REINCARNATION
As I write these words I do so as an incarnate being, in this body, in this time, in this place on this Earth. As you read these words you do so as an incarnate being, in your time, in your place, in your body on this Earth.
Why are you not me or I not you or you or we not someone else? What makes us,us? It is our awareness also known as our consciousness that makes us who we are.
Think about the miracle and mystery of our present incarnation. How did I become me and you become you? Somewhere during our development in our mother’s womb we became conscious. How? Why did we not become someone else or incarnate into some other time or place?
We have different realities in our experiences in our own individual incarnations. In my reality here and now, the concept of birth, life, death and rebirth is just as real, just as natural as the concept of birth, life and death is in this present incarnation. If we can incarnate in the first place is it any more or less miraculous that we can re- incarnate? But we do incarnate, therefore it is equally as natural that we reincarnate.
Presently, as I write this, there is a bird chirping loudly directly outside of the window next to me. It is Christmas Eve afternoon, a clear and cold day, and I must finish this to go back to my family to celebrate Christmas Eve night with all of them. However, the chirping of the bird is somewhat distracting. In order to focus on this thought I must tune out the chirping of the bird. In order for you to grasp the concept of reincarnation you must clear your mind of all distractions and focus on the concept of your own present incarnation and consider whether the idea of reincarnation is any less imaginable than your present incarnation.
Everything that exists is a natural part of the Universe. Our incarnation is a part of that Universe therefore it follows that reincarnation is a natural part of the Universe. It is not unique to this time, this place, this body or this Earth , neither is it an abomination of the Universe. It is simply what it is and it is a natural part of the reality of this Universe, nothing more nothing less.
Because of the fact that I fully accept the reality of my present incarnation , then I must ask myself what is the purpose of “incarnation” in the first place? The purpose of incarnation cannot be to acquire and hoard the most possessions or material objects because upon each of our inevitable deaths we cannot take anything material from this incarnated life. In the same manner it cannot be our purpose to acquire fame, wealth, power or influence, rather our purpose here must be to acquire something that we can take with us after death when our consciousness finally and inevitably leaves our body. After all, we are only insignificant specs of life on a very small planet , in an ordinary solar system in a corner of a very common galaxy in a very large Universe.
The things we can take with us after death and bring back upon our reincarnation must be the things that are truly important in the Universe and our purpose in this present incarnation must be to acquire those things. What then, are those things?
Clearly, that which we can retain after this life is over must be those things which are intangible and non-material. I have determined that those important things for me are intelligent knowledge, benevolent emotions and worthy experiences. I must leave the world a better place than I found it to be when I was here. However, for someone else those intangible things may be different.
The same as I truly and totally believe in reincarnation, I also equally believe that we create our own reality as we progress through life and in doing so we help create the Universe and its future. Therefore, we must lead a good and wholesome life in our present incarnation so that we can be reincarnated back with our loved ones into a Universe, Earth and our place in it, that is better than the one in which we presently live our life in this incarnation.
I do not want or wish for death but hope and strive for a long life, but I accept and do not fear death. Life is tenuous and fragile; it can escape us and our loved ones at almost any time. Death is an inevitable part of living and we must accept that fact and prepare for it as it will come to us all eventually. When it does we need to be prepared for our inevitable reincarnation.
When we look into a mirror we see our selves as intelligent beings with a soul. The way we look at ourselves is wrong. We should see our true selves as a soul or spirit with a body. From the most sophisticated to the most primitive, almost all religions believe that man has a soul or spirit which is immortal. All know that our life is short and our body fragile and susceptible to disease and injury.
We read this as incarnated beings. "Incarnated" is derived from the Latin word "carn" which means “flesh.” It therefore signifies a soul entering into a fleshly body. It has happened in this life to you . Why cannot it happen again if you trust in your religious beliefs that your body is temporary and your soul eternal ? Why can we not "re-in -carn-ate", if we can "in-carn-ate". God waste nothing in the Universe, why would he waste a soul?
A series of "lives" gives a new meaning and purpose to our existence. In the Western world many people value acquisitions over all else. Consider for a moment the true statement that all acquisitions are temporary to one short lifetime. What then is really important is our accomplishments in any given lifetime which we can take with us into the next. Now our life has a new meaning and purpose. The purpose is to evolve over many lifetimes , rather than try to possess as many acquisitions in one lifetime as possible. If you don't believe this what if you are wrong? Have you just wasted your life seeking to acquire as much "stuff "as you can? One thing that is obvious and apparent to all is that no matter what things we acquire in life we cannot take any of it with us when we die. What if it is not true that "you only live once" ? What if the concept that you live once and then go to heaven or hell for eternity is just a convenient concept that religious leaders have used for centuries more easily to control people? What if?
The term "re-existence" might be better used to distinguish from "reincarnation", which implies that the same human Monad of the Atman- Bodhi-Manas reincarnates again and again. It does not. The Divine Ego, or Great Spirit (God), absorbs what it can from each personality of life , but when an individual soul reincarnates or comes back into a re-existence, it does not necessarily do so as the same person who died, with the same desires, talents or ambitions, nevertheless it must meet the karma from the old incarnation in the new incarnation. That we reincarnate is true, but we do not reincarnate as exactly the same person we were, but instead as parts of many souls reincarnated into a new body so that the old "life" is not repeated.
The above is what I have determined to be true for myself. You should determine what is true for you.
Merry Christmas to you in your life, in your incarnation and please prepare for your own reincarnation and those of your loved ones.
Scott Ramsey
December 24, 2013
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