Reincarnation -- What do you think about it?

[AdamDuritz99]

Lately, i've been thinking about it, and the more that i think about it the more i believe in it. I want to hear what peeps at ATOT think about it. Tell me why you believe or disbelieve in reincarnation. Also, post if you are a christian, athiest, agnostic, etc. Not for flamming about religion but to see what type of peeps believe in reincarnation. I'm christian, so i think that really makes me an oddball for thinking about it.

NOTE: I guess you would classify this as another religion/beliefs thread, but try not to make it flaming about religion. If you must flame, please make it about reincarnation.

Discuss...


peace
sean

 

[moshquerade]

don't believe in it.

 

[Raspewtin]

Its seems just as improbable/probable as a soul/God, so I guess why not, it seems like a fun idea; and with religion we're all believing what just sounds good to us anyway.

 

[csiro]

I don't understand the concept of it. If somehow you could remember your past lives then it'll be useful. But if you forget everything when you're reincarnated, then you're basically starting all over as a new person. What's then the benefit of reincarnation?

 

[PrinceofWands]

Danke

 

[Juniper]

I was Cleopatra

 

[Joyride]

I thought that topic was pretty much dead.

But it just springs back to life each time.

 

[Elledan]

<< I thought that topic was pretty much dead.

But it just springs back to life each time. >>



Reincarnation is more likely to be correct in some way than any kind of 'afterife', it might even be compatible with science.

 

[shifrbv]

I think reincarnation could be possible.

Early Christians believed in reincarnation and didn't stop believing until the Nicene Council told them they couldn't believe in it or face censure from the Roman-controlled Catholic church. Since that time, the idea was so ingrained in people that they automatically assume that it can't be possible. It also helped the church maintain control over people's lives by telling them they only had one shot at life. Most people in Western cultures don't really have any experiences because of this long history of ingrained belief that it doesn't exist. But in eastern cultures where they do believe it exists, there are many documented accounts of people remembering full details of past lives and even small kids being able to recognize and talk to relatives of their families of "past lives". There are some researchers studying children in Western cultures who also have had these experiences. They usually remember these experiences quite well as small children (3, 4, or 5) especially if they were traumatic, then the memory fades as they get older.

I definitely think there is something to it.

 

[AdamDuritz99]

<< Reincarnation is more likely to be correct in some way than any kind of 'afterife', it might even be compatible with science. >>



Aww, come on, you have more to say than that don't you? I actually want to hear what you have to say about reincarnation.

peace
sean

 

[BreakApart]

<< I don't understand the concept of it. If somehow you could remember your past lives then it'll be useful. But if you forget everything when you're reincarnated, then you're basically starting all over as a new person. What's then the benefit of reincarnation? >>



New life, new direction, new lessons to be learned.
Lifeline-1: Your rich and need to learn compassion for others.
Lifeline-2: Your poor and need to learn responisibility and hard work
Lifeline-3: Your handicapped and need to learn patience through frustration
Lifeline-4: Your a thief and need to learn justice

Only in the after life can you look back on the true lessons you have learned.

Why not?

 

[Kev]

I didn't believe in reincarnation in my past life, and I still don't believe in it now.

 

[rudder]

It is not mathmatically possible. Everyone who claims to be reincarnated is always Napolean, or some king from egypt. None of these people were homeless drunks in their past lives. 5 billion people is a lot to be reincarnated, unless fish and other things can be reincarnated as people.

 

[Elledan]

<< It is not mathmatically possible. Everyone who claims to be reincarnated is always Napolean, or some king from egypt. None of these people were homeless drunks in their past lives. 5 billion people is a lot to be reincarnated, unless fish and other things can be reincarnated as people. >>

'Mathematically possible'? Uhm, what?

There are people who appear to remember details from the life of some ordinary citizen. I say 'appear', because it's possible to trick people with such things.

[edit]: there doesn't have to be a limited number of 'lifes' available, like the 'soul'-stuff. See it more like (part of) the 'life'-energy (very non-scientific, I know) from one organism is somehow received by one or more other organisms.

Assuming that this 'energy' is measurable in some way, a number of experiments should provide us with some insight in this matter.

 

[AdamDuritz99]

<< It is not mathmatically possible. Everyone who claims to be reincarnated is always Napolean, or some king from egypt. None of these people were homeless drunks in their past lives. 5 billion people is a lot to be reincarnated, unless fish and other things can be reincarnated as people. >>



That's also something i've been thinking about. How could it be possible, when we have 5 billion people now, but only a few million thousands of years ago. hmm...

I found this a few minutes ago. Most people here(athiest or christian) probably won't like it. But if anyone is interested, there you go. You might also want to check out this too.

peace
sean

 

[IGBT]

Been there..done that.

 

[Isla]

Ecclesiastes has always intrigued me for this very reason...

Read all of Chapter 1, especially Verse 11.

In my opinion, and please remember, this is ONLY MY OPINION and not something I am going to argue about, what makes me, 'me' and you, 'you' is an energy that transcends the body... the body is just a vessel for spirit to work through.

The truth is that no one knows... the answers escape science... I am currently reading about the quantum physics of consciousness and I must say, it is quite an intriguing subject. You miht want to start with The Dancing Wu Li Masters or check out this book The Physics of Consciousness... heck, there are quite a few out there so take a peek and get started. There is nothing better than gathering as much information as possible and then deciding for yourself what to believe.

 

[Arschloch]

AdamDuritz99,
The fact that you are contemplating an idea outside of your own religious background proves that you are open-minded, willing to learn, and I think that is a great thing.

You might want to look at a book that talks about Hindu or Buddhist beliefs, so you could understand their rationale for believing in reincarnation. I understand a little about both religions, and I'm not sure I believe in reincarnation, but I still think their reasons for believing so are interesting.

 

[luv2chill]

Isla is a wise woman!!!

You hear the word "old soul" tossed around quite a bit, and my ideas are that there is truth to that. Life is simply energy, and the fundamental law of thermodynamics is that energy cannot be created nor destroyed... my feeling is that it simply reorganizes into different forms.

I would never rule out the possibility of reincarnation. No one has any proof one way or the other. I think that if it were possible to have old souls and new souls, that could explain a lot about the differences in people.

l2c

 

[prontospyder]

only reason why everyone is so different in lives, look, etc.....due to reincarnation/karma.

 

[Maverick]

<< I don't understand the concept of it. If somehow you could remember your past lives then it'll be useful. But if you forget everything when you're reincarnated, then you're basically starting all over as a new person. What's then the benefit of reincarnation? >>



Being a Hindu and a strong believer in reincarnation, I'll try to explain some of it.

Reincarnation goes hand in hand with karma. Karma is basically the idea that "what goes around comes around". Everything you do will build up your karma. Good karma brings good things, bad karma brings bad things. You don't need to remember the mistakes you made in the past life, because those mistakes are what put you where you are in your present life. If you die a selfish greedy person, you'll be born into a situation where other people depend on you and you have to constantly give as part of your existence. The point of it all is to refine your soul to a level of perfection before you ascend to heaven.

To answer your question specifically...think of it this way. Lets say you do something bad...like you hurt someone's feelings or you disappoint someone. Think about the guilt you feel from that. Think how that guilt affects your conscience and your happiness. Now imagine feeling the guilt for all the mistakes in all the past lives that your soul has had since the beginning of time. Do you think you could handle that?

 

[mzhthrbrwn]

I am a beleiver in reincarnation. I had a friend (she died) who was an old indian woman, and she was sort of a clairvoyant. She predicted my fathers passing, my sons birth, his sex, his weight, and all kinds of other things in my life, but another thing she did was hypnotism. I would reccomend either renting the movie "Audrey Rose" or reading the book of the same name. It's a true story about alittle girl who was reincarnated. I think it is just as possible as a heaven or a hell. I mean, it is beleived by some people, that when you die, if you haven't accomplished enough or I guess learned enough life lessons, that you are sent back to earth to try again. It's like going to hell. You know? I mean would you rather be here, or heaven? Having to come back and learn more and gain more life knowledge, would sort of be like a punishment. I don't know. I beleive in god, and heaven but I think that all of that has to do with reincarnation.