Reincarnation: Do You Believe in Past Lives?

When I was in Kindergarten, I wanted to be a fire woman when I grew up. I have no idea why. I just knew that was my destiny.

But, why? Why would I just pull this career choice out of a barrel with no reason? At 6:48 am this morning, I was pondering my life, and this one of the things I pondered. As a kid, I wasn't into emergency themed TV shows, I didn't know any fire women or firemen personally, and I don't recall having a fascination for fire. Certainly, a fire woman was not an extremely common women's career choice, especially in the mid-70's. ( Yes, I'm dating myself).

The reason for picking this profession seemed to be emigmatic, even by a child's logic.

Needless to say, I grew out of my fire woman phase and I never regretted my decision not to pursue the fire management field. If I drive by a fire, I never slap myself in the head and say, “Damn, I should've been a fire woman!” In fact, if anything, I wish I had gone for my degree in Veterinarian sciences.

The only thing that makes sense is that I thought it sounded cool. Or, maybe in a recent past life, I died in a fire? Maybe a sliver of my past subconcious felt the need to save others from a similar fate?

Ever felt a strong feeling a déjà vu in a place you’ve never been or been attracted to something or some place strongly for no apparent reason?

Many cultures and belief systems put their faith on reincarnation, which Wikipedia defines as “the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant.”

You think about it, Heaven and Hell, they are dead ends. This always bothered me because it didn’t make sense. Going to Heaven sure sounds great, in theory; but how much paradise with no goal or challenges can a human soul take? We are creatures of progression, craving change and adversity. We would go mad in a place of eternal bliss.

Hell is certainty beyond horrible, but who really deserves eternal damnation? According to Christians, anyone who doesn’t believe in Christ. Well, you just damned more than 50% of the world population right there. No matter how generous, kind, and loving these people were, they are headed straight to infinite suffering, H-E-double hockey sticks.

Look at the world around you. We are in a constant cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The seasons don’t stop at winter, they cycle back to spring, a rebirth of the earth. The moon doesn’t stop at being full, it waxes and wanes every month. The weather is a continuous cycle of rain, sun evaporating the rain, going back into the atmosphere, and then rain again.

Recycling is the natural order of the universe. It’s too obvious to deny.

There are many cases of people who recall another life. Triggered by a certain place or event, they relate details they couldn’t possibly have known in this life.

Other people may not recall a past life, but have little quirks about them that they can't quite explain.

• For instance, I've always wanted to go to Arizona, especially Tombstone. The Old West feels like home to me, but I've actually never been there.
• I'm very drawn to snakes, always have been, and there is no logical reason for it whatsoever.
• Ever since I can remember, every time I cross a railroad track, I find myself longingly looking down the track, wanting to follow it and see where it leads.
• I'm very much a loner, never seem to fit in with people, no matter how hard I try.
• I'm very frugal, I reuse things a lot and hate wastefulness.

From these observations of myself, and with some mediation, I've come to a few conclusions.

• In one of my past lives, I lived in the Old West, maybe in Tombstone.
• In another, I was part of a tribe or culture that worshiped snakes. Ironically, snakes are symbolic of rebirth (shedding their skin).
• In my most recent past life, I was a Depression-era hobo, riding the rails. This would explain my desire to travel on a whim, my loner, slightly-off personality, and my frugal nature.

Many people think that learning about past lives is a useful tool in self-discovery; when common logic fails, it can shed some light on how you act, why you fear, and who you love.

So, if you are interested in finding out your past lives, you should first make some observations about yourself. Ask yourself these questions:

• Is there a place you are inexplicably drawn to, especially place you have never been?
• Do you have a unique interest/hobby/fascination that you picked up on your own (i.e. it wasn't something your parents, relative, or friend got your started on?)
• Do you often think or dream about a certain time period?
• Do you have a certain phobia that you can't explain by a traumatic childhood experience or otherwise? For example, you may have a fear of tight places or a fear of fire and there seems to be no logical reason for it; you have just always had this fear.

Next, I suggest reflecting on these characteristics and themes by meditating upon them. Meditation is an excellent method of opening your mind to the spiritual realm and unblocking your subconscious. In this relaxed state, you will have an easier access to the Akashic records of your past lives. If you don't know how to mediate, here's how to get started:

Einstein once said: "Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.” If you believe that, how is reincarnation so far fetched?

I believe our life force lives on, and rather reaching a dead-end destination, it mimics nature; a cycle of constant rebirth. We transfer that energy from one live to the next where we continue to learn, improve, and experience. I don't think it's any more ridiculous than expecting the sun to rise every morning or the leaves to return every spring.