UKC

Putting the religious slant to one side, is reincarnation possible?

In reply to The Lemming:

i guess the trick would be being able to map out the brain completely including figuring out how memory functions then plug that into someone elses, eg rewrite their brain to include said memories.
unless you chose a religion where you can have a separate soul to attach in.

In reply to The Lemming:

Like any other metaphysical concept reincarnation is open to interpretation.
Mine isn't quite the standard "new age" fare, but I believe so yes.
I know it.

In reply to The Lemming: nah its rubbish,just another fantasy(imho)

In reply to The Lemming: Yes.

I'm a buddhist that developed paranoid schizophrenia. I've come back to get myself.

In reply to beastofackworth:

Not one of your fantasies I hope.

zippered masks ffs.
ewwwwwwwwwwwww.

In reply to The Lemming:

did anyone see the documentary about Cameron, 'The Boy Who lived Before'? AS a small boy he 'returns', on film to Barra, with his family and he can describe the house he says he lived
in. It really made me think about reincarnation.

http://margotmystic.wordpress.com/2007/08/22/proof-of-reincarnation-cameron...

In reply to The Lemming:

Better link:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=S5cGSUBU8-w

Life is a mystery whether or not we reincarnate

In reply to The Lemming: If it was then, out of the billions of people who have died through human history, don't you think that we might have proof of the odd one?

In reply to Rosie A:

Entirely unsolicited, the daughter of a friend launched into, "This is the road I lived in, the house is here [she was right], I died of..." etc. His wife was freaked out. He wanted to check out the details but, in deference to his wife, won't. But he - and I - both subscribe to it. Both of us were brought up as staunch Catholics - with reincarnation a big no-no (although not in the first few centuries AD).

In some ways, I yearn for the luxury of nothingness. But I've got an odd feeling that this isn't how things are.

Mick

In reply to The Lemming:

do you mean in terms of there being some sort of holding bay for spare souls until they're reallocated new bodies?

I think you know the answer to this one...

In reply to Mick Ward:

my mum gave me a book about children who were able to 'remember' past lives. I've lost the book, but I remember one of its central themes was the fact that only small children could really remember these things, that they got buried under layers of lived experience.

In reply to Mick Ward:

Did you see that documentary? It's absolutley amazing. The boy's four, he'd lived all his life in Glasgow, and yet he could remember every detail of the house in Barra, and knew the name of the family who'd lived there. He gave his mum a guided tour of the house.

Mia used to talk about a past life as a little girl. She talked about wearing long dresses and lace-up boots, and a fire.

In reply to CJD:

And social conditioning. Creativity tends to be killed off from about six years onwards, when schooling and social conditioning kick in with a vengeanace. Carry on trying to be 'the person you were meant to be' and the term 'misfit' (and much else) will be thrown at you. Why, you may even end up reserving your deepest communication with the rock, 'cos as Dawes memorably noted, "the rock doesn't lie."

The whole notion of reincarnation is just too threatening to the establishment, which does its best to keep it marginalised as an object of fun. I suspect that's like trying to stop the tide.

Mick

In reply to Rosie A:

No TV but don't doubt it for a moment. Is Mia your daughter?

Mick

P.S. Apparently, on my first day of existence, I was staring at a nameplate on the bed (some benefactor had given it to the hospital). A nurse came by and remarked to my mum (another nurse), "He's been here before..."

In reply to The Lemming:

'People are all over the world telling their one dramatic story and how their life has turned into getting over this one event. Now their lives are more about the past than their future.'- Chuck Palahniuk


'On a long enough time line, everything returns to zero.' - adapted from Chuck Palahnuick by Tommyzero

In reply to Mick Ward:

ha ha, welcome to my life and its endless frustrations



hmm - I'm not sure that's a reasonable analogy. Is it unreasonable to want some sort of proof for a phenomenon like this?

In reply to Mick Ward:
>

Yes. She's always had a leaning towards Buddhism, and tried to convert the local Sunday school teacher. She just came home with a book from the library and announced she and her friends are 'coverting to Buddhism'. (One's a Sikh). Uh-oh!

In reply to Mick Ward:


ok, i will bite.
Why?

if it was true it would be fascinating for historical research, however my hopes are mostly on a timemachine.

In reply to CJD:


out of curiosity what is your def of creativity, eg which fields?

In reply to dissonance:

start another thread about it and I'll answer your question.

In reply to dissonance:

I don't have a problem with the philosophical notion: after all, Christianity teaches that when Christ returns, we will all have available new bodies for the new earth.

That some people manage new bodies before the new earth is - well, threatening, if you like. It sits very uneasily with my current theology!

Y.

In reply to CJD:

I can't think of a rational explanation for this, (unless it's a big hoax).

Do people really have previous lives and future lives? The Sun, a UK newspaper, reported a story of a boy who remembers his previous lives. This six-year-old boy is called Cameron Macaulay. He is not much different from other boys of his age. What differentiates him from others is that he likes to talk about his "old mum", his former family and a white house standing on the bay. But none of them is related to his current life. The place he is talking about is a place where he had never been in this life and is on the Isle of Barra, 160 miles away from where he is living now. These things make Cameron's mother feel worried.

Cameron's memory of his previous life
Cameron's mother Norma, 42, said that Cameron began to tell tales of his childhood on the Isle of Barra.

Cameron spoke about his former parents, how his dad died, and about his brothers and sisters in the previous life. He also said that his "old mum" was the one in his previous life. Cameron believes that he has a previous life and he worries that the family in his previous life misses him. His nursery school teacher told Norma all the things Cameron was saying about the Isle of Barra and how he misses his mummy and his brothers and sisters there.

Norma said, "He complained that in our house there was only one toilet, whereas in Barra, they had three. He used to cry for his mummy. He said she'd be missing him and he wanted to let his family in Barra know he was all right. Cameron felt very sad. He wouldn't stop talking about Barra, where they went, what they did and how he watched the planes landing on the beach from his bedroom window. "

Cameron even said his dad was called Shane Robertson, who had died because "he didn't look both ways." (It probably means that his father was hit by a car.)

Norma mentioned that they had never been to the Isle of Barra. At the beginning, they just regarded Cameron's story as something from his vivid imagination. Cameron continued to feel sad for leaving the home in his previous life on the Isle of Barra, and his feeling of distress lasted for several years.

One day, Cameron's nursery teacher told Norma that a film company was looking for people who believed they had previous lives. She suggested Norma talk with them about Cameron. But Norma's family felt frightened since many people didn't believe in reincarnation. Norma is a single mother and has another son, Martin, who is one year older than Cameron and also has been affected by this thing. Meanwhile, Cameron kept begging her to take him to the Isle of Barra. Norma eventually decided to take Cameron to Barra, to see what they could find.

Visit the Isle of Barra
Norma contacted the film company. They joined Cameron's trip to Barra. Psychologist Dr. Jim Tucker from Virginia University in the U.S. also went with them. Dr. Tucker specializes in reincarnation, especially in children's cases. When Cameron was told about the trip to Barra, he was very happy and jumped all over the place. They went to Barra in February of 2005.

Norma said that Cameron asked her if his face was shiny because he was very happy.

When they arrived at Barra and the plane landed on the beach, everything was just as Cameron had described. He turned to Martin and Norma and said, "Now do you believe me?"

When Cameron got off the plane, he waved his arms and said loud "I am back." He talked about his mother in his previous life who lived at Barra and told Norma that his mother at Barra used to have long brown hair down to her waist before she cut it off.

Cameron also said that Norma and his Barra mother would like each other and he was eager to have his two mothers meet.

He also talked about a big book which he read and God and Jesus. Norma said that her family is not religious, but it seemed that Cameron's Barra family in his previous life was.

In Barra, they lived in a hotel and began to search for clues related to Cameron's previous life. They contacted the Heritage Centre and asked if they knew a Robertson family living in a white house on the bay. The Heritage Centre said no, which made Cameron feel very disappointed. They then drove around on the island but they didn't find the white house.

Later, they realized if he could see the place's land on the beach, they must have driven the wrong way. Meanwhile they received a call from the hotel with confirmed information that there was indeed a Robertson family living in the white house on the bay.

Norma said that they didn't tell Cameron about it and drove to the direction where they were told the white house was and to see what would happen. When they got there, Cameron recognized the white house immediately and he was extremely happy. When they walked to the door, Cameron became very quiet. Norma guessed that he must think that his Barra mother was waiting for him in the house as he remembered. But it turned out that there was no one in the house, he looked sad. The former owner of the house already died. The person who kept the key let them in.

Cameron was familiar with the house and he knew every bit of the house. As he said, there were three bathrooms and the sea could be seen from his bedroom window.

After Returning Home
Researchers also wanted to track down one member of the Robertson family who owned the house. Norma said that they visited this member at Stirling. But they couldn't find any information about Shane Robertson.

Cameron was eager to see the photos of his previous life family, thinking that probably he could find his father or himself. He always talked about a big black car and a black and white dog. The car and the dog were both in the pictures. Since they came back home in Glasgow, Cameron became much quieter.

Norma said that it was the best thing to go to Barra. This trip made Cameron much happier and he doesn't talk about going to Barra any more.

In reply to The Lemming:

You need a complicated mechanism for explaining the increase in human (and non-human if you go that route) populations.

You need a good theory of personal identity too (is it just memories?).

You need a good theory to explain how identities move around.

If you can't remember the previous lives it's not much use tho.

Or do you mean reincarnated to somewhere near Sirus? A number fewer issues if the reincarnation takes place elsewhere.

In reply to The Lemming:

But it only exists as a concept in religious belief therefore it's a pointless question.

In reply to Mick Ward:

Mmm, so you were born with a unique ability to focus, and you fovea was over mature to the extent your visual ascuity was 8 weeks ahead of schedule! And the nurse could tell all this just from looking at you!

In reply to winhill:


yes, figuring out how the biochemistry influences it could get interesting, unless, despite overall appearance being different (presumably) the brain works identically.


i suspect that would be cheating.

In reply to winhill:

I think the nurse was just expressing an opinion!

Mick

In reply to dissonance:



Why would the establishment(s) wish to marginalise dissonance? 'Cos dissonance (and wacky notions) imply loss of control. Bad (in their eyes) for 1) Them 2) Business 3) Joe and Jane Punter.

Marriage used to be kosher(!) in the Catholic Church. But then it got banned. To quote your good self, "Why?"

Mick

In reply to Bulls Crack:



Why is it pointless question.

Do all supernatural events, especially those that can't be fully explained by science, have to come under the umberella of religion?

In reply to Rosie A:

Good on your daughter. Although the notion of converting anyone is anathema to me, having a go at converting the local Sunday school teacher makes me smile.

Mick

In reply to Mick Ward:

Perhaps she recognised you : )

In reply to winhill:

Now there's a thought!

Mick

In reply to Mick Ward:


nope still dont get it.
Although it might make the inheritence malarkey a bit more troublesome, although


eh, marriage is banned in the catholic church


for a giggle?