This is part of my process to explain why I feel my view of the Actor as the Higher Self makes sense to me. It is merely offered as an alternative to many of the other criticisms of reincarnation. Just putting it out there. Comments are Welcome.

As a disclaimer I should point out that I have been for many years diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, which in spite of the view of some on this board, is NOT a mental illness. It is a behavioral disorder. If you don't know the difference I strongly suggest you look it up before making an uninformed conclusion, unless you prefer a close minded approach to enlightenment.

On reincarnation. The Actor (Higher Self)perhaps experiences reincarnation, the character does not as that would be ridiculous and therefore the new character cannot comment very precisely on events from a past life. It would all be sketchy and difficult to discern. Or there is no reincarnation, but if the higher self is the Actor, as I believe, then the idea of no reincarnation is as ridiculous as the belief that the flesh and blood character can understand a past life with any certainty. You see, the bigger picture will always be bigger than the character can comprehend, just as Heathcliff has no knowledge of a world beyond what is created by Emily Bronte, so the characters you and I play as flesh and blood upon the stage (planet) keep us contained from seeing the big picture.

Is seeing the big picture important to spiritual growth? Is spiritual growth important to advancement within the bigger system? I have no answer, only the feelings I get from experiencing as I do. As an Actor of flesh and blood here I have no fear of delving into the mechanics of “Good and Evil” characters for I know that I am ultimately in control of their actions. I know I am acting even though the character certainly may not know this. But a character with free will would be very dangerous on this stage (planet) to say the least. It is quite the experiment. I don’t know what the Actor/Higher Self learns from this experiment and it’s really none of my business. The life of my character (Beau) is breathed through my Actor Self. To act is to do. Ultimately I am a doer. I take action, but as a character I can choose not to take action, but for the Actor Self not taking action IS an action.

If a director is necessary to create and deploy this plot-line then I will find out how well I’ve done at achieving the goals of the Actor/Self in due time. Otherwise I am the director of my story and I will evaluate from a higher perspective at some point. I imagine my progress will be based on how well my character met the obligations given to it by the Actor/Self, than it will be based on how well I played along with those who would distract me from our goals.

Yours,
Beau

Does knowing you're an actor impede your ability to 'get into' the role Beau ?

Dave, I assume you asking me this as it would come from a worldly perspective and I would have to say that I am always conscious that I am Beau when playing, say Hamlet, but if I did not KNOW that I am Beau it would be quite dangerous wouldn't it? My characters still have my conscience and obviously my consciousness but their decision space is limited to the script and my abilities to convey those characters. The character of flesh and blood (Beau) is the higher self of the character Hamlet. Beau's higher self has the same opportunities. Hamlet is not aware of Beau but in a small sense. Hamlet is aware that he lives and breathes and reacts with other characters in the small world of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. He ponders many of the ideas that Beau ponders, but Hamlet's conclusion is limited by the decision space of the playwright, the actor, and the director. Just as a flesh and blood character is limited by the decision space they are confronted with until they acknowledge a higher source of understanding.

And to answer the actual question :o I would say that knowing I am an actor enhances my ability to get into the character because it increases the decision space and gives greater depth and meaning to the "fictitious" character, but that character is only able to draw on what information Beau (as actor) supplies him with.

One thought I had on reincarnation was the thoughts on water and how it possibly records information. So I wondered if that reincarnation was not actually what was going on, but that the water in our bodies has recorded the lives of our ancestry and become part of our genetics. So in actuality, every being is a new soul (which makes sense to me considering the population) but any information having to do with the past is only the recording of your genetic ancestors in order to allow for evolution in the physical world, while all souls continue their spiritual evolution in the afterlife.

What if our DNA contains memories from all of our ancestors?

That would explain the "deja-vu" phenomena.  It would also explain why we have certain talents and fears that cannot be traced to our own childhood or upbringing.

It would also explain what we think of as  reincarnation.  It's not actually past lives of our own that we are recalling, it's really the lives of all those who preceded us.

Just a thought as I unwind from a couple hours on the tennis court.  :)

R

I like the DNA idea. It's certainly possible from where I'm standing. Kind of like years after I have played a role I will come across a costume piece from that play and be instantly catapulted back to the experience of playing that role. Since DNA at some level has an electrical value it makes some sense to me. As for it being our ancestors and not us I would only say that I think the better argument is that we are experiencing multiple lives at once on a deeper level than we comprehend while in C1. Maybe, you know.

Once again, Beau...this line of thought resonates amazingly clearly.

As for the dna, while it is primarily genetic encoding, its infusion by the soul would give it the encoded soul information as there is no genetic connections between souls...

Very odd...I typed that last sentence without realizing what I was writing.  I was thinking about shakespearean players and Beau's wonderfully written metaphor and the next paragraph on dna came out.  I do not know anything about genetics or dna, and precious little about souls and reincarnation!  Anyway, hope it helps. 

rondele wrote on Apr 1^st, 2010 at 1:56pm:

What if our DNA contains memories from all of our ancestors? That would explain the "deja-vu" phenomena.  It would also explain why we have certain talents and fears that cannot be traced to our own childhood or upbringing. It would also explain what we think of as  reincarnation.  It's not actually past lives of our own that we are recalling, it's really the lives of all those who preceded us. Just a thought as I unwind from a couple hours on the tennis court.  :) R

Precisely. That is where I was going.

I even have some thoughts which may improve this understanding. The biggest thing that pops out to me is population. By mathematical standards, I cannot come to a logical conclusion that every living person is a reincarnated soul from a past generation. I am pretty positive that the amount of people who have died on earth exceeds 5 billion. Then you have to consider that population grows. You could say that population grows BECAUSE souls reincarnate which each new generation, century, whatever. You could factor in all life on the planet to reincarnation. But you're still dealing with numbers that contradict how many souls exist both here and in the other world.

So lets consider that souls DO reincarnate-- I think its very logical to say that "new" souls arrive in each century/generation/or whatever. If the purpose of reincarnation is evolution through the ages of time on earth, then those new souls are starting pretty late. Either way, you have to consider that reincarnation is an ordered process for spiritual evolution and it just plain doesn't make much sense. It would make sense to me if lust had already filtered out and the population of all species didn't contradict how the population of souls.

But what makes more sense than souls returning to earth each time they die in order to evolve, and also explains deja vu and past life recall? Exactly what we just theorized. That our genetics have recorded the lives of the ancestral DNA. This also supports other theories (as well as my own) that we don't have to return to Earth in death and the rest of our evolution occurs in the planes of the Afterlife. Which I am much more comfortable with. I've never liked the idea of reincarnation unless it was a personal choice.

There is no such thing as new soals.All soals were created at the created at the same time.as jesus says,before you were placed in the wome,I knew you. Old soals are soals that come back more often.

StoneColdTrue wrote on Apr 1^st, 2010 at 7:30pm:

rondele wrote on Apr 1st, 2010 at 1:56pm: What if our DNA contains memories from all of our ancestors? That would explain the "deja-vu" phenomena.  It would also explain why we have certain talents and fears that cannot be traced to our own childhood or upbringing. It would also explain what we think of as  reincarnation.  It's not actually past lives of our own that we are recalling, it's really the lives of all those who preceded us. Just a thought as I unwind from a couple hours on the tennis court.  :) R Precisely. That is where I was going. I even have some thoughts which may improve this understanding. The biggest thing that pops out to me is population. By mathematical standards, I cannot come to a logical conclusion that every living person is a reincarnated soul from a past generation. I am pretty positive that the amount of people who have died on earth exceeds 5 billion. Then you have to consider that population grows. You could say that population grows BECAUSE souls reincarnate which each new generation, century, whatever. You could factor in all life on the planet to reincarnation. But you're still dealing with numbers that contradict how many souls exist both here and in the other world. So lets consider that souls DO reincarnate-- I think its very logical to say that "new" souls arrive in each century/generation/or whatever. If the purpose of reincarnation is evolution through the ages of time on earth, then those new souls are starting pretty late. Either way, you have to consider that reincarnation is an ordered process for spiritual evolution and it just plain doesn't make much sense. It would make sense to me if lust had already filtered out and the population of all species didn't contradict how the population of souls. But what makes more sense than souls returning to earth each time they die in order to evolve, and also explains deja vu and past life recall? Exactly what we just theorized. That our genetics have recorded the lives of the ancestral DNA. This also supports other theories (as well as my own) that we don't have to return to Earth in death and the rest of our evolution occurs in the planes of the Afterlife. Which I am much more comfortable with. I've never liked the idea of reincarnation unless it was a personal choice.

I think, based on what you are saying regarding numbers of souls and trying to extrapolate the numbers of souls incarnated on earth/new souls/reincarnated souls, etc that you might be misunderstanding the vastness of souls/heaven/universe.  I have no actual idea but the snippets I've gotten have blown my earth-bound mind.

During one reading I sat in a 12x18 room and was told that "souls are really big"...prosaic, yes, but upon additional inquiry, my soul "would fill this room from floor to ceiling, and maybe more."  What we are incarnated with is only a portion. 

Next, the number of souls is essentially inumerable and indefinable from a human perspective...they occupy bodies of various sorts throughout our galaxy and universe in our dimension as well as countless other dimensional levels...and the assumption is that they would be able to occupy a human body with the proper training and desire.  Again, I have been told that there will always be souls willing to fill the availability of human bodies...however some souls have first dibs (said with a smile), i.e. those who have been here before.

My personal experience is that I have memories on earth that go extremely far back, however I have researched those memories of experiences from the American colonial period to the present which I have a fairly well developed delineation from life to life.  It appears that the minimum gap in time is about fifteen years between lives, and as long as thirty.  From 1743 to now I have distinct memories of six lives, two of which I have enough information to research the genetic lineage...there is no genetic connection between my current ancestors and those with whom I was before.

I do not know with what frequency other people reincarnate, or even if there is a standard timeframe...I suppose it comes down to free will, another hot topic here, to determine what our chosen frequency might be.  If it is true, as I've been told, the number of lives we may have lived is in the thousands, who is to say there is any finite number involved?  And if there is any genetic connection it is purely because that was the opportunity chosen between lives.  Again with free will, we can choose not to reincarnate and simply develop our souls in the afterlife, but there are certainly some of us who have hung around this orb for millenia.

I guess, then, Stone, that from my standpoint you are trying to put a number on the inconceivable, and placing a limitation on the limitless.  Just my point of view.

Along with my fear that death ends all consciousness is this whole other "what if"

What if I am like a clone and the real "spirit" me is watching it all and when the clone/body me dies that's it for this body me and consciousness and the spirit me lives on but it's not the same... you know? lol.

I have searched high and wide and I have found no reasonable evidence that consciousness, however it came to be, is not fundamental. I process information (the data stream) constantly 24/7. My local memory may not retain it all, but it is going on none the less. I hold this truth to be SELF evident ;)

Yeah along those same lines of information we proccess.. earlier I was on the computer reading the forum hoping for more replies to my post that would make me feel better and my wife was sitting on the couch going "blah blah blah, blah blah blah. blah blah blah blah blah blah. Then later she was asking me what she wanted to get at walmart cause she couldn't remember what she said and she was freaking out about how she couldn't remember. I sat there a moment and thought about each thing it could be and bam there it was. I was able to remember what she said even though I was really REALLY not paying attention. Apparently everything she said to me is stored up there in my head, all I have to do is focus and pull it out.

I just don't see the point of returning to earth. I don't see how if people reincarnate it helps anything. Look at the world. Wouldn't it make more sense if we came back while knowing what we needed to do? Maybe i'm putting limitation on the limitless but how much of this can be considered a fantasy? I'm judging by laws and logic because I assume they still exist outside of this world. Reincarnation just does not seem like a logical system. Especially if you have no control as to who or what you reincarnate as because regardless, who you are and who you become is very much affected by this physical world, how you're brought up, your environment, etc. Psychology still plays its role.

We're going to learn very slowly if we have to keep coming back here and refreshing our memories and it takes 20+ years to actually realize you're more than human. Our spirits would do better to evolve in the Afterlife and allow the physical world to work itself out. Otherwise whats even the point of the afterlife if the afterlife is just coming back here every time to be a completely different person created by his or her environment? Its silly.

I figure we're all just a speck in the personality of God, living infinite multiple realities through its gaze. If reincarnation was real, then what I just proposed is probably true and death is the end of that reality for god and it experiences a new one. Everything just goes out the door, and it pretty much DOES mean we completely lose consciousness in death. Because I don't want to become someone else. I don't want to be god. I want to be me and I want eternal life in a paradise. I want to travel the cosmos with THIS personality and THIS mind. If that disappears, then I disappear. And if I disappear, then death truly is death. Reincarnation is some silly excuse for eternal life. That's eternal life for something inside me, but it isn't eternal life for ME.

I would think you would have to really not like yourself to be ok with that concept. But I do like myself and that whole "lose the ego" or what makes you YOU is to accept death and the end of yourself. If my soul goes on and I lose everything that makes me ME, then how is that not true death? If I lived before this life, that person is gone. Its consciousness is gone and replaced by me?

Believing in reincarnation doesn't seem to be that much different from believing that death is the end of all consciousness of who you are in this life. It isn't logical. And if your argument is that everything which is logical dies with your death...then I am not pleased and death becomes something to not have any hope in.

Of course, this is based on if reincarnation is not a choice. If it is a choice, then I can get down with that. I can accept that my prior conscious knew of what I do not find acceptable now and was okay with it. Perhaps because maybe it knew it would do good things and redeem any other transgressions and now the "it" is me and we've agreed we're going to continue doing good things in this life and at death I will not return to this Earth but explore the others. Unless the afterlife gets boring and reincarnating is the only real escape from it. But from what I have read of Bruce's take on the afterlife, Victor Zammit's, and what has been conveyed to psychics and mediums...the Afterlife is a place you definitely will not want to leave once you're settled in.

You know how when you're dreaming you can't remember very much about your waking life? Well, I think when you die it must be something like waking up from a dream. You have the memories, but you have a bigger picture of who you really are.

I can see that I guess. Making this all a true virtual reality. A long, long game of The Sims. A real Matrix. I'm sure I will understand a lot more as I get older and will eventually find most of what I need to expect for when I die. I like being prepared.

Stone,your right when you get to the spirit world,you never want to leave.but if you still have some learning to do,you will be sent back untill you know it all.Then you will stay in the afterlife.if you do come back,you will not lose anything that you learned in this life.

I think if there is any one thing or lesson that people need to be sent back for it is to do something great for someone else. To practice compassion and understand that it will give you the greatest value to life. To commit an act for the good of humanity rather than living by indulgence. If this was the lesson for every soul, then that would truly bring peace. I know many who have learned this lesson, but it seems many, many more would rather ignore it.

Compassion is a wonderful quality because it brings its own rewards, but in my youth I used to go looking for people to help like some super hero or something. Those experiences by and large were not very productive. So if I am faced with a choice I will usually make the compassionate one but I don't go looking for it anymore.

I still wonder about people who get out of their cars on the interstate, you know? I mean I'm driving so fast I can't really pull over but I always check to see how flustered they look to try and gage if it is an emergency for them. And it sounds like New Age BS but I send a wish of a speedy recovery to them BUT I almost never stop. Once in a while the urge to stop will be over powering and I do and the feeling I get from it is quite the high.

Beau,

I do the same thing. I thought this the other night actually. I considered that my inability to stop was more out of fear and the conscious fact that the world is very full of deceptive and bad people. Despite that I wish to be more compassionate, I still have to be cautious. I would prefer to just be compassionate to those I meet, in communities, doing volunteer work/making contributions, and focusing directly on the people in my life. Influencing those closest to you should influence them to the same with others and so on and so on. Compassion should work like a domino effect. The problem is that there are many dominos which are out of the line.

Stone, I will try to address some of your comments with my understanding and experience...not that this is the TRUTH, but it is my truth.


Quote:

Reincarnation just does not seem like a logical system. Especially if you have no control as to who or what you reincarnate as because regardless, who you are and who you become is very much affected by this physical world, how you're brought up, your environment, etc

One cannot assess logic without knowledge of all the facts...as incarnate beings on earth we do not have access to all the facts and cannot assess the logic of the system.  As characters acting on the stage, we play our parts without necessarily having the big picture...that doesn't keep us from playing our roles.  As a soul you have free will...you choose which human body incarnating here you wish to occupy, together with the events, trials and tribulations that particular body will live through, thus giving your soul the experiences it seeks.  You do have control...in fact your life as it is right now, was chosen by you through your free will, and, in keeping with Beau's thread...you chose the role of Stone on the stage of earth...right now you are truly "in character".  You, as that character, will have all the memories from your role which you will hold for and on behalf of your soul, and which cannot be forgotten by a being, of which you are a part, which is perfect and forgets nothing.  As for physical or environmental effects on your role as Stone, these are the twists in the plot or props on stage which force us to make hard decisions and require some level of extemporaneous acting...fun, isn't it?


Quote:

We're going to learn very slowly if we have to keep coming back here and refreshing our memories and it takes 20+ years to actually realize you're more than human. Our spirits would do better to evolve in the Afterlife and allow the physical world to work itself out. Otherwise whats even the point of the afterlife if the afterlife is just coming back here every time to be a completely different person created by his or her environment? Its silly

Learning slowly tends not to matter too much if you have forever in which to do it.  Linear time, as we know it, plods along second, by minute, by hour, by day, by month and by year.  We focus our events in such a linear fashion and it is how we function in this third dimensional world.  Where we come from there is no sense of time, so learning and experiencing come as and when desired in the sense of a soul.  Time only counts on the stage of earth, as we cannot expect to be the center of attention forever! 

The afterlife is "home"...as a soul we come here to experience, to learn and to enjoy.   Also, how many times have you read the lesson in the book and thought you knew how to do it only to find when you actually stepped up to the plate to perform you were wondering "what the heck?"  A life incarnate, away from home, gives you the chance to test your training, to walk the walk, to learn through a "live fire" exercise, so to speak.


Quote:

If reincarnation was real, then what I just proposed is probably true and death is the end of that reality for god and it experiences a new one. Everything just goes out the door, and it pretty much DOES mean we completely lose consciousness in death. Because I don't want to become someone else. I don't want to be god. I want to be me and I want eternal life in a paradise. I want to travel the cosmos with THIS personality and THIS mind. If that disappears, then I disappear. And if I disappear, then death truly is death. Reincarnation is some silly excuse for eternal life. That's eternal life for something inside me, but it isn't eternal life for ME.

I do think reincarnation is real,  however I do not agree with your follow-on suppositions.  I do not see reincarnation as illogical, nor that it is a pointless series of empty lives and forgotten memories.  I do not think death is the end, as the energy, the ego, the role played by Stone on earth, lives on as part of that soul and part of God.  After physical death your consciousness develops full knowledge of the truth of it all...no longer simply the truth of Stone acting as a separate entity on the stage of earth.  You have and live a life in eternal paradise and will do so with this personality together with the rest of you...this personality, or role is your soul's current foray onto the stage of earth and it cannot wait to finish here to bring backstage all the wonderful experiences, stories, impressions you gained from your life as Stone.  You, as Stone, will not disappear, will not be forgotten, will not become unconscious...on the contrary, you will be living in paradise with all the consciousness, memories and experiences as Stone, together with the whole consciousness of every other person, experience, role your soul has ever played before.  Your soul is the actor and Stone is the character, or role you play...the actor remembers every part of every role he has ever played, and the thoughts, feelings, ideas, and memories of each role as well...Stone is one of those roles, and your soul can slip into any role he chooses to relive at any time.

Another way to look at it is that you are a portion of your soul...a portion that cannot see the big picture for purposes of playing this role.  When your physical Stone dies, the blinders come off and you see your soul in its entirety, you see how you acted, you see why you acted the way you did, you reflect on the matters you would have handled differently and you revel in the wonderful opportunity you just enjoyed. 

As for your final posit, my computer will not allow me to quote it here, but in response, I do not agree that the idea of reincarnation is illogical and that death is the end of that body/soul's consciousness for the reasons previously stated.  I have provided my perpsective on the points you have raised and I hope that they may help in some way.

usetawuz,

Thank you for taking the time to post and yes it does give me  a better perspective. I think a lot and I theorize a lot and my spirituality isn't even six months old. I still have many questions and concerns. Sometimes I think my mind is a little too much for my age and I really just need to relax and take the ride to love and guidance. I can't really control the outcome of what really happens beyond making the best decisions I know how to. Eventually I think I will be ready to really make some discoveries and hopefully when I am dying as an old man I will be at peace with all of my thoughts,.

I've said this before, but I highly recommend Monroe's 7th CD in the Going Home series for having an understanding of what we're talking about here. He never says Actor vs Character or anything like that but the way he pushes one past one's own Character into the Actor realization is very enlightening. It's a great starting point.

I definitely have a hard time believing that the soul knew of the events which take place in the body it inhabits. That doesn't even make sense, really. Looking at myself it could make sense, but when thinking of other people and the events of other lives I find it pretty hard to believe anything would choose that.

Unless of course we play with the concept of solipsism. Which could mean that either I am the only true consciousness on this planet or that everyone which appears to have heightened consciousness  are the only true souls and everyone and everything else is consciously playing its part. The stage/earth was created directly for me and nothing actually exists until I am conscious of it. It would basically be just like that movie The Truman Show, just on a much larger scale. And just like Truman felt at the end of the movie, I would be disappointed to find nothing was truly as genuine as I perceived it.

But I will not believe things are that way. In continuing the metaphor, I believe that indeed the world is the stage and everything within it are the props. Every one of us are the actors but the performance is completely impromptu to both the actor and the character.

If the director was ever present it basically says "This is the character. This is the name. This is the environment. Now you must become the character and impromptu the performance based on how you perceive the character."

I have done this in video games which allow free will of the character you control. I do not always know how the events will be for the actions I decide for the character as the developers of the game only know that. And just like the character in the game I am programmed to have no idea I'm being controlled or I am controlling myself and my audience is just invisible.

Though imagine what is the better game. The open world game where the story has already been written by the developers and experienced unknowingly by the player, or the Massive Multiplayer Online open world game where there is no written story and the story unfolds separately through the events and actions of each player in the game.

If the latter was ever achieved as a game it would be a masterpiece. Or back to the other metaphor, a director and crew establishes only the stage and the props and gives all of the actors a character but allows them complete freedom to impromptu the performance of the character. Though no one knows how the performance will play out, this is the entire aesthetic of the concept which entertains every single individual/being involved.

I hope I have made that understandable. Perhaps there is a script, but I find it more unique if there is not one. One could ask "Then what purpose does the director serve?" If you have a director which has served as the means behind the stagecraft, prop craft, visual effects, casting, and everything that goes into the building of a movie or a play then that is enough purpose. Now the director can allow its unique vision to commence, and like any performance--the director solely relies and keeps confidence in the actors to keep the performance going.

Ok. Wow. After I typed all of this I started thinking more and more about this metaphor. The more I thought the more I could attribute this metaphor to life. Or really any entertainment arts. This could really help people understand life. I'm going to continue reflecting on it and considering it to others.

But remember Stone, even when two or more actors create characters that improvise the Actor is still ultimately in control. The character may hate the another character but the Actor may be going home with that other actor at the end of the night. The direction is coming from somewhere always even if it appears to be from the character self perhaps it actually comes from a higher response. And isn't it possible that syncronicity is a nudge from the higher self to remind us that we are not alone in our endeavors...that we are one with the larger superset to our character driven subset?

Absolutely. I get nudges all the time. Sometimes in physical form. I just always wonder if this is the actor or the director. Intuition tells me its the actor. Plus, there are so many things available to improve the performance. And I suppose this whole rise in consciousness is just the increase in recognizing the actor to the character.

I do life reviews all the time. I am always thinking of my past experiences and decisions, or of those around me. This has formed my personality more than anything else. I can look at an event where something went wrong and see precisely what I must do to not allow it to happen again. There is also not a single event in my life that I can't find where I benefited in some way or another. Even the worst things. I could stare anyone in the eye and honestly say I have no regrets. I would change nothing of my past because it would change who I am today and erase the lesson. I've always wondered why this is so rare among all I have encountered.

Well I look at it like this: If the actor is directing then the actor is the director and I think that is always the case. Ultimately there is no separation in my humble view.

Well that wouldn't be any different from how an actor directs itself in a real movie or play. But there is always a separate director to the performance overseeing its creation. TECHNICALLY everything is a director. I'm directing myself to type this right now.

But in regards to the metaphor, I think you should separate the director from the actor. The actor does indeed direct the ability of its performance, but there is still an overseer to the entire thing, including all of the actors involved.

yeah I agree that there might be a director. BUT if the ensemble (group of actors) are very skilled they can each direct themselves and grow from the experience and every one still has free will they just have to set up a rule set that is agreed upon in the beginning...like say, the golden rule. Director or self direction either way I think the metaphor holds up pretty well.

Well the thing about what I conceive of this director is that it now works as more of an audience. It only offers temporary guidance but is most curious as to simply observe the performance itself. Seeing as how it did all the other work, the whole point to the director's unique vision is that it can become part of the audience and leave the rest to the actors.

I think I saw you post this Stone, something about not needing to be reincarnated and I have to say that I really agree in many ways.

Firstly, as great as life is and it's fun and interesting, it is also scary and filled with pain and loss. Add to that the fact that you enter and leave the world (generally) having no clue what and if there is anything after your death which can add a whole new level of fear and hysteria and it just doesn't seem worth it.

Secondly, it would seem to me that as energy once we are dead we would be able to manifest in a psychical form even if it is still a mental psychical form and then we could do and experience all the things we do here anyway with literally no limits. Why not just stay there? Why would we NOT have that option? Personally as good as life here is, I think my fear of death which almost ruins my life makes me think it would have been better if I had stayed where I was. That is, unless are parents actually are creating life and consciousness when they have a baby and reincarnation is not actually a factor. Oh well... I don't know really.

Sorry for double post, but this is for the other end of the spectrum... Let's say reincarnation exist... Then it would theoretically be possible for my dead cat to purposefully come back so we could be together more than once on my same lifetime.  :D

YES! The director is the audience but the director is everything...perhaps? even the actors, now that is a thought. I think (at this moment) that perhaps non physical reality is much like unsculpted clay and what we bring back each time gives more dimension to The Afterlife or however you want to look at the Non Physical. As far as coming back here I would only say that when I was young there were thousands of roles I wanted to play on the stage and even film, but as I've gotten older I only go on stage once or twice a year instead of doing a show every day. Perhaps as we progress the need to come back here in order to bring more back to the other work in progress (Non Physical) becomes less of an attraction. It's the idea of separation that trips us up when we are here, I think. We are the director, the actor, even the scenery..? once the ego is surpassed. I can wrap my head around how I can one with it all, but sometimes I can't figure out how YOU can be one with all but we still could have a conversation unless that conversation is all in OUR head. Well its food for thought for me anyway.

Beau wrote on Apr 3^rd, 2010 at 9:27am:

YES! The director is the audience but the director is everything...perhaps? even the actors, now that is a thought. I think (at this moment) that perhaps non physical reality is much like unsculpted clay and what we bring back each time gives more dimension to The Afterlife or however you want to look at the Non Physical. As far as coming back here I would only say that when I was young there were thousands of roles I wanted to play on the stage and even film, but as I've gotten older I only go on stage once or twice a year instead of doing a show every day. Perhaps as we progress the need to come back here in order to bring more back to the other work in progress (Non Physical) becomes less of an attraction. It's the idea of separation that trips us up when we are here, I think. We are the director, the actor, even the scenery..? once the ego is surpassed. I can wrap my head around how I can one with it all, but sometimes I can't figure out how YOU can be one with all but we still could have a conversation unless that conversation is all in OUR head. Well its food for thought for me anyway.

I think you are right on, Beau, and it goes as well with an overall view of reincarnation.  As younger souls we always played with apparant separation, were wholly in character, and dove into everything, playing any and every role.  When we began to see glimpses of the backstage, began to hear the director giving helpful suggestions, we played our roles with greater purpose, understanding and satisfaction...and achieved greater results, thus diminishing our need, and maybe desire, to play just anything.

I really like your metaphor...

Thank you Usetawuz,

The metaphor constantly evolves for me but always comes back to its simplicity and I really like that. From my studies I have learned that the art of Theatre predates religion by great lengths (I realize many would disagree) but communication was first in my opinion and that is what this metaphor is all about for me. The problem was someone deciding that one play was The Way...ridiculous when you look at it from that perspective. Life learns from art and art grows from the experience of Life and so forth. It satisfies the circle for me.

Quote:

As far as coming back here I would only say that when I was young there were thousands of roles I wanted to play on the stage and even film, but as I've gotten older I only go on stage once or twice a year instead of doing a show every day. Perhaps as we progress the need to come back here in order to bring more back to the other work in progress (Non Physical) becomes less of an attraction.

I like this. I have always wanted to do something special with my life. Not just live ordinarily and have a job which I do not love. I wanted to be in a spotlight. Not for money or anything like that, but just to entertain. I've really always wanted to be involved with music. I've made a few attempts to get something working but it always falls short. I finally got to a point where my biggest dream was to perform vocals in a rock/metal band. I have not allowed this dream to disappear and I am very much still planning to follow it. My goal was to finish school and my other responsibilities and then focus on the things I want to do with this life.

When I took psilocybin I was able to see much of my past and what I thought could be my future. I could actually see myself on stage with the mic, entertaining a crowd. Perhaps this vision was out of the desire, or perhaps the vision was premeditated. Either way it could have something to do with what you said, Beau. I want to use that form of entertainment to influence other people. Not just write about angry, negative things. But introduce concepts and invoke influence. That would be my contribution to the world in this life.

That's excellent Stone. When I was younger I wanted to have an influence on others because I thought I was on to something, but I must confess that now I am more interested in growing and sharing, but I have a tiny fear of actually thinking of that sharing as having an influence, but I get where you are coming from.

I see my first moment as I pass over as this: Some guy comes over to me and hands me my guitar and ushers me on stage and I perform all the tunes I've sat on in this life. It's a fantasy, you know.

I remember kind of praying once because I had a desire to perform music in public but I have a terrible memory for lyrics because they have to be timed to the music. Very shortly after that "prayer" I learned of Karaoke. Ain't that a kick. And now it's not impossible to put my own lyrics on the DVD with my own music. Pretty cool.