The Choice To Be Born       

       Why would a soul choose to be born into an already well established and powerful cult?  As with extreme poverty and dangerous war zones, this is a question that is often posed by seekers.  Recently, in yet another doc on the situation, one woman reported she’d been born in a prison and as an innocent child what chance did she have to see or know about the outside world?  Many of these cults are self-sufficient self-enclosed societies who have almost perfected the art of crowd control.

     And so, why?  Because that particular soul wants that very limiting experience to impact its very being and then force it to escape by any means necessary.  They get to experience the fearful comfort zone of confinement and the bubbling up of the courage necessary to make the move.  Perhaps they have lived through such life situations before but lacked the courage to break free, dying as a disciple unconsciously or willingly enslaved.  But this time they are determined.

     If the situation is a religion, a respectable above ground denomination that sincerely attempts to replicate the teachings of their beloved prophet and act with compassion and charity, it may take many incarnations to see the bureaucratic ego-driven politics lurking beneath the pious devotion, however apparently honest, and set up the ambition to break free from the slinky bonds of congregation and go forth into city and forest to observe the mysteries unfolding.

     Of course there are many ways to box yourself in, – armies, navies, monasteries, corporations, elite families that demand loyalty, economic classes certain of their moral superiority.  Many is the prison so well upholstered it can pass itself off as a hotel.

      With cults the pressure to conform and obey can slide into sheer nastiness and harsh tactics of oppression, harassment and cruelty.  The behaviour observed is often deplorably sub-human.  The doc referred to was the latest on Scientology, apparently reeling from the arrest, trial and conviction of one of its star members, an actor of some renown, on several charges of rape.  Now the group is facing numerous other legal actions and trials, which could conceivably make a serious dent in its bloated bank account and already tattered reputation.

     The female former member quoted above spoke of being born in a prison with no options, employed the tone one hearsoften from the young, that of ‘Hey I didn’t choose to be born’.  While the self-pitying outrage of such a stance leaves the soul a fair distance from realisation, It is still a step in the direction of growth.  Recognising the importance of the pre-birth plan, even with all its inbuilt flexibility to changing circumstances, extends the sense of personal responsibility for one’s actions beyond the generally accepted boundaries and can set the aspirant on the golden road to graduation.  Taking responsibility for everything and not just what’s gone down since kindergarten is what’s required:  a careful balancing of accounts and making peace with karma in all its clever disguises.