Do you believe in reincarnation?

[Jolly1112]

Ever since I was a child, I remember getting a strong feeling whenever we drove past a corn field with images of a man with long blonde hair chasing me and me feeling panicked,

I've always put this down to past life (may sound silly) and that we are constantly reborn,
The only thing that puts me off this theory is whether we only come back as humans or other animals too,

No such thing
Physics and sanity say no

No. Our brains are very suggestible, are affected by experiences and images we've seen but don't consciously remember seeing, and they also make stuff up without us realising they are doing so.

Nope. There's no evidence, no plausible mechanism.

Maybe you'd seen a scene like that on tv when you were very young.

Depends on what you mean by reincarnation. Physical rebirth? Unlikely. Energy recycling - yes, happens all the time.

Yes I believe it’s a possibility

no one knows what happens when we die except for those who are dead so no one can say with any certainty what does or does not happen

But is there really any evidence of anything after death? Even eternal nothingness has no evidence

Hmmm I dunno about this one. I’ve worked with small children before who have known about things before their time (old cars, world wars etc) and they’d have no way of knowing and their parents would be equally baffled. I remember one little boy in particular aged 2, his parents were teenagers and students. He could tell you lots about all different types of cars and the features and engines on them. He knew the difference between brands - older brands that weren’t around anymore, too. I never forget the goosebumps I got when I asked him what car he had at home. He looked very confused and said, ‘we don’t have a car. We go on the bus!’

Very odd!

No, it makes no sense at all. You're probably remembering an image, a story, or even a dream you had as a child.

No I don’t. I believe when you die. You cease to exist. I do t believe in ghosts, spirits or anything like that.

I think it's more plausible than many afterlife theories.

No.

How do you account for population growth? Are there more souls now? Or the same number but some had to wait their turn? Or are we split, I’m only a quarter of a soul now?

I just can't fathom the concept of "nothingness", like eternal darkness doesn't even describe what "nothing" would be

Nope, when you're dead that's it, end of story.

Nothing, not existing, is hard to grasp. That’s why religions have made up stories for thousands of years to fill that gap

Interesting - if people believe they could be reborn anywhere in the world, I wonder if that makes them more generous is giving to Wateraid or similar, as they or their children might be recipients in their next life.

you would hope so, but you would also hope that people would do this WITHOUT thinking they might be reborn somewhere without clean drinking water and sanitation

If physical reincarnation is a thing and I get a choice… I’m coming back as a country pub dog. A cute one that people make a lot of fuss of. I will spend my days either sleeping in front of an open fire or wandering around the pub garden… and mine-sweep leftover wine in glasses at closing time. And I’ll have a brilliant pub dog name like Gimlet or Tipsy.

I was reading a comment before on another article in which a woman commented that her child told her that they "chose" her to be their mum,
But it had me thinking, if that was true, why would a soul choose to be born to a house of neglect and drugs etc.
It just all wracks my brain so thought it would be interesting to hear other opinions.

That’s what you experienced before you were born and you knew nothing about it.

Yes, I believe in reincarnation.

If you are interested in exploring it further, Dr Ian Stevenson would be a good place to start.

Yes, I think it's part of our basic egocentricity to not want or be able to comprehend the universe carrying on without us even though it managed fine before our births!

My 4 year old believes in it, she talks about her life before us. She tells us about her old family, and how she is so pleased to be with us now. Apparently her old mummy was a bad cook and always burnt sausages!

Blimey hope not. The world is shit enough at the moment. I don't want to come back and have to do it all again with the ever increasing challenges.

Yes I'm open to believe in the afterlife so recycling our souls makes sense

Let's face it, nobody knows for certain! I hate it when people rubbish others for their beliefs.

We can't be sure there's an afterlife but neither can we be sure that when you're gone you're gone.