by Connie Brisson

I just don’t want it to ever end!

It’s given me more ‘aha’ moments than anything I’ve read in a long time. It’s healing… mystical…powerful. It’s the book by Robert Schwartz, Courageous Souls: Do We Plan Our Life Challenges Before Birth? (Whispering Winds Press, 2007).

And I’m so delighted to be able to share some of Robert’s research with you in our feature interview (pages 23-25). Because I want everyone to read this book, it’s also my choice for Mosaic’s Delicious Book Club Dinner on November 13th at Hoang Long restaurant (10041 – 170 Street) at 6:00 p.m.

The premise of Robert’s book is that we plan all our life’s challenges in detail before we are born and we plan them with other souls whom we share the most love for (when in spirit).

It’s easy to see why we would pick the people who love us and treat us well. However, he’s saying all the significant people in your life were chosen by you, even the ones who have really hurt or wounded you in some way. In fact, he’s saying that you actually chose those people specifically because it takes someone who loves you tremendously to play the difficult role of ‘bad guy,’ to be the person that wounds you, so you can learn the lessons you WANTED in order to heal.

From a logical, ego perspective, that sounds absurd. But from the perspective of soul growth, isn’t it brilliant? It makes perfect sense (if the Universe is a kind and loving place) that the person who has hurt you in this life has made an agreement with you long ago, before your birth, to assist you in growing spiritually by becoming an actor in your play. After all, the hardest challenges of our life are also the things that change us dramatically and therefore help us to grow.

While I’ve heard that idea before, it didn’t resonate with me until I read how it was explained in this book (and I really want you to read the book because I’m giving you a very limited version (my version) of what he says and there is so much more to it). I instinctively recognized it as a deep truth and like dominos, all these events in my life went click, click, click. It was the missing piece for me. Then as I re-evaluated the difficult events in my life, I honestly could look at the key people involved in a new way – with gratitude.

Not feeling safe and needing to protect myself from others has been a big issue for me. In fact, I didn’t feel like the Universe itself was very safe either. How was it that this ‘kind, loving Universe’ had so many people in it who were NOT so loving or kind? For me, something just didn’t jive. It’s hard to feel safe if you don’t know what’s coming next.

But reading this book changed me. Where I previously felt that I had to close myself off from pivotal people who had hurt me (so I could feel safe), I suddenly found myself asking: “What if these people did this FOR ME, to help me?’ And that small question opened a space inside of me that led me to a much bigger space – my true space in the Universe, remembering who I am.

Would knowing that you purposely planned your life’s biggest challenges change you? If you knew that you had specifically chosen that person, addiction, illness, disability, divorce (or whatever your biggest struggles have been) would you see your life differently? Would it free you?

I hope reading Robert’s interview and the rest of the articles in this magazine also help you in some way, as it is always my sincere intent to bring you information in Mosaic that can help you live your life in a fuller, healthier and more peaceful way. We couldn’t fit the entire interview in the magazine, so please read it all or listen to it at www.ILoveMosaicMagazine.com.

Yes, it’s true. We don’t have a Reader’s Survey in this issue and that makes me a little sad because I just love getting your feedback and hearing what you loved about this issue. So I want to invite you to go to www.ILoveMosaicMagazine.com and enter your much appreciated comments under “Let’s Hear From You.” I’m going to pick one comment and treat that person to two tickets to the Mayfield Dinner Theatre. Sound good? Our lucky winners from last issue’s Reader Survey included: Marilyn Ollenberg, Linda Renwick, Helen Forsyth, Carmen Pawlyk and Chris Shaver.

Lastly, I really want to wish you a Merry Christmas and all the best in 2009. It’s going to be another exciting and amazing year for all of us!

Connie