How You Map Out Your Trials on Earth

I am sure you have read or heard before that we are on earth to learn. Essentially, we are in a classroom, learning by doing, absorbing new ideas and attitudes by experiences. Did you also know that, most probably, you are the one that selected your intended course work? So, when things get tough, you have no one to blame but yourself!

We live our lives believing that we exist in the realm of chance. Somehow, our parents conceived us, we grew up and went to school in some particular location, not of our choosing but by chance. It was a place where our parents decided to live at the time, another decision mandated by random occurrences. We go to college or into a profession by some whim, or happenstance, such as an uncle knowing a person who knows a person. We strive and learn through our early adulthood; sometimes we succeed and other times we fail miserably. We curse the events that led us to despair. Somehow, we survive, and at each step we gather small morsels of wisdom along the way. We detest the lessons we had to learn, but nevertheless, in our hearts, we recognize the value of our accumulated knowledge.

But what if, and just think about this for a moment, what if all of this was planned? No, not down to the last detail, but the broad strokes. The major and not so major events of your life, pre-ordained. And not prearranged by some distant entity, but by you. Yes, you are the one who is responsible for this mess! This life of yours. Both the good and the bad.

Reason for Reincarnation

Let’s start at the beginning. In The Spirits Book, Allan Kardec codified the answer as to why we must reincarnate:

132. What is the aim of the incarnation of spirits?

“It is a necessity imposed on them by God, as the means of attaining perfection. For some of them it is an expiation; for others, a mission. In order to attain perfection, it is necessary for them to undergo all the vicissitudes of corporeal existence. It is the experience acquired by expiation that constitutes its usefulness. Incarnation has also another aim, namely, that of fitting the spirit to perform his share in the work of creation; for which purpose he is made to assume a corporeal apparatus in harmony with the material state of each world into which he is sent, and by means of which he is enabled to accomplish the special work, in connection with that world which has been appointed to him by the divine ordering. He is thus made to contribute his quota towards the general weal, while achieving his own advancement. ”[i]

Planning for the New Life

In the book Memoirs of a Suicide, psychographed by Yvonne Pereira, a group of spirits are told about the planning of a new life, by a veteran of reincarnation planning;

“The planning of the events relating to a reincarnation will be rigorously studied, firmed up, and revised, always in accordance with utmost justice … in fulfillment of the highest expression of the immortal decree sanction by the Divine Master – which explains all the problems that afflict and bound Humanity:

“To each according to his deeds.”[ii]

Hence, our plans begin with what we must correct from a previous life and what we wish to learn in our next life. It is as if we are in High School, looking through all of the college catalogs that have finally arrived, attempting to ascertain what our future will be. The basic conditions of planning are explained;

“Normally, candidates for reincarnation choose their own trials, the acres of thorns that will dilacerate the days of their earthly lives, and where they will get the chance to amend the consequences of their guilty past. They themselves will beseech the Guiding Powers for new opportunities that will enable them to demonstrate their repentance and their desire to enter a redemptive path that will offer them the chance to correct the inferior impulses that drove them to their wrongful conduct … These trials can be experienced in a relatively sound body if the mental suffering is extreme, or in a deformed body, or in one stricken by an incurable disease. It all depends on the extent of the offense and the demerits involved.

So, the patients themselves actually sketch out the charts for their future physical body and the plan for the principal and unavoidable events they must undergo, the logical and inseparable effects of the causes created by their infractions; but they are always assisted by their dedicated mentors.”[iii]

The lecture above was given to suicides, which is why the choice of a sound body, with more experiences for learning than trials for payment was not covered. However, the concept remains, we ourselves will direct the trials and the type of physical covering we shall inhabit for our next life, Therefore, you yourself likely elected the body you are in, while you are reading this article, with the exact eyes you chose.

Planning for your Body

Choosing your physical body is more difficult that it seems. You know that imperfect nose of yours? Well, you determined not to have the latest fashion in noses. How do we know that? In the book, Missionaries of the Light, psychographed by Francisco C. Xavier, inspired by the spirit Andre Luiz, a woman who is actively planning her trials for the next life, talks about her reasoning;

“’I have been advised by benefactors here that I should avoid re-entering earth with flawless body lines. If I do avoid it, I might have a better success in the tasks I’m planning; I would be grateful if the thyroid and the parathyroid glands were not so perfectly outlined. As you know, my task will not be easy. I need to recapture a large spiritual heritage. I must avoid any possibility of failure and perfect physical harmony would get in the way of my goals.’

My new companion gave me an expressive look and said to her:

‘You’re right. Physical seductiveness is a real danger, not only for those who radiate its influence but also for those who are subject to it.’

‘I would prefer an unattractive body,’ she replied. ‘I’m not interested in a body like Venus; I’m interested in the redemption of my spirit for eternity.’”[iv]

Therefore, those of you who don’t care for your body, think hard about what other matters you should be concentrating on, rather than focusing on your vanity. You picked the model you are in for a reason.

One would also ask, what about the DNA we inherit from our parents? Doesn’t that lay the foundation of our form? Andre Luiz asked the same question;

“What about the law of physiological heredity?” Andre Luiz asked.

His mentor answered:

“It works with inalienable control upon all evolving beings, but of course it is subject to the influence of those who attain qualities that are superior to the general environment. Furthermore, when individuals interested in new experiences in the physical realm are deserving of ‘intercessory’ services, the higher powers can impress certain modifications on matter from the embryological development onward if they determine that alterations are needed for the work of redemption.”[v]

Therefore, we must start with what our parents offer; next our own perispirit (that part of us which envelops our intended body) will affect our germination while in the womb. Lastly, the spirit world is able to perform minute surgery on our DNA to alter our appearance and innate abilities.

Not only do we determine the complete diagram of our bodies, but we also plan in advance afflictions that await us. Andre talks to a spirit who works in the Reincarnation Planning Center in the heavenly city Nosso Lar.  He points out the extent of our future planning:

“Here is the plan for the future reincarnation of a friend of mine. Do you see some dark spots from the descending colon to the sigmoid loop? This indicates that he will suffer from a large ulcer in this area as soon as he becomes an adult. Nevertheless, he has chosen it.”[vi]

Now, I wonder why I had my kidney stones! What exquisite torture! What in the heck did I do to warrant that experience? It must have been wicked and I most certainly deserved it, but I wish I knew, so I could take some satisfaction from learning my lesson with my pain. But I tell you this, whatever I did, I won’t do it again!

Planning for your Trials

Our body is but one consideration for our next life. We must also plan the trials, the events that push us forward in our exploration of knowledge. There is an example of a suicide, in the book, Memoirs of a Suicide, Jeronimo, who defrauded his business associates, lost all of his money and fled the situation he created by taking his own life. He left behind a wife, a son, and three daughters, all left destitute. Jeronimo tells his friends about his plans for his next life;

“I won’t be able to have children! By not looking after my family; by rejecting, half way through, the honorable responsibility of being head of the household in order to help me ascend in merit. I put myself in the wretched position of not being granted the chance of building a family and being a father again in my next existence!”

“However, in order to mitigate my ugly behavior toward Zulmira and my children, I have promised Mother Mary, the sublime mother of my Redeemer, whose maternal solicitude rehabilitated Margarida and Albino, to employ all my efforts to assist orphaned children, to somehow build shelters for them and to become their guardian, as if they were my own!”[vii]

Jeronimo has planned his family life to compensate for what he did in his previous life. He has also planned his financial status in his next life. His friends express happiness in his helping orphans, but they are worried if he will have the financial resources to follow through.  He informs them, that at first he will be rich, born into a wealthy family. Next he says; “May Heaven allow it, indeed my friend! ... Because before or after the financial ruin that awaits me during my expiatory existence, I shall have become the supporter of many, many orphans.”[viii]

Notice, how for each of his major failings, he will have to redeem himself in one way or another. Once again, he shall recognize the despair of bankruptcy and the complete withdraw of all of his old friends. He shall deeply feel the pull of suicide, but if he wishes to be victorious in his new life, he will have to resist that urge with all of his facilities.

Our life is laid out in great detail. We don’t have the freedom to not participate in our trials; our freedom lies in our response to events. Therefore, it is better to attack life with the attitude of a child, with an open mind and an acceptance of all that occurs. It behooves us to learn from each hurdle, gain wisdom and internalize how this understanding will carry us through multiple lives as we ascend as a spirit.

Explore the spirit world and learn about yourself and the true meaning of your life. Read Spiritism - Everything is Connected.

---

[[i]] Kardec, Allan, The Spiritist Book, White Crow Books, Question 132, p. 121

[[ii]] Pereira, Y. A., Memoirs of a Suicide, EDICEI, p. 289 

[[iii]] Pereira, Y. A., Memoirs of a Suicide, EDICEI, pp. 289-290 

[[iv]] Xavier, F.C., Missionaries of the Light, EDICEI, pp. 177-178

[[v]] Xavier, F.C., Missionaries of the Light, EDICEI, p. 164

[[vi]] Xavier, F.C., Missionaries of the Light, EDICEI, p. 179

[[vii]] Pereira, Y. A., Memoirs of a Suicide, EDICEI, p. 424  

[[viii]] Pereira, Y. A., Memoirs of a Suicide, EDICEI, p. 424