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Does the caterpillar know that it will become a butterfly? Does the chicken know that it will become a chicken while in its embryonic state, existing as an egg? Do they have any idea that they will trade in their vehicle for a new one? Do you? Or, a better question may be, can you know?
Previously, I wrote that to survive death and to become eternal, one must identify with eternal values; if you identify with transient values, you will be transient, if you identify with eternal values, you will be eternal. In the same consciousness, if the caterpillar kept on identifying with being a caterpillar and refused to let go of that identity, it could never have turned into a butterfly. If the embryo in an egg kept on identifying with being an egg, it would never have broken out of its shell to become a chicken.
The soul of eternal survival is the self that we need to identify with in order to transform ourselves and continue into the next stage. So nurture the soul, empower the soul and be the soul.
Trade-In Value
For us to become more than human, to be able to trade in our human vehicle for a more spiritual model, we must identify with values that transcend this material body. If we keep on identifying with temporary and transient values based solely on gratification of our material body, we will die with the body.
Look at the way you are living your life. How much of what you do is based on eternal values such as selflessness, unity, reflection, insight, compassion, forethought, altruism, courage, wisdom, honor and goodness? How much is based on transient values such as self-gratification, greed, one-upsmanship, obsession, habit, power and control of others, and ego inflation?
In every endeavor that we do, we can choose between eternal values and transient values. It is when we choose the transient aspect of any behavior that abuse happens. It seems that the activities we do that are the most likely to be abused are those that people consider to be the most sensually pleasurable. Those activities are the ones in which we have to be the most careful for they lead to a life based on transient experiences. That is why society has made taboos and laws regarding sex and drugs.
Eating and drinking is one of the most indulged upon activities that are probably more abused than any others in the United States. Although we do have laws regarding the drinking of alcohol, especially in the case of minors, we do not have laws regarding eating habits because it is such a fundamental necessity to life. It's something that we all must do. So lets take eating as an example of choosing between eternal and transient values.
As Ben Franklin said so well, "Eat to live, not live to eat." Some of the eternal values in eating is temperance, balance, joy, wholesomeness, mindfulness, and goodness and beauty in its preparation and enjoyment. Some of the transient values in eating are gluttony, obsession, excessiveness, lust, mindlessness, and imbalance. Indulging in transient values, whether in eating and/or other activities results in untimely deterioration of the human vehicle. In other words, a human vehicle that has indulged in transient values is not a well maintained vehicle and has less value when the time comes for it to be traded in.
When that time comes, the effort you put into maintaining your unified human vehicle will be considered in the determination of your next vehicle. The effort you made in evolving your soul will be a major factor also, but it is the balanced effort in maintaining and improving the whole matrix of your self that is pivotal in determining the shape of your new form and the spiritual level of your continued existence. The effort you exerted in maintaining and upkeeping your material body is just a portion of all the things to be considered, but it will still be considered.
In regard to your body when it is time to trade it in, what is important is not so much what condition it's in at that time, but rather how much effort you exerted in making the best of it. Some people are born with bodies that are challenged, and some have encountered accidents and diseases that have damaged it to one extent or another. What matters is the effort you put forth to correct, maintain, and improve your health in the most positive way. The same holds true for your mind and soul.
When the time comes to trade in your human vehicle, the new vehicle must be matched with your soul. In this life, the outward appearance of the body often does not match the quality of the soul. As we progress in our evolution, the external appearance of the vehicle which holds our soul reflects more and more what it contains. Which means that if your soul is so stunted and without substance, if there is hardly any quantity and quality there because you just did not identify with any eternal values, and you did not put out any effort into its nurturance and evolution, there may not be a spiritual vehicle that would be suitable for you, nothing to match your almost
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