There is a Jewish mystical notion that every soul is born with a mission. The kabbalists call this our Tikkun, what we are sent here to repair. The people we meet, our friends and significant others, and those who touch us in passing, are often messengers to help us understand our own Tikkun. The people around us guide us on our mission.
So OK, my soul came her to accomplish something. I get that. This means that the traits in others that drive me crazy might be lessons to help me grow at a spiritual level. Drat. I hate when that happens. It also could mean that I am here to help other people discover their mission and grow. So if I drive you crazy maybe you have something to learn from me. That is more fun.
In this view, some of my experiences in this life are based on tasks my soul did not complete in a prior lifetime. The purpose of reincarnation, gilgul in Hebrew, from the Jewish point of view is to heal our mistakes and to reach our highest potential, which simultaneously heals the world. However, in Kabbalistic thought, I might be back to heal something for my family line, my community, or my tribe, and I may never know what that task is.
So reincarnation is not all about me, even though it is about me. Welcome to the paradoxical teachings of Kabbalah. Life exists in the tension and fluidity between dichotomous points. As we dance between extremes we draw the ends closer together until there is a blending of both. Think about colors blending to create new colors, yet still being individually vibrant.
I have to say that if this year is any indication, I was a VERY nasty person in a least one previous life. A psychic reader once told me that I had willingly walked down seven of the eight steps into evil in some prior life. Wonderful. Maybe this is why it is so difficult for me to actually pay attention to the rules, in fact at times I do not notice there are rules. Maybe that is why I love pirates. Guess I was one.
There is divine support in this process in the form of “maggidim” a Hebrew term defined as one who relates. This can be a mentor or a spirit guide or voice that comes to us in a dream or meditation. We might see this maggidim as a departed friend, teacher or master, who comes to answer questions. The trick is that we must be open to these teachings and messages or we will not hear them.
In Jewish thought we have up to four opportunities to return and complete our soul’s mission. I would like to think that I can complete my tasks in four lifetimes, but I have to wonder, if I do take my soul to the highest level can I just come back for the joy of it? Because as I focus on seeing the light in others, and shining my light brighter, this world becomes an amazing place.
Yes, there are horrid injustices, but there are thousands of organizations and millions of individuals who want to change these. Yes, humans can be cruel and vicious and wicked, but we can also be courageous and kind and generous and heartfelt. And as I focus on the light in others, I find more and more that deep within us there are powerful drives to create a legacy of goodness and light.