A Thousand Faces

For those with a skeptical nature, reincarnation is a hoax of monumental proportions.

How, they ask, can a man be born again? Jesus’ answer to Nicodemus, that one needs to be born of the spirit, gives us a profound clue.

We need to be tried in The Refiner’s Fire, to have our dross burned away, to become what we intended from the very first moment of our existence.

The Actor

When asked by my daughter who I would like to play me in the story of my life, I (half-jokingly) said Bradley Cooper.

There is a certain similarity in our features, but we are definitely not the same.

And that is the point of this post. Each of us is the hero of his own story. And to succeed in our spiritual quest, we have to work through this ordinary, work-a-day world to another internalized version, where we conquer our fears, seize the prize (the Pearl of Great Price) and bring it back to normal consciousness.

That is the whole point of our lives.

The Hero’s Journey

We usually view our life as a story line, acted out in three stages. But we neglect to realize that the story is actually a circle. And when we come back to ‘the beginning and know it for the first time’ our eyes are opened to the infinite possibilities of life.

The illustration above is based on Luke Skywalker’s journey in Star Wars.

Conclusion

We never tire of the story because it’s our personal tale. Our purpose is to advance our understanding of life, and the use of power for good, until we can let go of the telling and return home to the spirit world, a tired, but happy, actor — ready for the next role of his earthly career.