A question about Reincarnation>?

[RusticMusic]

Hello, I have a question ive always wanted to discuss, but never really wanted the scrutiny of my friends here at home. so here it is:
Is anyone ever drawn to a certain part of history? Almost obsessively?And if so do you wonder why? I kind of believe in a sort of reincarnation, and i believe maybe parts of history we have an interest in have something to do with past lives. Any thoughts?
Regards,
Rustic

 

[_Z_]

RM, hi, I often think about ancient Britain, I don’t know if I was here then or if I am ‘tuned’ to that period, but it is very significant to me. I wonder if it’s a case of ‘like attracts like’ as if some part of us has an affinity with certain aspects of history. Not sure if I believe in reincarnation as everyone seams to be kings and queens or something notable, and why should we have more than one life? Another of infinity of souls should surely have its life! Not just that but we get enough sufferance in one life – two would be cruel imho. If we were born in another body then would we not be as different as another soul in that body? Would we still be us! So I am for the one life principle, yet remain open as there may be an inner self that transmigrates death – thence the new body is simply a new receptacle to that being & we are still essentially what we were before but with different aspects to our nature, maybe for different lessons.

Best to include any variant & remain open.

As for that part of history I am into, well it goes around in my mind regularly, as if I am being spoken to by people from that period [the druids in particular] wanting to be heard.



Don’t know if that’s the sort of thing you meant.

Z

 

[taijasi]

Rustic & Z,

My reasons for believing in rebirth date back to when I was only a few years old. I remember playing with a little figure of a Knight Templar that my parents had picked up in Portugal on their honeymoon. What was interesting is that I would sometimes play with this figure for hours & hours, while few other toys could captivate me for so long. And many toys were certainly more exciting, so what was it about this little knight?

Some would say it's just 20-20 hindsight regarding what I'm about to say, but I know the situation well enough to say that that's preposterous! The fact is, I didn't exactly imagine that the little knight was "real," but in a most mysterious way he simply was real. The little plastic figure was only ever a toy, nor did I have childlike conversations with some imaginary "best friend." But I did experience a form of communication which later came to make sense. No words were used, but there was a definite presence which the Knight Templar figure symbolized, and this was one of my earliest experiences of what Richard Bach (or anyone) might call Nothing By Chance.

The Knight Templar has figured prominently in my life, resurfacing again into waking awareness when I was 16 or 17. For 2 or 3 years he was a tremendously strong influence, and then - somewhere midway through college, I had a waking vision in the botannical gardens involving that knight (who & which was quite familiar to me by then), and we essentially parted company. Although that signalled the end of my understanding of the knight as in any way distinct from me, I had already come to recognize him as the persona (meaning mask) from another incarnation. And I can identify him by name, which I do think is somewhat rare when learning about past lives.

A similar - although in some ways much more personal - story could be told about a lifetime I know I lived through the 50s and 60s, involving a childhood in Ohio, a far-out & groovy time in California at the Haight, and an involuntary tour of duty overseas (not due to the draft, but not because I signed up, either). That lifetime ended abrubtly, but I see the death as a blessing, as my karma was only getting heavier - such that from a Soul perspective the decision was made to abort, and try again. I might add that I experienced much negativity earlier in this life relating to that incarnation, and it was only through great effort (and considerable spiritual help, or Grace) that I have been able to balance or neutralize this.

Without ever actually trying to recover memories or knowledge (except as to try & confirm what had already come to me), I do believe I've seen into a Persian incarnation almost 2,000 years ago, one immediately before that in a nearby region, a Greek lifetime a few hundred years earlier, and an Egyptian birth during the reign of Akhenaton. Earlier, I do resonate quite strongly with the notion/idea/persona of a Native American, but this is much more vague than most of these other lifetimes. There is also something involving a flood, but I would guestimate that as being quite recent - possibly the sinking of Poseidonis (9564BC), or maybe just a symbolic (?) memory of the earlier Atlantean catastrophes (75,025BC, and about 200,000 & 800,000 years ago). I insert the dates only because they resonate with many, many other things I believe.

The point is - and I hope people might take note - it is possible to have a whole slew of experiences, presumed memories, resonances, and insights, into or of things which might otherwise make little sense ... and which only begin to fit into place once we encounter the "right framework" for interpreting it all. The challenge, or difficulty, is that sometimes we are working with an existing framework - especially if this is simply the ready-made set of beliefs & practices handed to us from our parents/church/peers - and we find that we simply cannot stuff or fit many of our experiences into that (prebuilt, unquestioned) framework, or worldview. "The unexamined life is not worth living." And more to the point, "You cannot put new wine into old wineskins."

This is when we must ask ourselves: Is it really likely that things are exactly the way everyone around us says they are ... or could it be that life is really about asking questions, and choosing our own path, even if - at least temporariliy & to a certain extent we feel uncertain & uncomfortable? In my experience, the latter has turned out to be much more rewarding, even if I have sometimes disagreed with, or even lost friends due to my beliefs/choices.

I now know why I was so strongly drawn to the 50s and 60s era, as well as to the Knights Templar (much more so than that period in history in general), and also to certain qualities, interests, or feelings associated with the earlier lives I mentioned. I do not suggest that the teaching of Rebirth is the only way to interpret my experiences, and I have certainly also examined them from a psychological angle ... but I also know what makes the most sense for me.

I have said nothing about the fact that in each instance of a presumed set of memories/resonances from these earlier lives, quite a few of my friends or acquaintances seemed to fit in, or share these experiences with me. In some cases, the relationship or connection is unmistakable. Often this was shown to me, or spoken/presented point-blank long before I ever shared my thoughts/beliefs with these friends. In other cases, friends have shared things that I was able to corroborate or later connect with, even though they may not have made much sense at the time. And to this day I still maintain an angle on some of my experiences/memories/beliefs such that I know I am in disagreement with x, y, or z friend (or ex-girlfriend), but everything in my experience tells me that my assessment - limited & imperfect as it is - nonetheless makes more sense. Even if someone tells me, "No, I was not so-and-so in my past life," I must take this with a grain of salt, since said person also does not have any memories or knowledge that directly contradicts that possibility! I would not want to find out that I was Nero either, but I maintain that somebody was!!! That's just an example, of course.

Imho, most of us probably lived during the Middle Ages, and so we often resonate to that time period in one way or another, as that is usually the most recent prior incarnation. The SCAdians (Society for Creative Anachronism) or RENfest types are the best example I've found of people who truly allow that lifetime or set of experiences to overshadow the current one. Similarly, I know many, many folks who are drawn to ancient Egypt, because at one point or another I think we practically all had a lifetime (or 2, or 8) there. lol America, after all, is seen by some as the reincarnation of ancient Egypt, just as the UK is (essentially, speaking generally) the reincarnation of the Roman Empire. Nations, then, are reborn, just as individuals.

Although this is turning into an editorial, and I really just meant to add my 2 cents ... I would like to mention that the only way rebirth makes sense to me is according to the notion that we are all reborn (not just some), this probably happens thousands - or tens of thousands - of times, and this is governed by the Law of Karma (the scales, as in Libra). No one punishes us, just as no one took wrath or vengeance upon you when you knocked the raquetball against the wall and it came back & hit you in the head! One lifetime isn't enough, because again - no one has "asked" you to suffer!!! That's just the way life is, because all are subject - at some level - to the Law of Rebirth. "In [God] we live & move & have our being," and like us, yet on a higher turn of the spiral, God incarnates. Thus we share this larger, collective (Planetary) Karma, and hence the simple fact that there is as yet suffering on our planet (but not on all) - though such will not always be the case on Earth.

As the familiar metaphor goes, life is like a school, and one grade is not enough. Occasionally we may even need to repeat a grade - and in that sense we are held back, for our own benefit. But we are never set/sent back to an even earlier grade! How would that help us? Rather, we are encouraged to learn and advance as quickly as possible, especially since the sooner we graduate, the sooner we may take our unique skillset (based on a Universal curriculum, of course) and apply this in direct service of Humanity. For no other purpose are we here in this school, and thus to no other end will it profit us to focus on last year's lessons, or those from many grades back. This actually only slows our progress, since it is this year's lessons that matter. Suppose we need a review, however? Or suppose it is time, in preparing for our senior exams to see "how it all fits together?" THEN it makes sense to grasp a bigger picture.

But there is college, and graduate school, and post-graduate study - and if you're a high-falutin' PhD and think you're done with your education, then it just means hey man, you got a few more times around this wheel. I am always frustrated when I see people disheartened or put off by the notion of another lifetime (or 10). After all, if we are reborn, then we must believe that it's for a Purpose (if we have even one grain of Faith in God & God's Perfect Plan). And unless you have already acheived Perfection, then how can you say "I am done with life's school and do not need to return"?

I would be very disappointed if it ever ended! In some far-distant incarnation, maybe (or actually, certainly) I will have the honor of joining the rank of Human graduates, yet that doesn't mean school is over - it means I've finally just qualified for study in a higher sphere. I may not return to Earth as such, but the far-off worlds (experiences, states of being) are ENDLESS. As in, INFINITE ... (take God out of the box)

Peace ... and apologies for ramblin' on ...

protokletos
​

 

[_Z_]

nice post

Taijasi, hi

There is still the question that one may be ‘reading through time’, to histories and events that resonate with who you are now rather than or in addition to actual past lives. I often ask myself what would be the point of rebirth as ‘life is not a question’ thus perhaps we are not here to learn the/an answer! I suppose one naturally gravitates towards an earthly existence after death, as it is all we know & like. I just like to remain open on the idea – but generally I do think we are reborn on a level of our choice, if one has the presence of mind. Imho the art to controlling ones rebirth destiny is in ‘stillness’, if one remains unmoved by attractions, then we may survive the turmoil of the in between world.



Stillness also defeats all adversaries! Useful for fending off demons or other unwanted attentions – can be used in life, but fate tends to catch us unawares.



Z

 

[17th Angel]

Quick question.....(s)
How come when people believe in reincarnation majority of the time they were really famous and historical figures.... oh wow how lovley.... ¬.¬

Does it mean if your a vegiterian and really drawn to lettuce you were previously erm a rabbit? I just cannot believe in that......

 

[Bandit]

just because you dont believe in something does not mean that it cant be true.
if you believe in something or expereince something & someone else does not have that same experience, they are not going to understand or be able to relate.

i dont think i am reincarnated, but it could be a possibility for someone else & they may be looking for someone who will understand them.

 

[RusticMusic]

Hi all,
So glad to see a wonderful reply to my question. Thanks Z and taijasi. I have been without a computer for a few months and its been frustrating.. I am still in fascination of the idea of reincarnation. The idea that energy is one continuous flowing river..

 

[_Z_]

Hi rusticmusic,
i keep getting pc problems too - goddam machines!
The idea that energy is one continuous flowing river...



Interesting idea! Similarly, one can see existence as being ‘immersed’ in life or spirit; 'the river of ones spiritual continuum begins from the spring [first birth] returning to the ocean, whilst the water table is everpresent'!