The lingering issues of a previous life

I believe in past lives. I believe that we choose our lessons to learn when we materialize in the physical world, and since God gives us free choice, sometimes we forget, or choose not to, learn some of those lessons. So what happens to those lessons?

They reappear in the next life until we get it through our thick skulls that there’s something to learn here! I could hang here all night with examples: the girl that continuously chooses the same kind of partner that she knows is not good for her (aka the loser); Taking the same type of non-fulfilling job we’ve had before thinking that its duties, although exactly the same as the last job we had, will somehow be more fulfilling in the new surroundings; eating the same bad food that made us fat in the first place.

I don’t think it’s God that rains these lessons down on us, so no need to fear him–there’s enough in ourselves to fear, for heaven’s sake. If we simply opened our awareness, and paid attention to what’s happening to us over and over, and what actions we take in response, maybe we can actually create a different outcome with modified behavior.

To quote Albert Einstein: We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.

So if you have recurring issues, then think back–way back–and decide if you want to experience the pain and anguish they cause you repeatedly. If yes, well, heck, rock on! But if you are ready for new lessons, then reconsider your previous responses when these issues resurface, and try something different. That’s how we grow.