The Pact

Introduction

Beyond the reality of our daily lives, busy with getting an education, raising a family, and securing employment to sustain our desires, there is a spiritual life silently unfolding. Our spiritual views are as diverse as the people on this planet. Different types of spiritual and religious beliefs possess words and rituals used to sustain each system that brings people together for the sole pleasure of worshipping a Divine Source. Even if one does not have a spiritual belief system, that is a spiritual belief in itself.

Belief comes from our mind, a human concept that is guided by our physicality, or brain. The renowned theoretical quantum physicist Amit Goswami stated so clearly, “Consciousness is the ground of being—not the brain. The brain is made of consciousness, but consciousness is not made from the brain.” Whatever your belief in the nature of being, there can be an appreciation of open-mindedness to the concept of a soul’s progression after death. Spiritual teacher Ram Dass explores this topic openly when he writes:

People ask me, “Do you believe that there is continuity after death?” And I say, “I don’t believe it. It just is.” That offends my scientific friends no end. But belief is something you hold on to with your intellect. My faith in the continuity of life has gone way beyond the intellect. Belief is a problem because it is rooted in the mind, and in the process of death, the mind crumbles. Faith, consciousness, and awareness all exist beyond the thinking mind.

During my life, I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to explore many of the religious views found on Earth, and I find they ultimately covet sisterhood and brotherhood through Love. Whether or not a religious system proclaims a belief in reincarnation, we must ask ourselves the same questions. The Theosophical teachings, founded in 1875, provide some of these spiritual ponderings: How can we believe that souls are created at a certain point in time, and yet, they live forever? How can a soul survive the body, but not pre-exist it? How can one soul live for over seventy years within a body, then drift into insignificance at the death of the host body? Perhaps questions such as these will never be thoroughly answered to our satisfaction, but you may find some answers within this book. My chosen belief system encompasses a broad view of East and West thinking, which has sustained my compassionate and positive attitude toward all life. My late husband and I had made a pact that whoever passed away first would connect with the other to confirm, or not, our belief in an afterlife and my belief in the existence of reincarnation.

The writing of The Pact has been a collaboration between me and the channeled words of my departed husband. For those readers who are not familiar with the concept of channeling, it can be accomplished through techniques such as mediumship, automatic writing and drawing, intuitive sensory perception, and various other means. I channeled my husband’s words during meditations that can be found in the chapter “Channeling David’s Story of Heaven.” In Chapters Thirteen and Fourteen, I offer this personal process in more detail. At the back of the book is a glossary of the lifetimes shared in this book called the “Lifetime Identification Chart.” This chart can be used to help guide you through many of my soul’s adventures.

Let me attempt to answer the eminent question you must be thinking: How did I receive the channeled words so clearly from my departed husband? As I sat at my computer each session, I allowed myself to leave my body insomuch as to join with the silence within my mind. In this state of consciousness, I closed my eyes and listened only to the birds singing outside my office window. I also realized a not-so-silent inner-ego, which I found I had to tame to make sure I did not change any of David’s channeled words. Here is where I met my beloved—between the worlds. I released all form of doubt, all fear of failing to hear David’s words stream through my mind. When I had allowed myself to be in this frame of silence… David’s words tumbled into my senses. His words came like a flood, targeting their own destination of my waiting fingertips posed gently, but firmly, against the letters of my keyboard.

As you read through The Pact, keep your own spiritual mind open. Search your inner self for answers to the many questions your mind will no doubt put before you. As each story touches your heart, allow your own lifetime review to surface. Tap into your inner consciousness as you unfold and search your dreams, visions, and meditations, which may visit you more vividly while reading this book. The Pact is a gift from me to share with those who decide to take a journey to explore the reality of reincarnation.

Barbara Sinor, Ph.D.

March 1, 2014

One

When the deep meaning of things is not understood the mind’s essential peace is disturbed to no avail.

Chien-chih Seng-ts’an
Zen Patriarch, 606 AD

“Athena? Meratta? Where are you girls?” the old woman called into the evening air. Shaking her head she thought, Those girls! They are always running off together!

“Athena? Meratta? It’s time to come home!” she shouted out again. When will they ever learn it is not safe to be outside after the sun falls? she thought to herself as she turned to walk back down the stone steps into the cave-dwelling.

Athena and Meratta were very busy, unaware of anything except their search. They had not noticed the sun dipping below the tip of the great pyramid, for they were gathering more herbs to use as teas to help heal the families living in the caves.

“Here’s a new one!” Meratta exclaimed as she held up a tiny clump of greenery. “I think it is the one Amma told us would heal the hot sweats of the elderly women. I will take it with us and ask her tomorrow.”

“Oh, that is definitely a new one, Meratta!” replied Athena, inspecting the leafy green shoot.

“Oh no!” shouted Meratta as she pointed to the sun rays falling in an array of colors. “We have been outside too long, Athena; we must gather our things and return home quickly.”

Athena and Meratta watched one last time the setting of the sun and its glowing rays of yellow, pink, and red. They packed their baskets tight with the day’s findings. They were not far from their cave-dwelling and had faintly heard the calls from their mother, but as usual, they ignored them to pursue their passion. They loved their mother, but they knew she did not understand their strong desire to learn the ways of Amma, and how to heal those who were not well in the caves.

Once safely up the hill and in front of the stones leading to the opening of their home, Athena whispered as she pointed to the valley below, “It is so beautiful. Do you think we will ever be able to visit?”

“I hope so,” Meratta replied as she swept a finger across her forehead to remove the blonde strand of untrained hair obstructing her view. “Even if we never get to see the lighted valley, I will be happy here learning more from our dear Amma.”

“Yes, I agree with your words,” Athena said softly as she gazed lovingly into Meratta’s blue eyes. Slowly descending the stairway, the pair of blossoming young women vanished into the darkness.

Athena and Meratta were sisters who lived with their mother in one of the caves surrounding the impressive community of Atlantis with its shining lights, water canals, and huge gardens filled with fruit trees and all variety of foods. When they were younger, their mother would tell them stories about the times long ago when the love beings came from the sky to offer instructions to their people about the ways of bringing-into-view with their minds. Many learned how to bring-into-view the needed instruments to make the large domed dwellings and how to light the night sky. Each person who wished to learn the new lessons would be given these abilities. The people learned to develop the wonders of illuminating the night sky and the magical ways to use stone and marble to form their pyramids in which to learn other mysterious ways. As their mother told these stories over and over, the sisters would sit quietly at her feet, absorbing all the visions of the strange land.

Athena and Meratta also met Amma when they were young. Amma was a wise elder with white-gray hair, dark penetrating eyes, and a soft deep voice. Her presence silently commanded respect as she seemed to float across the ground with a soft glow emanating around her body. Amma came one day with a few others to the sisters’ cave, crossing the perimeter of the Atlantis community from a larger cave that went deep inside the earth. Their mother was ailing and Amma instinctively knew she was needed. Her trip was an arduous one for the old woman, but her mission was of healing all cave-dwellers surrounding Atlantis, so a bit of walking and hiking did not deter her ambition.

“Where are you distressed, my dear?” Amma asked their mother as she searched for a small bowl shaped from knottelwood tucked at the bottom of her basket.

“My head is spinning, and when I try to stand, I fall back down,” replied the girls’ mother.

“My, my… not to worry, my dear. Amma knows what will heal you.” She spoke in deep comforting tones, soft, like the tender grasses outside the caves.

Amma reached a second time into the large mysterious basket packed tightly to the top. When her hand emerged, in it was the most beautiful flower Athena and Meratta had ever seen. Amma instructed Meratta to render a gourd of water heated by the center fire. Then she poured the water into the wooden bowl, gently placing the flower at the bottom. She stirred it with her fingers while talking softly to their mother. The girls could not hear all that was spoken, but the words seemed to settle the lines in their mother’s face.

The next day, Amma said it was time for her journey home. She told the girls to tend to their mother with the warm water and flowers she had left them. After placing the flowers in a smaller basket, she handed it to Meratta and said, “You and Athena will one day be healers as I. I will come when the moon is full each cycle to teach you the ways,” and with that said, Amma left with her companions.

“Athena, do you think Amma will come tomorrow at the full moon?” Meratta asked as they walked the pathway trod so many times by the cave-dwellers. She held her basket close to her, not wanting to lose the unknown treasure she had found that day.

“I know she will, Meratta; she always comes to teach us the healing ways on the full moon,” Athena said as she led the way on the winding stones.

“I can’t wait to show her our new finding! She will be so pleased with us, I just know it!” Meratta shrieked as she touched the moist stone wall near her head to steady her way.

Arriving at the crossway, they turned to the left toward their home to find their mother busy cooking over the center fire. “Guess what we found today, Mother?” Meratta exclaimed.

“Well, whatever it is, I hope it was worth your staying out to the sun’s passing!” their mother admonished.

“Oh it is, Mother… it is!” beamed Meratta with excitement as she reached into her basket to bring forth the prize of the day’s search.

“Look, it is so pretty even without a flower!” Meratta said, holding the leaf toward the fire’s light for her mother to see.

“We were well within our time to arrive at our cave before the lights would shine in the valley, Mother. Do not worry; we will be careful always,” assured Athena.

“Well, let me see your leaf,” said their mother as she came closer. “Ah, yes, it is a lovely one indeed! I am sure Amma will be happy with your finding.”

“Will Amma be here for sure tomorrow, Mother?” inquired Meratta with a tenuous voice.

“Oh, yes, I am sure she will, my dear Meratta. She has much more to teach you and Athena… she will be here,” she said affectionately.

The three ate supper and soon settled down for the night’s sleep with excitement in their hearts to meet with Amma once again the following day.

Athena, with her long black hair loose down her back, turned on her side, facing the dark stones she knew so well. Many times when she went to bed and the center fire was still bright, she would count the cracks in the stones and trace them with her fingers to other small breaks that formed the pieces that took the appearance of faces, animals, and flowers. Once when she could not sleep, Athena recounted the many designs she could find, savoring the fact that only she knew of all the stories hidden in the stones.

Meratta slept close to her mother with her hand resting gently upon her breast. Just knowing her mother was near was a comfort for Meratta. She was younger than Athena and fair-skinned like the water lily petals found near the canals of Atlantis. Of course, being the younger sister had its benefits and rewards. Meratta was always allowed her say, no matter what the topic or how wrong she might be in understanding or discussing it. Her light blue eyes would sparkle at the slightest excitement, and she possessed a gentle smile, which she shared with everyone. Meratta was shorter than Athena, who was taller than most women, but a sturdy girl with a laugh that echoed through the caves.

The sisters were very close, mostly because they both had a passion to learn the healing ways. Most days, they could be found together just outside the cave-dwelling up to their knees in green shrubs and thickets of berries. Once they witnessed their mother’s healing by Amma, the two sisters were determined to be healers like their mentor.

Amma did arrive the next day with new herbs and flowers to share. But before she could even take a breath to relax from her hike, Meratta shouted, “Amma, look what I found yesterday!” Meratta took the small bunch of greenery from her cherished basket and placed it on the tall stone in front of them.

“Oh, my… my… this is a wonderful finding, Meratta! It is a rare finding with many healing abilities,” Amma told her softly to calm Meratta’s over-excited state.

As Amma took the greenery into her hand, she touched each leaf as if to impart a magical healing quality to its deep texture. “I will show you how to use this finding tomorrow. Now, let me rest for a little while and talk with your mother,” Amma told Meratta.

Meratta and Athena waited patiently as the two women talked of the stories heard from other cave-dwellers throughout the hills. It sounded to the sisters like there was something happening in the community of Atlantis that was most exciting. When the conversation stopped and Amma came to sit by them, Athena asked, “Can you tell us of the excitement in the community in the valley, Amma?”

Amma began her story. “Many suns and moons have passed since the beginning of the community called Atlantis. Your mother has shared much with you about the great division of people formed between those who now live in the caves and those who live in the community. Before the people of the community had their huge stone dwellings and bright lights, there came large beings from the sky with the highest of knowledge. They had the ability to use their minds to produce everything they desired. They saw a struggling settlement down upon our land where people used twigs and sticks to form huts in which to live. The beings witnessed caring people who lived a physically difficult life and they decided to teach these people the ways of their homeland. The people of the valley had the opportunity of learning from the beings how to use their minds to develop their needs and change their lives. Many people did learn from the visitors how to manipulate with their minds, while others did not. Soon the visiting beings left and the settlers in the valley formed groups. The groups were divided—those who could use their minds to create and those who could not.”

Amma took a long breath and then continued with her story, “You girls only get glimpses of the community of Atlantis when you are out searching for your healing herbs and berries. Those people who did not learn to envision with their minds became cave-dwellers such as you and I. Our people have lived many lives in the caves, learning and teaching each other the ways of healing, growing food, and using the many tools the caves have given us.”

Illustration of Plato’s Atlantis

“What tools?” asked Meratta with twinkling eyes.

“The tools I am going to share with you today. I am sure you must have seen many forms of these tools already,” Amma said. She dug with her gnarled hand into her basket to reveal a cloth folded neatly around items only imagined by Athena and Meratta.

“Oh, do share now, Amma! I am too excited to wait any longer,” Meratta said as she once again pulled her unruly strand of hair from her face.

“Yes, my dear, look here….” Amma removed the cloth to expose the cool smooth crystals lying inside. “When you pass the caverns of your cave, did you notice any of these stones?” asked Amma.

“Oh, yes, Amma. I know of several places in the caverns where this type of stone can be found,” Athena responded with an eager tone. “They are not as shiny or smooth as these, but are the same type of stone I am sure.”

“These stones are called crystals. They can be used to heal others by placing them over, around, or upon one’s body. I will teach you both how to use all these crystals, and you will then know many of the ways of healing that I have learned.”

“Oh, thank you, Amma!” shouted Meratta as she jumped up to share the news with her mother who was sitting by the center fire.

“Athena? Look my way, dear one. I am giving you these crystals to keep and learn to use wisely. They have many powers that I will teach you and you will share with Meratta. Let us begin,” and with that, Amma rewrapped the smooth stones, except for one, into the cloth and handed it to Athena.

As Athena became a young woman, she never forgot the special day when her dear Amma had entrusted the healing crystals to her care. Through the years, she and Meratta learned their powers and soon journeyed together each day to help their fellow cave-dwellers return to wellbeing and strength. They both learned how the crystals could be placed evenly around and across the body in different patterns to direct their healing energy. They intuitively learned to use the correct crystals at just the right time in each healing process. But most importantly, they learned from Amma how to take their crystals to the largest cavern in the far hills to renew them with powerful energy.

After many moons, while Amma was showing the young women how to mash the goji berry with the root of anise, she told them the story of the great Trine Crystal.

“Gather near, girls, so my voice does not carry beyond your ears. Soon I will take you on a journey to the cavern near my home in the far hills. There you will witness the mystery of the great Trine Crystal and revel as I once did when seeing it for the first time. The great crystal has enormous powers, enough to fill all your healing tools for the rest of your lives, as well as, to provide the secret energy for the community of Atlantis. It has been told that long ago the sky beings deposited the great crystal into the cavern where it has remained to bring light to the valley. Our people found it by accident while hunting for healing tools. They discovered that by placing each healing crystal tool near the Trine Crystal, it would fill with greater power than before.” Amma adjusted her robe, took a deep breath and continued her tale. “So as my mother shared this with me, and her mother shared with her… I am sharing this with you.”

“When can we leave?” asked Athena bravely.

“Within the next six moons, my dear one,” replied Amma; then turning to Meratta, she whispered, “We will have a great journey together, just the three of us!”

Meratta clapped her hands and gave the old woman a hug. “I just knew there was something special about the great cavern we have heard about from others. I will go tell Mother of our plan.” Meratta then jumped up to go in search of her mother.

“Amma, why is there not a great crystal for our people?” asked Athena with a concerned stare.

“Dear child, our people chose to live in the caves. They knew they would not live fairly beside those in the community and, therefore, chose to make a life away from the stone dwellings. We have had our trials, but our knowledge of the land, sky, water, plants, and animals is all we need to live in peace. One day, I will tell you the story of the strife and discord in the community below and how it hangs heavy on the people who live there. But for now, let us talk of healing! Where did Meratta go? She needs to be near to learn the mashing of the berries!” Amma said more loudly than usual, and then she rose from her sitting position to glance sideways in search of Meratta.