The
Stages Of Enlightenment: One Man's Belief
by Bob Olson, OfSpirit.com Editor
Many
people have asked me what I know about the stages of enlightenment. My
first answer is that I know nothing; nobody really knows until we
cross-over. But I will share with you my belief.
I believe that we are all energy beams that reach out from
the Source, the light and love of God, like rays of light that reach out
from the sun. When we first leave the Source, we are blank slates, eager
to have experiences that will teach us all there is to know. At first, our
energy is low and dense because we are new and inexperienced. As we have
experiences that teach us universal wisdom, our energy vibration (our
frequency) increases. And slowly, after many lives and many experiences,
our vibration slowly increases so that we work our way back to the
Source—the One with the highest vibration.
I believe that we increase our energy and our knowledge by
experiencing the polar aspects of all there is to know. Our knowledge
gives us an appreciation and understanding that makes us ever more
complete with each new experience. In other words, we learn from
experiencing both sides of every possibility. In order to fully understand
and appreciate kindness, we must experience cruelty. In order to fully
understand and appreciate joy, we must experience depression. In order to
fully understand and appreciate health, we must experience sickness. In
order to fully understand and appreciate comfort, we must experience
discomfort. And so it goes for every possible experience that exists, we
experience both sides of the spectrum in order to understand and
appreciate the opposite.
As we reincarnate from one life to another, we can only take
on so many experiences at one time. In one life, we might learn about
loneliness and poverty. In another, we might grow to understand addiction
and codependency. In another, fame. In another, companionship. In another,
being needed and taking care of someone in need. In another, mental
illness. In another, unconditional love. Sometimes we can handle two or
three, or maybe several, lessons in one lifetime. Sometimes one major
lesson may be all we can take and our life might be very short. And some
lives may even be strictly for the purpose of helping someone else’s
spiritual growth, although we always benefit energetically whenever we
help another soul in their journey.
As we complete each lifetime, our energy frequency increases
and we grow closer to the Source. After several lifetimes, we are
vibrating at faster speeds and we have gained an understanding and
appreciation for many facets of being. It is my belief that if someone
finds themselves passionate about helping the homeless or foster children
or the mentally impaired, that they have likely experienced that condition
in a past life. This is why they have compassion in this area and for
these people, because on a cellular and subconscious level they understand
and appreciate the circumstances and conditions that these people know.
This is why God, our Creator, has unconditional love, compassion and
understanding for us. He knows all sides of every experience.
Some people may choose not to return to earth for another
lifetime because lessons can also be learned in the spirit world. We can
help people on earth as spirit-guides ourselves, assist in helping souls
cross-over, comfort pets while they await their earthly owners to return
to heaven, or any number of possible “jobs.” However, from what I have
learned, we reincarnate because spiritual growth is much faster here on
earth. Similar to the “No Pain, No Gain” philosophy regarding physical
fitness, the struggles we endure on earth are like going to the health
club to exercise. With each grueling work out (each life), we return with
rapid growth.
Every time a life is ended, our souls return home to heaven.
And each time we return to the spirit world, we are instantly freed of all
pain and sickness, all fear and all earthly concerns. We are
instantaneously bathed in the comfort, joy and love of the Ultimate Light.
Regardless of how difficult our last lifetime was, we sigh in our
emancipation and think to ourselves, “Wow, what a relief!” And as we
discover the immense growth we gained from that lifetime, we think,
“Hey, that wasn’t so bad. I can do that again.” And before we know
it, we are planning our next human journey.
With each lifetime voyage we are even closer to reaching
God’s vibrational frequency—the ultimate, final destination. Then, at
some point we know all there is to know and have experienced all there is
to experience. We have the highest understanding and appreciation
attainable. And upon that last lesson, the final earthly existence that
completes us, we merge again with our Creator to an eternity of euphoria
and ecstasy.
That
is my interpretation of life and the afterlife according to my
experiences, research and beliefs over the last few years. I can’t prove
it, but it helps me to understand why bad things happen to good people,
why children suffer, and why God allows the tragedies and sufferings of
innocent human beings to exist. Although it doesn’t make negative
experiences any less tragic or difficult to endure, and in no way do I
intend to make light of anyone’s suffering or hardships or suggest that
we stand idly by and watch people struggle—we should always do what we
can to ease the burdens of others—it helps me to believe there is a
spiritual purpose to life’s challenges. By believing that we learn to
know love as much by experiencing hate and suffering as we do kindness and
compassion, it helps me to make sense of this world and trust that every
person’s suffering will be relieved and rewarded in the end.
_____________________
For more
articles by Bob Olson, visit www.ofspirit.com/bobolson.htm
BOB OLSON is
a former skeptic and private investigator who has researched evidence of
life after death since 1999. He now shares the spiritual insights,
extraordinary experiences and gifted practitioners he has met along his
journey to assist others with their own spiritual growth. Bob is the
author of Win The Battle, How To Beat Depression, and
co-author of Understanding Spirit, Understanding Yourself. He is
also the editor of OfSpirit.com
Magazine,
GriefAndBelief.com,
BestPsychicMediums.com,
& BestPsychicDirectory.com,
HowToBeatDepression.com.