Reincarnation
Some topics give great food for thought. Either a tasty little morsel, an hors d’oeuvres of an idea if you will, or a real meat and potatoes thought, that could keep you going indefinitely . One of these big ideas that absolutely grabs and intrigues me is the idea of reincarnation .
Reincarnation looks at not just one life – the life you are currently living – but rather a continuum of lives. Each life is connected spiritually and each life is a step on the road to individual perfection. It is possible according to believers to take a step backwards because of some infractions in a previous life and you now have to make up for those mistakes in this life. Hmmm. The goal of the lives is perfection or Heaven in whatever form you may perceive it to be. Hmmm again.
You know the idea has its attractions. You get it wrong this time around then you get another go in some years to come. It makes me wonder though what did I get right and what did I get wrong in previous lives and why have I not learned from those experiences. Do we not start with a clean slate when we are born and are we shaped by more than this life’s experiences? Yes, it is a real hearty meat and potatoes kind of idea.
I am a great admirer of the Dalai Lama. I would love to talk to him about this idea and many more ideas. He believes in reincarnation and for that reason alone I will happily give the philosophy some considerable degree of thought and reflection. My views are still a work in progress but isn’t that true of so many of the really big topics in our lives?
I can ‘do’ serious thought with the best of them but my one weakness (only one Hilary?) is that at some point self discipline breaks down and what I call whimsy will intrude. A tangent if you like and off go my thoughts riding on the tangent. One of these tangents makes me wonder what would I like for a future life?
Now this is definitely a dessert of an idea. This is fantasy with fun attached. Leader of the World?- no too difficult and everyone would be talking about you and pulling your ideas apart . I have no stomach in this life for dictatorship and i could not imagine me the dictator in the next. Entertainer? Oh please, I am not even going there. Inspirational leader? I kind of like that one but what would happen if whimsy also comes with me into the next life? I can just about keep it in check in this life. It could so easily be my undoing. No, it is back to the drawing board again.
Some folk have clear ideas of what they might like. Himself would love to be able to play a musical instrument or sing opera with a great bass voice. Both together would be a bonus. Without any knowledge of who the person is or what he does, my better half likes the idea of being reincarnated as the Metropolitan of Novgorod. (No disrespect to the Russian Orthodox Church) What a title, and such gravitas! Hmmmmmmm.
So we both have grand ideas for future lives. Unrealistic not to mention unrealisable. Perhaps this is the nature of dreams. I wonder if fantasies are always a bit over the top and if so, what purpose do they serve in our lives?
Maybe this idea is not a meat and potatoes one – more of a nice salad – but I will pass for now. I feel quite full.