Holy Shit!! With Nate & Esha
A beginners guide to spiritual awakening, the metaphysical, unconditional love and all things "whoo whoo". Told from the perspective an average dude and a majestic shaman. ;)
Holy Shit!! With Nate & Esha
Episode 7 - Reincarnation, Karma & The Souls Journey
In this episode Nate & Esha discuss the concept of reincarnation and the implications surrounding it. They review different perspectives and interpretations of reincarnation and the souls journey. Esha goes deep into Karma, what it is and how we can live our lives to create as little Karma as possible.
Hey everyone, welcome to episode seven of the Holy Shit with Nate and Esher Podcast. Just me and Esha today, and we're excited to chat with you about today's topic. I know it's a topic that we have uh we've discussed briefly from time to time throughout the past six episodes, and I wanted to dedicate an episode today really to dive deeply into the topic of reincarnation. Uh, you know, your soul's journey and kind of what that means uh with from a spirituality perspective, maybe even from what that means from a religious perspective, um, and um how that even just what that means in terms of you know our daily lives and and how that all connects together. So, Esha, welcome to episode seven. How are you doing?
SPEAKER_03:Thank you, Nate. I am doing good, a little bit on the tired side today, but uh that's simply because I've just been going through some uh what I would call upgrades as I let go and release and come into awareness about some things. Uh but otherwise, I I am doing great. Um, I'm excited about our topic today because it's uh one that I think a lot of people have questions about, but don't quite know how to navigate it. And and I'm also not saying that I'm a pro at navigating that myself. I'm certainly not an expert, but it's conversation, it's nice to have conversations about these things because we're actually all thinking about them, right?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. No doubt. I mean, I remember that this was a very like almost taboo topic for me until my awakening. Um, because I was raised Southern Baptist and there was one way. Um now that being said, I will also say that um I always had questions. Um questions that I didn't necessarily feel like always got fully answered, but I was also, you know, taught that maybe having questions in the in in general was wrong, you know, because it means I lack faith. Um and um, you know, so then I would be like, well, no, that's not good either. And then I would be so um, you know, when I've had my awakening and I started kind of seeking out information and really had an open mind, and that's not to condemn any beliefs of anybody else. It just I was looking for I was looking for the passage or the answer that that really resonated with me. And uh, you know, um the thing for me, you know, we talked about this, I think in in in in episode one was I'm a big why person. I always interested in the why. Um and Christianity always was great about the who, obviously, God and Jesus and all of that. And they were very good about the where, you know, where we go. But the why behind everything, I never really felt like I was satiated from the responses that I would get from you know deacons from the church or pastors or whatever, and it would always be it was always more like a you know, look inward kind of thing. And and maybe there maybe there's a uh a Christian-based um um response to that question that is better than what I've heard in the past, and I would be very interested in hearing it. But I when I started looking into uh, and I would I would say that you know, you and I both, not to put a label on anything, um, are more of the what we would call the mystic belief system now. It's kind of a merging of multiple different aspects, but it's all believing in that there is one universal God, and we do go, our souls take a journey. And honestly, it's not super different than Christianity because there is an ultimate heaven at the end. Um, but there is that there's a couple more. I look at it like um it's it's it's Christianity and it's other things, but it's also there's a lot more chapters. It's a much it's much larger box. Um, then I think that um some religions religions, some religions have very strict um orders. You know, they're like you got they're contained within this box, and this is maybe a little different perspective.
SPEAKER_03:Well, you know, it's it's interesting because I think we get so caught up in religion, like, and there's a gazillion religions, but the truth of the matter is uh, and this is my perspective, but the truth of the matter is for me, is that religion isn't God.
SPEAKER_02:Right, right.
SPEAKER_03:So it you know, the different religions is just an opportunity to create community for people who are wanting to perhaps they're seekers and wanting to have um experience with other people and and deepening their relationship with uh what we call God. But the creator of the whole entire universe, this what we live in, this body that we have, the world that we live in, all of that is superimposed on the real creator. This all of this is an illusion, all of this will pass away just the same way we are going to pass away one day. And so this reality is an expression of the creator that creates everything.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And that creator has no um uh strong hold necessarily on religion, doesn't care about what religion does. I think we try to give God a human character, human characteristics. Um and so when we talk about something like you know, reincarnation in past lives, I mean, it's even mentioned in the Bible, right? And so, and and it was it was believed uh early Christianity they believed in reincarnation somewhere along the line, I don't know where, but it shifted. But even with Jesus and uh and with John the Baptist, it says it right there that there were reincarnations of other souls, of Elijah. Right, right. And so if that's the case, I don't see what the issue is in modern day Christianity as to why we have such a stiff upper lip when it comes to, oh no, I don't really believe in reincarnation when in the Bible it talks about it.
SPEAKER_00:Right. And of course, you know, the the the the alternative perspective would be then that's just left up to interpretation. And that's honestly, that's 95% of the Bible is less that is left up for interpretation. Um, and um, so but you know, the thing about it was is that you know, barring the awakening and and and the searching for the why, I always had a relationship with God. I always know that. And I always had a relationship with Jesus. And that and that has not changed. And the thing that I love about this is that this journey has in fact heightened that relationship for me with God and Jesus. Uh, and it and it's it's it's brought me to know them in ways that I never thought possible. Um, you know, things that like make so much more sense to me now, um, looking at it through a different lens that didn't make sense before. So um what I know when I was, you know, when we talked about this, when I when you first have your awakening and you're in that sponge mode we talked about, and you're just trying to absorb as much information as possible. I come across the gentleman by the name of Alan Watts, who I know you're aware of.
SPEAKER_03:I love him.
SPEAKER_00:Alan Watts. And um, Alan Watts and Ron Doss to me are like are like, I don't know, they're like the foundational pieces of understanding such a complex thing. And and and and both of them do. And the reason why, the reason why I love them so much is that they talk to me like I'm in the second grade. Uh about the very simple terms. It's so it's so easy to understand. And um, you know, it just it just it takes such a complex topic and and and makes it you know digestible. And what he said um on the topic of reincarnation, uh, and even just you know, and he this is that why piece that I'm gonna get into. Um because yeah, I mean, like I, you know, from from a Christian at Christianity perspective, no doubt that we want to live a good life and you know, atone for our sins and and be the best Christian you can and bring people to God and you know make a a eternity for yourself in heaven. And that's absolutely admirable, and that's the goal. Uh, but I always was looking for that. Wow, well, okay, so what's what's the purpose? What's the point of all this? Like what's the point? Like, why are we healed? Why what's why why why why why why why right? And um, so I'm looking at this this video from Alan Watts, and he's Alan Watts was a British guy um back in the 70s, um, who um it was just uh he had the perspective he has was amazing. And he says basically that you know, imagine imagine you're God, imagine that you're the omnipresent, all-knowing, all-seeing, all everything, right? And eventually you're gonna get a little bit bored of being in a constant state of bliss all the time, right? Is uh and this of course now granted, this is all about perspective here. I'm this is this is Alan Watts' perspective. And he says, Well, basically, God says one day, well, I'm I'm going, I want to feel, I want to feel other emotions. I want I need there to be something else going on here than just my existence. And so bang, the universe is created, you know, right? And and then okay, now I want to be able to feel and experience and and and really understand all of these other things. And so basically, out of the presence of God, the universe was created, and i.e., humans were created, okay, which is not not unlike what the Bible's explanations are, right? Um, and that ideally um we all our souls are pieces of God, and they we were shot out basically into multiple different forms. Um, and in in this situation, it could be the air, the trees, the water, the grass, animals, uh, elements, all of these things. They're but that's all conscious elements that all are all piece of the one. Yes, everything, everything is one, it's all God. Uh, there isn't anything that could exist that isn't God. That's the point. Everything is one, okay? Um, and that basically from the human perspective, that the human soul is sent out to basically be, for lack of a better term, like data collection. You you you go out and you you collect data and experiences and you basically report back, okay? And the goal is, is while you're out on your data collection mission, there's a tally kept, right? Karma. You're you know, you're you're you're being, you know, or even you know, from a Christian perspective, you know, sin or however you want to put it. So um, and and but karma can be good and bad, you know, and it's not necessarily all bad. Um, and and it's not even good, it's not good and bad for a long term, because that gives it a dualistic perspective. This is a non-dual, it's just it just is what it is, right? But the point being that you're born into this light, your your soul is incarnated into this, and there, and there is a for listen, this is such a crude explanation, but this is the way my my little animal brain likes to view it is that literally imagine that you're sitting there as a soul, and you're saying, Okay, I'm gonna go to Earth for the first time. You're standing there, imagine literally being, and this is like this is such a crude, a crude explanation, but it's how it's how I like to look at it. Is you're standing there like almost like a McDonald's fast food checkout counter, okay? And on the other side is a guy that says, All right, who do you who do you what do you what do you need? What do you want? Well, you look at your little sheet there that you've been given of all of the lessons and all of the experiences and all of the ideologies and all of everything that could possibly be experienced as as a soul that you need to experience before you've completed your soul's journey, right? And you look out there and you talk to the guy, you say, Well, what do you got? He says, Well, I've got an Esher here, and I've got a Nate here, um, and I've got somebody else here. You know, what do you what do you need? You look down on your sheet and you say, I could really use, I could use some betrayal here, and I could also use a lot of and I really what I'd really love to have is like some triumph and also you know some other stuff, right? And you know, and then you say, Well, I got a I got the perfect the perfect one for you. Check this guy out. And then, hey, next thing you know, you're born and you're and you're in it. And you forget through the awakening, for through the through the through the birthing process and the growing up process, you forget that that's who you are. And and and that's that's you forget that your soul is somebody other than your body. And because not only that, but like you're being told the first five years of your life that you are this new person and and and you forget. Now there are there are there are account countless accounts of people who um have memories of their past lives while they're absolutely um and we'll get into that in just a second. But the point is that your entire per and actually this this would not work if you remembered all the time. It wouldn't work because you wouldn't want to play the game.
SPEAKER_03:You wouldn't you might go crazy.
SPEAKER_00:You also might go crazy, right? So you you it wouldn't work. So you've got to you've gotta forget every time you come in so you can play the game. And um, yes, our lives are divinely orchestrated. We have we have free will, but at the end of the day, that we're here for a purpose, and the purpose is to work off to achieve certain things throughout the what you know, check check this box off of the things we need to experience. But the game is also that like while we're in these lives, we can also create new check boxes by by creating karma that then also has to be worked off. So, like the goal is to make sure that we aren't aren't creating more. So when we go back to that McDonald's checkout counter, that that list doesn't keep getting longer and longer and longer and longer. The idea is to start making that list shorter and shorter and shorter because eventually the idea is that the last life that we go to and we check that last back up, that last box off, and we have no more karma to work off, we reach enlightenment. And then and then without getting into like some massive discussion about the different realms of of um and the different dimensions, the idea would be that you are no longer have to incarnate as a human soul anymore, that you move on up the chain on your way to i.e. Nirvana, nirvana, heaven, whatever. But the point is that your soul then makes its way back to being one with God again. Okay. Yeah. There's several layers that you have to all. I won't get into all that, but the point is, is that's that's the why behind all of this. Um, and when I whenever he explained it in that way, it just seemed to make so much more sense to me. Um, and it brought the who, the what, the where, the when, and the why all into this nice package. It's almost like a a mathematical formula that I had been trying to solve for 35 years, and I was missing one of the one of the key numbers. So like I see the answer, but it just the the equation didn't make sense because I'm missing a key piece of information. And like when when I've got this key piece of information, it's like, oh okay.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, yeah, the puzzle, yeah, the puzzle becomes whole. Well, there's a word there that I, you know, you said karma, and and we tend to think of karma in such different ways, and yoga karma is actually action. And so I want to share with um with our listeners uh the definition of karma from the Tibetan book of living and dying by Sogol Renpochet. Um, and of course, you know, karma is really sort of like this natural law of cause and effect, right? And he says here uh the drive, the truth and the driving force behind rebirth is what is called karma. Karma is often totally misunderstood in the West as fate or predestination. It is best thought of as the infallible law of cause and effect that governs the universe. And so the word karma literally means action. And karma is both the power latent within actions and the results our actions bring. So he says, Well, in simple words, what does karma mean? It means that whatever we do with our body, speech, mind will have a corresponding result. Each action, even the smallest, is pregnant with its consequences. It is said by the masters that even a little poison can cause death, and even a tiny seed can become a huge tree. And as the Buddha said, do not overlook negative actions merely because they are small. However small, however small a spark may be, it can burn down a haystack as big as a mountain. Similarly, the Buddha said, do not overlook tiny good actions, thinking they are of no benefit. Even tiny drops of water in the end will fill a huge vessel, a huge vessel. So karma does not decay like external things, right? Um, or ever become inoperative. It cannot be destroyed by time, fire, or water. Its powers will never disappear until it is ripened. And so part of part of part of it part of it for us is as we go through this very, very human experience of being in this body, which we have to know that we are limited in this body, right? We can't fully be our true selves, which is that God force, that God self, because we are in a body. And so part of our work as we interact with other beings who are also a reflection of God is to really truly in that moment that we're having interactions. And so I'm gonna put it up in this way we become triggered by people. People say things to us and we become triggered. We'll have one of two responses. First response is that we begin to project on that person and just throw up on them, right? We become reactive, right? That's creating a karmic effect, whether we realize it or not. Or we can choose another route and and remain response. We can choose to respond rather than being reactive, which means that we can receive whatever that individual is saying and say, okay, I receive that. Maybe that does something to me internally, but I know whatever that is doing to me internally is mine to own. Right? And again, I think, you know, whenever I need to watch my own self, I'd ask myself, well, how will Jesus hand handle this? And so there's always this element of the way forward is with forgiveness. Like, how can I show up to myself, honoring myself in a sacred way? And how can I also show up to the other individual and honoring them in a sacred way? Because that lessens the amount of karmic footprint that I'm actually putting forth, right, in my own life.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Because it it it does all matter.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, yeah, for sure. Let's let's let's let's settle in right here because I think this is a good point um with respect to Jesus and what his life meant. And if this is all reincarnation and karma and all of this, like and then what then how does his life and his impact, you know, what it what how does what does that mean from this lens? And I, you know, this is this is the beautiful thing that like I love about it because um, you know, no doubt about Jesus' existence, his impact, and his what what he did while he was here. Um the the the the thing that I like to at least the lens that I like to and understand this best is that when we when we are here and we aren't doing what the things that we're supposed to do, and we create additional karma, and that list gets longer and longer and longer. We we get on what's called this karmic wheel, right? And it's just this imagine you're you're out you're the rat, the rat race, you're the the the the the guinea pig or whatever, the mice on the wheel, just constantly you're never making any progress because all you're doing is working off the constant karma that you're creating, life after life after life after life. You're not making any you're not making any ascension towards the goal. Um and like a you know, and and and the the the idea would be that there are those that God um source, um, whatever name you want to give the creator of the universe, um, will send souls that he will send to earth to show us how to live and break the karmic wheel. So to show us the way it's supposed to be done, not necessarily thinking that it's possible for you, an individual person, to be able to live exactly like Jesus lived, but the point being is that if you can accomplish one-tenth of the idea of the what what the way he lived his life, you're gonna break that karmic wheel and you're gonna start checking boxes off on the karmic journey. So the next life you live, you don't have to go through and do the same old shit again. You're you're you're actually making a progress, right? And um, I was actually reading um autobiography of yogi this past week by Pramasana Yogananda, which by the way, um is one of the most amazing books that it's ever written, in my opinion. And if you want to have a good understanding of mysticism, your incarnation, spiritual journey, yeah, all you all of that, like it's it's an amazing book. Um, you know, and I I I was it's it's it's a book that um I think uh has changed millions and millions of people's lives. The man was he was before his time. But the point is that there's a section in there where his his uh guru was talking to him about about God, about Christ. And there is an ability in with um with yogis who are these enlightened beings, um, we don't necessarily hear a bunch about them today, but back in the early 1900s, up until the early 70s, there were several at least out there, probably are a couple out, but there's not very I don't think that they I don't think that they're as um they're not as open as they used to be. Um and um the idea being that um one's guru or you know mas whatever you want to call it, you know, that there a master or a guru can can work off some of their devotees' karma karma. And in a situation where in this book where his his guru got deathly ill for a while, um and he was saying that basically um the reason he allowed himself to get sick like that was to work off some karma of his some of his devotees. And he's telling the story of Jesus that that in a just just as just as the Christian explanation would be that you know Jesus died for our sins, which is a very similar, very, very similar act as saying that you know he died because he it was basically working off a shit ton of the the universe's karma. Um and I thought, man, okay, I see that. Like I get that. I think that that's that I can understand how that could be a possibility about how that how that all worked together. So it's it's it's it's such a it's such a similar explanation. Um and it really does, it means the same thing. If you're just using different words, the point is that Jesus came and lived his life and died so we could get complete our journey being one back to one with God in the end. Um and you know, no matter how what what lens you look at it through, um, that's it's the same. So I I love that.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, you know, it's it's you you bring up so many um so many points there that that I want to tackle. Um, you know, uh Yoga Nanda, um his journey, and actually his book, uh Autobiography of a Yogi. Um I think I read it for the first time. I'd known about it for years, and I read it for the first time in 2009. And I just finished a yoga retreat and um there in Costa Rica, and and I'm reading this book, and I get on the plane and I have sort of like my first outer body experience after reading that book. It was really wild. And I'm like, oh my god, I was like, what's happen what's happening? I'm sitting in between these two men on the plane, and and I feel my body just lifting up. I can sense that I'm still here, but like astral body is just moving. And it's really started after I read that book. Um, but you know, I I think here here is where you know, gurus are wonderful, masters are wonderful to have, right? Because and actually the definition of a guru is to guide one out of darkness, right? And that darkness is another word for ignorance, right? Um and there is a point in our lives like where we can continue to just play the victim, right? And not take responsibility for anything that's happened to us. And yet there comes a point where we have to, you know, drop our anchor and say, this is my life, and I take responsibility for what has happened here. And I feel like when that when we do that, there's some shift that happens for us internally, right? Because if we're truly recognizing that I'm a reflection of God, this other person over here is a reflection of God, everything that I'm seeing is a reflection of God. And how I respond to that thing, to God, how I respond to God matters, right? How I speak to God matters, right? And it's like if we were to have that perception and to actually show up to life, live in that way, one, would we have hate, right? Two, would we harm another individual if we knew we were harming God? Like a whole life, how we show up to life would absolutely change. But because we only see each other as uh this body as right, we're right, we're we're separate. This this division that we have that continues to cause even more proliferation of karma, right? That's never ending, that we're piling on, not to mention whatever we might have occured in whatever past lives we had, and now we come into this life and we're adding even more to that. And so part of our journey as we come into form is and as we become mature, um, is how can I shift how I'm showing up in this particular lifetime? Like this becomes our our life purpose, this becomes our primary vocation, right? And yes, we have to eat, we have to live, we have to do all of those things. Um and at the same time, we have to move into this stream of I'm a conscious being, and what consciousness am I holding? And is that consciousness in direct alignment with God? Right? So these are the questions that we have to start asking ourselves, right? Because if we don't ask them, then we continue to act out of alignment. And when we act out of alignment, we're acting out of, well, I'm a separate being from God.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And that's where all scarcity begins, right?
SPEAKER_00:Yes.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:You know, and the thing, the thing that when it comes back to, you know, the the what you said there, and the the the the Jesus aspect of this is that you know, we call we, you know, Jesus Christ. And and the the thing I love about some spiritual spiritual perspectives that are maybe outside of Christianity is that uh it's it's looked at as the Christ consciousness, right? It's the it's the ultimate um ultimate omnipresent, all you know, it's like it's the Holy Spirit as what um you know maybe uh you know we refer to as Christianity, right? It's this this unbelievable. Um and the fact that that yes, Jesus came here and had the creams of the Christ, the Christ consciousness, but that there was also others that have also been on this earth plane who also had the Christ consciousness. That that their that their purpose was also to shift humanity and have allow them to also work off some karma as well.
SPEAKER_03:100%. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:And I love, I love that. as well. So, you know, and those like you know, Buddha and Sheba and those others, you can name a you can name several more than me. But the point is is that there there have been others, right? But obviously Jesus is the one that that sticks out the most, but that there, but that their purposes and you and and you say, well, who are these who are these other people in these other important religions? You know, and and and most of the time the the the spearheads of these other religions were at that level of Christ consciousness. Most of the time. And that's why it's because they made such a massive impact while they were here on this earth plane that people just devoted their lives to falling.
SPEAKER_03:Yes. And you know it's interesting I you know so people tend to when they call Jesus it's like oh Jesus Christ like Christ is Jesus's last name. It's not right right and so Christ Jesus became the Christ after the crucifixion after he transcended after he rose after the third day right so for following that particular story. But how did he get to that Christ consciousness level he allowed by allowing everything to happen. There is not there is not one instance in his story where he resisted his path where he resisted death right because he knew if I resist oh this is karma this is karma this is karma right and and so this this sense of total surrendering to what was right in front of him right was his path and we have issues with that in our own individual lives right it's so hard for us to say that well no this person did something to me so I'm gonna hold a grudge against them and I'm gonna this and I'm gonna that okay karma right it our actions our thoughts what is our if we were to pause and say well how will how am I gonna respond to this am I gonna respond from an ego place or am I going to respond from a God place? Right? And so just just that little bit of pausing can set us up to come back into our alignment with ourselves. Just that little bit of a pause right because how do I want to respond to God right but you see we don't want to see that everyone is God because that does something to our ego right yes and so the ego wants to be right the ego wants you have to defend you have to prove you have to judge those are all ego based uh ways of being right and we've all had that myself included right so I'm not putting myself on a pedestal I'm not on any pedestal but I'm just saying it's it's the more we can become aware the more we can come into the present moment and and truly be with ourselves and our responses and and just pause like okay how how do I really want to be in this moment with this situation? Because we're all going to have these situations and we all have a choice as to how we're going to react and so it's like I tell my clients all the time choice is your biggest superpower.
SPEAKER_00:The ego is such a great cheerleader for separateness. Oh my God yes because it's afraid but the point is the point that we're trying to make is that if you're able to strip that away and realize what I just said in the very beginning that the trees are God the the the grass is God the wind is God your soul is God that basically that everything everything is a piece of God. Right I mean like there is no there is no separateness. If you think about it by definition the all-knowing all creating everything that means that if was we created by God then that means everything is God right so like the point is is that there's nothing that's created that doesn't come from him she it they whatever the point is is that the source energy is it and that the fact when you are able to look at your own self and say yes I am playing the role of Nate in this incarnation but my soul the real piece of me is God and like as Buddhists would say you know I am God in that since when they say I they don't mean their body they mean they mean their soul. Right nor do they mean their ego exactly nor do they and they're not saying that that I am a God or I am the God. Right but the point is that that my my soul is a piece of God and and that eventually one day when my journey is complete I will return home to back to where I come from. So you know the other thing I wanted to chat about this which this was a this was a a monumental perspective shift for me in the beginning was the concept of reincarnation and and the idea that okay let's so we talked about being up there at the at the counter and to your first life okay so let's say you live your first life you die go to the light whatever whatever happens remember right right we actually actually every single one of us know we just can't remember but the point is is that you know okay we go we do whatever and we okay bam we're back to where and there's a whole lot of theories around okay first of all let's just talk about this we can't look at you can't look at things through our human 3D understanding of time space okay when you're talking about the soul's existence and all of this other stuff it's not and you can't look at it from well was it three weeks or was it two years or like that that doesn't matter. That doesn't matter but basically someone dies they're back up at the counter at the McDonald's and they say hey man that was a good one that was that that echo one that echelon was good you knocked off a lot of things you added one or two more back but you looked up you ultimately it was a net it was a net gain you lost you're sorry net loss you lost a lot of these great jobs who do you want to be next like what do you what's what are you what are you looking to get for and you say well well you know I've got I've got some of these things I probably need to work off and then you bang I'm gonna pick this person and we're back into it screaming little baby and you're gonna grow up but here's the thing at some point in time at some point in time there's gonna be maybe something traumatic maybe something tragic maybe something some type of hurdle for you to get to and this is the this is the very important piece of this that when you look at life through this way it's a game changer and it's that before I had my spiritual awakening it was very easy to look at things when they didn't go my way or things that were like appeared to be unfair or that I was slighted in some way and say damn it why is it gotta happen to me you know like when when am I gonna catch a break you know what I'm saying like you know what did I what did I do so wrong you know but the point is is that if you're looking at it from the perspective of saying no no no no no no buddy before you incarnated as name you made it a soul agreement basically up here that these are the things you're trying to knock off and work off here and these things are happening for you in your life so you can work this stuff off. It's not happening to you it's happening for you. So as you work through these hurdles and these events the the idea being is after you've completed this life you will have worked through this karmic um responsibility and when you go back up to the counter again on this let's because we're in this chronological order here on the third life it's gonna be you're gonna have less to do when you come back again than you than you started. And that's that's the point.
SPEAKER_03:And so basically everything that happens for you all of the the bad the good the everything but the point is is that it removes your ability to be a victim of pretty much right and look we can all agree that the victim archetype gets us nowhere right it it that that just that plants seed on soil that is not fertile right let's put that out there um and yet like like you mentioned this sense of okay I'm experiencing a particular situation we have the power to create we're creators right and we can change that and so we can change our karma by the fruits of what we do in each and every lifetime right and so if something in your life doesn't feel good you don't like how you look you don't like whatever it is whatever it may be how your life is that can be changed.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah and depending on the circumstance yes would it be challenging and hard of course right there was nothing no no disclaimer when we came into this world that life was going to be easy and I love what they say in the book here in the Tibetan book of living and dying under the subheading creativity karma then is not fatalistic or predetermined karma means our ability to create and to change it is creative because we can determine how and why we act and I think that's so important because that means that we can change in any moment we decide to right um so the future is in our hands um and in the hands of our heart and so what is it that we want to create what life do we want to create um for ourselves and that could be the life that we want to create with our family the life that we want to create with our community how do we actually want to show up right what what's what sort of uh uh karmic footprint do we want to leave behind yeah right and not and not to say not to say that things are predetermined necessarily but like if you've got karma you've got to work off it's got to be worked off somehow and and like you're gonna have opportunities in your life to do it and the idea of shifting something in your when when you when you are faced with trauma or you know um it things that come up or or hurdles and and when you're able to shift the perspective about how you look at this and say you know I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna face this and I'm I'm gonna get through it and and this is this is an opportunity for me to to work off work this off it's happening for me I'm getting an opportunity here to work this off that's the that's the idea it's it's not necessarily saying that like you're like everything everything is already destined to happen but you can't do nothing about it. I'm not saying that right everything can change and I love what Padma some sambhava says in this book he says if you want to know your past life look into your present condition if you want to know your future life look at your present actions right yeah that's that's super powerful yeah yeah right that's super powerful and so you know the whole idea of reincarnation rebirth it's just an it's just an opportunity I feel um because we we come into form to play right this is our playground we come to play we come to participate fully into the dance of life oh how does God want to dance in this in this formed creation in this particular reality how am I going to show up what do what is it that me as a God creation what do I want to create yeah and so we're actually getting an opportunity to do this very same thing on a smaller level to actually be God right to create just like God and we're constantly creating and the idea being also too that like once you once you're able to come to the realization that I I that this is my body but my soul my higher self and the soul that reincarnates is not my body it's there's still a responsibility to participate in the game that you're here right and that's we talk about this all the time like um you know you're once you're what once you get to the level of awakening that you're you're like okay well yes yes my higher self is going is is you know overseeing this experience or whatever but the idea is that Nate needs to continue to play the game and go to school basically right we've we've got to continue to go to school and and work off what we've got to work off. So it's not it's not just the idea of coming to the realization that okay now this is karma where we have karma work off and that okay well that's that's it. It's it's as you said before it's this and it's always this and and it's this balance between um continuing to work off your karmic karmic journey but not being attached to it.
SPEAKER_03:That's right. Well it's it's being the whole it's experiencing the whole I I think and this is why I love the Tao so much the Dao philosophy because the Tao allows the whole to happen and here in the West we are uh uh so against experiencing the whole right yeah you know we have this reality TV sort of culture where we just want to experience pleasant things but that is not real pleasant things are not the only thing we're going to experience we're going to experience things that are going to um not feel so pleasant right but what is our capacity to open ourselves up to full human living and uh so this is part of what we also have to um come up to to against with is like what aspect of means against living fully right because living fully isn't just about having a good time living fully is about experiencing the whole facet of what it means to be a human being meaning that there's going to be pain there's gonna be loss there's gonna be grief sorrow despair anger all of these things and what's my capacity to be so fully human to allow myself to feel those things right that's participating in the full dance and when we're able to participate in the full dance we can now look at some of those things and and ask ourselves well you know I I just got angry right like this anger where is the anger coming from maybe it has an origin point maybe it doesn't have an origin point but what do I want to do with this anger one I can allow myself to feel it let it pass through me right two I can allow this anger to rot in my body and cause disease at some point right and so we're choosing in every moment what we're creating for ourselves and this is what I really want our listeners to to understand is that every choice has a consequence right so the choice isn't about good or bad but it's about is this choice in alignment with how I really want to feel right even on a physical level where is you know how conscious am I creating and some of us are creating very unconsciously we're creating from a very unconscious space and so the whole idea of taking responsibility for our lives is that is I I can't even say enough about how we absolutely need to do that. And it's part of the reason why both you and I take our self-work so important because when something comes up for me from my past I'm not gonna blame anyone I'm gonna dive in to see okay what is that about what lesson was I supposed to learn from that what was the wisdom the gift of that particular situation and I'm also gonna allow myself to be very human and to feel what that situation what it made me feel. So it's not being I'm not spiritually bypassing it I'm giving myself permission to cry permission to feel the anger the resentment but I'm not holding on to that and I'm also saying I'm also choosing to forgive not just myself for holding on to emotions that don't serve my highest good but also forgiving the other right and so it it it has to work so it's it's it's it's like this this merger of all of these different aspects of it right it's not just a one thing or a one thing because we are multidimensional beings. It's not as simple as saying well yeah no I'm just gonna be that and that's it.
SPEAKER_00:Sure. We're gonna run out of time in a minute here but I wanted to I wanted to just make two bullet points here towards the end here and and that is you know I remember when I was first starting on this journey and I thought I could just get some examples of like what's like what what you know what just what's some proof out some proof to help me to help me under like digest this and this isn't this isn't to uh convince any listeners that this is the way or this isn't the way but um it's just a point of reference to look at and and and do with the information with whatever feels right to you. But um there we we live in a you know you can look at technology in a lot of different ways I think it's it's beneficial in some ways in other ways it's it's horrible. But the idea is is that there have been accounts of people who remember their past lives for centuries. I mean and they are they are in the hundreds of thousands of like verifiable accounts um there are some that remember their their past lives until they're four five or six years old and then it kind of fades and there are others that live their entire life without ever forgetting it. Yogananda in autobiography of yoga uh yogi uh says in the very first like it's in the first page of the book about how he remembers being an infant and you know being upset because he couldn't speak or walk and um you know having those accounts of remembering his past life and and and going from there. But um the other thing that um I would say too is that you know in in the information age that we live that there are so many there are so many examples out there. There's a gentleman by the name of Jim Tucker who wrote an amazing book called Return to Life. And Jim I think it was the University of Virginia hired him to um investigate some of these occurrences around the United States at least and I think there's actually has some that are in in in other countries as well but the idea being that they sent him from a very practical scientific perspective to investigate these claims of these children that have remembered things. And then these are these aren't just like these kids sitting here saying yeah I remember this you know Joe Schmoe and that I think I this like these are verifiable instances where they're able to go back in and actually speak to people that knew the person that this kid claimed used to be and verify information that is not able to be Googled or not able to be like there's there's absolutely no explanation for these kids knowing this information other than that. And you know you look at it you say well you know maybe that's just a a a very interesting coincidence but what it happens over and over and over and over again to the tune of hundreds of thousands of people you start to scratch your head and you say wait a second yeah you know there's uh a couple things um there's a great uh series on Netflix called survive and death that talks about that right it's so so good so you know if this is new to any of our listeners check that check that uh show out on Netflix is called survive and death um yeah and I can't think of the kid's name though the one that really there there's there's several that really stick out in my mind one of them is I think it's on that documentary and Jim Tucker is is is on there and he's talking to a little boy who remembers being an actor back in the 1920s Marty Martin I remember that one and that's that's that's one of the most prolific accounts here in the U.S. where this kid is able to remember I think 250 things um about this gentleman that he claimed he used to be um and to to to the point of where at the time he's four or five they brought pictures and photographs and laid in front of him and he was able to identify people um with 100% accuracy that he should not have known um they they they go and talk to this man's daughter um and they say here's some things that this kid um is has said or is any of this stuff true um and I think she like she verified like 245 of the 250 there were a couple things that like she said that I don't think that's true. Well after there was some time she got to looking into the things and was able to identify that actually all of those things were actually true. Like there was stuff that she didn't even know about her dad that he didn't. So it's just I mean like I get goosebumps just talking about it. The point is is that um you know yeah it says it in the Bible there's obviously a thousand different cases that we could reference right now. I mean there's something there's absolutely I'm not like I said this is not an attempt to convince anybody of anything it's just to say hey listen take a look at it and see what you think you know if it resonates with you resonates with Switch if it doesn't it's not too it's not a big deal.
SPEAKER_03:Well what I would say to people is is three things stay open be curious be present right like if we can allow those three things to be in play in our daily lives then you know we don't have to stiff arm anything just because we don't understand it or just because we can't see it taste it smell it is not real right so it's it's uh just be open and be curious and and be present and and then you know just weigh it all for yourself. But if I can before um we go I'd like to leave our listeners with um someone who had a near-death experience and and what he experienced when he actually crossed over um and here he talks and this is really falls under the panoramic life review that we have when we cross over. And this particular gentleman said everything in my life went by for review. I was ashamed of a lot of the things I experienced because it seemed I had a different knowledge not only what I had done but how I had affected other people. I found out that not even our thoughts are lost. My life passed before me what occurred was every emotion I have ever felt in my life and my eyes were showing me the basis of how that emotion affected my life what my life had done so far to affect other people's lives I was the very people that I hurt and I was the very people I helped to feel good.
SPEAKER_00:It was a total reliving of every thought I had thought every word I had ever spoken and every deed I had ever done plus the effect of each thought word and deed on everyone and and anyone who had ever come within my environment or sphere of influence whether I knew them or not plus the effect of each thought and deed on weather plants animals soils trees water and air I was like wow wow so it it you know because everything is energy energy flows right our thoughts are energy our words are energy um our feelings our emotions are energy and so those energy it's all being collected somewhere right it's uh yeah yeah yeah I mean for me I think I would just end it with saying you know I I really love the perspective that this is able to give you it and help you navigate this life more effectively by understanding one the pressure of getting it all right all in one life all this time like like the the weight lifted off your shoulders by just that is I guess the fact that you're able to take a look at it and say the things that are happening into me in this life are actually happening for me. And it gives you just this amazing breath of fresh air and I saw this amazing video today and I'll share it on our page so people can can see it. And for some reason this is this this lives in my head rent free like as people say like it did today. And it was this it was this discussion this man is talking about how he views his higher self with his his current incarnation right and he says he says imagine you're the director of Batman did you see this video I sent the other day he says imagine you're the director of Batman right and you know the guy that's like you know uh Michael Keaton is playing Batman and he comes to you on the set that day and he's like I mean I just don't know I just I just don't know that I can save Gotham but this but the you know the the Joker he's just he's just too strong and like he's got a you know I just don't know and like your actor it like actor the actor in your movie is like freaking out because he is not understanding that he's playing a role that day.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_00:Right you know and and um you know he says he goes over and he talks to he says well you know we can do a couple things you know we can we can make your your technology better and give you more weapons or you can understand that you're not Batman. You're playing the role that's not and once again it's not to discredit it's not to discredit the the things that Batman is going to have to go through in the movie because Michael Keating is is still the actor that's going to have to go through those things but the point is is that he and that doesn't associate those with the who he really is right and I thought boom like that is it like so he says he's lost in the drama he's not he's not attached to the role he's not attached to this this right so and that doesn't mean that you shouldn't care and that doesn't mean you shouldn't participate and doesn't mean that you shouldn't be in love and it doesn't mean you shouldn't feel and it doesn't mean you shouldn't like hope things don't happen or whatever like it's it's like you gotta live this life but the point is is that you're not the you're not Batman you're the director right and you're sitting back and you're looking at it and you're saying you're not you're not you're not Batman I'm sorry you're you're you're you're the actor in this situation you're not that right and and really your your higher self and you're is is looking at this and saying don't get attached to that man. Yeah yeah yeah yeah so just anyway play the role play the role play the role play the role so I hope that this uh I hope that this uh podcast might resonate with some of you guys I know we we went we covered a lot today we talked about reincarnation we talked about karma we talked about all kinds of different things so um this is a lot a lot so uh if you have any questions reach out to us uh on social media uh email it's holy shit with Nate and Esher at gmail.com um next week we got a cool uh show lined up for you we're gonna be having Bill Wilder on who um you know I mean if I'm being honest this podcast and our relationship wouldn't exist if it wasn't Mr. Wilder. So um you know I owe him the debt of gratitude and you know he has a wonderful wonderful program um that he has came up with and um you know I mean for lack of a better term it changed my life so um I'm excited I'm excited to have him on and talk about what he does and um yeah um you got anything else no just walk kindly be good to yourself and um and walk with joy walk with joy okay guys hey you're not Batman you're the actor remember that see you guys later bye bye everyone