Back to the Future

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Lateral lives, past lives, future lives — we love speculating about possibilities of “other” lives. We think about reincarnation and wonder about the possibilities, past and future. If someone tells us they remember a past life, we may find that fascinating; but if they said they come from the future, perhaps we’d think they are a bit off the beam, to say the least. The wonderful sci-fi stories about time travel hold a certain allure to us, a fascination with the possibilities. There are so many things we cannot fathom in the here and now, yet we still want to wonder about things which have not happened, things which may never happen. While I try to keep thought stayed on the now, dealing with things as they occur and not wondering what may be, it is a constant discipline remembering to do so. Be Here Now. The Power of Now. I’m grateful we have so many aides to keep us focused!

"In the ultimate sense, reincarnation is impossible. There is no past or future, and the idea of birth into a body has no meaning either once or many times. Reincarnation cannot, then, be true in any real sense. Our only question should be, 'Is the concept helpful?' And that depends, of course, on what it is used for. If it is used to strengthen the recognition of the eternal nature of life, it is helpful indeed. Is any other question about it really useful in lighting up the way? Like many other beliefs, it can be bitterly misused. At least, such misuse offers preoccupation and perhaps pride in the past. At worst, it induces inertia in the present. In between, many kinds of folly are possible." 

A Course in Miracles M-24.1 

"Man's individuality is not material. This Science of being obtains not alone hereafter in what men call Paradise, but here and now; it is the great fact of being for time and eternity."  Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 285