Free Will
At one of my lectures in Vancouver, B.C., a distraught woman rose and cried out loudly, “You New Age gurus tell us on one hand we have free will to make choices in our life and on the other that we are predestined to follow a certain plan because of past life karma. Which is it? I have no free will in my life because I am at the mercy of forces over which I have no control. My life is one of sorrow.” After my talk I sat down next to this woman for a few minutes and learned that her nineteen-year-old son had recently been killed on a motorcycle.
People have the idea that free will and destiny are opposing forces. They do not realize that destiny represents the sum of our deeds over thousands of years in a multitude of incarnations. In all these lives we had freedom of choice. Our current life represents all past experiences both pleasant and unpleasant, and so we are the product of all our former choices. Add to this the fact that we may have deliberately placed ourselves in situations that test how we will react to events in our current life, which are not perceived by the conscious mind. This too involves personal choices. We occupy a particular body for many reasons. The young motorcycle rider, by his mother’s own admission, lived for speed and essentially got a high from the dangers of his obsession.
Because my last section on time opened the door to future probabilities and possibilities, it is appropriate to examine the ramifications of free will a little further. Reincarnation would mean nothing if all life was predetermined. In my remarks about timelines, I suggested that the future may exist in many realities. People who have premonitions about the future may be right or wrong. If someone saw themselves being killed in a certain place and time and it didn’t happen, this potential causality could mean it was only the most dire of alternative possibilities.
An argument for determinism, as opposed to free will, is that one Source, or a collective group of lesser divinities, is responsible for planet Earth being populated with humans who suffer from disease, pain, hunger and fear. We live in a world of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, and other natural disasters over which we have no control. I have often said that Earth is considered by souls to be a very difficult school. The great lesson of Earth is to overcome both planetary and private destructive forces in life, grow strong from the effort, and move on.
To a great extent we come equipped with what we need to take care of ourselves. Karma may at times seem punitive, but there is justice and balance which we may not recognize in our sorrow. Fear arises when we separate ourselves from our spiritual power. We knew many of the challenges in advance of our life and chose them for good reasons. Accidents involving our bodies are not considered to be accidental by the soul, as I have tried to show in many cases, such as case 62 with the woman from Amarillo who was shot to death. The sheer will of our true Self has the power to rise in opposition to our weakness in character, especially during adversity. We have the freedom to remake our lives after any catastrophe if we are willing to take the responsibility to do so.
More important than the events that test us in life is our reaction to these events and how we handle the consequences. This is the primary reason for conscious amnesia. I have indicated that the soul is not usually shown all the alternatives to probable future events in the life to come. There are good reasons for this practice despite spontaneous spiritual memory recall, which exists with some people. Amnesia allows for free will and self-determination without the constraints of unconscious flashback memories about what we viewed in the screening room. While the scenes presented to us covering our next life are selective, my cases have shown we will be given the opportunity to review all the major alternatives after the life is over. I have a short but very graphic example of free will that reveals how even discarnate souls can be surprised by a sudden decision which can change the probable outcome in life.
I had a client who was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 as a newly recruited Union soldier. His name was John and he lived in a small community near Gettysburg. Although just sixteen, John and his sweetheart, Rose, had begun to talk of marriage in the future. The night before the three-day battle began, a Union officer rode into John’s area looking for a young non-combatant who could ride a horse well to deliver dispatches. John had no plans to enlist in the war because of his age and the fact he was needed on his mother’s farm. The Union officer found John and hurriedly explained his urgency, promising that John’s enlistment would end when the battle ended. John was a fine horseman and he impulsively agreed to ride for the Union because “I did not want to miss out on a chance for the grand adventure.” He had to leave immediately without saying goodbye to anyone. John was killed the next day.
Even as he floated above his body, John could not believe he was seeing himself lying on the ground dead. Upon returning to his spirit group, John was met by Rose—that portion of her essence she had not taken to Earth. At the moment Rose saw John she cried out, “Why are you back here? We were supposed to be married!” These soulmates quickly realized that John had abruptly chosen a path that deviated from his probable life. Even so, each path has karmic benefits of some sort, as was the case with John’s brief Army experience.
I asked this client if he had been shown scenes in the screening room of what was going to happen at Gettysburg. He replied, “No, I accepted what they showed me up to the age of sixteen because I knew they had good reasons to reveal only what I needed to know before that life. I have faith in the decisions of my guides.” John, the boy soldier, was not shown the possibility of his death at Gettysburg and this is very typical with such cases. Yet what about those cases where an untimely death is such a high probability in life that there is a necessity for the planners to give us the opportunity to volunteer for these bodies as a matter of personal benefit from the experience?
I know past life regressionists who have had numerous cases of heroic souls who volunteered to participate in the holocaust in Nazi Germany. I certainly have. Perhaps this is because so many of these souls from the death camps are now living new lives in America. There are options for all kinds of disasters. For the bad ones, sometimes souls are prepared for what lies ahead for them by attending pre-life rehearsals, as illustrated by this statement from a client:
I remember passing by a large group of souls in a preparation class who were gathered in an amphitheater structure. They were all listening to a speaker tell them about the value of life even though they were only going to Earth for a short time. They had all volunteered to be in some sort of disaster where they would be killed together. They were told to get mentally prepared and to make the most out of the time they had and that if they wished their next lives could be much longer.
Case 64
This is a case of euthanasia involving a subject named Sandy. She provided me with another example of an instance where a death scene was shown to the principals of a future life. As is so often true with souls who must witness their death in advance of a life, volunteering is part of the contract. During my intake interview, I learned that Sandy was closely bonded to her brother, Keith, and that they were members of a large family. As his older sister, she had taken care of him like a mother while they were growing up. Keith was hot-headed and in his teenage years he lived on the ragged edge, driving fast cars and getting into numerous scrapes with the law. Sandy told me Keith lived as though he had a death wish. She added that Keith had hurt some people along the way with a capricious life style, but he had a good heart and his zest for living each day to its fullest was contagious.
Sandy always had a premonition her brother would die young. Keith was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) at age twenty-seven and died two years later. ALS is a degenerative disease of motor movements that progresses into muscle atrophy within a couple of years. Toward the end, many patients must be on a respirator to breathe and they receive large doses of morphine to combat agonizing pain.
When Sandy reached her spirit group during our session, we discovered brother and sister were companion souls. Keith was the fun-loving prankster in their group and over many previous centuries he had been rather careless of others’ feelings. In consultations with his guide and members of the group, Keith recognized it was essential that he learn humility in order to advance. Being a soul of temerity, Keith asked for a life where he would be given a potent challenge toward acquiring humility rather than have this lesson strung out over many lives. He was warned that accelerated lives can be very rough. Keith said he was ready. It was a bitter pill in the Ring to discover he would have to volunteer for an athletic body which would be immobilized by ALS. Sandy said that there was a point in the life selection room where her brother almost backed out. I will pick up her narrative at this place in our session.
Dr. N: Please tell me as much as you can about Keith’s reaction to the body he was offered.
S: (solemnly) He was shown the worst—his body before and after the illness struck. How his independence would be taken away to make him dependent upon us. They kept nothing from him. Keith saw in the beginning of the disease there would be much self-pity and remorse, then terrible anger, but if he fought he would learn.
Dr. N: (switching back and forth from current time to the spirit world with Sandy) And did he learn?
S: Oh, yes. Near the end Keith grew calm, accepting and appreciative of what we did for him.
Dr. N: Do you have anything you would like to explain about how Keith prepared for this life with you?
S: (after a long pause my client’s face takes on a look of acquiescence) I will tell you. It will be good to talk about this . . . I have told no one before. (begins to cry and I work on keeping her in focus)
Dr. N: We don’t have to do this if it is too painful.
S: No, I want to. (takes a deep breath) As we prepared to come forward into this life, I was to be the oldest child in our family so I came first. We had a long discussion just before my time. Keith said he was prepared to suffer but when he reached the point where he was totally incapacitated—when he couldn’t take any more—I was to shut off his life support system and free him.
Dr. N: You were going to do this in a hospital?
S: We planned for that in the spirit world but then, thank God, he was sent home during his last seven weeks and that made our plan easier.
Dr. N: Is this about pain? Certainly Keith must have had pain killers.
S: Morphine can only do so much. The last seven weeks were terrible even with the respirator and pain killers. His lungs were so affected he could not move or talk near the end.
Dr. N: I understand. Tell me about the plan you and Keith devised in the spirit world before your lives began.
S: (sighs) We began our drill by creating a bed and the life support system Keith saw in the screening room. He had every detail in his mind. Then we practiced because I thought I would be dodging doctors and nurses. I worked with the machine and studied the advance warning signs of his illness. In the drill, we went over the signals Keith would give me which would show he was ready to be released from his suffering. Finally, he asked for my promise to stay strong and let nothing deter me in the final moments. I gave him this promise willingly.
After Sandy regained full consciousness we discussed her role in the death of her brother. She said when there was a particular smell, or “death odor,” from Keith’s throat area, she knew it was time to get ready. I should add that this body sign did not necessarily mean Keith was going to die right away. Almost without thinking, Sandy spoke in her brother’s ear, “Keith, are you ready to go?” Then came the prearranged signal. At this moment Keith squeezed his eyes open and shut three times for the “yes” response. Calmly, she detached Keith’s life support system. The doctor came to the house later, found the life support system reattached, and pronounced Keith dead.
For the rest of the day, she felt no guilt. That night, lying in bed, a doubt crept into Sandy’s mind about her automatic reactions, and she questioned herself. After tossing and turning she finally fell into a fitful sleep. Soon Keith came to her in a dream. Smiling with gratitude, he conveyed to Sandy that she had done everything perfectly and that he loved her. A few weeks later Sandy was meditating and had a vision of her brother sitting on a bench talking with “two monks dressed in robes.” Keith turned, laughed at her, and said, “Hang in there, Sis!”
To a devout religionist, this man’s life did not belong to himself, but to God. While it is true that we are given our bodies by an act of divine creation, everyone’s life belongs ultimately to them. The right to die is a hotly debated topic in legal circles today, especially as it pertains to doctor-assisted suicide with the terminally ill. It has been said that if death is the final act of life’s drama, and we want that last act to reflect our own convictions during life, we should have that right regardless of the religious or moral convictions of a majority. The opposing view is that if life is a gift, of which we are the custodians, we have certain moral duties despite our own feelings. Knowing what I do about how our souls choose life, with the free will to make changes during that life, I believe we clearly have the right to choose death when no quality of life remains and there is no possibility of recovery. It is not intended that a degradation of our humanity be prolonged. The next case provides a more conventional representation of free will in terms of a full life.
Case 65
Emily was a woman in her late forties who came to see me because she was troubled by her purpose in life. During the years she was raising her children, Emily worked as a part-time secretary. Dissatisfied with this role, she returned to school and qualified as a nurse with an interest in geriatrics. During training, she discovered she liked treating the elderly because they were more inclined to talk about their faith. Emily had been attracted to spirituality all her life. She told me that her upbringing by a strict, rather cruel and overly pious father had turned her toward less-structured avenues of spirituality.
Although she had become a registered nurse some two years before our meeting, Emily had not worked in her new profession because of self-doubts about her competence. Due to her happy marriage with a supportive husband it had been easy just to slip into volunteer work without pay, pressure or responsibility.
As I moved Emily rapidly through her most immediate past life in the early stages of our session we discovered her name had been Sister Grace, a nun for the Sisters of Mercy in New England. The Order wanted her to accept the position of Mother Superior but she refused due to her fears of leadership and feelings of unworthiness. Indeed, a later overview from the spirit world of Emily’s other recent past lives attested to a pattern of lives as priests and nuns in cloistered environments. She remarked, “I was able to serve God without getting too involved with the troubles of outside society.”
I am often asked if the planners force certain lives on us for particular reasons. This case is a good example of just how indulgent our guides can be until we are finally ready for greater challenges. In the past 500 years, all of Emily’s lives had been in religious orders in one form or another. She was comfortable with these lives and unwilling to make major changes. This past behavior represents a defining element of her confusion about life today.
The dialogue for this case opens at the second council meeting after Emily’s life as Sister Grace, which means she was in preparation for her current life. If I discover there is to be a second council meeting between lives, it will usually take place just before we go to the Ring, and I know the life to come is likely to involve an opportunity for significant change. Both the type and number of Elders who appear at these second meetings depend on the kinds of lives and bodies to be presented.
Dr. N: When you are at this second council meeting is the makeup of the panel the same as the first one?
S: No, only two appear—my chairperson and a member who seems to have taken a special interest in what I will be offered in the next life.
Dr. N: Well, since we have already talked about your first council meeting following the life as Sister Grace, just give me a sense of what is now going on before you go to the place of life selection.
S: They want to know if I have thought long and hard about being in such a rut over the last 500 years and if I am ready to get involved with mainstream society.
Dr. N: Would they be upset with you if you returned to a religious life once again?
S: No, they are too wise for this sort of thing. They would just know I wasn’t ready for a new undertaking yet. They are very gentle with me. I am reminded that my self-discipline and faith are to be admired and I learned a great deal, but that too much repetition over many lives can hold me back.
Dr. N: Did you take lots of risks before the last 500 years—before all those religious lives?
S: (laughs) I had been on a different path for a long time. I was . . . excessive . . . let’s say celibacy was not on my agenda.
Dr. N: So, after being Sister Grace, it was time to bring the next series of life choices back to some sort of center—to bring balance into your existence on Earth?
S: Yes, and I tell them I am ready for a change.
Note: My use of time shifts at council meetings was discussed in chapter 6. With this case, I now shift forward to scenes in the life selection room to obtain a better therapeutic framework to help Emily. What follows is a portion of the cognitive reframing I used, which began with the venting and identification of personal conflicts. It is my intention that this hypnosis subject will recognize the opportunity her spiritual planners have given her to move forward into new ventures with greater self-awareness.
Dr. N: We are now in the place where you are reviewing your current body as Emily for the first time. Are you alone or with someone?
S: That second council member is with me and I feel the presence of another . . . who I can’t see. (probably a coordinating Timemaster)
Dr. N: (after briefly discussing other body choices) Why are you attracted to the body of Emily?
S: I go inside a screen to feel the wavelengths of this brain . . . and how our mutual vibrations will blend. It is a good meld . . . between us . . . her talents and sensitivity are very compatible with me.
Dr. N: (reinforcement) So you can see the planners have your best interests at heart.
S: Oh, yes.
Dr. N: What do you see as the most significant aspect of your future life as Emily?
S: (long pause) This is hard for me to answer. I see her conflicts— they are my own—being torn between doing one thing and wanting another kind of career. I do not see myself as a nurse.
Dr. N: Since you are qualified now to be a nurse, could it be that you are shown more but at this moment your spiritual memory of these details is not revealed because the planners don’t want to interfere with your free will to make a decision at such an important crossroad?
S: Maybe, I’m not sure. (pause) Ah . . . we don’t have to be shown occupations . . . one can see . . . moods . . . attitudes and feelings at different times in the sphere of life with a particular body.
Dr. N: Good, I want you to ride with those feelings about this body you occupy and tell me how you can thrive as a person.
S: (another long pause) By nurturing people.
Dr. N: And what does that tell you?
S: (thinking, but no response)
Dr. N: And in the sphere of life selection, do you think the insight you now have about Emily is sufficient for you to accept this person and move forward to make a contribution in life?
S: Yes.
At this juncture in our session, Emily realized that there were elements of synchronicity in reviewing these past events in the Ring with me at this time and having free will to change her life. Some trips to the Ring give us more detail about a future life than others. Emily saw it was no accident she was assigned to an overly strict religious household as a child, which would drive her away from old, conditioned behavior patterns into new paths of thought. She saw that her freedom to make new choices and rely on her gut feelings gave her permission to undertake the search.
Uncertainty in life is frequently an outgrowth of former life patterns and obsessions. Emily’s old inner fear of not wanting to accept responsible positions within the church because she felt unworthy surfaced again in her current professional life. While the door was opening to her in the field of medicine in a profound way, it also left her confused. Why did it seem both right and wrong at the same time? Emily had become mired in her plans for a midlife course correction over unconscious self-doubts which had peaked in her last life as Sister Grace.
Within six months of our meeting I received a letter from Emily explaining that she had taken a job with a nursing home and loved it. This particular facility wanted nurses who would not shy away from spiritual counseling to assist patients in dealing with feelings of helplessness, loneliness and depression. Emily wrote that she felt spiritually fulfilled. I don’t deserve much credit for shedding light on this situation because Emily had already started on her quest before our session. She just needed a nudge to keep going. Today, nearing age fifty, she has broken free.
This case is not presented to denigrate traditional religion or religious orders by implying that Emily’s soul had somehow wasted 500 years of incarnation time by taking roles of priests and nuns. Those were beneficial years of acting on her spiritual calling. Today those same callings are satisfied on a different road. Change is a hallmark of karma through the use of free will in making course corrections into unfamiliar waters. Searching for who you really are is getting in touch with your inner Self and bringing passion and meaning into what you do in life.
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