Monday, November 10, 2008

To come back or not?

A while ago, a fellow blogger (who no longer writes, sadly enough) had written a post about how final death was. It made me think. I was raised as a Catholic. Even if I went to church weekly (until the age of eighteen), I often thought that I didn’t really believe what the priest was preaching about. I hated the fact that it was always the same. Since I served mass as well, I basically knew the service by heart. Even now, whenever I hear a prayer, I know what comes next. I know my answers and the priest’s. Anyway, I digress. I’ve wondered about “eternal life” and what it meant really, and also about “resurrection” not only Christ’s but the rest of us as well… Since I’ve also always been somewhat curious, it was only normal that I would look into other beliefs. Buddhism has always attracted me; I like their philosophy. It’s not preachy. That’s the one thing I really dislike about the Catholic Church. And let’s not forget the guilt part. Argh.

From a very young age, instead of praying I would talk to my dead loved ones. If my grandfather had been there for me while alive, and took care of me, I thought it was only natural that I would address him when I needed protection or something else. I had a few “contacts” such as a favourite aunt, and in the last years, my father. I don’t know where they are, but I do believe they are protecting me and are listening to me when I need their support. I remember a cousin saying that “Little Jesus” would answer her prayers, I would think: “How strange to ask Him, He must be so busy and He doesn’t even really know her”.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always felt there had to be more to life than just this; I mean - we live, we die and that is it… A part of me doesn’t really care, and yet there’s a part that can’t help to think there has to be more. I’m not even thinking of “Heaven” and “Hell” where we go after our death, depending on the life we’ve lead, no I’m talking about this (life) being just a pit stop (or period of time) on a bigger journey. No matter where this trip will lead, it is quite a trip nonetheless.

What about you, do you believe that once we die it’s finished or that there is something else after? I kind of believe in reincarnation. I believe we are here to learn some things, to experience life and to become better people. For some lessons we need more than one life to understand, so we keep coming back until we finally do understand or learn what we’re meant to. I also believe in karma, but that one is a little touchier, because as we know karma is a bitch! Karma has no pity, no compassion. It has rules, and that’s that.

If you had the opportunity to come back to life and choose a time, a place where you would go, and how you would live what choices would you make? Would you go for something totally different or would you re-do what you know? Would you try to do it better or in a different way maybe? What would motivate your choices; you wanting to learn or your fear of the unknown? I really wonder… Please, do tell!

7 comments:

Jane Doe said...

This is, without a doubt, my favorite thing to talk about. There was a time (a long time) when reincarnation seemed as ridiculous as the tooth fairy. As I grew up & was able to kind of let go of organized religion (I was baptized Catholic, but then went Evangelical Christian), I became more open-minded.
Without really looking for a religion my soul has gravitated towards Eastern philosophies. There are people I meet & it's like we've known each other forever, and I think perhaps we have. I do believe in karma & reincarnation, but while I once needed a religious label, now I take pleasure in not having one. I don't have to claim to "know" what is, as long as it feels right in my soul, then that is my truth. Know what I mean?
2 books I strongly recommend:
1) Many lives, many masters.
2) The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying <-- the title sounds grim, but this is the most inspiring book I have ever read & that includes every single spiritual/religious book.

What you said about praying to deceased family members fits right in with what both books claim. I'm not saying that to prove anything, but see how natural that was for you to do? Even as a child.

If I came back, and I know this sounds corny, but I would want to be a dolphin. This lifetime has been an uphill struggle for me, within my soul. I've come to believe this lifetime is one of serious learning & lessons, most I've learned the hard way. I love dolphins & would like 1 lifetime to just relax, swim, be calm, enjoy just being. I know a lot of people who believe in reincarnation believe we're above animals, I don't.

And, even though you didn't ask this, I'll share ~
Many, many times when I've been depressed & on the brink of hurting myself, my strong belief in reincarnation is what has stopped me from acting on it. As I said, I've been thru so much, 1 thing I know I don't want is to have to come back in another life & re-learn all this shit again.

Your 4th paragraph, I agree with that 100%. I don't believe in heaven or hell either. I do believe we keep coming back until we reach Enlightenment, as Jesus, Gandhi, Mother Teresa... that's just my opinion.

BUT you did not answer the questions in your last paragraph. Are you gonna tell us?

Anonymous said...

I hope, hope, hope that we are done after this.

I beleive it is the arrogrance of man that insists we are more than everyhting else that lives on the planet with us, and hence our life has more meaning than all other living things.

Green-Eyed Momster said...

I believe in reincarnation!

I feel very stongly that I was a man on the Titanic, who was left behind. I hate being cold and I hate the open water. I was a Travel Agent for many years and I passed up many free cruises.

I feel very stongly that I was Egyptian at one time, I've been Royalty, Asian, I've been a Pioneer woman (washing laundry in a corset and a gown, no less), I was a cowboy who didn't have a very long life.....(I'm only guessing here but I have strong feelings of familiarity with all of these.

I've heard from on psychic that this was my 333 life. I told another psychic that and she said that this was "more like 3,333rd life!"

I don't know who to believe. I do know that in this lifetime, I was meant to break the family chain of addictions, raise good kids, be loyal to one hubby, and be a good grandma to our kids, kids because they don't have grandmas(hubby's mom died in 2006) and I didn't.

I don't know why I keep coming back. I don't want to come back after this life. I'm tired!

Great topic. You can probably tell, it's at the top of my favoite topics.

Hugs!!

Unknown said...

I'm afraid I'm somewhat of a downer on this subject. Over the course of my life I have believed in just about everything. Heaven and Hell, reincarnation, joining with the Allbeing, etc. And as the years passed with no evidence to support any belief over another, I grew to suspect that there is, indeed, nothing beyond this life. Now I know it is scientifically impossible to prove a negative, so I would never say 'there is no afterlife', and I desperately want there to be something else, but based solely on the lack of any real evidence to the contrary I fear that this is it.

Annake said...

I want to believe that there is more to life than just this, that there is something else beyond the physical body. In the end, no one really knows for certain, it's a leap of faith. But I hope that we get more than one shot at life because I haven't done a whole lot with this one. ;-)

stinkypaw said...

janes: I so know what you mean. It's like those "deja vu" moments... I'll look into that Tibetan Book, sounds interesting.

I think we choose to come back as whatever, so dolphin it is for you. Sometimes we need to come back as a "lower" being to rest and maybe learn different lessons.

I don't think we re-learn the same crap, if we really learned the lessons we were meant to, we will retain some of that knowledge for the next life. Like a child who's a natural born piano player...

If I was to come back I'd want to come back as someone who would make a difference, and instead of going forward in time I'd like to go back. In doing so, I know it wouldn't be an easy life, but I would get to see many changes within myself and the world as we know it. Does that answer your question? :-)

Thank you for answering my curious questions. And no worries, no comment is ever too long!

monkey: Interesting. I agree about the arrogant aspect of man, very true, but it's also hiding fears often, fear of the unknown.

traceyt: Wow, that's impressive that you feel your past lives. I know nothing of the sort. If you keep coming back maybe it's to experience different things or learn something more or more profoundly?

marius: You might be very right about it, I don't know either. I often think we believe in something like this to give us something to look forward to once we're old and unable to do much but think of our younger days and our emminent death... who knows. Nobpdy ever came back to tell us if and how it is after we die, so you might be right... ;-)

stinkypaw said...

annake: You sneaked in!
Having faith is good (I think), no matter what we believe in... and maybe you were meant to experience less or maybe that's the way you're seeing it.