[REMINDER from the previous posts: There are four unique vehicles for discovery on earth that cannot be explored in other realms. I can assist you in remembering many things that you forgot due to “earth amnesia” by explaining these miraculous tools for discovery. During this series of essays, I will address each vehicle with tips about how to make each a beneficial opportunity rather than a force of resistance. This essay is the 6th in the series.]
In the past five essays, we have looked at three out of four of the vehicles for discovery on earth. This month we will look at the final major vehicle that’s available here for the benefit of our soul’s growth. This vehicle is the process of maturation.
Through my experiences visiting the energy realm (the state of existence of all souls not inhabiting bodies), I’ve noticed that we’re all fully grown! Regardless of the wisdom of the souls with whom I’m interacting, or how each soul projects themselves, we are all fully mature. We have varying levels of vibrational energy, but we are all mature – fully spiritually whole. The process of maturation, growing from embryo to full adulthood, is a system that originates on earth to allow the soul to make infinite discoveries that we cannot experience otherwise.
The process of maturation is not limited to the growth of humans. The sequence of development for the animal and plant communities also provide prolific backdrops for souls to grow. Experiencing the consequence of caring for, or neglecting, a growing thing allows us to understand our power and allows us to contemplate our priorities.
Each organism’s growth provides different opportunities for our awakening. Let’s look at the development of a plant, for example. How does one honor natural growth that surrounds us? Do we interfere? Harness? Exploit? Destroy? Enjoy? Cooperate? Who decides which plants are worthy and which are not? As we examine these answers individually and collectively, we learn the consequence of our choices in regard to the plant community. This examination becomes more profound when we decide to cultivate those flowers, crops, or trees that we deem worthy.
From the planting of a seed through the maturation of the plant, we choose through action and inaction how we will participate in the care of that plant. We make discoveries about patience, food nourishment, threats, weather, soil, etc. We observe and learn how to optimize the development of the plant depending on our specific priorities. We develop creative, or perhaps destructive, approaches to cultivation. We learn by trial and error, and by instinct. We decide what’s important and what is not. The vast variety in growing methods is mind-blowing and ever-changing, yet through it all, the soul grows. It grows by witnessing the product of what we have enriched, and it grows by witnessing a lack of beauty or bounty from that which we abuse or neglect.
The process of the souls’ growth expands further when we leap from growing plants to raising animals from gestation through maturation. Think about all the ways we make discoveries when we raise an animal. What happens to our pets when we love them and meet their needs? How are animals affected when they are abused or neglected? How do pets affect our happiness or our freedom? What happens when an animal’s demands exceed our desire or ability to give? How does experiencing the birth of an animal affect us? What about the process of hatching eggs? How does an animal’s dependency on us feel? How do we change as we experience the responsibility of bringing an animal from infancy through adulthood? Does raising a pet ignite a feeling of compassion? Patience? Love? Attachment? Frustration? Some souls grow by feeling unconditional love from a pet in a way they have not experienced from humans. And some grow simply by experiencing all the responsibilities that accompany raising pets.
Now imagine raising livestock versus raising pets. Think about the limitless opportunities to evaluate our place in the food chain, to consider the worth or expendability of different animals. Think of the irony, for example, of riding horseback to corral cattle to the slaughterhouse. Do we raise livestock humanely, or consider the quality of life that they do live? How differently do we feel if we raise animals for necessity versus raising them as food delicacies? What different opportunities are available for the growth of the soul when livestock is raised personally versus commercially? What considerations do we evaluate in selecting our treatment or governing treatment?
Lastly, consider the growth opportunities that come from raising animals for profit other than food. What are the consequences of different breeding techniques? Do we decide to overpower animals that we raise with our will? Or do we let the animals develop naturally. Do we choose to treat a work animal as a pet or as property? What choice do we make when an animal has outlived its functional usefulness?
As you can see, all forms of raising animals from infancy through adulthood provide endless chances for us to consider what we value, individually and collectively. Our methods, choices, and consequences allow us to grow. The thing about opportunities, however, is that they can knock on doors which will never be opened. Therefore, even the opportunity to open the door, or not, to a discovery during the process of raising animals is a growth choice.
We have looked at the maturation process of plants and animals, but, by far, the greatest growth opportunity for souls comes from the development of humans from inception through adulthood. This canvas on which we paint our reality is so vast that we will address it in its own NOT-TO-BE-MISSED essay next month.
In the meantime, enjoy contemplating your personal relationship and memories in raising plants and/or animals, as well as contemplating humanity’s relationship with farming, agriculture, horticulture, and forestry. Until we meet again, grow, grow, grow!
SHINE ON!