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The question is...What makes more sense to you...this life of yours is a one shot wonder...or reincarnation has a lot going for it?

What say you?

I used to believe in the biblical view that after death you "hang around" somplace until you are called to rise and be judged - or something along those lines. But since I have been reading about Eastern religion reincarnation seems to make more sense. Especially if you view your soul as energy. Energy is supposed to be neither created nor destroyed. So then your soul has to go somewhere after death and it would seem purposeless to return to the source to stay. It seems to make sense that the soul would keep returning to Earth until it was fully realized at what point it would stay, or return again or whatever. These are my thought; however, I am still trying to realize the truth.

I find no comfort or meaning in religion -- I'm probably a bizarre cross between agnosticism, a mishmash of the eastern religions, and some sort of mother earth thing.
;-)

My answer is that I have no answer, and I really have no idea how it'll all pan out. What makes zero sense to me is an anthropomorphic god(s). But what also does not make sense to me is the sudden non-existance of my conscience upon death. The latter is more of a human trait; I think it's natural for us to be unable to conceive of our non-existance (hence one reason for religions).

I think it does make sense that my life is a one shot wonder...in the human form, that is. I cannot go beyond that - reincarnation is possible, or our deaths allowing for future life..I really have no idea. Just a vague, completely baseless notion that it won't end...or if it does end, it's really not gonna matter; cause maybe there's something else over the horizon. It'll all be good.

I must defer to the movie 'Contact' to describe my general feelings of the matter - when Jodi Foster views the universe/galaxy before her and around her, and it's truly beautiful.

The beauty is in the mystery. Better to leave unanswered.

The trick me thinks is in quieting our minds to enjoy that mystery.

Alan V...I always find it fun and exciting when someone comes to a logical conclusion...and then makes their point in simple fashion.

When you basicly stated..."what are we at our core but energy...and energy can neither be created or destroyed, [it can only be transformed in nature]...brother you said a mouthful!"

Good for you my friend!

When you said, "I am still trying to realize the truth."...I was equally impressed....as you are so close to "getting it"...you would not believe it!

I am curious to hear a lot more from you!

For a long time I kind of gave up on being religious or finding religion/spirituality. I believed in a something bigger than anything, what I call God. About a year ago I started to get on the right track again. I started attending a church, read the New Testament and began learning to meditate. I felt good about everything, but then I started to have the feeling that I wasn't being fed what I needed to be. I still felt hungry. Church or the Bible wasn't feeding me anymore. I liken it to kindergarten. It worked for the stage of my life I was in, but I had outgrown it and needed to move into the next grade. I began reading about Eastern religion, Tibetan Buddhism to be exact and I was awed at how my compassion went through the roof after reading this stuff. Everything I read just seemed to make sense. Almost like I was thinking that this was the information that I was looking for.

When I say God is energy and we are energy I got those ideas from the Eastern reading, but I have not realized them for myself yet. The ideas feel to be correct, but I wouldn't bet my life on it that they were. That is what I am struggling with.

Thank you, oldhippy, for taking an interest and helping me pull stuff out of my head. I have always enjoyed reading your posts to others. It's like you always know what questions to ask and what a person needs to hear.

I used to didn't believe in reincarnation, but now I do. Everything has to balance. Whatever we miss out in this life, the next life has to make up for it. Either good or bad.

Nic

quote:

Originally posted by Alan V:
When I say God is energy and we are energy I got those ideas from the Eastern reading, but I have not realized them for myself yet. The ideas feel to be correct, but I wouldn't bet my life on it that they were. That is what I am struggling with.

You might be right. But, I don't think we need complicated 'tomes of knowledge' to discern it.

Darkness and light.

Life comes from the sun. Life wilters in the dark.

If you look at the sun long enough you will go blind. We're not supposed to know. Enjoy the mystery.

And when snow falls - they are snowflakes from HEAVEN.

Snow falls on the tops of mountains - and the highest altitudes make all but the most humble sick.

If you look too long at snow - you will get snow blindness.
More so at high altitudes and latitudes.

Snow blindness is painful state coming from the sun burning your eye cornea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_blindness
http://www.mounteverest.net/guide/snowblind.htm

The SIGNS are there.

ENJOY the mystery.

circus...you seem to be acknowledging the "paradox of life" in several of your latest posts...ie. we need the sun for warmth and life...but at the same time...you can burn up or burn out from it just as well...or our need for water to stay alive is paramount...yet too much of it and it no longer sustains life, it now has the ability to destroy it.

Fire warms out hearth...or can turn on us and burn us to death.

What do you make of this? The same things that allow life to exist, can also snuff it out?

What say you and others on this?

Yes.

Follow the Middle Way. That's why the letter M is in the middle of the alphabet. #13 of 26 letters.

M for miracles. They do happen.

And when you stay in water too long, your fingers get clammy.
We are from the sea, but meant to be on earth.

Enjoy the mystery - like a novel. For once it's over - it's really over.

circus...if you truly bekieve that the riddle of life is not ment to be solved...then you are right!

But...if you believe: "seek and ye shall find"...then you are right on!
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To:Alan V

There is a saying that came to mind when reading your most recent post, once again...

"Knowlege is knowing...but the wisdom is living it"

You seem to be ahead a bit on the "knowing it"...but you admit the timing is a off a bit to the "feeling or fully realzing it"

Possible solutions to fixing this out of sync feeling:

Always make sure when asking to be "filled with the light"...that somehow your hand isn't unintentionally covering the very vessel that your are asking to have filled.

Just as you might feel inclined to clean up your house prior to letting a special guest enter, If we have not first properly cleaned "our vessel"...we may feel just a little embarresed or even unworthy of fully receiving that which we truly seek to enter.

" Total Forgiveness of self", and "total forgiveness of others"... and learning true "unconditional love", is the best cleaning agents to use for this particular prep job.

Goal: "No regrets...no fears" = no unconcious need to protect our self from the full intensity of that light we seek to have enter.

The light only goes where it is freely and "unconditionally" invited in.

Lastly...I do not have a clue to why I answered your post as I did..so let me know if any of the above has any meaning to you at all.

quote:

Originally posted by oldhippy:
circus...if you truly bekieve that the riddle of life is not ment to be solved...then you are right!

But...if you believe: "seek and ye shall find"...then you are right on!
---------------------------------

Lastly...I do not have a clue to why I answered your post as I did..so let me know if any of the above has any meaning to you at all.

All you say is correct me thinks old hippy. Seek and ye shall find - our true self.

But - it is very difficult to find - even for the dedicated seeker. I know - by first hand experience. For I did not find it by traveling to many places of spiritual power. But - I have become, what I was meant to become. shall we say...one just needs to know the right spells to cast on oneself. But how does one know, what one does not and perhaps cannot know?

Either one becomes it by accident and has no idea, gets there by logically thinking it out (Very, VERY doubtful), or by feeling it out (Again, very, VERY doubtful) or perhaps with some assistance. But who to ask for help? For there are many charlatans and false signs. More than most imagine. Let's not resort to name calling though. I will say that the vast majority of those out there - masquerade and disguise the truth.

And yes - when it snows we think it is magical, and if we were to know the magic behind a perfect snowflake, it wouldn't be so magical any more. Ahhh...the mystery. The conundrum.

Only a disciplined and quiet mind will see the truth. Many forces in our culture (Global - logically so - once one understands the forces of history) move against this.

As I said about the - fall - in the Ishmael forum -- pride before the fall. Pride is a virus. To defeat pride - one has to SWALLOW IT in all of its different flavors. Yummy!! Down to the last drop.

--------

It's scarier on the ledge than on the ground. All myths (Movies,stories, and dare I say documentaries) hold a part of the truth. One just has to put the puzzle together. Ahh...the mystery and joy of seeking.

And yes - staying out in the sun too long (Life giver) will give you wrinkles and perhaps even skin cancer. Respect life. ALL life. The creatures of earth don't need love, only respect.
Like Rodney Dangerfield - just respect.

And no - it is not good to worship the sun - the Egyptians tried that, and failed miserably. As did the Mayans too with their astronomy calendars as temples,...and others, many others. Continuing today...

And yes -- the mighty will fall -- soon enough. For take it literally - only the meek shall inherit the earth - but one has to start with their SELF.

Rabbits die young, turtles live long (Assuming they don't get slaughtered in drift nets)

When the fear of nightmares and HOPE for light ends, one has found their true self. For one would already be in the light with no need to hope. Hope is a lie.

But now I am speaking in too many riddles, and I am annoying myself, greatly. A bad habit of mine. So sorry. It is time to shut up and be quiet again.

oldhippy, what you said that caught my attention was the difference between knowing something and living it. For me I find it very hard to stay aware so that I can try to be. I also feel that things come to us when we need them, so that could explain your post as well.

To me, heaven would be the most boring, least creative answer to life after death.

Yes, I believe in reincarnation. However, it would be a system whose mechanism is too much for my puny mind to grapple with.

I did try hynoptism to produce past-life regressions a few years ago, but didn't get much from it. How could I, from my present viewpoint, expect to understand a lifetime that occurred a thousand years ago, or on another planet as a different type of life form, or in some other dimension?

I've always kinda believed in reincarnation. I get the feeling that I was once a native Spanish speaker.

Then one day my older sister was playing with our cousin, Anabel (she was just barely three at the time). In a moment of quiet after a bunch of tickle play Anabel paused. "I'm so glad we're together this time."

"What do you mean, 'This time'?" my sister asked as she held Anabel.

"When I lived before you were there. And so was my mommy, only she wasn't my mommy. She was my little girl. I'm glad we're all together again."

I'm either very certain about reincarnation or very uncertain.

Jet

I sometimes think that life is this one huge blob that is continuously recycling itself.... As an individual, I can easily see how I might separate myself from this cycle mentally, but in actuality, I kinda think that we are just a very small part of a much bigger cycle of existence.... Just as the rest of nature, whether they be plant or animal, lives and dies and provides the fuel for another, so shall we.... so I guess I lean more towards the reincarnation idea, but maybe not in the same light as most, but I believe that life itself moves beyond our vehicle and carries on..... if that makes any sense at all to anyone?

Hi all

In our present form you only live once.

In some ways the idea of reincarnation is not far from the truth, in reality though recycling is probably a better way to describe what happens to us after death.

While in a physical sense we are no different from any other plant or animal on this planet our relatively high intelligence has allowed the human race to develope a conciousness or at an individual level a spirit if you like. As we are self-aware and can see the consequences of our actions on the world around us it means we can understand beyond the moment and forsee to an extent the future.

This future gives up hope and all God is, is a manifestation of our hope in a collective sense. You only have to look at every other civilisation throughout human history to see a sense of God or hope for the future.

On a more basic level we all believe that 'things are going to get better', after all what would be the point if the weren't?

All the best
Smuggs

I've thought about the concept of life/death heaven/hell and the afterlife for quite some time now and I believe i've come to the conclusion now that when you die your energy or spirit returns to the earth and eventually makes it's way into another living or nonliving thing.

The problem i'm having with this is if when you die and your energy form leaves the body would you be conciously aware of your next life or would your energy just start the fire for the next thing.Also if the spirit really is just an energy form technically if you were conciuosly aware of your next life and your energy was generated into the water and that water was used to generate power for household products and electronics would you not be aware that you were a source of power for such things?.

Lol anyways I try not to think about such things to in depth as I believe whats important is the moment and taking in the experience so the afterlife really shouldn't matter much.It is something to ponder over tough.

quote:

Originally posted by TylerDurden:
I sometimes think that life is this one huge blob that is continuously recycling itself.... As an individual, I can easily see how I might separate myself from this cycle mentally, but in actuality, I kinda think that we are just a very small part of a much bigger cycle of existence.... Just as the rest of nature, whether they be plant or animal, lives and dies and provides the fuel for another, so shall we.... so I guess I lean more towards the reincarnation idea, but maybe not in the same light as most, but I believe that life itself moves beyond our vehicle and carries on..... if that makes any sense at all to anyone?

Life wouldn't have any meaning if it was a never-ending recycling reincarnating cycle. Like a merry-go-around, round we go forever and ever in the meaningless circle!! if that was the case i would not have desire to exisit in this meaningless circle of life.