It has been argued these increases in soul incarnations only appear to be so because past life recall improves as people in hypnosis get closer to their current lives. This may be true to some extent, but if a life is important it will be vividly remembered at any age in time. Without doubt, the enormous population increase on Earth is the basic cause for souls coming here more often. Is there a possibility that the inventory of souls slated for Earth could be strained by this surge in human reproduction?
When I ask clients about the inventory of available souls, they tell me I should worry more about our planet dying from over-population than exhausting the reserve of souls. There is the conviction that new souls are always available to fill any expanding population requirements. If our planet is just one example among all other intelligent populations which exist in this universe, the inventory of souls must truly be astronomical.
I have said souls do have the freedom to choose when, where, and who they want to be in their physical lives. Certain souls spend less time in the spirit world in order to accelerate development, while others are very reluctant to leave. There is no question but what our guides exert great influence in this matter. Just as we were given an intake interview in the orientation phase right after death, there are preparatory exit interviews by spiritual advisors to determine our readiness for rebirth. The case which follows illustrates a typical spiritual scene with a lower-level soul.
Case 24
Dr. N: When do you first realize that you might be returning to Earth?
S: A soft voice comes into my mind and says, "It's about time, don't you think?"
Dr. N: Who is this voice?
S: My instructor. Some of us have to be given a push when they think we are ready again.
Dr. N: Do you feel you are about ready to return to Earth?
S: Yes, I think so ... I have prepared for it. But my studies are going to take such a long time in earth years before I'm done. It's kind of overwhelming.
Dr. N: And do you think you will still be going to Earth when you near the end of your incarnations?
S: (long pause) Ah ... maybe no ... there is another world besides Earth ... but with Earth people ...
Dr. N: What does this mean?
S: Earth will have fewer people ... less crowded ... it's not clear to me.
Dr. N: Where do you think you might be then?
S: I'm getting the impression there is colonization someplace elseit's not clear to me.
Note: The opposite of past life regression is post life progression, which enables some subjects to see snatches of the future as incomplete scenes. For instance, some have told me Earth's population will be greatly reduced by the end of the twenty-second century, partially due to adverse soil and atmospheric changes. They also see people living in odd-looking domed buildings. Details about the future are always rather limited, due, I suspect, to built-in amnesia from karmic constraints. I'll have more to say about this with the next case.
Dr. N: Let's go back to what you were saying about the instructors giving people a push to leave the spirit world. Would you prefer that they not do this?
S: Oh ... I'd like to stay ... but the instructors don't want us hanging around here too long or we will get into a rut.
Dr. N: Could you insist on staying?
S: Well ... yes ... the instructors don't force you to leave because they are so gentle. (laughs) But they have their ways of ... encouraging you when the time comes.
Dr. N: Do you know of anyone who didn't want to be reborn again on Earth for any reason?
S: Yes, my friend Mark. He said he had nothing to contribute anymore. He was sick of life on Earth and didn't want to go back.
Dr. N: Had he lived many lives?
S: No, not really. But he wasn't adjusting well in them.
Dr. N: What did the teachers do with him? Was he allowed to stay in the spirit world?
S: (reflectively) We choose to be reborn when it is decided we are ready. They don't force you to do anything. Mark was shown he did benefit others around him.
Dr. N: What happened to Mark?
S: After some more ... indoctrination ... Mark realized he had been wrong about his abilities and finally he went back to Earth.
Dr. N: Indoctrination! This makes me think of coercion.
S: (disturbed by my remark) It's not that way at all! Mark was just discouraged, and needed the confidence to keep trying.
Note: Case 10 in Chapter Four on displaced souls told us about how souls who had absorbed too much negative energy from Earth were "remodeled." Case 22 also mentioned the need for restoration with some damaged souls. These are more extreme alterations than the basic reframing apparently used on Mark's tired soul.
Dr. N: If the guides don't force you, could a soul absolutely refuse to be reborn?
S: (pause) Yes ... I guess you could stay here and never be reborn if you hated it that much. But the instructors told Mark that without life in a body, his studies would take longer. If you lose having direct experience, you miss a great deal.
Dr. N: How about the reverse situation where a soul insists on returning to Earth immediately, say after an untimely death?
S: I have seen that, too. It's an impulsive reaction and does wear off after a while. The instructors get you to see that wanting to hurry back someplace as a new baby wouldn't change the circumstances of your death. It might be different if you could be reborn as an adult right away in the same situation. Eventually, everyone realizes they must rest and reflect.
Dr. N: Well, give me your final thoughts about the prospect of living again.
S: I'm excited about it. I would have no satisfaction without my physical lives.
Dr. N: When you are ready for a new incarnation, what do you do?
S: I go to a special place.
Once a soul has decided to incarnate again, the next stage in the return process is to be directed to the place of life selection. Souls consider when and where they want to go on Earth before making a decision on who they will be in their new life. Because of this spiritual practice, I have divided life selection and our final choice of a body into two chapters for ease of understanding.
The selection of a time and place for incarnation and who we want to be are not completely separate decisions. However, we start by having the opportunity of viewing how we might fit into certain environments in future time segments. Then our attention is directed to people living in these places. I was a little distracted by this procedure until I realized a soul is largely influenced by cultural conditions and events, as well as by the participants in these events, during a span of chronological time.
I have come to believe that the spirit world, as a whole, is not functionally uniform. All spiritual regions are seen by traveling souls as having the same ethereal properties, but with different applications. As an illustration, the space of orientation for incoming souls could be contrasted to the space of life selection for those who are leaving. Both involve life evaluations for souls in transit which include scenes from Earth, but there the resemblance ends. Orientation spaces are said to be small, intimate conference areas designed to make a newly arrived soul comfortable, but our mental attitude in this space can be somewhat defensive. This is because there is the feeling we might have done better with life. A guide is always directly interacting with us.