God's got some splainin' to do?!?!?!

[poeticblue]

So why are you angry Bruce. You are spewing garbage on this site.

[BruceAdama]

My presumption tells me that if all were to remember their past lives, then all would choose the same path, and this choice would be neither authentic or free which defeats the purpose of being here.

IDK about this... think about that... if in a past life you were a murderer or a criminal, and ended up spending the bulk of your life in prison, would you really want to choose that path in the next life, knowing that your years would be squandered behind bars? What if in a past life, you suffered from a debilitating disease, or worse, were paralyzed... a vegetable? Would you really want to repeat that experience, knowing that there would be so much of life you couldn't experience? You kind of have to factor in these variables before making that general an assumption. Because of this, I think there would be great variety in the paths chosen by people.

[Fallen]

IDK about this... think about that... if in a past life you were a murderer or a criminal, and ended up spending the bulk of your life in prison, would you really want to choose that path in the next life, knowing that your years would be squandered behind bars? What if in a past life, you suffered from a debilitating disease, or worse, were paralyzed... a vegetable? Would you really want to repeat that experience, knowing that there would be so much of life you couldn't experience? You kind of have to factor in these variables before making that general an assumption. Because of this, I think there would be great variety in the paths chosen by people.

Its assuming that you would also remember your past experience of being apart of God in an incomprehensible state if bliss, and then your experiences of being separated from that state. If one were to remember what it was like prior to the beginning of separation and subsequent reincarnation, then surely all would forget about pursuing their earthly/afterlife interests, pleasures, and desires and pursue God only as these are utterly meaningless in comparison to being in the presence of God. Then there wouldn't be a point to having a physical universe or afterlife, or a point to the "separation" to begin with (it is separation that defines oneness). It is all a process, and to me living this life is an adventure that I am happy to be a part of and experience. Yes there is suffering and dark aspects of life, but I accept these aspects as necessary for life, and then let go. Suffering has its purpose.

Interestingly, my mother remembers being forced back too. She doesn't remember what happened in her previous life, but feels that she died too soon, perhaps too soon enough to finish what she needed to do. And so they told her that she had to go, just one more time, despite her not wanting to.

[Annie]

I guess I don't completely grasp how people can have these memories of being forced into incarnating and feeling such conviction that they are what really happened. I'm not at all being dismissive when I say this; I just think that a person would feel a lot less bitter and angry with life by thinking that MAYBE that happened, but maybe it didn't, because it's one of those things that you can't really be 100% certain of. I feel this way about past life regressions too...yes, I do think that they might be valid in some cases, but sometimes it could just be the human mind, in all its complexities, conjuring things up. Same thing with dreams. And I've had dreams so vivid (this is rare though) that I think they happened in real life. They're usually very mundane dreams, obviously no flying unicorns or Godzilla attacks, but rather interactions with people I know. And I'll say to the person I dreamt about "Remember that time we were talking about _____?" and they will have no clue what I'm talking about.

My point is, question everything. I didn't believe in reincarnation until I heard it over and over again, from multiple people, that it is a real thing. Same with ghosts, same with the afterlife in general, to be honest. And if I went to a medium for a reading from a loved one, I would have to hear them give me details that the medium could not have known before I felt that there was true communication happening. You do need to trust your instincts of course, but keep in mind that there could be lots of possibilities you don't know about, and that we just don't have all the answers here on earth. All we can do is use evidence to piece together what we can and base our speculations on evidence.

As for why we don't remember past lives...I don't know if I'd want to. I definitely wish I could have a DVD of key moments in my past lives so that I could watch myself and gain insight, but if I actually actively remembered all of that (rather than passively observing it), I would feel completely weary of living. I get a little weary as it is sometimes, but imagine decades upon decades of it, especially if you've suffered through famine, disease, murder, rape, enslavement, poverty, being paralyzation, mental illness, loneliness, or any other unpleasantry that we probably have all encountered at least once in one of our lives. It would make me feel very old, like I've lived for centuries with no respite.

[Sapphire]

As for why we don't remember past lives...I don't know if I'd want to. I definitely wish I could have a DVD of key moments in my past lives so that I could watch myself and gain insight, but if I actually actively remembered all of that (rather than passively observing it), I would feel completely weary of living. I get a little weary as it is sometimes, but imagine decades upon decades of it, especially if you've suffered through famine, disease, murder, rape, enslavement, poverty, being paralyzation, mental illness, loneliness, or any other unpleasantry that we probably have all encountered at least once in one of our lives. It would make me feel very old, like I've lived for centuries with no respite.

Annie, I know what you mean. It would be handy to have a CliffsNotes version of our key events that eventually shape who we are in this and other lives.

I suppose that unless we keep pretty elaborate diaries with immediate recall, there are going to be incidents that inevitably fade.

From what I have learned, the Life Review is the recap we get, but only after we transition, and from there we have access to all other incarnate experiences. We take what we can from this life and do our best with it, and then get "graded" later. I'm shooting for at least an A-.

[Fallen]

In the beginning was the void, and in the void was God. God was alone and unaware of itself within this void, and upon awakening realized it was alone. From out of this "loniness" came its first thought, its first intention and desire, and that was to love and be loved, as that was its divine, essential nature. But there was no one to love, no one to receive this love, and no one that would reciprocate it, so out of pain and sadness God shattered into many light fragments, each with their own separate will. Because they were shattered, they also had fragmented memories of who they were, and where they came from. And from these fragments came other thoughts, intentions, and desires that were of their own creation. As time passed they became attached to those thoughts and intentions, forgetting completely about their own true nature and divine origin. But hidden within the hearts of these fragments is the original thought, intention, and desire, yearning to be realized. And when each divine spark is awakened to its original thought and desire, it forgets about all the other thoughts, desires, and memories it had created, and begins to love all and everything with an unwavering, burning passion. It begins to remember its divine nature and origin, and in this state of fragmentation, realizes that the first thought, intention, and desire can now be fully realized.

[Carol and Mikey]

Fallen,
What are you describing here? The beginning? I don't want to misinterpret anything. Curious. Thank you!
Carol

[vic smyth]

Fallen,
What are you describing here? The beginning? I don't want to misinterpret anything. Curious. Thank you!
Carol

I should not be answering for Fallen, but it sounds like a combination of the first chapters of Genesis and the Gospel of John.

My question to Fallen is, would God have a human emotion of loneliness? Or is this God the Demuirge that Gnostics speak of, a subordinate creator god?

But it's a wonderful and helpful analogy.


With Lovingkindness (metta),
vic

[BruceAdama]

I guess I don't completely grasp how people can have these memories of being forced into incarnating and feeling such conviction that they are what really happened.

I don't want to sound like I'm being rude or snippy to you, Annie, so I'll just say that you probably can't grasp it because it simply hasn't happened to you, or been the case, in terms of your own life. It's a lot easier to relate to a situation or point-of-view when it is one which directly pertains to an experience or POV which you yourself can relate to. As I have said here before... just because other people haven't had this experience doesn't mean I haven't, or that it doesn't happen. Millions of people are born perfectly healthy, yet there are still some of us who are not. All I can say is that it happened to me (being forced here against my will), and I know that to be true.

[Roberta Grimes]

I don't want to sound like I'm being rude or snippy to you, Annie, so I'll just say that you probably can't grasp it because it simply hasn't happened to you, or been the case, in terms of your own life. It's a lot easier to relate to a situation or point-of-view when it is one which directly pertains to an experience or POV which you yourself can relate to. As I have said here before... just because other people haven't had this experience doesn't mean I haven't, or that it doesn't happen. Millions of people are born perfectly healthy, yet there are still some of us who are not. All I can say is that it happened to me (being forced here against my will), and I know that to be true.

I believe you, dear beloved Bruce. Others have various pre-birth memories, so even though what you say happened to you is apparently extraordinarily rare, I believe that you could have these memories.

But please, dear friend, let's get past it now! I have some awful memories, too, but I cannot this minute even tell you what they are because I have put them firmly behind me. You are here now, and healthy, and bright, and with a world of people around you who desperately need the love and wisdom and comfort that you can give them. You have a lesson-plan, and spirit guides, and others who share this journey with you. Okay. It happened. But now, here you are. What are you going to do with all your wonderful gifts??