Past Life/Lives?

[african]

I am one guy who believes in the theory of past lives. I believe that whatever we did in our past life or lives influences to a great extent what we are doing in our present life. This could be our dominant thoughts, our likes, dislikes and even hopes and dreams. e.g. Why are we attracted to Spiritual teachings of such a nature yet our own brothers and sisters consider them to be nonsense? This could only be explained by the fact we have a reached a certain stage in our evolution over our past lives that our brothers and sisters haven't yet reached.

I also believe that this theory of past lives is true because I feel I've lived before. I'm attracted to Ancient African music as if I listened to it before. Even when i visit ancient sites its like I've lived there. Also, even when i read stories about ancient people I understand them as if I once lived in those times!!! Umm maybe I'm a bit crazy....

Why all this?
Well, the thing is, I need help. There are things that are happening in my life that I cant seem to understand. I have come to believe that there could be some influence from whatever happened in my past life. This has to do with the way that I relate with women.

I have this inexplicable great love for women. I feel guilty like hell everytime i read about rape or any other such abuse on women. I feel this great aversion for rape as if I'm a past victim. But, I'm a man!!! Sometimes, I feel that maybe I could have been some perpetrator of a violent crime against a woman / women in my past life. Especially, with the way some women seem to "avoid" me. I do have a lot of female friends but these are mostly colleagues and I relate well with them. But, all this changes when I try to enter into a relationship with a woman. Its like I become a devil to them. They throw me away like a hot piece of stone. Why? What have I done wrong? I'm a handsome guy (by African standards of course!!), friendly, caring etc but why such a reaction? Maybe something I did in my past life can explain. I feel I have some Karma to repay.

I am also attracted to the idea of celibacy (at 23 I'm still a virgin!). I dont know why. I seem to have an inexplicable negative attitude towards sex and I seem to think it is the core problem bedevilling humanity. Surprisingly, though before I started living according to Dharma principles, sex was always on my mind and I was attracted to pornography and masturbated a lot. I thought about sex the whole day from as young as 12. Now I ask myself, why all this in my life? Why at an early age I was so obsessed with sex even though I didnt get a chance to do it? Why as I'm growing older I'm becoming attracted to the idea of celibacy to such an extent that I'm considering to be a celibate for life. Why?

I definitely think something terrible happened in my past life. Something involving WOMEN and SEX!! If somebody here knows something about past lives may you please help me or at least refer me to someone who knows before I make the wrong decisions in life or before I explode!!! I really want to know how you can relate events in this past life to what could have happened in a previous life so you can map out the future.

Be Blessed!!!

[lightmystic]

I find that anything that seems not to be working is because we've limited ourselves in some way. It doesn't matter if it's this life or past life. No matter where it came from, there are ideas that are in the way.

It's very likely that the focus was so much on sex exactly BECAUSE you haven't had it. The mind tends to make it into something more than it is. And I think that is true for everyone to some extent.

Perhaps once in a relationship you having expectations or attempting to control something. That is very easy to do. Perhaps you are not really open to receiving. That can potentially get in the way as well. It might be useful to ask a female friend who you have no romantic interest in whatsoever if you are sending the wrong signals - she might be able to give you the female perspective and help you be more aware of the dynamics you have with women. Anyway, these are some thoughts. Whatever you can do in order to become aware of what you have been resisting with help you get to the bottom of it. To really see the resistance clearly is the beginning of the end of the issue.

I hope that helps.

[african]

That'll surely help lightmystic. I'll talk to female colleagues and get their perspective. Then I'll look within to see where I am limiting myself and offering resistance like you put it. Maybe I might some improvement in my life. Thanks!!

[lightmystic]

You are quite welcome. I hope things improve the way you would like.

[african]

Yeah...... But, do we get affected in any way from events that happened in our past lives? If so how do we free ourselves from them? I once heard Supreme Master Ching Hai say if yu get enlightened then yu are freed from all your past Kharma. I guess also thats what the Christians will be trying to say when they talk of being saved or cleansed by the "blood" of Master Jesus.

[lightmystic]

Well, there is a truth to being free of past karma, as it does not cause suffering anymore. So unwinding these things is very effective and useful. We definitely take issues, patterns, and beliefs with us life to life. The way to deal with them is fortunately the same as dealing with any other issue. There are many issues, for example, that are false beliefs causing suffering that we get from our parents at an early age. The common thread with all of these "issues" (as I call them) are that we are resisting some desire we have or some feeling that is inside us.

Like a tight muscle, gentle bringing attention to this feeling/emotion allows it to be felt fully, and then, like a tight muscle, the resistance starts to relax and we are free of it. This can be an intense process at first as the pain of the tightness really comes up when attention is brought to that area (again, like a really tight muscle). So it must be done very gently and as honestly as possible. Because this process is fundamentally on the feeling level, you do not need to intellectual understand why the feeling is being resisted. Sometimes that information comes anyway with this process, but it's not something that must be searched for. Simply putting attention on it lets in unwind. And that karma is undone.

Karma, used in the context of the guy you quoted, are habits of action that get in the way of our own fulfillment. In Enlightenment those are seen through at the most fundamental level and so the flow of life becomes unrestricted by degrees over time.

Does that make sense?

Aug 18, 2009 1:44:09 GMT -5 african said:

Yeah...... But, do we get affected in any way from events that happened in our past lives? If so how do we free ourselves from them? I once heard Supreme Master Ching Hai say if yu get enlightened then yu are freed from all your past Kharma. I guess also thats what the Christians will be trying to say when they talk of being saved or cleansed by the "blood" of Master Jesus.

[african]

Oh yes indeed it does make much sense!!

[divinity]

I have had many experiences which are discussed here, and I share many of the same beliefs and knowings. I have always wondered about people who haven't chosen a similar reality, for whatever reason, as to whether or not what I might believe has to be true for others whether or not they believe... in after life, in spirits, in karma... I personally do not believe in a devil or a satan. I was not brought up in any religion and have gathered my own spiritual belief system which works nicely for me. What about those who don't include religion and the various masters as a part of their belief system? Many people just don't choose to believe in the cultural customs which include certain beliefs, If we apply our beliefs to other people's view of reality does that make sense? I don't think that just because someone doesn't see things the way I do, that they are wrong and I am right. There are as many truths and realities as there are humans on the Earth.
Just sort of letting my thoughts flow...
Thanks for reading!

[african]

Aug 19, 2009 11:06:22 GMT -5 divinity said:

. What about those who don't include religion and the various masters as a part of their belief system? Many people just don't choose to believe in the cultural customs which include certain beliefs, If we apply our beliefs to other people's view of reality does that make sense? I don't think that just because someone doesn't see things the way I do, that they are wrong and I am right. There are as many truths and realities as there are humans on the Earth.

Well I do agree with you that there are many realities on earth. This is coz what most of us think of as reality is actually illusion....But however when it comes to the idea of many "truths" I'm afraid I have to dissent. There is only one Universal Truth, the Dharma. Unfortunately, many human beings have turned it into various belief systems and religions and have mistakenly considered their chosen beliefs to be the truth. In the process labelling others' beliefs as false. Yet there is but only one Truth. If you get to study every religion and belief system you'll get to see that they fit perfectly in line with the Dharma in various degrees of course, some advanced, some still a bit behind.

Even those who claim not to have any beliefs at all, agree to the existence of proven natural laws such as gravitation hence agreeing unknowingly to the Dharma. Because the Dharma is the fundamental truth underlying all laws of all universes within the workings and manifestation of the One - The Absolute.

[divinity]

African... can you give us examples of what you call Dharma?