I believe in past lives. It makes sense to me. Not because I was raised to believe in them, but because something inside of me tells me it is true and because I remember past lives as easily as I remember my childhood.  When I was young, my mother told me how my neighbor was nice to the mice in her garage because “she believes in this thing called reincarnation and she thinks the mice might be her dead relatives.”  I remember looking out at my neighbor’s garage and telling myself that, while I really didn’t think the mouse in her garage was her dead uncle, the idea of living more than one life made sense to me.  Later, when I was a mother myself, my 2-year-old daughter said to me from the back seat of the car, “You weren’t always my mom, the mom I had most is still in heaven.”  She continued, “…and besides, I used to be the mom.”  It is in a moment like this that a mother takes notice.  I made a vow then and there to love, nurture, and guide her while always respecting the ancient wisdom of her soul.  A couple of years later, again from the back seat of the car, I heard from the same sweet mouth, “Mom, did you know that some people don’t believe in past lives?  Well that just makes no sense because they’ve all had them.”

So I believe in past lives.  It is natural for me to believe in them.  However, I don’t think that one has to believe in past lives in order to experience Truth.  I believe that our goal is to stay in the moment, that there is enough to work with in this current life without having to consider previous lives.  Patterns keep repeating themselves until we understand them, and if we do believe in past lives it is often helpful to explore them; however, it is important not to get caught up in that exploration.  Looking to the past is only helpful if the stories we find help us change patterns that no longer serve us in our current Now.

Here is an interesting Link from CBSNews.com: Reincarnation: Believing in Second Chances  Are we living life the second time around - or even the third or fourth, or more? A number of Americans believe they ARE . . . and while religion is a matter of faith, they’re getting some support for their belief from surprising sources. Our Sunday Morning Cover Story is reported now by Susan Spencer of “48 Hours”

Tell me, do YOU believe in reincarnation?

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Sheila Applegate

As a clinical therapist, motivational presenter, author and teacher, Sheila Applegate’s passion is to provide a forum for people to process emotion and integrate spiritual understanding into their daily lives. Sheila’s new book Enchanted One: The Portal to Love is scheduled for release in December, 2012.

To connect with Sheila and receive a FREE 10-minute Guided Meditation, click here.