Do we have a Choice NOT to Come Back Human ?

How do we know rocks and trees are a lesser form of being?

Who is saying that they are or arent? It depends on personal opinion. Most people prefer running around, have the freedom to make important decisions as life progresses. I wouldnt know, but being a tree or rock is probably peaceful, or frustrating if youre not up to it. It doesnt make them higher or lower.

[Chrysaetos]

Rocks were just a friggin piece of a larger rock or even a mountain..

Similar to the hair on your body.

Anyway, when a creature or some ''thing'' doesn't have a nervous system, brains, or its own interests, we can say that it is ''lesser''..
If not, then next time you have to help your loved ones, forget about it, and save the stones.. *chuckles*

As far as I am aware, there is only one sect of Buddhism that believes that humans reincarnate as animals. The overwhelming majority of buddhist thought is that this is not so.

There is a school of thought that says there is a progression of consciousness from Mineral to Vegetable to animal to human to spirit to godhood. Once each level is attained, there is no regression. That is, humans do not regress into animal bodies. There is only forward progress.

Regards
Merlin6

[Chrysaetos]

A mineral.. lol!

Where were ''you'' before the mineral? Why and how did ''you'' get to that stage?

my thoughts are also this - what if one of our soulmates passes early in our life. are they to hang out unincarneated for the rest of ours? what if there is a simple lesson to learn of humility or something? i believe we can reincarnate as animals both for learning lessons that we can better do in a different body as well as to allow us short incarnations between longer (more task/learning intensive) ones. personally i also do not believe that humans are always an "upgrade" from animal. i have to say i'd happily trade places with my cats any day! ;)

Rocks were just a friggin piece of a larger rock or even a mountain..

Similar to the hair on your body.

Im sure you have irrefutable evidence to back up this statement

[Chrysaetos]

Originally Posted by Felynx

Im sure you have irrefutable evidence to back up this statement

Here's a good site about rock formations.

Rocks and mountains (and also rivers and lakes) are formed through earth's activity.
This makes the idea that they would be individual ''beings'' a bit bizarre..

Hmm. Seems I've stirred up a few opinions with this one.
I'll try to provide what answers I can:

Chrysaetos:
Google 'mineral consciousness'. Lots of material there to ponder, even if only to accept or reject it in your personal philosophy.

Where I was at that time is the same place you were. Floating around the cosmos as a point of consciousness looking for something to do. Many others were doing the same thing. Some chose to experience consciousness as mineral, while others chose to skip that stage. The same applies for the other levels of consciousness. There are several excellent publications I could name by title and author, but I don't want to upset those who police the copyright rules of the forum. It's very frustrating and seriously limits a wider discussion.

CJ82SKY:
It is not necessary for any soul to remain unincarnate, for whatever reason it left the physical plane either in a timely or untimely circumstance. Souls may choose to reincarnate or remain in spirit according to their wishes and the advice of their guides. If the purpose of the short lifetime was to learn a particular lesson and then return, then that may have been part of a larger plan affecting subsequent lives. There are many options available to spirit. The idea of a spirit, having once reached the stage of being human, incarnating into the body of an animal is not supported in the greater body of literature on reincarnation.

Felynx:
You want irrefutable proof that a rock is a rock?
You're talking about a physical piece of matter. I'm talking about something entirely different. This is where physics and metaphysics part company. Science sees a rock. Metaphysics recognises that there is a level of consciousness in all matter.

Just my own opinion of course. I like to consider both sides of an argument, then accept or reject whatever fits or doesn't fit with the wider philosophy.

Regards
Merlin6

Originally Posted by Chrysaetos

Here's a good site about rock formations.

Rocks and mountains (and also rivers and lakes) are formed through earth's activity.
This makes the idea that they would be individual ''beings'' a bit bizarre..

But isnt everything part of earths creation? Whether or not they are formed in different ways? Even objects have an energy signature.

merlin - i know the idea of going from human to animal is not a widely supported belief, it is just mine based on my own experiences with myself and my animals. i'm fine with being different on that :)