Is Reincarnation comforting?

[PowerofSoul]

Pretty straight forward title.

To me, I get a sense of inner peace and balance with it. It all seems very natural. However, it can sometimes seem to be a bit of a heavy load. I often wonder, would more than one life time be way unnecessary; ie just too much? I can usually answer this with a notion like this: Just like a busy day, life is tiring. We all want to sleep and rest eventually; but like everything the rest is impermanent. I think it is the ego that finds it hard to contemplate more than one life time.

Materialist skeptics often accuse people who lean towards conscious persistence post death as individuals who refuse to deny the obvious permanent end that death is. However, if you think about it, ceasing of being could easily be a comfort blanket to many people. For example, it is a good tactic at shutting out the human conscience. It could easily be seen as an escape. This not only applies to those who lived by doing harm to others, but also to a suicidal person who wants an escape from their suffering. These are just mere examples, but I believe I've made the point.

Reincarnation is harmonious, but implies there's a task to be done, and there is no escape from that which you put out. Seems balanced to me.

Thoughts?

 

[usetawuz]

To me, reincarnation is simply a fact of life...more a truth than a comfort. Simply the way it is. My true being is one of limitless energy and intelligence sending a portion of that magnificent being to occupy a body in a third dimensional realm without understanding the truth of it's power, enabling that body opportunities to experience events and make decisions with a delayed sense of response and reaction.


With that, I do not really get the sense this incarnation is somehow the "be all-end all", but rather the current iteration of our experiences here on earth. To me there are neither reasons not to, nor difficulty in, doing this again and again...it is what we do.


Materialist sceptics and others may try to develop reasons or excuses for our beliefs or understandings which differ from their own...from my standpoint, that won't prevent them from filling their role in my lifeplan, nor will it change their ultimate truth and participation in the fact of reincarnation. And it may not have been part of their lifeplan to come to know the truth.


As I re-read the above, I realize that by "comfort" you may mean a release from the common fears and worries of death, hell and damnation the majority of western society bears, and from that viewpoint, I am indeed comforted by my understanding of reincarnation. Further comfort comes in knowing the ones I love here and now are with me always and forever, and we will not only have memories together of this lifetime, but of the previous and future lifetimes in which we play and will play roles with and for each other.

 

[ChrisR]

Good question. It frustrates me no end how sceptics assume that we 'believers' desperately cling on to the idea of reincarnation, because we cannot accept that we only live one life, then we die, and that's the end. I say to these people that I began remembering my past lives before the age of 3, and how many 3 year olds are concerned with death?


I do take a lot of comfort from the thought that death is not the end, not just for selfish reasons, but also for dearly departed loved ones as well. But at the same time I also fear that my next life could, and most likely will not be as privileged as the life I have now. There are certainly things that I want in my present life that are impossible, and that I would hope for in my next life, but I am equally aware that I could be born straight into a life of poverty in a starving nation, or I may be born in a war ravaged country. I think it's easy to assume that we will come back to the safe surroundings of that which we know and are familiar with now, but I (in my present incarnation) find the former prospect quite scary.

 

[Ghost of Gumby]

I think that reincarnation seems comforting to me, to others it may not. My daughter suggested that she would just rather go to heaven rather than come back to Earth as another incarnation. It seems to me that our soul being restless may be more inclined to gravitate towards a fleshly body, rather than some disembodied existence in a paradise. I think that our world is out of balance, and is moving towards completion. Or perhaps we are a work in progress, so as such we have to be involved in this progression. For me the most compelling evidence is the dreams I've had of previous lives, these real memories emerge all the time in my dreams and sometimes visions. It seems compelling that I have been these other persons in a past time, I feel like them, sensing their emotions and struggles. I wonder, if my daughter is correct, that we may have a choice: to come back to Earth and be reborn, or to stay in heaven for a time. I think that to be an individual is a miracle, and to have more of that is amazing - that is the possibility of being reborn, to live beyond old age, to become a little child again.

 

[Totoro]

I agree with Usetawuz. The facts simply tell me what to think and it has no bearing on my feelings of comfort to my mortality one way or the other.


And for me, it's provided insight into my life which has been beneficial, which I think is the purpose it serves for people that find their way to it.


And I also think that reincarnation is something that is meaningful in a way that can only be determined by the individual. So maybe for some people, it does provide a sense of comfort in that way and for others, it reinforces what they already think or it may have provided an eye opening experience.

 

[Khandisi]

I think there is a comfort level in believing in reincarnation. To know that the major sins or mistakes we may commit in life will not be met with eternal damnation is surely a comfort. Those who believe in just one lifetime sometimes forget that we have no guaranteed life span. Many live to a ripe old age, others die in the prime of their youth. How fair is it that some have a longer or shorter life to "get it right"? A long life gives an entity more time to get it right, but also allows more time to get it wrong. That's quite a double-edged sword, is it not? On the other hand, does an entity who dies as a child even have a chance to grow spiritually?


In some ways, reincarnation is not a comfort. The thought of going through another childhood, skinned knees and all, followed by the angst of adolescent, and the struggles of adulthood does not sound appealing. Thankfully, we do not automatically have recall of our earlier lives or we certainly would feel tired and a sense of dread of yet another life.


In what is accepted as modern Judeo-Christian doctrine, there is no pre-existence of souls and only one life. For what purpose do we have eternity? Why would souls live a life on earth that is but a grain of sand compared to the desert of eternity?


For me, the concept of reincarnation is satisfying on an intellectual level. It makes sense and answers more questions than the teachings of the modern Church. These teachings tend to shroud God in mystery and keep Him at a distance from His children. It forces us to accept so much on faith. Faith has its place, but so does reasoning, which is also a gift from Divine Providence.


I don't believe in a God that plays "hide and seek". God is hidden in plain sight. We need only to open our eyes to see Him.

 

[Shiftkitty]

I find reincarnation comforting, but not in that warm-fuzzy "I want my Teddy Bear because I'm scared of dying" way. It's instinctive in the same way I believe that if I hold my pencil up and let go it will drop. If I let it go and it floats instead, it won't shatter my world view, it will just open up more questions. Similarly, if reincarnation was empirically and 100% disproven my world wouldn't end. I'd just start a new quest to learn what these "memories" really are.

 

[Nightrain]

As Mark said, the prospect of Reincarnation is not necessarily comforting from the standpoint of having to go through all the pain and frustration of growing up again. However, it is the intellectual satisfaction of connecting the dots that I find extremely comforting.

 

[Rebecca151]

Pretty straight forward title.
To me, I get a sense of inner peace and balance with it. It all seems very natural. However, it can sometimes seem to be a bit of a heavy load. I often wonder, would more than one life time be way unnecessary; ie just too much? I can usually answer this with a notion like this: Just like a busy day, life is tiring. We all want to sleep and rest eventually; but like everything the rest is impermanent. I think it is the ego that finds it hard to contemplate more than one life time.


Materialist skeptics often accuse people who lean towards conscious persistence post death as individuals who refuse to deny the obvious permanent end that death is. However, if you think about it, ceasing of being could easily be a comfort blanket to many people. For example, it is a good tactic at shutting out the human conscience. It could easily be seen as an escape. This not only applies to those who lived by doing harm to others, but also to a suicidal person who wants an escape from their suffering. These are just mere examples, but I believe I've made the point.


Reincarnation is harmonious, but implies there's a task to be done, and there is no escape from that which you put out. Seems balanced to me.


Thoughts?

Well Im still trying to figure it all out, and I find trying to put the pieces together for one past life a rather heavy load. In some ways I wish I could shut it out. Perhaps though, its because of what I seem to remember and the heartache that goes along with it.


What I find comforting is as Khandisi said "To know that the major sins or mistakes we may commit in life will not be met with eternal damnation is surely a comfort."


To believe that we have another chance is comforting.


Kind Regards

 

[Khandisi]

Rebecca, you've hit upon an important point. There are some "regression therapists" out there who, because of lack of proper training, fail to protect their clients from unsettling memories. Learning about unpleasant aspects of a past life is one thing, but reliving unbearable pain and anguish is another. It serves no purpose. It's the lesson we need to learn from the past that has determined our current life plan that really matters.


I firmly believe that our subconscious minds retain all of our past memories, but chooses not to reveal them to us unless we seek them out. But I also believe that our subconscious minds do communicate our life plans to us.


I grew up in what might be called a racially biased family, who used all of the usual racial slurs. You would think that I would have fallen right in step with that way of thinking and talking. But I can honestly say that I have never used racial slurs in this lifetime. I recall when I was 4 or 5 years old, hearing such slurs, including the N-word. Even at that age, I sensed there was something wrong about the use of these words. This issue became a point of contention between myself and other members of my family. I felt a huge amount of moral indignation, especially when I saw other family members try to indoctrinate my daughters with this bigotry.


So while I was only outwardly influenced by negativity as a child, my guiding force seemed to have come from within. As I learned from my regression therapy, one of the major goals for my current life has been to recognize that WE are all family, and that I should treat others as I would treat the members of my immediate family.


It wasn't until after my sessions that I began to see patterns in my life that prove (to me at least) that this life goal has been continually communicated to me from within.


So I am grateful that I don't have conscious memories of extremely painful moments from past lives, but I am thankful that I have been constantly reminded of my goals.

 

[momof3]

I do take a lot of comfort from the thought that death is not the end, not just for selfish reasons, but also for dearly departed loved ones as well. But at the same time I also fear that my next life could, and most likely will not be as privileged as the life I have now. There are certainly things that I want in my present life that are impossible, and that I would hope for in my next life, but I am equally aware that I could be born straight into a life of poverty in a starving nation, or I may be born in a war ravaged country. I think it's easy to assume that we will come back to the safe surroundings of that which we know and are familiar with now, but I (in my present incarnation) find the former prospect quite scary.

This is exactly how I feel as well. I have been very fortunate in this life and I am loathe to let it go. Assuming reincarnation is true (of which I am not 100% sure), it is highly unlikely I would have it as good the next time around. Of course I tend to think that I won't have to deal with some of the issues I have in this life, which may be true; however at the same time I could very well be faced with a host of different, and more difficult, problems. Because despite the problems I have in this life I realize that they are very minor in the whole scheme of things.


Nevertheless, I still find comfort in the idea of reincarnation. Sometimes I wishfully think that with each incarnation, our circumstances improve. That those folks living in poverty or war-torn countries are new souls with few incarnations. Or maybe we do choose the circumstances of each life and I can choose my next life to be just as fortuitous as this one.

 

[Sister Grey]

I guess I’d say yes, that it is a comforting thought to me - most of the time - but I am logical enough (sorta) to realize there’s no sense, and ultimately no comfort anyway, for me to believe in it if I have no reason to do so. Millions of people believe in an afterlife form that is comforting to them, but many also believe in a hell, or in nothing, so I think whether or not the concept of reincarnation is comforting is immaterial. It’s either true, or it isn’t, whether I like the idea of it or not.


As to why I believe in reincarnation to the certain degree that I do - well, I think there’s something more after death, that’s based on my experiences and observations, skeptics be hanged. I don’t know what that something is, I have no memories that I can trust of my own so I look to other people’s. Some of you might be delusional :tongue: but there seem to be enough stories that have a ring of truth.

This is exactly how I feel as well. I have been very fortunate in this life and I am loathe to let it go. Assuming reincarnation is true (of which I am not 100% sure), it is highly unlikely I would have it as good the next time around. Of course I tend to think that I won't have to deal with some of the issues I have in this life, which may be true; however at the same time I could very well be faced with a host of different, and more difficult, problems. Because despite the problems I have in this life I realize that they are very minor in the whole scheme of things.

I also feel exactly like this.

 

[liberty]

I think there is a comfort level in believing in reincarnation. To know that the major sins or mistakes we may commit in life will not be met with eternal damnation is surely a comfort.

Absolutely. Coming out of fundamental Christianity with its heaps of guilt for sins committed, I was grateful beyond belief to see a rational afterlife presented through past life research. It just makes more sense and gives the power back to us as individuals instead of leaving us in the clutches of a celestial boogyman with an axe to grind :laugh:

 

[Jody]

I really want to believe life is ultimately fair, and so in that sense I find the concept of reincarnation comforting because most other widely held philosophies/religions strike me as being decidedly unfair.


That being said, I'm sure there are a lot of selfish hedonists and materialists that might find the idea of having to karmically make up for their misdeeds rather discomforting.

 

[LightWalker]

Sometimes I wishfully think that with each incarnation, our circumstances improve. That those folks living in poverty or war-torn countries are new souls with few incarnations. Or maybe we do choose the circumstances of each life and I can choose my next life to be just as fortuitous as this one.

I believe that they only improve if we, as souls, improve. Perhaps they are new souls, but they could also be souls who are enduring suffering in order to purify their karma. Or, to learn a lesson which is important to their soul's progress towards the light from which we all came.

 

[usetawuz]

I really want to believe life is ultimately fair, and so in that sense I find the concept of reincarnation comforting because most other widely held philosophies/religions strike me as being decidedly unfair.
That being said, I'm sure there are a lot of selfish hedonists and materialists that might find the idea of having to karmically make up for their misdeeds rather discomforting.

I learned long ago that "fair" is a circus with pigs...in law school the point was that fairness didn't matter, while making your case did.


With our incarnate lives, it is my belief that the perspective of our lives on earth is directed from a higher point than we can see; while it may seem unfair from our earthly/human/material standpoint, our souls see every aspect of our lives as a benefit, a blessing and a valuable experience...even when it appears from where we stand to be in the muck and floating backwards.

 

[LightWalker]

I learned long ago that "fair" is a circus with pigs...

I may have to quote you on that, usetawuz, I was told that fair is only in baseball, but then I became a baseball fan and I found that fair isn't always judged fairly.

With our incarnate lives, it is my belief that the perspective of our lives on earth is directed from a higher point than we can see; while it may seem unfair from our earthly/human/material standpoint, our souls see every aspect of our lives as a benefit, a blessing and a valuable experience...even when it appears from where we stand to be in the muck and floating backwards.

That is so true. Our higher selves see a completely different view than we do during our human incarnations and only they understand the why of things. While we stand here on the ground and see unfairness and suffering, from where they are they can see justice and lessons being learned. And once we return to the light and are reunited with our higher selves, we will understand, only to start the cycle over again.

 

[Truthseeker]

I learned long ago that "fair" is a circus with pigs

I have to admit this line made me smile. The word "fair" makes me cringe everytime I hear it. It is such an abritrary and subjective term. Fair based upon who's standard? What is deemed as fair can differ from one person to the next. I find that I always here it in the context of "I want it, someone else has it, thus it is unfair I don't have it", or "someone has done wrong in my eyes and has not been given what I percieve to be suitable punishment, thus unfair." It's a word that I tie very close to jealousy.


These are my personal opinions. If they ruffle your feathers, I'm sorry but I stand by them.


I personally don't believe in the notion of cosmic justice or karma, at least not in a "punishment" or "reward" context. I believe that each life is just a new experience filled with opportunities to grow and mature. We have all had the opportunity to be all things. If there is someone out there that you view with a less than favorable opinion, it might benefit you to walk a mile in their shoes in a future life, not as a punishment, but as an opportunity to seek understanding.


Sorry if I'm off subject.


To the original question: I do find it comforting. It fortifies to notion that we are spirit and not body, and that what we do in physical form is not so critical. It takes some of the pressure off of life. I like knowing that the narrow box of experiences I'm having in this life is not the be-all and end-all. There is an abundant menu of new experiences that lie ahead.