Stardust, Valentine's Day, and Past Lives.

 When I was 6 years old, I told my mother with great certainty that Sally, our basset hound, had been my mother in a past life. I vaguely recall her reaction was something like, “Why would you say something like that? Go outside and play!” My poor mother, rest her soul, she had her hands full with me. I remember loving that dog so much. I would turn to her when I needed a mom and the mom I had just wasn’t cutting it. I was so sad when Sally ran off. We were moving and the gate got left open and old Sally headed for the hills. I felt so abandoned. It took years for me to want another animal companion after that. I still feel that, to this day, my little 6 year old self knew the truth about me and Sally and our connection. And when Sally left, she left me to fend for myself with my family. It was a teaching that I was too young to appreciate at the time.

  This past life memory of me and my first dog got me thinking about February and Valentine’s Day and relationships. It made me wonder: If you could remember all of your past lives, would you want to? How about if you could just recall a few of them? Whether you ‘remember’ your past lives or not, can you imagine you’ve had them with some of the people in your life? Some people don’t believe in past lives. That’s cool with me. But, this newsletter is pretty much dedicated to them so if past life talk isn’t your particular cup of tea, you may want to stop reading now. As for those of you still here, I have another proposition for you: Can you imagine treating everyone you meet with the certainty that you’ve met them before? I know that I treated my dog Sally especially well because of the connection that I felt with her so early on.

  Have you ever met someone you took an immediate liking to? How about an immediate disliking to? Most of us can recall times like these. Did you ever wonder why you immediately liked or disliked them? I had a client once who had a co-worker she just could not stand. She said, “I hated him from the moment I met him and I DO NOT trust him!” To make matters worse, he would frequent by her desk to make small talk as often as he could. She felt he was stalking her and was really upset by the entire situation. She was a kind person so her emotional reaction really disturbed her. I asked her spirit about it and the information that came through was that the co-worker had swindled her family out of it’s fortune sometime in the 1,700’s. They had been left destitute. In present day, just the site of him upset her. But she wasn’t “seeing” his hair or his eyes or any part of him. She was “remembering” their past together. We did some healing around this particular past life for her. She was really ready to forgive him and, in the reading, his spirit indicated  he felt deeply sorry and indebted to her. His spirit desperately wanted to make amends for his wrong-doing. That’s why he was drawn to her and kept stopping by her desk...he probably didn’t know why he was interacting with her so much. He was just following his instincts, just like her.

  I remember the first time I met Abby, my life partner. I saw her eyes and thought, “There you are ... I’ve been looking for you!” It was a soul recognition that I’d never before experienced. We’ve been together 7 and a half years now.  It hasn’t been perfect between us, of course, life has it’s ups and downs and so have we, but it’s been perfect for me. I feel so blessed that I went with that initial feeling I had when our souls recognized one another. This feeling that simply defied all logic at the time. Our relationship has truly proven all of my demons wrong. I once had a fellow psychic do a reading for me. She read that Abby and I had been together in many, many lifetimes and most of the time as life partners. She said, “You’re just really good at being in relationship together. And, you put out something better in the world by being together than would be there otherwise.” 

  Take some time to look around your life right now. Who are you relating to and with? Your wife, husband, children animal companions, students, co-workers, is this the first time you’ve truly ever met them? Even if you don’t remember what or who you have been to one another. Can you imagine that this is simply not your first go around? 

  I believe that we have been recirculating with one another throughout time. Those people you meet that are important in your life have been important before, in previous lives. The ones you meet that are simply on the periphery of your life now, may have been passing acquaintances in a past life. Or perhaps they were very dear to you and you have nothing left to work through together or have chosen not to in this life. Then there are those souls that you will probably only ever see one time. Fair enough, perhaps they are someone you’ll know well in the future. Or again, perhaps you knew them in the past but no longer have any reason to interact. If you’ve been able to digest my theory, even a little bit. How does it feel? 

  Thinking about past lives can be a lot to chew off. I don’t mean to turn your world upside down....perhaps let’s just tilt it a bit. I have an Uncle John who is, to this day, absolutely awesome. When I was a little girl I was really shy. Uncle John was one of the only, and I do mean only, people I would come out of hiding for. I remember my mother telling me that I would see him and scream and giggle and run into his arms. She was really astounded as that was not normal behavior for me. My uncle is absolutely someone I know that I’ve known before. I felt safe and happy with him early on because my little child self remembered him and remembered feeling happy and safe with him. Some of you may be skeptical still so let me offer this: Look at the animal companions you surround yourself with. Most people feel incredibly connected to the animals in their lives. It’s my information that animals have not always and will not always reincarnate as animals. Many of them have been humans before and will certainly be human again. We keep finding each other. Your animals have found you and you found them. And it’s comforting to “know” one another.

  Can you imagine if we really were to all adopt this policy of treating each other with the respect an important past life together deserves? Well, one thing is for sure, we would not go to war. We would not let one another starve or want for clean water and shelter. We would be careful with our brothers and sisters on this earth. Our hearts can be as big as the sky. But so can our egos. It is our fear that keeps us in a combative place. I have a friend who is a genuinely good person. But she’s a fighter. And when she gets mad at you, she cuts you off. She shuts you out of her life and her heart. She is so afraid of being hurt  that she strikes out first. I think many people are like this. It’s a hard sea-saw to get off of actually. But, for those of us who are willing, there is a way 

  February is the month of love as we celebrate Valentine’s day, (whether you like it or not, it’s here.) How about this month we, as a group, commit to slowing down a bit and loving our extraordinary, ordinary lives. There is always an opportunity to smile at a stranger, to slow down, breathe, and let someone go ahead of you in traffic or in line at the grocery store. Why all the rush? I am as guilty as anyone. I can get really impatient. Sometimes it’s as if some thing inside of me is saying, “Go, go go, dammit!” And I live in tourist town so that impatient voice in me has plenty of opportunities to get tweaked. It helps me to stop and wonder if I’ve known this person or that person before. I don’t even have to know what we may have been to one another in a past life. Just the thought of it slows me down. I think of my Uncle John or my dog Sally and I smile. I notice I gain a deeper respect for others without needing to know why. 

  There will always be folks who truly piss you off. Life is life and we all have egos that can get entangled together. All we can really do is try. We can come up with things that make us go, “Hmmmmm, I wonder...” and then we are out of our ego minds and into our heart minds. That’s the place to be! We are all made up of the same star dust, science has proven that. So, we are not separate and if I’m correct in feeling that we’ve been recirculating with one another throughout time, well then, we better get used to having one another’s company! 

Here’s a sweet quote from Tich Nhat Hanh to inspire you, 

“Inside is made of outside. 
When we touch our own skin, 
we touch the water, heat, air,
and earth that are within us.

 At the same time, we know
that these elements also exist
outside our bodies.

 Touching deeply,
we realize
that the sun
is also our heart.”

 May all beings benefit and may we all recirculate together with compassion!
Angie Arkin, February 2014