According to life-between-life research involving past life regression, souls can decide to stay on "the other side" rather than come back for another lifetime, especially if they've worked through all of their karma during previous lifetimes (which is very uncommon). Or they may decide to learn their lessons in other ways or help others on earth from the other side. But apparently, most souls are eager to return to Earth to play the roles they were born to star in.

Know that this is not a personality decision. On a personality level, you might be dreading every day on this planet, yet on a soul level, you understand the more spiritual reasons for why you're here and what you're experiencing. Sometimes you are not supposed to know the big picture before the time is right, as there may be lessons in the process that wouldn't be learned if you were fully aware of your situation. As you become more aware of yourself and your life, you may find yourself perceiving the deeper reasons for life's experiences.

Most people cannot remember if they've been here enough already, but some with very strong psychic and mediumship abilities may receive strong impressions that this may be one of the last ones.

Of course, many people say this is their last lifetime, but how do they really know that? Perhaps they feel they are a very old soul, but that could just mean they took many lifetimes to get where they are today, not that they have balanced all necessary karma. Or maybe they may feel they're ready to move beyond earth, and that they're spiritually aware enough to break the cycle of reincarnation.

Frankly, it often seems like wishful thinking in the hope that they don't have to endure any more earthly challenges and can instead just enjoy life in "heaven." We can relate to that, as life on this planet is not easy. In fact, it's commonly believed to be one of the more difficult places to incarnate. The best way to make sure you finish your lifetimes here on earth as quickly as possible and, eventually, enjoy more of the good things in life, is to "do the right thing" from now on, in every situation.

In reality, most people don't know for certain if they've completed all of their karmic lessons or not, and on a soul level, they may already be planning out many more future lifetimes. Considering Earth isn't the only place (or dimension) where people incarnate (there are billions of stars like our Sun with likely millions, if not billions, of inhabitable planets in this universe), and that life in this universe has existed for eons, it's reasonable to consider that souls typically have more lifetimes than you can count, not only 300 or fewer as some Eastern religions suggest.

There seems to be some confusion in today's society about what exactly creates negative karma. Based on our experiences with 1000s of past life regressions, here is what we've found.

Some actions that generate negative karma include the following:

*murder, even if you are not caught, unless it's in self defense

*stealing, even if you are not caught and no matter how you justify it

*telling a lie that hurts someone else in any way, even if you are not caught and even if you believe your own lie

*intentionally hurting someone in any way

*not doing the "right thing," subsequently causing someone else to suffer in any way

*resenting someone; your anger may cause you to be confronted with similar circumstances in the future until you learn to forgive and if applicable, take responsibility for your part of the conflict

*incurring addiction, if it hurts you or anyone around you

*disrespecting yourself to the point of personal harm (such as being a martyr); yes you can gain good karma by helping others through martyrdom, but you still may have to balance a lack of self-respect

Some situations that are oftentimes believed to produce negative karma, but do not, include the following:

*making, or otherwise acquiring a lot of money, as long as you do so honestly

*having a lot of money and not giving a lot away to charities; the world is not your responsibility, yet of course you gain karmic credits or in some cases, pay back karmic debts by helping others, and besides, it feels good

*lying to protect someone, as long as you're not hurting someone else in the process, or helping that person you're protecting to dodge taking responsibility for their actions

*breaking up with a partner, as long as you are not intentionally doing anything to hurt them them in the process; their resistance and difficulty with it is not your responsibility

*divorce, as long as you take care of your responsibilities and leave peacefully

*having sex without being married, as long as you do not intentionally hurt anyone (or yourself) in the process

*practicing non-monogamy, as long as you are honest with everyone involved, are acting responsibly, and do not intentionally hurt anyone in the process

*accidentally hurting someone in any way, but any guilt could cause you to experience a reaction in the future if you don't let go of it

*homosexuality

*prostitution, as long as it's between two consenting adults and you are not intentionally hurting anyone in the process

*exceeding the speed limit, although any associated guilt may create karmic ties

*having a few drinks, although if done regularly enough in excess, you're disrespecting and hurting yourself, therefore incurring negative karma

*being a single parent or having a child outside of marriage, as long as you provide for the child and be the best parent you can be

*refusing to give in to others' "shoulds" ("you should do this or that"); it's your life and you know what's best for your highest good; as long as you're not hurting yourself or anyone else you're free to live your life as you desire

By the way, confessing to a priest or praying for forgiveness will not excuse you from any negative karma you've created. Also, it's debatable whether or not practicing self-forgiveness will completely get you off the hook, since your future karmic circumstances are determined by your soul, not your personality.

No one, no matter how psychic or spiritual they are, can cheat karma and avoid future negative consequences if they don't "do the right thing." Everyone needs to return to school house Earth (or a similar place) until they've resolved all their karma and paid all their dues. If you, at any time, do not "do the right thing," in most cases, you're essentially buying a round trip ticket back to this planet for another life to endure your tests again. Admittedly, "doing the right thing" sometimes seems all but impossible for many due to the forces of personal fate; people will behave in accordance with their level of awareness more often than not, not as they "could" to minimize karmic consequences, but at least you know that ultimately it's up to you take the high road to avoid accumulating additional negative karma.

Copyright © 2007 Scott Petullo, Stephen Petullo