WHY WE FORGET
Why would God have us forget the joys, glories, love and peace that make up eternal spiritual reality? Wouldn’t this world be a far better place if everyone knew without question how good life can and will ultimately be on the other side?
Dr. Joel Whitton is a hypnotherapist who assists clients in exploring their life on the other side as well as previous lives on Earth. In his book, Life Between Life, he explains that in returning into a new Earth-life, souls must pass through an energy field or barrier that lowers the frequency, or level of vibration, of their consciousness. This etheric barrier causes forgetfulness of previous time spent in the afterlife and on Earth. He asserts that this forgetfulness is truly a blessing because it prevents us from constantly having a great longing and “homesickness” for the magnificence of spiritual life in the heaven world. This also allows us to have a clean slate and to be free from continual reminders of past deeds, including the errors we have made.
Mohandas Gandhi, the great Indian leader, is reported to have described our forgetfulness of past life experiences as freeing us from a great burden of having an overwhelming mass of memories.
Betty Eadie, in her excellent book about her near-death experience, Embraced by the Light, remembers lamenting not being able to remember all the details of the magnificence of her tour of the heaven worlds. But then she realized that her partial forgetfulness was a blessing. She stated:
If I could remember the glorious and perfect worlds I had seen, I would live a constantly frustrated life and mar my own God-given mission.
William T. Stead, in his popular work, Letters from Julia, offers the following statement by Julia Ames, reporting from the heaven worlds, concerning why we are blessed with forgetfulness:
The soul in the body hears but dimly, and sees not at all the innumerable influences with which it is surrounded. The first and most startling thing we have to learn is that our material senses are not so much to help us to see and hear as to bar us off from seeing or hearing. We are on Earth as it were, with blinders on. We must not see or hear or know much that surrounds us. The physical consciousness which is part of us, needs for its development the temporary seclusion of life from the realities of the world of spirit into which it is ushered at death.
Ames also reports on evil influences in the lower astral spiritual levels. She wants us to know that though they are the cause of many of our negative, and harmful thoughts and feelings, we must not fear them. Instead we need to have our focus on the greater power of God and goodness. The existence of these negative spirits is another huge reason why we are blessed by not being able to see them. With adequate faith in our loving and All-Powerful Creator, we need not fear them.
These evil agencies exist. That I know. We see them [because she is reporting from the afterlife] but we cannot fear them. For greater is He that is for us than all they that are against us. He is Love. And He is stronger than hate. The only power the Evil Ones have is due to our fear and lack of faith.
Dolores Cannon, in her book Between Life and Death, asked one of her subjects under hypnosis about why we don’t remember past lives. Her subject responded by pointing out that it would make life way too complicated, having “memories of countless past lives constantly bombarding you.” The subject explained that we wouldn’t be able to focus on the lessons we need to learn during our current embodiment. It was also pointed out that every rule has exceptions, which would be when select memories are allowed into consciousness for the benefit of the soul.
Dr. Michael Newton, also a hypnotherapist, asked one of his subjects why we have “amnesia” in the form of forgetting our past lives. His subject replied that before returning to Earth, an agreement is made between souls and their advisors to “not remember” past lives. And, that the reason for this is that “learning from a blank slate is better” than being aware ahead of time of what might happen because of the past. In other words, if we happened to be aware, for instance, of some dreadful deeds we had committed in a past life, we could easily be weighed down with guilt or shame. Also, we’d likely be on the lookout for the returning karma due us. This could be a major distraction that would prevent living in the “now moment.”
Without any memories or guidance from past life lessons, life would have less meaning. What would be the point of learning about another aspect of life if it isn’t, at least somewhat, remembered? Fortunately, we can and do remember our past, but usually only as needed and/or from a strong desire to do so.
In Else Barker’s book, Letters from the Afterlife, we are told that if we want to boost our remembrance of key past events, we will need to desire and ask for those memories. For we must be prepared and ready to receive them!
If [man] concentrates his mind towards recovering the memories of the distant past, he can recover them….
We draw to ourselves the experiences which we are ready for and which we demand, and most souls do not demand enough here [in the afterlife], any more than they did in life. Tell them to demand more, and the demand will be answered.
Although Barker used the word “demand,” it is better to humbly make requests, with gratitude, and to realize that they will only be received when a soul is ready.
Our past does guide us, perhaps by giving us feelings of “yes” or “no” when considering various approaches to a problem that we may have encountered in a previous life. Our memories are not non-existent, but most details are not available to our conscious mind—they exist in the subconscious or even the “unconscious” mind. It is reported that our amnesia can be overridden when there is a crisis when memories are needed. Also, we can receive memories while dreaming, or we can receive helpful hints from friends on the other side, if needed. Techniques are available to help spiritual seekers learn more about their past, if they strongly feel that doing so will help their spiritual progress. These techniques include meditation, prayer, yoga, dreams and hypnosis. If, however, a person is still unable to access hidden memories, it means they would not benefit from doing so.
The saying, “ignorance is bliss,” certainly applies to the blessing of not being able to remember many things from the past. We may have met hideous deaths, or been guilty of major crimes against others—these and other negative memories could hopelessly distract us from clearly and cleanly focusing on creating a good and constructive life currently. Once a soul evolves to a high enough level, however, all memories can be easily accessed.
In conclusion, there are several logical reasons why we cannot remember our past, either about our time in the afterlife between lives, or any particular past life. We are protected from these memories until we are ready. Only then can we benefit from them. This is just one more example, out of so many, of God’s love for His children.
On Earth, at the present time, there is much suffering, intolerance, fear and anger. Nevertheless, we seek love and joy while on Earth. Our goal is to reach a place of love—from there we can nurture the love and joy of others. We must never abandon that pursuit despite the distractions along our journey. Doing so in an environment of imperfection creates true appreciation for perfection.