An Atlas for the Labyrinth

I recently listened to the book Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. I also watched the movie Cloud Atlas. Again, I find it fascinating how the more you are exposed to, the more you see the myriad of connections in this world and the more you contemplate the mysteries of life. Here are two different genres of art that I just happened to come upon at the same time. And they both focus on reincarnation. And they both got my brain going.

Of course, most people chalk it up to coincidence or that you subconsciously look for something once you are thinking about it. It could be true. But I like to the think that the forces of the universe drop bread crumbs for you on your path to enlightenment.

Labyrinth is the story of two women, from two very different times. Alais is the intelligent and independent daughter of a nobleman, living in Medieval France. Alice is an equally independent and intelligent English woman, working at an archaeological dig in modern day France. In the course of the book, Alice experiences memories that could not be her own and realizes that she is somehow connected to Alais. Ultimately, the book is about a quest for the Holy Grail and both women fight to protect its sacred secret from evil, power hungry women who seek to exploit its power.

Cloud Atlas is somewhat a labyrinth itself. It jumps between various times and places, from a ship in the Pacific Ocean in 1850, to a post apocalyptic island in the distant future. The tales and lives of the numerous characters are interwoven, serving to show “how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution." 

The idea of reincarnation isn't a new one. While there is no definite date of origin, references to reincarnation are found in religious and philosophical writings of various ancient religions and societies, most notably Indian and Asian.  Some believe that whether or not we are reborn and who/what we are reborn as depends on who we are and what we do in prior lifetimes. Perhaps there is some purpose we must serve. Perhaps our cruelty and violations in one life require punishment and redemption in another. Whatever the case maybe, the soul continues on, shedding one body for another.

Still, others believe there is no individual 

permanent soul, rather one soul gives way to another. Birth, death, and rebirth - but of a different sort. The energy of a body is released into the universe to find another bodily form. And it isn't always into the body of the same gender, or even the same species.

I have always considered reincarnation to be a possibility. As I said before, I wonder if déjà-vu can be attributed to reincarnation. What about “memories” of a distant time and place or of people you don’t know? I know that I have felt as though I had been somewhere or known someone even though I couldn't have.

Sometimes, it’s my dreams that make me 

wonder. Where does my brain come up with houses, places, strangers, and stories that my dreams bring? Why am I sometimes someone else? Why am I sometimes a man? I guess that could just be the product of an overactive imagination. But what if it’s not? What if a previous me is trying to help me do what I need to do to make this life a good one.

I am not 100 percent sure of reincarnation. One thing I am sure of is karma. I believe there are consequences for each and every individual action. Each of us is capable of setting things into motion, good or bad, that we don’t even realize. What we did in the past, what we do now, can affect lives in the future. We are all connected and our lives, our stories are interwoven, just like Labryinth, just like Cloud Atlas. When we are cruel, when we seek to fulfill our basest desires at the cost of other’s happiness, when we commit evil, we dig our own karmic grave. The universe will find a way to make amends. On the other hand, when we are good and loving and giving, the universe will find a way to reward us. It often seems to take longer than we think it should, but perhaps it is only because we think in terms of moments, not lifetimes, not eternity.

So, could we be destined to live life after life, until we redeem ourselves? Could one life’s unfulfilled destinies be lived out by another? Are we making our way through some cosmic labyrinth, trying to find our way towards the ultimate freedom of our soul? Do clues from previous lives become part of a subconscious atlas we can use to guide us to the higher realm? 

And what about the people in our lives? Are we destined to connect? Will the souls of loved ones be reborn into bodies we will hold in the next life? Will they know us? Will we know them? Or will we just have "a feeling," a sort of hazy memory that we can't quite pull into focus? 

What do you think?

Free your mind and the bees will follow....

I know I just recently hit you with a controversial subject and maybe you would like me to write about something funny. I apologize, but again I find myself focusing on something that may cause some discomfort.

I just finished the book The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. It touched on quite a few emotional themes, some of which touched me. While I would love to write about them all, there is one in particular that really had me thinking. And that is racism.

The events of the book take place in the American South in 1964, the same year the Civil Rights Act was passed. The main character, Lily Owens, is a teenage white girl whose mother died when Lily was very young. Neglected by her abusive father, Lily is loved and cared for by Rosaleen, a black woman who acts as a surrogate mother to her. Rosaleen has a run in with some of the town’s most racist men and is arrested. Angry with her father and fearing for Rosaleen’s safety, Lily decides they both need to leave town.  Her destination is Tiburon, SC, the city printed on the back of an image of Mary as a black woman Lily found among a few of her mother’s belongings.

Lily and Rosaleen make their way to the home of August, June, and May Boatwright. These three black women are beekeepers whose honey containers are labeled with the image of Mary as a black woman. The sisters take in Lily and Rosaleen, not only giving them a place to live, but a place to learn, to thrive, and to call home, both literally and figuratively.

Throughout the book, Lily comes across very racist people who disapprove of her staying with the Boatwright family. But she is happy there. There she experiences the love and nurturing she has been missing for too long. And she can’t understand why she should leave. Like Lily, I sometimes wonder if “life would be better if God had deleted skin pigmentation.”

Though I am not black, I am Hispanic, and I have experienced racism. It hurts. And in those moments, I wondered how people could be so cruel…and so damn ignorant. I wonder how it is that we haven’t gotten to the point where all are judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin. Because in the end, there are good and bad people of all colors.

Why? Why do people focus on skin color? For that matter, why do people focus on any physical attributes? Why do people focus on creed, culture, religion, gender, sexual preference? How can you rightfully say that you know someone based on any of those things? How can you rightfully say they are good or bad based on any of those things? You really can’t, can you?

But, I know that this issue, like most, is not black and white. Racism is a complicated issue.

It is a learned thing, true. Some pass on their ideas to their children. And they, in turn, pass them to their children. In this way, that ignorance, that hatred, continues to burn, despite the advances we make as a society.

But where does it come from? How does it all begin? We aren't just born with racist genes are we?

Well, what if we are born with something that causes us to judge others we see as different? When you think about it, we are all prejudice to some degree. Prejudice simply means “prejudgment.” And don’t we all prejudge in some fashion? Even Lily had her moments. She questioned Rosaleen’s intelligence. She was indignant about June’s initial treatment of her because she was white. Like her, we all have our moments. Perhaps we don’t always say it aloud. Perhaps we don’t even admit it to ourselves. But don’t we all think certain thoughts about people we see or hear about that we don’t really know? Really think about it. Maybe it’s the girl wearing the short skirt or the guy wearing baggy jeans. Maybe it’s the person with the tattoos and piercings or the person wearing glasses and a suit. Maybe it’s someone who looks foreign. And that can differ depending on what country you think they are from. Maybe it’s someone who works at a fast food restaurant or someone who works for a law firm. I could go on and on. Point is, we may all find judgmental thoughts creeping into our heads, and we may not even realize it at the time. We might even treat these people differently without knowing it. Why?

I think that again, we are not completely evolved. We still have basic, animal tendencies. And like animals, our ancestors made “prejudgments” about other creatures. For our ancestors, the ability to survive often depended on our ability to discern whether or not something or someone was our enemy.

Think about how some animals react to our presence. They freeze or run or hide or attack. Because they don’t know if we are going to pet them or eat them. And that is how they react to other creatures as well. As far as they know, creatures other than their own are dangerous. So maybe, we still have that tendency. Maybe that not yet evolved part of us sees those that are different as a danger to our own.

But why can’t we move past that? Why don’t we evolve to a higher state of being which allows us to see beyond and within?

There is no doubt that there are just evil, bad people in the world with black hearts full of hate. There are people who have been taught to hate. There are people who have experienced trauma that affected their ability to love and accept. Until we evolve completely, there will always be people of this nature. But what about the rest of us? Can’t we get past it?

I like to think that we are on the right path. I myself married a man of German, Irish, and Italian descent. Our son is quite a mix. And as I look around me, I see a lot of mixes. And that makes me proud. It wasn’t that long ago after all, that people of different races weren’t allowed to marry or were disowned it they did. But still, I mention race. Is it necessary?

And we recently saw the passing of a landmark gay rights act that recognizes marriage between people of the same sex. It makes me so happy. Yet, there are people still fighting it, still spewing hate.

And religion. How many wars are being fought, how many lives are taken in the name of religion? Why? When so many religions leaders, past and present, have preached the power of love and good deeds? When religions speak to spiritual enlightenment?

Why? Why? Why?

I know I can keep asking and contemplating, but answers won’t come easily or quickly. This is just a lowly blog and I am neither scientist nor psychologist. I am just a curious, questioning reader and writer.

Please read this book. And please look in the mirror and ask yourself if your mind is as free as it should be. Can you look past color, past gender, past religion? Can you look beyond, within, and see to the human heart and soul? 

I hope that one day we all can.