Do you believe in past lives?

[SLM]

All of my lives have been in the past.

If they were in the future that would just be weird.

 

[JLM]

All of my lives have been in the past.

Well it's time you joined the real world of 2012...........but you can't go too far wrong as long as you keep eating head cheese. My wife put her foot down tonight and said we're having turkey dinner! :lol:

 

[petros]

I ate enough for my next life.

 

[SLM]

I ate enough for my next life.

Well that's good then cuz it's one less thing you have to do next time.

 

[Cliffy]

Clearly the form you inhabit has a humor deficit???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLlVMGzBwhE

You have a weird sense of humour. So do i but it is a different weird than yours. Mine comes from my holographic image of myself. Yours comes from your perception that you are real.

 

[spaminator]

It would seem that the majority of posters have experienced reintardation.

 

[L Gilbert]

That is not what I said. Alive and real are learned concepts, but they are only concepts. They are just terms of reference to indicate what appears real in the holograph. When you are born, what do you see, how do you see it and hear it, smell it and feel it? Is it the same as you do today or is a learned process? Or, more correctly, are we programmed to perceive reality in a certain way that is socially acceptable? Could it be, like a Windoze operating system, be full of glitches that screw up our perception of reality. We are socially conditioned since birth to perceive reality in a certain way, but if you go to other societies (Aborigines of Auzzyland or Bushman of the Kalahari) you will find striking differences in how they perceive reality. But in order to perceive any reality, one must be conscious and aware, therefore what we term alive.

All that is just another figment?

 

[B00Mer]

You have a weird sense of humour. So do i but it is a different weird than yours. Mine comes from my holographic image of myself. Yours comes from your perception that you are real.

 

[Kathie Bondar]

I believe in past lives as easily as I believe in heavenly courts where we are judged by or actions by a holy jury and sent to either heaven or hell. I would be quite willing to believe in God if He were to show Himself to us in a convincing fashion. At this point the Bible doesn't cut it.
If we look at our lives were we live out our three score and ten years(some a bit longer and some a bit shorter)and just die seems illogical. What is the purpose of these short, little, meaningless lives. Some people achieve a lot in their short lives, Are those people rewarded......How? Every question just turns up more questions.

Most people are looking for short answers. My short answer to you is: yes.
My long answer to you is: start reading. I found my short answer the long way, because I was curious and one book lead me to another, and another and another, and then I asked more questions and more books (many of them garbage, some good). It took some effort but I did get there and if I could do it others can too.

You have a weird sense of humour. So do i but it is a different weird than yours. Mine comes from my holographic image of myself. Yours comes from your perception that you are real.

I guess you do know three laser beams create a holographic image?

 

[WLDB]

We are just replicating DNA.

The biosphere, of which we are a part, is the living mass of the Earth. Nothing is lost and nothing is gained (on the physical plain) but on the consciousness plain, the biosphere is continually evolving with every single organism contributing its part to that growth. In a sense, we are all immortal.

Well, until the sun turns into a red giant and destroys the Earth.

 

[Cliffy]

Well, until the sun turns into a red giant and destroys the Earth.

I think the bible was translated wrong when it said, "dust to dust." I believe is was originally "energy to energy." Energy is neither created or lost, it is just transformed. It won't matter if the sun vaporizes us. We will just be absorbed into the greater energy pool of the universe.

 

[bluebyrd35]

When you die, you're dead, that's it, the end. There's no evidence to suggest any part of the personality survives the death of the body, or existed before the body, that's just wishful thinking. Make the best of the time you've got, it's all there is.

You, personally have been presented with no evidence, but there are many of us who have been fortunate enough to experience a lot of evidence, meant for us alone. This reality is meant to be lived fully and for many that includes allowing no hint of anything beyond the physical. Free will, in my opinion, extends much further than choosing how we deal with the physical world , where we really seem to have very little control at times.

Personality is (in my opinion) not all that survives death. Perhaps essence is more how I see what survives. It seems to me, that one's personality goes through many changes over a lifetime. Life's events guarantee many changes, so what we begin with, is not what we finish with. Babies are born with personalities, (simply visit a newborn nursery and watch for awhile), and these go through many changes over a lifetime.

I suspect, it doesn't matter what anyone believes. If, they attempt to live up to their own highest ideals, it won't matter, what follows. They have at least done as little harm as possible. If nothing exists upon death, fine, but since I have been blessed with some amazing experiences, I do lean towards another outcome.

 

[L Gilbert]

Do you think people that when they die, just get reborn into another life and start life over again as another person or thing? I seem to think so because i always get these weird deja vu moments where something ive never been too or expeirenced seems familiar....

What do you guys think? Mabye you were someone important in histpry, mabye you changed history or mabye lived a normal humble life in a past life....

Nope. I think what happens is people's brains interpret things that tweak their memories and it's the only way their brain can render it so that it makes sense.
Perception and interpretaion is what we deal with and not everyone is the same. Some people are based more in reality than others. For instance:
Watch "Beau Lotto: Optical illusions show how we see" Video at Ted.TV

 

[Dexter Sinister]

You, personally have been presented with no evidence...

It's almost certainly true that you haven't either, and if only one person can detect it, it's not evidence anyway. Most likely is that you're simply interpreting certain events and feelings as being supportive of something you want to believe, an error in perception and analysis the human mind is very good at making, it'll find patterns and meanings in things even when there aren't any. Look up at the night sky some time and try NOT to see the Big Dipper. As H. L. Mencken once remarked, the chief occupation of mankind is believing in the palpably untrue. Whatever evidence you think you have, there are more prosaic explanations that don't involve past lives.

 

[bluebyrd35]

It's almost certainly true that you haven't either, and if only one person can detect it, it's not evidence anyway. Most likely is that you're simply interpreting certain events and feelings as being supportive of something you want to believe, an error in perception and analysis the human mind is very good at making, it'll find patterns and meanings in things even when there aren't any. Look up at the night sky some time and try NOT to see the Big Dipper. As H. L. Mencken once remarked, the chief occupation of mankind is believing in the palpably untrue. Whatever evidence you think you have, there are more prosaic explanations that don't involve past lives.

Twice there were shared instances.......it is an eerie experience realizing as strangers, we shared episodes that did not occur during this lifetime. Mostly my experiences involved after death experiences and many of these were shared as well. Perhaps, because I believe in earthly evolution, it is not a great leap to imagine the possibility of evolution of the spirit as well. I have had a problem once or twice finding the big dipper but then I was on different continents those times ;-)

In anycase, I am as content with my interpretations as I am sure you are with your conclusions.

 

[Dexter Sinister]

I'm sure you're quite content. I'm also sure you're fooling yourself.

 

[JLM]

I'm sure you're quite content. I'm also sure you're fooling yourself.

It's quite common for people to dismiss things, they don't understand and there are many instances of that happening.

 

[bluebyrd35]

I'm sure you're quite content. I'm also sure you're fooling yourself.

As you wish........remember if dead is dead, I won't know nor care but if not, well, I've had an amusing time speculating. Seems a win win to me. While, I do not look forward to dying, neither do I fear non-existence.

 

[Dexter Sinister]

It's quite common for people to dismiss things, they don't understand and there are many instances of that happening.

It's much more common for them to fabricate an incorrect explanation that satisfies their prejudices and make no further attempt at understanding.

 

[JLM]

It's much more common for them to fabricate an incorrect explanation that satisfies their prejudices and make no further attempt at understanding.

That may just be part of the process of reaching the right conclusion- the likes of Galileo, Newton and Edison all went through it.