Questions and Answers about Spirit 1. Why am I here, and do I have some obligation or purpose to fulfill? Everyone living on the earth is here because they chose to be here. This decision was made by the Soul before it took on a physical body and incarnated on the planet. So, you are here because you chose to be here, and your only "obligation" is to keep breathing. The Soul has come here in order to gain experience and to move toward its ultimate destiny, which is to know God in all things. So your real purpose for being here is to know God. What you do with your life is up to you. 2. How do I know there is a God? In MSIA, we teach that you can know God directly, and this is by your own experience. As Jesus told us, "The kingdom of heaven is within." Spiritual exercises are a method of going within and discovering God within you. As you discover deeper and deeper levels of that, you also awaken to the supreme God that is in and through all things. Then, by unconditionally loving and forgiving--yourself, others, and all situations--the past can be balanced as needed and you can expand the awareness of yourself as divine, as "made in God's image", and live here on Earth with that awareness. 3. What does it mean when spiritual teachers say that life is an illusion? This physical life is an illusion in the sense that there is a greater reality, which is that each of us is divine and can know this while we live here. Many things in this world direct us away from this knowledge and lead us to identify with our personality and physical body and to place our security in material things. But all physical things eventually pass away. Who we truly are--the Soul--is eternal. Part of discovering the divinity within ourselves also involves seeing the illusions of this world for what they are. We can use and enjoy the personality and the things of the world, but we know we are much more and that our true "home" is in the Spirit. 4. How can I not create more karma? Do all things in God's name. Place the Light ahead of you in all that you do. Ask always that your actions be for the highest good. You may accrue some karma, but, if you are working with the Mystical Traveler, it will be worked off that night in the sleep state and cleared instantly through the grace of the Traveler. 5. Why don't we remember past lives? Lack of awareness. In our past lives, we have often had experiences that we'd rather not remember, so we block the memory. Also, it is usually unnecessary to remember our past existence. All we really have to do is start living NOW, start taking care of NOW. We bless the past with love and Light and let it drop away. It can be done that easily, and it's your attitude that allows this to work or not. If you do not have memory of the past, there is no need to seek it, as if you are somehow missing something. Instead, just love yourself in the present and be willing to move through your life in the knowledge that those things that are right and proper for you will occur. 6. Why does God permit so much suffering in the world? Suffering is a point of view and a point of identification. We all have experienced suffering in our egos, personalities, and the lower levels (physical, astral, causal, mental, etheric). The Soul, however, does not suffer. Instead, it looks at every situation as an opportunity to get more experience. When we look at things from a level other than the Soul, or when we identify with something other than the Soul, we can experience suffering. When we identify with the Soul and look at things from the SOUL'S viewing point, we can have the joy of the Spirit in the midst of suffering on any other level. Sometimes we go through these experiences to balance our past actions (clear karma). How we go through these experiences depends on our attitude and our spiritual altitude. The Soul knows that God isn't doing anything to us but, out of great loving, is permitting us to learn from our experiences. 7. Do angels really exist? Angels do exist. Angels are non-physical beings who hold spiritual energy and do spiritual work on the different levels of existence. (Human beings are of a higher vibration than all angels except the Archangels.) One of their "jobs" is to praise God continuously; it's very joyful. A guardian angel has a specific job--to assist, guide, and protect a certain person. The guardian angel is one who will urge and direct; it works like a sort of reflective counselor. People who have been baptized within MSIA and certain faiths or groups have had a guardian angel placed with them at the time of baptism. 8. What really happens during near-death experiences? When a person has a near-death experience and almost dies, their consciousness leaves their body and they have awareness of the nonphysical levels. The reality of this is often very profound, something they cannot forget or deny even when their consciousness returns to this physical level. For this reason, a near-death experience can often give a person a much greater perspective, and they see that there is much more than just this physical life. 9. What happens when we die? Since not one Soul will be lost, who we truly are never dies. When a person dies physically, the Soul that was in that body goes to the spiritual level for which it has prepared itself. This varies tremendously from person to person, and we should really say, from Soul to Soul. While we may grieve for the loss of a loved one, we also remember that no one passes from this life unless the higher self and Soul of the person agree to leaving at that time. We seek to remember that a person is really a Soul. And so, even in our mourning because we may miss the person's presence in our lives physically, we also have joy that they have completed this life and are moving on in their spiritual progression. After physical death occurs, there is often a time of readjustment and reeducation to Spirit, particularly if the person was not consciously aware of and working with Spirit in the earthly life. There is time for the Soul to become re-accustomed to Spirit, to gain the wisdom of the higher plan, and to rest and gain strength before further decisions are made about its future experiences. When a person is studying in MSIA, there is a connection with the Mystical Traveler such that at the time of physical death, the Traveler meets the person and takes them to the highest level in Spirit that the Soul can maintain. And if a person has established himself or herself in the Soul realm or higher through initiation in MSIA, that Soul no longer needs to re-embody physically. 10. What relationship does MSIA have with Jesus? Jesus Christ is the head of the Church of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, and the Traveler's work through MSIA (Soul Transcendence) is based on Jesus' work. Jesus was a Mystical Traveler, and he made it possible for all people to enter the Soul realm; before that time, this was available to only a few people. John-Roger's and John Morton's work of Soul Transcendence builds upon Jesus' work and makes it possible for people to go above (transcend) the Soul realm, into the heart of God. The Christ Consciousness is a universal consciousness of love and pure Spirit, which exists within each person through the Soul, and it is the spiritual line of energy supporting MSIA. At the same time, MSIA has no argument with any other religious or spiritual tradition, and many people who held the Traveler Consciousness throughout history are revered in various faiths (for example, Moses, Buddha, Mohammed, Lao Tzu, Confucius, and St. Francis, to name just a few). There are people in MSIA from all backgrounds and traditions--Jewish, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Buddhist, etc. MSIA teaches unconditional loving. Within that, there is acceptance for all spiritual paths and expressions because we understand that each of us is going through the experiences that we need in order to grow and to complete karma in this lifetime. There is also the potential for each of us to move into the Soul and to live life from that level in joy and fullness. 11. What's the value of Soul Transcendence, and how can I do that? The Soul is that essence of us that is a pure extension of God. The mind, emotions, and body are elements that the Soul has taken to itself in order to experience those levels of existence. In the course of your journey on earth, it is possible to learn not to be restricted by the body, mind, or emotions. And when those lower levels are transcended, that which is left is pure Soul. Soul Transcendence frees one from the cycle of incarnation. And eventually, as the journey back to God continues, Soul will also be transcended and there will be only God. Put another way, Soul Transcendence is to live and be in the presence of the living God and to know that. Working with the Mystical Traveler and doing spiritual exercises is a proven way to do this.