I continue to ponder reincarnation. It is fascinating but\nstill beyond reach of my grasp, at least rationally or intellectually. Much\nlike ghosts, I love the idea but struggle with the factual reality of the concept.\nI mean, were we to prove reincarnation real, we\u2019d simultaneously be proving that\ndeath is not the end; that life goes on after death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Out of a recent conversation on this came the commentary that\ngenetics actually is reincarnation, a comment whose seed I appreciate, but one with\nwhich I disagree \u2013 at least as I understand the definition of reincarnation.\nGenetics, we decided after some discussion, is more of a resurrection; we are\nreborn in others, or a part of us is anyway. We \u201csee\u201d grandma\u2019s eyes or grandpa\u2019s\nsmile in a child; their physical characteristics carry on through genetics.\nCertainly not a true and full resurrection; I am not intending to be treading\nat all into the realm of the true sacred resurrection. But in the broad sense I\nam sure you see how I ended up with the term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And as I have discussed several times in the past, once you\nenter into a discussion on genetics, that conversation has to include and\nembrace the nurture-nature concept; you simply cannot talk about genetics\nwithout acknowledging it. Nature is the pure form of genetics; Punnet\u2019s Square,\nMendel\u2019s Law, and the preponderance of empirical data proving it. Blue eyes,\ncurly hair, and sadly, disease are all explained by genetics, as is height or\nvisual acuity. I remain convinced that a taste for in horror movies versus\nromance comedies is explained better by nurture; you learn to like and dislike\ncertain tastes by observing your adults through your childhood. You are raised\nto be a democrat or a republican; political persuasion is not genetic.\nUnfortunately the darker aspects of humanity are also best explained by\nnurture: prejudice, hate, and intolerance are all learned behaviors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But reincarnation? That is, you \u2013 your soul, your beliefs,\nand your collective assemblance of inherent traits \u2013 redeposited into a different\ncontainer, another body. But this is where my wheels leave the blacktop; there are\ngenetic traits and there are learned characteristics, yet the concept of reincarnation\ngenerally holds to no memory of the past, you do not remember your past lives\u2026at\nleast most don\u2019t remember. And those who do, do not remember nearly all of their\npast lives. And in fact \u201cremembering\u201c is really more a collection of images, snapshots of moments that\none would honestly struggle to separate fact from fiction. It is more of a\nfeeling, an emotional d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu I guess. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, is an honest person honest in every reincarnated life? Is\na thief always a thief? Is a tall blue-eyed man always tall and blue-eyed? Genetics\nleave the discussion here; it is not yor body that comes back, it is your soul.\nGenetic traits disappear; one born in the 1500\u2019s with diabetes will likely be\ndiabetes free when reborn in the 1800\u2019s. The genes that caused the disease are\nnot present any longer, only the soul remains. But what is in a soul that\nreincarnates? Are altruism, honesty, integrity all genetic traits or learned? What\nis contained in the mind, in the heart, or in the soul? I think that is one of\nmy greatest questions on the subject, that beyond even the mechanism of the\nactual reincarnation. What is kept and what is lost from the previous life?\nWould a loved one recognize me across a room were we to meet in a previous\nlife? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be clear though, while that is my greatest question there\nremain a heaping pile of other questions on the logistics. For openers, the\nheadcount. Our population has been increasing (at an alarming rate frankly) for\nthe full span of history. If reincarnation is real, if it exists, wouldn\u2019t that\nheadcount remain essentially flat and steady? If we are merely souls repeating\nlife, that implies a finite number of them. And that is clearly not the case.\nIn fact the theory of reincarnation hinges upon the thought that we are\nreincarnated because we have not yet learned the lessons of life which we were\nintended to learn, that we needed to learn. So we are destined to repeat life\nuntil we do learn them all. But that would actually suggest a declining headcount\nas people finally do manage to learn them all finally earn their final\nspiritual destination. I believe the thought though, is that there is a constant\npool of brand-new souls being introduced to the population, which readily\nresolves that conundrum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And those who embrace the tenet actually point to this\nthought: through my years I have heard multiple people say: \u201coh, she is an old\nsoul\u201d or that \u201che is a brand-new soul\u201d. \nAnd they say so with unflinching conviction: quite factual, confident,\nand comfortable with their assessment. There is no math, no chemistry, and no\nphysics in it though; there is no equation to define reincarnation. But there\nexist a myriad of mysteries in life that cannot be observed, measured, or recorded.\nWhy some people can be submerged underwater for an hour or more and still be\nrevived and live unharmed? We declare them to be miracles, but I think it\u2019s\nbecause we have no means of explaining it with our science or our laws of\nphysics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are some number of documented cases of people correctly\nand accurately describing intimate details of a previous life; details that\ncould be and were validated and verified and which the person providing them\ncould seemingly not have known. While not proof of anything at all, things such\nas this certainly have to make you tilt your head just a bit to the left and go\n\u201chhmmm\u201d. And of course, most to the people who have ever walked on this green\nearth, as well as those doing so now, have all embraced one of truly only a few\ntenets of a higher being and of the afterlife. Why should we pay homage to one\nand decry the others given no discernible basis for belief in any of them? If\nwe accept that Christ is the son of God and that he was born, died, and was\nresurrected, why not then dismiss the belief that souls cane be \u2013 are \u2013 reincarnated?\nWhy exclude one at the expense of the other? While I cannot reconcile the logistical\ndetails of reincarnation, as a Christian I cannot reconcile the details of heaven\nand hell, of ascension (or the opposite). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet all humans do willingly, happily, and enthusiastically\nwrap their beliefs around their personal choice of religion \u2013 without question\nmostly, barring moments of severe tragedy or sorrow. And these same folks laugh\nan scoff at the concepts of the other religions. They believe in the mysteries\nand teachings of their deities, yet sardonically dismiss those of other\nreligions. Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, or Christianity; matters not. We\ncan tend to be very much \u201call or none\u201d when it comes to religion. I do not\nexclude reincarnation due to any religious beliefs; it is, I think, more about\nlack of knowledge and understanding. But I do not disbelieve in the concept. And\nif that is on the table, why not ghosts? And that really tickles my imagination\ndear reader! Open your mind and consider the possibilities. As Shakespeare\nsaid: \u201cThere are more things in heaven and earth Horatio, than are dreamt of in\nyour philosophy\u201d (meaning science). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I continue to ponder reincarnation. It is fascinating but still beyond reach of my grasp, at least rationally or intellectually. Much like ghosts, I love the idea but struggle with the factual reality of the concept. I mean, were we to prove reincarnation real, we\u2019d simultaneously be proving that death is not the end; that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"ocean_front_end_style_editor":"no","ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"off","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spiritual","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"\n