Lazaris

What about reincarnation and past and parallel lifetimes?

You know, as metaphysicians, that your Physical Plan is an illusion. You know, as astute, intelligent people—whether you're metaphysical or not—that reality is an illusion. Your scientists have demonstrated this so conclusively, so repetitively, so rigidly; that the only way you can pretend otherwise is to deny the truth. The metaphysicians and the scientists, who are usually at odds with one another, agree totally on this issue: Your reality is a product of thought. Your reality is a product of consciousness. Your reality is an illusion of light. Your reality is an illusion.

Metaphysicians from the beginning of time have said: Time is an illusion. Einstein demonstrated that time is an illusion. Subsequent quantum physicists have more than demonstrated this; they have proved that time is an illusion. That it is a convenience you have created for yourself. All things are simultaneous. Every lifetime you have had is occurring now. Every lifetime you have is occurring now.

Now you have those lifetimes, and you put them on a continuum. You call the left end of this continuum the past, and you call the right end of it the future. All that really means is that you are putting the whole array of lifetimes that are randomly scattered or placed out there—the entire smorgasbord of lifetimes—in order. You are putting them in sequence.

Following the analogy of a smorgasbord, when you go to a cafeteria, do you ever notice that while standing at the beginning of the line all the food is there? Even though you can't do to it all at once—even though you put it on your plate in sequence—it is still there. And you go down the line, don't you? And of course, what do they put first? The desserts! They put the desserts first. Then they put the salads, boring salads. White lettuce—it's an amazing thing, white lettuce. They put all the steamed main courses. Then they put the bread and butter and drinks and things like this. And you go down the line, and you gather a plateful of food. Do you eat the dessert first? (Maybe some of you do.) No, you tend to do it like you’re supposed to. You start with the salad. Then you eat the main course. Then you eat your dessert. But it's all there on your tray, and it's all there on the smorgasbord or in the cafeteria line. Whether you are at the beginning, middle, or the end of the line, it's all there at once.

Well your lifetimes are like that, too—all laid out. They're all there. You choose: I'm going to do this one, and then I'm going to follow it with this one, and then I'm going to follow it with that one." You give yourself time. Sometimes your next lifetime might be in Atlantis, or it might be in the Middle Ages, or it might be in the 1800's. They're all there, and you pick and choose which ones you want to experience, and when you want to experience them.

The other analogy we use is a movie theater. Particularly your multiple cinemas are conducive to this. When you go to a multiple cinema, sometimes all the movies are playing at the same time. You can go to this one and that one and this one and that one—any order you want. They're all playing.

So lifetimes are that way. You have those that you call past" and present" and future" lifetimes. These are those lifetimes that are in the same space as you, but in different times—and that's your illusion. You also have those lifetimes that you call parallel" lifetimes. A you" might be a living in New York City right now—a best-selling author living on Fifth Avenue with a view of the park or whatever. A parallel life is a split-off" of you.

Often split-offs occur in your adolescence because then you are filled with fantasy. Some of you, when you were 13, could have died" to be a doctor, right? You watched every doctor show. You read every doctor book. A doctor—that's what you were going to be—a doctor, a doctor, a doctor, a doctor! Then one day something happened and? Doctor? I don't want to be a doctor!" It's as though it disappeared.

Often what has happened is you've split off. That part of you, who has the same parents and the same upbringing splits off and lives a totally different life—let's say a doctor at Columbia University in New York, or where ever. But if you went to New York, if you looked them up in the roster, you'd never find them because although they're in the same time, they're in a different space. Those are parallel lifetimes.

You have past lifetimes and parallel lifetimes. Your parallel lifetimes have past lifetimes, and your past lifetimes also have their parallel lifetimes.

Assume that you have a past lifetime where you live and die as a corner grocer in Chicago, 1880-1960. You have your current lifetime doing whatever you do, and you where born in Pittsburgh in 1940. For those 20 years—from 1940 to 1960—two lifetimes overlap. There are overlapping lifetimes that you have because all the lifetimes are happening at once. Time is an illusion. All lifetimes are simultaneous—past, present, future, parallel, overlapping. All of them are happening at once.

The most correct way would be to refer to all lifetimes as concurrent lives experienced in varying time/space continua. This is rather bulky, so you call them past, present, future, parallel and overlapping." This is technically incorrect, but it is efficient and effective. Like time itself, it is an illusion that is technically incorrect, but both efficient and effective.

Well why bother about past lifetimes?" Exactly, Why bother? Some of you have no interest in them. Fine, don't bother! The Channel (Jach Pursel) has no particular interest in his past lifetimes. We did a life reading for him one time. We made a cassette tape for him at Peny's request. He listened to it once and said, Hmm," and that was it.

What about those of you who have had life readings? Should you not have done so? No, if you're interested in your lives, then learn about them. What we suggest (and we make this very clear whenever we talk of past lives) is that lifetimes do not cause. They do not cause your current life. They influence.

We've used the analogy of sunburn, where if you're sunburned and someone slaps you sharply on the back? Oh!" It's going to sting. It's going to make you cry. It's going to make you hate for a moment or two until you can control yourself.

If you have no sunburn on the back and someone slaps you sharply, it's going to sting, but not as much. It may annoy you. Why do they have to be like that!" It may cause some irritation, but not hate.

What causes the pain? Sunburn? No, the sunburn did not cause the pain. The slap on the back caused the pain. The sunburn influenced the intensity.

Lifetimes are like sunburns. They can influence each other, but they do not control. They do not cause. Therefore, if you failed in a past lifetime, it does not man you will fail now. But if you do fail now, if you do create failure now (now" is the only place you can create anything, anyway), your previous failure may influence what you do—how you handle it now. For some of you it may influence in such a way that you can handle the failure more smoothly. No problem. I don't know why, but I know exactly what to do about it." Because of the influence of the past, you are prepared to handle this one easily. Others may feel totally devastated because influence of previous failure makes them feel more fearful.

Lifetimes can influence, just as you and a friend can influence each other. But you cannot honestly control each other. What you do does not make" them, does not control them. It can influence them. Lifetimes are like friends.