Karma and the Law of Attraction

Another way that Buddhism differs from the Law of Attraction is that Buddhism includes Karma–that difficulties in this lifetime may be the result of actions and decisions in past lives.  The colorful image below is a 19th century painting showing the 10 avatars or incarnations of Vishnu, one of which was Buddha. Vishnu is the supreme god in the ancient Hindu Vedic sacred texts.

Vishnu with his 10 avatars (incarnations): Fish, Tortoise, Boar, Man-Lion, Dwarf, Rama with the Ax, King Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and Kalkin. Painting from Jaipur, India, 19th century; in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. From Wikipedia Commons

According to the Law of Attraction, as popularized in such books at The Secret by Rhonda S. Byrne and The Key by Joe Vitale, difficulties are supposed to result from wrong thought. If a person sustains positive thoughts and visualizes good results that lead to happiness, the person will attract good things in their life.

Some people say that when the Law of Attraction doesn’t work, it is because the person did not visualize properly, or they did not believe enough, or they were not positive enough. Unfortunately, sometime when people do not get the results they were promised, they feel like they are greater failures than before they tried the Law of Attraction.

On the other hand, Buddhism does not promise quick results. Instead, to quote an excerpt from the Talking Spoon blog site:

In my experience of 28 years as a Buddhist, to become truly and deeply happy is indeed a matter of faith, blood, sweat, patience and tears. Of confronting head-on the harsh realities of daily life and creating value and beauty from them. We call this process ‘Human Revolution’ in Nichiren Buddhism and when you’re changing a really deep aspect of karma (for example mental health, career or relationships) it can feel like every day produces new and bigger obstacles. Nichiren himself said that obstacles are an inevitable sign of progress and that when faced with challenges, “The wise rejoice and the foolish retreat.”

The Secret and the Law of Attraction–good stuff but Buddhism says they’re only half the story…

Now, that sounds encouraging! And, it also makes sense–that it would take more than a positive thought and visualization to change long-standing beliefs, especially those carried forward from previous lives.

Video: Children remember past lives – Reincarnation research by Ian Stevenson

Children can have verifiable past life memories that can be independently corroborated. They can present specific names, places and events that they never can had a chance to know about. These specifics can be confirmed by going back years in the public records. Birth marks and birth defects can show up in situ of weapons wounds that caused their often violent or traumatic death.

Has your child/grandchild mentioned a previous life?

Pythagoras and Plato both believed in reincarnation

I just learned that both Pythagoras and Plato, ancient Greek philosophers, believed in reincarnation.

Indeed, according to an excerpt from the What’s Life after Death website, Pythagoras could remember some of his past lives. Pythagoras, who lived from 575 B.C.E. to  495 B.C.E., is especially remembered for the Pythagorean Theorum which says that the square on the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares on the other sides for a triangle containing a right angle (90 degree angle).

 Among the ancient Greek philosophers, Socrates, Pythagoras and Plato are considered among those who made the subject of rebirth and life after death a steady part of their teachings. They even claim to have gone through a near death experience. In his last days, Socrates said, “I firmly believe that there is life after death” and that “Life emerges from death itself”. Pythagoras claimed with full confidence that he had memories of his previous birth and Plato described the topic of rebirths and previous births in a number of his works. Various religions, like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism etc, despite being practiced by different people in different geographical areas accept the existence of life after death in one way or the other. Most of these religions and philosophers relate rebirth with the deeds of a person in his previous birth. A person doing good for others and attaining knowledge is considered to take birth as a better species and finally gets free from the cycle of life and death whereas a person who is involved in wrongdoings and sinful activities, the one who leads a selfish life getting immersed in physical desire and material things takes birth again and again in this mortal world.

A Mysterious Journey

When We Were Gods is a “Life after Life” Book

In many ways, my book When We Were Gods, is a “life after life book” in that it explores past lives. I know that, as a result of my past life regressions, I felt at peace about there being an afterlife.

Past Life Regression helps with Weight Loss Issues

In my book, When We Were Gods, I wrote about my experiences when I went for hypnotherapy, because I was desparate to lose weight. As a result of past life regression, I learned about past lives which had created my present need to lose weight.  I found it helpful to see what I had done in previous lifetimes so I could change what I was doing now.

Inspirational Quote from Edgar Cayce on Reincarnation

“Each soul or entity will and does return, or cycle, as does nature in its manifestations about man; thus leaving, making or presenting–as it were–those infallible, indelible truths that it –Life–is continuous.”

Edgar Cayce Reading 938-1

Chief Chester Moore’s Totem Pole

Totem pole carving is not a dead art only relegated to ancient totem poles displayed in museums. Totem poles are living things created by modern-day master carvers such as Chief of Chiefs Chester Moore.

We interviewed Chester on videotape in his home village of Kinkolith, on the mighty and cold Nass River, which empties into the Pacific Ocean south of the Alaska panhandle.

The Nisga’a tribe, of which Chester is a member, is separated into four clans: Wolf, Eagle, Raven, and Killer Whale. Chester is Chief of Chiefs of the Frog Clan which is interrelated with the Raven clan.

Knowing that there is a frog clan makes me feel good since I had memories of being a frog / human mixture during my past life regressions of Atlantis. I wrote about my memories of Atlantis in both my books: When We Were Gods and Arrival of the Gods in Egypt.

Here are my photographs of a couple of the amazing animals carved on Chester’s magnificent totem pole.

Two fierce ravens adorn the top of the totem pole. They look over to the snow-capped mountains on the other side of the Nass River in Northern British Columbia.

Chester pointed out to me that this is a metaphysical frog since it has human faces in its eyes.

Carol Chapman —

2012, Edgar Cayce and the Maya

Today, I’ve been updating my PowerPoint presentation on 2012, Edgar Cayce and the Maya, which I will be giving in Comox, British Columbia on May 28th from 7 to 9 p.m. and in Nanaimo, British Columbia on June 4th from 7 to 9 p.m.

For contact information for these two events, please take a look at my speaker web site at http://www.CaroleChapman.com/Events.html.

This is an intriguing subject because Edgar Cayce’s psychic readings of the Akashic record of individuals’ past lives helps to explain how the ancient Maya could have had such an advanced calendar. Cayce says that the ancient Maya were influenced by people from Atlantis, Mu (Lemuria), Egypt and (later) the Lost Tribes of Israel.

Carol Chapman —

Dream Teleseminar Tuesday, May 12th

This should be a great dream teleseminar!

My guests, Ellen Selover and Nancy Chrisbaum, are seeped in an understanding of Edgar Cayce’s concepts of dream interpreation.

Therefore, they will know about dreams about past lives, spiritual guidance dreams, and precognitive dreams.

I’m looking forward to the event. It’s on Tuesday, May 12th (this Tuesday!) from 8:30 to 9:30 PM EDT.

Talk with you then!

(To get the call-in telephone number and passcode, register on this blog.)

Carol Chapman —

Copyright (c) 2009 Carol Chapman

Woman Confirms Memory of Past Life

Jenny Cockell, who lives in England, began to have past life memories before the age of four. Her most vivid reincarnation memory had to do with being a woman in Ireland who died in 1930 shortly after giving birth to her eighth child.  

“I started talking about these memories before I turned four and I thought it was what everyone experienced,” she says. “I had tiny fragments of dozens and dozens of memories but there were four past lives that came through the strongest and the memories of Mary were the strongest ones of all.”

I was a mother-of-eight in a past life — and I tracked down the children – Lifestyle, Frontpage – Independent.ie

Jenny went to Ireland, found the ruins of the house where she had lived in her past life, and located those of her children who were still living.

Carol Chapman