Do you believe in reincarnation?

[ZombieHorde]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/reincarnation">I am using the following definition of reincarnation for this poll. --- The belief that the soul, upon death of the body, comes back to earth in another body or form; rebirth of the soul in a new body.

This poll is about your belief in literal reincarnation.

[LongTomH]

1. I wonder what sort of results you would get if you reworded your question:

To "Do you believe reincarnation is a possible explanation for what happens to us after death?"

[ZombieHorde]

2. I imagine the positive votes would be much higher. nt

[Nihil]

3. Similarly:

"Do you believe reincarnation can happen?"
(i.e., not forcing the 0% vs 100% implication of the original)
:shrug:

[DeSwiss]

4. Could Not Cast A Vote - Insufficient Data.

{In order for one to believe in reincarnation, one must first believe in http://www.socialtext.net/wired-mag/index.cgi?is_time_an_illusion">time.

Inhofeosaurus Rex {Stupidus Ignoramus Oklahomus}




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNf-P_5u_Hw">The Greatest Story Ever Sold, Pt.1

[ZombieHorde]

7. If you are unaware of your own beliefs then the third option is for you.

If you do not believe in reincarnation because you do not believe in time, then the second option is for you.

[Quantess]

17. "If you do not believe in reincarnation because you do not believe in time..."

Would that entail multiple lives happening at different points in history, yet since time is an illusion, the lives are all simultaneous?

I have considered that possibility. :)

[DeSwiss]

19. Exactly.

[roguevalley]

33. some scientists have postulated that people can exist everywhere

at the same time. I don't discount anything. the universe is showing us it is not flat nor the edges that we theorized are the ones that exist. our consciousness came from some place, its energy and it must go some place else when it leaves this form of existence.

[FatDave]

22. The fact that traveling through the traditional 3 dimensions...

...slows ones travel through time, leads me to believe that time is real. The fact that it is observable, measurable, and predictable reinforces my belief. Just because we don't fully understand it does not make it an illusion.

[Strong Atheist]

5. No, but I have to admit, it is a cool idea... nt.

[whosinpower]

6. the innocence of a child

When my son was about three years old, we were playing one day, having a grand time, and I recall giving him a big hug and saying, "How is it we are so lucky to have you in our lives?"
My son looked up at me and stated very seriously, "I chose you."

We do not go to church, nor do we discuss these sorts of issues between ourselves, so I could not help but wonder where he came up with this concept - at three years old.

This does not confirm or deny reincarnation - but it has given me allot to ponder all these years - out of the mouth of my own son.

[ZombieHorde]

8. That is sweet.

Though when I ponder many of the parents in this world, I wonder who would chose them. For example, my old Japanese language partner was abandoned by his parents because their theology forbids homosexuality.

[Chemisse]

24. It doesn't seem like every spirit could get a choice

If this were at all true. Otherwise some people would have babies with no soul, since nobody wanted to be their kid.

OH! Maybe that's how we got Republicans!

[Odin2005]

9. Kids have crazy imaginations!

:)

[Zebedeo]

18. As a two-year old, my daughter said to my wife:

"I sprinkled you, and you became a mama."

I don't interpret that as evidence of reincarnation. But I do think it suggests that my daughter's immortal soul existed before the physical body she now inhabits was conceived.

[uberllama42]

27. A question for you

You believe that your daughter's words indicate that she interacted with your wife, her mother, in some way before your daughter's birth. Do you believe that your daughter chose to be born to you and your wife specifically, or do you think that the choice was somehow made for her? Do you believe that souls choose which bodies to be born into, or that they have some form of control over when babies are conceived by the living?

In short, do you believe that your daughter's immortal soul had any say in the process of being born? Did that soul have a choice over whether or not to "sprinkle" your wife?

Thanks in advance.

[Zebedeo]

29. I have no idea.

An alternate explanation is that she heard about my wife's "baby shower" and drew a conclusion about that. Who knows?

[Odin2005]

10. No, I don't believe in any kind of survival after death, period.

[ZombieHorde]

11. I wonder why this poll received recs. nt

[Iggo]

12. Not yet.

[InvisibleTouch]

13. I voted Yes, but have to qualify that...

...because to me, "believe in" suggests conviction and certainty. Based upon some of my own experiences in life, I suspect there's truth to the concept of reincarnation, and I'm very comfortable with the idea - but I have no way to prove it, even to myself. Therefore while I think it's true, I also totally acknowledge that it may be only my own active imagination at work.

[Quantess]

14. How about "I don't know. Maybe."

So I chose #3

[centristgrandpa]

44. I must agree with Quantess, "maybe" is an understatement... nt

[On the Road]

15. I'm Kind of Shocked

that a third of the respondents voted yes. Maybe it's due to which forum this is posted in.

[Uncle Joe]

16. I used to in a previous life. but I'm not so certain this time.

All kidding aside, I actually do believe there is a strong probability, considering the observable evidence of everything else on the physical plane being recycled.

I would add one addendum to my belief, that soul or fragment of memory may be subdivided in reincarnation and split apart; just as the physical body being recycled from decomposition.

[tinrobot]

20. Every atom in your body was once part of something else.

You could trace the atoms in your body back billions of years to before the point where the Earth was formed. The atoms that comprise "you" are water, air and the atoms that comprised other living things (i.e. the food you eat.) Those living things did the same to get their atoms all the way back to the first lifeforms on this planet.

So, in that respect, yes, I am reincarnated. I am the incarnation of everything that came before me, and I will 'reincarnate' when my atoms get taken up by whatever comes after me.

[tridim]

21. Not sure and not certian, but lately due to M-theory I'm starting to believe..

that all conciousness may be shared on a sub-atomic level, and conciousness may be considered a physical thing, but not measurable or limited to our own universe.

Groove on that. :)

[Chemisse]

25. M-theory? What is that?

I have seriously started to consider the same, based on the intriguing mysteries revealed in the Quantum Theory, about 'entangled' matter.

[laconicsax]

30. It's a psuedo-religion for physicists.

It's an offshoot of string theory that makes conjectures about the nature of the universe without any testable predictions.

[tridim]

32. Explain why so many respected physicists accept it as a valid theory?

Are you suggesting they're all crackpots?

[laconicsax]

34. No, just very hopeful.

String/M-Theory, as I understand it, promises to hold the key to the elusive Theory of Everything. I'd be surprised if there wasn't a lot of interest in it among very respected physicists.

What I don't see is a valid scientific theory--it makes no testable predictions. It just presents an "it's this or nothing" argument and while I'm sure the math behind it is very persuasive (I don't have nearly the knowledge or understanding to evaluate it on those grounds), it's largely speculative.

I'd be very excited if it turns out to be an accurate picture of the universe, but at this point, it's just as likely to be false.

[tridim]

31. Membrane Theory, a membrane being one instance of infinite universes.

Shared gravity, branching alternate universes, particles spending time in higher dimensions between membranes as they pop in and out of existence. It's all about quantum theory, and specifically the uncertainty principle.

There is tons of M-theory stuff all over the Internet if you have the spare time. It's extremely interesting, and confusing.

-- Caution, pseudo-science to follow --

This is nowhere near a theory, just my layman guess, but I think the brain has the ability to sense the quantum nature of the multiverse and use it for memory storage and general consciousness. Some might call it a soul, but I just think of it as a really powerful and necessary 6th sense that defines "life".

I'm fascinated by old memories that sometimes seem to just pop into my head out of nowhere. It doesn't make sense that the brain stores every single life memory as bits of data like a hard drive. Something else is going on that we haven't discovered yet. I picture the brain as a two-way quantum antenna that interfaces with the bulk (the M-theory term for everything). If the "mind" is self-contained within the gray matter of the brain why are there gaps between synapses? What's the point of the gaps? Is the information between the gaps part of the brain, or part of something else? And further, what do psychotropic drugs REALLY do to our synapses? Where do crazy dreams originate?

Memory is information and we already know that information cannot be destroyed. Could it also be true that that information may be accessible for other brains to access, even after the original brain matter is dead? Who knows, but it sure is fun to think about. :)

[Chemisse]

36. Thank you - it sounds like fun reading

And I'm not being sarcastic. I love this kind of thing.

[Stevepol]

23. Surprised that so few notice that the best reason for believing is the considerable evidence.

Ian Stevenson spent his life tracking down and looking at the evidence from people (mostly kids 2-4 years old I think) who claimed memories of past lives. He was a professor of psychiatry at the Univ of VA I think.

Recently, a Dr. Jim Tucker has taken up Stevenson's cause. Here's a fairly recent interview of Tucker, part of a review of Tucker's new book.

http://www.rutherford.org/FriendlyFire/2009/FF_07-13-2009_Tucker.html

[edhopper]

35. Or maybe not

http://www.skepdic.com/stevenson.html

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmske/is_3_9/ai_n28943116/

[saltpoint]

26. Absent clinical / experiential proof I still voted 'No.'

The red tape is likelly horrendous even if it IS true.

[edhopper]

28. I don't understand what

is suppose to be reincarnated? I assume it means your "soul". But most have no memories or awareness of these previous lives. So it seems to be some "life essence" which only has baring of karmic forces of the Universe. So I must buy into a whole cosmic view to acccept that reincarnation occurs.
But since I don't accept the existence of the soul (an entity that exist outside the body) I don't see reincarnation as a reality.

[Vidar]

37. I prefer to. Most belief, or disbelief, is a preference.

[cecilfirefox]

38. Practicing Wiccan & a Buddhist. Absolutely believe it, 100% true. nt

[ZombieHorde]

40. Were you a Wiccan before you were a Buddhist, or were you a Buddhist before you were a Wiccan?

Seems unlikely to me one would become both a Wiccan and a Buddhist at the exact same moment, but I guess that scenario is possible.

Did you believe in reincarnation before you were Wiccan and Buddhist, after Buddhist but before Wiccan, after Wiccan but before Buddhist, after becoming both a Wiccan and Buddhist, etc.?

[Iggo]

39. I don't believe in "believe in".

B-)

[ZombieHorde]

41. I am not sure what you mean by "believe in", since you seem to believe in posting on message boards.

[Iggo]

42. Wait...what?

[ZombieHorde]

43. You claimed to not believe in "believe in."

You created a funny play on words.

In my poll, "believe in" was used in a manor which implied some degree of faith.

There is another definition of "believe in" which implies agreement. For example, "I believe in gay marriage."

So I tried to make my own funny play on words by claiming you "believed in" posting on message boards.

My joke obviously failed, I probably should not attempt to be humorous 15 minutes after waking.

I was just trying to have some fun with your fun post.