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  3. Do you believe in reincarnation?

Do you believe in reincarnation?

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  • C [email protected]

    I did get messed up by some anxiety and have these thoughts rolling through my head so I'll leave it at cosmic horror warning.

    ::: spoiler spoiler
    I'm not religious but I have thoughts about experiencing consciousness and what it is. I say that consciousness is independent of memory because we forget, clearly dependent on our physical body, etc. generally I do say that we don't know consciousness so maybe it can be reconstructed (in the can't rule out the possibility way)

    So I can see scenarios were my conscious could pop into existence without my memories after I die (as I'm writing this I realized that's nothing to fear).

    I am trying to adopt healthier mindset of looking at everything in life as a quest, new things are a call to action, and that it's okay if everything I do amounts to little in x number of years (worked out okay for ozymandias, right?).

    Im probably just rambling because my life has got boring and monotonous along with actual fear of American politics.
    :::

    missingno@fedia.ioM This user is from outside of this forum
    missingno@fedia.ioM This user is from outside of this forum
    [email protected]
    wrote last edited by
    #4

    Suppose reincarnation was real. But no one has any memory or awareness of a past life. So then what connection does said past life even have to you? How can any supposed past 'you's really be considered the same you?

    C 1 Reply Last reply
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    • missingno@fedia.ioM [email protected]

      Suppose reincarnation was real. But no one has any memory or awareness of a past life. So then what connection does said past life even have to you? How can any supposed past 'you's really be considered the same you?

      C This user is from outside of this forum
      C This user is from outside of this forum
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      wrote last edited by
      #5

      In my scenario it would be "consciousness" whatever that is. I could imagine myself with different set of memories or alternate timeline where a different set of events happened. I don't have any evidence that those scenarios exist, but it would paint a picture that I could be a different person or even a different living continue being.

      But yeah if I did have a past life it's totally lost to me.

      missingno@fedia.ioM 1 Reply Last reply
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      • C [email protected]

        In my scenario it would be "consciousness" whatever that is. I could imagine myself with different set of memories or alternate timeline where a different set of events happened. I don't have any evidence that those scenarios exist, but it would paint a picture that I could be a different person or even a different living continue being.

        But yeah if I did have a past life it's totally lost to me.

        missingno@fedia.ioM This user is from outside of this forum
        missingno@fedia.ioM This user is from outside of this forum
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        wrote last edited by
        #6

        But if this other consciousness has no continuity or connection to the consciousness that is currently 'you', how can it be said to be you?

        S 1 Reply Last reply
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        • kolanaki@pawb.socialK [email protected]

          If it was real and you could retain memories of past lives, I'm confident we'd have some evidence/proof.

          If it exists without memory retention and its just some sort of "soul" concept then it really doesn't matter since you won't remember anything for it to be worth worrying about.

          Q This user is from outside of this forum
          Q This user is from outside of this forum
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          wrote last edited by
          #7

          Ever hear of Dr. Ian Stevenson?

          Edit: Not sure why I'm being downvoted, dude looked into reincarnation and had hundreds of documented cases, Carl Sagan wanted people to look more into it

          kolanaki@pawb.socialK 1 Reply Last reply
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          • C [email protected]

            I did get messed up by some anxiety and have these thoughts rolling through my head so I'll leave it at cosmic horror warning.

            ::: spoiler spoiler
            I'm not religious but I have thoughts about experiencing consciousness and what it is. I say that consciousness is independent of memory because we forget, clearly dependent on our physical body, etc. generally I do say that we don't know consciousness so maybe it can be reconstructed (in the can't rule out the possibility way)

            So I can see scenarios were my conscious could pop into existence without my memories after I die (as I'm writing this I realized that's nothing to fear).

            I am trying to adopt healthier mindset of looking at everything in life as a quest, new things are a call to action, and that it's okay if everything I do amounts to little in x number of years (worked out okay for ozymandias, right?).

            Im probably just rambling because my life has got boring and monotonous along with actual fear of American politics.
            :::

            P This user is from outside of this forum
            P This user is from outside of this forum
            [email protected]
            wrote last edited by
            #8

            Not in the traditional sense, but I have a pet theory about the continuation of consciousness.

            You can only experience being, not not-being, so even if your consciousness went dark for a million years before being “reincarnated,” there would be no gap from the perspective of your subjective experience. You can only go from having one experience to having another. Nothingness can’t be experienced.

            C 1 Reply Last reply
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            • S [email protected]

              No.

              Do you remember before being born? It's the same after.

              F This user is from outside of this forum
              F This user is from outside of this forum
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              wrote last edited by
              #9

              I think conclusively stating that is a bit much, we don’t know shit about how consciousness works, do how can we know what happens if it ends?

              S 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • C [email protected]

                I did get messed up by some anxiety and have these thoughts rolling through my head so I'll leave it at cosmic horror warning.

                ::: spoiler spoiler
                I'm not religious but I have thoughts about experiencing consciousness and what it is. I say that consciousness is independent of memory because we forget, clearly dependent on our physical body, etc. generally I do say that we don't know consciousness so maybe it can be reconstructed (in the can't rule out the possibility way)

                So I can see scenarios were my conscious could pop into existence without my memories after I die (as I'm writing this I realized that's nothing to fear).

                I am trying to adopt healthier mindset of looking at everything in life as a quest, new things are a call to action, and that it's okay if everything I do amounts to little in x number of years (worked out okay for ozymandias, right?).

                Im probably just rambling because my life has got boring and monotonous along with actual fear of American politics.
                :::

                L This user is from outside of this forum
                L This user is from outside of this forum
                [email protected]
                wrote last edited by
                #10

                The fact that your particular molecules will reconstruct into something else is 100% certain

                Will you keep your particular consciousness in this process - unlikely

                However if you drop off the definition of You as your current limited body and mind, then reincarnation is exactly what happens.

                C 1 Reply Last reply
                1
                • missingno@fedia.ioM [email protected]

                  But if this other consciousness has no continuity or connection to the consciousness that is currently 'you', how can it be said to be you?

                  S This user is from outside of this forum
                  S This user is from outside of this forum
                  [email protected]
                  wrote last edited by
                  #11

                  Deleted by author

                  confuser@lemmy.zipC Q 2 Replies Last reply
                  0
                  • S [email protected]

                    Deleted by author

                    confuser@lemmy.zipC This user is from outside of this forum
                    confuser@lemmy.zipC This user is from outside of this forum
                    [email protected]
                    wrote last edited by
                    #12

                    i too am a long time lay practictioner of tibetan buddhsm, That is the real answer.

                    And to add, The Buddhists themselves don't really focus on the reincarnation aspect as much as one would think, its only ever really something that comes up incidentally like when enough connections about something come together in the right ways to warrant the question that maybe a past life is returning.

                    A reincarnated someone would be similar to someone who by their entirety of their atoms to their thoughts, seems to be like this other collection of thoughts and atoms.

                    Like the process of identifying the dalai lama is basically for the people searching to hone in on the schema of a dalai lama through any way they can and then when someone matches it they do their tests which are essentially to check if their actions are similar to that of the previous ones.

                    The way in which memory of psst lives works is much like lucid dreaming upon your death bed, you go to sleep with awareness of the changing reality and then the dream you end up in preferably made with an intentional choice becomes one solid line of remembrance which leads to kids who remember their past lives directly.

                    Q 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • C [email protected]

                      I did get messed up by some anxiety and have these thoughts rolling through my head so I'll leave it at cosmic horror warning.

                      ::: spoiler spoiler
                      I'm not religious but I have thoughts about experiencing consciousness and what it is. I say that consciousness is independent of memory because we forget, clearly dependent on our physical body, etc. generally I do say that we don't know consciousness so maybe it can be reconstructed (in the can't rule out the possibility way)

                      So I can see scenarios were my conscious could pop into existence without my memories after I die (as I'm writing this I realized that's nothing to fear).

                      I am trying to adopt healthier mindset of looking at everything in life as a quest, new things are a call to action, and that it's okay if everything I do amounts to little in x number of years (worked out okay for ozymandias, right?).

                      Im probably just rambling because my life has got boring and monotonous along with actual fear of American politics.
                      :::

                      dan1101@lemmy.worldD This user is from outside of this forum
                      dan1101@lemmy.worldD This user is from outside of this forum
                      [email protected]
                      wrote last edited by
                      #13

                      No but I wonder if hell is being made an insect over and over.

                      C 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • C [email protected]

                        I did get messed up by some anxiety and have these thoughts rolling through my head so I'll leave it at cosmic horror warning.

                        ::: spoiler spoiler
                        I'm not religious but I have thoughts about experiencing consciousness and what it is. I say that consciousness is independent of memory because we forget, clearly dependent on our physical body, etc. generally I do say that we don't know consciousness so maybe it can be reconstructed (in the can't rule out the possibility way)

                        So I can see scenarios were my conscious could pop into existence without my memories after I die (as I'm writing this I realized that's nothing to fear).

                        I am trying to adopt healthier mindset of looking at everything in life as a quest, new things are a call to action, and that it's okay if everything I do amounts to little in x number of years (worked out okay for ozymandias, right?).

                        Im probably just rambling because my life has got boring and monotonous along with actual fear of American politics.
                        :::

                        thebat@lemmy.worldT This user is from outside of this forum
                        thebat@lemmy.worldT This user is from outside of this forum
                        [email protected]
                        wrote last edited by
                        #14

                        I hope not.

                        C 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • F [email protected]

                          I think conclusively stating that is a bit much, we don’t know shit about how consciousness works, do how can we know what happens if it ends?

                          S This user is from outside of this forum
                          S This user is from outside of this forum
                          [email protected]
                          wrote last edited by
                          #15

                          I died and came back and there was nothing, that concludes it for me. Ymmv, of course.

                          Q 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • C [email protected]

                            I did get messed up by some anxiety and have these thoughts rolling through my head so I'll leave it at cosmic horror warning.

                            ::: spoiler spoiler
                            I'm not religious but I have thoughts about experiencing consciousness and what it is. I say that consciousness is independent of memory because we forget, clearly dependent on our physical body, etc. generally I do say that we don't know consciousness so maybe it can be reconstructed (in the can't rule out the possibility way)

                            So I can see scenarios were my conscious could pop into existence without my memories after I die (as I'm writing this I realized that's nothing to fear).

                            I am trying to adopt healthier mindset of looking at everything in life as a quest, new things are a call to action, and that it's okay if everything I do amounts to little in x number of years (worked out okay for ozymandias, right?).

                            Im probably just rambling because my life has got boring and monotonous along with actual fear of American politics.
                            :::

                            A This user is from outside of this forum
                            A This user is from outside of this forum
                            [email protected]
                            wrote last edited by
                            #16

                            We live in an infinite universe. As such, it seems hubristic to me to believe that we have, more or less, nature figured out.

                            I don't feel compelled to believe in the soul as some strange sort of object that is continuously reincarnated towards a great purpose. But if we consider consciousness as an energy of its own kind, then it should hold true that it cannot be created or destroyed, only change form. This could mean that the consciousness that resides in the body could move between different life forms like a fluid, freely mixing and melding with others, filling a new vessel as necessary.

                            C L 2 Replies Last reply
                            0
                            • C [email protected]

                              I did get messed up by some anxiety and have these thoughts rolling through my head so I'll leave it at cosmic horror warning.

                              ::: spoiler spoiler
                              I'm not religious but I have thoughts about experiencing consciousness and what it is. I say that consciousness is independent of memory because we forget, clearly dependent on our physical body, etc. generally I do say that we don't know consciousness so maybe it can be reconstructed (in the can't rule out the possibility way)

                              So I can see scenarios were my conscious could pop into existence without my memories after I die (as I'm writing this I realized that's nothing to fear).

                              I am trying to adopt healthier mindset of looking at everything in life as a quest, new things are a call to action, and that it's okay if everything I do amounts to little in x number of years (worked out okay for ozymandias, right?).

                              Im probably just rambling because my life has got boring and monotonous along with actual fear of American politics.
                              :::

                              kissaki@feddit.orgK This user is from outside of this forum
                              kissaki@feddit.orgK This user is from outside of this forum
                              [email protected]
                              wrote last edited by
                              #17

                              You say forgetting memories is proof or indicative that memory depends on the physical body. But isn't that true for conscious as well?

                              Our conscious is inherently bound to our physical being. We see, we feel, we taste, we identify with our body. Our brain allows us to think, and experience, to conceptualize our body, our being, us as an entity.

                              We cut off fingernails and discard them as no longer part of ourselves. We drive a car and internalize movement as if it were us moving, while not seeing the vehicle as part of ourselves.

                              Without experiencing and without a body to conceptualize, what would our consciousness be? Without a body and mind where consciousness can arise from experience and thoughts, how could consciousness arise?

                              C 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • C [email protected]

                                I did get messed up by some anxiety and have these thoughts rolling through my head so I'll leave it at cosmic horror warning.

                                ::: spoiler spoiler
                                I'm not religious but I have thoughts about experiencing consciousness and what it is. I say that consciousness is independent of memory because we forget, clearly dependent on our physical body, etc. generally I do say that we don't know consciousness so maybe it can be reconstructed (in the can't rule out the possibility way)

                                So I can see scenarios were my conscious could pop into existence without my memories after I die (as I'm writing this I realized that's nothing to fear).

                                I am trying to adopt healthier mindset of looking at everything in life as a quest, new things are a call to action, and that it's okay if everything I do amounts to little in x number of years (worked out okay for ozymandias, right?).

                                Im probably just rambling because my life has got boring and monotonous along with actual fear of American politics.
                                :::

                                wahots@pawb.socialW This user is from outside of this forum
                                wahots@pawb.socialW This user is from outside of this forum
                                [email protected]
                                wrote last edited by
                                #18

                                It's hard to say exactly. I wouldn't put it past the dev(s) to have potentially put something like "The Egg" in, so potentially yes, though we'd have no way of testing for it.

                                Story by Andy Weir here: https://youtu.be/h6fcK_fRYaI

                                C 1 Reply Last reply
                                1
                                • kissaki@feddit.orgK [email protected]

                                  You say forgetting memories is proof or indicative that memory depends on the physical body. But isn't that true for conscious as well?

                                  Our conscious is inherently bound to our physical being. We see, we feel, we taste, we identify with our body. Our brain allows us to think, and experience, to conceptualize our body, our being, us as an entity.

                                  We cut off fingernails and discard them as no longer part of ourselves. We drive a car and internalize movement as if it were us moving, while not seeing the vehicle as part of ourselves.

                                  Without experiencing and without a body to conceptualize, what would our consciousness be? Without a body and mind where consciousness can arise from experience and thoughts, how could consciousness arise?

                                  C This user is from outside of this forum
                                  C This user is from outside of this forum
                                  [email protected]
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #19

                                  Yeah theirs an idea that universal can recreate particles and mass from energy that exists and eventually I guess the universe can recreate the the universe similar to how we know it after some amount of time or make a big bang. I don't understand that physics but interesting concept.

                                  I would be curious if the was consciousness without matter, maybe a pure energy based being could exist

                                  kissaki@feddit.orgK 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • Q [email protected]

                                    Ever hear of Dr. Ian Stevenson?

                                    Edit: Not sure why I'm being downvoted, dude looked into reincarnation and had hundreds of documented cases, Carl Sagan wanted people to look more into it

                                    kolanaki@pawb.socialK This user is from outside of this forum
                                    kolanaki@pawb.socialK This user is from outside of this forum
                                    [email protected]
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #20

                                    He emphasized that the information he collected was suggestive of reincarnation but "was not flawless and it certainly does not compel such a belief."

                                    If even the guy who had done the most research on it doesn't believe in it, why should anyone else?

                                    Q 1 Reply Last reply
                                    1
                                    • kolanaki@pawb.socialK [email protected]

                                      He emphasized that the information he collected was suggestive of reincarnation but "was not flawless and it certainly does not compel such a belief."

                                      If even the guy who had done the most research on it doesn't believe in it, why should anyone else?

                                      Q This user is from outside of this forum
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                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #21

                                      Don't cherrypick qoutes.

                                      Regardless he had to say that to give himself an out, there was concern that he'd be judged negatively for even suggesting reincarnation. Something proven by your own hostility.

                                      L 1 Reply Last reply
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                                      • S [email protected]

                                        No.

                                        Do you remember before being born? It's the same after.

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                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #22

                                        What about people who claim past life memories?

                                        As is common amongst Buddhists

                                        Related video:
                                        https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_4BFX_qhhyk

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                                        • S [email protected]

                                          I died and came back and there was nothing, that concludes it for me. Ymmv, of course.

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                                          wrote last edited by
                                          #23

                                          Are you sure? Like what do you mean nothing? Like it all went to black? How do you know you just don't remember it?

                                          S 1 Reply Last reply
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