I've researched and thought a lot about reincarnation. I believe it is a real phenomenon. Here's the nitty-gritty. The soul has a scoreboard. Do good and your soul earns a gold star. Blow up the World Trade Center and your soul earns a demerit. In the end, fortunately, gold stars carry more weight.

After you die your scoreboard's tally determines whether you head back to hell (read: earth) or ascend to the other side.

FYI: I don't subscribe to the Christianist theory of hell as a place of eternal damnation, as I cannot believe a loving God would condemn anyone to eternal damnation, no matter how heinous their crimes against humanity.

Before we're born our spirit plots out what we want to learn in the coming life, so that we can grow and eventually reach nirvana. Say I wanted to learn to overcome suffering. I would plan challenges for myself. If I conquered them I would ascend after I died. If I gave in to depression and offed myself, on the other hand, I wouldn't pass go. Nor would I collect $200.

That's why people who've tried to commit suicide and failed report they succeeded in killing themselves in past lives, after undergoing a past life regression under hypnosis.

Frankly, I'd rather go to the other side than spend any more time than I have to on this planet.

I read a book, many years ago, and in it, the author explained, that when a young child dies, hit by a car, at a young age, for instance at the age of 4, it is because in a past life they committed suicide and still had 4 years to live in that other life. But, since they exited before their time was up, they came back, and lived those additional 4 years.

I cannot say that this theory is true, but it made me think and look at things a bit diffrently.



Betsy

I believe that the things that we each have things that we are supposed to learn in our life time. And, like now & zen said, if we don't achieve in learning these things, we are brought back to do it again. But, I also believe that if we succeed in learning these things we are brought back at another level, yet another lesson we are meant to learn. And, this occurs until we have succeeded in learning all we need to accend to a higher level. I don't look at returning to Earth as hell though. As I don't believe in hell, I also don't believe in heaven either. I believe this Earth is both heaven and hell. Dependant on how you see life. I love life. There is nowhere that I'd rather be. Hence, this is my heaven I whole heartedly believe in re-incarnation. But, I don't look at it as a bad thing

(06-14-2009 03:05 AM)Betsy Wrote:  I read a book, many years ago, and in it, the author explained, that when a young child dies, hit by a car, at a young age, for instance at the age of 4, it is because in a past life they committed suicide and still had 4 years to live in that other life. But, since they exited before their time was up, they came back, and lived those additional 4 years.

I cannot say that this theory is true, but it made me think and look at things a bit diffrently.



Betsy

wow, thats a very interesting theory.Thats the first time i ever heard of it and something to think about.

I read Sylvia Browne's book "meditations" a while back, and there was one with a "past life meditation". I couldnt sleep and either could my roomate, so i suggested that she closed her eyes and i would read it to her, and told her to follow the meditation and really focus. We were both non-believers in a past life, but did the whole meditation. She was so surprised afterwards when she described all the visions she saw and feelings and told me that she even saw a map of where she used to live, in TX. She also said that she was an old blind man.(i will spare all of the details, there was so much she saw in her meditation) So, of course I did the meditation after she did, and I saw that i lived in a small town around the 1800's and a horrible wagon accident. The wagon ended up tipping over and crushing me to death. I got a bit freaked out... I have always had a horrible fear that i will die in a car crash. I always tell people that I KNOW that this is how I will die. Then i wonder, if that fear is really because in my past life i died in a similar way? Or... is that going to repeat itself again.....

i never believed in past lifes till i really meditated on it and actually looked at myself and it was truly me. It all just seemed familiar.

Sorry,..that is Hogwartz. Christians have accepted Christ,..who came to free us from ourselves, our greed, lust, inequities, and sins.
We cannot be righteous on our own right because we cannot be perfect...we all slip and fall short. Christ came to intervene,...has affected the beliefs of more people than all the other spiritual leaders put together, from Buddha, to Mohammed and Zen.
Christ lived just a couple thousand years ago and accomplished in 33 years more than anyone before or since towards humanity.
If "YOU" are right,..for arguments sake,....we both go to a better place upon death,...and maybe in this life I helped more, gave more, sacrificed more for good than another because of my beliefs than someone not a Christian,..but we both go to a better place.
But what if "I'M" right??? The greatest minds in the universe have tried to disprove that Christ was whom He said,..and it was too recent for all the miracles He performed daily to have been written wrong in hundreds of ancient well preserved scripts,...including the first Bible.
So if I am right,...one of us goes to heaven,...the other hell. Why not just accept Christ into your life and feel that power in you and never fear death and live a better more complete life because of it?
Naturally, you are going to believe what you want,..and I respect it but humbly disagree with your thinking. There exists far greater documentation of Christianity than Astrology, Reincarnation, Budhism,..etc.
And what exactly would you have against someone who never committed one act of selfishness, did countless, observed and documented miracles? Why not believe in this instead of mysticism & spiritism, to cultures who worship cows and graven images?
We know Christ was here. We know His message. We know what He did and where He went. We know the miracles that thousands witnessed. Why would you want to believe anything that is not that well documented? Think about it.
It is fine to question,....but somethings must be accepted on faith,...and that is what Christ has asked. Put yourself in His shoes,...knowing why He came, and what He had to suffer thru, just so that His children would be saved from the agonies of hell..the place He made for Satan and his minions?

(09-04-2009 03:05 AM)Lyric Wrote:  So, of course I did the meditation after she did, and I saw that i lived in a small town around the 1800's and a horrible wagon accident. The wagon ended up tipping over and crushing me to death. I got a bit freaked out... I have always had a horrible fear that i will die in a car crash. I always tell people that I KNOW that this is how I will die. Then i wonder, if that fear is really because in my past life i died in a similar way? Or... is that going to repeat itself again.....

This is interesting! My first impression is that your fear is because that is what you 'know'...what you already experienced in your past life....wonder if that's why I fear drowning so much, maybe that's how i died in a past life? hmmm

Quote:I read a book, many years ago, and in it, the author explained, that when a young child dies, hit by a car, at a young age, for instance at the age of 4, it is because in a past life they committed suicide and still had 4 years to live in that other life. But, since they exited before their time was up, they came back, and lived those additional 4 years.

I put no stock in such theories, first because I do not believe in destiny, I do not believe that we have a set number of years or that we are going to do such and such. If that was the case, why do anything? If it is all decided before we where even born then why do anything? What point would anything have if none of it was our choice?

The second problem I have with this is, why four? What about those who kill them self and have 50 years left to live, or 7 or 70? Why would they not like the remaining years and then die? While those who had four years left to live get to come back only to be killed? Do the universe if something indeed control every detail of our lives think oh well, that person have 7 years to live, you can have a full next life, while you have only 3 years left to live, you we will kill off in your next life. That seams a bit strange to me.

What however I do think is that when someone kill them self and really wish to die, that death drive can carry over into their next life and cause problems. Perhaps such a death wish can even be strong enough to cause death in the next life. But I think that most of the time when a small child dies, it is a horrible tragedy and nothing more.

I think that we control our own lives and our own fate, and how long we get to live depend on ourself and on chance, not on destiny or pre decided fate.