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Many of the world's religions believe in reincarnation, with various different "rules" about it. I alluded to the Buddhist belief in the earlier thread, and tend to believe it myself much of the time (altho not always...). Events and actions in one's past lives lead to circumstances in this current life, and being a better person leads to more fortunate next lives, altho not strictly in terms like money or fame or health, etc.
But so many people tend to think that if you're bad you'll be reincarnated as an intestinal parasite or something, and conversely, Tom Hanks has some great early karma to be having such a charmed life this time.
One Buddhist monk told me a few years ago that in my last life I must have been an elephant, because I am so kind, patient, smart, and fat. Interesting idea, huh?
My brother went thru a phase when he believed in non-linear reincarnation. That means, in your next life you could be born in the past or the future (as compared to the year we're living in now). That was a bit of a stretch for me, I have to say.
Buddhists and Hindus aren't the only ones who believe in past lives. Some "New Age" folks do too. I really like Rosemary Althea, a British medium (yes, she communicates with spirits, some of them being formerly-embodied people...). She has written several books, and has a neat website using her name then .com. She believes that each spirit determines when and where and under what circumstances it will be re-born, and that we each choose our present lives for some reason having to do with learning. I like the idea, except that it's hard for me to imagine some soul choosing to live thru abuse or tragedy to learn some lesson, but maybe so.
The Christian Bible even alludes to reincarnation. Jesus once asked the Disciples who people were saying he was. One reply was that, "Some say you are John the Baptist re-born..."
Animists, some Wiccan believers, some native American beliefs, and others talk about everything in creation having a spirit of some kind, contributing to a greater whole... Gaia or Jung's ideas about the shared group unconscious of the whole human race, stuff like that.
It's all very interesting to me, and I sometimes fantasise the moment after my (hopefully painless) death, when I'll say something like, "OH! That's what it all was about!"
"Always forgive your enemies...nothing annoys them quite so much." Oscar Wilde
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