INTRODUCTION
In this book I endeavour to describe my spiritual experiences, and in doing so my purpose is to bring alive the idea of reincarnation and karma by giving examples of what I have met with in life and in my own meditative research. In this sense the book is a report on one individual's spiritual insights and bears the stamp of my own personal path of knowledge.
From my youth the work of Rudolf Steiner (1861--1925) has formed an integral part of my life. I have studied it and worked with it not only in art and education but also meditatively and through his karma exercises.* For 28 years his philosophy has been one of the motifs in my life and at the same time the source from which I derive its meaning, and I regard my book as the outcome of work which could not have been carried through without his insights, especially in the field of karma research.
This book is not a scientific essay but a descriptive account in which I include some indications as to my methods and the steps I have taken on the path of spiritual schooling. Some of the themes have been dealt with in a degree of detail that will allow them to stand, I hope, as a point of departure for the reader's own inner work. A number of Steiner's exercises are described according to how I have understood and practised them. But this is not a book of exercises as such, and sight must not be lost of the fact that what I recount in it are my own individual experiences.
Since this book describes my path through earlier incarnations discovered by means of meditative work, I have called it a 'karmic autobiography'. I have received no direct help from other people such as regression therapists or clairvoyants. Only in one instance, which I shall describe, did a 'fellow wanderer' make a specific suggestion as to how I might proceed.
A good many books already exist in which the authors use the form of the novel to tell of earlier lives and the karmic connections between several incarnations, for example And the Wolves Howled by Barbro Karl‚n from Sweden, and Einweihung by Elisabeth Haich (1879--1989). Telling these stories in the form of a novel probably helps to distance readers in a way that enables them to accept the events described and form their own judgements regarding them. On the other hand, the books by Jenny Cockell are not novels. She describes quite frankly and directly the events that happened in her last incarnation exactly as she remembers them. In his 'readings' Edgar Cayce, the American known as the 'sleeping prophet', also gave direct indications about many former incarnations. I have similarly decided to write quite directly about all the former incarnations I know I have been through. In later chapters I shall try to make it as clear as possible why I am being so frank.
Chapter 1 of this book gives a general summary of my present incarnation, including many incidents from my childhood and youth as well as descriptions of and anecdotes about people who have played an important part in my development. I wanted to give readers a more personal impression of my life: like a brightly coloured mosaic consisting not only of miniature portraits of friends, fellow students, teachers and art colleagues but also containing details, happenings, games, projects and different locations. I wanted to show by this that many motifs from my childhood and youth which may appear merely incidental at first are in fact quite significant when seen as part of the larger picture, so I have described them in detail. If readers bear these 'miniatures' in mind when reading my descriptions of earlier incarnations in Chapter 3 they might discover a number of karmic threads and connections. Dealing with this multi-layered wealth of detail in memory and biography work is an important aspect of the methods applied in karma research. Rudolf Steiner pointed out that seeming trifles are sometimes the very items through which revealing knowledge can be gleaned. I shall describe a few examples of this in more detail in Chapter 5.
This karmic autobiography includes, in Chapter 1, my present life up to the existential crisis that developed in 1995. A number of the people who have played a part in shaping my biography up till now are mentioned by name if they have died or are very old. Many others who have played parts in my life are described but not named. I have endeav oured to depict events that led to painful social conflicts in a way that does not involve interpreting people's behaviour but merely sets down the external facts. I hope that the friends involved, who in some cases are mentioned by name, will recognize themselves without feeling I have judged them incorrectly.
In Chapter 2 I have portrayed my work with Rudolf Steiner's karma exercises coupled with the further results I attained during my meditative endeavours in the autumn of 1996. The activity for which Steiner employed the ancient term of 'building a hut' is a focal point of that chapter in that I have dwelt on how I brought this spiritual exercise into play meditatively.
Chapter 3 contains my accounts of 12 former incarnations of my own which I have so far discovered: a first one in Lemuria, three subsequent ones in Atlantis,* and eight others in various post-Atlantean cultural epochs.{ The descriptions of events---which I have seen for myself---in those incarnations are supplemented by some necessary cultural and esoteric explanations.
I have gone more deeply in Chapters 4 to 7 into certain initiation experiences which the spiritual world has vouchsafed me since November 1996. I have endeavoured to show that I have also been through stages of spiritual knowledge higher than that known as Imagination.
My research up to Easter 1997 brought me many answers to questions concerning individuals I have met again in my present life. In fact in my various karmic circles in different countries I have discovered persons corresponding to nearly all the men and women described or mentioned in Chapter 3. I have been able to follow our progress through several incarnations and have thus reached an understanding of why one circumstance or another has arisen in our karmic relat-ionships. In order to help readers recognize the links between one life and the next and prevent possible speculation I decided---in the cases of a few individuals who are now in the spiritual world of the dead---to reveal these links as I understand them today. In other cases, where individuals are still on the earth in their present incarnation, I have uncovered some connections but not brought these right up to the present.
I regard making these karmic connections public as a way of assisting spiritual seekers who want to develop their own karma research. The grave and serious nature of all the spiritual experiences and karmic facts revealed in this book leads me to hope that suitable tact will be applied by those wanting to use them or communicate them to others. It has been no small challenge for me to risk bringing these motifs out into the open and stand before the world so spiritually naked.
Another purpose I had in writing the book was to confirm from my own point of view certain results of Rudolf Steiner's spiritual research, namely in the first instance his descriptions of Atlantean cultures in the books Cosmic Memory and An Outline of Esoteric Science. In addition I wanted to confirm a number of aspects of spiritual-scientific karma research. By putting forward examples from my own sequence of incarnations I hoped to show up several aspects of general karmic laws but also certain exceptions. To follow these matters calls for a great deal of one's own work. I hope that this description of my incarnation sequence is comprehensive enough to encourage other researchers to examine and check it using Steiner's methods.
In conclusion, I am absolutely not interested in gaining anything for my present life by describing my earlier incarnations or my status in the world in those times. Far be it from me to want to make a public name for myself in this incarnation or gain any advantage whatsoever. I realize, though, that this book might generate vehement indignation specifically on account of the historically known persons I have depicted, for in addition to the unknown lives I have also described three which are linked to known names. There was a historically documented life as a woman in Roman times, the life of a man in the Middle Ages, and another as a very well-known woman at the time of the Counter-Reformation. To count just two of these personalities as part of one's 'karmic property' might in itself strike many readers as arrogant. How much more, then, must my mention of that third famous figure appear as an expression of mental instability! An accusation of hallucination suggests itself, or at least the suspicion that I must be a fantasist.
According to various witnesses, even in Rudolf Steiner's day there were said to be 18 re-born 'Mary Magdalenes' amongst his circle. I am well aware that by claiming the life of the well-known woman of the sixteenth century I might be bringing a form of 'soul decapitation' upon myself, for it could be interpreted as the act of a kind of usurper. However, I am sure that many thousands of historically well-known figures are, at present, incarnated on the earth. We should not be afraid of meeting such people one day, or of discovering that we ourselves once lived in the limelight of history. What an interesting challenge it would be if numbers of these personalities were to come forward and introduce themselves: perhaps we might even get used to the idea! Another reason for publishing my account---and this is one of my main concerns---is to show that our present knowledge of historical events can and indeed should in many cases be corrected and even revised in the light of karmic understanding.
It goes without saying that all those past human lives lacking well-known names to make them stand out in historical source material or records are of course links in the chain of human evolution equal in importance to those of historical individuals. Unknown lives still wait to become a part of history. In the Akashic Record* there are no qualitative differences between one human life and another; so we should learn to regard earthly differences as an expression of changing social circumstances and points of view which it is up to us to transform as time goes on. This is the sense in which one can speak of 'karmic evolution'.
Another thing I want to stress is that my primary concern is not with stating who I was in earlier lives but rather with finding out what I was like, and showing that this 'what' appears again in 'what-I-am-like' now. My reason for combining this more general question with definite statements about my former personalities within their historical environments is that I think it important to show others who know me, or who move in the same circles, where they might look in history to find their own karmic past. Over the coming decades the concept of reincarnation and karma will, in my opinion, be capable of leading to one of the greatest transformations in social life if people can find and apply it as a genuine impulse in the concrete situations of their lives. Knowledge of karma would then enable us to develop new moral impulses in the way we relate to one another, impulses which would to a large extent challenge established tradition. In this book I can unfortunately only hint at the way this has transformed my own life, but I hope that the general drift of my argument will show that it has to do with freeing the capacity for love in a way that can lead to an expansion of our sense of responsibility for the earth and for our fellow human beings.
If someone following the path described here, or another similar path, were to reach results that contradict mine, I should have to embark on a re-examination. At present, however, I stand by what is published in this book because I regard it as having been drawn from the truth. All are invited to investigate and test my results with all the methods of science and spiritual science at their disposal.
The most important aim of this book derives from my great hope that I can provide a point of orientation for others when they set out on the search for former incarnations and are looking for relevant experience in spiritual matters. I do not regard myself as a spiritual teacher in the traditional sense---and I hope the simple style I have adopted makes this clear. What I would like to do together with other pupils of the spirit is create ways of developing a future culture of the spirit. In this sense this book is intended for all individuals or groups who want to experience reincarnation and karma as an impulse for their lives.
I hope that this karmic autobiography will help me find more conversation partners and fellow travellers in these endeavours.
The title Living with Invisible People has several meanings for me. It hints at a search in everyday life for the reality of the spiritual world which also encompasses human beings who are not yet born as well as those who have already died. Secondly it refers to the need to look for the other person's higher self instead of turning away from him or her because of external traits visible to the senses. A third meaning involves our endeavour to carry experiences from earlier lives consciously in our present personality; this enables us to think, feel and act in ways we would be incapable of if we lacked a knowledge of karma.
I would like this book to demonstrate that it is perfectly possible to come 'straight off the street' and still be taken seriously by the divine world of spirit for one's honest quest and endeavour. In a sense it is a way of actively solemnizing the new mysteries. No doubt I shall find out whether it is possible today to speak about this subject not only indirectly and in general terms but also directly and individually, quoting one's own experiences.
My hope is that by writing in greatest inner honesty, I shall touch the hearts of readers without impinging on their individual freedom, so that at the dawn of a new millennium I can share a little in the creation of a genuine modern spirituality which can arise between human heart and human heart out of love for the truth.
While I was writing the book a great many people assisted and confirmed my work by their attitude and understanding, by friendly, moral and financial support, and also by conducting their own research into karma. A list of all these friends would be very long indeed, so I have confined myself to naming only a few. But I have not forgotten the others, and I thank all of them from the bottom of my heart! I thank the eurythmist Gudrun D. Gundersen for many intimate conversations about spiritual schooling and questions of karma, for her constant encouragement and for the warmth of soul I experienced in her welcoming house while I gave lectures and seminars in Norway. I thank the author and religious historian Hans-JÖrgen HÖins (died 2001) in Denmark for his friendly companionship and public support, and for the many historical and literary sources he suggested, especially concerning the Middle Ages. I thank the independent researcher and scholar Lothar Foos for fruitful discussions and informative talks and for his interest in wanting to follow up and check my Imaginations---especially of the oracles in Atlantis---on the basis of his profound knowledge of Rudolf Steiner's works. My wife Constanze and the many new friends I have found over the last two years in many European countries I thank for having the confidence to regard my endeavours and my counselling efforts as a stimulus in their lives.
I also mention here the pain and sorrow I feel in connection with my dear children and their mother and all my former friends and colleagues in Sweden from whom I have separated in consequence of the circumstances surrounding this uncommon project.
The following words from a lecture Rudolf Steiner gave at Torquay, England, on 22 August 1924 are quoted here as a bridge across which I send this book out into the world:*
It is essential that the following point of view should find wider acceptance: that investigations into the spiritual world must be undertaken by those who, in their present life on earth, are able to call upon forces from earlier incarnations, for it is these forces which release the necessary powers for spiritual investigation; and further, that the results of these investigations shall be accepted by increasing numbers of people and incorporated into ideas which are comprehensible; and that, when the results of spiritual research are accepted by sound comprehension, a way is prepared for those people, by virtue of this comprehension, to have real experience of the spiritual world. For I have often said that the soundest way to enter the spiritual world is first of all to read about it or to assimilate what we are told about it. If we accept these ideas, they become inwardly quickened, and we attain not only to understanding, but also to clairvoyant vision to whatever degree our karma permits. In this respect we must give serious thought to the idea of karma. |
