The Next Chapter: Bardo Series, #4

By May Sinclair PhD

THIS MUCH IS FACT:
In the Tibetan Book of the Dead there is an explanation of what happens to a soul traversing from one incarnation to the next.  The soul goes into what is called the Bardo, loosely translated as "The In Between" where the soul travels for seven weeks—forty-nine days—while Buddhist monks chant in an effort to guide the soul on its journey.  The purpose of those chants is an attempt to encourage the soul to accept one of the several Heavens offered to it at various stages along the way.  If that does not happen, or cannot happen due to the need to balance out the positive and negative forces of karma left over from the consequences of actions or inactions in prior lives, the soul at the end of the Bardo is given the choice to accept any one of several couples for parents in its next lifetime.  The soul sees all of those potential parents making love and the sexual magnetic energy is overwhelmingly strong. Still, the soul is encouraged, per the book and chanting monks, to be cautious not to go into what is called a bad womb.
In the Between, a soul agreed to re-live several of her past-lives to discover why she made choices causing karma that must be balanced in the future. She thinks she would like to find the scrolls and ivory dice-like cubes she used to tell the future in Mesopotamia and Jerusalem. She reincarnates in The Beginning Begins. Sharing a womb with another soul she knew in many prior lives, the two are now named Zoë and Madison. Without a doubt soul growth occurred and was noted by Zoë's lack of resentment towards Madison. Her twin brother was not blamed for causing her to die from an overdose of opium when they lived as sisters in Egypt, or when he caused her to be burned at the stake during the Spanish Inquisition.
Their dad, Zak, an archeologist, started seeking the scrolls and the dice called, Urim and Thummim, long before the twins were born.
Another soul, named Abraham Sharp, who the twins knew in some of their past-lives, is living in this one, too. In his current lifetime, Abe Sharp's bitterness that's festered for thousands of years, caused the twins, along with their mother, Jazzie, an empath, to deal with perils from that embittered soul.
In Another Turn on the Wheel. The twins, Zoë and Madison, start out as four years old—physically. But remembering so much from their pasts, they do not think, act, or speak like children.
Their entire family comes across ancient prophecies written on papyrus, made known to them by a ghost. Madison remains keen on deciphering the language of the Indus in Pakistan.
Alas, the twins also discover Universal balancing is not always swift, because of the need for people—souls—to be in the right place at the right time. And several of the souls the twins knew—liked, loved, disliked or hated—from prior lives are encountered again.
The trilogy complete, the series begins with The Next Chapter when the twins are six years old—chronologically.
Will Zoë finally get to find the scrolls and the ivory dice-like cubes? And will that desire bring about the need to balance even more karmic debts?
The twins and their parents are obsessed to get hold of the scrolls and dice.
Now, as pages in The Next Chapter are turned, the pursuit of the ancient scrolls, Urim and Thummim, along with deciphering the unknown language of the Indus, persists. Past-life regressions and the metaphysical practice of Visioning reveal more clues. Some people previously thought trustworthy turn out to not be. Yet Wise-women, who may or may not have been witches in a past-life, enter the twin's lives. Perhaps some karmic debts are balanced. Technology brings an unexpected event and a new trail to follow.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: May Sinclair PhD
• Release date: Nov 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223863113

May Sinclair PhD

May Sinclair's doctorate is in the philosophy of Metaphysics. An award-winning and internationally acclaimed author of numerous non-fiction and fiction books, based on symbolism and ancient history, she is currently writing the third book in the metaphysical fantasy trilogy about reincration: Another turn of the Wheel.

Book preview

Book Four

Reincarnation...

...a novel 

May Sinclair, PhD

THE NEXT CHAPTER

COPYRIGHT  © 2023 May  Sinclair

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any known or to be invented, without the permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusions in a magazine, newspaper, or broadcast.

This book is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places, dates, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.  Any resemblance to actual events, locates, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

For Mike again.

Sometimes my student,

often my teacher,

and always my lover-man.

ALSO BY MAY SINCLAIR, PhD

Colors, Symbols, Archetypes

Sandman Healer

The Sandman’s Treasury

Infamous Eve, A History

Psychology of Numbers

Just How DO Affirmations Work?

My Soul Remembers

My Soul Forgot

My Soul Evolved

Cherokee Tale

Karmic Tribunal

In the Between...Reincarnation, A Novel

The Beginning Begins, Book Two

Another Turn on the Wheel, Book Three

www.maysinclairphd.com

Book Four

Reincarnation...

...a novel 

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THE

NEXT CHAPTER

THIS MUCH IS FACT:

IN THE Tibetan Book of the Dead there is an explanation of what happens to a soul traversing from one incarnation to the next.  The soul goes into what is called the Bardo, loosely translated as The In Between where the soul travels for seven weeks—forty-nine days—while Buddhist monks chant in an effort to guide the soul on its journey.  The purpose of those chants is an attempt to encourage the soul to accept one of the several Heavens offered to it at various stages along the way.  If that does not happen, or cannot happen due to the need to balance out the positive and negative forces of karma left over from the consequences of actions or inactions in prior lives, the soul at the end of the Bardo is given the choice to accept any one of several couples for parents in its next lifetime.  The soul sees all of those potential parents making love and the sexual magnetic energy is overwhelmingly strong. Still, the soul is encouraged, per the book and chanting monks, to be cautious not to go into what is called a bad womb.

..........

The story begins with In the Between, where a soul agreed to re-live several of her past-lives to discover why she made choices causing karma that must be balanced in future lives for her soul’s evolution. 

She thinks she would like to find the scrolls she wrote out when living in Jerusalem over two millenia ago. And those ivory dice-like cubes of the Urim and Thummim she used to tell the future in Mesopotamia and Jerusalem. She knows finding them would change history.

Accepting reincarnation, her story continued in The Beginning Begins. Sharing a womb with another soul she knew in many prior lives, the two are now named Zoë and Madison.

What did these souls learn from all their experiences? In the Bardo—re-living so many past-lives—and now, as their new life begins? Without a doubt soul growth occurred and was noted by Zoë’s lack of resentment towards Madison. Her twin brother was not blamed for indirectly causing her to die from an overdose of opium when they lived as sisters in Egypt, or when that soul was more directly the cause of her being burned at the stake during the Spanish Inquisition. 

A soul, named Abraham Sharp, who they each knew in some of their past-lives, is living in this one, too. In his current lifetime, Abe Sharp’s bitterness that’s festered for thousands of years, caused the twins, along with their mother, Jasmina called Jazzie, an empath, to deal with perils from that embittered soul.

Those soul’s stories continue in Another Turn on the Wheel. The twins, Zoë and Madison, start out as four years old—physically. But remembering so much from their pasts, they do not think, act, or speak like children.  That, of course, was a challenge even after, or perhaps especially after, they revealed to some of their family what they knew, experienced, and remembered from thousands of years ago.

Their dad, Zak, an archeologist, started seeking the scrolls and the Urim and Thummim long before the twins were born. As the story unfolds the entire family comes across ancient prophecies, written on a papyrus, made known to them by a ghost. And Madison is keen on deciphering the language of the Indus in Pakistan that may help them in their searches.

Alas, the twins also discover Universal balancing is not always swift, because of the need for people—souls—to be in the right place at the right time. And several of the souls the twins knew—liked, loved, disliked or hated—from prior lives are encountered again. 

The trilogy complete, the series begins with The Next Chapter when the twins are six years old—chronologically.

Will Zoë finally get to find the scrolls and the ivory dice-like cubes called the Urim and Thummim? And will that desire bring about the need to balance even more karmic debts? On their mission to bring equilibrium into the world ancient karma must be balanced out, too. 

The twins and their parents are obsessed to get hold of the scrolls and dice. Although Abraham Sharp died months ago, some questions remain about the possibility of him reincarnating and then start his harassment of the twins. He also sought the scrolls and the Urim and Thummim, but not for him to form balance between heaven and earth, his intention was to entrap another soul he’d spent countless lifetimes with.

Now, as pages in The Next Chapter are turned, the pursuit of the ancient scrolls, Urim and Thummim, along with deciphering the unknown language of the Indus, persists. Past-life regressions and the metaphysical practice of Visioning reveal more clues. Some people previously thought trustworthy turn out to not be. Yet Wise-women, who may or may not have been witches in a past-life, enter the twin’s lives. Perhaps some karmic debts are balanced. Technology brings an unexpected event and a new trail to follow.

We, along with the souls in the story, continue to note there is a great deal more to people than their five senses.

CHAPTER ONE

Today is April 11, 2041. My birthday. My twin brother, Madison’s, birthday. It’s our sixth birthday—chronologically.  But we have conscious memories from millennia ago.  We remember several of our past-lives and all that happened—while we were gestating—that we could see through our mother, Jasmina’s eyes.  We don’t call her Mother or Mom.  Just like everyone else we call her Jazzie.  In our maternal family tradition each child called their mother, grandmother, and great-grandmothers by their first names.

I scanned the area filled with adults, teenagers, children, and a couple of babies.  Almost every important person in my life was present.  Only two weren’t in the room.  The good one is living in Paris, speaking fluent French without needing to join The French Foreign legion. The other worrisome one hasn’t been born into another life–yet.

My attention at the moment was my brother.  Madison sat, a couple of feet to my side, in front of his presents, looking like a miniature Yogi, with his legs crossed over each other.  He’s a smaller version of our dad, Isaac that everyone calls Zak. Dad, who is an archeologist in charge of Sepphoris in the Galilee of Israel, has a square face, olive complexion, dark brown hair greying at the temples, chocolate colored eyes, and a great sense of humor.

We’re fraternal twins so don’t look alike.  I look and sense things like our mother who is considered to be an Empath.  She’s lovely, with a flawless light olive complexion, a long slender neck, exotic sea green eyes, and that same mahogany color of hair like Starry’s.

Right, Starry.  The spiritual aspect of my soul.  As soon as she came into my thoughts I heard her tinkling laugh in my mind.  It was the sound she made when I first met her.  At first I asked her if she was an angel.  She wasn’t.  I was arrogant and she was haughty so arguments were bound to occur.  They did for the seven weeks we were together in the Bardo—in between this life and my last one.

While my mind was wandering, my brother must have given up his mature act to be more like his true self.  He reached over to nudge my shoulder. Zoë, open your gifts! I got more than two hundred dollars in gift cards and over a hundred in cash.  He motioned with a thumbs-up sign to our cousin Robert Jr., while saying, And a stack of puzzle books.

Remembering that Madison had been unhappily married to that cousin in two of his past-lives, I reckoned the karma was finally balanced between them. 

I reached behind me to grab a handful of birthday cards. Before the party Shamy presented us with expensive leather journals. Dad and Jazzie gave us the latest I-phones and Vera got us T-shirts emblazoned with: MIND YOUR OWN KARMA, so there weren’t any gift boxes or bags.  Guess people realized we weren’t easy to buy things for.  Jazzie stood between Madison and me.  She carefully put all the cards, gift cards and money into an easy order for my brother and me to send thank you texts.  Likely that was Shamy’s influence.

Yes, I glanced across the room at Shamy, my seventy-four-year-old maternal great-grandmother who was still straight-backed, tall, slender, and, her hair without a single strand of gray.

Everyone says they love their children and grandchildren equally. Madison and I loved all four of our grandparents, but great-grandmother Shamy, was my favorite. Unlike Jazzie’s mother, our gynecologist grandmother, Biba, who continued to check with her medical colleagues about whether Madison and I were normal, Shamy was even kinder, smarter, and just as practical. She’d never raised her brows in disbelief when I’d ask her questions thought by others to be beyond my chronological years.  And she taught me magic.

Jazzie clapped her hands. Everyone we’re going to cut the cakes now. Come get a slice. To some mutterings of about time, she added, After that I’ll be handing out the birthday treat bags for each child to take home.

After we cut, ate a piece, and watched the distribution of our two separate and different flavored cakes, many of the party crowd soon left. Cephas and Monime Nebo, and their daughter, Glady, and son-in-law, David Berg, didn’t. Glady and David’s daughter, Lala Berg—the reincarnation of our four-times-great-grandmother, Lala Shiraz—was standing with the other five of our peers we attended school with at the Exceptional Education for Exceptional Children. It’s too long to say so we called it EEFEC. 

I stood apart from those who stayed at the party to continue my musing about the important people in my current life.

Madison was on a sugar high from all the chocolate cake he’d stuffed in his mouth, but controlled himself long enough to gently place his hand on Glady’s rounding belly.  He believed—we both did—that the girl she was carrying would be the reincarnation of our dad’s grandmother, GG Solomon. Since my brother told her he’d marry her when she came to see us in spirit at her death he’d been very protective of that soon-to-be born baby.

Once he was satisfied the baby was growing nicely, Madison joined the other students.  Shamy was speaking with Mrs. Patai who runs the school and that little cluster included Professor Agambady. His voice was understated and melodious, and he was always calm in all situations.  It was weird that Vera stood close to Agambady. Practical Vera, who came into our household before we were born to be our au pair, while she continued studying to gain her degrees in psychology and the paranormal. She became much more than a child minder in our family dynamics, having talents our parents didn’t that were important to the domestic side of our lives.  Vera was stable and sensible. 

I stared at them and pondered—maybe worried—whether Vera was attracted to Agambady. And was he attracted to her?  I’m not ready for that. 

Grandpa Jacob and Nana Solomon hadn’t left either.  They didn’t give us cash or a gift.  In our birthday cards they wrote they had a surprise for us.  Since Madison wandered over to where they were seated, I joined them.  Grandpa was telling my brother they didn’t think he was enchanted by the 3-D puzzles anymore. What would you like?  We thought we’d take you on a trip to Hawaii or Alaska.

Before Madison could say anything I blurted out, I don’t like the cold and Hawaii was a sad place.

These grandparents knew how precocious we were, but weren’t aware that we remembered some of our past lives, so they thought I was referring to WWII. 

Nana was a fun party person according to our dad, and she was, but I discovered while we stayed in their home last December, she was also deeply spiritual, loving, and kind.  No need to tell her that when Madison and I were sisters in a past-life we lived in Hawaii while our husbands were on ships during the Viet Nam war.

Nana put her arm around me and said, We would never take you to the war memorial at Pearl Harbor on Oahu. It’s a sorrow-laden place. She moved her arm and patted my hand. We have a lovely vacation home on Maui, built in the 1930’s, and my in-laws got to buy the house and the land prior to the laws preventing those with less that twenty-five percent Hawaiian heritage from owning one.  It’s peaceful, the trade winds keep it from being too hot, there’s a volcano and waterfalls . . .

Madison cut her off with a curt, No. His tone barely changed when he said, Last year Dad fibbed. Said it was too cold to go to the Indus Valley in Pakistan and made us go to Cairo for Shamy’s benefit. In October it’s 95 degrees in the northern Sindh province where Mohenjo Daro is and 91 degrees in the eastern province of the Punjab where Harappa is. His mouth looked like he’d sucked on a lemon when he added, Shamy didn’t even go with us. But then he shuddered. Don’t like Egypt, those pyramids and tombs give me the creeps.

Grandpa and Nana, not knowing how to respond, simply nodded their heads.

It sounded like a demand when my brother snapped, Take us to Mohenjo Daro and Harappa. Seeing their widened eyes, he toned it down when he explained, Zoë and I are doing experiments and need to see the excavations to help me decipher that language no one’s been able to crack.

I frowned at Madison for mentioning our experiments.  He tried to gloss over his error, in saying more than he meant to, by letting them know that a major city, Larkana, was only eighteen miles from Mohenjo Daro and there was a lot of history to be learned there.

I noticed our parents were heading in our direction.  I whispered for my grandparents benefit, You don’t need to mention Dad’s fib, it might upset him.

Jazzie looked delighted at how well the party turned out. I could tell she sensed something, but still she cheerily asked, So what’s the surprise?

Madison hopped up and announced, We’re going to Mohenjo Daro and Harappa.

Dad’s eyes narrowed as he asked, When?

Grandpa Jacob frowned. Nana replied in a wavering voice, We were planning to take them on a trip to Alaska or Maui. Is Pakistan okay with you?

In raised baritone and contralto voices, Dad and Jazzie chorused, Not without us, it isn’t.

Our Solomon grandparents looked relieved.

Vera dashed over to find out what caused the ruckus.  She didn’t look pleased. What’s going on? Glancing towards those who hadn’t left the party she said, Now everyone is going home. Believing it was me that normally created a commotion, she pointedly asked, What did you do, Zoë?

Nothing.  Madison is demanding we go to Pakistan.

She didn’t expect that.

Jazzie uttered, Let’s go say goodbye to our guests.  We can tackle this—whatever it is—after they’ve gone.

My brother and I stayed where we were.  I watched what Jazzie, Dad, and Vera did. Especially Vera and Agambady.

I could hear our mother tell them we were discussing the surprise gift of a trip from our Solomon grandparents. That seemed to satisfy the questioning looks. Other than Shamy’s.  She knew something was up.

Our other grandparents, Marcus and Biba shrugged their shoulders in a way to indicate they knew better than to add their two cents to whatever was going on.  They came over, gave us a kiss on our foreheads, and headed for the door.

David and Glady decided it was time to take Lala home. They waved goodbye, leaving Glady’s parents, Cephas and Monime, to find out if they’d made a mistake not to go with them.

Mrs. Patai and Professor Agambady guided the students, other than Lala, towards the front door.  Vera hovered near him, but her facial expression relayed that she knew she was needed to give her practical attention to the trip business.  From my perspective her sigh, while watching his back go towards the door, seemed a bit melodramatic.  How long has this been going on?  How could I have missed it? I reckoned I’d been busy avoiding doing any past-life regressions or group sessions with Lala and concentrating on remembering what I could of the scrolls I’d written thousands of years ago, that I’d lost sight of what Vera was doing. I’d better start snooping around her.

There were ten of us remaining.  Jazzie gazed at the party mess, made a facial shrug, came back to where we were, picked me up from my seat and pulled me on to her lap.  All the others found places to sit except for Dad, who stood facing the arm of the sofa where his parents sat, and Cephas leaned against an edge of the fireplace mantle.

Dad’s jaw was set. "Okay, Dad, Mom what happened?

Grandpa Jacob shook his head from side to side.  Not sure, really.  We, he glanced at Nana, thought it’d be fun to take the twins someplace they’ve never been.

He turned to Madison and said, That idea was a bust.  Is there something else we could get you?  New hardware, software, an application that will help you and Zoë with your experiments?

Jazzie’s jaw dropped her mouth wide open.

Dad put his arms across his chest. Have you been doing experiments on your sister again?

Our grandparents gasped and held their breath.

Madison wagged his head back and forth as he replied, Didn’t.  Told me not to.  He added under half-lidded eyes, When she passed out that one time, got scared and knew it was best to have you and Jazzie . . .

Jazzie pulled me close to her chest.  I wiggled out from her embrace to confirm that we hadn’t.

"Zak, that’s not possible.  I would have sensed it if they had just like I did the time they did do it."

In his booming bass voice Cephas spoke up, We all know how brilliant the twins are. Other than your parents, Zak, we also know about the twins saying they remember some of their past-lives. My granddaughter, Lala, certainly does . . . and maybe my grandson, Rusty, but what’s this about Madison doing experiments on Zoë?  What kind of experiments are you talking about?

In a high-pitched, yet manly sounding voice, Madison declared, I’ll tell you.

Since his permanent front teeth recently came in he no longer whistled when he spoke.  He stood up, stepped around our dad and strode purposely to the front center of the fireplace. Cephas watched as Madison tossed his head in instruction for him to go sit down. Cephas moved to take a position behind Monime’s chair.

I slipped away from Jazzie’s clutch to go stand next to my brother.  We nodded at each other.  Madison began.  We do remember some of our past-lives. 

Regaining her composure and breathing normally again, Nana murmured, "The Hebrew word for reincarnation is Gilgul. It means rolling, or wheel, or cycle."

Her words relaxed the energy in the room a bit.

Madison grinned at Nana. It does. He turned to me. "Zoë can tell you about the Bardo and what she learned that caused us to use the symbols from the Indus in a high-speed slideshow while she was in a trance. Did it the day before we went to Cairo."

"For those who don’t know, the word Bardo is from the Tibetan Book of the Dead and is loosely translated to mean: In the Between.  When I passed from my last life I spent forty-nine days there learning from the spiritual aspect of my soul, that I called Starry, and re-lived several of my past-lives to discover why I’d become so fearful."

I paused to see the reaction so far and then continued. "While in the Bardo, I was given choices about which of my past-lives I could re-live to gain knowledge about myself. While reviewing one that I didn’t choose to accept to re-live, I saw some beak-faced creatures that were mostly human looking and my own self that was listening, and seeing words in her head, to a high-speed transmission while in a trance.  I recognized the symbols were the same ones I saw on one of the scrolls I wrote out when I did live my past-life as Salome-Alexander in Jerusalem during the first century of the last era. I was the queen of Israel, but what’s important is she sent copies of the scrolls to several locations along with those little dice, the Urim and Thummin, that we’re supposed to find. I paused and heard the low murmurs before continuing. Anyway I knew they were the same ones Madison was shown at the Jerusalem University that came from the Indus."

My brother added, We found a codex in Shamy’s house, made copies that I put into a slideshow so Zoë could translate them. He shrugged. Didn’t turn out too good.  Made Zoë sick.  Need to get more information so the symbols are in order for her to read.

"Madison is keen on us going to the sites in Pakistan so he’ll see them and I’ll feel them."

Dad asked, Why didn’t you tell us?

Processing.

Yes, said Jazzie in a soft voice. I remember you kept saying there was a lot of processing going on even before we went to Cairo.  She widened her eyes. No doubt there’s been a lot for each of us to sort through from all that’s happened since then.

Madison grinned.  Already told you that a few of the seals from those sites show that some form of the Sacred Marriage was done.

Dad wasn’t being convinced so easily.

Read a lot about it since then.  Asko Parpola, Jane McIntosh, Iravatham Mahadevan, and Rita Wright are all good sources.

Right, Son, Dad said nodding his head. I know that Rita Wright thinks the seals found in Bahrain will help, and Mahadevan believed there’s a bilingual glossary somewhere in Iraq. He gave everyone in the room a glance as he frowned.  None of that changes the fact that Syed Sardar is old now, but that corrupt man still controls the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums in Pakistan.

Parpola, my brother countered, was close in his thinking that the seals have something to do with the stars. He grinned at me. Doesn’t matter, we’ve got Zoë to help me translate.

My brother’s efforts weren’t working. I reminded them, saying, Madison and I are on a God mission.  You need to let us do what we know is best.

Then Cephas supported Dad by saying, Pakistan is a Moslem country. Sardar put mostly women in charge of the archeological sites and museums because he’s a misogynist and doesn’t believe they are bright or capable enough to do much.  He keeps the power, maintains his control, and that’s how he gets to steal relics.

So what? Madison barked, Zoë and I need to go there.

There are a few Italian and French archeologists allowed to work in Pakistan, Dad conceded.  Some of the United Kingdom and United States’ universities contribute expertise and money. And since that country, over the last three decades, has been getting tourism to flourish, they still encourage people from the United States to go see the sites.

Are you suggesting we go, asked Jazzie in a shocked tone, and go as tourists?

Dad glanced at Cephas. You know any of people currently working on those sites?

Met a few over the years.

Know any of them well enough to let some tourists touch those seals?

Cephas shrugged.  Have to make some calls.

In a firm clear voice, Jazzie rejoined, Zak, this is not your decision to make alone.  She glared at Cephas. It’s not yours either.

Both men were taken aback.

I’m not going to stop teaching or take the twins out of school. They only started in January. She gave Madison and me a long look before saying, "I know you two are on a God mission, but this action requires a lot more processing."

"Jazzie, those Indus seals might be important. Would it help for you to know more about them by hearing what happened—the past-lives I lived—while I was in the Bardo?  And more about Abe Sharp in those lives?"

She nodded. Yes, that would help me understand—all of this—I think. Are you ready to tell me now? She glanced at the questioning eyes.  All of us?

Vera rolled her eyes, but sounded eager when she asked, "Shall I go get my laptop to take notes like