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    Why don't we remember lessons from previous lives...

    or do we?

    I was talking with a friend about "reincarnation". He asked "why don't we remember any of our past lives?". Hmm, good question.

    In fact I'm struggling a little with that question right now. If each life is a time when we learn something, why do we not remember these lessons? If we learn things in previous lives, why does it seem that we have no recollection of what we've learned, or even of the life?

    The floor is open.

    #2
    Re: Why don't we remember lessons from previous lives...

    I have never talked about this before, but this is one of the reasons that I don't really believe in reincarnation. Well, actually, I believe that not everyone has to or is forced to reincarnate.

    Not to sound like a downer, but what is the point of having more than one life if we do not each day remember the lessons we learned and the progress we made in the previous? Yes, people contend that there are potentially ways of accessing this information, but that would mean that only a very select few who even heard of this concept would be able to do it.

    This topic brings up broader questions, such as just what defines "you" or "me." I believe that we each have an individual soul, and I treat this life as the only one lived in this physical world for all intents and purposes. I am the product of my soul and the experiences I have been through in this life and the experiences that I will have beyond this life, in the realm of eternity.
    Last edited by Cobra; 19 Oct 2013, 20:45. Reason: Fix a comma

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      #3
      Re: Why don't we remember lessons from previous lives...

      Direct answer? There is no reincarnation.
      Satan is my spirit animal

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        #4
        Re: Why don't we remember lessons from previous lives...

        I'd note that some people do remember some things from past lives.

        Personally, reincarnation is a cycle devoid of meaning. Endless circles of suffering span endlessly behind us and before us and they have no purpose. We don't remember lessons because there isn't a lesson to be learned or else people don't learn any lesson.

        In addition you can be reincarnated as any manner of creature so who's to say that you'd even comprehend the thoughts of your past life (regardless of any lesson learned). You may have been an ant or a bear or a god, which all undoubtedly process information in a different manner from humans. Perhaps if there is a lesson there's a technical issue where your stream of reincarnation passes through lifetimes that interrupt your memories and make them indistinct.
        Circe

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          #5
          Re: Why don't we remember lessons from previous lives...

          It depends on how you view reincarnation. As I stated in a previous post I rather like the Mahayana Buddhist interpretation. The part of you that is reincarnated isn't your personality or your emotions, but instead it's that tiny spark of life that transforms you from a lifeless hunk of mass into a living organism. I prefer this over other ideas on reincarnation because science backs it a bit. Energy, like matter, can't be destroyed or created. So logically, it makes perfect sense that life, which is nothing but energy from conception to death, moves on from one organism to the next.

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          Originally posted by Corvus View Post
          I'd note that some people do remember some things from past lives.

          Personally, reincarnation is a cycle devoid of meaning. Endless circles of suffering span endlessly behind us and before us and they have no purpose. We don't remember lessons because there isn't a lesson to be learned or else people don't learn any lesson.

          In addition you can be reincarnated as any manner of creature so who's to say that you'd even comprehend the thoughts of your past life (regardless of any lesson learned). You may have been an ant or a bear or a god, which all undoubtedly process information in a different manner from humans. Perhaps if there is a lesson there's a technical issue where your stream of reincarnation passes through lifetimes that interrupt your memories and make them indistinct.
          A lot of this is specific to a single belief system. There are many religious which say you aren't reincarnated into anything other than another human. Some even go so far as to say you are only reincarnated into a human of your own blood.

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            #6
            Re: Why don't we remember lessons from previous lives...

            Originally posted by Claude View Post
            It depends on how you view reincarnation. As I stated in a previous post I rather like the Mahayana Buddhist interpretation. The part of you that is reincarnated isn't your personality or your emotions, but instead it's that tiny spark of life that transforms you from a lifeless hunk of mass into a living organism. I prefer this over other ideas on reincarnation because science backs it a bit. Energy, like matter, can't be destroyed or created. So logically, it makes perfect sense that life, which is nothing but energy from conception to death, moves on from one organism to the next.
            You kind of have to think about your own view of what consciousness is. There are several theories as to how consciousness arises. In addition, there is a theory called "quantum immortality" wherein your personal consciousness has basically no end, that is if the Everett many-worlds interpretation is technically true. That theory violates no laws of physics.

            Some scientists studying consciousness theorize that the white tunnel people see when dying is their consciousness "switching dimension" and that the brain is only a vessel for consciousness. I believe this and I also believe in a unique consciousness for each individual.

            I cannot shake the notion that memories may not be part of that consciousness that could exist outside of the brain, which is where memories are housed. I can only hope that my experiences are somehow a part of my soul - otherwise, is that consciousness really "me"? Whatever is true, I personally do not like the idea of "not really being me."

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              #7
              Re: Why don't we remember lessons from previous lives...

              Originally posted by Cobra View Post
              I have never talked about this before, but this is one of the reasons that I don't really believe in reincarnation. Well, actually, I believe that not everyone has to or is forced to reincarnate.

              Not to sound like a downer, but what is the point of having more than one life if we do not each day remember the lessons we learned and the progress we made in the previous? Yes, people contend that there are potentially ways of accessing this information, but that would mean that only a very select few who even heard of this concept would be able to do it.

              This topic brings up broader questions, such as just what defines "you" or "me." I believe that we each have an individual soul, and I treat this life as the only one lived in this physical world for all intents and purposes. I am the product of my soul and the experiences I have been through in this life and the experiences that I will have beyond this life, in the realm of eternity.
              By that logic there is hardly a point to a single life since we barely retain any information. Maybe the point of life isn't to be taught because despite our best philosophizing life isn't a school.

              I'm curious Cobra, how do you define soul?

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              Are you saying consciousness is the same things as having a soul?

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                #8
                Re: Why don't we remember lessons from previous lives...

                Originally posted by Claude View Post
                By that logic there is hardly a point to a single life since we barely retain any information. Maybe the point of life isn't to be taught because despite our best philosophizing life isn't a school.

                I'm curious Cobra, how do you define soul?

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                Are you saying consciousness is the same things as having a soul?
                Well, I most certainly see the main points to life as helping others and learning, learning, learning. To me, life is a constant cycle of learning, and so is what comes after! In my view, spirituality during life is only an enhancement to your life and serves as a means of seeking fulfillment and information.

                Anyway, I'm not sure that I am saying consciousness is the same thing as having a soul. I might still need to evaluate how I think about the soul. Generally, to me everyone has their own energy that changes in positivity and negativity. This is the spiritual belief side of me talking. My post about consciousness was strictly in the scientific sense. I believe that there is evidence for life after and it appears to me that we do have one life, or that not everyone must have more than one.

                So in a scientific sense, consciousness I think IS very similar if not the same as having a soul since it is unique to you and can exist outside of the body. Spiritually, it is not exactly the same. It might be the same mechanism though.

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                  #9
                  Re: Why don't we remember lessons from previous lives...

                  I'm not trying to be an arse just as a quick disclaimer.

                  So plants, reptiles and other lower form organisms aren't alive because they can't learn?

                  There is evidence for a life after death. Just like there is evidence for just death. My entire reason for bringing up Mahayana Buddhism is because it reduces the whole idea of reincarnation down the most basic parts. Which in turn makes it more compatible with proven science.

                  How can consciousness exist outside of the body? If the brain is just a vessel wouldn't consciousness fall apart like pouring water out of a cup?

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                  Here's what I see.

                  Our emotions are completely based off from outside influences. Things like hormones, environmental influences etc build our ego, which for all intents and purposes is the emotional part of our psyche.

                  Our "soul" (I don't like that word) is the logical part of our brain. Logic is what separates us from lower form organisms, so it only makes sense that logic is divine.

                  Then there's the body. Basically, it's a hunk of meat that has its own urges. If you pay attention you can see how your body seems to have a mind of its own.

                  These three things comprise a human and upon death the body rots and the other two are reduced to their basic parts. So now we have energy and matter which can be sent back through nature's garbage compactor to be blended up into a new organism.

                  I feel like I should expand on the emotional logical split. Remember a time when you were really angry or even really happy. You probably said something stupid or did something stupid that you later came to regret. That regret is the logical mind crossing its arms and shaking its head at the emotional mind. If logic and emotion were the same thing regret and shame would not exist.

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                    #10
                    Re: Why don't we remember lessons from previous lives...

                    Originally posted by Claude View Post
                    I'm not trying to be an arse just as a quick disclaimer.

                    So plants, reptiles and other lower form organisms aren't alive because they can't learn?
                    How do you know that they can't learn? Out of those, reptiles certainly seem to be able to "learn" to an extent. This question gets rather philosophical and spiritual. I was referring to my own human life, speaking from the viewpoint that nothing reincarnates into something else. If you believe that plants and "lower" organisms all have spirits, then they may have their own ways of learning and processing information. Or, they could all share some unified driving nature spirit. Again, this question is very spiritual in nature.

                    There is evidence for a life after death. Just like there is evidence for just death. My entire reason for bringing up Mahayana Buddhism is because it reduces the whole idea of reincarnation down the most basic parts. Which in turn makes it more compatible with proven science.
                    When you say that there is evidence for life after death and also just death, what do you mean?

                    How can consciousness exist outside of the body? If the brain is just a vessel wouldn't consciousness fall apart like pouring water out of a cup?
                    Okay, this is where we get into the more theoretical side of things. As it stands, we do not know the nature of consciousness. We know that as humans, we have it and it is unique individually, or it at least appears to be. We do not know if animals have it, but most of them appear to. Bear with me here.

                    In my opinion, the best theories of consciousness are those that are quantum in nature. Quantum mechanics should, theoretically, allow our consciousness to continue outside of the body. You may want to look up "quantum immortality" as I mentioned earlier. Honestly, spiritual theories shine through best in this field of science. Certain theories in this field could even account for the "fabric of the universe" that we often talk about here. I really don't have enough space or the ability to post links in order to talk about all this quantum business, but it's really interesting and could provide anyone with second thoughts about death, so I would recommend researching it.

                    Plus, I've said this all without mentioning the experiences of people who astral travel, have had near death experiences, and so on and so forth.

                    EDIT: I would also personally not see "soul" as being the logical part of our brain. I would probably just see that as rational thought. I guess if you wanted to talk in a Freudian way, you could say something like that...

                    However, I see the soul as being the essence of yourself. Who YOU really are. That comprises experiences in my view and ties to consciousness.

                    I do wish I could share links because I have some very detailed pieces written by Nobel-prize winning physics professor Brian D. Josephson regarding the relationship between quantum physics, the paranormal, and consciousness.
                    Last edited by Cobra; 19 Oct 2013, 22:01.

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                      #11
                      Re: Why don't we remember lessons from previous lives...

                      My answer to that is because we don't have any. You live to fulfill a purpose. You succeed or you fail. By the way, the soul is not just the life but the mind itself.

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                        #12
                        Re: Why don't we remember lessons from previous lives...

                        I believe that people are reincarnated in order to fulfill their destiny or a mission. They learn from their mistakes, and get closer to achieving their goal. So perhaps most of the people do complete their missions & destiny before they die.
                        "Fair means that everybody gets what they need. And the only way to get that is to make it happen yourself."



                        Since I adore cats, I might write something strange or unusual in my comment.Cats are awesome!!! ^_^

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                          #13
                          Re: Why don't we remember lessons from previous lives...

                          Find me a study that proves reptiles (I own 3) and plants have intelligence comparable to that of a mammal and I'll resend my comment.

                          I mean that you can find a study to prove things either way you wish. Since the "evidence" for either conclusion is so muddled it's pointless to take things in that direction.

                          You really need to define consciousness. Without a clear definition it's hard to formulate an opinion. From all the studies and definitions I've seen consciousness is being able to perceive self and your place in the universe. If we go with that definition then very few animals have it, some primates and some sea mammals that's about it.

                          Freud has nothing to do with it. I'm just bringing pure logic to the table. We are different from animals because we can critically think.

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                          Originally posted by Riothamus12 View Post
                          My answer to that is because we don't have any. You live to fulfill a purpose. You succeed or you fail. By the way, the soul is not just the life but the mind itself.
                          If the soul is the mind then we run back into the original issue which is why you don't remember past lives.

                          And to clarify soul as I'm using it in the above statement is the part that is reincarnated.

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                            #14
                            Re: Why don't we remember lessons from previous lives...

                            First of all, I don't think life is about learning "lessons". I think we learn as we go because the alternative is to be stuck in a rut without progress.

                            I also think we do retrain what we've learned on some level otherwise we'd be back in that rut. Just because something isn't consciously remembered doesn't mean it's been forgotten.
                            "The doer alone learneth." -- Friedrich Nietzsche

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                              #15
                              Re: Why don't we remember lessons from previous lives...

                              I can't find you a study that says reptiles or plants have a similar intelligence level to mammals because I am sure no one would ever insist that. What I was mentioning in regards to that was speculation that it is possible plants and reptiles process that information differently, like one poster mentioned earlier in this thread even though I didn't agree with his post as a whole.

                              Let's define consciousness then. We, as humans, can't experience whether or not something else has consciousness, so we will be defining it in human terms. I'll be quoting a full dictionary definition:

                              1:
                              a: the quality or state of being aware especially of something within oneself
                              b: the state or fact of being conscious of an external object, state, or fact
                              c: awareness; especially : concern for some social or political cause
                              2: the state of being characterized by sensation, emotion, volition, and thought
                              3: the totality of conscious states of an individual
                              4: the normal state of conscious life <regained consciousness>
                              5: the upper level of mental life of which the person is aware as contrasted with unconscious processes

                              I think 1, 2, and 4 are the most important here. We are talking about consciousness as a thing. We know what it feels like, but we don't know exactly how it works, but we can certainly bring in scientific theories.

                              We don't really need to prove that nothing happens when you die, but we have many evidences and experiences as people that do tell us that this is not the case. Basically I am getting back into something spiritual, but with certain scientific possibilities.

                              I just do not see how "life spark" as energy could transfer when we already have a full consciousness with the possibility to continue.

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                              Sorry if I confused anyone over the course of this thread. I'm not a physicist, but I do read scientific literature and I am aware of a good number of physicists with research into the nature of consciousness and how it relates to quantum mechanics. There is a good volume of material on this available to read. I would recommend the compilation "Quantum Approaches to Consciousness" on Stanford University's website and maybe Brian D. Josephson's website hosted by the University of Cambridge, although his writings are a bit more difficult to read without a background in physics. Josephson is big on examining psychics and how that relates to consciousness.

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