Are You Learning from Your Past Lives? 3 Powerful Lessons About Reincarnation

Plato, Socrates, Pythagoras – many of the ancient philosophers and thinkers throughout time believed in the concept of reincarnation. Reincarnation refers to the belief that an aspect of every living being continues to exist after death. This may be the soul, mind, consciousness, or something transcendent that is reborn in an interconnected cycle of existence. Reincarnation, from a kabbalistic perspective, is the spiritual concept that our souls are eternal forces of energy that cycle through physical incarnations. 

Many feel skeptical about the concept of reincarnation or the afterlife. While we all would like to think we only believe in things that are logical and proven, the reality is that there is so much of the physical universe that is unknown. Once we understand reincarnation, seemingly random events suddenly take on new meaning. The influence past lives can have on our current lifetime can give us deep insights and shift our perspective on life.

Here are 3 powerful lessons about reincarnation:

1. You came into this world with something unique for you to work on. 

The foundational understanding of reincarnation is that we are here to improve ourselves, not to simply enjoy our lives. What we each come to this world to fix is based on everything our souls have experienced up until now. Your job is different than anyone else’s. This explains why no two people’s lives are alike. 

In the wisdom of Kabbalah, there is a concept called tikkune– a specific area of ourselves that we each need to correct over the course of many lifetimes. While there may be many areas for us to improve ourselves, there is usually one specific area that will often reoccur many times in our lives. That’s where we begin the practical application of the wisdom of reincarnation. It’s only by delving into ourselves that we can discover the unique area that we came to fix. If we are honest with ourselves, we will realize that our fears, gifts, and challenges are a roadmap, leading us to the part of ourselves that we are meant to transform.

2. Challenges that come up over and over are opportunities for you to make different choices.

There are those that have the ability to harken back to past lives and remember aspects of previous incarnations, but most of us don’t. If we remembered all of our past lives, we would easily be able to avoid falling into the same traps without real growth or transformation. The idea of reincarnation is that we are all faced with similar challenges and struggles time and time again to give us the opportunity to make better choices. The ultimate state of correction is when you are in the same situation with the same person but choose to act differently. That is how the soul elevates.

The beauty of this is that this physical world is perfectly set up to help us grow in ways we may not even realize. You don’t need to know the story and narrative of your previous lives to be able to create the change you need. When you find a recurring issue in your life, instead of asking, “Why does this keep happening to me,” realize it is a guidepost leading you towards your tikkune, the correction that is necessary for your soul’s journey. Be open to that reality, learn from it, and grow from it.

3. Every person you interact with may be a relationship from another lifetime that needs fixing. 

We experience challenges in many areas of our lives, but relationships with others are often the source of our greatest struggle, stress, and disappointment. The concept of reincarnation explains that we have likely experienced many lifetimes with the people around us, and this incarnation is a powerful chance to improve those relationships. When we realize that our relationships are not just based on what we are experiencing in this lifetime, it can give us a different perspective on others, one with more grace and mercy and less judgment. 

Understand that every person coming into your life is necessary for you because you need to repay something, cleanse something, or help them. If you are in conflict with someone, consider that you may have wronged that person in a previous incarnation and owe them a cosmic debt. Or that they may have been your child or parent in another lifetime. Think about how that might change the way you treat them. What you are experiencing of that person in this lifetime is only a sliver of your relationship with them across infinite time. This has the power to open you up to judging others less and having greater acceptance of the process of your life. 

The study of reincarnation is not just about a nice theological conversation – it’s about the practical changes we can make in our lives. If you accept and understand the wisdom of reincarnation, it can give you a different view on why things might or might not be happening. Choose to grow, learn, and view your interactions and challenges as the perfect opportunities designed for you to grow. This is the path towards moving forward in a positive way