Reincarnation.

[Dargor]

If reincarnation exists I must have been a nazi or something terrible in my past life.

[7luminaries]

Originally Posted by FallingLeaves

It is like filling a glass with wine. If you never empty the glass, you can never fill it with a different kind of wine.

But you DO remember, I find. I'm terrified of the thing that got me killed in my last life, and my whole life reverbrates from it. Even though I'm not in any way the same other than from the memory...

FallingLeaves, hello there!

I was struck by what you said...I agree we remember (and largely not at all by choice) some things that involve core issues or people in other lives -- often both. Most often, we remember something about or around the immediate circumstances of our deaths.
What was going on, who was there, how we died...and so often the lingering question of why?, which sometimes begins to appear a bit more clear just as soon as we can muster the courage to land on it and sit with it for a bit.

What was it (if I may ask) that terrifies you still? If it's too horrible to speak of, no worries. But often, strangely, it helps a bit to speak of it. The simple acknowledgement of what is (or "was") is somehow freeing and perhaps ultimately even healing. Difficult as it so often is to bring the focus to a place of deep trauma, of (quite often) betrayal and confusion.

Peace & blessings
7L

[AriesIntrovert]

Originally Posted by FallingLeaves

It is like filling a glass with wine. If you never empty the glass, you can never fill it with a different kind of wine.

But you DO remember, I find. I'm terrified of the thing that got me killed in my last life, and my whole life reverbrates from it. Even though I'm not in any way the same other than from the memory...

Love the wine glass reference and I agree 100% that we do remember when/if it serves us in this lifetime.

I had a spontaneous past life regression when I was young. I had no idea what was happening at the time, what it meant, or any of it but eventually I came to understand that it was a memory of a past life. That memory has served me well and has kept me from falling back into old familiar patterns, which I can only assume has broken many repeating cycles of karma.

Even without that past life memory you get lots of nudges to your past life all the time. Those strangers you meet and instantly bond with in two seconds? Those "strangers" are probably past life friends. Your soul recognizes them even if you don't.

[kris]

Originally Posted by kennedy123

My biggest problem with reincarnation / karma is why the hell do we forget all our prior memories when we enter a new life? If we are getting punished or rewarded for something, we should know what actions caused that result in order to learn the lesson. Otherwise I can see many people born in bad circumstances just grow spiteful b/c from their POV they didn't do anything to deserve it. Hence bad karma could lead to even more bad karma, ... a negative cycle. Why the heck would you get punished for something you don't remember? That's just senseless suffering.

I have a child who had memory of a certain aspect of her past life. When she was two years and three months old, she behaved very peculiarly with me on two occasions separated by about a week. Her behavior puzzled me during the first occasion. The second time I realized that this peculiar behavior of her was similar to the behavior of another person in my life who had deceased a little less than two years before her birth. In fact it struck me that, with this peculiar, behavior she was explaining to me why the deceased person behaved a certain way with me. What all this tells me is that she was born to me because she carried the burden of her past life behavior to her/his death and she wanted to relieve herself of that burden. Once she realized that she had accomplished her goal she became a normal toddler again. I, for one, am glad that she is no more carrying the burden of her past life behavior. I don't think we will be able to carry on with our lives very well if were burdened with our umpteen past lives. I have no complaint about the system as it exists.

[Baile]

Originally Posted by kris

I don't think we will be able to carry on with our lives very well if were burdened with our umpteen past lives.

This is exactly what esoteric literature teaches. Also, our ability to function and make choices as beings of free will would be hampered if we were aware of past life baggage.

[LimJahey]

I believe that multiple dimensions is more logical than reincarnation.

[7luminaries]

Originally Posted by Baile

This is exactly what esoteric literature teaches. Also, our ability to function and make choices as beings of free will would be hampered if we were aware of past life baggage.

You'd be surprised. Memories don't tell me what to do, hahaha And for some of us, we do remember some. Whatever rises to the fore is presumed to be the most pertinent, for whatever reason. It's often not pleasant, but like a forgotten childhood memory that rises to the fore, it's to us to do with that as we like.

Like anything else of which we are (usually just) partially aware, we can deal with it wisely and to the best of our ability....or we can shelve it or use it to treat others poorly. And everything in between.

As to whether they are "past" or "alternate" lives, I don't think that really matters. It seems to me more a matter of perspective, or something like it. To the bird's eye view, everything appearing on ground to be occurring in some sort of of "order" can be perceived as "happening" all at once but in different contexts or realities.

Peace & blessings
7L