erraticwisdom

Comments

1. I believe in reincarnation because it makes sense in the same way that conservation of energy and matter makes sense, but I’m not sure about memories remaining from one life to the next. Your experience with your cousin almost seems more like a temporary possession because he doesn’t seem to maintain the soul of the other man. It is bizarre what happened. I wouldn’t believe if it weren’t for the fact that somebody like you wrote it since I’ve read much of your writing over many months.

   Atul

   Jun 17, 09:06 AM #

2. Atul is right, this sounds like a demonic possession. The very occurrence of such phenomenon are proof that a spiritual realm does indeed exist. I believe that such experiences are meant to promote deeper thought on the subject of eternity, and ultimately to lead us to a decision on what we believe. In your case, you have stated that you do not believe in God, and yet your experience with your cousin has awakened a question in your soul. God in His wisdom, knows that we will have hard questions and has provided His answer book, the Bible. The Bible contains many prophecies, which are considered proof of its legitimacy, as well as historical statements which can be matched with independant evidence. I believe that the Bible holds the answers that you are after, and an honest reading of it will greatly benefit your spiritual understanding. I’ll be praying for you.

   SJG

   Jun 18, 02:51 AM #

3. Atul:
   I know. I don’t believe it either and I witnessed it myself. I really don’t know what to make of it.

   SJG:
   I don’t know that I’d call it a demonic possession, but it was certainly an odd experience to say the least. Also, I’m not sure that it (to me at least) proved the existence of a spiritual realm or, for that matter, god, but it has raised alot of questions. I’d much rather research and study the issue than attribute it to a spiritual phenomenon.

   I don’t know that I’ll ever believe in god in the traditional sense but it was a life-changing event for sure.

   Thame

   Jun 18, 05:26 PM #

4. Fascinating. Yet it need not be reincarnation either, there are lots of possibilities given how little we actually know of the universe.

   It is too bad there was no one else around that could run several tests, since you cannot, then, discount hallucination or suggestibility either (the two have caused large groups of people to witness even more amazing feats).

   Have you spoken with the woman since then? And, you said his memories disappeared, is that the memories of the other person or does it include all memory of the event(s) themselves (the drive, his seeing the woman, etc)?

   Mary

   Jun 18, 07:15 PM #

5. The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle. To sense that behind anything that can be experienced there is something that our minds cannot grasp, whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly: this is religiousness. In this sense, and in this sense only, I am a devoutly religious man.

   - Albert Einstein

   Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light-years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual. So are our emotions in the the presence of great art or music or literature, or of acts of exemplary selfless courage such as those of Mohandas Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr.

   The notion that science and spirituality are mutually exclusive does a disservice to both.

   - Carl Sagan

   QD

   Jun 18, 08:26 PM #

6. “Suddenly, he ordered the taxi driver to stop, jumped out of the car and walked purposefully towards a small house hidden behind a web of grape vines, again, with an assertiveness that comes only with age.”
   Well, I can help you. It is realy unlikely the taxi driver would obey a boy of age 4. You are surely experimenting with your readers ;)

   Ard

   Jun 19, 10:49 AM #

7. Mary:
   Great questions. I was only in Lebanon visiting family so I wasn’t able to explore it further. As far as his loss of the memories goes, I believe his only recollection of the events is from others describing it to him.

   Ard:
   His transformation was really surprising. Everything from his mannerisms to his tone and comprehension were like an adult. He reached around the driver’s headrest and motioned for him to stop.

   As far as “stretching” some stories, I don’t think I’m necessarily against it…the blog is about provoking thought, not telling the truth! Seriously though, the account above is as true as I could write it…I’ll probably include some sort of warning in the future if I decide to fabricate a story.

   Thame

   Jun 19, 06:18 PM #

8. Funny that I should read this today, as it seems the idea of reincarnation is trying to make its way into my soul.

   - I’m currently working on a novel in which reincarnation is a main component, even though I don’t believe in it (or didn’t when I started it. Now I’m not so sure.)

   - I’m reading the book “Many Lives, Many Masters” about a psychologists first encounter with reincarnation. This book was recommended by my psychologist who believes that this is something I should know about.

   - And now this.

   Maybe I need to revisit my beliefs. Yet, like you, I don’t believe that the existence or non existence of a God necessarily precludes or includes the existence of a soul. Very interesting story indeed.

   Gnorb

   Jun 19, 08:27 PM #

9. Are you serious?

   Can you get in touch with the ‘wife’ again, like Mary said (through someone else)?

   Not good.

   Tarun

   Jun 20, 01:30 PM #

10. Tarun:
    I probably could send some questions over. What would you like me to ask?

    Thame

    Jun 20, 08:26 PM #

11. That is indeed hard to believe. I would not necessarily call it reincarnation or even a demonic possession; it could have just been something else that triggered your cousin, making him act as he did. I’ve had an experience that was not too much different than that, and it only compiles questions upon questions, and even questions of questions…

    Tom Martin

    Jun 26, 07:46 PM #

12. It’s odd to me that people find it so difficult to come to terms with the notion of reincarnation. From the time I was first introduced to the concept, it seemed a more natural explanation of life than any I’d heard previously. In contrast, so many people accept eternal bliss as a reasonable concept – I guess it sounds so alluring, but to me it’s surreal and runs contrary to everything life teaches us.

    Well, to add to the controversy, I thought you might be interested in the works of Dr. Ian Stevenson. He has spent a large part of his life documenting cases just like the one you describe and the cases are abundant. In the face of this much information, the alternative explanations for what these people are experiencing begins to sound more far-fetched than the idea of reincarnation itself. Well, to me they do, but perhaps not to everyone.

    Here is a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Stevenson

    robin

    Jul 6, 06:00 PM #

13. To me, this sounds less like an incarnation but more like if the husband imprinted his mind in a medium we don´t know and your brother was able to synchronise to this. It may be interesting to know, what the last thing was, that he know about the husbands live.

    Markus

    Jan 4, 11:43 AM #

14. Unsure how I came to be revisiting this topic, but I’ve been discussing much God and religion (and anti-religion) with others as well as writing out my thoughts (offline) about incarnation/reincarnation, etc. and thought I’d drop another line on it.

    For decades (yes, I’m older), I’ve believed that religious ideas about the afterlife make perfect sense, but only in the context of our experience in the here and now. We have no way of knowing what actually happens to individual consciousness at death, but human beings have always been wont to speculate about it — a lot. When we speculate, however, we have only points of reference within the realm of our present knowledge and experience to draw upon. So when Christians speak of heaven and hell, I tend to translate it as joy and suffering (in this life), then cross-reference it with Buddhist teachings of cycles of same; pagan/naturalistic rituals of rebirth and renewal; Hindu/Buddhist concepts of incarnation and reincarnation.

    We all suffer; we all experience joy. Where the religions differ is in what they teach regarding the causes of joy and suffering. Allow me to over-simplify….

    The monotheistic religions teach that the cause of human suffering is wrong-doing. (Jesus didn’t, so why Christianity teaches that seems somewhat stuck in ancient Judaism and the mesh of mythological stories that comprise the book of Genesis.) Eastern religions teach that it is neglectfulness and wrong-thinking. Personally, I think Buddhism has that one exactly right.

    As for incarnation and reincarnation, human beings are capable of embodying or incarnating certain qualities: Compassion, metaphysical liberation, peace. Think Jesus, the Dalai Lama, Mahatma Ghandi, etc. But we’re also capable of incarnating other qualities: Hatred, judgmentalism, divisiveness. (Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, George Bush…. Sorry. Couldn’t resist. :)

    When we’re engaged in what Thich Nhat Hanh calls mindful living (mindful awareness in Buddhism), we can consciously control our thoughts/actions and channel them a certain way. If aware, we can choose to be positive, forward-thinking, optimistic. If neglectful, we tend to slip into negativity, wrong-thinking, pessimism. So, essentially, we incarnate and reincarnate our consciousness many times throughout our lives.

    I have no firm and fast opinion on life after death and so have none on what your cousin experienced there, but as the processes of nature are cyclical, I won’t discount the possibility of reincarnation over lifetimes until and unless I experience it (or don’t) myself.

    The important thing seems just the experience.

    QD

    Feb 5, 07:13 PM #

15. Seems like there is so much in life we don’t really grasp, and we don’t have to. Just one more thing to file away in your head as “interesting, I wonder what question I could ask or notice about that?” It is inherent in our nature to want to find explanations and draw conclusions but I don’t mind not knowing plenty of things. How did the wife respond, what did she think? Creeped out? Exuberant? Matter-of-fact? Annoyed? Seems like she would be the one to care the most.

    c

    Jul 5, 05:51 PM #