As I was thinking about what I would write I knew I would preface it with some explanation of what I believe about past lives, reincarnation, and dreams, and why. The more I thought about it, the longer those remarks became until I decided they would probably make a fine article in themselves – with the personal memories in a separate article to follow.

The first article – this - will be in my Live Journal, my Pagan website, personal blog and a few other places. The second – being more personal – will be in my Live Journal open only to friends.

I am Pagan. However, my belief in past lives and reincarnation is influenced less by Paganism than by the work of Edgar Cayce and other psychics, including Louise Hay, Sybil Brown, the Seth books, and my admittedly shallow study of Zen.

I believe that we all incarnate many times. Each time we incarnate we are here to learn something and/or to pay off some karmic debt that we may owe another soul or even the universe. As such, it makes sense that you would incarnate with the same souls more than once although your relationships may change.

I also believe that there are worlds and dimensions other than this one, and that we may very well spend some of our lives on them. As a Pagan, I accept that time is a spiral, that all things cycle and although I have a really hard time getting my mind wrapped around the concept, that this may well apply to space and time as well as the mundane life on this earth. (I’m getting out of my depth here!)

In “The Life of a Yogi” S___ talks about the death of his teacher and how he grieved. One night, his teacher returned and visited him in his room. When S_ asked where the teacher was now, he said that he was on another planet where he was again teaching souls. This planet was populated with what we would call fairies, and other races of myth. This is just one of the reasons I don’t think the fey are mythological!

One of the reasons some skeptics find the idea of past lives laughable, is that it seems that many of the people who will openly speak of their past lives remember lives as someone famous, Joan of Arc, King Arthur, etc. My feeling on that is that those famous lives are archetypes of the hero’s journey. We all embark on the hero’s journey every time we incarnate on this planet. It is only to be expected that there will be similarities in the way we experience the journey, to the storied journeys of famous heroes.

As a for instance, there have been many Kings throughout ancient history. At one time, when people rarely journeyed more than a days walk from their home, each little city or hamlet had their own “king”. If one were to remember glimpses of such a life, it would be understandable if it were identified with the fabled King Arthur or members of his court. (Before you ask – no, I don’t recall being anyone famous)

This does not take into account the many children born in India, where past lives are taken for granted, who at a very young age express memories of previous lives, even identifying who they were, family members, and describing landmarks that still exist. And yes – this explains our experiences of déjà vu here in the West – although just like the subject of past lives – there is more to déjà vu.

I really am trying not to digress too much here! It is hard when you speak of metaphysical subjects not to wander off into every little alley, because all things are related. When you see the world, as I do, as one in which all things are related – the typically modern Western mindset is hard to understand and explain things to. That is, the mind that says there are such and such rules and things fit in this cubbyhole or that cubbyhole and mixing is a no-no. The Universe is a whole – not a lot of little parts that each exist in their own little space.

So, I believe you are in this incarnation to learn something, to pay karmic debts, and to have the opportunity to progress as a soul. Yes, I believe that if you have paid all your karmic debts, and have learned all there is to learn here (a monumental task!) that you may also choose to reincarnate in order to teach, or lead, or protect – for some higher purpose in other words. See Jesus and Buddha and guardian angels and spirits.

There are different ways to access your memories of past lives and some work better for some people than others. I discovered that if I meditate and ask my Goddess for a glimpse of a past life that may apply to the present, I receive it in a dream.

Members of my family have prophetic dreams. (Sorry, no, I can’t tell you who will win the presidential election in any given year – my guess is as good as yours). In general, they are glimpses of a moment in time – or a span of a few minutes. When we are having them there is a feeling that I cannot describe to you that lets me know that this is what it is – a prophetic dream. It is also burned into memory. Years later, I can tell when it is about to actually occur. It is a very weird feeling.

My brother, a braver and more experimental soul than I, has tried to actually change what happens and has discovered that despite his best efforts he seems to lose control of his body and speech and go through exactly the same motions he sees in the dream regardless of his conscious minds attempt to interfere and change it.

This little digression is the only way I can think of to lay the groundwork to say – when I am seeing a glimpse of one of my past lives in a dream – I have a feeling. I know that is what it is, and it is burned into my memory. Most of my dreams I can barely recapture in the morning unless I make a real effort. But those that are prophetic, or a glimpse of a past life, are seared into memory and I do not forget them. And the feelings are different – I would not mistake a past life memory for a future memory.

So much for the general -