Your birth family was very poor, and you worked very hard, in both the home and the rice fields. Your family had to pay to use oxen to plow, and some years could not afford that, so you and your three brothers were hitched like animals and made to pull the plough for planting.

 

You were the oldest child, and as a female always treated as second class, in comparison with your brothers. You were fed less, and as a result were often unwell.

 

Your family arranged a marriage for you with a family of higher status and wealth, due to some debt of honor between the fathers. You had hopes of a better life, but this did not materialize. You were treated badly by your husband and your mother-in-law, both of whom felt shame that an inferior person (as they saw you) was brought into their home.

 

You did have some small solace in that your father in law was a kind man, and taught you to play a kind of flute, which gave you great comfort in your rare moments of solitude. This family also had a number of animals, and you loved the chore you were given to feed and care for them. Your communion with them was beautiful.

 

You died young in this life, giving birth to three children in rapid succession. The fact that the first two were boys did improve your treatment only slightly. You died giving birth to a girl. She was sold into slavery, had a difficult early life also, but ended up with a very kind family and developed eventually into a wonderful musician.

 

The effects of this life on you now may be an underlying sense of fear of lack, not feeling safe in terms of your economic position, perhaps reluctance to trust others. One of your lessons in this life is to be fully present in the moment and to be more aware of the glass half full than half empty. You are making wonderful progress on this path, but this life is shown to you for you to contemplate this idea and see if it rings true for you on a conscious level.

 

The other aspects that relate to your current life are a great compassion for the suffering of others, a love of animals, and a deep resonance to music and art.

 

No matter how you suffered in that life, your heart was always loving. This was in fact what your husband and mother in law actually resented about you, for you reflected to them an energy that they could not handle, you held up a reflection of a lovingness that they did not possess. Your social and economic status was just their rationale for why they were unhappy to have you in their energies every day. So, you bring to this life a great compassion for the downtrodden and dispossessed, having learned much from the suffering and the prejudice you experienced.

 

It was a life designed by your soul to conquer many lessons, and your soul evolved a great deal from that life. The souls who played those harsh roles for you actually loved you very much, and acted as a crucible for the fine-tuning of your soul. You have had other lives with both husband and mother in law that were very loving and happy, much more in keeping with the true relationships among you."