Just suppose...

Suppose that one fine day you were attacked with an epiphany. This particular realization had to do with a past life and you believe that in your last incarnation some 300 years ago you were an individual from another part of the globe and of a different race than your current one. How would this affect your outlook of your fellow man? Would it change the way you view the world and its struggles?

I have been forced to face just such an awakening. My views changed almost immediately. I now see my fellow humans as lost creatures, tormented by their own inner demons and desires and I feel compassion. I have come to view racial issues in a different manner, what would race mean if we are subject to an incarnation different from before? Such thoughts will change you. It has brought a new level of peace in my life.

Strange though, I am not a very social person, hermiting being my favorite pastime, as such I hold compassion and dislike at the same time. Sometimes people are just rotten.

In the end, does it matter?

Yes, it would be pretty neat to see a past life, perhaps even learn from it... but does it matter, in the grand scheme? I find it would cause personal distress, suddenly learning that reincarnation is real and this is all there is. I personally can't wait to shed mortal skin and leave this temporal and carnal realm.

But, if this was real and I was granted such a glimpse into that... well, I'd be exhausted. Reincarnation would drain me of my desire to work hard, if I just have to start all over again in the same boring world.

If I learn something from a past life... well, neat. But much information form 300 years ago isn't really relevant anymore. Heck, most languages have changed so much in that time that we wouldn't understand them. I'd rather know this was the first time I've been on this world, knowing the next level is eternal.

It's fun to think about, but as Arisaig said: does it really matter?

My life right here and right now is what is happening to me and what I am doing. Whether I've had past lives or not I don't know and, frankly, don't care. I do believe reincarnation is possible, but it doesn't really affect me any because I can't be sure.

A thousand apologies, I guess I did not make this quite clear. It is not about having a past life or even clinging to the thought of one. I certainly do not cling to such thoughts. The point I failed so miserably to make is how such a thought could change you in the present right now, this time, this existence. How it could change the way you view your fellow humans and our struggles on this rock we call Earth.

Does it really matter? Of course not but spiritual growth occurs in many strange ways.

Funny thing this Jedi ism . At first I began- I thought I was the bees knees. A gift to mankind. Seems a lot of others had the same idea as I. I saw my family as lost and made it my own idea to show them the truth and be the promethium fire they had lost . Zeal is not limited to label or Jedi ism. I knew a guy who graduated from A automotive trade school and took apart his bike. Years later it's now being pieced back to a proper working fashion. Zeal is a wonderful thing- almost as wonderful as dynamite and the sword. Great responsibility needs great knowledge which leads to great wisdom. All that will take time and trial and error. If we don't acknowledge this for our selfs - good ol time will see to that.
Every life is different - every path is not the same. Yet- we can share a few or more similarities . May the force you seek be with you and may the force we share - find you where we both seek it ! I'm still on that path my self friend !

As a side note, I do not feel that I am in any better shape than my fellow humans, what an impossibility that would be. I do not feel that I have a mission to change those around me or show them the "way." How absurd. What I do have is a beautiful change of outlook, this is all mine and really cannot be shared except through how I behave in the world and with others.

MadMage wrote: As a side note, I do not feel that I am in any better shape than my fellow humans, what an impossibility that would be. I do not feel that I have a mission to change those around me or show them the "way." How absurd. What I do have is a beautiful change of outlook, this is all mine and really cannot be shared except through how I behave in the world and with others.

It is an interesting line of thought, to be sure. My grandfather believed in reincarnation (despite being Christian. He believed the whole "believe in me, and you will be born again" was quite literal), but I do not. Its one reason I'd never want to be immortal. Stuck on this rock, never able to shed corporeal form and go beyond.

That ... can be a beautiful thing my friend ! As Jedi we are the light as it is often coined . That is one of the many lights that shine here ! Plus one - and we become brighter by every " one "that is added ! It will not be my tint or our brightennn may not be similar but light is light friend! Glad to know you and may you find more "fule " for you fire ! This is a great place to add and share said lights ! May the Force we share be with you as you seek it !!

Theories that make 'a lot' of unexpected sense are the best kind, but when they are outside of the realm of truth they also offer hope as progress, in formulating an even better theory. As the only thing better for progressing a worldview then an epiphany, is a better epiphany!!!

But yea, reincarnation is a fun one. A bit hard to prove though, LOL, but from memory its how they used to pick the next Dalai Lama (leader of Tibet) apparently, through a process of various things trying to prove the lineage of reincarnation, one of them for example was by testing the young child in picking out objects owned by the past Dalai Lama from a collection of other objects. If we are all equal in the Force, then the vessel matters little when compared to its conduct.