What happens to an ‘old soul’ after many reincarnations?

[Phillian]

That's interesting. I find it intriguing that the mind might deliberately bury the majority of memories from previous lifetimes; perhaps forgetting serves as a kind of protection because going through the tragedy of a previous life at once could be a lot to bear.

I believe that may be the reason why we forget, as a shield from possible trauma or a life we can no longer be part of; however, I do not believe we completely erase everything, which is why certain aspects attract our attention without a logical explanation and create the "déjà vu" effect on us.

What's so hot about past lives anyway? They'd be about mistakes that can't even occur in my present incarnation, about achievements I couldn't possibly match or surpass now, about dying a broken and embittered old woman due to experiences completely alien to me, about living in a different culture whose language I don't even speak, possibly about having some really embarrassing personal habits, etc. And that's only the best-case scenario where you are always born as a human and live to see mature age. Thanks but no thanks, I just don't want to know.

Personally, I think it is fascinating to find parallels between the present and the past, like, let's say you nowadays worship a Greek Pantheon deity and discover you were once a priest(ess) of the temple of that same deity. Or when your craft is based on a culture unrelated to your country and culture, instead it is related to something you once practised in a past life. Even if you were another being, it may be connected to you why a certain animal attracts your attention. It can also be a reason why certain practices and cults do not draw you... I don't know; for me is like exploring your family tree, but on a spiritual level, seeing patterns and curiosities that line up after multiple lives.

The fact that you do REMEMBER there is something on the other side after all! It dissipates your fear from death and reinforces your soul's belief that we can last forever. Can you imagine how majestic this feeling is?

P.S.. It's also worth remembering past lives for the knowledge you could have gathered in your previous incarnation. Imagine you were a part of a superpowerful civilization back then-can you even evaluate the richness of spiritual, scientific, technological, and whatever else knowledge you can gather by just looking at the past? That alone is a price worthy of all the suffering you must endure to remember the past. At least, I think so.

And of course, there is also that: the relief that knowing death is not the end, but the beginning of a new journey, like the Major Arcana XIII: Death & Rebirth, a continuous spiritual cycle. I think it is something that overall brings some comfort, even for those who do not practise the craft; the idea of something existing beyond death brings some tranquility, although this could lead to other discussions... But, that being said, quite a few faiths do believe in reincarnation and see this moment almost like a spiritual reward, to have a chance to start anew.

 

[Eldros]

What's so hot about past lives anyway? They'd be about mistakes that can't even occur in my present incarnation, about achievements I couldn't possibly match or surpass now, about dying a broken and embittered old woman due to experiences completely alien to me, about living in a different culture whose language I don't even speak, possibly about having some really embarrassing personal habits, etc. And that's only the best-case scenario where you are always born as a human and live to see mature age. Thanks but no thanks, I just don't want to know.

Exactly! Also, according to some reincarnation beliefs, you might not even return as a human// instead, you might return as a bug, mouse, or flower.
What really is there to "remember," then? Would a mosquito have the same level of awareness or memory as a human?
I begin to lose a lot of interest in the idea of past lives after that.

 

[Phillian]

Exactly! Also, according to some reincarnation beliefs, you might not even return as a human// instead, you might return as a bug, mouse, or flower.
What really is there to "remember," then? Would a mosquito have the same level of awareness or memory as a human?
I begin to lose a lot of interest in the idea of past lives after that.

Well, I actually find it even more fascinating, and it makes me wonder if familiars are old souls which had been reborn as animals. Is that why they are so sensitive and aware of the occult? Not to mention the different experience one might undergo reborning in a non-human being, like plants can communicate with each other through root networks, being able to even uphold another plant for them to thrive, like when a tree is cut down, the whole forest begins sharing its energy to help the tree to regrow again.

Even as an animal, I find it fascinating, and I am sure those who connect with shamanic practises, may find the concept of becoming or experiencing the world as an animal an interesting thought. I mean, imagine experiencing flying or being able to swim in the depths of an ocean, things that are not easily experienced as a human? Sure, there are caveats, but it would certainly be a different experience than being reborn as a human.

 

[Eldros]

Well, I actually find it even more fascinating, and it makes me wonder if familiars are old souls which had been reborn as animals. Is that why they are so sensitive and aware of the occult? Not to mention the different experience one might undergo reborning in a non-human being, like plants can communicate with each other through root networks, being able to even uphold another plant for them to thrive, like when a tree is cut down, the whole forest begins sharing its energy to help the tree to regrow again.

Even as an animal, I find it fascinating, and I am sure those who connect with shamanic practises, may find the concept of becoming or experiencing the world as an animal an interesting thought. I mean, imagine experiencing flying or being able to swim in the depths of an ocean, things that are not easily experienced as a human? Sure, there are caveats, but it would certainly be a different experience than being reborn as a human.

Interesting perspective! I can see why people might find it exciting to experience the world from the perspective of another kind of being. However, in my view, it mainly makes the idea of past lives look far away and difficult to understand.

 

[HoldAll]

Exactly! Also, according to some reincarnation beliefs, you might not even return as a human// instead, you might return as a bug, mouse, or flower.
What really is there to "remember," then? Would a mosquito have the same level of awareness or memory as a human?
I begin to lose a lot of interest in the idea of past lives after that.

Perhaps that's the reason why there used to be that stereotype of the naive early 19th century occultists who fervently belived in reincarnation and claimed to have been a king, pharao, a high priestess, etc. in a previous life and not a poor serf dying of starvation, a woman raped by marauding soldiers, or a child crippled by polio. For the common people, life was just too gruesome in the past, better to have been born as an aristocrat (except when hanged, drawn, and quartered for treason, that is). 'Gathering valuable life experiences' sounds nice if you get to cherry-pick them but the resulting piece of past-life wisdom could also be "Try not to fall victim to plague or genocide at an early age".

I'm not sure if I believe in reincarnation or rebirth but one class of reborn beings from the Buddhist Six Realms of Existence haunts me: the pretas, the hungry ghosts. They're typically depicted as having an insatiable appetite and an unquenchable thirst, big bellies but only a pencil-thin throat, the very epitome of greed. There was this newspaper story about a local actor who had had a stroke and developed dysphagia, meaning that he was unable to swallow and had to be fed liquid food and water through a stomach tube. He described how he had missed the taste of coffee and chocolate so much that he would put them in his mouth but had to spit them out after a while since he was unable to get them down. Had he turned into a hungry ghost? Had he been a preta in a former life? And what would have happened to him had he been born in an era where stomach tubes weren't invented yet? The good news is that the guy eventually recovered (he was still young) but many with his condition aren't so lucky.

 

[Solar]

I think most people use the concept of old souls as a means to support their spiritual narcissism lol. Think of new agers who claim to be an old soul or a starseed or something like that. Usually all of it doesnt mean anything.

I believe in reincarnation, and not rebirth, which means that although we get memory wiped, experiences and especially the attainment of developed mental faculties can carry over.

For example if you were a powerful magician in your past life, you would probably be born with "gifts" (they are earned) such as clairvoyance, extreme intuition, hyperphantasia, the ability to astral project effortlessly without having to learn it etc etc.

If you were a person in your past life who became obsessed with math and dedicated his life to it, and in the process developed their cognitive abilities to unrivaled level, you'd probably be born with the "gift" (it is earned) of a high iq.

But unless you actually pursue a spiritual path and reach the goal of hopping of the reincarnational cycle, you are going to continue, no matter how much of an old soul you are.

 

[Suayakoat]

I believe what all of you are missing here is the purpose of your previous lives, current incarnation, future ones, the Universe and all of existence for that matter! I think the purpose of existence is short and clear-to exist! Nothing more, nothing less. The entire point of all of our lives, and the experiences thereof, is simply to ask the Soul one simple question: Are you already saturated with experiences? If the answer is yes, the Soul drifts away off the cycle and aims to merge with the Source ending all of its capacity to experience anything any more. If the answer is no, the Soul has only one path left-it itself to become a Creator, an Infinity, a Source and animate plans where other Souls may inhabit. But that comes at a price. And the price is continued existence. The Soul must not tire of being and that is a hard thing when you are faced with the reality of existence-especially existence without a supporting Source anymore!

P.S.. In any case we all are Godseeds in infancy and we, and only we, can choose whether to grow into full-fledged Creators, or wail away from the path to infinity by merging with our own Creator. The choice is entirely ours. Choose carefully.

 

[Robert Ramsay]

I believe what all of you are missing here is the purpose of your previous lives, current incarnation, future ones, the Universe and all of existence for that matter! I think the purpose of existence is short and clear-to exist! Nothing more, nothing less. The entire point of all of our lives, and the experiences thereof, is simply to ask the Soul one simple question: Are you already saturated with experiences? If the answer is yes, the Soul drifts away off the cycle and aims to merge with the Source ending all of its capacity to experience anything any more. If the answer is no, the Soul has only one path left-it itself to become a Creator, an Infinity, a Source and animate plans where other Souls may inhabit. But that comes at a price. And the price is continued existence. The Soul must not tire of being and that is a hard thing when you are faced with the reality of existence-especially existence without a supporting Source anymore!

P.S.. In any case we all are Godseeds in infancy and we, and only we, can choose whether to grow into full-fledged Creators, or wail away from the path to infinity by merging with our own Creator. The choice is entirely ours. Choose carefully.

I don't believe in any of this, but if I did, this is a GREAT explanation!

 

[HoldAll]

I don't believe in any of this, but if I did, this is a GREAT explanation!

Hence the ancient Tibetan blessing: "May you be reborn in a time and place where toilet paper and tampons have already been invented!"

 

[Eldros]

Perhaps that's the reason why there used to be that stereotype of the naive early 19th century occultists who fervently belived in reincarnation and claimed to have been a king, pharao, a high priestess, etc. in a previous life and not a poor serf dying of starvation, a woman raped by marauding soldiers, or a child crippled by polio. For the common people, life was just too gruesome in the past, better to have been born as an aristocrat (except when hanged, drawn, and quartered for treason, that is). 'Gathering valuable life experiences' sounds nice if you get to cherry-pick them but the resulting piece of past-life wisdom could also be "Try not to fall victim to plague or genocide at an early age".

I'm not sure if I believe in reincarnation or rebirth but one class of reborn beings from the Buddhist Six Realms of Existence haunts me: the pretas, the hungry ghosts. They're typically depicted as having an insatiable appetite and an unquenchable thirst, big bellies but only a pencil-thin throat, the very epitome of greed. There was this newspaper story about a local actor who had had a stroke and developed dysphagia, meaning that he was unable to swallow and had to be fed liquid food and water through a stomach tube. He described how he had missed the taste of coffee and chocolate so much that he would put them in his mouth but had to spit them out after a while since he was unable to get them down. Had he turned into a hungry ghost? Had he been a preta in a former life? And what would have happened to him had he been born in an era where stomach tubes weren't invented yet? The good news is that the guy eventually recovered (he was still young) but many with his condition aren't so lucky.

Compared to the notion that "you come back to learn important lessons," it is in fact an even scarier form of reincarnation.
The hungry ghost sounds less like a real entity and more like a metaphor for a certain mental problem.^
Also, your use of the actor as an example - shows the exact problem I have with karma and past lives: how can we decide between a presumed spiritual lesson and biological or historical chance?
It could be the difference between your life and death if you were born before feeding tubes were invented.
That is difficult to think of as anything other than bad luck.

 

[Suayakoat]

I just would like to advice the readers of this topic to scroll down to earlier posts-seriously, there are so many valuable posts written in the previous pages that answer your questions about the nature of this thread and it would be so much easier to just read them instead of having to repeat everything each time someone replies here anew. Just a piece of advice for the reader.

 

[Hydor]

I'll return to where I came from and the only certainty for me is transformation . I accept that awareness both precedes and arises from the physical universe. I'm part of an amazing process and not what set it in motion.

 

[adrian27]

continuar evolucionando

 

[HoldAll]

continuar evolucionando

Careful about the non-English or you might get banned.

 

[levi777]

Becomes an almost perfect spirit