Hi Jean,

I firmly believe (KNOW) that this is NOT a random universe but that all things happen for our highest good.  I believe your story verifies that. In looking back at my life, I can see no randomness in it at all. Everything that has happened to me, and there's been plenty, has all been for my highest good.

With Love,
Mairlyn 

Boris,

I do, indeed, assume 100% of the blame for my inattention, as I did in front of the delightful judge and others attending the traffic school.  For I also believe that my safty lies in my defenselessness in these situations.  I do assume 100% for the accident on the physical level but what if I also choose to look at it from a metaphysical point of view?  You pointed out that in the evolution of our modern concepts we possibly started out by blaming evil spirits, as some still do on this site, and progressed to the concept of accidents.  Again I agree totally.  But what if there is still an even more advanced concept, which includes the possibility there are no accidents, there is only a plan?  As far as randomness goes, again this may only apply to the physical plane in the world of math but what if in the non-physical plane and in the world of the spirit this too does not exist.

I only used this accident to get my point across concerning the question I was asking but your response is perfectly in line with many and is why I posed the question in the first place.  Your spontaneity and honesty were refreshing to me and I greatly appreciate your taking the time to engage in this dialogue.  I really wasn’t necessary looking for a response that would parrot my own. Although I do love support for some of my input-like Marilyn’s above.  Thanks Marilyn, I needed that!   

And you’re right, these things should not happen for the world to work as it should, but they do-we’re not robots and as the bumper sticker says, “S…T Happens!” even when we are perfect.

Thanks again-you did good, Jean   

I don't think it couldn't be part of a plan.

..and that doesn't mean the planners are sadists, either, but compromisers.

Human life is a compromise.  You deal with a lot of negative things to acheive whatever your goal is because you don't think there's a better way to.

OMG, the discussion of Loosh on this board has just reminded me of
that. What if the powers that be, ARE sadists?

It has been years since I read Robert Monroe's Far Journeys, and
at that time the story of Loosh sort of blew by me as one more
weird thing to try to deal with or discard. But it now becomes
relevant to this discussion here.

There are two basic ways to approach the other side. One is the
scientist, like me, trying to understand it, the other is the witch
doctor or guru or religion creator who will try to interpret it in
such a way as to be helpful to his people.

The scientist is aware that to see nature as it is, he must
approach it objectively without bias and describe things such as
predation as it really is. On the other hand, the US Department of
Agriculture will impose anthropic values on it, deciding which life
is desirable or undesirable.

I think we are the dominant species in part because we are able to
take a positive view of things, and interpret good in terms of what
benefits us. I am very aware of the statement in Genesis, "Behold,
it was good." That is the kind of value judgement that takes a
positive view of things.

I also take note that the descriptions of heaven from
www.near-death.com show it as a good, beautiful place where demons
and evil can not enter.

But what if some of what we discover while exploring is not good?
I am increasingly beginning to suspect that the universe could be a
mess, just as planet Earth is a mess, except in a different way for
different reasons.

What if the powers that be are sadists? Serving not our interests
but theirs? A kind of science fiction scenario. That could fit with
the evil that we have around us. A more successful paradigm? In
terms of fitting belief to the evidence? I'm not too serious, just
introducing another possibility, to try things from many angles.

>>> “Is this a random universe…or is everything part of the plan that is meant for our higher good?” <<<

There are two ways to look at this, and both are simultaneously valid.

The answer to the question, is then simultaneously Neither (yes nor no) and Both (yes and no).

Neither. (random nor planned)
---------------------------------------

Say something (eg. an accident, death) occurs, precipitating the events that follow (including consequent interpersonal interaction, assistance, re-evaluation of purpose, change-in-patterns, etc). If you decide not to use this (event and associated events) as an opportunity to evolve or benefit yourself in some way, then very obviously, there would be no meaningful aspect to the event, and REGARDLESS of whether it was 'planned' by some higher power or not, for all practical purposes, it would have been an 'accident', senseless and all.

However, if you are an intelligent, lucid person, you would decide that, hey, no matter what happens, 'good' or 'bad', I'm going to see if it can be used for the highest evolutionary benefit to all involved (ie. the CosmoEthic), then REGARDLESS of whether it was 'planned' by some higher power or not, for all practical purposes, it would have been meaningful and helpful, BECAUSE YOU ALLOWED IT TO BE.


Both. (random and planned)
---------------------------------------

From the viewpoint of the higher self, guides & helpers, evolutionologists and evolutionary orientors, the adventure of a physical lifetime, including all events that occur, fall into either planned, or unplanned (accidental, usually undesirous), but between these, and either way, and most importantly, it is the free will of the consciousness that determines the value of either (as discussed in preceding paragraphs).

Depending on the individual (some (usually less lucid) souls prefer chaotic, unplanned lives; others (usually more lucid ones with clear goals in mind and eager to maximize the probability of success of their incarnation's existential program) prefer to work more closely with their guides & helpers to make the most of their incarnational time, by careful planning and preparation), most of the more significant events of a typical human incarnation, are indeed 'planned' either consciously/deliberately, or otherwise.

In conscious/deliberate planning, the soul, with assistance from guides & helpers, chooses (consciously in the intermissive period, and subconsciously whilst incarnated) to manifest or be attracted to certain events, individuals, or opportunities during the incarnation.

On another, more 'universalistic' level, a more 'automatic' kind of 'intelligent planning' occurs, that contributes to the events that occur - the natural Laws of the universe, such as the Laws of Karma, Reflection, Manifestation, etc. These so-called Laws are really labels of convenience that consciousness (in this case, human souls working within the Earth Life System) use, to describe our understanding of the natural phenomena/tendencies/laws which we observe as intrinsic and natural to the Universe, including all consciousness that are part of it.

Hence, it could be that the karma (evolutionary inertia, arising from thoughts/emotions/energies of specific issues being explored by the individual) from a past existence/incarnation, naturally seeks remanifestation in the present incarnation (even if the soul/consciousness or the guides & helpers do not focus attention on the issue or deliberately 'plan' such), by energetically drawing together events and individuals that are associated with the karmic energy created/continued in that past existence.

Thus, taking both factors (of deliberate planning by the soul & guides & helpers; as well as the existence of automatic yet 'intelligent' Laws of the Universe) into consideration, we could use the analogy of technology (eg. a NASA rocket), being a combination and alliance of both natural laws of physics, as well as deliberate engineering intelligence.

The engineer works intellligently and deliberately with the natural laws of physics, in designing specific outcomes. At the same time, the engineer is aware of risks, unplanned events ('accidents') at any level, that might compromise the mission in many ways.

These (risks) are largely forseeable by the guides & helpers (who utilize advanced extraphysical technologies and computers to calculate and simulate entire incarnations and the many possibilities herein), but due to the (wonderful) element of free will, the possibilities (incarnation being like a super complex chess game with billions of chess pieces across multidimensional chess boards) are near infinite, and thus, it is a common occurence, that like teachers in a school, or directors of a company, there will likely be many possible energies/events that badly complicate matters, that even the guides & helpers do not know how things will turn out.
 
In accidents, should they be 'true' accidents (ie. not deliberately planned, at least not by the soul, or the guides & helpers), the guides & helpers will assess the situation, should the event/incident be in some way possibly helpful (this will be up to the free will and lucidity of the individual) in some way, perhaps balancing some past life karma, even if it was not originally in the individual's existential program (life-plan), it will in most cases be allowed to continue its course.

Only in circumstances where the guides & helpers recognize that the individual's existential program (especially if it is an important one with much positive evolutionary impact on many people) would be severely compromised by the accident, hence wasting not only the individual's effort but also the many guides & helpers who have a stake in this particular incarnational project, then they will intervene.

The next step being, calculations of value of the possible means of intervention, based on economy of energy. For example, between wasting vast amounts of energy to physically levitate/teleport away the oncoming vehicle/bullet, and possessing/influencing the individual to slightly change course to reduce (not totally annul) the consequent damage, they might choose the latter.


-----------------------------------------------------

At this point, we recognize that the above is all nice and well for intellectual discussion, but for individuals who are suffering from deep emotional pain in some way, feeling wronged from events which they feel to be 'truly' accidents in regards to their existential program, it will require a lot more than mere intellectual ideas to resolve this pain.

I (Kyo) myself can relate to this, as an important event in my life occured recently that was not part of (the highest possible execution of) my existential program. In my view, it was tragic and unnecessary, and caused me deep pain.

Nonetheless, whatever happens, happens. There really is no 'should' or 'should not'. From Byron Katies viewpoint, if something (eg. tragic) has happened, then it 'should' have happened because it did. But subsequently and consequently, and far more importantly (as far as you are concerned), WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT NOW? (eg. what assistance can you now offer to the affected individuals?).

There, you have identitied, the most important should of all - WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT NOW?

In conclusion, with regards to the issues that are discussed herein, the following readings are recommended :


1) Byron Katie's "Loving What Is".
http://www.thework.org/


2) Wagner Alegretti's "Retrocognitions".
In particular, pages 77, pages 78 and 79, utilizes the analogy of a NASA mission, to describe the planning (and recognition of potential risks/accidents) involved in a human incarnation.


3) Personal Hilarion Reading. In the context of this discussion, recommended for those whom feel deep emotional pain, confusion and being 'wronged' by some tragic, unnecessary accident, you might like to hear some personal constructive advice from Hilarion, on what has occurred, and where you could go from here.

Anja,

There could be such a thing as a "bad" event that was planned, such
as a planned death. There could be a reason for not wanting to be
older, like a soul agreeing to be a woman in an incarnation but not
wanting to be an old lady, so a death is set for a certain age.

There is a story on the internet about a person named Matthew whose
death was planned at a young age, as a part of a plan to write a
book that was a collaboration between mother and son, with the son
speaking from the afterlife. This plan did not go well at all,
because the early death of the much-loved son caused a huge amount
of grief in the family. When I mentioned this earlier on this
board, there was a discussion about there being such a thing as a
bad plan. Someone said, that is what is wrong with my life, it had a
bad plan!

On your question as to how do you tell whether it is planned or
not, I can only guess. Two mothers I knew died while their children
were adolescent, which seemed like a very unfavorable turn of
events, not part of any good plan. On the other hand, I note two
odd deaths. One was when someone I knew when I lived in the desert,
turned over in his pickup truck, driving alone on a familiar desert
road where there was no reason for this to happen. Matthew in that
story died in a similar way. The UFO researcher Dr. John Mack was
killed, in his 70s, by being hit by a car when he was a pedestrian,
and it seemed odd, because you would think pedestrians would
normally be aware, but then again, maybe not.

Planned events may be more likely to happen in families where there
are spirits taking part in Earth life, like with Linn Conyers.
Here there may be paranormal clues, like unexplainable phone calls,
objects mysteriously appearing, like pennies or dimes, birds on
window sills, butterflies, a smell of roses, songs on the radio,
etc. In a few cases the spirit has been contacted afterwards and
confirms that the event was planned.
LInn's website is http://www.spiritlinnusa.com/

I saw your earlier question about time in the afterlife, while
checking your profile. I personally do not think there is no time
in the afterlife. Time is the delineator of motion, and there can
be no motion without time, and there is motion in the afterlife,
people move about just as they do on Earth. There is also music in
the afterlife, and music is not possible without time.  The
illusion that there is no time in the afterlife is created because
time is more easily manipulated there, than here. You can produce
an image from anywhere in history, or from the probable future.

OMG, the beautiful women! First Linn, then Jennifer, now you.
Paradise on Earth! Sometimes I wonder if my preoccupation with
Playboy magazine, which I subscribe to, puts out a mental field
that women respond to. I liked Denmark when I visited there, and
rented a bicycle and pedalled all over. I liked Copenhagen. I liked
the polser sausages. I suppose everything is McDonald's now.

Kyo, thanks for all the information. It helps me to understand it all much, much more.

Love, Mairlyn