If This Were Your Last Incarnation . . . What Would You Do?

1. I would meditate daily as if I were sitting on the highest ledge in the Himalayas witnessing the karmic wheels of all souls spinning round and round in an infinite amusement park called Leela, Cosmic Play . . . and smile.

2. I would be aware of my eternal nature while simultaneously being fully engaged on the personality level in the play of the Earth Game . . . and smile.

3. I would acknowledge that everyone is always trying to help me in some way as part of my curriculum in Earth School, if I would only allow them to, say "Thank you" . . . and smile.

4. I would embrace everything that happens to me as a "Plus"as from the perspective of the Void, of which there are infinite levels--all manifestations in the Earth Plane are pure Co-Creative Aliveness . . . and smile.

5. I would smile equally as much when disaster happens as when things go smoothly because they're a matched set in this Plane of Duality.

6. I would smile equally as much when pain occurs as when bliss and joy arise because they're a matched set in this Plane of Duality.

7. I would smile equally as much when loss happens as when gains are made because they're a matched set in this Plane of Duality.

8. I would smile equally as much when blame and shame come my way as when praise and fame fall into my lap because they're a matched set in this Plane of Duality.

9. I would choose to cultivate the path of always taking the high road in word and deed so that this course becomes spontaneous and effortless in the Flow . . . and smile.

10. I would know that while this might be my last incarnation on the wheel of karma, new adventures await me in infinite dimensions of Unrelenting Spaciousness . . . and smile.

PLEASE NOTE:

The above list is something that I enjoy contemplating as an experiment in consciousness--as for 99.9% of us, the wheel does keep going round and round. But acting as if this were our last sojourn on Earth makes each moment that much more precious and inspires us to Be fully and mindfully in the Now with whomever we are with or whatever is going on.

This practice allows us to get in touch with our attachments while being on Earth so that we can work them through consciously. For, if we can play the Earth Game fully, when we drop our bodies we'll have no regrets for anything left unsaid, undone or unhealed which pulls us back on the wheel. This includes even nostalgia, which is one of the subtlest levels of attachment.

Aversion to any part of being in the human condition keeps us firmly on the wheel of karma as well. So, if we feel unhappy or discontented or even ambivalent about being in an incarnation, this also keeps us firmly entrenched on the wheel.

Our ticket to ride all the way through appears to be a middle path of neither dissatisfaction with What Is nor clinging to that which is juicy and good as this creates a continuous loop of karmic suffering--until we cut it. This by no means implies that we can't completely enjoy the full range of our humanness--emotions, physical senses and communion with Nature--but only within the present moment.

Trying to lock things in on this ephemeral plane kind of misses the point, but we do keep trying--don't we? A perfect remedy for our illusions of control and security is watching one of the best meditations on impermanency: Tibetan sand paintings. (For a glimpse: CLICK HERE)

As we unwind our samskaras, i.e. karmic grooves, one layer at a time, from lifetime to lifetime, we get to dissolve three levels of karmic bondage, which most of us have going on simultaneous to some degree:

1. Iron chains--which allow us to experience the balancing karma from past misuse of our energies towards others.

2. Silver chains--which allow us to experience the balancing karma from past misuse of our energies towards ourselves.

3. And finally, golden chains, which allow us to experience reaping the fruits of good deeds we have done, but with attachment--no matter how subtle. This also keeps us on the wheel, because we still have to come back into incarnations to receive the benefits of our good karma.

The ultimate contemplation in action is in practicing being a channel for good--towards ourselves and all others--with no attachment--as if we were walking on sand and leaving no footprints. No small feat.

But once we can get to the point of honoring All Beings including ourselves as aspects of the Absolute, Source, the Divine, or the Flow--then all the good that we do is always and only just for Ourselves. And that makes it all very cozy.

If you are a lover of duality like me, let me assure you that, as entertaining as the highs and lows of our personal roller coasters are, viscerally experiencing other dimensions makes the intensity of the Earth Plane pale by comparison.

When we do finally release ourselves from our personal karma, we can still choose to incarnate in the Earth again anyway. We just get to fly higher in other dimensions when not incarnate because our karmic baggage is no longer weighing us down. The equation is: To the degree that the soul's purposes have transcended the individual karmic dance===to this degree do we have more options as to the circumstances of our next incarnation.

When it comes to the Universal Laws of Cause and Effect, i.e. karma, what goes around truly does come around, and it does ALL even out in the end, but this knowing requires an exceptionally long range perspective. Therefore, smiling helps.

We may want the Absolute Truth—but can we handle it? It's what we've been journeying towards from the beginning--Source or Home in the Game. But even if we've been waiting for countless incarnations to get off the wheel--it can also be terrifying.

The root of all fear is annihilation of the "little self" in the Void--even if the Void, i.e. emptiness, is the ground which simultaneously contains Everything in unmanifest form. In other words, form is arising out of formlessness in every moment ad infinitum.

Experiencing everything all at once outside of linear space and time definitely involves a learning curve. And that's why we're here! Earth School is the learning curve for merging with Source.

And the Ultimate Truth is . . . We've never left.