By Nancy Rynes, author of Awakenings from the Light
Let's continue thinking about the adventure of your life. Last time we covered hearing the "call to the adventure", and then taking that first step: agreeing to come to Earth for a human life. This time we'll cover what goes in to preparing for your life's journey and meeting your mentors.
Your life's sacred adventure begins well before you are born. Whatever the true nature of the Universe, there is compelling evidence* that your soul chooses a specific life (or one is chosen for you by your spiritual mentors and/or God). You will likely work with your spiritual mentors to determine what you need or want to experience and learn while you are here, the major events that you will face, and perhaps even determine some of the people you will meet.
In other words, you will have prepared by working out the general experiences, learning opportunities, and family/friends before you are born.
During my NDE, I was able to re-experience the time before my birth where I agreed to specific, major events that I would experience, and things I wanted to learn, in front of the Divine and my spiritual mentors.
It still humbles me to re-live that event because the weight of that agreement still feels heavy on my shoulders. I still carry that feeling with me, each day, and strive to accomplish what I agreed to in that moment that seems so long ago.
Doubtless you had a similar experience before you were born, whether you remember it now or not.
Some call these "pre-birth agreements", or "soul contracts." I personally don't like that term "contract" because it sounds so legal and binding, like if you break the contract something terrible will happen to you. From what I have been able to determine, these "soul contracts" are more fluid and dynamic rather than set in stone. Once you are actually living your life, you are the decision maker. You absolutely have the ability to change direction part way through if that's what you want. The only catch is that you are always, always, responsible for your actions and will be accountable for any consequences that may result, positive or negative.
But for most souls, the main events you agree to experience are chosen well ahead of your life, even though there are ample opportunities to make decisions and take actions while you are here. Life is not a theatrical play or movie with predetermined lines and outcomes, but more of a complex improvisation where you have experiences, learn things, and then put what you learn into practice. Sometimes being in the middle of the action and having the opportunity to make choices is the best way to learn those important lessons.
As I stated last time, there are some exceptions. A small percentage of souls seem to come into this life with a tightly-planned, pre-determined focus. I have run across souls where this seems to be the case, and the resounding reason appears to be that they are taking on a very specific role in order to help others. In other words, their life plan is laid out such that they are solely a catalyst for other souls to learn and grow.
But that's not most of you...you have room for choices, decisions, and actions that will affect you physical life and soul's growth.
OK, so you have just prepared yourself for your life's sacred journey. You've agreed to experience life as a human, you've chosen a family, major events and experiences, and general things to learn.
What's next?
Your birth as a human. And that's when things really start to get interesting.
As soon as you're born, you begin to experience this amazing thing called human life. Every childhood is different, but you will likely begin to meet at least a few of your life's mentors from the time you take your first breath.
Mentors are others from whom you learn lessons or accomplish goals, and they come in all guises and at all stages of your life. Some of your mentors stay in soul-form and try to guide and help you while not becoming a part of this physical existence. Most of your mentors, though, will be people or animals that you encounter throughout your physical life. Some of them might be family members, friends, pets, a college professor, a boss, a coworker, or perhaps a spouse. Some mentors will stay with you for most, if not all, of your life. Others will come and go, some just long enough to teach you a profound lesson.
If you are truly open to learning, any person (or animal) can be a teacher or mentor for you.
Mentors help you learn specific things in order to successfully navigate your life or achieve goals. They may help you find a career, be your friend, challenge you to do or be better, become a spouse, help you through challenging times, and much more. You might intentionally seek out mentors such as spiritual teachers, professors, or coaches, but sometimes the best mentors are the ones who find you, or who Spirit sends your way.
If I look back on my pre-NDE life, one of the biggest learning opportunities came from a very unfriendly co-worker. At the time, I did not consider her a teacher or mentor. She seemed to hate everyone in the office and frequently lost her temper, lashing out verbally to most people who crossed her path. I asked my boss what was going on with this woman. In general terms (no specifics) I found out that my co-worker had endured some pretty awful stuff at the hands of her family-of-origin, was working through it with appropriate professionals, and had made a bunch of progress already. Since she was excellent at her job, management had chosen to keep her on the payroll as long as she made progress with her personal challenges.
Once I realized that my co-worker's tirades were not really directed at me, I decided to alter the way I approached her. My tactic changed so that whenever I interacted with her I remained calm, rational, and logical no matter what she threw at me verbally.
In our next interaction, she began to sling verbal garbage my way but I let it slide on by, not reacting to it and even more, bringing a calm, rational energy to the situation. After about a minute of lashing out, she abruptly stopped and looked at me with surprise apparent on her face. I guess she expected me to react to her outburst with even more emotion, and when I didn't, it completely defused her angry emotional state. From then on, she and I got along pretty well. While we never became best friends, we were definitely friendly, and she was one of the people who volunteered to cook for me and buy me groceries when I was recovering from the crash that led to my NDE.
That formerly-unfriendly co-worker ended up being one of my most influential teachers, even though she never knew it.
Is there someone in your life who, on the surface was very challenging to deal with, but who helped you learn and grow as a person?
Teachers and mentors don't have to be human, either. Think about the dogs and cats we have in our homes who teach us about the depths and breadths of unconditional love (read about Jake and Jolie here). Service dogs help those with physical and emotional challenges. Therapy animals visit elder care centers and pediatric hospitals to brighten their days and bring hope and joy. Horses can help emotionally-challenged teens or prison inmates learn to trust again.
So remember, teachers and mentors are all around you. If you are open to learning from anyone, two- or four-legged, your life will be much richer and deeper than you can possibly imagine.
Now let's continue on to more good stuff: the adventure of living your life.
While you can think of your entire life as one grand, sacred adventure (which it is), you will have many smaller adventures throughout the time you're here. The opportunities to learn and grow never stop. As a child, one adventure you may have is going off to school for the first time. Another might be traveling with your parents to a different city, or maybe even a different country, for a holiday.
Think about some of the adventures you had as a child. With whom did you share them? What did you learn? Did those childhood experiences or adventures shape the person you became?
As you grow, your adventures change. Pursuing an advanced degree at university may be one adventure you have; another may be starting your own business, or finding a spouse and having a family. You may be faced with the challenge of a health crisis, the loss of a career, or the death of someone very close to you. Whether challenges or opportunities, all of these "adventures" contribute to your growth both as a human being and as a soul.
We'll continue on next time with: tests, allies, and "enemies," as well as facing fears and dealing with crises.
Until then, peace and love,
Nancy
*Note: Evidence from near-death experiences (NDEs), out-of-body experiences (OBEs), childrens' past life memories, and hypnosis.
The content of this blog comes from my own experience during NDEs and OBEs, others’ whom I trust and their NDEs, and corroborated by the work of Dr. Michael Newton (“Journey of Souls”). The concept of the hero's journey is derived from the work of Dr. Joseph Campbell.
Archive: Past Newsletter IssuesMessages of Hope with Suzanne Giesemann: Exploring NDEs with Nancy Rynes
TODAY Show: Nancy's Interview on NBC TV's TODAY
Article: Seven Lessons That Dying Taught Me About Truly Living (Aspire Magazine)
Article: Lives Changed by NDEs (Boulder Daily Camera)
Article: Awakening to Life(Pages 6-10, Journal of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology, Summer 2016)
Article: The Meaning of Life (Excellence Reporter)
Simply Peace Part 2
Downloadable, Audio-only versions of the webinar are available on my SoundCloud site: https://soundcloud.com/nancy-rynes
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