We Always Have Free Choice in All Things

      

By Steve Rother & The Group

If we accept that free choice is the only real rule we are to live by, then we must also understand that what we often view as predestination is, in fact, simply the result of a contract we have made. Since all contracts are contingent upon free choice, however, it can also be the case that we meet someone, recognize a deep connection, and yet still choose to move in a different direction. The reality is that all contracts are only potential until they are accepted by all parties involved.   Back-up Plans   We may decide to meet a person and enact a contracted scenario, then pass one another by without stopping. We may even try to meet them again at a specific intersection further down the timeline. If our first plans don’t come to fruition and the contract is important to us as a soul, we will invariably arrange another opportunity in an entirely different setting, much later. For instance, a child who should have been our daughter may appear as a granddaughter instead, or if something prevents us from being born to the parents we chose, we may find our way into their family at another time and in another way, as the daughter-in-law with whom they feel a deep, exceptionally close bond. These are simply known as backup plans, and I see them all the time in private sessions with people. Once people realize their current situation is a backup plan, they often say something like: “I’ve always known that. I never felt like I belonged in my family, even though I love them. My sisters and brother all fit in, and I don’t. It’s more than just being the black sheep of the family; they are in a different world than I am.” When people understand why they feel the way they do, that knowledge can be life-changing. It relieves the pressure to conform to a particular family pattern or to live up to the expectations their parents or siblings have of them. While it explains why they have always felt different, it still leaves responsibility for their own happiness with the individual, where it belongs. It is critical for all facilitators working with empowerment techniques to always remember this. The problem is that when we finally adjust to the idea of contracts, we often swing completely to the other side, give our power away to this concept, and forget about free choice. One of the hardest things for people to grasp is that not all events happen because of contracts. On the planet of free choice, there is always predisposition, but there is no predetermination. At the same time, few things occur by accident, as our higher selves are always orchestrating experiences to help us learn to master our life lessons. How we respond to and handle those experiences is entirely up to us. This is free choice in action.    Soul Mates   The concept of soul mates offers a perfect illustration of free choice in action. The Group does not verify the ‘one person for everyone’ theory. While this is a very romantic ideal, it is not practical on a free-choice planet. The reality is that there are many possibilities for each of us. We make many backup plans for relationships, and most of them relate to our primary life lesson. When I explain this to people, many ask, “But what would happen if we missed them all?” One of the greatest loves of all is the one built without any contracts. When this happens, the applause from the other side of the veil is deafening. Although reuniting with a past love can be very powerful and romantic, the truth is that every relationship must be rebuilt daily to last. Therefore, free choice and the responsibility that goes with it play a much bigger role in all our relationships than most people realize. Lineage Intent   When we script our contracts with parents, family, and other important people in our lives, one of the factors we consider most carefully is ‘lineage intent.’ This means that many families, or lineages, come in with a specific focus or intent. For example, one family may produce a long line of doctors or healers, while another may have an accomplished musician or artist in every generation. The famous seer Edgar Cayce came from one such lineage. When I met his niece, Caroline Cayce, she told me that, growing up, she believed that everyone had the same powers she had, and that it wasn’t until she entered public school that she realized her gifts were not at all common. Clearly, Caroline had intentionally placed herself in a family with this lineage intent.   The Energy Role Model   One very important contract, often included in the first stage of life, is the contract to be an energy role model. This contract involves people with a substantial age difference who cross paths at the perfect time to give younger people an energetic blueprint to model themselves after. This allows the awakening souls to see what they will be like as they grow. It is even possible to have a contract with an energy role model with someone you will never know, even if you happen to pass them on the street. The next time you see a young child staring intently at you for what seems like a very long time, consider that there may be a contract there and let them come into contact with you. Both of you will benefit from it. This usually shows up in my sessions when people have not found their energy role models. When this happens, they often struggle to get a handle on their sense of self. This can lead to the emergence of many unwanted patterns, some of which can be misinterpreted as primary life lessons. This is why, when conducting private sessions, I first assess whether clients have a good sense of self, as this indicates they have found their energy role model. If they have not, I gently explain the concept and share why they probably feel so disconnected in many areas. Although it does not solve their problem, it does provide them with trust in their own feelings that something was missing.    Other Contracts   Transition Contracts – These are often among the most important contracts we make. This is the contract we make with an individual to release us when we are dying. Sometimes, if the relationship is very close, this person may be able to say the words: “It’s okay to leave, Mom. You can let go if you like. We will all be fine.” If this level of communication is not in place before we die, the same contract may be activated with more common, superficial language, such as, “Mom, know that we are all with you to help make this easier.” This may be all that it takes to activate the contract and give them permission to leave.  Greeters –people who agree to greet us in spirit as we transition home. Sometimes it’s a husband or wife who has passed over ahead of us, but most of the time it’s someone less close to us, like an aunt or uncle, or possibly a friend we knew in high school. Transitioning to the other side is probably the second most difficult thing we will ever do in this life. Contracts that we make with those who will help us to transition are very important. (The most difficult transition we make is the transition into this life via the birth process.) Bump Contracts – These are safeguard contracts usually made in the first stage of life. They always involve a person with whom we will have had a very close, intimate connection in at least one previous lifetime. This person agrees to intersect our life at a critical time to check that we are on the path we set out to travel. As souls, we are aware that we often get stuck in situations that distract us from accomplishing our real work. These contracts are designed to come together with such intensity that they cannot help but jolt us out of our routine. Their purpose is to remind us of our original soul intention and direction. Quite often, they appear as irresistibly romantic encounters. By their very nature, they must be strong enough to ‘bump’ us into some kind of new awareness. Their very strength is often sufficient to tempt us into an affair, in the mistaken belief that at last we have found our soul mate. It is helpful to bear in mind that, although they can become successful long-term relationships, they were originally intended to be short-term only. Bump contracts always create an opportunity for both parties to change the direction of their lives. Karmic Contracts   Karma, as we know it, has now been released to enable us to evolve more rapidly. During our planning sessions in the first stage of life, however, many karmic contracts are still being chosen. While this is not necessary, these contracts may be the most effective means of facilitating a primary life lesson, especially when we pick up a relationship we left incomplete in a previous life. Since it is no longer possible to build a long-term relationship based on karma, any new karmic contracts that we do choose to set up will need to be completed very quickly. 54 - Spiritual Psychology   Minor Contracts and Non-contracts Not all contracts are directly related to our primary life lessons. Many of our contracts have more to do with the other people involved than with us. Sometimes we are simply holding the space as players in someone else’s contract. Although we tend to take everything in life very personally, it is often not about us, even though we may be involved in a situation to the point that it seems as though it is happening to us. “Sometimes,” as the Group is fond of reminding me, “a cup of coffee is just a cup of coffee.”