Those of us in the USA were recently careened into craziness by an election in one of our less progressive Southern states. Reeling from the onslaught of news coverage, I was able to apply a Past Lives perspective that allowed for a refreshing reframe. Without going into the politics involved, the candidate was accused of pursuing teenage girls at a shopping mall when he was in his 30's, and he initially was unable to deny the charges. Once I pulled back from the partisan politics of the situation I saw something that this past lives work has alerted me to - I saw a man acting from a belief system that was not connected to modernity, that reflected a previous time period and culture. And this man was so entrenched in this belief system from an earlier historical time that he was unable to comprehend the criticisms coming at him from outside his cultural (and philosophical) bubble. It got complicated when the advisors from the national party took over and forced him to attack the credibility of his accusers. But he seemed to be holding to a philosophy towards women that denied all of the progress our society has made since the 1950’s, and reflected an attitude more in sync with the 1850’s or even earlier.
I recently ran a past life where I was a business owner in the 1700’s, a man in a position of great wealth and power who held the most appalling attitudes towards anyone who didn’t have wealth or power. I was on the other side of the looking glass, seeing through the eyes of someone who grew up so entitled that he thought the people in his employ should be grateful for the pennies he tossed their way. I actually felt what it was like to hold a belief system of entitlement; my employees should be grateful for the pennies I paid them because it was due to my brilliance at commerce that they were able to eat and feed their children. The reality was that my past life self inherited the business and the wealth; he was one of the lucky ones to be born after his enterprising parents. Avoiding the obvious parallels to what is going on in the politics of the USA at present, it was a consciousness expanding exercise in seeing through the eyes of someone who held beliefs that are the complete opposite of my own in my present life. But it was also a glimpse into a philosophy and belief system based in the class structure of a previous age.
On my recent trip to visit family in New York City for the holidays, I was struck by some of the newer houses being built in Brooklyn. These houses seemed more like miniature reproductions of castles than any modern architecture, some reflecting the country that the owners emigrated from. Once again, my own personal research into my past lives alerted me to behaviors powered by energies from a different era, a different culture, and a different country. Now I am not advocating restrictions on people who wants to build their own castles, or denying the right of someone who wants to be rich to treat their employees badly, that is free will. And I recognize that most of the people who would have the most paradigm shifting experiences from past life explorations might be the least likely to take that journey inward. This candidate would be most unlikely to examine his behavior or ask why he thought pursuing teenage girls was acceptable. But for those who are willing to dive deeply into both our actions and the motivations for our actions, the possibilities for personal transformation are endless.