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Original poster

Reincarnation???

62 replies

Rigamorph · 19/08/2018 12:48

Does anybody else here believe in reincarnation?
As hard as it is to reconcile with my scientific knowledge, I can't help but think that reincarnation would explain things such as virtuoso children, night terrors of seemingly random events, children who remember past lives, and near-death experiences (where someone who had no heartbeat or EEG can relay events from the time but often from 'outside' the body).
I know many people in 'the West' will ridicule this idea - there are other threads for you guys 😁). I would like to hear from anyone else who shares my views!

OP posts:
Vitalogy · 19/08/2018 17:59

Oow yes, my kind of thread Smile Yes I believe in this, makes sense to me.

I'm also mulling over multidimensional universe. Time not being linear. Shock That's another thread though, ha.

Chuggachuggatoottoot · 19/08/2018 18:02

I was just thinking about reincarnation!

Vitalogy · 19/08/2018 18:10

What do you think about it Chuggachuggatoottoot ?

Vitalogy · 19/08/2018 18:13

I know many people in 'the West' will ridicule this idea - there are other threads for you guys Brace yourself, they usually infiltrate Smile

Kingkiller · 19/08/2018 18:13

I won't ridicule it, but I do think that a little googling would bring up much more plausible explanations for all of those things than reincarnation.

Chuggachuggatoottoot · 19/08/2018 18:15

Well I don't think I believed it years ago but as I've got older it seems to make sense in some way that we do reincarnate

TwinMummy30 · 19/08/2018 18:17

I 100% believe in it but I also believe in things others would consider insane 😜

Vitalogy · 19/08/2018 18:19

All this has just happened to me in the past few years as well.

Vitalogy · 19/08/2018 18:21

I 100% believe in it but I also believe in things others would consider insane You aren't on your own there.

Original poster
Rigamorph · 19/08/2018 18:23

@vitalogy - don't worry, we can discuss non-linear time too! Although that also blows my mind... like the concept of infinity. So the universe goes on forever...but what's at the end of forever?!! 😵
The trouble with reincarnation is that you can't control it in a laboratory setting. So you can't design an experiment. So you can't prove it. So unless we have your own personal experience of it we can never know for sure!
If you read the stories of children who remember past lives they are fascinating. There is a doctor in the US who set out to collect evidence, but because it all relies on the statements of children he is widely discredited and nobody knows whether the stories he collected are true or not.

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Original poster
Rigamorph · 19/08/2018 18:29

Insanity welcomed on this thread 😁.

@kingkiller - googling explanations for these things is a hobby of mine, some may say I have too much free time....

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Vitalogy · 19/08/2018 18:47

like the concept of infinity. So the universe goes on forever...but what's at the end of forever?!! Yes, quite. I don't think our brains have the capacity to understand the non linear time as that's all we've ever know in this life.

This is it, mainstream science doesn't have the tools to prove it. So, many won't even consider it. But that's ok, that's not the game they're playing this time.

Regarding children speaking of otherworldly things. I've posted this before. A child was talking to his baby brother, saying "tell me about heaven because I'm forgetting".

noego · 19/08/2018 20:28

What happens when you take all concepts away? And I mean all concepts....
What's left?

Original poster
Rigamorph · 19/08/2018 21:59

@vitology - a child you know?

A friend of mine has twin girls. He has frequently heard one of them call the other by a boy's name - a name they haven't encountered elsewhere to his knowledge. He doesn't believe in reincarnation and hasn't questioned it but has no explanation for it. (Of course their could be many other explanations).

@noego - pure existence I expect, but I am not ready to let go of my conceptualising just yet in order to find out!!

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Vitalogy · 19/08/2018 22:26

No, I was listening to Russell Brand talking about it, I think it was one of his friends kids.

Original poster
Rigamorph · 19/08/2018 23:03

Interesting. Especially use of the word 'heaven'. I suppose they were too young to have been going to something like Sunday school, and for him to mean he was forgetting what he had been taught?

Most of those stories come from countries/cultures where reincarnation is accepted as truth. Apparently in the West we as parents are much more likely to ignore it or put it down to lies/storytelling.

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Vitalogy · 19/08/2018 23:11

Especially use of the word 'heaven' The nearest describing word he knew to use maybe.

Original poster
Rigamorph · 19/08/2018 23:57

Yes after a bereavement we often hear adults tell a child 's/he has gone to heaven', even if that adult is not particularly religious.

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Vitalogy · 20/08/2018 00:17

That's it. The boy wanted to remember. Children are closer to the knowing I believe. I also believe when some people grow old it sometimes comes back again, well, the ego starts to diminish again anyway. Funny, I was talking to an old lady today, she had the look I feel I can now recognise in some people.

lucydogz · 20/08/2018 06:46

I am uncomfortable with the use that Hinduism and Buddhism make of it i.e. Use it as a way of explaining and justifying social injustices and handicap. If you're in a bad situation, it's because you did badly in a previous life .

DentistWimp · 20/08/2018 07:27

I'm going to throw something into here....

My stepfather died 10 years ago. My son was born 7 years ago. We never really discuss the deceased grandpa.

My son has started to put on funny voices and pull silly expressions. They are quite distinctive and old fashioned. They are exactly the same voices and expressions (verbally and physically) that my DSF used to do when he was fooling around.

My DS has never watched black and white films nor any of the comedians from the 1940s/50s which he could imitate.

Where has this come from? It's not even inherited as the deceased was my stepfather, not a blood relative so you can't even claim it's "in the genes".

Vitalogy · 20/08/2018 07:50

That's interesting DentistWimp I heard someone speak once about different family members trying the lives out of other family members, to see things from all angles so to speak. Not made my mind up about that but it's an idea. That ties in with the multidimensional thing again.

lucydogz Is that what those religions think. I've not studied them in depth. Are all religious teachings perfect, are the people that follow them perfect. This is why I can't follow one particular religion. I think there are truths in many of them though.

noego · 20/08/2018 08:07

If you believe in something it will become your reality. Is it the truth though?

There can only ever be the here and now.

Original poster
Rigamorph · 20/08/2018 09:28

@dentist many/most of the stories involve people reincarnating within the same family - they feel close to that family and want to be near them again. You should read about it!

@lucy - Hinduism in particular believe in the caste system of social class - you are stuck in the caste you are born in and can't improve your situation. Buddhism seems to have more local variation as far as I can tell (but have researched it more than I have Hinduism admittedly) for example the zen Buddhists in Japan and the west are much less likely to have the defeatist approach. The dalai lama (Tibetan) teaches that loving force should be used to change things for the better, out of compassion for all living things. The Buddha's teachings seem a bit tricky to translate directly to English but the gist is that we are all born having the same potential for growth but that it is our own effort throughout (many) lifetimes that can eventually lead to enlightenment. Correct me if you disagree!

@noego - I used to be a Christian but I no longer believe what I did before. I am fascinated by reincarnation but I agree it's difficult to be 100% sure as such I wouldn't call it a 'belief'.

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lucydogz · 20/08/2018 09:31

I think the caste system (an intrinsic part of the Hindu faith) rests on this. And it is reprehensible. Ask an untouchable.
I've no beef with the doctrine of reincarnation. But, if it isn’t tied into perpetual self improvement until you reach Nirvana, what's the point. And if you are placed in the next life depending on how you behave in this one, it frees you up from having a social concience. After all, if someone's in a shitty situation, it's their fault.
And if you believe in reincarnation without the pursuit of self improvement, what's the point of just going round and round and round? I believe in eternal life after death (and it scares me) but reincarnation sounds much worse. Like one of those Escher prints of people walking round and round and never getting anywhere.