The concept of a soul contract, also known as a pre-birth plan or spiritual agreement, has long been an integral component of spirituality.

In simple terms, you (as a spiritual being or soul) decide upon the major challenges and lessons you would like to learn “this time around”. The purpose of living a human life is to grow and advance in consciousness. Each incarnation we have provides a brand-new canvas upon which we can overcome past karma, as well as integrate new learning.

Firstly, we need to consider the Universe (or God, Allah, Great Spirit, Oneness – whatever you choose to call it). It is believed that its entire reason for being is to know itself by expanding its knowledge.

To do this, the Universe sends out fragments of itself (us in human form) to experience what it means to be human. But it doesn’t stop there. There also exist a multitude of beings off-planet (we’ll consider the concept of aliens and extraterrestrials later) that are also aspects of Universal consciousness.

This process has been occurring since the “Big Bang” theory and possibly even before that. Science has debated our origins for years and continue to do so to this day.

It’s obvious that the power and magnitude of the Universal force is beyond our comprehension. Science does know that it continues to grow and expand. Planet Earth is only one of many that is home to entities created solely for its evolution.

Each time a soul incarnates, experiences life, and returns to source (there is no real death); its accumulated knowledge is added to the Universal database known as the Akashic Records.

It’s been said by many channels and mediums, when they connect with source, that incarnating on planet Earth is the “toughest gig” a soul can embark on. The existence of duality means we are bombarded with emotion, feelings, and experiences from the time of our birth to our passing. Yet, this is what we chose to accept at the soul level.

Believe it or not – we signed up for this!

It’s generally agreed by spiritualists that there are several absolutes in your contract that are non-negotiable.

These include:

• your name and date of birth, which hold a unique vibration specific to you.
• Your family; even if abusive or dysfunctional; to enable you to learn specific lessons, rebalance karma or clear debts.
• Extended soul group who help you to heal; people enter your life at various points of time. They get you to wake up to your soul origins.
• Specific or major life events. Think of events happening for you and not to you (the bigger picture) gives you a new perspective.
• Your death; the method and time are predetermined in the contract. This can alleviate the fear of trying to figure out the when or why; it’s all done. Some soul contracts factor in what are known as “exit points” or Near-Death Experiences. These are the instances where the human experience becomes overwhelming. Most of us won’t choose the exit points. 
• Your main lesson/s. There are literally countless options – from learning what’s it like to live in poverty, to living with no sight, to learning compassion, to experience abandonment, ridicule, or racism. To live without love, to heal ancestral trauma, to suffer from war or oppression – the list goes on. Your life experiences will have your chosen lesson as the theme continually playing out – whether you recognise it or not.
• Synchronicity and coincidence – that certain people will appear at the right time that help you learn or deal with doubt. 
• The concept of free will. At all times, you get to choose the direction and context of your life.

Every minute detail of your human incarnation is considered in its planning. Along with the “main players”, there will be villains and heroes, mentors, short and long-term friendships; even the animals who enter your life are considered.

Everything is mapped out for you on a soul level.

Then comes the difficult part of the journey.

You are born.

Of course, nothing usually goes to “plan”, and your well-designed road map is often deviated from.

The moment of your birth heralds the onset of “spiritual amnesia” where the entire plan is forgotten. Only in rare circumstances is an individual aware of what their life plan contains. These are the “old souls” – the “Dali Llama’s” or “Mother Teresa’s” of the world – who become the motivators and teachers for humanity.

The rest of us get to flail around a bit while navigating the road ahead, with ease or dis-ease; it’s up to us.

Welcome to the vagaries of the human journey.

Our life experience will be challenging; no matter what lessons we have designed. What will make it more cohesive or flowing comes down to several factors. These include the age of the soul, the types of lessons chosen, and our level of awareness to what is playing out.

Some individuals will struggle with conflict and trauma; others will display tenacity and understanding; and yet others who seemingly “sail through” with little or no hiccups.

It’s important to not judge another’s journey – although this is easier said than done! If there’s one thing humans are extremely good at, its making judgment calls about what they see and perceive. Yet, we can never know what an individual has planned at the soul level. We should keep the focus on how we are navigating our own road.

If your path has been difficult and fraught with challenges up to now, take comfort in the knowledge that you’re up to the task.

In his book, “Your Soul’s Plan: Discovering the Real Meaning of the Life you Planned Before you were Born,” Robert Schwartz states that “The more profound the challenge, the more likely it was chosen before birth.”

As hard as it can be for those who have suffered from loss of a child or indeed, anyone, there is always a divine reason. Sometimes we may come to understand the why; sometimes we may not.

Souls may design lives which are only meant to be short-term; some don’t even make it to the birthing process. Some souls decide they aren’t ready or prepared to take on the impacts of a human life and choose to opt out early.

Babies, children, and those who depart early usually have lessons to learn themselves; but they may also be here to teach us. As much as pain is difficult and traumatic, it can lead to growth, awareness and in some cases, resolution of past karma.

Rather than dwelling in their grief, however, Bruce and Denise began to focus on the education of children and their safety. They established the Daniel Morcombe Foundation and the “Ride for Daniel” event which thousands participate in. Their life took a complete 360degree turnaround that they could never have anticipated. It is probable, however, that all members of the Morcombe family formulated their contract with the positive outcomes in mind.

From personal tragedy has come an integral awareness and appreciation of how we teach and cherish our young children.

It is the growth and learning we receive from each experience which determines our soul’s progression in each lifetime. For many of us, we simply react to events and don’t take the time to contemplate the meaning behind each one. Sometimes, we can only perform a debrief after a lot of time has passed.

Sometimes, we may never come to understand what messages may be waiting to give us insight.

Past life hypnotherapist Tara J Clarke offers her own perspective on life events. When she sees a situation where a child has a disability or special needs, it either means they have made a soul contract with a parent (or someone) and there is a lesson to be learned. Alternatively, there is a karmic debt to be paid where the roles may have been reversed previously and the current situation offers an opportunity for addressing the lesson.

She says further, “We’ve all volunteered to come here. Whether we are old souls that have had infinite lives on Earth. Or whether we’re young souls where it’s their first incarnation, we’ve volunteered to come here. And unfortunately, some souls come here to help … but then we get stuck on the karmic wheel … we get stuck into fears and end up in misalignment with our true selves.”

She also says, if you feel like the black sheep of the family and don’t resonate with your people, that’s probably because you haven’t incarnated with this family before but have made a contract (usually) to help them clear old generational karma. You have come in as the wiser older soul to help them learn whatever lessons they need.

However you choose to give consideration to your path, remember that you are definitely here for a reason – you just need to find it.

Keep in mind the following:

• life events help you to heal; “events happen for you and not to you”; look for the bigger picture.
• you are not alone; have help along the way in the form of guides, angels, departed loved ones, giving you signs and symbols
• synchronicity happens. Certain people appear at the right time that help you learn or deal with doubt.
• you can clear karmic debt by forgiving yourself and others; by recognising the repeating patterns and events that you experience
• you can clear ancestral agreements.

Knowing that a soul contract even exists can have a tremendous power to awaken you to the “perfection” of your life. It can give you solace when the going gets tough, and it awakens the mind to the intricacies and perfection of the Universe as a majestic creative force.

We are all on this journey together at this moment in time, seeking to be the best versions of ourselves. 

Consideration and exploration of your Soul Contract has the potential to transform your life to help you achieve that aim. 

I will be introducting my “Reflections” series which looks at specific aspects of what makes us human. To begin, we’ll consider the topic of Connection and its importance to us all.