An Imperfect Birth-body

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Many things in our world seem radically unfair. People voluntarily incarnate, on a soul-level, to learn many things, including humility and compassion. Being born with an imperfect body is a great way to accelerate this learning. For example, I was born with a genetic defect that led directly to being blind.

People who are challenged are challenged to find their interior treasures. They usually are too limited in some way to get highly involved in sports, or in even wealth, or other antispiritual (because time-draining) pursuits. So, they do not become lost in these dead-ends and materialistic pursuits, wasting many lifetimes paying for ignorance.

Selfimage is also strongly challenged. We must base it on Love only; but most are tempted to find other strong physical or personal foundations for selfesteem. We are too proud of our "good looks," or our strength, or charisma, intellect, or skills and talents. All these are invalid reasons for ultimate authentic Selfesteem. The ultimate reason for Selfesteem must be the deep interior "higher Self" of the Soul, and the "highest Self" of Spirit. Anything that blocks this realization is an obstacle that must be removed. Those who are physically challenged must find their good in their own minds, rather than in physical pursuits or in their bodies.

It is at once both a lesson in realism and humility. The body is a bad basis for selfimage because even the most perfect body will get old and break down in several ways. Love wills that we derive selfesteem from It, from God, not from the personal self, body, or ego.

Then, of course, there is the karmic factor. A single life that is "messed up" is no big deal to the soul. For an entire life on earth is but a few minutes in soultime. So, if we voluntarily and deliberately misuse, abuse, or harm anyone with a deficiency of any kind, it is a guarantee that, next time around, we will be born with that same limitation. If we mock or make fun of any condition, it is very likely that this act of callous disregard will also result in our being born with that same condition. If you hate gays, you will definitely be gay in your next life. If you hate white or black people, you will definitely be reborn as a member of the despised race. This is the only way that some people can learn.

Besides this "reflective" karma, some few souls also have "optional" karma. This is karma that results, not from cruelty, but from a decision made by the soul, before we are born, that it needs a certain limitation. It chooses this to overcome, to become wiser and stronger. This is a rarer karma, but it explains some cases of selfchosen limitations, in which, for example, enlightened saints/mystics have had a biodysfunction. To make the mind/soul strong, it is but a "tiny" sacrifice to select an imperfect body. Many saintmystics have made this kind of choice. Since the soul lives for countless billions of eons, it does not take much time.

If you really wanted to discover what a thorn-stick feels like, you might penetrate a finger with a thorn. That is about the suffering-level created in the soul by a physically dysfunctional life. Many saints and mystics used this optional karma to make themselves superspiritual, or at least, to increase their empathy and compassion.
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