Service is the one thing

"Service is the one thing that we all learn here," added Silver Birch, "and you can serve in so many different capacities. You can serve by giving light, serve by bringing colour into people's lives, serve cheering them when they are downcast, serve by helping to find truth--you can serve in so many ways."

Kazuo Kondo trans. and ed. Silver Birch: Kyo no Kotoba. p. 147.

It is said that there are roughly 4 purposes for souls to be born on Earth with : 1) to fulfil our wishes that we could not in any of the previous lives; 2) to correct relationships with others which went wrong; 3) to awaken our abilities that are latent, to straighten kinks in our nature, and to achieve whatever good we have planned to; and 4) to shed light on people around us with our talents or abilities that we have acquired through previous incarnations.  Any souls were born with these four purposes in one lifetime. The above quotation mainly refers to purpose 4.  

Religions can help

"Am I?  The Bible represents a fundamental guidepost for millions of people on the planet, in much the same way the Koran, Torah, and Pali Canon offer guidance to people of other religions.  If you and I could dig up documentation that contradicted the holy stories of Islamic belief, Judaic belief, Buddhist belief, pagan belief, should we do that?  Should we have a flag and tell the Buddhists that we have proof the Buddha did not come from a lotus blossom?  Or that Jesus was not born of a literary virgin birth?  Those who truly understand their faiths understand the stories are metaphorical."
      Sophie looked skeptical.  "My friends who are devout Christians definitely believe that Christ literally walked on water, literally turned water into wine, and was born of a literal virgin birth."
     "My point exactly," Langdon said.  "Religious allegory has become a part of the fabric of reality.  And living in that reality helps millions of people cope and be better people."
     "But it appears their reality is false."

Dan Brown.  (2003)  Da Vinci Code: A Novel. p. 370.

Basically, existing religions are all similar in the sense that they contain credos and beliefs that are not compatible with Spiritual truths, although they do share the fundamental truths. 

First was the Spirit world, which was created by Great Spirit or God.  All the religions on this planet originally sprang out in that world and was brought down to Earth through spiritual leaders or gurus just for the benefit of mankind.  

Darwinism?

"Darwin was wrong in that regard; humankind did not spring from the apes [only the shell, the body]. The spirit existed first, apart from the human body, and then a suitable form for its expression in physical life was provided by those who watch over all these worlds.

Please get this matter straight. Spirit and consciousness create form. Form does not create spirit."

Judy Laddon (2011).  A Further Step Beyond the Veil. Kindle edition. 

Emphases are mine.  

Spirits of human beings are far more advanced than those of monkeys.  Dogs and cats are closer to us than apes in this respect, because they have been petted by mankind for ages and so had many experiences of being loved.  Dogs (as well as cats) know love better than apes and thus more advanced in soul.

Darwinism (as well as neo Darwinism) is a hypothesis after all. 

Measures of success

"We are here to learn about love, compassion, kindness, and nonviolence. Success should be measured by these qualities. Are we becoming a more understanding and empathic person? If so, we are successful. The soul clings to such learning, because these are spiritual truths. With my clients who excelled professionally yet still felt unhappy, we worked on focusing on the core values of being a better, kinder person. At that point, their outlook began to improve. That is, after all, why they are here on Earth--and why we are here. Our purpose in life is not to be a bestselling author, or to have a financially lucrative career, or to be a star. It is to be a more loving, compassionate person. Successes can be used to further the spiritual path and to reach many people, but they are merely one possible means and not the end. The true goal is to help others, and if you make that your goal, eventually you'll become that bestselling author, or the multimillionaire--or not. It won't matter. Once you open your heart, those other things will take care of themselves." (pp. 78-79)

Brian Weiss and Amy Weiss (2012). Miracles Happen: The Transformational Healing Power of Past Life Memories. 

Evolution of a soul is not a single, linear path. It includes many lessons to learn. For love or divine wisdom has many aspects, and there are numbers of methods of acquisition. Kindness, compassion, and empathy are only part of the wisdom. There are other qualities, such as patience, generosity, courage, or perseverance, to name but a few, as well.

Find light within

You stand in darkness and cannot get out however hard you try. Even your closest friends or family members cannot be of any help.

When that happens, think that you are being given a divine opportunity to find light within. This light is connected to light of the whole universe, the ultimate source of our being. You need darkness around you to be aware of gleaming light inside you.

This is far more grateful than you think it is, being awakened to your own divinity during your earthly sojourn.

Be rejoiced at the opportunity of spiritual awareness with all your heart and spirit. The divine intervention shall never ever fail you.

Kisha-Gotami (3)

When we understand that philosophy (love of wisdom arrived at through personal effort and experience) is the ultimate medicine for all our psychological ills, we shall free ourselves from the bonds of sorrows. What is needed is philosophy in the sense of a lived, visceral experience like that of Kisha-Gotami. . . . (p. 76)

Negativities can be transmuted by cultivating positive qualities. This takes time to accomplish. If there is darkness in a room, all we need to do is switch on a light. We might need help, from a counselor, spiritual leader or friend; even an ordinary task like driving a car requires a few lessons.

In the story above, the Buddah as a friend and facilitator headed Kisha-Gotami in the right direction, and she was able to move from her painful intimate loss to loss as a general human issue. He helped her successfully move from a particular to the general. This is the way of wisdom. This gave her distancing. Wisdom is what makes us rise above life's miseries, not unrealistically but rather in the same timely existential way that Kisha-Gotami did. She confronted the main challenge of her life as she went from door to door. Little by little wisdom awakened in her like the morning sun.

True release from suffering is never effected by harping ad infinitum on the personally toned material of a painful complex. Freedom comes when, bearing our scars, we are able to rise above the personal to the level of the transpersonal . . . . (p. 77)

Eugene Pascal (1992). Jung to Live by.

Emphases are mine again. 

Real wisdom is noticed or learned usually through personal difficulties. Spiritual awakening does happen that way.

Kisha-Gotami's story (2)

"He told her empathetically that he would surely help her, but she must first accomplish a simple task. She must go back down to the village and beg for a few grains of mustard seeds and bring them back up to him on the mountain. These grains must come, however, from a house where no one had ever died.

She rushed away, still clutching her baby and at the first house she saw she begged for some mustard seeds. These were readily given to her, as mustard seeds were a common household item. As she was departing she remembered to ask if anyone had died in that house, and the woman answered that only last week, her old father-in-law had died in the very premises. Kisha sadly gave back the seeds and went on to the next house, only to find that there too a death had recently taken place. And from house to house she went throughout the entire village, and the neighboring village as well, disappointed at every turn, as she discovered that Death had stalked every door.

She climbed back up the mountain without any mustard seeds and knelt before the Buddah, placing the dead baby at his feet. She said but two words, "I understand," and wept. The scriptures go on to tell how she became a dedicated disciple of the sacred teachings that free one from suffering . . . ."

Eugene Pascal (1992). Jung to Live by. pp. 75-6.