They’re said to oversee harvests, catalysts, and synchronicities — ensuring souls don’t take on more than they can handle, fairness, and that free will for all is protected according to universal law.
Life selection is thought to be based on our life reviews, unresolved karma, lessons we want to learn (Bhagavad Gita, 14:3-4), general archetypes, and the needs of the entire galactic collective. Ergo, not every soul can have the exact incarnation it wants, as higher-potential souls who are closer to graduation could be prioritized based on the inventory of available incarnations or seniority of vibration , as explained by the Law of One (17:41-43). On the other hand, some souls request a more difficult life (filled with hardship) because intense catalysts can often produce faster spiritual ascension. The key thing to remember is that through Source’s grace, we can overcome all obstacles and difficulties, as explained by the Bhagavad Gita (18:58).
The Aspects We Can Determine
What aspects of our incarnations can we help determine? These aspects are debatable but could include birth date, genetic traits, gender, the roles we’ll play (such as a lightworker, filler or background player, or wanderer), challenges or catalysts we’ll overcome (Law of One: 19:13, 50:4-5), parents (Edgar Cayce Reading, 5749-14), social connections (e.g. sacred partners, soul mates, twin flames), social/karmic contracts, environment, and possible exit point(s) for death. The Seth Material even suggests that we can preview these aspects and explore multiple potential lives simultaneously before we make a final decision. That’s pretty cool, right?
How does astrology and archetypes fit in to life selection? Ernest Wood (Yogi, Sanskrit Scholar, and Theosophist, 1883-1965), Alice Bailey (Theosophist, 1880-1949) and Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (Writer and Co-Founder of Theosophical Society, 1831-1891) suggest that there are archetypal, astrological energy forces created by celestial gods or logos to serve as general blueprints for our individual nature and personalities. They are referred to as the seven rays: freedom (the ruler), unity (the philanthropist), comprehension (the philosopher), harmony (the artist), truth (the scientist), goodness (the devotee), and beauty (the craftsman). But we digress…
During our spiritual journeys, is our spiritual progress ever lost? According to the Bhagavad Gita (2:40, 6:41-43), we typically pick up where we left off from the previous incarnation. The Law of One does seem to suggest that spiritual progress can be forgotten, but previous patterns can also be retraced and recaptured with enough work and time (89:41). In that sense, suicide would be considered a delay in spiritual progress, requiring much healing and a repeat of the incarnation so that the necessary lessons can be learned (Law of One, 69:6). Yes, this is applicable to higher-consciousness helper entities and gurus, like Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Guru & Mystic, 1931- 1990), who can also become entangled in gross physical plane drama.
Life Planning: Programming
According to Christina Lopes (DPT, MPH, and Heart Alchemist) and Sadhguru (Guru, Mystic & Yogi), life or avatar programming is when all of the life selection decisions and 8 forms of memory (elemental, atomic, genetic, evolutionary, karmic, sensory, articulate, and inarticulate) are downloaded into our minds as an energy pattern or software. This energy pattern permeates every element of our material bodies, allowing for our bodies to be materialized in a specific configuration. For human beings traversing gross physical realms, this materialization occurs in our potential mother’s womb. For entities traversing subtle astral planes this materialization occurs through cosmic will, which manifests specifically patterned, condensed forms — ergo, no one is born through women, according to Autobiography of a Yogi (43: 356).
This suggests that materialization or conception does not have to be a result of a physical union between a male and female or other physical mechanisms. For example, it’s said that Jesus was conceived through Mary by non-physical means. And that Mary was conceived without original sin (immaculate conception). It’s suggested that Mary was chosen, protected from sin through divine grace, and trained because the vessel for Jesus needed to be mentally balanced and physically pure. Edgar Cayce suggests that Mary and Jesus were actually considered twin-souls (Readings, 5749-8, 2067-11), transcending the typical Earthly lineage. Even in modern times, conception can take place without physical union, as evidenced by in-vitro fertilization (IVF). But we digress…
Life programming is said to occur over time. For Earthly life planning, our research suggests that the bulk of it takes place during our nine-month gestation period in the womb, trickling off somewhere between ages 4-7. It’s said that souls are constantly checking in and out of potential wombs during the early stages of a mother’s pregnancy as we make the final determination of if we should stay. Could this explain why a baby’s movement isn’t constant? Edgar Cayce (Readings 457-10, 2390-2) even suggests that the soul permanently enters either at our first breath physically drawn, or during our first 24 hours of cycle activity on gross physical realms.
We say potential wombs because sometimes life programming doesn’t finish or our higher selves decide not to stay, so a baby’s gross physical form doesn’t fully materialize in a particular womb. Deciding not to stay can occur for several reasons since gross physical realms are constantly changing as entities are exerting their free will to make decisions. As The Seth Material mentions, free will trumps life planning, so social contracts can be modified or terminated if parties change their minds or their circumstances change.
For example, potential mothers could experience complications that make their wombs no longer viable options for pregnancy, resulting in terminations or miscarriages. In those circumstances, our higher selves understand that only the gross physical body in the womb “dies” while our subtle astral and causal bodies remain intact (Law of One, 30) with the potential for other gross physical bodies to materialize.
Life Planning Executed
If souls (higher selves) are aware of their incarnation plans but their lower selves aren’t because of the veil of forgetting, then how do lower selves understand their dharma, prescribed duties, and karmic duties? How do we know what lessons we need to learn while incarnated? Well fellow souls, perhaps that’s the essence of our existential journeys. We gradually uncover this information through research, trial and error, intuition (gut feelings), dreams, guidance from our higher selves, synchronicities, aid from cosmic helper groups and guides, and — what some would consider controversial — past life regressions. The key is to remain receptive and increase our awareness.
For example, the Law of One (86:7-12) and Edgar Cayce (Clairvoyant & Healer, 1877-1945) offer details about how dreams can give us clues about the lessons we need to learn and the energy blockages we may have. We won’t delve into the complexities of energy field (aura) classification systems like tarot, astrology (Law of One, 19:21), or Human Design.
But given that logoi (celestial gods) are said to create living entities using archetypes (Law of One, 78:30-32), it’s clear to us that archetype-based systems like Human Design can also provide clarity about our origins and how to interact more harmoniously with the material universe. Autobiography of a Yogi (26:210) corroborates this by explaining that the subtle astral system of a human being is interrelated with the physical sun and the twelve zodiac signs. But we digress…
In terms of lessons to be learned, is it possible that we’re only given glimpses of what we’re prepared to process and heal — no more or no less, as Christina Lopes (DPT, MPH, and Heart Alchemist) explains? This is similar to the notion that God will never give us more than we can handle, as explained in The Bible (Corinthians 1: 10:13). So the next time someone does something that hurts us, for example, we should not let the incident disturb us. We know…easier said than done, right? But perhaps in those instances we are simply being challenged, which could indicate that we still have lessons to learn or traits to cultivate ( such as compassion, empathy, patience).