Do you believe in reincarnation or rebirth?

[Nakosis]

I believe I have had positive encounters with the spirit realm but there is of course no way to objectively prove it.

But we all believe in non-paranormal experiences that we have not personally experienced. As I enjoy studying the paranormal I look at the quantity and quality of experiences and look for patterns, consistency, etc. and form my best opinion. I would know very little about anything normal or paranormal from just my own experience.

Fair enough...

That's why I remain fairly uncertain about things beyond my experience. There's a lot I remain uncertain about

 

[George-ananda]

Is this not another way to say, Im not sure if this exist outside my imagination?

Yes, I was saying in my individual case there is no way to know for sure. I would put cases where NDE people report verifiable information of events at a distance from their body in a higher category for example.

 

[Treks]

I was raised with belief in reincarnation and believed until about four years ago. Sikhism taught me otherwise, and a huge lightbulb of simplicity lit up in my mind.

 

[Gambit]

I was raised with belief in reincarnation and believed until about four years ago. Sikhism taught me otherwise, and a huge lightbulb of simplicity lit up in my mind.

What exactly did Sikhism teach you resulting in a "huge lightbulb of simplicity?"

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

If you damage the antenna of a television, you get the same TV show with static; you don't get a whole different show.


Why would you assume I think that? It's obvious that a person's personality changes throughout his life.

All I assume is that when someone says something like "I will be reincarnated" or "I will live in Heaven after I die", they're assuming that whatever non-physical "soul" or "spirit" they think exists, it retains enough of the person to be properly called "me". They're assuming that the essence of the person is contained within the soul... that if there is a soul and it persists after death, it's really the person surviving and not just an aspect of them.

When you take away the stuff we know is rooted in the physical - the aspects of us that can be fundamentally altered by chemical or physical changes - what's left? Can it rightly be called "us"?

You're assuming that because something is altered by physical changes, that it is rooted in the physical. That's not necessarily so.

Set aside the question of whether we have some non-physical aspect that survives for a moment; when we take away all the physical, what's left to be in that non-physical aspect... if it exists at all?

Consciousness.

 

[Treks]

What exactly did Sikhism teach you resulting in a "huge lightbulb of simplicity?"

Oneness. Some Sikhs have the belief that we keep reincarnating until we manage to become enlightened and our soul/light merges with Waheguru. But the problem is, Sikhi doesn't teach that we were ever separated, so there is not anything unique that reincarnates. It's all one giant creative soupy oneness.

Now I just call it reality.

 

[psychoslice]

What on earth would reincarnate, were not the body, were not the ego, were not the conditioning that makes us who we are, so what reincarnates, nothing, it all dissolves in death.

 

[LuisDantas]

Oneness. Some Sikhs have the belief that we keep reincarnating until we manage to become enlightened and our soul/light merges with Waheguru. But the problem is, Sikhi doesn't teach that we were ever separated, so there is not anything unique that reincarnates. It's all one giant creative soupy oneness.

Now I just call it reality.

That is remarkably similar to the Buddhist teachings. Interesting. Thanks, Treks!

 

[Goblin]

And just what is that?

Supply credible sources.

Carl Jung explained a theory about ingrained archetypes and impressions that arise in every psyche, like a universal memory.
We all have an idea of what a "bad man" is because its an idea thats been built on for thousands of years.
We all have the ideal of the loving "Mother" or the wise "sage" etc.

The details change but the basic mold doesn't.
It also reminds me of the theory of morphing resonance.
These are fascinating subjects to look up if you have time.

It has been reasoned that this collective unconscious is the reason for past life experiences or memories.
Something triggers the mind, most Likly a similar brain chemistry to remember some dead guys memory basically.

 

[Goblin]

What on earth would reincarnate, were not the body, were not the ego, were not the conditioning that makes us who we are, so what reincarnates, nothing, it all dissolves in death.

It's the personality that resurfaces. Regardless if you identify it as "self"

 

[Goblin]

Lol eastern stuff is always trying to go beyond being human. No wild, all tame and heady

 

[Caligula]

I've used to struggle with this question but what put me off was not the lack of evidence, but the fact that any given answer would have been meaningless, without any kind of substance for this life.

So I've managed to get to the bottom of this seemingly paradox: if in this life the answer to such a question is useless... why not leave it for another life, when the answer could prove to be useful?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

You're assuming that because something is altered by physical changes, that it is rooted in the physical. That's not necessarily so.

Maybe an example will show what I'm talking about:

Hormones - chemicals - regulate our moods. This effect can be measured. When I say that someone is a happy person or an ornery person, when it comes down to brass tacks, I'm talking about the effects of something physical.

Even if we assume that there's some sort of supernatural component to a person, this doesn't change the overall picture: hormones and physical stimuli go in, stuff happens internally (whether only in our brains or in some brain/soul interaction), and behaviours come out. Even if a soul is involved somehow, the hormones still act as a causal agent. That's what I mean when I say something is "rooted in the physical": I'm saying that a particular behavior, attitude, or other measurable aspect of a person has a physical root cause.

Consciousness.

And is consciousness "you"? Strip away your memories, personality, appearance, etc... if only your consciousness was left, would this be enough to call you "you" (as opposed to just "your consciousness")?

 

[Muffled]

Yes but I don't believe entirely in the Hindu and Buddhist versions.

 

[Twilight Hue]

What on earth would reincarnate, were not the body, were not the ego, were not the conditioning that makes us who we are, so what reincarnates, nothing, it all dissolves in death.

That's about the only true death that I can think of.

 

[Domenic]

Many religions teach there is a soul inside, or around the body. the Bible teaches the body is the soul. In death there is nothing of the person that is alive.

 

[crazyrussian]

provide credible sources

Judaism and Reincarnation - First Steps

Ridiculous.

In your opinion!

 

[Ben Dhyan]

.....the Bible teaches the body is the soul. In death there is nothing of the person that is alive.

It was the breath of God into the clay body that made man a living soul (Gen 2:7)....when the clay man dies, the clay returns to the Earth, and the God given breath that vivified the clay to make the man returns to God. Where else could it go?

 

[Muffled]

It was the breath of God into the clay body that made man a living soul (Gen 2:7)....when the clay man dies, the clay returns to the Earth, and the God given breath that vivified the clay to make the man returns to God. Where else could it go?

Actually, I believe one can't go anywhere without being with God so the idea of a return to God has a different meaning and only refers to Jesus. I believe a spirit can go anywhere God allows since it is not burdened by a body.

 

[Muffled]

Many religions teach there is a soul inside, or around the body. the Bible teaches the body is the soul. In death there is nothing of the person that is alive.

I believe the word spirit is in the Bible. The Bible teaches that Adam became a living soul.