Do you believe in fate? Destiny? Free will? Have you heard of soul contracts or sacred contracts? There’s lots of discussion in spiritual (and religious) communities about fate versus free will.
This post will cover a bit of what soul contracts or sacred contracts are, my thoughts on them, and what I think is even more important than soul contracts!
What is a soul contract?
A soul contract is based on the belief that we have multiple/past lives, and we have made contracts or agreements with our higher selves to learn spiritual lessons in our physical lives.
The idea is that while we’re in our divine state (not yet in physical form), we have developed contracts or agreements on what lessons we will learn while we’re physical, and the people with whom we will learn these lessons.
Often, this belief includes that we have chosen our lot in life (the circumstances into which we are born).
Some thoughts on soul contracts
Quite plainly, I don’t think the idea of soul contracts is particularly useful or empowering.
I respect if you do believe in them, and personally there are elements of the concept of soul contracts that I simply cannot reconcile.
Concern 1
My first concern is that the belief in soul contracts does something so heinous for which law enforcement and public institutions have received significant reprimand.
That is, belief in soul contracts blames the victim.
That’s not how someone with a belief in soul contracts will likely view it.
But that is functionally how the logic works.
Why? Because if you chose your soul contracts (which is the nature of the soul contract concept), and something bad happens to you in this physical life, then you chose it.
Let’s use me as an example. Belief in soul contracts means that I chose my abusive upbringing, I chose the trauma. That I chose to be assaulted for years.
I am unwilling to get behind a concept like that. Imagine telling a 6-month old who is being molested that s/he chose that?
Concern 2
My second concern builds on this from an individual perspective to a broader perspective.
Belief in soul contracts also then means that everyone born into slavery, the Holocaust, an underdeveloped nation or other unprivileged circumstances, chose it.
Again, imagine telling all the people who have experienced those circumstances that they chose it? That to each of those who has been sold as a child bride/sex slave that s/he chose it?
In other words, my second concern is that belief in soul contracts seems like a convenient belief for those living in globally comparative privilege.
Am I saying soul contracts don’t exist?
That’s not what I’m saying. And I’m not judging anyone who believes in them. I’m undecided on whether they exist.
My point is that I don’t think it actually matters whether soul contracts exist. There are more important things that deserve our limited attention and energy.
Malumir Logan, Acorn + Burdock
More important things like the choices we make every day.
Whether we choose to contribute to the world around us (or do we just take from it?).
How we manage our stewardship of whatever privilege we may have.
To what degree we craft our mindset.
Focusing energy more powerfully
Cultivating your empowerment that cannot be dictated or controlled or stolen by anyone else is what I care about passionately.
As powerful as our minds are, we do in fact have limited attention. We can only spend so much time and focus on anything in a day. Even me (whom everyone always remarks, “I don’t know how you do it all.”)!
This means it’s important to be selective about HOW you use your attention.
Think of it like money. You can spend whatever you have on whatever you want. Do you want to spend it on a lot of little things that are perfectly fine in the moment but don’t improve your life experience much by the end of the day?
With that in mind, here’s what I suggest when it comes to soul contracts. Perhaps you can think about choosing where you spend your attention so that you feel like you made some progress at the end of each day.
Instead of spending your energy on lamenting that your fate or destiny isn’t what you wanted, choose what you DO want and find your choices.
Malumir Logan, Acorn + Burdock
YOUR CHOICES ARE THERE. You may not have noticed them before. And now that you’re looking for them, what do you notice?
Whether or not soul contracts exist doesn’t need to matter. I recommend focusing on the choices you have in each and every situation you face. Regardless of WHY we find ourselves in our circumstances matters much less than what we do now that we find ourselves here.
So what will you choose?