Is our life predetermined or do we have free will? This question has been debated for centuries. Some people believe our lives are predetermined and some think we have free will. From conducting many regressions into clients’ past lives and life-between-lives, I have come to the conclusion that both are true. But how can this be the case?

Predetermination is defined as ‘to settle or decide in advance.’ From the regressions, I have learned that much of our life is predetermined, including our choice of parents, our bodies, the people we incarnate with and the challenges we face. We help plan our lives before we are born, and ‘sign off’ on all these decisions.

Obviously, we plan our future lives not as humans, but as souls. Does that mean we are just avatars controlled by our soul-self?

No, because not all is predetermined. Even though there is a plan, much choice is left to the human individual. An illustrative example is David, whose case is discussed in detail in my book, Other Lives, Other Realms: Journeys of Transformation.

In one of David’s lives during the early eighteenth century, the plan included marriage. David did not fulfill this plan. After meeting the girl he was supposed to marry, he left their village to pursue opportunities elsewhere, and never returned. He lived a solitary life, focused on accumulating material possessions.

David had planned to marry for a good reason. He had experienced many solitary lives, incarnating many times as a warrior, a religious devotee and a spy. These experiences enabled him to develop many useful characteristics that carried over to his following lives, such as courage, the ability to be alone and the ability to read people. Marriage would give David the opportunity to develop other important characteristics such as love, physical connection and the tolerance required in a close relationship.

As a human with free will, he exercised his freedom to follow the plan or not. Given that there was a good reason for the plan, why didn’t David follow it?

Over many lives, his solitary nature had become habituated. He felt comfortable alone. Soon after meeting his predestined wife, he lost his job as an apprentice watchmaker. Fearing for his future, David left the village to make his fortune.

When we fail to complete our life plan, we repeat it—just as we repeat a subject at school that we have failed.

David did not incarnate again until the late twentieth century, nearly two hundred years later. This long timeframe is most unusual in this era when the Earth’s population is growing enormously and there are ample opportunities for incarnating. But this time lag was deliberate. His soul waited until the circumstances for completing the plan were more auspicious.

Again David was to marry and again he was failing to fulfill the plan. He was in his thirties and had few friends—none of which were female. He had chosen a solitary profession, was working long hours and not socializing.

Fortunately, this time, he had a better connection to his soul-self and was open to the idea that he was more than his physical body. His soul was able to help by creating the circumstances which allowed David to discover and read Michael Newton’s book, Destiny of Souls.

David already had a sense that something was not quite right in his life, and the book confirmed it. He found my website, made an appointment and experienced two illuminating regressions. Once he clearly understood his soul’s journey, he significantly changed his life, soon getting back on track with the plan. Now it is very likely that he will fulfill his life purpose, not by predetermination or coercion, but by exercising his free will.

Many people come to see me to discover their life purpose. Most find, during their regressions, that they are off track with their life plan. Some are disappointed to discover they’ve failed to reach the same objective in several past lives.

Every life is of value, especially when the plan is not completed. Each life delivers more information, enabling the plan to be refined. People are inspired to change when they realise that their current life is another attempt at achieving an important goal.

People who are on track with their life plans are happy in life and in death. Having witnessed many past life deaths during regressions, I have noticed that those who die after fulfilling their life purpose leave joyfully, with a feeling of peace and accomplishment.

You might wonder what do you experience at the end of your life if you have not fulfilled your plan. I will address this in my next post.