The Stages Of Enlightenment: One Man's Belief

by Bob Olson

Many people have asked me what I know about the stages of enlightenment. My first answer is that I know nothing; nobody really knows until we cross-over. But I will share with you my belief.

I believe that we are all energy beams that reach out from the Source, the light and love of God, like rays of light that reach out from the sun. When we first leave the Source, we are blank slates, eager to have experiences that will teach us all there is to know. At first, our energy is low and dense because we are new and inexperienced. As we have experiences that teach us universal wisdom, our energy vibration (our frequency) increases. And slowly, after many lives and many experiences, our vibration slowly increases so that we work our way back to the Source—the One with the highest vibration.

I believe that we increase our energy and our knowledge by experiencing the polar aspects of all there is to know. Our knowledge gives us an appreciation and understanding that makes us ever more complete with each new experience. In other words, we learn from experiencing both sides of every possibility. In order to fully understand and appreciate kindness, we must experience cruelty. In order to fully understand and appreciate joy, we must experience depression. In order to fully understand and appreciate health, we must experience sickness. In order to fully understand and appreciate comfort, we must experience discomfort. And so it goes for every possible experience that exists, we experience both sides of the spectrum in order to understand and appreciate the opposite.

As we reincarnate from one life to another, we can only take on so many experiences at one time. In one life, we might learn about loneliness and poverty. In another, we might grow to understand addiction and codependency. In another, fame. In another, companionship. In another, being needed and taking care of someone in need. In another, mental illness. In another, unconditional love. Sometimes we can handle two or three, or maybe several, lessons in one lifetime. Sometimes one major lesson may be all we can take and our life might be very short. And some lives may even be strictly for the purpose of helping someone else’s spiritual growth, although we always benefit energetically whenever we help another soul in their journey.

As we complete each lifetime, our energy frequency increases and we grow closer to the Source. After several lifetimes, we are vibrating at faster speeds and we have gained an understanding and appreciation for many facets of being. It is my belief that if someone finds themselves passionate about helping the homeless or foster children or the mentally impaired, that they have likely experienced that condition in a past life. This is why they have compassion in this area and for these people, because on a cellular and subconscious level they understand and appreciate the circumstances and conditions that these people know. This is why God, our Creator, has unconditional love, compassion and understanding for us. He knows all sides of every experience.

Some people may choose not to return to earth for another lifetime because lessons can also be learned in the spirit world. We can help people on earth as spirit-guides ourselves, assist in helping souls cross-over, comfort pets while they await their earthly owners to return to heaven, or any number of possible “jobs.” However, from what I have learned, we reincarnate because spiritual growth is much faster here on earth. Similar to the “No Pain, No Gain” philosophy regarding physical fitness, the struggles we endure on earth are like going to the health club to exercise. With each grueling work out (each life), we return with rapid growth.

Every time a life is ended, our souls return home to heaven. And each time we return to the spirit world, we are instantly freed of all pain and sickness, all fear and all earthly concerns. We are instantaneously bathed in the comfort, joy and love of the Ultimate Light. Regardless of how difficult our last lifetime was, we sigh in our emancipation and think to ourselves, “Wow, what a relief!” And as we discover the immense growth we gained from that lifetime, we think, “Hey, that wasn’t so bad. I can do that again.” And before we know it, we are planning our next human journey.

With each lifetime voyage we are even closer to reaching God’s vibrational frequency—the ultimate, final destination. Then, at some point we know all there is to know and have experienced all there is to experience. We have the highest understanding and appreciation attainable. And upon that last lesson, the final earthly existence that completes us, we merge again with our Creator to an eternity of euphoria and ecstasy.

That is my interpretation of life and the afterlife according to my experiences, research and beliefs over the last few years. I can’t prove it, but it helps me to understand why bad things happen to good people, why children suffer, and why God allows the tragedies and sufferings of innocent human beings to exist. Although it doesn’t make negative experiences any less tragic or difficult to endure, and in no way do I intend to make light of anyone’s suffering or hardships or suggest that we stand idly by and watch people struggle—we should always do what we can to ease the burdens of others—it helps me to believe there is a spiritual purpose to life’s challenges. By believing that we learn to know love as much by experiencing hate and suffering as we do kindness and compassion, it helps me to make sense of this world and trust that every person’s suffering will be relieved and rewarded in the end.

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BOB OLSON is a former skeptic and private investigator who has researched evidence of life after death for approximately eight years. He now shares the spiritual insights, extraordinary experiences and gifted individuals he has met along his journey in order to bring hope, comfort and peace to the grieving. Bob is the author of Win The Battle, co-author of Understanding Spirit, Understanding Yourself and editor of GriefAndBelief.com, OfSpirit.com Magazine, & BestPsychicMediums.com.