Do souls have gender?

[Totoro]

I hope what I said doesn't come off as creepy (particularly the being a girl part), please interpret
it with an open mind.

It does not come off as creepy and I think with 100% certainty, no one here looks at it with anything other than an open mind. I've been posting here over a decade and I've never seen an issue with kind of thing.

I have the same thing actually. I live in the US, male now, but I was a female in my past life in China. I spent a long time feeling kind of like two people at once; I kinda still do, it's not something that ever totally goes away. But I know the feeling very well.

It's nothing to be ashamed about either. Some people are more male or female and have lives centered in one or the other. Some people are in the middle, but just a bit off of center either way and that's ok too. We may feel more comfortable with one gender over the other, but are capable and willing to be the opposite if needed.

Most of my lives have been male simply for the purposes I wanted to fulfill in those lives. I'm male now for my son. Perhaps you haven't discovered your reason for being male yet? If not, in time you may

 

[SeaAndSky]

As someone representing the "minority" position on the board, I feel it necessary to insert the fact (for the benefit of newcomers posting) that not all who believe in reincarnation believe the soul/spirit is without gender. This does not, however, seem to be the opinion held by the majority of posters.

S&S

 

[Speedwell]

As someone representing the "minority" position on the board, I feel it necessary to insert the fact (for the benefit of newcomers posting) that not all who believe in reincarnation believe the soul/spirit is without gender. This does not, however, seem to be the opinion held by the majority of posters.

S&S

Thanks for pointing that out.

Personally I'm flexible on ideas such as this, since I don't have enough evidence to support any firm conclusion.

Also, it is a good idea for members (in this instance @Polaris8 ) to caveat posts of this type by saying it is one's own opinion, rather than asserting such beliefs as though they were fact.

 

[melon04]

As someone representing the "minority" position on the board, I feel it necessary to insert the fact (for the benefit of newcomers posting) that not all who believe in reincarnation believe the soul/spirit is without gender. This does not, however, seem to be the opinion held by the majority of posters.

S&S

I have heard some people say that there is a roughly 90% chance that a person was the same gender in a past life, and that souls can have preferences for which gender they want to live as.

 

[soulcat]

It does not come off as creepy and I think with 100% certainty, no one here looks at it with anything other than an open mind. I've been posting here over a decade and I've never seen an issue with kind of thing. Most of my lives have been male simply for the purposes I wanted to fulfill in those lives. I'm male now for my son. Perhaps you haven't discovered your reason for being male yet? If not, in time you may

Thank you for your understanding. I appreciate the open-mindedness here. I just want to be "me" again, I want to see a Japanese or Korean (South) girl's face in the mirror again. I want long black silky hair again,
I don't want this big western nose, etc. etc. It comes off as a fetish to some people, but it's really not because I wouldn't want to be anyone else. Also, people work and study hard in these countries, I mean really hard.
I understand this and I'm willing to do it if I can be me again. If this were just some fetish I'd choose to be female in a much more laid back, relaxed country.

I know who I was, it took me lots of soul searching (no pun intended), travel, language/culture study to find this out. There is also another uncanny and possibly related coincidence, the doctor who delivered me at birth was Korean, albeit outside Korea. There was always a connection...
Anyway, I've thought long and hard about why I'm male now and it's because there are many things I've done and accomplished in this current incarnation that simply wouldn't have been possible with a female body due to
physical strength-related reasons.

The weird thing about this, as well as several other things I have seen about Korean personality vs Japanese personality, is that although I am of Korean descent several of my personality traits are more like that of the typical Japanese personality. (But also I was born in and live in America.)
How ironic.

I think it's a matter of nature vs. nurture. I met a boy in Japan who was ethnically 100% Korean but raised in Japan and his personality was 100% Japanese.

 

[Speedwell]

I think it's a matter of nature vs. nurture. I met a boy in Japan who was ethnically 100% Korean but raised in Japan and his personality was 100% Japanese.

You may be right in this case. However I've thought for a long time that the nature/nurture debate is rooted in a materialist model of the world and omits the most important part of what it is to be human - our own conscious soul. At least in my view, personality can derive sometimes a little and other times a great deal from what that immortal part of us brings.

 

[melon04]

So does that mean that the whole personality thing is something neg that is what you are raised as, or is it something that was carried on from a previous life as the other ethnicity?

 

[Amy1]

So does that mean that the whole personality thing is something neg that is what you are raised as, or is it something that was carried on from a previous life as the other ethnicity?

I can give my views on this. If a very pure soul is born in surroundings with no moral and family values whatsoever and practice of “might is right “ and sees everyone practicing this rule , he’s sure to grow up with these

 

[melon04]

Thank you for your understanding. I appreciate the open-mindedness here. I just want to be "me" again, I want to see a Japanese or Korean (South) girl's face in the mirror again. I want long black silky hair again,
I don't want this big western nose, etc. etc. It comes off as a fetish to some people, but it's really not because I wouldn't want to be anyone else. Also, people work and study hard in these countries, I mean really hard.
I understand this and I'm willing to do it if I can be me again. If this were just some fetish I'd choose to be female in a much more laid back, relaxed country.

I know who I was, it took me lots of soul searching (no pun intended), travel, language/culture study to find this out. There is also another uncanny and possibly related coincidence, the doctor who delivered me at birth was Korean, albeit outside Korea. There was always a connection...
Anyway, I've thought long and hard about why I'm male now and it's because there are many things I've done and accomplished in this current incarnation that simply wouldn't have been possible with a female body due to
physical strength-related reasons.

As someone who is of Korean descent I don't think you are being creepy or weird. This is definitely not the same as an insane weeaboo/koreaboo who says things like "Oh I just love Asian culture so much! I JUST KNOW that I was Japanese/Korean in a past life/want to come back as Japanese/Korean in my next life!" and then starts telling random Japanese/Korean people about it.

But let's say that even if there was a non-Japanese or non-Korean who actually had one of those past lives, yes they can acknowledge it. But they need to recognize that even though they were one back then they currently aren't now, and shouldn't use it as an excuse to fetishize and/or appropriate from the culture.

Yeah like I was Jewish back in the 1600s but when I found that out I didn't suddenly start being weird to Jewish people about it. I just kinda went like wow cool I guess. Because I know that if I started being weird about it then Jewish people wouldn't like it, just like how I don't like the weird Kpop fans (of course not all of them are but many of them are) to randomly come up to me and start talking about how much they wish they were Korean.

 

[soulcat]

As someone who is of Korean descent I don't think you are being creepy or weird. This is definitely not the same as an insane weeaboo/koreaboo who says things like "Oh I just love Asian culture so much! I JUST KNOW that I was Japanese/Korean in a past life/want to come back as Japanese/Korean in my next life!" and then starts telling random Japanese/Korean people about it.

That's another point. K-Pop/K-Dramas, Anime, Manga, none of that stuff brought me here, which is often the case for many people. I'm not interested in any of the superficial things about these two countries, if anything,
I'm interested in the deeper things such as the culture and history. Again, there's no specific reason for this, or trigger.

This is a little bit of a side topic, but I had a classmate in high school who was deeply interested in the U.S. civil war, beyond just a hobby. Many of his thoughts and attitudes didn't feel like someone who was born in the latter half of
the 20th century. He used to take care of the grave of his great-grandfather who fought in the civil war. Once he said to me very nonchalantly, "that was me and this is my grave so I take care of it" as if it was a matter of fact.
He didn't really talk about reincarnation outside of that conversation very much. But people who know it's real, "just know." Anyway, I think deep interest in the history of a specific culture/event is a sign of a past life.
I once considered majoring in East Asian studies but I thought finding a job might be difficult so I scrapped the idea.

 

[melon04]

I personally don't care about any

That's another point. K-Pop/K-Dramas, Anime, Manga, none of that stuff brought me here, which is often the case for many people. I'm not interested in any of the superficial things about these two countries, if anything,
I'm interested in the deeper things such as the culture and history. Again, there's no specific reason for this, or trigger.

I mean, I myself personally am not very interested in any of things either. There is nothing wrong with people liking them, and I also don't mind it if they want to learn about the culture as long as it is done in a respectful manner and as long as they don't start acting gross about it.

 

[Totoro]

There's only so much you can do, realistically. A majority of people are into playing dress up fantasy of one kind of another.

You hear the "I just know because" argument a lot. It's possible but highly unlikely that someone was born in the 60's or early 70's and died tragically young and was reborn in the 90's or early 00's and they just know they were Asian because they love kpop and kogal. Those things didn't exist back then and what did would be quite underwhelming for someone raised on today's media.

We have to think critically about things. For example, when I was a child, I was obsessed with kung fu movies. I used to tape them off the TV constantly. If I claimed I just knew I was Bruce Lee because I loved kung fu movies, people would be right to be skeptical. While a strong, unexplained interest sometimes is and can be a sign of a past life, it's not proof in and of its self. We need to dig deeper and keep digging even when we feel like we've found enough and we can stop.

After many years of research, what I realized was special about those movies to me, was that they literally depicted the time period I lived in, they were comforting and reminded me of home. So something obvious, can also have have an equally unobvious meaning that we wouldn't see if just stopped at the "I just know because" statement.

And yes, sadly many love to join forums and groups online and proclaim "I just know because".. My advice is just to wait and watch. What other proof or validations do they offer? Are they really researching or just excited because they're playing a dress up game? People who aren't serious will often give up and disappear quickly when they don't get the attention they want. It's frequently about the instant gratification and not uncovering what it is that their past life may be trying to tell them about themselves.

@melon04 , what do you mean about people acting gross? I didn't understand that part of your comment.

 

[melon04]

@melon04 , what do you mean about people acting gross? I didn't understand that part of your comment.

Stuff such as cultural appropriation, racial fetishization, pretending to know everything about the culture when they clearly don't, doing yellowface (which is actually just as offensive as blackface), treating IRL people like fictional characters (such as shipping them or drawing porn them, also this is almost exclusively a koreaboo thing), and defending Japanese imperialism/war crimes (only weeaboos do this).

I apologize if this convo is starting to get off topic.

 

[SeaAndSky]

I have heard some people say that there is a roughly 90% chance that a person was the same gender in a past life, and that souls can have preferences for which gender they want to live as.

Hi Melon,

I think the usual percentages quoted are based on findings by researcher Ian Stevenson that usually only 1 out of 10 is a cross-gender incarnation. However, though gender preference across the board seems pretty clear, the percentages vary pretty radically in some cultures as compared to what seems to be the norm. The Psi Encyclopedia is a good place to start in terms of studying this phenomenon, and provides the names of many of the major researchers, whose work you can look into further online if you wish to do so. Here is an article directed to this specific issue:

https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/reincarnation-cases-sex-change

The foregoing will tell you a lot, but if you are like me you may find after reading it that there are a great many questions that remain, at this point, unanswered. Another good site available online deals with Ian Stevenson's groundbreaking work:

https://www.reincarnationresearch.c...emories-and-the-research-of-ian-stevenson-md/

If you go down to #5 on that page you will find the 90% language you mention plus a link to some discussion related to the "issues" that can arise as a result of cross-gender incarnations.

Cordially,
S&S

 

[melon04]

Hi Melon,

I think the usual percentages quoted are based on findings by researcher Ian Stevenson that usually only 1 out of 10 is a cross-gender incarnation. However, though gender preference across the board seems pretty clear, the percentages vary pretty radically in some cultures as compared to what seems to be the norm. The Psi Encyclopedia is a good place to start in terms of studying this phenomenon, and provides the names of many of the major researchers, whose work you can look into further online if you wish to do so. Here is an article directed to this specific issue:

https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/reincarnation-cases-sex-change

The foregoing will tell you a lot, but if you are like me you may find after reading it that there are a great many questions that remain, at this point, unanswered. Another good site available online deals with Ian Stevenson's groundbreaking work:

https://www.reincarnationresearch.c...emories-and-the-research-of-ian-stevenson-md/

If you go down to #5 on that page you will find the 90% language you mention plus a link to some discussion related to the "issues" that can arise as a result of cross-gender incarnations.

Cordially,
S&S

Okay that makes sense.

However something that would technically be true regardless is that the soul itself is technically sexless since it obviously wouldn't have reproductive organs and the like (sex isn't the same as gender).

 

[Totoro]

I'm not sure what you're saying?

I personally do believe souls are gendered and no, they don't have sex organs. Are you just stating the obvious? Lol

 

[melon04]

Well that came out weird lol. I mean it would make sense if souls are still gendered though.

 

[SeaAndSky]

Well that came out weird lol. I mean it would make sense if souls are still gendered though.

Hi Melon,

I agree, and IMO the investigative evidence points overwhelmingly in that direction. However, one thing that seems to be pretty uniform across all of the researchers (and there are many), is that we freely choose to enter a cross-gender lifetime. If this is true, the question then becomes--Why? This is especially pertinent when there is a gender awareness breach (so to speak) in the memory barrier, which often (by my observation) seems to result in dysphoria in various degrees. Totoro knows why "she that was" chose to be "he who is", and has chosen (as far as I can tell) to "soldier on" in this lifetime (and Totoro is not the only one). However, many do not seem to find out "why" without some fairly heavy duty exploration of the issue with a specialist in PL regression. I can also say, based once again on my own observations from reading cases and/or reading posts over a long period of membership on this board, that past life trauma with a sex based component often is part of the picture. I.e., I have read cases/posts by quite a few females (dysphoric or not), who reported being males who died violently (typically in a war) in their immediate past life. However, we probably get a skewed sampling, as PL trauma tends to force its way through the memory barrier, leading more people of this type to post here. Anyhow, PL trauma as a female or male is probably not the primary reason for a switch like this in most cases. The primary reason seems to be an open question. I have my own theories, but as you observe, we are really kind of off base in terms of the topic, so I won't get into another lengthy topic at the moment.

Anyhow, the upshot of all of this--IMO--is that you are probably not here in a particular type of body due to chance, bad luck, etc., but due to a definite choice on your part. This, in turn, was probably based on what seemed like good reasons at the time. Once again, just my opinion based on a lot of reading on the subject. Still, it might be a good idea (now that you have started on this path) to explore what your reasons might have been.

Cordially,
S&S

 

[Cyrus]

Hi Melon,

I agree, and IMO the investigative evidence points overwhelmingly in that direction. However, one thing that seems to be pretty uniform across all of the researchers (and there are many), is that we freely choose to enter a cross-gender lifetime. If this is true, the question then becomes--Why? This is especially pertinent when there is a gender awareness breach (so to speak) in the memory barrier, which often (by my observation) seems to result in dysphoria in various degrees. Totoro knows why "she that was" chose to be "he who is", and has chosen (as far as I can tell) to "soldier on" in this lifetime (and Totoro is not the only one). However, many do not seem to find out "why" without some fairly heavy duty exploration of the issue with a specialist in PL regression. I can also say, based once again on my own observations from reading cases and/or reading posts over a long period of membership on this board, that past life trauma with a sex based component often is part of the picture. I.e., I have read cases/posts by quite a few females (dysphoric or not), who reported being males who died violently (typically in a war) in their immediate past life. However, we probably get a skewed sampling, as PL trauma tends to force its way through the memory barrier, leading more people of this type to post here. Anyhow, PL trauma as a female or male is probably not the primary reason for a switch like this in most cases. The primary reason seems to be an open question. I have my own theories, but as you observe, we are really kind of off base in terms of the topic, so I won't get into another lengthy topic at the moment.

Anyhow, the upshot of all of this--IMO--is that you are probably not here in a particular type of body due to chance, bad luck, etc., but due to a definite choice on your part. This, in turn, was probably based on what seemed like good reasons at the time. Once again, just my opinion based on a lot of reading on the subject. Still, it might be a good idea (now that you have started on this path) to explore what your reasons might have been.

Cordially,
S&S

Well that came out weird lol. I mean it would make sense if souls are still gendered though.

I daresay those who inhabit some Betelgeuse-V, where the biology has 3 genders, believe the souls intrinsically have 3 genders, too. A kind of anthropic principle in different circumstances. Some would call this intellectual inertia. I call it intellectual laziness. We construct our spiritual worlds as full of our similars.

I've read somewhere, that the Australian aborigens imagined their gods dark-skinned, snub-nosed and in loin-cloths.

The Olympic gods fornicated in their incessant drunken orgies just as the ancient Greek aristocracy did.

In one of - it seems - Kurt Vonnegut's Sci-Fi novels, he describes a planet, where there are 5 (five !) genders; just imagine what a simple dating there might look like. And it gives me goosebumps just to think what a fuss their souls have to go through when they reincarnate.

So, go ahead, folks !

IMHO.

Best regards.

 

[SeaAndSky]

I daresay those who inhabit some Betelgeuse-V, where the biology has 3 genders, believe the souls intrinsically have 3 genders, too. A kind of anthropic principle in different circumstances. Some would call this intellectual inertia. I call it intellectual laziness. We construct our spiritual worlds as full of our similars.

I've read somewhere, that the Australian aborigens imagined their gods dark-skinned, snub-nosed and in loin-cloths.

The Olympic gods fornicated in their incessant drunken orgies just as the ancient Greek aristocracy did.

In one of - it seems - Kurt Vonnegut's Sci-Fi novels, he describes a planet, where there are 5 (five !) genders; just imagine what a simple dating there might look like. And it gives me goosebumps just to think what a fuss their souls have to go through when they reincarnate.

So, go ahead, folks !

IMHO.

Best regards.

Hi Cyrus,

I'm a bit startled by your approach, which is not only dismissive but sneering. I don't think the subject or my stated position deserves either. It is almost as if you think I am departing from some well established and unassailably reasonable approach, whereas the truth is that there is nothing of the sort IMO. Gendered "souls" and non-gendered "souls" are merely propositions or hypotheses to be considered. I have stated some of my reasons for believing in soul (or spirit) gender in prior postings, usually more fully than I did in the post you quoted. You are welcome to state your reasons for believing they are non-gendered, or perhaps that the issue is beyond consideration for some reason. You put out a few ideas in the post quoted above, but I'd like to see a more disciplined and complete statement of your ideas and position for comparison purposes. Then we can hopefully bat the concepts involved around a bit and perhaps even reach some conclusions.

Cordially,
S&S

 

[Cyrus]

Hi Cyrus,

I'm a bit startled by your approach, which is not only dismissive but sneering. I don't think the subject or my stated position deserves either. It is almost as if you think I am departing from some well established and unassailably reasonable approach, whereas the truth is that there is nothing of the sort IMO. Gendered "souls" and non-gendered "souls" are merely propositions or hypotheses to be considered. I have stated some of my reasons for believing in soul (or spirit) gender in prior postings, usually more fully than I did in the post you quoted. You are welcome to state your reasons for believing they are non-gendered, or perhaps that the issue is beyond consideration for some reason. You put out a few ideas in the post quoted above, but I'd like to see a more disciplined and complete statement of your ideas and position for comparison purposes. Then we can hopefully bat the concepts involved around a bit and perhaps even reach some conclusions.

Cordially,
S&S

Hi, S&S:

I'm really sorry you're feeling like that. I assure you I feel the deepest respect for you.

What I wrote above is not a universal truth but only my personal opinion, and I explicitly marked it as such. I can't help it if somebody does not agree with me.

I don't think I have any hidden or open PL traumas, especially gender-related and the gender problems in general don't interest me very much.

I guess I maybe was somewhat too egoistic (selfish) in my relations with some categories of people in my PL, and I believe I've been accordingly punished for it in this life; I only hope I've had enough time to repair my damaged karma.

Wish you all the best, and many satisfactions in your investigations.

P.S. In my last two PMs I sent you some ideas on how to investigate most efficiently - IMHO - the PL amnesia problem. Hope this helps.

Very best.

IMHO.

 

[SeaAndSky]

Hi, S&S:

I'm really sorry you're feeling like that. I assure you I feel the deepest respect for you.

What I wrote above is not a universal truth but only my personal opinion, and I explicitly marked it as such. I can't help it if somebody does not agree with me.

I don't think I have any hidden or open PL traumas, especially gender-related and the gender problems in general don't interest me very much.

I guess I maybe was somewhat too egoistic (selfish) in my relations with some categories of people in my PL, and I believe I've been accordingly punished for it in this life; I only hope I've had enough time to repair my damaged karma.

Wish you all the best, and many satisfactions in your investigations.

P.S. In my last two PMs I sent you some ideas on how to investigate most efficiently - IMHO - the PL amnesia problem. Hope this helps.

Very best.

IMHO.

Hi Cyrus,

No problem, and the respect goes both ways. In any case, I also have my points of exasperation, and may have been unnecessarily harsh.

I hate to admit to any “triggers”, given the ludicrous and often bizarre debasement of that term in modern usage and discourse. But, I do admit to sometimes being overly reactive when dealing with the assumption of many that the “soul” is without gender sans any discussion or proof on that matter.

Actually, I tend to think that this assumption is based on an underlying and unconscious assumption that m/f gender is dictated by biological sex. Thus, a spirit with no flesh = no biological sex = no gender = the genderless “soul”. However, as a culture, most have recognized that m/f gender and biological sex are not necessarily aligned. Thus, if gender can exist without reference to, or in opposition to, a person’s fleshly sex, is it bizarre to think that gender, like mind, may not be dependent on the flesh or on fleshly existence? If mind continues to exist in the disembodied state sans brain, why not gender sans sex organs (to put it crudely)? Of course, the nature and expression of “gender” like the nature and expression of “mind” may vary based on the person’s current level of existence, but that does not amount to a negation of either.

On the multiple sexes = multiple disembodied genders on Betelgeuse, you may have a point. If so, the universe will be even weirder, but that seems to always be the way it goes. Just when we think we’ve gotten a handle on things they get even crazier. If nothing else, it makes life more interesting. However, I think I can defer on that question since we have no evidence on the issue one way or the other. BTW—I read a lot of Sci Fi the first 25 years of my life, so I am very familiar with Vonnegut's flights of imagination (though in those bygone days I always preferred Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov and Andersen).

Cordially,
S&S

PS--Enjoying the Emoji function this morning.

 

[SeekerOfKnowledge]

That's gone far from the original topic.

Anyway, I used to assume that the soul itself has no gender, but it's possible, of course, that it has.
I have read somewhere that most souls have a preferred gender and reincarnate more often in a body with that gender. But there also are people who remember lives both male and female. For some reason, there seem to be more women sharing this experience, what ever the reason. Maybe men just don't like to talk about past lives as a woman...

It probably all depends on how one defines "gender".
Certainly it's not the body. Hormones are strong, but people born in the "wrong" body do exist, so the body can be only part of it.

Now I wonder: what determines the gender of a soul?
(Yeah, I have read of typical traits for which you don't need a body, even though hormones make them stronger.)
Hm, I also read somewhere that no one is 100% male or female, but that everyone has traits from the opposite gender, too.
Which is one of the reasons that I used to believe that the soul itself has no gender, but I don't think that was actually stated anyway, so I should remain open to the idea that maybe there actually are male and female souls.

Role models and ideas of the society concerning what is "manly" or what is "feminine" are like the body: they only affect us while incarnated. Some ideas also have changed over time.
There have been societies where women were fighting, Things like dancing, writing poetry or other activities and interests that are seen as "unmanly" by some people today weren't always seen that way. Just as examples.

And I am happy to see how the last couple posts went. That people CAN have different opinions and still treat each other with respect. That's how discussions should be.

 

[Totoro]

I think Cyrus has a tendency to play devil's advocate, very sarcastically. If you're not in the right mood or unawares, I can see how it'd be "triggering". I also detest the term myself..

But kudos are in order for you guys for handling it like gentlemen!

Once you remove everything (the physical, cultural constructs and so on), is it even gender? What is gender?

IMHO, it's just certain aspects of personality that fall along a single axis in something we'd call a bimodal distribution. I think when you look at personality, it's no strictly black and white. But rather it's a rather large, complex series of Venn diagrams. At some point within it, there's the core person that feels at home with their core sets of aspects. That doesn't mean that they don't also contain other aspects, it's just they prefer their core set and at times, may choose to or not to express the others.

Most sources seem to agree that we have some choice of or even control our current forms. If you go a step further, Michael Newton's books suggest that we actually may have had control over the process of evolution. This may give credence to all the philosophical and religious views that express the idea of "created in the image of" and "as above, so below".

There was another incident in Journey of Souls that was interesting. A subject couldn't get the hang of being human and their spirit guides suggested an easier in comparison life as a sort of forest hamster. The subject found that life even more frustrating, as it did not have the many forms of verbal and non verbal forms of communication and expression that humans possess. So are there souls that prefer being forest hamsters? Do they live in a different part of "over there"? I really have no clue and this is where I agree with S&S; it becomes very difficult to discuss anything we can't provide evidence of, other than in the form of a rhetorical thought experiment, which I do admit, can be fun at time.

If the "over there" is directing evolution also on different planets, I think it may be common to find life similar to ourselves. Souls need bodies to inhabit and I think that possibility may explain the questions about how many souls are there and what do they do while waiting for bodies. I mean as the world's population goes up, we never seem to run out of souls. Or as it's declining in some places, what do souls do then?

Just to be contrary, I also think diversity is to expanding and learning, as both souls and human beings. So it's also equally possible to me that other types of souls may exist that inhabit other unhuman like beings and how that's all organized and even I guess where do souls come from "over there" I have no idea. It's a bit dizzying really to contemplate it all.

That's gone far from the original topic.

Excellent point! I'll split the topic here in a second.

 

[Totoro]

That's gone far from the original topic.

Anyway, I used to assume that the soul itself has no gender, but it's possible, of course, that it has.
I have read somewhere that most souls have a preferred gender and reincarnate more often in a body with that gender. But there also are people who remember lives both male and female. For some reason, there seem to be more women sharing this experience, what ever the reason. Maybe men just don't like to talk about past lives as a woman...

That's been been postulated in some of the links that S&S posted. Either men have a reluctance to admit lives as women or they simply don't choose them, because of some bias which I would project as being interpreted as being in some way inferior. IM' sure the opposite is also true for women on the opposite end of the spectrum. Maybe they view male lives as being too vulgar and unrefined and the ones who report the most cross gender incarnations are the people in the middle, like me.

As a personal note, it's been frustrating dating for me. I got divorced about 5 years ago and being in the middle of the gender spectrum, so to speak, has made it very challenging. Most women are clearly on the "female" side and they know their role and demand that I play mine and honestly, I cannot spend all day wooing a woman. It drives me to tears and I honestly expect that most people, male and female, fall into traditional expectations of gender. Such relationships never last long and are pointless for me anyway as they also quickly become frustrated with my many feminine attributes. I have better luck with people who are more in the center with gender or who don't hold such rigid views of it.

 

[There and back again]

I got my own theories regarding this that with the various demographics that exist many will often find themselves settles towards one end of the spectrum or the other with many being somewhere the middle for a multitude of reasons. When it comes to this world being such a melting pot it does force souls to make choices that would result in having to choose a gender over the other more often in order to fit into society and perform in expected gender roles. Another issue issue is when people are expected to have a type of personality and cognitive style for their given gender hence why men are often expected to be emotionless and logical even though that isn't always humanly possible as an example. As for switching up that part is completely natural however with this world such get stuck with a lot in the ways of issues that are not always with in their ability to control while society just makes it all the worse.

As for the weeaboo issue can't really blame them anymore given that western culture right now is exceedingly toxic, highly political, and polarizing all the while being soul draining that people look to various forms of escapism but at least it isn't the mess that past generations resorted to be it booze or pills ect.

 

[Polaris8]

Having had an NDE many years ago and also several OBE's over the years that soul in the higher dimensions have no gender. As both positive and negative polarities of consciousness within the soul body which resonates on the soul/causal plane are in perfect balance. This is because soul resonates beyond time, space, matter and duality.

We only experience gender when we reincarnate with the lower worlds of duality which are the mental, astral and physical planes. Here everything has its opposite. However, most souls when reincarnating tend to prefer being one gender or the other. But at some point, along the evolutionary journey soul must experience the opposite gender in order to balance out their experiences within the worlds of duality. When soul is close to enlightenment these polar opposites of male and females states of consciousness start to merge and become balanced once again as the soul cycles off the need to reincarnate on the physical and lower spiritual psychic dimensions of the astral and mental worlds.

Love and peace....

P.

 

[Totoro]

Polaris, I have to respectfully disagree on some points.

Much research has shown that free will, up to a point, is an inalienable right given to all souls. Given that, souls do choose physical genders based on their preferences.

Those preferences are what people are calling their identity today. Souls don't have physical sex, but they do have gender or a sense of identification to where they belong. These are merely concepts, thoughts and feelings that transcend energy poles.

Souls are not forced to incarnate as one gender or the other. There is evidence to suggest they strongly encouraged to do so, in specific cases for the purposes of learning. This is done more in a therapeutic way, than that of karma.

So the averages, in terms of soul and physical gender, dictate that most souls are going to reincarnate with the body that matches their souls gender or identity.

I also personally don't agree totally with the idea that we're going to achieve enlightenment and sort of become one or vibrate out of existence.

I do think the goal of this plane is learning and growing towards personal maturity. I think many are called to the service of others in many forms and I find the idea that our ultimate destiny is to stop existing quite contrary to my own beliefs.

Again, I personally feel that's an idea rooted in religious thought about exhibiting good behavior in this life to receive rewards in the afterlife. Much of that thinking was to give hope to many, who were shouldered with abject poverty and a great deal of good did come from it.

I just don't feel it's an honest representation of our destiny. Going back to the beginning of my post, we all have free will. Figuring out what we want to do with one life is hard, let alone many life times. In my view, the souls who are suffering the most, are the ones who live the same cycles or lives over and over. There is comfort in the familiar, but it can also be a dead end.

 

[There and back again]

Having had an NDE many years ago and also several OBE's over the years that soul in the higher dimensions have no gender. As both positive and negative polarities of consciousness within the soul body which resonates on the soul/causal plane are in perfect balance. This is because soul resonates beyond time, space, matter and duality.

We only experience gender when we reincarnate with the lower worlds of duality which are the mental, astral and physical planes. Here everything has its opposite. However, most souls when reincarnating tend to prefer being one gender or the other. But at some point, along the evolutionary journey soul must experience the opposite gender in order to balance out their experiences within the worlds of duality. When soul is close to enlightenment these polar opposites of male and females states of consciousness start to merge and become balanced once again as the soul cycles off the need to reincarnate on the physical and lower spiritual psychic dimensions of the astral and mental worlds.

Love and peace....

P.

 

[Cyrus]

...—I read a lot of Sci Fi the first 25 years of my life, so I am very familiar with Vonnegut's flights of imagination (though in those bygone days I always preferred Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov and Andersen)....

And I've always admired Robert Sheckley. "Real blood flows in his veins of fantasy" - as (more or less) "New York Times" once wrote about him.

He gives you the impression as though he personally participated in the fantastic events he writes about.

IMHO.

Best Regards.