Do other people ever make you angry?
I’d be worried about you if you said no. Or assume you are the Dalai Lama.
Many of us struggle to find connections to people we disagree with. Or people who act out, are annoying, or mean.
I preach a lot about how we are all connected, and how we need to love one another and participate in our communities. But it is so very hard, sometimes, to love everyone or to want to connect.
If you struggle with truly feeling connected to people, this article is for you.
Have you ever considered reincarnation?
I never used to think about it. I don’t know why. It just wasn’t a concept I considered. Recently, however, I had an epiphany. I struggle to tolerate people and am often annoyed by human behavior. While considering a particularly annoying person in a loud truck I thought about reincarnation.
What if we were all at very different stages of some much longer lifespan? What if our Consciousness, Self, or Spirit gets multiple ‘laps’, or chances to live a good life?
What if reincarnation is a thing?
This explanation made me feel much closer to my fellow humans — even the ones that annoy the crap out of me.
Somehow, believing we are all at different stages — perhaps vastly disparate stages — made it easier for me to find tolerance for others.
This sudden thought of having multiple lives led me where other ideas could not. If reincarnation is ‘real’ I can understand how people can be so incredibly different. It explains a level of diversity that goes beyond a human lifetime.
What if our Consciousness, Self, or Spirit lives longer than a human lifespan?
What if we ‘come back’ to Earth and continue to live somehow? What if part of life is about the growth we can accomplish over multiple lifespans?
This idea shifts my focus from personal growth from a single life to a much longer period. Rather than spending thirty or forty years trying to be a ‘better person’, ‘reaching enlightenment’, or ‘growing up’ what if we have hundreds or thousands of years to accomplish these goals?
I know, I know. This is crazy talk. And maybe it is. But I can’t deny how much this has opened me up.
Considering that reincarnation is real made me more tolerant.
When I consider that another person might only be on lap two or three it makes it easier for me to find compassion for their journey. At the same time, I do not consider myself ‘advanced’ or ‘better’ than them for potentially being on a higher lap. Rather, I see that I was them and they will be me. The idea that we all might be blessed with multiple lives fills me with joy.
Reincarnation checks all the boxes.
If you have seen my work you will know that I preach diversity in all things. Reincarnation extends our capacity for diversity by extending the growth period. I have spent almost fifteen years learning to live better and frustrated by the slow pace. Sometimes it feels like I haven’t made much progress. But if we get more chances to grow I am somehow less frustrated.
Similarly, the idea of reincarnation makes it easier for me to tolerate others’ behavior. When I am frustrated by another person’s behavior I can remember that I was once where they are. I am them and they are me. That we are on different levels of the same playing field connects us.
Any idea that makes it easier to feel connected is ok in my book.
Much more in this installment of The Neurodivergent Professor:
Podcast stream:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/530563/14983456
YouTube video: