The Prospect of Reincarnation

I know there are some boards on the topic of reincarnation already, but this is more of a "personal feeling" topic to see if anyone else experiences this, instead of investigating well-known cases.

While I do not believe in reincarnation, I experience some things that sort of lean me in the direction of believing in it. I was also wondering if anybody else experiences something like this:

Whenever I see images of Scotland/Ireland, hear celtic music, etc etc it just makes me feel sort of... "home". You can't really explain it. When I watched Braveheart for the first time with the images of sweeping green countrysides and the celtic music, it nearly made me cry. Same with the start of the first Lord of The Rings movie. As well, when I see images like this or any music from that area/time period, I get an unmistakable chill up my spine every time. From time to time I have dreams that I am living in Ireland during around that time period (I do not know what century or anything I am referring to... the 13th century perhaps?). I am just drawn to the landscape, the fashion, the music; everything about the location and era. I may be one of the few people who actually like hearing the bagpipes at parades, ever since I was little when it would usually cause most other young children to cry. From time to time I will sit down at the keyboard (the piano kind) and start playing celtic-sounding music as well.

I am only 1/4 Irish (My grandmother), and I have never been exposed to any of the culture really except when I stumble upon it accidentally.

I have talked to people about this, and have found one person who feels the same way, except about the Victorian era. Also another person who feels very attached to the Roman civilization (feels a connection seeing Gladiator, etc etc).

I was wondering if anybody here gets similar "chills" about anything, or feels an oddly strong connection to any period of history.

Is it just a taste or interest, or a hint at something more?

[edit on 18-9-2005 by Yarcofin]

This is not based on personal experience, or any chills other than the the ones I get thinking about the vastness of the universe, even beyond what we can scientifically explain at this time. My reason is based on research into different ancient historical text. Budhism has it's roots in the Vedas of ancient India, so there is an obvious connection to the common belief. A strange coincidence is when middle eastern religions have a common thread. Christianity, based in Judaism, is the most common middle eastern religion in the world. The ancient teachings of the Jewish Qabalah(kaballah) actually describe the process of reincarnation, which will continue until you find "God". It wasn't until about 2000 years ago that reincarnation was phased out by Christianity, subsequently influenced Judaism, and directly led into Islams creation some 500 or so years later

I've had two professional sessions..the second revealed that I'd been a nurse during WWII in England. My death was graphic (tunnel caved in as I was on my way to work, from what I remember of the session), and traumatic.

I'm usually fairly skeptical about such things - but I was able to verify that a nurse of the name that was in my head actually existed and died in the same month as we were able to ascertain during the session. She had died during a raid, in London (though the location was ambiguous) had brown eyes and was left-handed.

As am I.

Other than that, it could all be coincidence (and luck on the part of the therapist...); I couldn't "remember" the last name for certain, and floundered a little. She suggested two last names, and one was a perfect fit; it's a common last name in England though, so this could also be explained.

I do have a somewhat pathological fear of tunnels (being buried alive, too....eeeeeeww), and though I never lived in London, I had a panic attack during a visit, and later found out I'd been standing about 30 yards from where the tunnel in question had been located (it's since been torn down and redeveloped). I'm also in the medical/pharmaceutical profession.

Because I am a believer in reincarnation, I think it's more than plausible that we do indeed retain some past memories, or imprints.

On a lighter note, I almost wept when I watched "Braveheart", too - but that's because I found the distortion of facts to be appalling

i got the excact same thing with feudal Japan time area and samurai
then again during one of my previous lives i actually been there a few times
honor, loyalty...even though it's romanticized greatly in movies. it still is important to me

as for romans. even though i was in charge of the attack on Yorke in england as a roman i got no firm links with that. so when i see roman movies i don't get a chill. simply because it doesnt interest me enough. been there, done that. more then once. wasnt fun, even as a high ranked officer.

i've seen all of europe as a roman. and seen a lot of asia as a flower girl in china, samurai in japan and as a monk in tibet.

[edit on 18-9-2005 by Enyalius]

I'd like to say I have a strong connection with a certain time period in history, but I can't. Because I feel a connection to numerous times. Such as ancient Egypt, Atlantis, Medieval, Rome's collesuem, the Samurai era, ect. Blah, maybe I'm just an avid historian. I don't know.

Because every soul has to grow throughout eternity, and only a relatively few make it to "heaven" each time around, most of us have a connection to every timeframe. If we don"t go to heaven, then we must continue life. Don"t be surprised when something seems familiar, or deja vu occurs, because most of it has happened before, in another time.

I have had 2 very vivid dreams regarding past lives, first allow me to explain my beliefs. I( believe there is no hell, the hell we receive is the one which we deal with on this plane, I believe there are tasks your soul needs to accomplish, and lessons to be learned before you are awarded entrance into "heaven", because you have finally paid your dues so to speak. If in a life upon the expiration of the Shell or vessel that is this form, you haven't learned the lessons you were set to accomplish and master, you go to a virtual waiting room for a vessel to receive you, and you are reborn."Hence the don't I know you from somewhere feeling" I don't think we come back as anything other than our original form, simply for the fact, that there are enough souls of different species, to follow in their own journeys. This being said Ill move onto the topic at hand.

There is a difference in My dreams at least, I have the realistic dreams that border on fantasy, there are the visionary dreams, that let me know something is going to happen, the nightmares, and the utter nonsensical ones, that leave me wondering if someone slipped me a really good hit of '___' while I was dreaming I have had 2 past life experiences. 1 took place in a time I would have to guess roughly around 1700's era. I only say this because of the clothing people were wearing in my "dream" I was a plantation owner's daughter- I would like to say it had the climate of south africa. I could feel the heat coming from the deep afternoon's sun, I was sweating and I could smell and feel the high grass blowing around my legs, It was golden, and the skirt I was wearing, was long and light blue almost grey, I was very dirty because, we had helpers that were black, but we did not own any slaves, they were part of our family, and I was helping in the fields. I remember hearing screams of a woman, who I was very close to. She was surrounded by a mob of people,I screamed NO! they had her bound and tied, and they proceeded to execute her by removing her limbs, and then finally beheading her. Her quartered body was then placed in a wicker basket and was handed to me. I began sobbing, and had this overwhelming feeling of guilt, that had I said something I knew of, I would've prevented her execution. I woke up covered in sweat, and have been freaked out ever since. The second time was when I met my husband, we had known each other on such a deep level before we even got to really know each other both of us had recurring dreams when we were apart and it was always the same scenario, I was a yankee nurse in the civil war and he was a confederate soldier. One day while sitting with him in my living room I had this really incredible vision, I saw a whole "life" flash befor emy eyes. I had met him because he was wounded in battle and we fell in love, we were married in secret, and there was one friend who had witnessed the marriage. During this time it was considered treason for consorting with the enemy, the penalty was death, we had our honeymoon and it was then I conceived his child. We would sneak off and after a few months rumors starting travelling, and the confederate General started an immediate investigation into the rumored treacheries of one of his soldiers betraying him. The friend who witnessed the marriage and kept our secret was tortured for information, he eventually cracked. I then was awakened by the sounds of drunken men coming to my tent, dragging my husband with them, there were about 6 of them, I could smell the whisky, and hear their voices as I was raped repeatedly, and then killed along with our unborn child, my husband was forced to watch, and then was executed himself, only after watching me die.
Im sorry this was so long
We have a beautiful 2 and a half year old daughter together now, but we still both have the same feeling that for some reason we dont have much time left here- it's very strange.

[edit on 9/19/2005 by denial28]

Great post.
For me its the sound of cart wheels on the cobbled roads. It sounds so familiar, almost like thats what i should be hearing out the window each day.
I also (please dont take this the wrong way) get serious goose bumps when i hear one of the Hitler speeches. It runs through my body like i was there to hear it first hand. I think its the nuremburg one.

Strange. !!

Interesting post Yarcofin.

I think I know what you mean when you say "Tingle down your spine" when your senses are presented with information about certian places or cultures. I've experienced the same feelings as you I think, though not about Ireland but actually ancient feudal Japan and it's culture.

I've recently begun to question my own beliefs on reincarnation and the more and more I read about it and people's experiences, the more and more I'm starting to believe it is true. That we're here to learn from our lives... what exactly I don't know, but we're here to learn and will keep coming back to learn until we've mastered whatever it might be.

Originally posted by Tinkleflower
She had died during a raid, in London

I have always had recurring dreams that I was a child playing on
some playground equipment. I remember seeing my mother and
two other women standing next to the playground. They wore
1940's style dresses. Had 40's style hair. There was an air raid
siren. I looked at my mother. She said to keep playing because
'those things always go off and nothing happens'. Then I blew up.

I've had this dream since I was 4 or 5 years old. I was always
afraid of the fire siren in town. My mom says that when I was
young I kept asking where New York was and when she said
that it was 100 miles south, I kept saying we lived too close
because we'd blow up when it blew up in an air raid.

I REALLY hope there isn't reincarnation. I don't ever want to come
back to this rock. ugh. But if there is, then I think I was killed in
an air raid in London in WWII. I wonder if it was the same one
you died in? hmmmm

[edit on 9/19/2005 by FlyersFan]

I do believe in reincarnation, being a Catholic, It's probably taboo, but I believe that there are laws unknown to human, in order for someone to be reincarnated.

I believe if a person is murder, and was unable to fulfill a task, then that person will be reincarnated. If the person chooses to be rencarnated because they feel the need to do so. I'm pretty sure its the wrong, but there are other laws that applies to reincarnation..so who knows.

I just don't want to die, and be reincarnated because I actually what to remember all that a achieve throughout my life..so it's scary when you think about it.

A slightly off-topic question, but I am curious. Do the believers in reincarnation out there think that as soon as we die, we are reborn in another form, or do you think that there is a long period of time in between incarnations, like decades or centuries?

A slightly off-topic question, but I am curious. Do the believers in reincarnation out there think that as soon as we die, we are reborn in another form, or do you think that there is a long period of time in between incarnations, like decades or centuries?

Good question. I can't speak for the universe as I haven't been able to astrally project yet, so what do I know. However, speaking from memory and from my dreams which are often lucid, I think rebirth is somewhat like jumping into a moving river. Depending on how high your soul evolution is, you can incarnate into a wider choice of circumstances. So if you lived your last life along a certain path, then that will give you an advantage in selecting your next life. I do not believe the selecting is done by only "you", but in the end, it is your wishes and goals for that next life which will be reflected in the rebirth.

Anyway, if you've ever jumped into a moving river, you know that you are still taking a chance regarding where you will land. The water swirls below you and let's say your soul says, "I would like to be reborn as a five-foot-seven blonde female who wil become a world-famous ballet-dancer" Well then, when your soul jumps into the river (rebirth), it cannot hit the exact mark, but it will probably hit close, which means that maybe you'll end up as a brunette who is actually a marathon runner or kung fu master or something different, but similar in its own way.

Anyway, as silly as it sounds, that's what I get when I think deeply about this. You can pick your incarnation, but in the end, picking a womb to plant yourself into is like jumping into a moving river --you're still taking a leap of faith.

Also, it has been said by others that when incarnation happens, your nemesis (or the forces that oppose your path) will also be invited to skew the incarnation slightly. This may be why most people struggle with certain vices or weaknesses. Not all afflictions or vices are a result of our soul's choice, or so it is said. Along these lines, there is an ancient Hindu belief which says that at the moment of conception, your soul actually witnesses your parents coupling while they are conceiving you. Not sure if it's true, but it does explain a lot of Freudian behavior, eh?

As for a rest period between births, I don't have any info about that. The Seth material says that we really don't get to rest, but that there is a constant push toward growth and change which is similar to what we feel in this life. The soul must evolve and resting is not the nature of it, or so it is said.

Originally posted by DragonsDemesne
A slightly off-topic question, but I am curious. Do the believers in reincarnation out there think that as soon as we die, we are reborn in another form, or do you think that there is a long period of time in between incarnations, like decades or centuries?

What a great question!

Unlike most of the other posters so far, I don't actually believe we get to choose how we're reborn; that's completely governed by our actions in the current life (and sometimes over past lives, too - an example might be Ted Bundy who, even if his next life had him being the most benign and good volunteer the planet has ever seen, would still have some karmic debt to work off which would last him a few "turns", as it were). To me, this is a lot to do with the concept of karma, and our obvious inadequacy as humans to really "know" which lessons we need to learn and which we don't.

There's an exception to this, and it applies to those who've arrived at enlightenment who can then choose to be reborn (instead of remaining in the non-state) to help others reach that goal - that's basically what a bodhisattva would be.

Back to the question!

Because we might not be reincarnated as a human right away (I truly don't believe we come back as bugs though - instead I think we just have to work through the other possibilities; hungry ghosts for example), I think the issue of time can be completely open-ended. Perhaps because of this, I think of it like...after a rather short period, you're then on your way to wherever/whatever the next stage for you might be. If that's being reborn as a human, then that's what would happen. If not, then you'd simply move on to whichever realm/embodiment/stage would be appropriate.

Having said that..perhaps it's moot anyway, as time really ceases to have any relevance once you're dead?

I do not know clearly of this.. but i know 'Hindus' have a firm believe in re-incarnation. And as far as i have heard its been that if you lead a good life you will have a good position in the next life too.. but otherwise you will be re-incarnated as an animal,insect,bug..etc. (i personally do not believe in this..but thats another thing.. all the same im very much intrested in it)
I read how most of you wrote about their past life re-incarnations (what they believe it to have been). Curious about what you think about the future re-incarnation. Also like i put above.. any thing to being re-incarnated as an animal.. or vice versa..(gee! i hope this doesnt seem or sound silly to you guys..just something i thought i wanted to know)

I just don't want to die, and be reincarnated because I actually what to remember all that a achieve throughout my life..so it's scary when you think about it.

Agreed. It's like every time you start to get a good thing going, somebody whacks you on the back of the head and gives you amnesia and you have to start over . I have heard that when you are finally done with the reincarnation business, or in between choosing your next life, all of your memories from all of the past comes back to you. It just isn't allowed in your life because it would interfere with experiencing what you need to in life. You need to be immersed in life or else you will just think of it as a game, a joke. Try imagining you are a cat... you'd feel pretty silly and wouldn't be able to do it seriously. I bet it's the same if we knew the truth. "Ha... trapped by this hindering physical shell? I know I am a being of infinite potential" and you would just like.... commit suicide whenever you got bored or something and start over.

A slightly off-topic question, but I am curious. Do the believers in reincarnation out there think that as soon as we die, we are reborn in another form, or do you think that there is a long period of time in between incarnations, like decades or centuries?

I believe there is a time period in between. I also think that each person chooses the life that they want to go into next, whichever is appropriate for what they need to learn. If they want to gain intelligence they will go and have a nerdy life. If they want to experience love, they will choose a life accordingly, etc. I think that a person that is going to get murdered will set up ahead of time (before life) with their murderer, so that they can experience it. Someone has to be on both sides of things. As for time, I'm not sure but I think that the 'spiritual world' (whatever it may be) functions out of time of our world. So time may either go very slow, the same, very fast, or not even move at all. You could probably even get 'reincarnated' back in time, and then maybe some of these people would be having 'memories' of the future o_O. I do not think there is a time period in between where you are just dead though. You are always alive, but just changing form.

I don't like the idea of karma too much, but I think that Tinkleflower's beliefs are just as possible as mine. In particular, the Buddhist "Wheel of Samsara", in which you are constantly in a state of evolution or devolution. You have 3000 lives or something like that to try to escape from the constant wheel of reincarnation, or else you start over back in the lowest form and work your way up: Minerals (yes, apparently they are alive), Plants, Animals, and finally Humans. There are half in each catagory in a period of evolution and half in a period of devolution. It is said that pigs are un-evolving, which is why a lot of the world's religions consider them unclean and don't eat them.
I have also said that certain crimes or misdeeds that you do will have a negative impact on your next life. For example, some seriously bad things would cause you to be blind, or physically/mentally handicapped in your next life.

Originally posted by DragonsDemesne
A slightly off-topic question, but I am curious. Do the believers in reincarnation out there think that as soon as we die, we are reborn in another form, or do you think that there is a long period of time in between incarnations, like decades or centuries?

I honestly think the reason that some have recollection of their past lives, and others do not is,
When a soul is released from the vessel that is carrying it, it has to go to a place where it is cleansed of all memory imprints of the previous life. The length of time cannot be determined, because, the spiritual world has a different concept of time, 100 years for us could possible be one minute for them. I don't think they just jump from one life to the next, unless something profound happens. There is a hall of souls that has souls waiting to be reborn into new lives, IE when a baby is born, that is when a soul is reborn.They are cleansed souls waiting. However, if there is a shortage of souls to be reborn, the cleansing process is not so thorough, and it is reborn, as demand is called, leaving an imprint of the previous life in vivid detail.

I have mine and my children done.

My dreams has always been from the time of ancient Egypt. To early Europe, then back in the Islands were I die as a young child by drowning, when I was a child I used to wake up in panic with the dream of been dying in the water, I had a great panic when it comes to water as long as is to my hips I am OK.

My daughter last life was of a privilege Spanish princess, my son last life was as a warrior and die in the battler field mortally wounded in his side under the arm.

The funniest thing is that he was born with a birth mark that looks like a scar in the area where he was supposedly wounded.

I’ve given my opinion on the subject of reincarnation a few times on ATS already but I see no reason why I shouldn’t give it once more.

“It would be easier to stop the sun from shining or the season from changing then to stop the growth of the eternal soul.” M. Redman

Free will was not a gift to the mud and blood you call your body, it was a gift to you. You had it before you came here, you have it now and you will continue to have it when you pass from this world.

Will you reincarnate? You don’t have to if you don’t want to, its up to you. I plan on coming right back. I like it here. The food is excellent, the people are decent and full of promise and the sex is fantastic.

From the moment you were born you have been brainwashed with the terrible lies that you are a sinner, unworthy of God and damned to eternal hellfire or constant reincarnation. Who told you that? Man did.

On the other hand you live in a fantastic world provided by a loving and caring creator who provides all you need to be strong and healthy and to learn and grow.

Now, are you going to continue to believe the lies of mankind that want nothing more then to enslave your soul, or are you going to trust in the creator of all things and look beyond the lies.

Deny Ignorance! Start with religion.

If this life is supposed to be some sort of punishment then somebody chain me to the wall.

Love and light to each of you,

Wupy

PS: and don’t forget to vote for me for the DISC council.

Well said MrWupy. Although if we are to "Deny Ignorance! Start with religion."...... isn't all of this reincarnation talk similar to religion as well? . I agree with everything you say though. 'Cept I don't think I want to come back once I make it out of here; not until I check out some other options first at least. I'm sure being a human on Earth is one of the better options out there, though.

I'll give you a vote... but I dont know how. Can tell me how I would go about doing so? You may get a ton more votes if you link us newbs in the right direction.