There is a reason that most of us pick up new bodies and assume new identities when we do that. Whether we pick up a body at birth or later as a walk-in, we dedicate ourselves to fitting in and doing what is expected of us so that the continued existence of our role as this human being is made possible.
Shutting down our memories as a criminal or an out-of-control politician, but I repeat myself, is an essential part of fitting into our new family as a non-threatening member of the family team. As a spiritual being, our duration seems to be infinite and memories of past victories and indignities alike could be distracting from our existence as an infant, a schoolchild, or even in adulthood in our new role as a freshly minted citizen of Earth.
Occasionally, a spirit picks up a new body and remembers enough of his former lives to exhibit talents that he was never taught in this lifetime. His success as a prodigy can give him or her a head start on a career and we have many examples of this in current society. This remembering of old skills probably accounts for many of the examples of meteoric career arcs starting in unlikely places.
On the other hand, lifetimes spent avoiding authorities, or pursuing desperate ventures that resulted in incarceration or death tend to leave a mark on people and even though the memory is not accessible in everyday life, tends to give the bearer of these memories strange fears and aversions that do not fit with their current existence as a school librarian or career counselor.
We have existed as spirits for long enough that we have done every possible occupation, every act of heroism, and suffered every degradation in our long journey through time. We learn through experience and have a long list of things we must avoid now if we are to act sanely in our current existence. If too many of our memories are active, we tend to operate in a road rage mode whenever we are thwarted by our inability to cope with life and relationships. Alternatively, we can experience fears and confusions when there is nothing in sight to generate these feelings because terrifying memories pop out of nowhere when we hear a speech or read a book that others encounter with no reaction at all.
Those of us who have learned to talk with spirits and have discovered our past lives with their multitudinous escapades and tragedies have learned to proceed cautiously in opening up our pasts so that we can come to grips with the reasons bad things occurred and not repeat them. There is all sorts of useful information in our memories along with toxic imagery that can cripple us emotionally and physically so we need to unpack our pasts carefully so we do not make the same mistakes again. We buried those memories because we could not handle them then and we should not use drugs or hypnosis to explore them now.
A rational approach based on meditation and caring communication with the spirits who surround us can lead to an understanding of the many ways that spirits and their abilities affect and influence the material universe. We were spirits long before we decided to animate human bodies and it is possible to rehabilitate our spiritual abilities so that we recover our memories and our abilities that we have lost over time. One way to start is to read up on Spiritual Rescue Technology and to do the simple exercises that will increase your ability to communicate with spirits of all kinds.
As you explore the memories of the spirits who are helping you, your own memories of the distant past open up in the process and eventually you gain a different perspective on your current role as a human being and as an immortal spirit who is playing the game of being human. When you learn of the many things you have done from the dishonorable to the magnificent, you begin playing a larger game than before and an entirely different future unrolls before you.
It can all start with a willingness to open communication with your spiritual comrades and spirit guides. Those who are doing this now are experiencing continuing changes in spiritual abilities that they never expected.