Past Lives and Regression
- Thread starter CatherineW
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The problem with reincarnation, is the increasing population. See, the population keeps increasing, so where were all the souls that now inhabit bodies, before there were enough bodies?
IF there were so many souls waiting in the wings, so to speak, why did some get to have two goes at life, before others even had one?
So generally, reincarnation is just a load of ill thought out bunkum, and regression merely hypnotic suggestion.
IF there were so many souls waiting in the wings, so to speak, why did some get to have two goes at life, before others even had one?
So generally, reincarnation is just a load of ill thought out bunkum, and regression merely hypnotic suggestion.
Published in paperback, not 'Nature'. How un-compelling that makes it.
Who would want to remember their past lives?
Considering how living beings usually fare on this planet (they way they eat, sleep, mate and fight, the way they are born, get old, sick and die), each of us has probably had a similar course.
I don't even want to remember my last visit at the dentist a couple of weeks ago, what to speak of being willing to remember countless lifetimes of tootaches.
Not to mention being unwilling to remember countless lifetimes of having been killed by predators, diseases and lightning.
If that is your only reason, it seems to me a little brainstorming could come up with a number of possible solutions to that problem.
Carcano
Valued Senior Member
http://near-death.com/reincarnation.html
Reincarnation has been called by some to be the greatest unknown scientific discovery today. In the last chapter of Dr. Ian Stevenson's book entitled Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation (1967), he provides rigorous scientific reasoning to show how reincarnation is the only viable explanation that fits the facts of his study. He considers every possible alternative explanation for his twenty cases of young children who were spontaneously able to describe a previous lifetime as soon as they learned to talk. He was able to rule out each alternative explanation using one or more aspects of these cases. Later research has even bolstered his case in favor of the existence of reincarnation. His study is also completely reproducible which means that anybody who doubts the validity of this study is perfectly welcome to repeat it for themselves. I believe it is only a short matter of time before his discovery of the existence of reincarnation is finally realized by the scientific community and the world to be accepted as one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time.
Reincarnation has been called by some to be the greatest unknown scientific discovery today. In the last chapter of Dr. Ian Stevenson's book entitled Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation (1967), he provides rigorous scientific reasoning to show how reincarnation is the only viable explanation that fits the facts of his study. He considers every possible alternative explanation for his twenty cases of young children who were spontaneously able to describe a previous lifetime as soon as they learned to talk. He was able to rule out each alternative explanation using one or more aspects of these cases. Later research has even bolstered his case in favor of the existence of reincarnation. His study is also completely reproducible which means that anybody who doubts the validity of this study is perfectly welcome to repeat it for themselves. I believe it is only a short matter of time before his discovery of the existence of reincarnation is finally realized by the scientific community and the world to be accepted as one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time.
other inhabited planets, part of an undifferentiated source...there's a couple of possibilitites.
The latter ones didn't break off from the source earlier.
By what scientific method did you determine the latter.
All valid points about what it would likely be like. Here's one reason, however, without denying the reality of what you are saying....
An example. A parent has a kid who loves to swim but this parent has a water phobia. Doctors murmur about genetics but a past life memory shows a death by drowning. Once the feelings and conclusions drawn from this experience are gone through the parent is not afraid of water and can accompany the child to favorite beach for swimming.
So strong, seemingly irrational reactions in the current life, can be made understandable, and these 'portions' of the self can be soothed and brought up to date. More freedom and ease.
OK, so how do the numbers add up, and where do spare souls wait?
The source? Where is that? Why don't people have memories from these other planets?
Because the above horse puckey is the best people can come up with? IE, there is NO science in reincarnation. But a lot of paperback fiction.
Um. Other inhabited planets, the souls come from an undifferentiated source, so more have come (here) as time went on....I am sure I could come up with other possibilities.
Actually most people have memories of past lives here. I am suggesting possibilities. I think your deduction is unconvincing, that's all.
So you haven't read Dr. Ian Stevenson.
I think these kinds of arguments, like the one you made earlier about the new souls, are speculative and wildly.
If reincarnation were true then.......
arguments made by people who know very little about it seem rather pointless to me as proofs. As curious speculation or as wondering about something in a questioning form, fine, great even. But to present these arguments as if they close cases, is, well, silly.
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Sure. As a matter of fact, in some religious traditions that have doctrines on karma and reincarnation, it is standard to draw instructions from the consideration of one's past lives and how they might be reflecting in this one. A general guideline (although these instructions on reincarnation can be very specific) is that if you feel particularly upset about something, this is a sign that this is where you probably got stuck in the previous lifetime and that this is what you need to work on.
I just meant earlier that I do not have the stamina to face all my previous lives at once. What is the pain of a billion tootaches ... :bawl: Add to this billions of deaths by hyenas, parasites, starvation etc. etc. :bawl:
There is the notion that souls incarnate throughout different species, e.g in one lifetime, someone is born in the body of a cat, in another in the body of a human, then in the body of a pig and so on.
Oh,God no. Hell, facing this life is plenty. Though sometimes facing past lives can relieve pressure that was only seemingly related to this life. But all at once....! I can barely look at all my monthly bills all at once. I have to take breaks and then slip one more out of the pile.
i do think the organism has some ways of holding stuff back.
Frankly, in a way, we are better off not to automatically remember past lives. All those who oppose reincarnation should really consider whether they are really willing to witness their past lives. We have to be honest here: if someone isn't willing to witness their past lives, then they shouldn't decry reincarnation.
Expecially if they say self-comforting motivations are the root of beliefs in such things. If you think other people have beliefs based on emotional need, a careful look at possible reasons why one's own position may be based on emotional need is in order.
And then if one disdains emotions and thinks one is completely rational, one should also consider that the emotions have to work more in secret. I have always found it strange that those who distrust and suppress emotions should think they have a better relationship with them and a clearer understanding of how they affect them.
I have no idea what could possibly be self-comforting about reincarnation!
I suppose it is part of their rationality (' ') to claim they are in control of their emotions.
That you don't die, permanently. (from a disbeliever's perspective)
I think that may be all being rational is. Sort of like making the troops march in formation before the general.
Off base though, coincidentally, there are all these stripper clubs and bars, the owners of which think, for some reason, they can make money near the military.
I think the thought of being born over and over and over again in some miserable life forms is just as bad as to think that we will be annihilated.
A matter of self-presentation, of image.
And they do!
I can remember the exact moment I felt cornered by what seemed like the only three possiblities. I was watching Brazil, a pretty dark film, and it hit me that I would either 1) go to some eternal afterlife, both heaven and hell sounding rather unpleasant in terms of eternity or 2) no longer exist or 3) be reincarnated without much memory. It was funny, kind of. I had to be alone. The film was not over, but I HAD to get out of the room - a large group was watching it on video. I stood up to leave and this guy grabbed my arm.
'You have to see the end. It's fucking great.'
And I just froze. I did not have the will power to leave, even though I felt I needed to. '
It wasn't that i wanted to leave to avoid the unpleasantness in the film I like the film and have seen it again.
It was that I was so overwhelmed by the realization/certainty I had that I needed to be alone to deal with the feelings.
But now I don't think it has to go as it has gone in the past.
And very temporary and superficial types of organization.
In part I would suggest because of the repressive order itself.