Soul Migration - Pure Speculation

Enter I think Einstein was right when he said that imagination is more important than knowledge. We certainly don't always live to the best of our knowledge, nor by the best lessons we think we've received in life.

You might say we live in alignment with our imaginings – the meanings afforded by personal knowledge and experience. (For more on what comprises "personal knowledge," this is a great place to start.) I'm saying our behaviors are influenced by means and motives we can't always name, and that's what this is going to be about. Ever since I was a Catholic school kid, and later, when such phrases as "the devil made me do it" and movies like The Exorcist came along, I have pondered the topic of soul migration.

As a Catholic kid, I was invited to take on the name of a particular saint of my choosing at Confirmation, in the belief that her spirit would guide me, so that by the end of my life, someone might say I expressed aspects of this sacred soul. For the record, I chose St. Catherine, privately toggling my studies into the lives of both Catherine of Avila and Catherine Laboure. I'll let others decide if either of them might have entered my mortal life in a spiritual sense, and if I will be remembered for any of their best characteristics.

By now, I have encountered many death scenes and sat with several people at the moments of their transitions into the mystery of death, including my own grandmother, mother, and sister. Each of them shifted my awareness and perspective a little as I recall bits and pieces of the event of these deaths, so I am looking at the notion of "soul migration" again in a much more imaginative, elder-person kind of way.

What if souls, once they had passed via a person's death, were able to inhabit the bodies of others for a day, for a week, or for an entire lifetime? I wonder if our souls in these mortal casings sometimes get taken over by "someone-not-in-a-body" who needs to finish some work? Is it possible to share aspects of the soul, as we suggest when we discuss our "soulmates?"

I can't answer this, but I can offer a cursory look at what basic research has turned up, all of it based on my general interest in wisdom traditions around the world. Some of this would rile up the Christians who read this, but I can't make everyone happy. No one can make me feel bad about my independent spirit anymore, as my conception of the All, the Ground of Being, is too encompassing to conceptualize in the face of our meager intelligence. Like deep-space objects, faith is best known by its effects within our range, right?

Here is an abbreviated run-down of some interesting related thoughts on soul movements hither and yon, starting with -

1. "Walk-ins" (New Age / Esoteric Thought)

Some contemporary spiritual writers describe so-called walk-ins — the idea that one soul leaves a body and another "walks in," either briefly or for the remainder of the lifetime. This was described by Ruth Montgomery in the 1970s. Scholars of newer religious movements (for example, J. Gordon Melton and Wouter Hanegraff) interpret this system of belief as an example of Western reincarnation thought blended with spirit possession traditions. There's a lot to unpack in that summary, so I turned to Google to summarize: Both posited that the Western idea of reincarnation is a "modern, positive, and evolutionary concept" that differs from traditional Eastern concepts of escaping the cycle of rebirth.

I recommend the work of these scholars to anyone interested in how human beings have changed since the beginning of recorded time. There may be others like me who wonder why "faith" must exist in a static state to represent truth. I figure, whatever emerges, might also evolve; I even wonder if sometimes another "soul" enters me to complete something I would rather not do, but still want to do – like this article.

2. Spirit Possession Traditions – A Different Spin

Anthropologists and religious scholars have extensively studied traditions where spirits temporarily inhabit human bodies. In brief:

Catholic / Christian: demon possession (adverse), but also holy possession or inspiration (e.g., the Holy Spirit empowering prophets or saints; and as I described earlier, my childhood belief that St. Catherine of Avila OR Laboure might intercede on my behalf for a holier spirit if I took on the name).

In Afro-Caribbean religions (Vodou, Candomblé), deities "ride" a person temporarily. At times, I have felt a force in my life that might fit this description.

Mediumship traditions (Spiritualism, shamanic practices): spirits speak or act through a host. For me, the jury is out. I think some "mediums" are self-aggrandizing and extremely sensitive folks who sell perception as reality packages. If customers like it, they are free to do that in my book. I have also encountered humble people who have suddenly spoken words of great significance to me, leading me to think that they, at least within that slice of time, have acted as conduits for greater truths I recognized as such. In other words, a non-host spirit takes up temporary residence in an able-bodied person to accomplish some purpose — healing, communication, guidance. This may have some relation to Prophets, which, if nothing else, were the ultimate influencers before the modern Influencers showed up to capture the attention of the masses.

3. Buddhist and Hindu Traditions of Rebirth; "Soul Streams," or Cycles of Reincarnation

Buddhism doesn't posit a permanent soul, but it does speak of continuity of consciousness that moves between lives. In Tibetan Buddhism, tulkus (reincarnated teachers) are sometimes seen as continuing unfinished work. As the Tibetan Book of the Dead, or Bardo Thodol, reveals, mortal humans aid in the passage of one who is dying. Here's a great source on the topic.

Some Hindu philosophical schools explore "parakāya-praveśa, or entering into another body." The sage Adi Shankara is associated with such a story in a single traditional biography. Scholars, however, note "rebirth" themes as a narrative motif rather than a doctrine, but this shows the idea exists within the Hindu framework.

I would add that of all global faith traditions I have studied, I am convinced "Hinduism," encompassing as much as it does, is least understood in the Western Hemisphere, especially perhaps in the very one-sided United States.

Eastern Hemispheric traditions can also provide convenient means to manage our lives in this world, another topic for another time.

Early Christian and Gnostic Speculation

Mainstream Christians don't often refer to the Gnostic Gospels; many must doubt their veracity as a matter of doctrine, as they were discovered in 1947, too late for the Sacred Council of earlier times to consider them relevant. But scholars and researchers still find value in them, even though the mail was delayed, as it were. Elaine Pagels authored my favorite book on the topic, which I eagerly read when it first came out. Her work deepened my understanding of the man called Jesus and other matters of faith. Points of interest:

Docetic and adoptionist views sometimes describe Jesus' divine aspect as "descending into" and later leaving the human Jesus. This makes sense to me. Certain Gnostic groups proposed that souls or spiritual beings could indeed "enter" prophets or teachers to accomplish divine purposes. Can God or a divine presence inhabit a human for a time to enact sacred work? This is one of the most intriguing questions there is, in my view.

Theological and Psychological Interpretations

Some modern theologians discuss "possession" metaphorically:

Paul Tillich and Karl Rahner consider the ways a person may be "taken over" by the divine spirit or by destructive forces. This must have been especially helpful for Tillich, as his ex-wife wrote some surprising things about this influential theologian after his death, which I tried to set aside. I was still young enough to want my teachers to actually "walk the walk" they talked.

Psychologists of religion (e.g., William James) explore "secondary personalities" and experiences of being "moved" by something beyond oneself. I've heard many artists of all kinds claim the same.

Might something work through us to accomplish a purpose? We can get by with a bit of help from our muses. As for myself, I ask much by way of guidance from those I've known who have gone before, and I believe I sometimes get answers.

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