"I was quite surprised to learn only recently that the Jewish tradition does not believe in an afterlife. Thirteen years of Catholic school and no mention of this ever. But it seems to me this makes a lot of things, historically, make sense. (i.e. Jesus “opened the doorway” to eternal life.)"

Interesting. I hadn't thought about it that way before. I doubt that the idea was original to Jesus, but he definitely popularized it. It does seem a radical departure from old doctrine, highly significant. I've also heard that reincarnation was a popular notion in earier christianity. Jesus is even quoted asking if others recognize...oh drat, help me out Mary.

I've heard that the idea of purgatory was born with Dante's Inferno.

Personally, I've found the idea of reincarnation to be very helpful. It has deepened a sense of responsibility in that one is eternally accountable for one's actions - death doesn't let one off the hook. Rebirth provides opportunities to correct the errors of previous mistakes.

I also feel that an understanding and appreciation of time correlates closely with spiritual development. Fundementalists tend to have a shallow understanding of time (the earth is only 4,000 years old). Grander vision reflects deeper spiritual development.

One of my favorite authors in this matter is Dr Brian Weiss. The case studies are beautiful stories with heavy themes of acceptence, redemption and above all, love.

http://www.brianweiss.com/

'Before Elijah was I AM' - been awhlie since I looked at the Bible ...but didn't Jesus say something like that when he and few of his studenets  (went up on some hill-thing) , who feel asleep..then one awakened and saw Jesus Christ standing ... all in white.... light,  with Elijah and another prophet?

Like a mini death it is... in deep dreamless sleep, we are not burdened by anything. Without psychological, time-bound karmic history, we are ... free ... now...we always had, we always will have  eterninty.
 So in that sense, One could say reincarnation doesn't exist, no?

On the other hand , it's very obvious to see evolution of the soul happens naturally. How could it not? 

In Wilber's The Eye Of Spirit, in the Born Again chapter , he talks about how the

".......individual  psyche or consciousness is composed of two distinct essences or drops (tigle). In the heart center of every human, there is the empty essence (tigle) of consciousness, didvided into two layers or two drops: (1) the :" liftime indestructible  drop," which develops during during particular liftime, but perishes upon biological death, and (2), within or interior to the liftime indestructible drop, the "eternal indestructible drop", which lasts until Buddhahood and thus transmigrates from life to life until radical Enlightenment.  This interior drop is, in my terminology, the psychic/subtle being - which I also deliberately refer to as "soul", since that, too, lasts until actual spiritual resurrection in the causal/nondual Divine Domaine of pure Emptiness.
:
Last Fall, someone posted on this gab-forum , KW 's long essey  on reincarnation, where he  explains how it's possible to explain hypothetically, using the 4 quadrants map-model , how the soul 4-ever fits in , within  the AQAL.
Made sense.

Ages ago one woman , who got my fone # from my daughter , (a complete stranger)  who came for Reiki sessions got all weepy and funny excited  the day she met me ... "remember the pillars were on that side and the temple was ?....(blahblah) ...you were a very gifted healer..the youngest...they killed you...."
 
She completly meant it . She literally saw what she was describing.
And there was I... smiling politely.
 I sure as heck had no proof of any such notion/thing, but couldn't help thinking "NOT THIS TIME!"  . Not this time cruel world. Not this time! you will not  get rid of me.
THAT made complete sense to me.

The only reason I chose Robert Thurman's, (of all those other copies lined up all in row),  copy of The Tibetan Book Of The Dead - Liberation Through Understanding In The Between, was because he was a 'western-man'. I knew him not. Didn't know what he looked like . Nada. I thought because of my western reading orientation, the material would be more suitable to my mind-set.

A couple of years later I got hold of a God and Buddha in Dialogue - with Thurman and Deepak Chopra videotape, Robert said somt. like 'my Mongolian teacher gave me his copy and said "do it,  you will need it" I had no desire to, but because he said that  I translated it' 

I'm glad he did..... Mucho xoxoxo Mongolian teacher and Robert

One day, when alone in the middle of reading I became overcome....and knelt on the floor... with eyes closed I opened the book placed it on the floor and touched it with my forhead , with a request for a blessing....lingering moment later when I opened my eyes I beheld Sambhava's  tangka-image , the one where he is seated in his Copper Mountain with Yeshe Tsoygal and Mandarava , Avalokiteshrava and Amitabha.....
with his right hand raised in a gesture (of) benevolnet blessing.

I think that was a moment, a 'makse sense' moment,  I shall never forget.

OK all kvetched out 4 now! ketchya later

H

 



 

Hey there all...
Kool reflection timelody.

It's  all unfolding in the now-time, that's what  'time's' function is for, no?

I heard a bang-noise  at the door, and knew they came to get me..."they are going to kill you" - said husband . "I know", I thought. siting up now... with fear-racing heart.
In a narrow cot with husband...very dim lighting. Several men at the far end of the room.
As real as it gets.

Had a sense daughter was behind the wheel......(?...maybe "daughter driving", because I never had my own vehicle ?")  will the car make the turn?
"Am I dead?" ... so silent... clear pale blue  sky .. with a solid black and red ribbon of light in a distant horizon....so silent.

Yah, I would do anything, I would search high and low to be with people again, to see real flowers an' stuff...to eat and drink and dance an'.......

H

I actually wrote scribbled in my dream journal "past life?" after a short , feel-poignant dream in 1986'.


Happy ... "garden setting" looking at some picture fotos, "one picture cought my eye and I knew instantly it was me - very diferrent me. "I" looked as tho I had very prviledged life" ..."That's what I looked like! past life?" "It was extremly fleeting but I felt deep longing"
"When I wanted (with all my might-add-on) to see that picture again desperatly - I couldn't" "deep feelings".

Yah I had many 'longing' and 'searching' dream episodes, but that was the first, the most 'nostalgic'.


Any more shares?! youhooo! cyber-trollies, cat bit yer tongues?

H 

Alright Icon, now we’re talking. I think the AQAL map can offer great orientation for this subject.

Setting all else aside, let us begin with an individual, and look at the individual AQAL map. And to be clear let us use it as Ken most often has it mapped out; that is, up to centuric-vision logic. So, what we might call a full bodymind human being.

What I think is most profound is that no matter where we would ultimately evolve to on that map as individuals, at the termination of this life everything that shows up in that AQAL map of the individual is gone, dissolves, will be no more.

UR
Now, most obviously and readily understood is that the UR exterior “it” body will be burned, decay or be cremated etc. and no longer, no more, never again will anything or anyone ever have anything to do with that body. It’s gone.

LR
Moving to the LR, this will have some determination as to how you die, or rather, what conditions you die under (nursing home, hospice, laying in a gutter) but other than that pretty much loses all meaning and importance once the process of dying is well underway, certain, and/or nearly complete. So, as far as the individual is concerned, it’s more or less meaningless already. “Burned away,” “dissolves,” etc. (i.e. a dying person no longer cares how much money they make or where they live, etc.)

LL
Even more profound, I think, is that any gross level manifestation of relationships, in the LL, will also end and be dissolved and “burn away.” Yes that is on the gross level, but I don’t think the profundity of that should be dismissed. We identify one another with names and faces and personalities and all kinds of things that exist on the gross. So it should not be any wonder that should we have no gross level recollection should we enter a new gross level embodiment.

UL
Finally, yes, it seems quite clear that -at least looking at it from the conventional (gross level) perspective, anything that is going to continue has got to be looked for in the interior UL.

But even that, as we regularly identify with ourselves, will all dissolve! Not just gross level body, but gross level mind will also be dissolved. And so again, is it any wonder that we should have no immediate memories? (It is also quite scary and indeed great motivation for spiritual practice and nurturing a conscious identification of the subtler realms (or deeper/higher).

Now, as I understand it, it seems generally acceptable to assume that upon the moment of death the gross mind will remain for a bit. I believe the Tibetan Book says this and it seems also quite evidenced in Near Death Experiences. The NDE’s are documented not only in individual experiential testimony, but brain activities have been documented as well. (The brain activities have just been interpreted from a flatland worldview.)

But soon enough, everything from body to mind, exterior and interior, will dissolve and we are left now in consciousness at the Subtle. Apparently this is said -and it seems to make perfect sense to me -to be like the dream state. The more conscious you are before hand, the more lucidly you will attend this realm and phase of the process.

But then that body eventually burns away also and we are left with a Casual body. It is the Casual body which, as I understand it, shall we say “holds the karma” and consequently causes a new process of embodiment to begin; first to the Subtle and finally back to the gross and a whole new gross AQAL emerges.

Further, this whole new individual gross AQAL is in an entirely new surrounding AQAL environment! (example, nobody, but nobody will be having presently any past life memories or recognition's or associations with using the internet and a computer or an pod. (And more in depth probably cars and TV and airplanes, etc.) That's all new. (Perhaps there are exceptions.)

So, for sure, no question, any type of “memory” or association or sentiment or anything having to do with “past lives” has got to reside, not only in the UL interior, but actually off of it entirely if we are just looking at what is mapped out most often. (As in the front pages of SES.) It would have to be the Causal Witness which is beyond all of that (perhaps also some Sublte?) and which is why it is so hard to “remember” without some serious stimulation . . . or that consciousness was already fully awake and “present” all the way through the process. (Certainly evolving higher consciousness makes a difference too.)

So let us say we "meet" another Causal Witness we "knew before." Some type of deep recognition will take place, conscious or not. The same with a geographical location, a deep interest (like music, art), sometimes physical objects (trains, mountains) etc.

That's all for now . . . . (sorry if this was too long! )