SACRED CONTRACTS

The key question in this book can be summed up as "Why am I here?" According to Caroline Myss the reason why we are here on this earth is that we all have "signed" a Sacred Contract before we were born. According to this contract we all have a specific role to play – a specific task to perform or a mission for our lives. Not knowing or realising our true mission in life may cause psychological or physical problems and even illness, whereas getting clear on why we are here is likely to lead us to greater wellbeing and happiness. Myss explains the Sacred Contracts as "the sum of the many agreements each of us creates with Divine guidance and then deliberately 'forgets' before birth". But, she continues, we must not mistake our Sacred Contract with our career or our "physical details in life". The Contract is much more of a learning process – "something we are supposed to be rather than to do". Throughout the book she gives a number of examples of people identifying their contracts and trying to live by them. She points to historic and religious figures such as Abraham, Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad and more recent people such as Mother Teresa or Gandhi. In addition, she gives numerous examples from people who have done her workshops over the years. The book can be said to consist of two parts – one theoretical and one practical. To start with Myss explains the theory of Sacred Contracts with references to well-known people throughout history. This is followed by a thorough explanation of archetypes and how they can be used to help us decide what our Contracts are in this life. Having identified what archetypes are and given a number of examples of archetypes, she moves on to link them to the charkas. She also presents practical exercises on how to design our own archetypal chart in a way similar to making an astrological chart, and how to interpret them. In the final chapter she explains how the archetypal chart can be used for everyday guidance and for healing purposes. Caroline Myss has a background in energy medicine and has worked since early 1980's as a medical intuitive and has helped people understand the underlying emotional, psychological and physical reasons why they have developed an illness. According to Myss, this book builds to some extent on this work. Even if the theories presented in this book may be new and controversial to some, they are very grounded and balanced. Unfortunately the way they are presented – mainly by referring to individual cases – demands careful reading in order to get the "real" message. Given that the book is over 500 pages this requires quite a lot of time and patience, with several re-readings of sentences and paragraphs. Still I fear that it may be easy for some to misinterpret what Myss is saying. It may be misunderstood as having quite a different meaning more in line with the typical New Age attitude to spiritual development where statements such as "we create our own reality" and "everything is perfect right now". Such statements have been misused and abused since they were first introduced in the west by people who think they mean some kind of shortcut to eternal happiness without adult obligations. To some extent this also applies to the practical exercises that I felt needed more guidance for me to feel that I was doing them correctly. And given the depth and importance of the messages that obviously can be received from them I would say it is important to feel confident that they are done properly. Having said this, the book absolutely deserves to be read carefully and given the time it needs, even if, ideally, it ought to be followed by a properly guided workshop to offer its full value.