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Who am I?
What am I?
Where am I going?

Three important questions, which people have been trying to find answers to for the past few millennia. In a physical sense, science has answered these questions to a large extent. We know a great deal about the miracle of the human body, it's conception, it's growth and it's death. How we are made up of molecules and atoms which once were part of the stars. How those molecules and atoms are again recycled on earth when we die, and how ultimately they will return to the stars when the earth itself dies and it's atoms and molecules are recycled back into the cosmos.

But, what about the essence of life? What about the spark that ignites life? What about the consciousness that distinguishes us from each other, that which I know as "I" or "Me"? What happens to that energy? Where does it come from? What is it? What happens to it when our physical body dies?

One of the fundamental laws of physics states that energy can not be created or destroyed only changed in form. An example of this can be seen in the conversion of electrical energy into heat energy when we turn on an electric grill or to light energy when we turn on a lamp, or it may be converted into kinetic energy for the motion a fan. Similarly, light, heat or motion can also be converted back to electrical energy, by solar cells, steam engines, windmills etc.. The conservation of energy is a universal law of physics and is a form of energy 'recycling', never creating or destroying it, but changing it's nature in some way. So, it would seem at odds to the fundamental laws of the universe if our 'life energy' was destroyed when our physical body died. What is a much more logical and natural assumption is that our life energy continues after the death of the physical. As the physical molecules and atoms are returned to the universal pool to be rebuilt again and again, so too does the life energy rejoin with the universal energy.

But, this is not yet the end of the process, it is only one stage in the universal recycling machine. When we are born, the life energy is not instantaneously created but is a portion of the universal energy. We live our life as an individual soul in a physical body and our energy returns to the universal energy when the physical body dies. Each lifetime, we have opportunities to learn and grow spiritually, gradually evolving our soul into a higher state of energy.

To do this, we return again and again to earth in a physical body and experience situations and life patterns until we have learnt from them and are ready to move on to other lessons. Just as during one lifetime, we may often find ourselves in the same situation over and over again, until we learn from it, so the process can continue over many lifetimes. If you think you are in a bad rut now, perhaps you might like to reflect on the fact that - this might not be the first lifetime in that rut! or even the last! I know it gives me encouragement to look at what I might improve on now, knowing I might be back here again going through the same lessons!

This whole process is one of a gradual refinement of the initial energy to it's ultimate conversion to the highest level of love energy. This is not to be confused with the emotion of love which is more related to the physical. 'Love' energy may perhaps be best described by it's effect, as a feeling radiance or inner glow or as an outward expression of a pure inner joy. This is something that we have all had momentary experiences of, but can you imagine how it would be to feel that way all of the time?

As a demonstration of how we experience different energy levels, take notice of how you feel during a moment of anger or hate, how does the world around you feel? Does it feel hard, dark, cold, do you feel unfriendly, unloving, empty, isolated, alone? Now take a conscious step into a peaceful garden where the sun is shining, take in a deep breath and inhale all the warmth and energy around you, bask in the sunshine and light, feel the warmth and absorb the energy. Do you feel more peaceful and restful, do you feel more in touch with your surroundings and a part of something greater than yourself? Do you feel more loving? Do you feel an inner glow and warmth?

This illustrates how a difference in thought can change our energy and therefore how we feel and how we perceive our surroundings. The process can either be a feeling of a spiral upwards or a spiral downwards, depending upon which type of energy we choose - positive loving energy or negative anger/hate/fear energy. Either direction is cumulative and tends towards more of the same energy that started the process. If we feel down all the time and expect bad things to happen, then they will. Our thoughts and feelings will continue to re-enforce this. We will attract to us experiences that confirm our thoughts.

For example, if you have a friend with the attitude that they are unloved and who spends most of their conversations with you discussing their woes, how their partner has put them down, how they got passed up for promotion etc.. How do you feel at the end of the conversation? Do you feel a bit drained by the end of it, as you perhaps give them some of your energy by re-assuring them (again) or spend time suggesting solutions to their problems (again)? And they probably go away feeling a bit better after sharing all their problems with you. If this is all they ever talk about, how long before you start avoiding them? Did you just re-enforce their opinion that "I am alone and nobody cares about me" because now they feel that you don't want to see them either?

The flip side of this is that if we change our thoughts to expect good things to happen, to view the world through a positive outlook and to feel positive, then good things will happen and we will feel happy, positive and full of love energy. This is not to say that life steps down easy street and we don't have to work at what we want, but it helps us to be open to those synchronistic events in life which ultimately will lead us down the path that we choose to go. There is no "but" to this principle. If you feel that it does not apply to you or your circumstances, then you still want to suffer some more before you learn this lesson! We choose our thoughts.
We choose how we feel.
We choose our actions.
We therefore choose our destiny.

© Julie Hargreaves