Remembering past lives. Yes, apparently it's a thing.

[Jayhawker Soule]

From the Washington Post:

The children who remember their past lives​

... It all seemed more curious than concerning — until one afternoon in the early spring of 2021, when Marie came to believe that there was something more to Nina. That day, Marie recalls, she and Aija were playing together in their living room, enacting little scenes with toy figurines.​

​

Then Aija suddenly turned to her mother and said, “Nina has numbers on her arm, and they make her sad.” ...​

Thoughts?

 

[SalixIncendium]

I can't read the article because it's behind a paywall.

@sayak83 posted another article on the topic in another thread a little over a month ago: The Science of Reincarnation: UVA psychiatrist Jim Tucker investigates children’s claims of past lives

My thoughts? I think there is adequate evidence out there support the suggestion that "it's a thing."

 

[Debater Slayer]

Thoughts?

There is much we don't know about the world, including the human brain. I prefer not to draw any definitive conclusions until or unless there is more comprehensive and established evidence about the phenomenon and its causes (or potential causes).

 

[Glaurung]

I've been aware of this phenomenon for quite a while. It's interesting that some researchers (Ian Stevenson, Jim Tucker) have supposedly found cases where a child's memories could be validated. Producing names, retelling events that are later shown to have occurred, ect. I don't know how strong their cases actually are, as I haven't read their material firsthand.

My reading into NDEs and OBEs leave me hopeful that consciousness survives death. If I accept that then it's not a huge stretch for me to accept the possibility that reincarnation exists.

 

[George-ananda]

I am a believer in reincarnation from the evidence of past life memories of children including those documented with knowledge not reasonably learned through normal channels. In addition, reincarnation is just part and parcel of the eastern (Indian) religious traditions I most respect.

From decades of interest, I have come to think even most children have some vague feelings and recollections that fade as they become more engrossed in their current life. Even myself, I remember as a child not being able to reconcile to the fact that I wasn't English. Now, I just remember remembering those feelings but have no real sense of it.

 

[HonestJoe]

Thoughts?

The major difficultly with this kind of thing is that it is typically identified by laypeople who already (or rapidly come to) believe in a specific explanation, which can feed a whole load of confirmation bias long before anyone more neutral and independent gets to observe it (if they do at all).

It is undeniable that young children say all sorts of weird things (or things that sound weird to us) and are much more adept at hearing and picking up on things that we often given them credit for. Jumping to predetermined conclusions about some of them (while conveniently ignoring any others) isn't rational.

Nobody knows what could be the underlying causes behind this kind of story, but however many get reported, they're not providing evidence for any specific conclusion on their own.

 

[Twilight Hue]

From the Washington Post:

The children who remember their past lives​

... It all seemed more curious than concerning — until one afternoon in the early spring of 2021, when Marie came to believe that there was something more to Nina. That day, Marie recalls, she and Aija were playing together in their living room, enacting little scenes with toy figurines.​

​

Then Aija suddenly turned to her mother and said, “Nina has numbers on her arm, and they make her sad.” ...​

Thoughts?

I find the whole thing on reincarnation suggestive at best and not convincing, but I do think the notion is in the right direction.

 

[Kathryn]

Ok, true story time!

If I have the flu, which thankfully isn't often, I do a bad thing. I drink TheraFlu and Nyquil at the same time, and I sleep the sleep of the innocent, believe me! For hours and hours. I also have very vivid dreams. It's interesting!

Anyway, so one time I took this mixture and wow, I had THE MOST VIVID DREAMS of the distant past. In one dream, which was very vivid, I dreamed that I was a middle aged woman in London, in basically a hovel, and it was about 300 or more years ago, and I was just waiting for my husband to come home and beat me. It was terrible. Another dream I had at that same time was much more pleasant. In it, I was a young teen, I think a girl, and I was running through the woods to my grandmother's house (about 150 or 200 years ago), and when I got there, she had gone to market already, and I could look down from the mountain I was on, and see a small town and a market, and I knew my grandmother was there, and it was just a very pleasant dream. It was in the early morning, I know that much. It was sunny but wet-ish. In the other dream, it was night time and very, very wet - in fact, it was raining.

Since then, though I don't believe in reincarnation, I do believe in what many call genetic memory, and I believe that's what I was experiencing then, but really, who knows?

 

[rocala]

I find the whole thing on reincarnation suggestive at best and not convincing, but I do think the notion is in the right direction.

Yes, I think that is a fair comment.
I have had a lifelong interest in the paranormal and in the main I have found that the difference between believers and non-believers is one of experience. The non-believers have simply not seen what the others have. There is nothing we can do about it, such things do not come by invitation. An open mind is best.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

My moniker here is rooted in my remembering/experiencing what I interpret to be past lives...Hence, I've been here before, before and again.

I don't expect anyone to believe me...heck, I'm not even sure I believe myself. But I have memories that are just like other memories I have, only they are of living in very different times and places than I have in this life.

 

[RestlessSoul]

I don't really have an opinion on past lives, and I can't access the article as it's behind a paywall. But I remember when my son was a newborn, an Indian neighbour asked me, "Do his eyelids flutter when he's asleep, as if he's dreaming?" I had noticed that they did. My neighbour asked, "What is he dreaming about? He's only just come into this world and he's barely seen any of it." He want on to explain that in his belief system, newborns were dreaming of the life before.

 

[Brickjectivity]

The main question of interest to me is whether it is a beneficial belief, because so far nobody can show it to be true. I see no compelling reason to accept it as true. I think its a choice whether to even consider it or not.

 

[Augustus]

I can't read the article because it's behind a paywall.

You can often bypass paywalls with a web archive tool. Websites make themselves viewable to Google for optimisation purposes.

They choose to do this, so it’s not piracy.

Article can be read here:

https://archive.md/T6hht

 

[Koldo]

From the Washington Post:

The children who remember their past lives​

... It all seemed more curious than concerning — until one afternoon in the early spring of 2021, when Marie came to believe that there was something more to Nina. That day, Marie recalls, she and Aija were playing together in their living room, enacting little scenes with toy figurines.​

​

Then Aija suddenly turned to her mother and said, “Nina has numbers on her arm, and they make her sad.” ...​

Thoughts?

The odd part about the supernatural is that, even though no mechanism has been established, people will quickly run to whatever explanation became popular.

So, even if, for example, those people actually remember past lives, that doesn't automatically means it is their past lives.

 

[Kathryn]

The odd part about the supernatural is that, even though no mechanism has been established, people will quickly run to whatever explanation became popular.

So, even if, for example, those people actually remember past lives, that doesn't automatically means it is their past lives.

Exactly. For instance, my own personal experience, which I chalk up to genetic memory or whatever you want to call it. I felt like they were memories of past lives, but not my own.

 

[rocala]

The major difficultly with this kind of thing is that it is typically identified by laypeople who already (or rapidly come to) believe in a specific explanation, which can feed a whole load of confirmation bias long before anyone more neutral and independent gets to observe it (if they do at all).

So basically, you are saying that us primitives are the only ones to have convincing experiences while the "more neutral and independent" never do.
Well you are wrong. Among believers I have known there has been a physician, a pharmacist and a biochemist. Not a witch doctor or soothsayer among them.

You are right to mention bias. Only it is not always where you suggest.

 

[HonestJoe]

So basically, you are saying that us primitives are the only ones to have convincing experiences while the "more neutral and independent" never do.
Well you are wrong. Among believers I have known there has been a physician, a pharmacist and a biochemist. Not a witch doctor or soothsayer among them.

I didn't say anything of the sort. My reference to neutral and independent was about evidence gathering rather than reaching conclusions. Any predetermined conclusion can compromise evidence gathering, if only subconsciously. Being a professional in some particular field doesn't make an individual any more or less likely to be subject to bias, it's just the fact of having a conclusion they believe or want to be true (and that would apply equally to anyone determined to dismiss the possibility of recalling past lives).

You are right to mention bias. Only it is not always where you suggest.

I never suggested bias only exists in one group, we just happen to be discussing one particular group.

 

[We Never Know]

From the Washington Post:

The children who remember their past lives​

... It all seemed more curious than concerning — until one afternoon in the early spring of 2021, when Marie came to believe that there was something more to Nina. That day, Marie recalls, she and Aija were playing together in their living room, enacting little scenes with toy figurines.​

​

Then Aija suddenly turned to her mother and said, “Nina has numbers on her arm, and they make her sad.” ...​

Thoughts?

It would require a soul.

But a soul is another topic so I will leave it at that.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I don't know enough to draw conclusions. I just like the questions.

 

[McBell]

I don't know enough to draw conclusions. I just like the questions.

That is where I stand on the topic.