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Homesick for a previous life?

Nightrain

Nightrain

Senior Registered
While reading some of the stories and cases of children with memories, I've obviously noticed how homesick those children can be sometimes. But, I never considered how I'd feel after gaining hard-won experience in this life, then ending up as the child of possible strangers in a strange place. I compare it to jumping off a perfectly good boat into a leaky one. Another analogy would be when you've got a secure job that you might hate, but you're comfortable with; then, to be forced to learn a whole new job at a different place that you know nothing about.

As we get closer to the October and November of our lives, some of us older guys start thinking about the eventuality of loosing some, if not all, of the skills, knowledge and respect that we've gained in this life. As much as I like the concept of reincarnation, the realities expressed above seem just as frightening, as is the possibility of there being no afterlife at all.

Have any of you thought about this issue? And does anyone else feel this way?
 
I didn't even get through reading your post and I had to reply. I was TOTALLY homesick when I was a child. I would literally look around at the space around me and wish the the world would change and I could go back. By the time I was 8 there wasn't anything I wanted to do more than move back to my old family and friends. I thought if I went out and stayed by myself they would come back to me. I think I was 10 when I gave up on that.


I went back to finish reading....I would joke when I was younger that God pushed the wrong button and sent me to the wrong place. My parents would joke that they switched me at the hospital which I actually considered, it made sense to me. I didn't and still don't have anything in common with other family members.


I don't remember my mother from my previous life. I pretty certain she died when I was really young. I remember my grandmother on my fathers side and I'm pretty sure in one of my memories was my grandmother and a cousin on my mothers side. I lived with my moms family until my father came and got me when I was around 5. I remember him taking me around to show me to some people he knew. My grandmother, his mom, was still alive when I died. She was there then. I loved her a lot and I used to have dreams with her in them when I was little.


My post probably didn't help you out much. Sorry. In that life I died at I think 27 and violently so that, no doubt, is a big part of why I remember it so well. The people that were involved in that I can still see clearly and there are definitely unresolved issues there. Despite the violence that came with that life, my family I loved very much and I still miss them.
 
I think your fears are justified. It is something that everyone will think about at some time if they haven't already. Uncertainty is always uncomfortable. It can be comfortable enough starting a new job, begining a new relationship, or moving to a new town. Here we are talking about being born as a new person with a new family, new home, new place in time, possibly a new gender, race, religion or culture.


I still have many years ahead of me (I hope), but I have wondered about this myself. I feel as though I have learned much in this life and have many more years of learning ahead of me. It pains me to think that everything that I have and will learn will be lost. I have to trust that the wisdom of the soul will carry over, and the knowledge will be able to be relearned.


One thing that gives me comfort is believing that my loved ones from this life will be there again in the next. I might even be reunited with others that I missed out on this time around. Sure, the next life will be different, but if you choose it, it can't be that bad. I believe that each life builds on the last has the soul matures. If this life had been the best one yet, the next one might be even better.


Remember, you have lived dozens of times before. Your soul has already been through this many times before. Thrust the wisdom of the spirit, and know that you are not alone on your journey.
 
Hi Nightrain,


I have moments where I am "homesick" for different places and different times. There are definitely homes and people I miss - and simple things that resonate strongly that trigger the feelings - such Irish music. I am absolutely transported by Celtic and Gaelic music - and I have been since I was a 2 year old hiding in my Grandma's closet crying over "Molly Malone" playing on my kiddie tape deck... :D


This life hasn't always been the easiest, but I know I've learned - and continue to learn - a lot! And I am blessed to have several of my past life family members present in this life as well - so I know that no separation is ever permanent. We do come back with those we love for a new adventure. And that's how I see a new life - an adventure with new places to go, new experiences to have, new souls to meet and familiar souls to meet up with again - isn't that exciting? I sure think so!


There's so much I want to see and do and accomplish, that I can't possibly do it all in this life! I'm going to need at least ten more...:laugh:


Aili
 
Hello Nightrain,


I liked the analogy of the leaky boat, that's exactly how it felt to me. LIke I already said in other posts I've defenitely been homesick all of my life. Jokingly, I say this is my first life in my current home country, because I really feel like it's all new. The problem is that I still don't like it even now that I know everything about it.... :D


To answer your question I can say that it's not said that you would loose all your skills and knoweledge in your next life. Or better, you might just acquire new ones, so you'll have the chance to experience things you haven't had the chance to do in this life. In the end, isn't this the reason why we get to come back to this world in different places, with different bodies, different families. As far as respect is concerned I'm sure you'll gain it again in your next life and if you'll reunite with people you loved in this life, well there's no doubt the love you shared will still be there.


Before my mother passed away last year we had the chance to talk about reincarnation, as she knew I've always believed in it. She didn't believe herself but after our long talks about the possibility that she might be coming back, she told me that was the only thing that made her feel better about leaving all the people she loved behind.


Now that she's gone I often wonder if she'll ever come back to me as I don't have any kids yet...


Well nightrain, I don't know if I was helpful as I hoped but this is defenitely an interesting topic.


Truthseeker,I really loved your post, you got straight to the point: we all have lived many times before and we'll do it again and again. And above it all we're not alone in it.


Is there anything more reassuring than this?


Thank you for your wise answer!


purple
 
I was fortunate - I think - to have stopped breathing and "gone on" to experience what I am convinced awaits me at the end of this life. I do think about the end of this life but I long for it. I was very depressed to come back and only the spiritual growth and "insights" that I have had over the years have shown me that I am fortunate to get to continue on in this life. I have read and heard people say that the experiences of the afterlife are the chemical reactions of the dying brain and I have thought a lot about that. The experience is so profound that if I get to have that again and then fade into nothing, then I am OK with that - it is that wonderful. But other experiences have proven to me that our unique personalities survive our physical bodies. I think about this every day and the experience has not faded over time.


It is sometimes hard to see it but, the reasons for our continued presence on the Earth are happening right before our eyes. You have to look at what you are doing in your life with the relationships that you find yourself in. I think that is what is important, the effect you are having in other peoples lives - even strangers and people you will never meet. Look at how you have helped other people in their life and with their problems and questioning of their purpose; there you will find the purpose for your life. The skills that you have acquired mean little - your next life may require no skills except to gather food or watch over the livestock.
 
I definitely was "homesick" when I was younger, though I didn't understand why or how that happened. I remember being a kid and always wishing that I could have a time machine- to go back to the 1930s. I felt displaced, if that makes sense.


The war and what happened afterward, I didn't miss at all. But the life before that, definitely. I sensed that in the novel I am working on, too- that there is this sort of nostalgia for the early 1930s, and the Jewish life I experienced.


I don't know if I have really "gotten over" that sort of thing, but I feel more comfortable in this time and place than I did when I was younger.


I don't think that we lose all of our skills from this life into the next- I believe that is where talents come from. I seem to have a natural ability for writing, something I haven't really understood. And it seems as though when I hear the Polish language the sounds come easily to me, which is strange considering how difficult it is to learn.
 
Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts - they've all given me something to think about.


I sometimes get homesick for another place. Often when I think of Greece and the mediterranean I get extremely homesick. I had a very wonderful lifetime there once. Last year I visited Southafrica and I've felt homesick for Africa ever since. I cried when I left. People around me were looking at me like I was crazy "Come on, you're an adult!!" but I was just devastated and I only stopped crying when my boyfriend firmly reassured that we could come back someday. *sigh* just thinking of it now makes my belly ache a bit : angel


Stardis, thank you for sharing your experience. Whether the experience was chemical or spiritual, it's a comforting thought that something good awaits us.
 
PrivateTucker said:
I don't think that we lose all of our skills from this life into the next- I believe that is where talents come from.
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Once I had someone show me how to spin wool on a spinning wheel. Her demonstration took less than a minute. I then sat at the wheel and was immediately spinning the wool. She stood there watching open mouthed and said she had never seen anyone pick it up as quickly as that. I have often wondered if this was an indication I had spun wool or other fibre in a past life.
 
Aaab said:
Once I had someone show me how to spin wool on a spinning wheel. Her demonstration took less than a minute. I then sat at the wheel and was immediately spinning the wool. She stood there watching open mouthed and said she had never seen anyone pick it up as quickly as that. I have often wondered if this was an indication I had spun wool or other fibre in a past life.
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Actually, I think that you may have had a great deal of experience spinning wool and flax over a period of several lifetimes. It was such an important activity that entire families were often involved in textile production. After British restrictions and taxes were levied by exclusively importing only British goods, It became necessary for nearly every family in the colonies to be involved in their own discreet production of cloth as well as some other crafts. The same issue became true for India during their effort to attain independence. A typical family could have delegated each chore to different and distinct members of the family. The following description may sound gender motivated, but actually was the way most people were segregated by skill:


The older brothers sheared the sheep, and/or gathered the flax. A person experienced with herbs and mordants would do the dyeing, but more men than women would have the duty, in spite of the woman's skill with herbs. This could likely have been so, because women involved with herbs were often equated with witchcraft during certain periods. The smaller children were engaged with the carding, but hetching flax would have required strength and stamina. The spinning was almost always done by the women; and adolescent girls would have been apprenticed on their own smaller wheels. Spinning flax, however, required some height and stamina, because the wheels were very large, and required constant walking. Thus, the flax wheel was also known as a walking wheel. When the skeins of spun and dyed material were finished, they would be handed over or consigned to a local weaver, and often to a traveling weaver, who's skills were required by more than one settlement. However, it was often necessary for a family member to take on these chores, because they were often so isolated, and it was sometimes the father, who did the weaving; while the oldest son would have served as an apprentice.


I think the popularity of the craft and the number of people involved in pre-industrial textiles today, is an indication of how these skills may have remained in the subconscious minds of many generations.


Information and references made available by Mrs. Nightrain.


Verbosity, courtesy of Mr. Nightrain.


-Nightrain
 
Nightrain1 said:
Actually, I think that you may have had a great deal of experience spinning wool and flax over a period of several lifetimes.
....


Information and references made available by Mrs. Nightrain.


Verbosity, courtesy of Mr. Nightrain.
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Verbosity! That cracks me up:laugh: !


You are correct about the lifetimes of spinning and weaving. Weaving is one of the oldest professions (the oldest is in dispute). Aside from food production, nothing in the modern age is as important as the textile industry. Weaving touches all aspects of our lives, from landing robots on Mars to the insect screen covering our windows.


I would think it worth while to go to a specialty yarn shop (if you can find one) to see if the fibers and spinning or weaving tools jog the memory about some past incarnation where those activities were a daily part of life. Perhaps the visit will start a series of interesting dreams. Another good place to go would be a museum that may have an old loom showing the patina of generations of souls handling the beater. Cultural differences will define the methods of spinning and weaving as well as the fibers and patterns, so those are important characteristics that define the milieu of the memory.
 
stardis said:
Another good place to go would be a museum that may have an old loom showing the patina of generations of souls handling the beater.
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I know that many (but not enough) historical societies have working barn-frame looms on display, and sometimes with the warp done, and some sample weaving already done. If you are in the States, Purple, some of the best museums to check out include: Historic Williamsburg in Virginia, the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan, and Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.


Stardis, that's a mighty fine piece of weaving you've got there.


-Nightrain
 
Well, my name is Looking Backwards for a reason. ;) I'm obsessed with the past. (No particular era.)


I sometimes feel like the past is more appealing than the present or future. Not better, not at all, just more appealing.


I do sometimes feel like I need closure. But I don't know what I need to close.
 
You'll be surprised to discover that I had a chance to read the original message, you first wrote before it was edited. I found it interesting and worthy of reading; so, you shouldn't worry about too much information. It was just enough. I don't know how young you are, but you were relating very much to my generation, which enjoyed so much freedom as children, while being unhampered by what went on in the world. And, yes, all that has changed within a few short years. Now, we are physically isolated from each other, and bombarded every hour by the all pervasive media that grabs our attention and plays upon our fears. It is little wonder that everyone isn't suffering from panic attacks and OCD. Everything seems so important and critical at this very moment, that we find it very difficult to focus on one thing at a time.


I'm not qualified to offer solutions to anyone, or to analyze you in any way. But, I can tell you that by understanding how reincarnation works, I've been able to calmly put most fears aside, and to realize that what we've been given is meant to take us to the edge of our abilities. The only way that we can discover our physical, emotional, and spiritual limits is by testing ourselves.


So, let's say, I have OCD. I'm nervous about everything blowing up in my face, and I'm absolutely crushed, when I can't help others. I'm afraid of change, and I become paralyzed whenever serious problems arise. I'm afraid of premonitions, because I feel as though I'm causing what happens. Doesn't that sound like a lack of confidence? So, how can I gain confidence? By being tested, of course! How else would I discover that I can overcome something, if I'm not tested? I would, therefore, have to volunteer to be where I'm afraid to go; and I can't let fear hamper my concentration.


If we understand reincarnation and karma, we should know that failure is what everyone does until they succeed. Realizing that we are not stuck with only one lifetime, can help us overcome fear and panic, because we're confident that we'll have many more opportunities to get it right. Diving into this lifetime with all of its dangers could begin to seem no worse than jumping into a pool on a chilly day. Yes, it's cold! But, you manage to dive in, knowing that you'll be uncomfortable for only a very short time; and the rest is just having a good time in the pool with your new friends. Your old friends, who are still standing and shivering on the side lines have failed to hold you back, and you have progressed and found more courageous friends. Have fun! Don't sweat the small stuff; because it's just a waste of time. The past is over and done. And, the only benefit of remembering is knowing how to have a future.


-Nightrian
 
I don't know how young you are, but you were relating very much to my generation, which enjoyed so much freedom as children, while being unhampered by what went on in the world. And, yes, all that has changed within a few short years. Now, we are physically isolated from each other, and bombarded every hour by the all pervasive media that grabs our attention and plays upon our fears. It is little wonder that everyone isn't suffering from panic attacks and OCD. Everything seems so important and critical at this very moment, that we find it very difficult to focus on one thing at a time.
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I really can't get anything past you, can I? ;)


I think my generation was one of two extremes - either kids got too much freedom, or not enough. But I think even we were much less of an army drill squad than the kids I see now. (FYI, I was born in the 1980s.)

But, you manage to dive in, knowing that you'll be uncomfortable for only a very short time; and the rest is just having a good time in the pool with your new friends. Your old friends, who are still standing and shivering on the side lines have failed to hold you back, and you have progressed and found more courageous friends.
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Or even the same ones - I think I transitioned with some of the same people, and that helps. But you're right that we have to realize, both with past lives and current ones, that the past is the past. Still, I do occasionally feel a little nostalgic. And I don't think that's a bad thing as long as we don't get caught up in it.
 
The last few nights have been very dense fog here and I've been out at night for random reasons, going to the store, etc. It sure makes me homesick for the place I remember, back in England, probably London. Fog and cobblestones and lamplight or lanterns hung above the streets.
 
when ever i go to rural areas surrounded buy old stone walls, and castle ruins, i never want to leave i feel at home, i miss simpler and medieval times were there was only small villages, horse and wagons instead of stupid cars, and it was not over populated and complicated like it is nowadys wine**
 
I do also have a connection with castles, ruins, stones, england, celtic,cottages...


So whenever i go there, i can almost 'smell' the time.


We had many lives, and i reckon i could have lived then too.


but i don't have such a good feeling about it so much, it also scares me.


When i come across something 18th century or so,


i 'sense' some feeling in my heart, like 'being in love'.


I feel passion and i can also 'smell' the time like it was yesterday,


but also makes me want to go back, there is like 'unfinished' business


and something i want to explore or find.
 
This is a really interesting old thread actually, I'm glad it was bumped!


Personally, I'm nowhere near the October or November of my life (er, I hope...) but that anxiety is definitely something I've felt before and have felt for a pretty long time. I thought a lot about death as a kid and what sudden death would mean for myself and others around me, how frustrating it would be to die so soon still in school and 'learning' to live before I ever really had.


It's been several years since childhood of course but I do still think on that sometimes, and I can't really say I feel any different. The concept of 'losing' knowledge and experience that I've worked pretty hard to gain/regain this time around is a bit discouraging. So what do I do, just try not to die? LOL


Homesickness is a pretty perfect word to describe what I've felt along this little journey of reincarnation phenomena. That feeling where I don't quite belong where I am and that 'pull' to something that I couldn't identify, and now I know no longer exists is a pretty powerful sort of longing even at the stages where I didn't know really what it was or why, despite my suspicions. This lifetime, I've struggled in little ways to reconnect with those people, places, and things that I've been so homesick for and had varying success. Just 'looking forward' is easier said than done, and I do wonder if I'll feel the same way next lifetime, homesick about what I'm doing and the people I know now!
 
Occasionally I miss on several lives. This flavor of past is not here already. At present it looks quite differently. Well, I know that can't return to history. I must to live this life and future though they aren't such attractive as previous.


Even if I am in presence part of me lives concurrently also in yore. At that time we experienced so amazing historical events that it us simply be missing. I am interested about all old. My memories intensify that sentiment after empirism which will not come back.


Sure this period and next will have the positives nevertheless there is not IT what in foretime...
 
I desperately missed my last life as a child, . I didn't know I had been a Native American Indian until I was much older, and had actual memories of it, but from the age of 3 or 4 I missed my horse so much that drawing horses all day was the only way I could cope with it, and eventually going horse riding when I was older. I loved to be outside all the time too and felt very connected to nature, and much to my parents surprise I was a dead shot with archery or an air rifle. I am female in this life but I was male in that life and died along with the rest of my village, way before I was ready to go. I always felt really alone when I was a child, with a huge sense of loss that I think came from the way I died, which took a long time to shake off. I still miss the feeling of being free from that life, but also the feeling of really belonging somewhere that I had then too. It still makes me sad sometimes. I think I bought a lot with me from that life to this one, maybe because I wasn't ready to leave it when I did, because although I do have other memories of ancient Egypt and being an architect amongst others, they don't bother me at all.
 
Arwen73 said:
I am female in this life but I was male in that life and died along with the rest of my village, way before I was ready to go. I always felt really alone when I was a child, with a huge sense of loss that I think came from the way I died, which took a long time to shake off. I still miss the feeling of being free from that life, but also the feeling of really belonging somewhere that I had then too. It still makes me sad sometimes. I think I bought a lot with me from that life to this one, maybe because I wasn't ready to leave it when I did, because although I do have other memories of ancient Egypt and being an architect amongst others, they don't bother me at all.
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Do you think you were a victim of one of the many massacres by the whites? Back then many whites believed "the only good Indian is a dead Indian". There were also many who died from diseases introduced by the whites, like small pox. Welcome to the forum.
 
An interesting older thread worth a bump. Does anyone else have strange feelings of homesickness for a previous life?
 
I saw I wrote something (six years ago) that I apparently edited out and simplified. I wish I hadn't, because now I'm curious about what I said!

I sometimes feel something I can't actually explain (which is perhaps why I edited out the OP in the first place). It's nostalgia for a bygone era, but I'm not sure which one? I love history, but nothing has ever "spoken" to me. (Although that could be a result of my interest; everything's blended together now.) I will say I've always missed someone who was either a sister or a friend, and often tried to find her among my CL friends, from the time I was about ten or so. Sometimes when I think about the past, I think of music. I love antiques for their simplicity, and have felt longing in antique stores before. Especially when seeing dishes - sometimes they give me a taste in my mouth I can't quite describe. Almost a sweet metallic taste, strangely. I've searched tags for the year, but they usually don't have them.
 
Everytime I go to a casino I feel nostalgic and so happy. I dont want to leave. I went to Vegas, and it was such a good feeling. I dont gamble but I like to take in the sights and sounds, the bright lights, people dressed up, etc.

When I went to New Orleans, some people were playing blue grass style music on the side of the road. It made me want to start dancing with them, but since I was around others I had to keep my composure. Blue grass music in general makes me happy.
 
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