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Reincarnation Beliefs

PastPilot

PastPilot

PastPilot
I know this can be a delicate question, one that can stir up emotion and conflict, but its something that I stumbled onto a while ago and that is the belief in reincarnation. I remember discussing reincarnation with my grandmother who was also a psychic. Her beliefs were the same as my mother and aunt, but that can be expected since both were my grandmother's daughters. There never was any disagreement when it came to discussing reincarnation.

When I joined a local spiritual group I suddenly found that the topic wasn't so easy. I was surprised by the number of different views people had about reincarnation. Even when discussing it with psychics in the group it seemed that no one could or would agree. It became a bit of a hot topic, so I figured the best way to deal with it was to just listen to all the views and do not express my own.

One person in the spiritual group surprised me because she could see ghost/spirits, but when asked, she flatly refused to believe in reincarnation. She was brought up in a protestant, with her grandfather being a minister.

A psychic told me that we are only allowed to reincarnate up to 10 times on this planet. She insisted that my memory of having more than 10 past lives was incorrect. I did not argue the point with her. The author Michael Newton dismissed this belief as it did not mesh with his experiences with his work with his client's past life regressions.

I know this may be a kettle of fish, but what are other beliefs? The Buddhists believe we can and do reincarnate as animals. I have read that some people believe we only reincarnate within the same family lineage, although I doubt this as I have memories of being an American in one life and the next life being born in India.

I am sure there are many more beliefs attached with reincarnation. Not sure why there are so many, or their origins, or when these beliefs came about.


(I have read Michael Newton's and Robert Schwart's books and these agree quite closely with my grandmothers and aunt's perspectives, as well my own personal experiences).
 
Yairsss. I know what you mean. This kind of 'debate' happens on the forum quite a lot too.


What I think is going on is that in past years people (in 'western culture') didn't really have a place where they could discuss these kinds of things. Since the 'Age of Reason' any discussion of superstitious beliefs has been frowned upon. But, yet, people have these experiences that cannot be denied or explained away neatly. So they come up with theories of what is going on.


It's a bit of a self-selecting group also because some people who are 'sensitive' (what used to be known as having the gift) find it harder than others to ignore the 'something' that is going on. They compare notes of their experiences, they come up with hypotheses... sometimes they get it a bit muddled up.


Now that we have the internet (yay!) more people can discuss these things and it doesn't have to involve seances or the like. We can just swap stories about what we experience, whether you're a housewife in Cleveland, or a hipster from Melbourne, or someone in Peru, or anywhere in the world.


We are working towards a picture of how it all works, although in many ways we are still groping about in the dark. Now, fortunately we have a lot of torches to shine into the dimness. The more we share our knowledge and experiences and ideas and listen to each other and discuss it with interest, the more likely we are to come up with some kind of 'map' to guide us in our explorations.
 
My only belief really is that there are no limits at a spirtual level.In this physical world there of course are limits..but when it comes to your soul I think that anything is possible.I think we can have as many lifetimes as we want.I cant see why the soul would have any strict structure.
 
There is a lot of difference between what can be known from collected research versus personal experience.


Personal experience is like me walking out the door one fine spring day and exploring my back yard and maybe the park down the street, then telling people about my experiences as if they are universal.


So, I come back to the internet and report to you all:

When you walk out the back door, you will see a large tree. If you turn left there is a driveway. Walk down the driveway, turn right, turn right at the next intersection, and go straight to reach the park ... etc. It works every time!

If you walk out your own door to test out what I'm telling you, you may or may not see a tree. There may or may not be a driveway. By the time you're following my directions to reach the park, the chances of having the same experience I'm explaining to you is practically none.


But, if I walk out the back door and describe the feeling of the sun, the way the clouds drift across the sky, the feeling of a breeze, etc. These are much more common. Pretty much anyone will agree that this is how it feels to walk outside, so long as the seasons and general latitude match.


And if we correlate the experiences everyone has across the world as they walk out their doors, some very strong similarities will emerge. There will also be seemingly random groupings who have unusually similar experiences, perhaps one lives in the middle of forests around the world and another lives in cities.


Still, there will always be some differences in the specifics. It is possible to share a common map of the world, a map of the country, a map of the city, and still not be able to give someone else specific directions for finding the salsa in the fridge.


That's life. If common experiences in the tangible world can be so dissimilar between individuals, then I don't see why we should be surprised when an intangible experience also contains diversity.


Everyone has their own experience of the other side of the veil, and the level of clarity varies. When we gather them together, a map of the possibilities begins to emerge. And I enjoy the process of learning to see how I fit into that map while exploring my own segment.
 
PastPilot,


To expand upon your discussion, I immediately recalled Bertrand Russell's book "Why I Am Not A Christian" where he talks about how our early learning colors our current thinking.


It also brought to mind how how Edgar Cayce's writings got filtered through his religious convictions. And, the NDE reports of who they met (and where) correlate well with their religious beliefs. So, it's like "As the twig is bent, so grows the tree". I would like to believe that my current beliefs came together from my life experiences without parental intervention, however, my Dad accepted reincarnation and rejected "formal religion", so I am not even sure of how my "tree" got its shape!


I wonder where the number of lifetimes comes from; I think that one of the Far Eastern beliefs state that we live seven hundred or so lives, but I had never heard about "Ten on Earth" before.
 
That is true, during the Age of Reason there was a lot more discussion going on, which is very interesting point. The traditional church point of view did not address reincarnation directly and still does not. That allowed many people to find explanation the best way they could in an effort to understand what it was that they experienced. I suspect many conversations became far more open during that period. Flashbacks to former lifetimes must have been seen as quite mystical, especially since few people could wrap their minds around it. It wasn't like you could just pop down to the local bookstore and buy a book on the subject.


Today, if a person were to have a flashback memory to a former life, its far easier to figure out, for example, the time period the flashback came from. I can figure this out fairly quickly because of my education, my keen interest in history and the massive amount of reference material that is available online and in books. But in the 1700s, that would have been extremely limited if it was even possible at all. Even the reading of books was limited to only those few people who could afford to buy books. Church libraries were devoid of such literature, and even if they had such books they were in kept under lock and key seen only be a privileged few.


Much of what I have read, in the more recently published books about reincarnation has its roots in Eastern philosophy. That is very evident, but also very easy to understand since Eastern religions/philosophy embrace reincarnation. Even certain middle East Muslim groups embrace reincarnation (the Druze Muslims come to mind strongly).


As individuals, in western society, we are influenced by our upbringing to an extent, but not entirely. I met a psychic who came from a strict Catholic family. Expressing, as a child, what she saw in visions got her beaten and sent to her room, but that never stopped her from embracing what she knew, even as a 4 year old child, the truth. With myself, I was influenced by my grandmother, mother and aunt. My father thought it was all BS and stated so many times. That did not deter me simply because I had too many flashback memories, dreams and a number of premonitions that were shown to me in dreams. My guides came through many times with information, and with visions, usually because I asked questions. I don't believe for a minute that had my parents been non-believers that that would have changed my perspective. I simply would have learnt not to include my parents in such conversation or thought. I would have continued simply because I had, by the age of 8, been shown too much to think otherwise.


Still, I am interested in hearing what people have to say about reincarnation. I rarely talk to two people who express the same belief. Much of what these people speak of was learnt by reading books, watching TV or movies. Few expressed views from the childhood upbringing as most of their knowledge on the subject came from later sources and influences. It is interesting to hear what people believe and learning where this belief comes from. It is not me to say what is right or wrong. I am interested in exploring all the facettes.

tanguerra said:
Yairsss. I know what you mean. This kind of 'debate' happens on the forum quite a lot too.
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Hi All,


Lots of great posts. One of the interesting things that is going on now is the invasion of this area by believing rather than denying scientists. These folks believe because they are actually convinced by the evidence. The earliest ones, at least, must have been like Galileo whispering "And yet it moves . . ." as they were forced to stay silent to preserve themselves against persecution--financial, institutional, professional or otherwise. Their persecutors, in accordance with the legend, refused and refuse to look through the telescope to see what can be seen.


Hopefully, what we are doing and what scientists are now doing will one day lead to the confirmation of many facts and the debunking of many myths and superstitions, whether religiously sanctioned or otherwise. For example, in all of the books I have read and experiences I have seen recounted, I have never heard of someone reincarnating as an animal. If there is anyone that has any recall of such or of any limit on number of incarnations, please let me know, but it seems to me that we are already well on the way to getting rid of many strange and unfounded beliefs in this area.


Cordially,


S&S
 
A Buddhist nun told me a soul spends 40 days in an afterlife, then reincarnates. Different sects of Buddhism have different theories on attaining Nirvana. Some believe each soul attains Nirvana individually, others say all souls will continue to reincarnate until everyone attains Nirvana together. Then there's the belief that there are enlightened souls among us, who compassionately choose to reincarnate although they don't have to.


Recently, a pagan friend and I were discussing the concept of soul groups, which are like a generation of souls that all reincarnate at about the same time. Both of us have met people who believed in that, but neither of us have seen solid evidence to prove or disprove the theory.
 
Past Pilot, I was brought up to think of reincarnation as "a falsehood spread by the Devil to trap unwary souls."


I had almost no understanding of the idea beyond "the Buddhists think they can reincarnate as animals" or maybe that it explains elements of repeated "returns" referenced in the Bible.


Oddly enough, even before I believed in reincarnation I still thought of the promised "eternity with God" as an uninterrupted lifetime in which to experience what I wasn't going to manage during my few years on-planet. I didn't bridge the mental gap to actually being in a physical body on earth for those experiences.


I first encountered the scientific study summaries on reincarnation during the process of questioning my faith and, in order to prove them wrong, ran a (successful) regression experiment or two that drove me to find this site.


I wonder if your experience is similar from this point on?


Most of my current knowledge is based on what I have experienced in experimental meditation and dreams, which I then compare and contrast to historic research and the experiences others share. I've read anything about reincarnation that I can get my hands on since then, and it seems to me that there is an overall pattern of experience that links most of the stories pretty well, including around the world and through time.


Of course, people use different words and descriptive comparisons depending on their culture and education. And there are different skill levels, too.


Those stories that don't match the general trend or fit within my personal experience simply become outliers on the "graph" of possibilities in my mind.


Some individuals seem able to explore much further and with more solid recall than I have ever experienced.


In contrast, I sometimes wonder if a few are trapped in realistic dreams that play their own desires back at them. Sometimes I wonder if I'm in that group, too. :eek:


A few of the interesting tangents to this discussion aren't permitted on this site, sad to say. ban2.LOL


I think I've mentioned elsewhere that the varied strong ideas of how it works might be more representative of the fact that there are various groups who choose different paths than that some of them are wrong and others right.


For example: Those who believe strongly in ten lifetimes might actually have ten lifetimes planned in sequence for their specific calling or goals.


I wonder about the belief in animal reincarnation, too. In my opinion it might be explained by identifying or integrating with spiritual guides that use animal traits as a connection point. The direct influence of nature seems to have always been part of how people experience these things.


But I suggest this because my guides shift forms depending on what they want to communicate now that I know how to recognize them, and sometimes they gift me the chance to read the sensations and feelings in the mind of another creature.


The idea of reincarnation gets blurred across the culture as a whole because (in order to communicate) everything has to be interpreted into our human senses and comprehension, first, and then further transposed into the basic words, historic and mythological comparisons, and general illustrations we use locally in an attempt to communicate what we have experienced. But, as we can see even in translating simple phrases from one human language to another, a lot of information is lost in that process.


There is a modern imaging technique that takes photos from every angle, in multiple lighting conditions. Then, a computer merges all those images into one. The combined image contains all sorts of details that a single photo couldn't expose, even with all the tools of manipulation available.


I think a similar process will continue to be necessary for the study of reincarnation. I find it fascinating to watch.
 
That is what I wanted to read, differing view points of reincarnation. I find this a fascinating topic for such diversity.


I do believe in the soul group concept. I know I have reincarnated, in this life, with a number people I have known before. Some I have reincarnated several times before. I feel some of these are from my soul group. However, a few are people I am working karma out with.


My brother comes to mind. We have had a strained relationship in this life. My feeling always were that we conflicted before in a previous life, or perhaps, lives. I am an older soul than he, and that has been part of the problem. In this life, I felt that my purpose was to guide him through example and to help out when asked. I felt this quite early on in my life. I went to several psychics over the years who just restated exactly that. I am just here to work out karma with my brother. In this life, I am just here to gently guide him, no more. However, I have never felt he was part of my soul group and have been told this by psychics as well. I can sense that. My ex wife, however, I do feel is part of my soul group, and because of that we are still close despite being divorced. We still look out for each other. There is a deeper bond. I recall a time when we shared a past life together as male warriors, both holding a lot of respect for the other.


It is hard, however, figuring out just who is who when you examine your life. Some souls, according to, say, author Michael Newton, can be souls from other soul groups that help out in your life from time to time. A mutual respect for each other and willing to help each other along the spiritual path.

Anna H. said:
A Buddhist nun told me a soul spends 40 days in an afterlife, then reincarnates. Different sects of Buddhism have different theories on attaining Nirvana. Some believe each soul attains Nirvana individually, others say all souls will continue to reincarnate until everyone attains Nirvana together. Then there's the belief that there are enlightened souls among us, who compassionately choose to reincarnate although they don't have to.
Recently, a pagan friend and I were discussing the concept of soul groups, which are like a generation of souls that all reincarnate at about the same time. Both of us have met people who believed in that, but neither of us have seen solid evidence to prove or disprove the theory.
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Animal reincarnation is a question I asked a while ago too. In Michael Newton's books, he states that in his 30 years of working with clients through hypnotic regression, not a single client had a memory of being an animal, except... and this is the exception, a few had memories of being intelligent non-human beings on other planets. Some of these beings were intelligent water creatures, while others appeared more animal-like mammals. Some were slightly less intelligent than humans, while others were more intelligent. However, no client had a memory of being an animal from a previous life on Earth. Newton himself stated that this is not proof that such reincarnations are not possible, it only shows that none of his clientele recalled such a life.


I suspect it was not a question he asked everyone.


However, in all the books I have read dealing with past life regression through hypnosis, I haven't read of a person recalling a past life as an animal on Earth. In Ruth Montgomery's books, she points out that souls would share the body of animals to see what it felt like to be part of the animal. According to Mrs Montgomery, this was before humans existed on Earth. Souls apparently were being inquisitive, if not naughty.

SeaAndSky said:
Hi All,
Lots of great posts. One of the interesting things that is going on now is the invasion of this area by believing rather than denying scientists. These folks believe because they are actually convinced by the evidence. The earliest ones, at least, must have been like Galileo whispering "And yet it moves . . ." as they were forced to stay silent to preserve themselves against persecution--financial, institutional, professional or otherwise. Their persecutors, in accordance with the legend, refused and refuse to look through the telescope to see what can be seen.


Hopefully, what we are doing and what scientists are now doing will one day lead to the confirmation of many facts and the debunking of many myths and superstitions, whether religiously sanctioned or otherwise. For example, in all of the books I have read and experiences I have seen recounted, I have never heard of someone reincarnating as an animal. If there is anyone that has any recall of such or of any limit on number of incarnations, please let me know, but it seems to me that we are already well on the way to getting rid of many strange and unfounded beliefs in this area.


Cordially,


S&S
Click to expand...
 
Suicide cud be a self-punishment for taking someones life. Now knowing it, try to guess why Judas Iscariot has commited suicide ...
 
I agree with something I read in Newton's book once, that animals are a different type of energy and that's why people don't reincarnate into animals. It makes sense I think to a degree, if we consider our souls as energy and needing a compatible host.


I think in reality, reincarnation is much more mundane and personal than we realize. There's no set of "rules" as they differ from person to person; I think of it a lot like personal counseling or therapy. Each person is guided or helped towards the answers and resolutions that are right for them.


I don't think any earthly or religious rule applies at all. Quite the contrary, if a Buddhist expects to be reborn in 40 days, I assume their soul will know that someone is going to expect them to arrive at that point back in the world and it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
 
I have kind a nac for remembering past lives > If I put my mind to it I could remember them all ... but chose not to .. as I believe that the remembering is a tool given to us for a specific reason... ie to grow spiritually.. And as with any tool one needs to not overuse or you may run into problems.I need to find my identity in this life , THe past has its affects but we need to find ourselves in the present.


I also can get in touch with others past lives and some future of people and pets.


I came back in different timings.. no set amount of time. .And have had many more than seven lives..I remember as far back as caveman days..


I have remembered in between lives as well. And remember a near death experience and a time spent as a ghost.. I have never felt / remembered being born an animal. Animals will return to your life in different forms of animals.. One dog I knew had been a pet duck in a previous life..


Our bodies are part of our spiritual journey . To teach how to take responsilibity and to act on other souls. When I was a ghost I had no ability to talk or touch the other ghosts in the same place .. I returned on being touched by a sister soul and being reminded it was alright to return.. I needed to have a body again in order to " find myself " We do have identity but at the same time there is a source...


I have also had a memory of a near death experience this life.. It was just as people often talk about.. ie the peaceful tunnel full of love and support ... I was open to spirits on the other side .
 
Totoro said:
I agree with something I read in Newton's book once, that animals are a different type of energy and that's why people don't reincarnate into animals. It makes sense I think to a degree, if we consider our souls as energy and needing a compatible host.
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This is similar to what Robert Schwartz also talks about. I think his second book devotes an entire chapter to animals and their souls.

Totoro said:
I think in reality, reincarnation is much more mundane and personal than we realize. There's no set of "rules" as they differ from person to person; I think of it a lot like personal counseling or therapy. Each person is guided or helped towards the answers and resolutions that are right for them.
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The more I read about reincarnation and the more I think about it, the more I feel its actually quite mundane, if not outright boring. Many times throughout my life I have spoken with psychics and they tell me the same thing... its a like a running gag almost, and I rarely see the same psychic for more than two visits over a 12 month stretch. I am told, "You are really bored with life. Its just a lot of very hard work without relief or pleasure. You have been working for over 30 years improving your skills, but really getting no where". Then they say, "You know, at night, while you're asleep, you do an excessive amount of astral traveling to get away from all the boredom". They tell me this as if I can put a stop to it. I rarely remember any of that, but occasionally, I do remember my trips to the spiritual realm.


I suspect, from the spiritual realm, life is not always looked upon as being such a wonderful thing. Hellen Wambach's book she noted this too from her findings doing past life hypnotic regression. Most of her subjects would rather have remained in the spiritual realm. Life on Earth seemed more like an annoyance.

Totoro said:
I don't think any earthly or religious rule applies at all. Quite the contrary, if a Buddhist expects to be reborn in 40 days, I assume their soul will know that someone is going to expect them to arrive at that point back in the world and it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
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I think this too. I would be surprised if any religion's beliefs survive into the spiritual realm. From my understandings, its more laid back, without the hassles of earthly beliefs.


This is one of my dilemmas. I have been shown past lives. Sometimes I will have a feeling about place or an object. It will suddenly stand out, as if something about it is suppose to mean something to me... but I just cannot figure what that something may be. So I will ask my guides to explain why this feeling persists, and sometimes I am shown via a vision, or while other times it will be explained in a dream that same night that starts with a voice stating... "because you asked..." and then I am shown, visually in the dream. So what this means is that remembering past lives is important, at least to myself. However, why its important, other than perhaps to stop me from dwelling on it too much, is never explained.


I suspect, from a spiritual level, not much of this is that important. The life as a whole is a stepping stone, but I think spiritually, its just mundane.
 
AndreaFrances said:
My only belief really is that there are no limits at a spirtual level. In this physical world there of course are limits..but when it comes to your soul I think that anything is possible.I think we can have as many lifetimes as we want.I cant see why the soul would have any strict structure.
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I am note sure to what extent a soul can be, so I would expect that there is no limit to a spiritual level. I think there is a limit on this planet, but once you stop reincarnating here, there are levels above that.


I would think that structure is a man-made concept. I believe that our souls are far more than what we can imagine.
 
Hi PastPilot,


Speaking of experiences more than beliefs, it is interesting to me that the experiences reported currently by "Western" folks (at least) reflect a much more individualistic, personal choice dominant, and mostly compassionate/educational approach to the "rules" dictating future life consequences ("karma") and the process as a whole. The traditional beliefs and reported experiences (both Western/Eastern) of prior cultures tended to emphasize a very legalistic ("authoritarian"?) Lex Talonis (eye-for-an-eye) or even more harsh approach to after-life/future-life consequences.


There has been some discussion in terms of the "twig is bent" being the rule determining that people experience what they expect. That works both ways. Maybe some of the beliefs being lambasted here WERE THE RULES for a particular place, time, or religion. Are we Western folks experiencing something different in terms of consequences/"karma" because we are "bent" in a different way growing up with and embued by our upbringing with ideals of liberté, égalité, fraternité and, most especially, compassion? Are we experiencing differences that didn't exist in the more distant past? How would we know?


Cordially,


S&S


PS--This ties into some things I have been thinking about related to the teachings of Jesus, and what they say to me in the context of reincarnation.
 
Here's my take..


There's quite a lot of suggestion that the soul has an "age". I know some people don't like that term, but it's part of my belief that is fundamentally part of why we are here; to experience time in a finite context. Without it, the soul has no reference of before, now and after. There's no reason to change, grow or develop.


It's somewhat commonly accepted that a young soul might be guided through what we would call karma, until it is capable of regulating it's own behavior; like a young child, in the context of one life time.


Now let's say that humans (or any of the various sapiens species) have evolved and are suitable hosts for a souls, souls that have never existed within these bodies or this world before. We can assume too that they are lead and taught.


Would it be a stretch of the imagination to think that the oldest civilizations on earth are also the ones that were also focused very strongly on the afterlife and judgement therein, karmic cycles and other things?


I definitely think that there is some sort of awareness that existed below the conscious surface that evolved into religious beliefs and traditions.


And maybe many thousands and thousands of years later, souls have evolved to a state where they regulate their own behavior and don't need so much hand holding.
 
Hi Totoro,


I agree with the direction you are going here. Somehow, I think the rules may simply have shifted over time from what I refer to as "hard" karma (eye-for-an-eye/strict balancing) to something that could best be termed "soft" karma (with more emphasis on what will teach the lesson/advance the soul's development). I also believe it could be, as you say, because the vast majority of "souls" are more spiritually mature than they were thousands of years ago. Of course, this still leaves a vast number of questions to be answered, but it would seem to make some sense of things. However, I think there are still many missing elements to be taken into account.


Cordially,


S&S
 
Regarding animal reincarnation: I don't think people reincarnate as animals; however it has occurred to me that maybe it is possible that the souls of multiple lower life forms may merge to form a single soul of a higher life form and so on. This is somewhat consistant with the common belief that humans reincarnate until their soul achieves perfection at which point their soul merges with universal consciousness (or something like that). :)


Now, I'm not sure I actually believe that, but I think it's an interesting concept nonetheless.
 
Modern Reincarnation Beliefs


Blavatsky first introduced eastern mysticism to the western world in the late 1800s, and her work has had a huge influence on our modern concepts of reincarnation and soul development. Variations on her ideas have been adopted by many of the more recent New Age groups.


The spiritist movement that developed during her time developed out of a popular fascination with mesmerism, which was known to elicit some very strange phenomena. This led to the formation of small circles of people who took a serious interest in exploring these phenomena, which led to seances with all their table tippings, rappings, automatic writings, and apparitions, which brought about a growing belief in the afterlife due to these phenomena that were ocurring and the fact that they showed conscious intelligence. Rappings would accurately answer questions posed to them, channelings would produce messages from deceased loved ones, and their apparitions would sometimes even appear.


The spiritist movement developed into the early New Age movement through the works of such people as Edgar Cayce, Alice Bailey, Annie Bessant, Max Heindel, and Rudolph Steiner, all of whom were highly influenced by Blavatsky and who incorporated her ideas into their own philosophies.


Blavatsky taught a complex system of evolution that involves a progression through a number of stages of ever more physical existence that goes fromn simple elementals to ascended masters. Each stage ranges over thousands or millions of years, at which point a great evolutionary change takes place (marked by such events as the extinction of the dinosaurs and the biblical flood) and souls that make the grade advance to the next level. Throughout each level, souls reincarnate in the form that they've advanced to again and again, living any number of lives that might fir into the length of that stage (the stages have different lengths).


Blavatsky also incorporates the legand of Atlantis and Egyptian mysteries into her teachings, and these have been adopted by others as well.


Spinoffs teach variations on these themes. For instance, the Law of One material that was produced in the latter half of the twentieth century and which continues to draw a large following teaches very similar beliefs. but with a modern twist: the Ascended Masters have become space beings sending channeled messages. The messages give a newer version of the same ideas explained above, but there is more about good vs. bad and service to self vs. service to others and how that affects movement up and down the soul's evolutionaruy scale.


(Personally, I get creeped out by the underlying Luciferianism that Blavatsky espouses throughout her works, and I see it hidden in The Law of One material as well.)


Another similar belef system that developed at about the same time or soon after and became very popular is A Course in Miracles, which is allegedly channelled from Jesus himself. It takes a very Christian slant, but again, it incorporates ideas that are similar to these others, including a complex evolutionary system for the soul.
 
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Hi Anthony,


When I joined I sought others who might have known Blavatsky and other early Theosophists in PLs. No luck on that. Actually, I was surprised to find that most seemed to have no knowledge of her at all and the seminal role she played in initiating what is now referred to as "New Age" thought.


Cordially,


S&S


PS--How about you? Did you have any connection to Theosophy in a PL?
 
SeaAndSky said:
PS--How about you? Did you have any connection to Theosophy in a PL?
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Hi S&S... a115.gif


I don't know about my own past lives, but I'm curious enough about things to look into the origins of the ideas that people have about them. Most works like Blavatsky's that descriBe the spirit world and spiritual evolution are channeled, so they aren't very reliable, IMO. But they at least offer a foundation that can be used to think about and discuss these ideas. I was hoping that people here would at least be aware of these writings enough to discuss them.
 
Hi Anthony,


I don't think anyone is particularly taken as an ultimate "authority" on such things, though some of the more modern reincarnation researchers and writers are highly respected. Newton gets a lot of play as well as Stevenson, Weiss and some others. You also have a lot of folks who have their own personal experiences in a variety of areas. And, of course, there are the religious texts of one type or another.


Cordially,


S&S


PS--I was an early Blavatsky reader (in what would now be called middle-school back in the mid-60s). Plus, she was a relative in a putative past life. However, she does not inspire awe.
 
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