HOW DO I ENSURE

A BETTER ‘COMEBACK’?

Coming back to this world is not guaranteed. And you may not want to, there are happier places out there, after all. Following this life there might be a number of other options available to you, however the truth is: there is a very good chance that you will be coming back to this world. It is the “how”, the “where to”, the circumstances of your next life – that’s what makes a difference, and that’s something you can have some control over and you may really want to influence. The good news is, you indeed can influence how and where you’re going to be starting your next life. How and where you’ll end up is all about what you do in this lifetime, in this incarnation.

 “There is no giant balance scale or record where your good deeds are tallied, where someone is keeping track.”
Rama Dr. Frederick Lenz

    A better lifetime comes from not some karmic scale but from inner knowledge. And inner knowledge makes you happy. In other words, it’s not as if someone is checking. There is no giant balance scale or record where your good deeds are tallied, where someone is keeping track. What you will be in next life is the sum total of the realizations that you’ve had in this lifetime. These realizations are cumulative, they increase as you grow older. Your realizations are tied to your happiness, after all, figuring out happiness, figuring out life, these are the ultimate realizations. “If you’re happier every day, that means you keep practicing your spirituality, your yoga, and your Buddhism is successful.”

 

So how can I know if I’m on the right track? Well, one of the first steps is self-honesty. Actually, it is essential. You must ask yourself:

  • Am I really happier and feel better every day?
  • Do I see a progression in my life month to month, year to year?
  • Do I feel better about my life? Am I more relaxed?
  • Have I reached a mental state this year that’s vastly superior to the mental state I had last year?

     If the answer is no to any of these, then you’re either not practicing enough, or not doing your spiritual practice correctly. If this is the case, you’ve got to start over. If the answer is no to these questions, you can’t be amassing any positive karma.

“If you’d like to have a better incarnation, then guess what: you can have one now!”
Rama Dr. Frederick Lenz

     Thinking that you can just go out and spend all your time helping people and therefore somehow get a better life the next time around is fantasy. A better life comes from being happy and from inner realizations. If helping others adds to that, well, then it’s great. But suffering and postponing happiness is not real spiritual development, and it will not lead to a better incarnation. If you’d like to have a better incarnation, then guess what: you can have one now!

     It’s available to you. Right now, in this lifetime. And if that’s your attitude, and you want to have the best life you can, just let go and meditate and try to be as wise and compassionate, as understanding as you can, then you will have a better incarnation. Both now, and the next time around. Learn patience and the higher virtues, and if you enjoy them, if you have fun with them, that’s real spiritual practice. Your next life is, of course, another opportunity to learn what you didn’t learn in this one.

“Happiness is not something you’ll lose at the end of this lifetime.”
                                                                                             Rama Dr. Frederick Lenz

     

 

 

 

So the knowledge of reincarnation should relax you a little, but it should also tell you that it’s worth pursuing inner knowledge, as that’s what will make your next life more pleasant. To sum up, as Rama said, 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The essence of all reincarnation is to have the best lifetime now that you’ve ever had, no matter what’s going on on the earth or wherever you happen to be, and to not worry about your future life – to simply have a wonderful life now and to be as happy as possible.” 

 

Rama Dr. Frederick Lenz 

 

 

 

 And, of course, we’re not talking about the fleeting happiness that you get from buying a new car or a nice house, doing a line of cocaine, or even an evening with friends, but the happiness that will come through from following the right spiritual practice. And that happiness is not something you’ll lose at the end of this lifetime: it will stay with you, and in your next lifetime you will be that much further ahead.

 

 

 

Surely, as a newborn baby you won’t be starting exactly where you left off, but it will be easier to get back to that place than it was this time, and you’ll go further ahead. There are many very happy babies with wonderful childhoods and there also plenty of unhappy ones, with not-so-happy childhoods. Guess which one you’ll get to have?

 

 

 

You’ll have to find the answers yourself as to how you can make this lifetime happiest, but here are a few Happiness Strategies to get you started.