Life Challenges, GUEST POST by Robert
October 20th, 2007 by Rose RosetreeNote: Robert Schwartz is the author of “Courageous Souls: Do We Plan Our Life Challenges Before Birth?” A free PDF with a large sample of the book is available on the About the Book page at www.CourageousSouls.com. The book may be ordered on the Courageous Souls website (which ships internationally) or by calling Whispering Winds Press at 1-800-742-0148 (in the US) or emailing Robert, info@courageoussouls.com.
Do we plan our life challenges before birth?
So often, when something “bad” happens to us, it appears to be purposeless suffering. But what if our most difficult experiences are actually rich with hidden purpose – purpose that we ourselves planned before we were born? Could it be that we choose our life’s circumstances, relationships, and events?
In my research for my book Courageous Souls: Do We Plan Our Life Challenges Before Birth?, I found that the answer to this question is a definite yes. Working with four of the most gifted mediums and channels in the country, including one who is able to hear the conversations people had with their future parents, children, spouses, friends, and other loved ones, I’ve examined the pre-birth plans of dozens of individuals. These people planned such challenges as physical illness, having handicapped children, deafness, blindness, drug addiction, alcoholism, losing a loved one, and severe accidents.
Why do we plan to experience challenges? I found four primary reasons. First, challenges allow us to balance karma from past lives. For example, someone who was physically ill in a previous incarnation and the one who took care of that person may decide to switch roles. What makes this life blueprint so difficult is that once in body, neither soul will remember the plan.
Second, we plan challenges in order to heal. For example, Penelope, the deaf woman in the chapter on deafness and blindness, planned to be born completely deaf because in a past life she had heard the gunshots that killed her mother. In this lifetime, she sought to focus on self-healing and wanted to make sure that her healing would not be hindered by a similar trauma.
Third, we plan challenges to be of service to others. In the chapter on physical illness, I write about Jon, a homosexual man who planned to have AIDS so that he could teach tolerance to humanity. Jon is not someone to be judged, but rather someone we may thank for having the raw courage to plan such a bold mission.
Lastly, life challenges allow us to know ourselves as love. By this I mean not simply that we are loving, although certainly that is true, but that we are quite literally made of the energy of love. In our nonphysical Home, we experience no contrast to ourselves and therefore cannot fully understand our nature as love. On Earth, in a realm of duality and stark contrast, we often encounter a lack of love. As we choose in the face of such experiences to give and receive love freely and unconditionally, we remember who we really are.
Dear Blog Buds,
I checked out Robert’s website and excerpts from the book. I have several books that are along the same lines. I do like his story, how he came to write the book, and know that the information will provide healing for many.
Bless you, Robert!
This is interesting to me, and I have heard about this before, about planning major life events before being born in order to learn lessons.
What if someone has not had any major challenges; what does that mean?
Also, what if someone reacts to life’s small stresses as though they were a major crisis? The person at that time might feel that they have major problems, even if you or I or anyone else would not see it that way. I wonder what kind of lesson that would be meant to teach.
Note: The (beautiful) following comment is from Anabela. The comment function didn’t work for her so she wisely emailed me, rose@rose-rosetree.com, for me to place it for her. Always do this, folks, if you have a similar problem!
Dear Jenmcp,
In your own interior experience, no one can understand it as much as yourself. That is what philosophers and greater writers called existential malaise - the inability to relate to another in the seeming individual nature of your pain, a part of suffering in existence.
No outsider can say “your experience was nothing compared” or anything similar and not impact you deeply.
I’d say that whenever someone suffers and others dismiss it as “nothing” or “get on with it,” this person is meant to overcome the lifelong theme of isolation, loneliness, and alienation, all of which open a person up to greater perception and spiritual growth.
Every person’s suffering is unique, and it is sadly a general concensus that only physical suffering (rape, handicap, poverty, etc.) constitutes as suffering.
Who is to say what is a major challenge or not? No one knows except you know how deeply an event impacted you or how it turned your world upside down.
Sometimes a kindred soul recognizes that if one is lucky enough to encounter one.
It is true that many unconscious people are often clueless about the nature of suffering and haven’t given it much thought. So they mouth something nasty, “You haven’t been raped, starved, etc., what do you know about suffering?”
An outsider may view a crisis “minor” or “major,” but interior is personal and individual. Everyone came in with different levels of sensitivity, mental and emotional vulnerability, which would lead to different responses for many different people. Different psychological, genetic, and mental make-ups would result in varying experiences of suffering.
There has been a recent article in The Economist, August 4th-10th, 2007 issue. A Swiss researcher named Dominique de Quervain has discovered that the brain activity in Swiss people and Rwandans is different biochemically. More Swiss have receptors that react strongly to past events, while the Rwandans, though they experienced the harrowing civil war of the 90s, had fewer percentage of such receptors.
This receptor is called a2b-andrenoceptor which primarily decides which emotional memories to store. According to the article 30% of Swiss people have this receptor, while Rwandan refugees only have 12% - and we all know these Rwandans are not the ones with private banking, skiing, chalets, watches, and socio-economic-political stability and prosperity.
What does this imply? To put it mildly, this article suggests that people with different genetic makeup will react to events differently.
From a life contract’s perspective, we choose to be Swiss or Russian or Japanese or whatever because of a cultural and genetic makeup which would provide challenges that we may or may not overcome.
Or, you might have chosen to be “a poor, little rich girl” with a sheltered life and everything you ever wanted materialistically, but you had a predisposition for severe depression. No matter what you do or acquire, you can’t be happy - that’s a pretty hellish fate to me. But your parents are too busy socializing and you suffer alone, while everyone calls you lucky for your material possessions. The people around you discount your mental suffering or assume that you don’t have a right to it because of the lack of physical suffering. So you suffer more and more… we’ve had famous examples - Gene Tierney and it seems quite a few celebrities these days go through something similar.
Reiterating the article, the implication is that Swiss people would suffer more to “minor” events in comparison to the Rwandans, and these Rwandans were victims of atrocities. But luckily, the Rwandans are biochemically in a better position to heal than, say, if the Swiss went through the same experiences.
The Economist article was something I discussed with Rose, and I am happy to say the article is pretty much in synch with all that I’ve had the privilege to learn about life, culture, and spirituality. Scientific research only seems to confirm spiritual wisdom of past masters as time goes by. This is one of those instances.
Blog Buddies, I just finished Courageous Souls while here in Japan. It is the best book I’ve read all year. Actually, it’s one of the best books I have read, period.
With meticulous documentation, Robert Schwartz has brought new insight into Life Contracts. Unforgettable insights bring new perspective into life’s tragedies, such as addiction, illness and so-called “accidents.”
I received powerful insights, and I strongly recommend this book to all of you.
Wow, I guess I didn’t need this comment until today…what a beautiful reminder that my struggles are the exact events I’ve come to overcome. There’s a beauty in that thought which I sometimes lose sight of.