Same Soul, Many Bodies

One thing I love about Mumbai is the countless street vendors selling books at next to nothing. Granted these are not original versions but really who cares! In the humdrum of the wedding, that we were there to attend I managed to stop at a local bookseller (I now realize it would have made a good picture) with his massive piles of books! This guy had everything from Indian to British to American authors, really quite a collection.

I promptly began sifting through the books and picking out the ones to take back with me. Just before paying the man asked me lend or buy? Not having stayed there for so many years, I had practically forgotten how these vendors operate. There were 2 ways to read these books – one was to of course buy them at dirt cheap prices (especially when you convert the rupee to dollar) and second was to lend them at next to nothing costs. The man would make a journal entry of the books you’ve borrowed, you pay a nominal fee and return them at a later date when you can borrow more or end your association with him.

I of course bought the books – 4 books – for under $10! I had struck gold!! One of them was a book I was looking to buy just before I left New York. Actually I stepped into Barnes and Noble and then decided against paying over $10 for one book, the same one I found in Mumbai for $2. I was happy!!

So last week, I started flipping through it – Same Soul, Many Bodies by Dr. Brian Weiss. I read enough by now to not be flabbergasted by reincarnation proofs and people being able to remember past lives so this book was just my curiosity for their experiences.

The book didn’t disappoint – what I liked most about it was Dr. Weiss didn’t use a clinical approach to document these experiences, instead he divided them into different emotions and then explained the issues of the people who came to see him – Love, Meditation, Spirituality, Anger Management and so on.

People from all walks of life – rich, poor, fat, thin, pleasant, obnoxious came to find a cure for their symptoms. Some came because their partners thought they needed help, others came under pressure from their parents. A young girl who wanted to be a doctor but couldn’t pass chemistry and math classes learned how pressure can cause frustration and how to better use your experiences to enhance your life. Another 30-year old man came because he read too much sci-fi and his parents thought he needed help. He didn’t act like a 30-year old, his parents thought – but when he went under he remembered a life from 60,000 years ago when he was a part of a highly evolved caravan who had traveled millions of miles to teach beings the importance of spirituality. In his past and future lives (yes in this book Dr. Weiss talked about regressing patients into their future as well), he realized he had always been associated with the stars – as a scientist or an astronaut which enabled him to understand his present day obsessions and chart an appropriate course for his life.

That got me thinking – our current likes or dislikes could be explained from experiences we’ve had in the past. For instance, I love acquiring more knowledge about the universe – can’t get enough of it! My husband loves Egypt, the pyramids (he has never visited yet) and the stories associated with the pharaohs. Was he one of them?

The one feeling of satisfaction that was reiterated for me was that we are immortals – we will never die and will always be surrounded by the souls we love and who love us. Yes, some that we don’t love will come back to us as well – but the trick is to let them go, not with anger but with love and compassion.

I am making a list of all those wretched past boyfriends, really who wants them back in another life? Indifference was easy, but compassion? Now, that’s the challenge!