Do you believe in past lives?

[eirine hatsumi]

ever wonder if past lives are true?

have you ever had the feeling like "hey! i know this place like I've been here before!" or other events that you feel like it happened before but you can't remember?

 

[Myrddin]

I have gotten that feeling on occasion, though I don't really believe in past lives. I like to think that maybe it is the product of a you from a parallel universe doing exactly the same thing at the same time as you in this universe, and that it is this that causes the sense of déja vu.

 

[eirine hatsumi]

yeah that's true, have you ever had this feeling like "I know this person" even though this is the first time you saw him/her?

 

[Amy_lewis_143]

I've never had an experiance like this before, although i do believe in past lives =) I like the idea of reincarnation ^___^

Ive had the met before feeling before though, its a nice feelings ^__^

 

[magickz]

Why not? I have that feeling at least once a week. Seriously though yes I do and there are too many instances to list of why I do, I just do and I know it whole heartily.

 

[RLynn]

I occasionally have a deja vu experience. I think it may be a brain anomaly of some sort, a slight lag between perception and cognition. I fervently hope there is no reincarnation. One lifetime is enough for me!

 

[Myrddin]

have you ever had this feeling like "I know this person" even though this is the first time you saw him/her?

I have gotten exactly that sort of feeling before. Not very often, but often enough. It's a little weird.

 

[Myrddin]

I occasionally have a deja vu experience. I think it may be a brain anomaly of some sort, a slight lag between perception and cognition. I fervently hope there is no reincarnation. One lifetime is enough for me!

No kidding. I would like to think that the next life will be much better than this one, so please, no looping.

 

[Pegasus]

I also believe in past lives. It might seem like what we do or do not learn from our current life experiences may carry over into the next one. This might explain why all of a sudden, some thought or idea pops into your head, and you think, how did I know that? Would be interesting to know if we did learn anything from our past lives, and are we any smarter this time around!

 

[Myrddin]

I also believe in past lives. It might seem like what we do or do not learn from our current life experiences may carry over into the next one. This might explain why all of a sudden, some thought or idea pops into your head, and you think, how did I know that? Would be interesting to know if we did learn anything from our past lives, and are we any smarter this time around!

Maybe that's how humanity keeps getting smarter and smarter. But then, what about other animals?

 

[Frumpy]

I am on the fence about past lives. However, I also have had a lot of deja vu instances in my life. However, I would love to be conscious of past lives if they really exist. I would love to have lived many times over. I think each era had a beauty to it.

 

[Libros]

Part of the reason I have trouble with reincarnation is that it's founded upon the notion that we have a reason to be here, that we have a purpose, and that lessons can only be learned across multiple lifetimes, not just in one.

Do we need a reason to exist? Do we need a reason that our parents joined sperm and egg in a particular year and we were birthed in a certain location? I don't think so. Even if you believe plants and animals exist to create an ecosystem upon which humans sustain themselves, why are humans here?

I believe reincarnation is something created by the human hunger to understand itself, that we're so disappointed or unsatisfied with whatever mistakes or lack of endeavour we have in this life that we need to be on the planet another lifetime to experience something else. And I think having no reason at all to be here gives us a lot more emotional freedom to appreciate the things we do and make for ourselves.

If we only live once, everything we experience is encapsulated in a fixed series of years. If you missed your chance to learn something or resolve a mistake, that's okay, that's what's great about being human, and that's the beauty of a flawed conscience. All reincarnation seems to grant is the unfounded possibility of being able to experience more or to go back and finished unresolved things.

 

[Myrddin]

Part of the reason I have trouble with reincarnation is that it's founded upon the notion that we have a reason to be here, that we have a purpose, and that lessons can only be learned across multiple lifetimes, not just in one.

Do we need a reason to exist? Do we need a reason that our parents joined sperm and egg in a particular year and we were birthed in a certain location? I don't think so. Even if you believe plants and animals exist to create an ecosystem upon which humans sustain themselves, why are humans here?

I think we all need a reason to exist, because a reason to exist gives us meaning; that we were put on this earth to do something with our lives. Without meaning, we have nothing to live for, nothing to do to make ourselves, at least feel, useful.

 

[Libros]

You can easily make yourself useful and commit your life to a purpose that's greater than you. That's all you need during your lifespan, but you create it by yourself, for yourself. It's not something you pick out of the air or that's spiritually bestowed upon you and revealed.

What I don't agree with is that because that reason was unrealized or unfulfilled, you get to come back and have another shot at life to get it done. What makes me all the more appreciative of life and a reason to commit to something is only one shot at it.

 

[RLynn]

Yes, indeed. I believe that the meaning/purpose of life is a creative act on the part of the individual. Otherwise, one may waste an entire lifetime seeking the meaning of existence out there somewhere and never finding it.

 

[Myrddin]

I don't agree with the reasons for reincarnation either -- I believe that ones reason for living is created by the individual, you know, what pulls them through life, what drives them forward. Everyone has something to contribute to the world, however small, and this is what gives them meaning, a reason... purpose. Whatever it is, I agree that it is a one shot deal, and wherever we go after we die, it is a different plane from this one. Maybe this world is like bootcamp, where we are trained for whatever world awaits us on the other side -- like Stormy believes in Odd Thomas (Dean Koontz book).

 

[mythlvr]

I am torn. I am Christian and definitely believe in the Bible and the second coming but there are alos coincidents and feelings of things happening before that, on some level, make believe or should I say intrigued, about past lives and the possibility of it being real as well.

 

[CuriousAlice]

I don't believe in past lives but I do get deja vu experiences every so often. I would find the topic of past lives interesting though. I always wonder why I get that feeling though.

 

[LegendofJoe]

What I don't get about karma and past lives is the belief that you may be punished for bad karma from a previous existence.
If I suffer in this life for something I did in a previoue life, how am I to be blamed for something I don't even remember doing?
Am I really the same person that I was in a previous existence?
According to this logic, a person serving a prison term of double life needs to go back to jail if he is reincarnated, if of course there is a way to prove an innocent infant is indeed a reincarnation of a criminal.

 

[Myrddin]

What I don't get about karma and past lives is the belief that you may be punished for bad karma from a previous existence.
If I suffer in this life for something I did in a previoue life, how am I to be blamed for something I don't even remember doing?
Am I really the same person that I was in a previous existence?
According to this logic, a person serving a prison term of double life needs to go back to jail if he is reincarnated, if of course there is a way to prove an innocent infant is indeed a reincarnation of a criminal.

Very good point. And I think that, no, no one should be punished for something they don't even remember doing. Because what's the point? If they don't remember doing it, then the punishment ceases to have an impact.