That's right.

It is a stage, but when I say that, I'm pretty confident that I mean it differently from how Ben meant it.

We're spirits having a temporary physical experience here on Earth.

We're all actors playing a role given to us at birth, with scenes fed to us by our subconscious from then on.

We make agreements with one another pre-incarnation to cross paths and provide opportunities for one another to learn desired lessons.

This includes everyone, including people we don't like and consider to be "evil".