Why Do So Many People Claim To Be Famous In A Past Life?

Alexander does go to extreme opposites but they are born out of conflict. For instance he has been a rebel in his last three incarnations that I know of, not a conqueror. He has lived with the shoe on the other foot. I ask you...what spiritual reason would a mind such as Alexanders have to spend an anonymous life besides deciding not to fight? It's a talent for war that brought him back to it again and again. It's that feeling of destiny that justified his behaviour for himself because he thought he was being propelled by the Gods or God or whatever iteration he believed throughout his incarnations. It wasn't until he realised that destiny wasn't enough that he was able to make the right decision and stop engaging in war. Humanistic ideals hit him with a different morality, one in which he could envisage the evil which he would help to create. Alexander has learned at his own pace. How can anyone say whether it was too slow or too fast in spiritual terms? I don't have all the answers anymore than you do, all I know is that Alexanders current incarnation has been morally challenged and taken to task for his thinking. He probably deserves it after all the mayhem he has caused. History calls him a genius but I would call him an ***** for not being aware of his own ego.

 

I think people claim to be famous so much because they're just easier to research and it's often famous people who define a time period.
For example, t's easy to mistake a drab medieval life as being some fantastical king's because that's what comes to mind for our modern brains when we think "medieval".
It's just the logical train of thought because of our tendancy to stereotype time periods, and at that to stereotype them with famous people of the time.

To take it a bit further, I think the best way to tell if someone actually had a famous life is if their memories aren't what you'd think would be important and don't seem to "crowd please." As in, they deviate from our popular conception of them. After all, many famous people's life stories tend to be twisted and exaggerated for the sake of making them sound more legendary and special than they were.

Like, if the person can name the cons of that life with the pros, remember the personal details before the obvious ones you could get off the person's biography, and remember things that aren't commonly known about the time period they were famous in, that shows that they're not just regurgitating information they might've seen before.
At that, it shows they are remembering a PERSON and not getting carried away with the romantic idea and famous personalities of a time period that they may or may not have once lived in.

I acknowledge that this is all real rich coming from me. This thread is just very interesting so I wanted to contribute to it.

 

I don't claim to be famous because they are easier to research somesurrealkid. I gained PL memories before I did any research.

What happened to me was I went for a burger and a pint and I ran into history. I was really annoyed at big events being thrust upon my shoulders when all my brother had to deal with was his job. I wanted answers.

I got them for my sins. I was absolutely stunned at who I was in my past lives. I didn't think what I was doing in my current life was any great shakes. It was just a fight I was involved in. I didn't place myself into the league of 'great' men of the past, my existence did. It turns out it wasn't particularly hard for me in my past lives either.

I read back on my first two posts I put on this forum and I realised that I said more about what's bugging me about my most famous life back then than I've ever said on the forum since I joined. That means my FPL is stifling me and stopping my exploration of it, simply because I don't want to loose credibility by coming off as a nutjob. Besides, my most famous PL is embarrassing. Two reasons not to go into it.

For anyone with unknown past lives I'll see you one PL and raise you an FPL. I fancy loosing one of my lives.

 

I don't know why so many people claim to have been famous, especially in the case of really popular figures with many claimants to the same name. Maybe it's an honest mistake from being close to or admiring that person in the past, maybe it's one of those weird instances where new souls seem to take other peoples' PL memories in order to help them learn and adjust, or maybe it is just an attempt to gain attention or to feel important.

As another person who has been famous in the past, I find the culture surrounding famous past lives to be rather annoying. I HAVE the memories, I HAVE the subconscious responses to past life-related stimuli, I even identified information that there is absolutely no way I could have come across previously in this lifetime. I told myself again and again and again that it was not true because so many people think they were famous, but how many of them actually could have been? But now that I have finally accepted this as the only possible solution (beyond myself and everyone else on this site being mentally unwell), I cannot come out and speak about it because there are too many false claims to fame, too many stigmas surrounding it.

Fame is just a societal judgement, usually based on what family a person was born into or how effectively they conquered others. In my experience, famous people are no different from those who go unrecognized. They often do not have fancy traits or a sense of destiny about them; they are just people.

 

I know myself, Spirit Sword, that people probably claim FPLs to feel important but the truth be told, I feel less important since I found out who I was. Its affected my self esteem. Also because of my relatively newfound belief in reincarnation I've been marginalised in life. Reincarnation is too strange a concept for anyone I know to accept. In my case it would be much easier for me not to have PL memories. All they've been is a traumatic bloody nuisance.

I find the culture around FPLs annoying too. I don't like to be lost in the mix. I don't like that my torments and trials should be reduced to being 'just another claimant'. My memories are more consuming and personal to me than that.

Like you I'm apprehensive about speaking about my earliest life. My later lives were only really famous in one country or amongst history affectionados. Yet my earlier life is known worldwide. And I do feel stigmatised as being a part of the tin foil hat brigade.

Your right, famous people are just people. It would be nice if those in my life realised that. I might actually be able to talk about what's bothering me.

 

I think many people have so ordinary and unremarkable lives, they think that they are 'resting' in this incarnation, cuz their previous life was full of events. But, unfortunately, they are just boring or scared to make a change. So, they find an excuse to their inertia.

 

If I understand your post correctly, KenJ, then there is no way of knowing if reincarnation exists at all. Perhaps each person with past life memories is truly here for the first time and is just picking up memories of people who have come before. While I definitely believe that people can pick up memories of lives that are not their own or fabricate them based on information they've locked into their subconscious, this is a dangerous precedence to set.

 

I don't like the idea of, as fireflydancing said, 'spiritual paparazzi'.

I wouldn't rule out the possibility of memories being shared between souls on Earth. I know from my own experiences that this at least happens when it comes to the life review after death, but its my understanding such occurrances are a learning tool, they are not simply a shared experience.

I think one must look to other factors also when examining a past life. Things like my own experiences in court in my current life. Upon remembering my eighteenth century life I realised that I'd been pulling the same kind of stuff for centuries. The penny dropped. If my memories weren't so similar to my current life I would be open to the notion that they were a shared experience. As it stands they feel completely like personal experiences. Whether it was 1798 or 2001 I was the same bloody person. I remember it as a continuance of my own experiences, not as some other person from the dim, distant past whom I happen to have memories of.

I do wonder about all of the Russian aristocracy claims myself. They can't all be right but they cant all be lying or delusional too. I'm more inclined to think such people shared a life with the Russian aristocracy rather than being one and they just misremember it. I just don't see what a brand new soul would learn from remembering a life they hadn't affected nor being involved with in some capacity. Any memories I've gained were a direct result of my own actions. I was involved in such memories. My differing perspectives informed how I viewed those past lives. It was intimate not merely explanatory.

 

I suppose the "spiritual paparazzi" is possible, but it could also be a reconstruction of the mind based on what a person expected to see. Has anyone ever compared the experiences of multiple different claimants to see how similar they are to each other or to sources?

In the case of the Russian aristocracy claims, my guess is that all of the excitement surrounding the possibly resurfaced Anastasia(s) merely evolved when it ran into the new tool of past lives. And, of course, people who actually did live through the time would be more likely to lean towards identifying themselves as people with more documentation surrounding them, more mystery and excitement, or more prestige.

 

In my case Spirit Sword, I've met the reincarnations of some people from my past lives in my current life. I don't see how it could merely be "spiritual paparazzi" or a construct of my mind. That may very well explain my PL memories to an observer, but it doesn't explain how I encountered the same "cast of characters". I'd be interested in knowing if multiple claimants have had soul group encounters themselves.

Russian incarnation claimants may very well be searching for more mystery, excitement and prestige but personally, I want less excitement, less mystery and zero prestige. I want to be a farmer or a trucker or something.

 

I agree that there are real memories from the people who were actually the ones there. But perhaps some variation on this concepts of spirits who place themselves in the audience could explain faulty claims. I am completely with you, Jim, having also drawn many of the same souls into my life once again.

I think a good way to tell claimants from true experiences would be their attitude. It seems to me that many people who have had the real deal or what very well could be the real deal are more likely to talk it down, try to hide it, or hate it and wish they had something more normal. Whereas the ones who might be a little mistaken are often constantly excited or trying to draw attention to this great new accolade. I am not saying this is a clear, 100% divide, but it seems like a decent jumping-off point.

 

I just don't see how a 'spectator' PL memory would work Spirit Sword. If it was simply a matter of viewing other souls experiences to learn and evolve why would new souls even have to come to Earth?

I'm not discounting the possibility, I just don't see what benefit viewing others experiences would have outside of a life review after death. When we see the wrongs we've done from others perspectives. Personal memories and experiences seem to be a learning tool. I don't see why a new soul would need to view another souls journey unless they've affected or been affected by it personally.

I don't bother to hide my FPLs because anyone with half a brain could figure out who I've been if they read some of my posts. I'm more focused on discussing the issues its brought up for me. I do understand why others are cagey though. There's much ridicule that can come with an FPL.

I think attitude is a good jumping off point. I've been drinking heavily since I remembered reincarnation. I yearn for the simpler times of just being Jim. The only accolade I would even entertain is for my current life actions and who would gain an accolade for not engaging in war?

Besides, I've read many reincarnation stories that seemed too flowery or idealised to ring true with me. Lacking in detail or simplistic. I guess thats why this site is about children's past lives. Life hasn't really coloured their perceptions yet.

Anyway, it was man that gave me a pat on the head for my past lives. God was the one that gave me a slap in the head for it. Personally I'm more interested in what God wants than what man wants.

 

Thanks fireflydancing. I don't know how long you have PL memories nor how much you have integrated the memories into your life and forgiven yourself but I only had my first PL memories four years ago. I went around for months stunned.

Now all I see is things like the siege of Tyre or the aftermath of the battle of Sulcoit and I wonder on what planet did I think my actions were justified? Even worse, I've fought against occupying forces in my later lives so that makes me a hypocrite. And yet again, if my tactics hadn't been employed in the early twentieth century the black and tans wouldn't have come to my shores. Its ream after ream of violence and killing and moving lives around like so many pawns.

What remembering reincarnation and learning the lessons of my current life means to me is akin to when I was a teenager in my current life and drank neat whiskey. I was out of control, on a rampage and causing mayhem. For me remembering reincarnation is like remembering a millennia old alcoholic blackout in which I caused mayhem. Now I'm awakened and all I can do is survey the wreckage of my past and current lives. My only hope is that, like when I was a teenager, the realisation of my wrongs will force me to change.

I'm disgusted by my behaviour but what really dismays me is that even after all I've learned I still get an adrenalin rush thinking over my various victories from all of my remembered lives. I fear that I'm incapable of change.

I don't know why other people claim FPLs but from my perspective I don't claim them. I've just lived them and there is enough information on my pls out there so that I feel embarrassed by my behaviour. A PL farmer being caught with his trousers down embarrasses himself in front of a few. FPLs such as mine embarrass themselves in front of a multitude.

I question everything about myself and my motivations now. Forgiveness feels like an insurmountable goal. It did feel that way as a teen too but now that feeling is to the extreme.

 

I’m sure there are a multitude of reasons

-Attention, some sort of an attempt at fame or an opportunity to make money writing a book or something
-Mixing who they actually were with some famous person that was similar
-They were close to the famous person they think they were
-They actually were that person

I also think it’s easier for FPLs to be researched, obviously. I have PLs that have been confirmed that have lots of documentation out there. I have others confirmed where there’s little to none, and that’s unfortunate because I’d like to know more about one of those less documented lives.

 

I have my own theory about that.
Not every individual on this planet remembers past lives. How many percent of the world population remember past lives at all? What if you only begin remembering after the soul has reached a certain age?
Now the odds aren't so low anymore that everyone who remembers past lives had one, at least, where they were more or less famous.
There are many people who do not remember famous past lives at all, just lives as "normal" people.
As for why some people seem to remember a famous past life first, the reason could be that there are more reminders which then trigger a memory.

Still, a certain amount of care and doubt is advisable here. Doesn't actually increase your own (and other people's) credibility when the first thing you tell about yourself as a new member of a forum is that you remember a past live as Queen Elizabeth I (just as an example).
Some people I know who remember famous past lives were very reluctant to talk about it at all at first and did not think this being cool at all.

There are attention-seekers, of course. But who in their right mind would boast about having had a famous past life when they do not have a very good reason to believe so? When telling such a thing you will expect others to have their doubts. Like people who remember famous past lives sometimes still have doubts themselves.

Just my two cents.