Reincarnation and karma?

[gypsy2413]

I totally and truly believe in reincarnation and karma..............We are here to learn and advance in our lives.............

[Moribund]

Hi. New to this forum. Great discussion. Nome of us have a clue, do we? I just love the exchange of ideas. I sense that our souls are like air trapped in a balloon. We are all sharing the same life force. When we or Any living thing dies it all gets mixed together, like exhaling. So in a sense I do feel we are reincarnated a million times over. The soul material that got trapped in my body feels happy to be here spending time on Earth for a few years. Where will a bit of me go next?

In my thinking, karma can't exist. None of us is an individual that has individual cosmic importance enough for good or bad things to be attached.

Just my two "sense". Keep talking. You guys have a great medium here.

[LivreAmour217]

I don't believe in reincarnation or karma, but I do believe that you reap what you sow. If you behave badly, then don't be too surprised if bad things come your away, and vice-versa. It's common sense, really.

[Norma_Rudolph]

I don't believe in reincarnation either, but I do think that "what goes around comes around" and we get out of life what we put into it.

[EpiTome]

Reincarnation and karma appears to be bordering on superstition and religion, none of which are objective. In the case of reincarnation I believe we only have one opportunity of life we should optimize it. Karma, in my opinion, is sitting beside luck and coincidence.

[freelancer101]

The answer to your first question lies in the Enzo's statement ''Here’s why I will be a good person. Because I listen. I cannot speak, so I listen very well. I never interrupt, I never deflect the course of the conversation with a comment of my own....... Learn to listen! I beg of you. Pretend you are a dog like me and listen to other people rather than steal their stories.'' So being trapped in a dog's body he is able to listen more, add that to the intelligent thinking of a human brain and voila you get a sage dog.
I don't believe in reincarnation or karma but I do believe in afterlife. You get to live only once and if you do evil deeds you are either punished in this world (not by being born in another state of existence) or in the afterlife.

[angelbeats1]

It all depends. I believe in karma so some extent, but it doesn't 100% dictate how I go about my daily life. It really just depends on the person and what they believe in. All in all, I believe that we should all follow the Golden Tule and respect one another so we will not have to worry about karma.

[Kappy]

I believe in "the supernatural" because the only alternative is to believe that humans already know everything of importance. Similarly, I believe in "conspiracy theories" because the only alternative is to believe that politicians and other people with great power always tell the truth. I have no problem in believing in a soul that evolves and inhabits various physical bodies.

Modern scientists, and their predecessors for thousands of years, have always claimed to have up-to-date and correct explanations of our world. You might say that science is simply the act of a scientist proving that previous scientists were wrong.

It is generally accepted that a human body is made of about 100 trillion cells. Every second, millions of cells die and are replaced by new cells. Life is infinitely more complicated than we can imagine....

For example, in a book I read recently (Use Both Sides of Your Brain by Tony Buzan), the author relates the following: (1) hundreds of thousands of different chemical reactions take place in a human brain every minute, (2) a human brain contains about one trillion neurons, (3) the number of different patterns you can make in your brain is far, far greater than the number of atoms in the universe.

I believe that anything that a human brain can imagine is indeed possible.

[SharisseEM]

I don't believe in karma per se. I mean, I do like to think that what goes around comes around in the end because if you like a good life, you'll have no regrets and the good things you've done will eventually be returned. Case in point, I've been paying stuff for my sister and I'm broke so just yesterday, she remembered and she gave me stuff too. Likewise for the bad. It's all in the mind, I guess. We like to think that people who have done bad things with have bad things coming for them. It's just us wanting justice. So I do believe in karma and yet, I don't. As for reincarnation... That's subject to speculation. Although, I do have three dogs and my family likes to think of it as the three siblings I've lost. Funny thing is that they're two girls and a boy too.

[Kappy]

The ancient Vedic texts from India (dismissed by Western "scientists" as mere fiction) contain numerous fascinating writings on a wide variety of subjects. In the book Proof of Vedic Culture's Global Existence (2009), author Stephen Knapp tells us that according to the Vedic literature, only about 10% of all living beings exist within the confines of material creation; the other 90% "are eternally liberated in the spiritual realm." Also, "the real world is the spiritual world, ... Within the spiritual sky, the material world manifests like a cloud in the corner of it."

[TammyO]

The whole idea of reincarnation and karma is fascinating. I think that its great that Srein's book has allowed us to question this unknown. I truly believe that if we put forth good deeds, it will all come back to us in some great way. I may be completely wrong to believe this but I must. I am unsure if I believe in reincarnation, but it is something to think about. What if we do get to come back in the same way that Enzo did? No one really knows for sure. I really appreciate the fact that Stein's book, 'The Art of Racing in the Rain' has allowed us to open our minds and consider these ideas.

[Cee-Jay Aurinko]

I don't believe in reincarnation; however, I think there might be something to the idea of karma. Even the Bible has a variation of it. For instance, take a simple idea: hi risk, hi reward, tooth for a tooth, live by the sword, die by the sword. I've had my fair share of good and bad karma. And I think I prefer good karma.
Enzo's human soul influenced the story greatly. For example, when he urinates on Denny's papers, he does so because of a human emotion. He observes things the way humans do. He likes bananas!

[zeldas_lullaby]

I do believe in reincarnation, and I always have. I also think we go somewhere between lives, to review and catch up as souls and commune and choose our next lives. I believe in old souls, such as Mother Theresa or Jesus or St. Joan, and I reckon they've lived many, many times to have the maturity they showed in their lives as we knew them. I also believe in close souls, similar to soul mates: people with whom we either have a supportive relationship with or a karmic one. Meaning, either they'll help us through difficult times and day-to-day life, or they'll bring some form of conflict into our lives that needs to be worked through. I think that these relationships (particularly the former) develop and grow closer over many lives.

As for karma, in a broad sense, I think it's the issues we bring into our lives and the people who draw those issues out of us. I don't see it as a "payback" thing, so I'm in agreement with Scott's opening post to a large extent. (However, people do sometimes need to believe that the jerk on the road will "get what's coming to him," in order to feel better about encountering a bad person.) Sorry I haven't read the discussion book, but those are my thoughts in general!

[Alwhitbeck]

I believe in both to some extent. I can't imagine that everyone has only one chance in life and that there are billions upon billions of souls that have passed through this world to never return. Despite the fact that there is no actual proof of what happens once our bodies die, many people have their own beliefs, and reincarnation is mine. Maybe after so many trips through life, we do get a chance to be at eternal peace at some spiritual place, but I haven't made a decision about that.

Karma I believe happens, though it's not as simple as it's passed off to be. I believe that not everyone receives what they put out there, but I do believe that in general we get what we put out to others. I think a lot of Karma also depends on how our mind set it. Singular events can have different effects on people so that also plays a part. Either way, I follow the golden rule - Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

[Gravy]

Modern scientists, and their predecessors for thousands of years, have always claimed to have up-to-date and correct explanations of our world. You might say that science is simply the act of a scientist proving that previous scientists were wrong.

I have been saying that for years!!!
I actually just read a book where a string theorist said the same thing.

I also just read Flatland, by Edwin A. Abbott, it's a narrative look at different dimensions. The author called the fourth dimension "the dimension of thought", and seemed to imply it as a sort of "spiritual" dimension.

I found that quite interesting.

As for the whole discussion of karma and reincarnation, I choose to believe that anything is possible. I think it would be sad to have all the answers. What would humans strive for if not the ultimate truth?