Any believers in reincarnation? (Non CC - obviously!)

[Cammie]

I have always believed in reincarnation - since I was a child. I travelled to India as a kid and felt immediately at home - I could think of no other reason. I also have a hard time believing that the universe would give life only for some people to have it spent as a slave or in some terrible way. I like to think we get a few chances at least!

 

I was reading a book called A History of Knowledge. Turns out Pythagoras claimed to remember 4 past lives. One was a soldier who in the Illiad wounded Patroclus, the friend of Achilles.

 

What about you? Anyone in the Hive believe in reincarnation?

[secular_mom]

I've heard some spooky hearsay stories. One of my friends' friends son was terrified of fans, and when they had him hypnotized to try to 'cure' him of his fear he ended up telling them about his previous family who had been killed by the propellers of a plane or a helicopter. *shrug*

I think we are reincarnated in a sense, when we become a part of a new plant that feeds a new animal, and so on. The circle of life and all that.

[MelanieM]

Yes, I believe in reincarnation. But I believe it's a little different than what most people think of when they talk about the subject.

 

I don't believe that time is actually linear, but rather that all things are happening at the same time and we place them in a linear fashion so that we can understand them from our human perspective. So that means it's not a series of incarnations one after the other, but rather multiple incarnations at once. :D

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

I personally don't believe in incarnation, but I have to admit my DD really questioned my beliefs when she started to talk.

We're a French speaking family, in a French environment. Yet, from age 2 to age 4, DD would speak using French words, but a perfect English syntax. It was freaky to say the least. Where did she pick that up???

[Rosie_0801]

I have a lovely theory of reincarnation and it saddens me greatly that I don't believe in it. I pretend to, though, because I like it so much.

 

Rosie

[Spy Car]

I think we are reincarnated in a sense, when we become a part of a new plant that feeds a new animal, and so on. The circle of life and all that.

 

Robinson Jeffers thought the way you do. Here's a favorite poem.

 

Inscription for a Gravestone

Robinson Jeffers

 

I am not dead, I have only become inhuman:

That is to say,

Undressed myself of laughable prides and infirmities,

But not as a man

Undresses to creep into bed, but like an athlete

Stripping for the race.

The delicate ravel of nerves that made me a measurer

Of certain fictions

Called good and evil; that made me contract with pain

And expand with pleasure;

Fussily adjusted like a little electroscope:

That's gone, it is true;

(I never miss it; if the universe does,

How easily replaced!)

But all the rest is heightened, widened, set free.

I admired the beauty

While I was human, now I am part of the beauty.

I wander in the air,

Being mostly gas and water, and flow in the ocean;

Touch you and Asia

At the same moment; have a hand in the sunrises

And the glow of this grass.

I left the light precipitate of ashes to earth

For a love-token.

[Mergath]

I do. I'm a Pagan with Buddhist leanings, though raised Christian and I still live by some of Jesus's teachings. My faith is very eclectic, lol.

[Cammie]

I have a lovely theory of reincarnation and it saddens me greatly that I don't believe in it. I pretend to, though, because I like it so much.

 

Rosie

 

 

Are you going to share it? Or just keep us in suspense??

[Firefly]

I have always believed in reincarnation - since I was a child. I travelled to India as a kid and felt immediately at home - I could think of no other reason. I also have a hard time believing that the universe would give life only for some people to have it spent as a slave or in some terrible way. I like to think we get a few chances at least!

 

I was reading a book called A History of Knowledge. Turns out Pythagoras claimed to remember 4 past lives. One was a soldier who in the Illiad wounded Patroclus, the friend of Achilles.

 

What about you? Anyone in the Hive believe in reincarnation?

 

You are not alone! :)

[Spy Car]

Are you going to share it? Or just keep us in suspense??

 

Next lifetime :tongue_smilie:

 

Bill

[keptwoman]

I'm undecided on the matter. I think it's possible but I don't know.

[Slartibartfast]

I have a lovely theory of reincarnation and it saddens me greatly that I don't believe in it. I pretend to, though, because I like it so much.

 

Rosie

 

:lol:

 

I really like the idea as well but Jesus said "no" so sadly I do not.

[Georgiana Daniels]

:lol:

 

I really like the idea as well but Jesus said "no" so sadly I do not.

 

I'm kinda glad because I don't think I could do this more than once--but that's just me. :tongue_smilie:

[Amy in TX]

Inscription for a Gravestone

Robinson Jeffers

 

I am not dead, I have only become inhuman:

That is to say,

Undressed myself of laughable prides and infirmities,

But not as a man

Undresses to creep into bed, but like an athlete

Stripping for the race.

The delicate ravel of nerves that made me a measurer

Of certain fictions

Called good and evil; that made me contract with pain

And expand with pleasure;

Fussily adjusted like a little electroscope:

That's gone, it is true;

(I never miss it; if the universe does,

How easily replaced!)

But all the rest is heightened, widened, set free.

I admired the beauty

While I was human, now I am part of the beauty.

I wander in the air,

Being mostly gas and water, and flow in the ocean;

Touch you and Asia

At the same moment; have a hand in the sunrises

And the glow of this grass.

I left the light precipitate of ashes to earth

For a love-token.

 

That is just achingly beautiful.

[Jenny in Atl]

Some days yes, and some days no.

[jujsky]

I believe in it. It is the only belief that has solidly felt right to me. I will often find myself thinking when big life-wishes don't come true, "It will happen in another life." It's not a forced though -- it just drifts through my mind. The strange thing is, my little girl believes in it too, and it's nothing I discussed with her beforehand. She started talking about it when she was 3 and kept saying things like, "When you die, you'll turn into a baby and grown in my tummy." She firmly believes that people come back to another life. My son's friend also told her that one night he went to sleep as an old man and when he woke up, he was a baby. He was on the younger side of 4 when he told her this.

Edited March 9, 2010 by jujsky

[patchfire]

I definitely believe in reincarnation. I don't have a specific theory and I don't really try to delve into the details of how I think it "works," but I'm relatively aware of at least a couple of past lives. I think in general reincarnation seems like a fraud because too many people claim to have been Cleopatra or whomever.

 

I have felt that 'resonance' with a location before, but I didn't grasp what I feeling fully until I went to a place that was the opposite - it was like nails on my soul-chalkboard. Horrifying. Luckily I was there but a day and inside a theatre a good part of it.

[Slartibartfast]

I'm kinda glad because I don't think I could do this more than once--but that's just me. :tongue_smilie:

 

Yeah, I would be kind of PO'd cause you would think we should be SUPAH geniuses by now if that was the case.

 

I don't like that cyclical "keep doing the same dumb stuff over and over" idea. :lol: It would be nice if we got to keep some sort of memory so we would learn from mistakes.

Edited March 9, 2010 by Sis

[elizabeth]

I do. I'm a Pagan with Buddhist leanings, though raised Christian and I still live by some of Jesus's teachings. My faith is very eclectic, lol.

 

I knew I liked you immediately, this explains why. I loathe being put in a tiny little circumscribed niche. Nice to have you around

[Rosie_0801]

Are you going to share it? Or just keep us in suspense??

 

Oh alright. Way to make myself sound like an idiot on a public forum... :glare:;)

 

 

I think it is the Hindus that believe in seven incarnations, and seven seems to be the Judeo-Christian God's favourite number. I believe in neither system, but it seemed seven was the fashionable number, so I was willing to go with that.

 

We have probably all known people who seem so impossibly ignorant, who seem not to cotton onto basic ideas we feel we've known forever. These people are in one of their first incarnations, so it really isn't their fault. They have just begun their learning journey, and are bumbling along the best they can.

 

On the other hand, we've probably met or heard of people who seem to live completely charmed lives. They marry their childhood sweethearts, have polite children who can roll down hills in their best clothes without getting grass stains and are so absolutely gorgeous in temperament that we are forced to like them any way. They can be that sweet because they are in their last life, having been there and done the hard yards. They are only hanging out this last time to iron out those last few flaws and catch up on the few things they have "always" wanted to do, but haven't managed to do yet.

 

 

Rosie

 

 

P.S Not sure I should post this bit, so I'm making it difficult to read so sensitive persons won't have it right in their face. Ignore if you think you're one of them.

 

 

 

 

 

My theory on encephaly babies is they were treated badly in their former life and aren't quite brave enough to sign up for a full life, but are able to come for a taster. I think parents of these children shower their babies with so much love in the few days they have them, they must check out with much greater self esteem than they had, so they'll be brave enough to try again properly.

[eternalknot]

I believe in re-incarnation, but not in transmigration.

 

My uncle died last night in his sleep. Our family is Buddhist. I had an interesting conversation today with my son, about this very topic. My children are being raised in the Catholic church, which has very different beliefs about the afterlife (to say the least!)

[Mergath]

I knew I liked you immediately, this explains why. I loathe being put in a tiny little circumscribed niche. Nice to have you around

 

Why thank you! :D

[Cammie]

:lol:

 

Thanks for posting! Since I don't lead one of those charmed lives i'll just put it down to being in one of my earlier incarnations!!

 

I wonder about the seven thing...I thought that Hinduism believed you got as many lives as it took for you to learn all the necessary things you need to learn. It has been a LONG time since I took a Hinduism class so I may be wrong. (Of course I could ask hubby or a neighbor but Hindus all seem to have different ideas about what Hinduism means...I guess that is why I like it!!)

[Cammie]

I believe in re-incarnation, but not in transmigration.

 

QUOTE]

 

If you don't mind, can you explain this? I don't know the difference?

[jonnia]

My young nephew, when he was about 3, used to adamantly maintain that he did indeed know how to drive a tractor, that he'd been doing so for years and how could anyone think for a minute that he wouldn't remember! The oddest thing about these tirades was the fact that his language sounded just like an old man's coming out in a toddler's high pitch.

 

I have to admit, that made me wonder!

[OrganicAnn]

My mom (devout Catholic) always says that she thinks in a past life she might have drown in the ocean. The funny thing is she doesn't believe in reincarnation and yet she kinda of believes that about having a past life.

 

Her brother when he was a little boy used to say "when I was an old man ..." They always thought it was just funny. He only did this till he was about 6. Again the family didn't believe in reincarnation.

[Rosie_0801]

:lol:

 

Thanks for posting! Since I don't lead one of those charmed lives i'll just put it down to being in one of my earlier incarnations!!

 

Mm. Sometimes I think I'm in life number 5, other times, number 2. It depends who I've been talking to that day :lol:

 

I wonder about the seven thing...I thought that Hinduism believed you got as many lives as it took for you to learn all the necessary things you need to learn. It has been a LONG time since I took a Hinduism class so I may be wrong. (Of course I could ask hubby or a neighbor but Hindus all seem to have different ideas about what Hinduism means...I guess that is why I like it!!)

 

I don't trouble myself with details of a theory I don't believe in :D Seven lifetimes seems so long when you are not even half way through your expected life span in this lifetime, we'd have to get the hang of everything! But I don't mind if anyone wants to take longer than seven. Kind of like professional students, I guess. Professional lifers?

 

Rosie

[Starr]

Professional lifers. Rosie you make me :lol:

[Allearia]

I sort of do. I have read a lot about it, think about it a lot, but deep down I am not sure if it is true. I have never personally remembered any past life fragments. My five year old talks a lot about when he was a grown up before but again not in a way that convinces me it is true. I guess I am a wanna be believer.

[HRAAB]

I really want to believe. But only if I can take this hard earned knowledge with me into the next life. I feel like I'm just starting to get a few things figured, and it's going to be all over. I need at least several more lifetimes to get anywhere near where I think I should be.

 

Honestly, though, I love living. I love the earth, I love people (most of the time), I love being a human. In spite of all the imperfections, I think life is pretty awesome. So, if there are other lifetimes for us, great. If not, I hope heaven is near the ocean.

[Cammie]

So, if there are other lifetimes for us, great. If not, I hope heaven is near the ocean.

 

 

:iagree:

[laundrycrisis]

I do.

 

One of my reasons is because how certain babies, when they are newborns, give a sense of being an old soul who is coming back into this world with some deep, intuitive, clear understanding of some things.

 

My beliefs are based on my own experiences, and not something I can explain with logic to someone who hasn't had a similar experience.

[KidsHappen]

Well, I don't believe individual souls are reincarnated into the exact same individual soul, no but I do believe in a form of reincarnation. I believe that human souls are like rain drops (they are only individual in this form) but when they die they fall into the ocean to become one with all the other unincarnate souls and then when a new person is born their soul comes from this ocean of souls. I actually worked this idea out on my own but have since then heard other people explain it the same way.

[eternalknot]

If you don't mind, can you explain this? I don't know the difference?

 

Sure. I didn't know the difference either until it came up in conversation with my husband early in our marriage when we were discussing our different beliefs about the afterlife.

 

I grew up with the idea that re-incarnation is a re-birth of the spirit, or soul. In very oversimplistic terms, when I die my spirit leaves my body as a bundle of energy. That energy is re-born, but I - "eternalknot" - am not re-incarnated or re-born in the same energy or form that I was in when I passed from the world.

 

He grew up with this idea that re-incarnation was the same thing as transmigration; that is, that the two were interchangeable (they are not). To be fair, transmigration is a bona fide belief; it's just not mine, or what all re-incarnation believers subscribe to. Transmigration can best be understood if you've seen the movies Chances Are and/or Freaky Friday, from the 80s or thereabouts. It's akin to a body switching. You die, and then your essence/spirit/soul is completely transferred - in entirety - to a new body. You're essentially the same soul in a new vessel. It would be like "eternalknot" here and now; die; re-incarnated as "eternalknot" in the next life, same soul but new house.

[buddhabelly]

Yes, because my very wise and realized Buddhist teacher speaks about it so matter of factly and because many young children do remember their past lives (which, when researched in public documents, turn out to be factual).

 

When my son was very young (he spoke long before he could crawl or walk), he turned to me and said, "A long time ago, I used to be your sister." Clear as day. I just said, "Oh, cool." He doesn't remember it now, so you have to listen to them when they are very young. Or very old. It is the same bardo -- between death and life.

 

And you know those dreams when you tell your friend or husband, "I had a dream about you.....but you were old, and you weren't a man, you were a woman, and you were very tall and thin....." That is a dream about their essence, the part of the soul that does carry over until the next life. Gender is not part of your essence, so that confuses some people.

 

Also, your thoughts and feelings are not a part of your soul (in Buddhism), so it does take a lot of study and practice to determine what part of "you" does carry on. They have a word for it, but it is escaping me now.

 

When you are fully enlightened (realize your true nature), you do not HAVE to be reborn again but all the buddhas do because they want to return and help others. If they didn't want to help others, they would not be enlightened beings.

 

I highly recommend a film called "Unmistaken Child." You can "watch it now" on netflix and it will not count toward your monthly film quota.

 

Blessings,

Julie

[EmilyK]

I do.

 

One of my reasons is because how certain babies, when they are newborns, give a sense of being an old soul who is coming back into this world with some deep, intuitive, clear understanding of some things.

 

My beliefs are based on my own experiences, and not something I can explain with logic to someone who hasn't had a similar experience.

 

This is basically where I am, as a Buddhist Christian (who doesn't think it is an oxymoron).

 

I like what Buddhabelly said too.

[Cammie]

This is basically where I am, as a Buddhist Christian (who doesn't think it is an oxymoron).

 

I like what Buddhabelly said too.

 

 

I am a Hindu Christian (and I don't see that as an oxymoron either!)

[Peela]

I think it is highly likely but I am not so much into "believing" in it because I just won't know till I die, for sure, no matter what I believe :) Maybe some people reincarnate and others dont. Maybe we get a choice. Maybe we dont. I have read a lot of fascinating stuff about it but I am content with a big ?

I do know I am more than my body- I have had "out of body experiences" which make me feel reincarnation is a possibility.

[Cammie]

Have any of you read Many Masters Many Lives? That actually really cemented my belief. More so because of all the lives the woman remembers, in not one of them was she famous (never claimed to be Cleopatra), or rich, or important. The whole thing felt so very believable because she had lives that were real...difficult, sometimes short, sometimes violent, sometimes sad. VERY interesting book for anyone interested in the subject.

[nono]

Yes, I believe it is possible. I'm Roman Catholic born, raised and educated. I think that it is plausible that Earth is Purgatory. So, I'm comfortable with the possibility of having a past essence of some sort. :)

[MelanieM]

The strange thing is, my little girl believes in it too, and it's nothing I discussed with her beforehand. She started talking about it when she was 3 and kept saying things like, "When you die, you'll turn into a baby and grown in my tummy." She firmly believes that people come back to another life. My son's friend also told her that one night he went to sleep as an old man and when he woke up, he was a baby. He was on the younger side of 4 when he told her this.

 

My son has said many similar things to me. Sometimes he'll tell me a story and when I ask for clarification he'll say something like "oh, you were Daddy then". He also tells me about when I was in his belly, etc. It's fascinating! (And again, not something I taught him.)

 

 

 

In very oversimplistic terms, when I die my spirit leaves my body as a bundle of energy. That energy is re-born, but I - "eternalknot" - am not re-incarnated or re-born in the same energy or form that I was in when I passed from the world.

 

 

Yes! I was going to post something like this in response to the idea of multiple people claiming to be the same famous person. I think this is why that is possible; it's not a one-to-one experience.

 

Well, I don't believe individual souls are reincarnated into the exact same individual soul, no but I do believe in a form of reincarnation. I believe that human souls are like rain drops (they are only individual in this form) but when they die they fall into the ocean to become one with all the other unincarnate souls and then when a new person is born their soul comes from this ocean of souls. I actually worked this idea out on my own but have since then heard other people explain it the same way.

 

I love this visual! It describes my belief as well. And like you, I came up with my own thoughts on these things before ever learning others shared them. In fact, you should have seen how excited I was a few years ago when I found people teaching the very things I had always believed were true, but never had fully explained to me by anyone else! It was a beautiful personal affirmation of the truth as I knew it in my heart. :D