New Earth Consciousness Global Ascension
Why Accidents, Disasters, & Victims Are a Spiritual Challenge
[Updated May 23, 2022] How to know spiritually there are no accidents, disasters, or victims when you see there obviously are.
Contents
[1] What is an Accident? — [1.1] “Unplanned” — [1.2] “Undesirable” — [1.3] The Spiritualist’s Dilemma — [1.4] Unplanned & Undesirable in Radical Nonduality [2] Three More Metaphysical Postulates [3] Explaining Tragedies — [3.1] Creating Our Reality & Spiritual Lessons — [3.3] Spiritual Bypassing — [3.3] What About the Children? — [3.4] Spiritual Activism [4] Related Resources
[1] What is an Accident?
Wikipedia defines the word “accident” as:
…an unplanned event that sometimes has inconvenient or undesirable consequences, other times being inconsequential.
The 2 key words in this definition are “unplanned” and “undesirable”.
(Disasters and tragedies are more extreme versions of accidents.)
[1.1] “Unplanned”
Unplanned means not planned by an ego-self. To plan something means to look to the future. It means to not “be here now”, and it assumes that time exists. Those are all characteristics of the ego-self. They are not aspects of our True Self (our soul, inner self, spiritual self, or higher self), which is closer to Source/God/The Absolute that is beyond space and time.
Unplanned also assumes we live in a universe where things and events are not connected to each other — where there are gaps between completely separate places, things, and events. Again, that is a perception of the ego-self.
The opposite is true in contemporary spirituality where everything is considered a unique manifestation of the oneness of Source/God/The Absolute. Despite the diversity we see, everything is essentially one thing. Even physics and philosophy largely agree on the underlying universal oneness of all reality.
One way to think of this is that everything in the universe (reality) is a manifestation of an underlying energy field (called the Quantum Field and Higgs Field in particle physics — the study of the smallest particles). All forms (physical and nonphysical things) come into being as contractions (or frequencies) within that energy field. They are like the waves on the surface of the ocean, come out of the ocean and then fading back into the ocean.
Because of that unity at the base of all reality…
“In nature there are no accidents….if you accept the possibility of the slightest, smallest, most insignificant accident then, indeed, you open Pandora’s box. For logically, there cannot be simply one small accident…” — Seth/Jane Roberts, The Early Class Sessions, Book 2, ESP Class Session, Nov 17, 1970
Jane Roberts channeled Seth from the mid-1960s to 1984. The logic behind the statement above is based on the interconnectedness of everything in reality. That is difficult to understand from our ego-self’s perception of everything being separate.
So if there is an “accident” in one place, it will have a ripple effect across all reality. And then all reality will be an accident. That is the Pandora’s box that Seth refers to.
We can not see the infinite matrix of connections because of our limited knowledge and awareness. But logically, it must be there. Like the hypothetical “butterfly effect”, our smallest actions can have universal implications.
Seth’s perspective is often called oneness, nonduality, and unity consciousness. Holding that consciousness is a spiritual goal for many. But the idea of everything being one is often too metaphysical, and not “real world” enough, for the many people who are not in unity consciousness.
From our limited ego-self perspective an event may be unplanned by us. But that same event may have a meaningful source and purpose in a larger cause-and-effect universe. It may have been “planned” (in a sense) by the cosmic intelligence of that universe.
For more on the spiritual quantum field, see:
[1.2] “Undesirable”
Accidents are often undesirable events, although they can also be inconsequential. But “undesirable” is a human value judgment of good versus bad.
- When we dislike an apparently “unplanned” outcome of an event, we call it an “accident”. We may also see it as “bad karma” or a “negative synchronicity”.
- When we like an “unplanned” outcome, we call it an “unexpected opportunity”, “good karma”, or a “positive synchronicity”.
Human value judgments vary from one person to the next. What is an accident for one person is an opportunity for another. What we call an accident is an entirely human experience.
There are no accidents in nature. Imagine a natural ecosystem that is entirely untouched by humans (if that is possible). Could anything happen in such a place that we could call an “accident”?
Storms, droughts, lightening fires, and earthquakes happen. We consider them acts of nature, but we do not call them “accidents”. They appear to have a cause, but we do not “blame” anyone for that cause. We do not say, “oops, Mother Nature sure made a big mistake here”.
In a world without humans (or perhaps without human egos), there would be no accidents.
Seth defines an “accident” as an event that occurs without purpose or control. Following on the quote above, he says if we accept the notion that accidents happen, then the entire universe is an accident.
That is because we cannot have some events being accidents and other events being pure purpose and intention. The two cannot logically mix. Non-purposeful and random events would affect purposeful events, making them random, as well.
If you believe in the smallest “accidental” event, then everything becomes a chaos of accidents of varying degrees. On this, Seth says:
“…then accidentally, if you follow this through, … the individual has no control over his destiny for it can be swept aside at any point by random fate over which he has no recourse.
…Whenever you think that you have a headache simply because you have a headache; or you bump into a door simply because you bump into a door; or you have an accident simply because you happen to be in a particular place at a particular time; whenever you feel yourself powerless, then you think that accidents happen and that you have no control over them.
The only answer is to realize that you form physical events, individually and en masse. And as I have said, time and time again, you form the physical reality that you know.
…Now, I will let you all take an unaccidental break.”
Seth/Jane Roberts, The Early Class Sessions, Book 2, ESP Class Session, November 17,1970
[1.3] The Spiritualist’s Dilemma
The spiritualist’s dilemma is to reconcile the limited ego-self perception with the higher spiritual perspective.
- From a limited perspective of our ego-self, events arise that are unplanned and undesirable. That is our the normal state of existence.
- But from a higher spiritual perspective, there are no events that are unplanned and undesirable.
That is seen as a paradox and dilemma from the ego-self perspective. It is not a paradox and dilemma from the perspective of our True Self, which know the deeper reality beyond the limitations of space, time, and words. And that is the state of consciousness we are all moving towards.
[1.4] Unplanned & Undesirable in Radical Nonduality
A different spiritualist perspective comes from Neo-Advaita (Radical Nonduality) and is worth mentioning here.
Radical Nonduality agrees that everything is one thing (oneness). But it also says, paradoxically, everything is “no thing” at the same time.
That is because Source/God/The Absolute is the nonduality beyond the duality of manifest reality. It is beyond all objects, forms, space, and time. And beyond thoughts, words, and the quantum field of particle physics.
Our ego-self exists fully in duality. So it is impossible for us, our ego-selves, to comprehend the nonduality oneness of Source/God/The Absolute. The best we (our ego-self) can say is thatit is not a thing — it is no thing. And the reality we experience is the no thing being everything.
Furthermore, any logic, purpose, or meaning we attribute to the no thing being everything will forever be incomplete, and simply a fictional dualistic story created by the ego-self. Again, the best we (our ego-self) can do is assume the universe is entirely random with no meaning or purpose. Although we cannot even know that for sure.
But even in Radical Nonduality, there are no accidents because desire implies meaning and purpose. It, too, is part of the fictional story. Everything is just what it is, arising beyond any story of desire.
Our ego is very good at creating stories from apparently random events. Seth/Jane Roberts is famous for coining the phrase, “you create your own reality”. But he also said:
“There is no accidental universe. You create the accidents. You create the triumphs.” — Seth/Jane Roberts, ‘The Early Class Sessions, Book 2’, ESP class Nov 17, 1970
For more on radical nonduality, see:
[2] Three More Metaphysical Postulates
Here are 3 additional no-accident beliefs that expand upon the inter-connectedness and cause-and-effect purposefulness of everything in existence.
You may or may not believe these. But even a mild belief in them will expand your spiritual understanding of reality.
- Because it exists, everything and every event has a purpose. If it did not have a purpose, it would not exist. And that is also true of us. — Thus, nothing can be accidental.
- There is intelligence within each thing and each event. We often call that intelligence Source or God (among other terms). We live in an apparently intelligent universe — at least that is what we see in everything (except maybe politics!). A cosmic intelligence seems to guide everything in the existence all at once, including us. — Thus, because everything is a fractal or reflection of divine intelligence, there are never any accidents.
- The universe is infinite and eternal. There is no beginning and no end to creation — our universe is forever expanding into something new. And that also applies to us. — Thus, what we see as unplanned is the creative energy of an expanding infinity, and there are no accidents.
This is how I understand the metaphysical purpose of manifest reality.
From a Radical Nonduality perspective, we (our ego-self) can never know if any of this is true. We cannot know why anything exists. The intelligence that we see is just another story of the ego-mind. And we cannot prove infinity or eternity — again, it is a story.
My belief in the metaphysical purpose of reality is based on faith. Logically, I think Radical Nonduality makes sense. So, paradoxically, I hold both perspectives. I think radical nondualism is true. But I also think it is fun to construct and play with metaphysical stories. To me, creating stories is what our ego came here to do.
(By the way, Radical Nonduality is also just another story!)
If your story has no room for the 3 postulates above, plus the interconnected of everything, then the rest of my argument will probably not work for you. But then, are you truly a spiritualist?
Like most everyone else, I also forget that there are no accidents. Or, more commonly, I call something an accident because my human mind and ego are so narrowly focused on physical reality, that they forget the larger spiritual context of why tragic things happen.
That, too, seems to be a normal part of living a 3D incarnation. It is not an accident.
For more on our infinite universe see:
[3] Explaining Tragedies
ONE of the biggest challenges that I often see for those who channel higher consciousness entities or their higher selves, is explaining the role of human tragedies and disasters that involve the loss of many lives.
[3.1] Creating Our Reality & Spiritual Lessons
Seth/Jane Roberts says that such events are mass undertakings by the collective subconscious of all the individuals involved. That includes those who are only aware of the event through media sources. For example, for natural disasters, he says:
“Each person’s thoughts flow into that formation, forming part of the earth’s psychic atmosphere. From that atmosphere flows the natural earthly patterns from which your seasons emerge with all of their variety and effects. You are never victims of natural disasters, though it may seem that you are, for you have your hand in forming them. You are creatively involved in the earth’s cycles.” — Seth/Jane Roberts, The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events, chapter 1, Session 803, May 2, 1977
(Of course, natural events are only “disasters” when the impact us humans.)
Seth applies this same line of reasoning to human-caused disasters. The collective consciousness/subconscience creates the government of a country, whether we like it as conscious individuals. We also collectively create wars. For both, we each contribute to those creations in different ways, and they affect us in different ways.
Seth’s argument stems from the interconnectedness and oneness of all reality. A related way to consider accidents and disasters is from the perspective that everything is the intelligence of Source/God/The Absolute (which is also the oneness of all reality).
That intelligence is far beyond anything that our human minds (or computers) will ever grasp. It requires faith that the universe knows what it is doing.
If we have that faith, then our ego-mind can interpret disaster events as having cosmic meanings that can move us toward awakening and ascension. We seek ways to disasters and wars as offering lessons we are here to learn for our spiritual expansion.
“Every situation is God Sent. With this supreme wisdom of life any situation can be used to our advantage and regarded as a blessing of Mother Nature.” — Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
[3.2] Spiritual Bypassing
From the ego-self perspective, we can easily consider Seth’s explanation as spiritual bypassing, which is using spirituality to “blame the victim”. Saying disasters are lessons from the intelligence of Source/God can also be seen as spiritual bypassing.
Invariably, all explanations from high dimensional (or soul-self) perspectives on human darkness are susceptible to such an accusation.
The problem is most humans cannot see both the ego-self perspective and the higher soul-self perspective at the same time. The soul-self perspective is based on the postulates introduced above: Everything and every event is Interconnected, has Purpose, is Intelligent, and is Infinite and Eternal.
How many people experience and know that in their normal waking reality?
Very few. Most people, most of the time, experience the exact opposite, which is the ego-self view of life. That is why so many spiritual teachings talk about taming or even “killing” the ego.
It also means all accusations for spiritual bypassing come from the ego-self perspective.
There is nothing wrong with that, because it reflects how most people in the world think. But if we are spiritual beings, we should remember that we are also a soul-self. When we speak, we should in some way acknowledge both our ego-self judgments and our soul-self truths.
That is what spiritual awakening is all about — knowing both our 3D ego-self and our spiritual divine self at the same time.
(I heard someone once say that to accuse someone of spiritual bypassing is itself spiritual bypassing. The reason is that it is using spirituality to make a non-spiritual ego judgment. At least I think that was the reasoning.)
[3.3] What About the Children?
A common question raised in response to the arguments above (in section [3.1]) is that the children who suffer from accidents and disasters were too innocent to have brought these tragedies to themselves. Maybe we adults, with our many dark shadows, might do such a thing, but young children could not.
From a purely ego-self perspective, this question is totally understandable. For the ego-self, we are our body, mind, and emotions, and we are completely separate from everyone and everything in our universe. We are born into this world; we live a life of experiences; and we die. Our ego-self has no concrete proof of anything beyond that.
But fundamental to spirituality is the idea that we are more than our body, mind, and ego. We are also a soul, which is infinite and eternal. We are all souls coming into this 3rd Dimension (3D) planet to experience physicality in an infinite number of ways.
From our 3D ego perspective, we can never fully know what another soul is seeking to learn in their incarnation. We cannot know why someone is cruel to others. We cannot know why people, especially children, suffer.
We can guess. And we can create many stories around the emotions we feel surrounding a tragedy. But we can never truly know why. Those emotions and stories are aspects of our limited ego-self, which is how our soul-self experiences 3D physical reality.
As our ego-self, all we can do is to align ourselves as best we can with our inner soul-self to fulfill our life purpose (known as dharma in Hinduism).
“Our own self-realization is the greatest service we can render the world.” — Ramana Maharshi
That is not spiritual bypassing. It is being in full spiritual alignment with our dharma or purpose in life, and not being influenced by what others think our purpose in life should be.
When a disaster affects children, our emotional response is especially strong and intense. And we will respond according to our dharma.
Our purpose might include contributing time and money to accident and disaster relief efforts that help other souls. It might mean voting for certain political candidates over other. And it might mean changing our lifestyles to have a lower carbon footprint. Or it might be totally different and mean none of these.
If our ego-self is in total alignment with our soul-self, then we have unlimited energy and power to most effectively bring about the social and environmental changes that our world needs. Such alignment brings us full support from nature and the cosmos.
“Your lifetime, you see, is basically not important in terms of years, but in terms of intensity and value fulfillment.” — Seth/Jane Roberts, The Early Sessions, book 8, Session 409 May 1, 1968
Unfortunately, most people are not in alignment internally and externally, which is why a better world is so difficult to achieve.
Some of these concepts align well with Radical Nonduality, including not being able to know the reason why anything happens to anyone or any place, and allowing our dharma (purpose) to happen as any other thing that arises in our awareness.
On the other hand, Radical Nonduality does not acknowledge that there is a person who is suffering or helping. Suffering and helping happen as energy patterns in the universal energy field. They can both be very intense and powerful experiences/energies.
But there is no person doing or experiencing either, even though there is an awareness of doing and experiencing. That is very difficult for the ego-self to understand.
[3.4] Spiritual Activism
To be a spiritual activist, whether for children or anyone or thing else that draws our support, requires that we hold our higher soul-self perspective, while also following our 3D ego-self’s mission in life. The dharma for each person will be different and is best expressed when we connect to our inner soul-self.
We can have total empathy and feel deep sorrow for the plight of another (or ourselves). And we can have deep anger toward an apparent perpetrator. But can we also see the infinite soul and divinity in both the victim and the abuser? The emotionality of that is challenging and requires grounding in a higher state of consciousness than most of us have attained.
That is the only way to overcome our personal human suffering — by putting it in proper perspective. That kind of spiritual activism was the lesson that Lord Krishna taught Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita.
Unfortunately, holding that perspective requires some degree of “awakening”, which means realizing that we are more than our thoughts, emotions, body, and ego. At a minimum, it requires faith that there is something more than ourselves. And it has a fuller view of reality than we do from our ego-self perspective.
From our soul-self perspective, everything we experience is an illusory dream based on our beliefs and imagination. But from the perspective of our current 3D incarnation, it is the most real dream that we can possibly imagine.
“There is no destruction and there is no evil. But while you believe that there is, then you must act accordingly. While you believe that to murder a man is to destroy his consciousness forever, then you cannot murder, and in your terms it is an evil.” — Seth/Jane Roberts, The Early Class Sessions, Book 4, ESP class session on May 25, 1971
There apparently are people who have had no awakening in these terms. They are fully in 3D physical reality. And even those who have had glimpses of spiritual awakening have difficulty with the higher self or soul perspective. For them, the spiritual activism I describe here is spiritual bypassing, which is using spiritual arguments to deny pain and suffering in the world.
We cannot do anything to change that view. At best, we can have sympathy for the person who accuses others of spiritual bypassing as we continue with what we know as the highest and purest truth in our being.
Many spiritual teachings say that the best way to change our collective planet for the better is to work on our own spiritual growth (as in the Ramana Maharshi quote above). Because we connect to everyone else on the planet, as we evolve, we will help bring the planet to a higher vibrational understanding where “accidents” and “disasters” become a thing of the past.
This is something that might very well be possible on a 5th Dimensional (5D) Planet Earth, where we understand and apply the teachings of Seth and others like him.
“A biological brotherhood exists, an inner empathy on cellular levels, connecting all individuals of the species with one another.” — Seth/Jane Roberts, ‘The Unknown Reality, volume 1’, Section 3, Session 697, May 13, 1974
[4] Related Resources
- For more on how darkness is actually a manifestation of God/Source, see:
- For more on karma and dharma, though less about disasters and tragedies, see:
- For more on Spiritual Activism, see this collection of article. Note that the articles in this collection are behind the Medium paywall. For paywall-free access to my articles, go to www.AlanLew.com, linked below.
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