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I don't know that it scares me, but I don't like it. My mom would bring up reincarnation and I'd say, "No way. When I'm done, I'm done. I'm not doing this again."
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Originally Posted by tijlover
I would like to think there's no credibility to it, but, again, there are moments it can scare me. I know the idea is big in India. The poor smile at their poverty, believing in the next world they'll be rich and comfortable.
I'm comfortable enough, and that's where the scare comes in. If there is credibility to it, does that mean I'll be impoverished in my next life?
Giving how many pets are treated like royalty, I often wonder about my spoiled, rotten ferret. What kind of life did he live before this current life?
In some traditions, I think they believe that your lot improves with your good conduct? So from that standpoint, you could think if you're comfortable in this life, you may have been impoverished in a former life and are "movin' on up."
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Originally Posted by Kophi
I realize I will have forgotten the taste of independence at that point; the amnesia that is said to accompany each new mission virtually guarantees it (I say ‘virtually’ because some children reportedly do, initially, remember elements from their previous lives). But looking at it from this angle can be irritating.
I do fall into the camp that believes that reincarnation, if it’s true, is voluntary, and that you go at your own pace once you’re ready to tackle whatever the next mission entails. Much like signing up for college courses, we choose what it is we want to learn/accomplish and then ‘sign up’. We might even map out the general trajectory our lives will take, if not the more minute details therein (sometimes referred to as soul-contracts or pre-birth-planning). The general assumption across various belief-systems seems to be that we’re forced to be here by no choice of our own, and over time I’ve come to realize there’s no real reason to believe that as opposed to the belief that we come here voluntarily. For one thing, the 'forced to be here' perspective is very enabling, dis-empowering, and it ends up making me feel victim-y. I'm allergic to feeling victim-y. -
But what about people who don't enjoy being alive or don't want to be? Does that assume that they signed up for it and then became disillusioned when they actually got into it? Or is it simply that they have the "amnesia" and so they're miserable during the lifetime, but beforehand they fully understood that it was for a greater good and afterward they will understand likewise?
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Originally Posted by CorporateCowboy
That said, even if reincarnation were ‘real’ (I don’t believe it is), why would one ‘fear’ it? In my mind, it’s simply another way in which people cling to the idea of staying ‘alive’/conscious longer (as with any ‘afterlife). In other words, it’s probably not reincarnation they fear, but death in and of itself.
Well, probably because some people believe there aren't any rules to how it works-- that they could come back into a truly miserable existence next time, and who wants to imagine that happening to them?
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Originally Posted by Lodestar
I can't say the thought of existing in a conscious state indefinitely, even if I'm comfortable, is appealing. But who's to say that the belief that we're just gone after death is any less wishful thinking than the thought we'll live in paradise?
Yeah-- that actually sort of scares me more than the thought of simply being snuffed out and not knowing anything anymore. To me it's a bit freaky-- forever, as in, it just doesn't end. Is there anything you want to do for eternity??
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Originally Posted by Lodestar
It is, isn't it? I have no idea what it means other than we don't have an accurate understanding yet of what "death" means.
Someone frozen so stiff for so long that they couldn't start an IV really raises some questions.
And I think about those people who have laid in comas for years who have come back to report that they were aware of what was going on around them - now that is truly terrifying.
No wonder loved ones are afraid to pull the plug.
And have we finally solved the question of where consciousness lies? The assumption is that it is in our brains but I'm not sure if that has been scientifically established yet.
And, it makes you wonder how long consciousness may stick around after the body dies. I've read some things that suggest it can be for a while-- I wish I could find them again to re-read and see if they're credible sources/studies-- and it's a bit chilling if you consider any quick disposition of the body (cremation or embalming within a few hours, for example).
Well, probably because some people believe there aren't any rules to how it works-- that they could come back into a truly miserable existence next time, and who wants to imagine that happening to them?
Yeah, many do believe in nonsensical rules relative to reaching an afterlife (of any sort); it’s called religion.:-)
I would like to think there's no credibility to it, but, again, there are moments it can scare me. I know the idea is big in India. The poor smile at their poverty, believing in the next world they'll be rich and comfortable.
I'm comfortable enough, and that's where the scare comes in. If there is credibility to it, does that mean I'll be impoverished in my next life?
Giving how many pets are treated like royalty, I often wonder about my spoiled, rotten ferret. What kind of life did he live before this current life?
If you want to know more about reincarnation there is a book by a well known Yale psychiatrist that takes you through his real life experiences with people that have remembered their past lives through hypnosis. The book is thoroughly readable and credible. I've read a number of books on this subject but this book by far is the best.
The title is Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss. www.brianweiss.com
If you want to know more about reincarnation there is a book by a well known Yale psychiatrist that takes you through his real life experiences with people that have remembered their past lives through hypnosis. The book is thoroughly readable and credible. I've read a number of books on this subject but this book by far is the best.
The title is Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss. www.brianweiss.com
Brian Weiss is THE expert on past life regression. The clincher is, that he never set out to go into that sub-specialty. He didn't believe in reincarnation, originally. One of his patients just happened to spontaneously regress during a session with him, to a time he didn't recognize. It was way back in history sometime, so he had to figure out where she was and in what era. After repeated experiences with her of that nature, he became intrigued.
You can find interviews with him and lectures on youtube.
I surely hope I won't have to come back and go through this one again! Geez!
But I have already been here and back 1000s of times before. The things I overcome in this life I will not have to experience again in the next one , Every life is about clearing karma. If you don't learn it in one life, you have another life to work on it again, but you will start over from scratch without the knowledge you had gained in the past one.
And, it makes you wonder how long consciousness may stick around after the body dies. I've read some things that suggest it can be for a while-- I wish I could find them again to re-read and see if they're credible sources/studies-- and it's a bit chilling if you consider any quick disposition of the body (cremation or embalming within a few hours, for example).
One's "consciousness sticking around" isn't the only thing to fear from quickie cremation, embalming, burial, or organ donation. Waking up in the middle of it/being declared dead when you're not isn't unheard or even all that uncommon! I'm a fan of the old-fashioned three-day wake, myself.
But what about people who don't enjoy being alive or don't want to be? Does that assume that they signed up for it and then became disillusioned when they actually got into it? Or is it simply that they have the "amnesia" and so they're miserable during the lifetime, but beforehand they fully understood that it was for a greater good and afterward they will understand likewise?
I was thinking that people are put into this life knowing the rules and those that break the rules, like murdering someone or causing pain to other people, are sent back to another miserable life as a sort of lesson.
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