What are your thoughts on reincarnation? I don't believe in it but it certainly is interesting to think about. ?
Not having to die is a very appealing concept. Our imagination can come up with countless ways to accommodate that fantasy.
I agree. It's an appealing concept. Currently, locally a I'm attending UU with theists and nontheists and I'm enjoying some studies with a group that doesn't tell their members what to believe, the Scientologists. Mingling lots seem pretty nice. I don't try to get to the bottom of what individual folks really believe in any sort of ideology group as it would probably be a vane effort.
For me, it’s kind of like the idea of heaven. Like, it would be nice if good people got reincarnated as house cats and my ex got reincarnated as kitty litter. Or maybe as a parasite. That would be appropriate.
Too bad it’s fantasy.
That's funny!
I am constantly being reincarnated as my body rebuilds, my mind evolves, and my memories get pruned to make room for new memories. Even if I have memories from a previous life I’m not necessarily that same person who lived before. My sense of personhood as a body is an illusion.
Perhaps the real self is Universal Consciousness.
It's all recycling of matter and energy.. The individual consciousness doesn't get recycled otherwise if it did why do the babies need to be educated again ?
I used to believe in it, but that was many years ago.
Sure, there's no evidence to support it, but it is fun to do thought experiments like that. In the very least, it might teach me something. For example, just how dangerous humans are sitting right at the top of the ladder. I'd be petrified at the thought of coming back as an animal (or anything living that's not human).
If reincarnation was a reality, wouldn't history be replete with tales of memories from past lives? We see no such tales. Therefore there is no evidence of an afterlife.
Isn't an afterlife a bit broader subject? Some believe in life after death, but don't believe in reincarnation.
@WarmFluffy Reincarnation is just one of many afterlife concepts. But all of them share a lack of evidence.
Actually, there are many different versions of reincarnation. So, if you are going to decide to believe in it, you will need to spend some time investigating it and deciding which particular version of reincarnation you are going to put your faith in. Personally, I think it is just wishful thinking. To some people heaven sounds boring and reincarnation is a more invigorating form of immortality.
I don't believe in it at all. Once we're dead we're dead, that's it, nothing more.
I was watching a Rabbi teach a class on Youtube the other day and he said that nothing that is alive can die and nothing that is dead can live. I think it's an interesting idea to contemplate. At my seminary they teach the idea that within our minds are absolute realms (things we know are true) and relative realms (things we believe might be true). Reincarnation exists for me in the relative. Watching videos about recent sub atomic particle experiments and the irrational ways they react has reinforced my belief that reincarnation is possible.
Sounds like the Rabbi is kind of mixed up about his own groups beliefs.
Not in the conventional sense, no. But I have a weird and probably faulty concept of all individual consciousness being somehow connected together. If when I die, at that very moment a baby is born, there is no practical difference between the hypothesis that the baby and I are two separate beings, and the hypothesis that the baby is me without any trace of my previous memory. Yeah, I know. That's not really a reincarnation without the continuity of the identity.
But this forms the basis of my worldview and why it makes sense for us to be nice to each other, and to plan logically for the future.....
You're close, we are all connected in the universe. IMHO
@starwatcher-al
Yes, except I don't know what "connected" means exactly. It's the vague terms like this that sometimes give way to misperception of the reality. My perspective really isn't reincarnation. But imagine this. Let's say that every living thing dies on the planet earth one day, and there is one living person, as the last remaining sentient being. For however long this person lives, whatever she experiences, that experience can be accurately described as the sum total of human experience during this time. And when she dies, will the universe be somehow lessened as a result?
As long as she lives, will "I" also be present in the universe?
@starwatcher-al What's IMHA? I didn't realize our opinions had to pass another members approval.
Energy is eternal. That is scientific fact. You and share molecules with Agustus Caesar. Of course in this sense, reincarnation is real. It is just unlikely that all the same molecules will reform into another new creature. However it could be possible. I do believe...well know that our genetics carry memory.
It's an interesting concept but there's no evidence to support it.
The concept doesn't seem to make sense. It seems more like coincidences like when some hope a favorite child who passed away came back, or wishful thinking like when some are absolutely sure they were famous people from history in past lives. It seems some charlatans sometimes try to take advantage of others who believe reincarnation or wonder if it's possible.
During my twenties, I went through a phase in my life where I was desperate for something to believe in and give me some direction in my life. One of the belief systems I explored was Buddhism. It seemed more plausible than Christianity and still seemed likely to provide some solace from my ennui.
Reincarnation appeared consisted with the conservation of Matter and Energy, but ultimately I had to reject it. What gives us consciousness is our unique brain chemistry and while the matter in our brain may be recycled, the distinguished conglomeration of atoms that make me myself can not be replicated.