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Karma and Reincarnation by Christine Margetic, Lauren Burger, Ximena Sierra, and Mike Ro, Class of 2004 [ Editor's Note: After reading selections from Karma and Reincarnation and Manifestations of Karma, the second-year class worked on their personal biographies. they focused on the defining events of each seven-year cycle in their life. In class, students sat in order of age and shared details of their biographies, beginning with the oldest student and moving to the youngest. As each student spoke, Dorit listed the key experiences on the blackboard. ] Christine Margetic, age 51 Listening to my fellow students describe significant events in their lives was a moving experience. It created an interesting picture of who we are and how we arrived where we are today. There were so many events to choose from in each seven year cycle. Everyone had difficulty picking just one to exemplify that period of his or her life. As the list of events grew on the board, our commonality began to percolate to the surface. We are very different and yet our life cycles contain similar material. As the eldest in the class, I was aware of a certain distance or equanimity I now experience about events in my life. Where once I swam in the emotions, passions, and fears of my life, now I can observe them with a more dispassionate eye. The first traumas- the death of my mother and subsequent death of my father- were horrific. I fell into what I described as "the valley of darkness" and wondered if I would ever get out. Now when trauma occurs a voice within me says, " Ah, here we are again," and though it is still painful I know with a depth of certainty that I can survive it. A little over a year ago when we arrived as first year teacher training students, we all carried within us rich lives not yet revealed to one another. This was a marvellous exercise for filling in who we are as individuals and who we are as a group. I was struck by the way we all stand alone in our own individual destinies and yet we stand together as one--the second year class. I believe that this sharing will give more depth and clarity to our work together. Lauren Burger, age 40 The objective for this assignment was to notice the tendencies of particular events occurring at certain ages and therefore see the patterns in all individual biographies that indicate the universal stages humans go through as they live their lives. At first, this seemed like an easy enough task. I just turned forty this summer. Remembering past events of my life is kind of appealing, since I am at the age where one typically takes inventory of all that has unfolded so far and begins to think about what one wants to do with the next forty or so years to come. On the surface, this activity resembled what happens in the therapist's office; you retell your life journey starting from birth, and from there you might gain insights into how to solve your problems. So why was it actually a bit painful to examine my biography this time when I had done this for psychologists in the past? This time I had to face the notion that on some level I had created everything that had happened to me, both good and bad. All things had occurred for a reason. My higher Self had decided sometime back that this was my destiny for this lifetime. Even before birth, I had chosen it all, including the horrible things. I had no one to blame or be angry with. It was no one's fault. Somehow it was all part of the bigger picture of my spirit's evolution, as esoteric and fatalistic as it sounds. When it came time to share my own biography and listen to the biographies of others, it turned out to be quite a powerful experience. In a way, it was comforting to see the thread of similarity in each of our seven-year cycles, and to realize that we are all very much connected even though the surface events of our lives can appear so different. Perhaps how I approach the years to come, with my hopes of what I want to accomplish, and my dreams of building ever stronger relationships with family and friends, will be approached with a little more compassion and understanding, even if events don't go just according to my plan. Ximena Sierra, age 33 It was fascinating to examine the idea that there is an intrinsic quality that I underlies each life, despite our individuality and our personal stories. It was quite a realization to have this new thought. This helps us see that life can be viewed in a deeper and wiser way. Certain things in a person's life will come from beyond, determining the specific processes for the period of seven years leading to the next phase in our life. There is a continuous building up, during which new qualities in us make themselves manifest. At the same time, other facts emerge in a very individual and unique way to trace the beginnings and ends of the lessons we must each learn. It is the combination of those two streams that weave each human being's life and allow us to be unique in our own story. I look back at the choices I made in my early youth with a different awareness of life than I had when I made those choices. Only after the age of 28 did I truly feel myself to be a full person, but before then I had already made choices that would last for a long time. In looking back at some of those choices, I realize that I need to transform them as closely as possible to my reality at this moment. Looking ahead, I can see from the lives of my colleagues that there is a time still to come during which I will experience a feeling of darkness, and then I also see from the oldest person in our class that there is a lightness that follows it-not a child's lightness but one coming from a wisdom of experience. When we understand that at every moment in our lives we have the power to be responsible for what is going to happen next, we gain an incredible feeling of freedom. However, we must remember to live with consciousness and realize that we cannot escape the laws of life and karma. This is what ultimately can create the balance that everyone in this life is trying to achieve; the act of balancing it out is the striving that every single person goes through. Mike Ro, age 24 It can be difficult to find any semblance of reason in the hodgepodge of madness we call life. Confusing, uplifting, painful, and joyful moments dapple biographies with no apparent structure or pattern. Worst of all, no matter how hard we try to slow things down, time marches steadily along, paying no heed to our personal struggles and/or triumphs. Therefore, it is easy to see why it is preferable to throw one's hands up in resignation and hope that things work out, praying that life be merciful. However, if looked at closely, human biographies reveal to us a key that can unlock the mystery of this randomness seemingly inherent to life. This key is very simple: everything happens for a reason. While listening to the personal biographies of my classmates, I was able to begin to experience what this means. As the life stories were told, the manner in which the younger students recounted their biographies was full of drama and emotion, as if just speaking of their experiences put them right back into those moments. It was clear that they had only begun to scratch the surface of understanding the implications of their experiences and were still struggling to even get past their emotional aspects. The recountings of the older students were much more subdued. These colleagues seemed to have moved past most of the sentimentality attached to their youth, their eyes beginning to open to the bigger picture. The oldest of my classmates were able to speak of their life events with objective clarity, reflecting on them with wisdom and understanding. They have had the time to penetrate past experiences with thought and find the real significance behind these events. It was listening to the eldest of my class that helped me realize that there is purpose, not only to everything that happens in life, but also to every action I take. |
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