Rebirth . . . Renewal . . . Reincarnation January 2, 2012
Posted by nrhatch in Books & Movies, Magick & Mystery.trackback
Each New Year gives us another chance to “get it right” ~ a clean slate spanning the next 365 days on which to leave “our mark.”
The dawning of each New Day offers similar opportunities and possibilities.
With each sunrise, we are given another chance.
Day by day, we choose how to spend our time ~ being, doing, laughing, living, loving, learning, sharing, caring, eating, drinking, thinking, winking.
Each moment, including THIS moment, is the “first moment of the rest of our life” . . . filled with endless possibilities to explore, dream, and discover.
With each breath, we can choose to expand our horizons from where we are to where we want to be.
Until we reach the EXIT sign.
At some point, often when we least expect it, we cross through the turnstile, issue a final breath, and leave this world and its joys and sorrows behind for the last time.
But maybe when that door closes . . . another opens.
Rumor has it that (coincident with our last breath) a bright light appears ~ a warm and welcoming ENTRANCE sign to the next realm. Stories also abound about rebirth, renewal, and a return to this world through reincarnation.
Are these stories true?
Do we come back here after exiting stage left?
Are we given another chance to get it right?
Do we get another bite at the apple of life?
Perhaps.
Forbidden from filming in Tibet, director Martin Scorsese filmed Kundun, an eye-opening epic drama about the 14th Dalai Lama, in Morocco.
Wonderful cinematography, music, costumes, and art design lend historical accuracy to the brutal Chinese invasion, the forced exile of Tibetans to India, and the continued Chinese occupation of Tibet.
This fascinating film reveals how Tibetans monks found and confirmed the identity of the reincarnated Dalai Lama in an obscure Tibetan village.
Assigned the task of finding the 14th Dalai Lama, High Lamas traveled from village to village. One wore the 13th Dalai Lama’s prayer beads.
The monks reached Kundun’s village and set out to ascertain whether any children in the village had been born within the appropriate “window of opportunity.”
In due course, they arrived on the threshold of Kundun’s home.
Wikipedia ~ 14th Dalai Lama as a boy (in Public Domain)
As the High Lama bent down to greet 4-year-old Kundun, the tiny tot saw the prayer beads around the lama’s neck and smiled in recognition.
“Mine.”
To confirm Kundun’s identity, the monks set out several pairs of eyeglasses.
Kundun appraised them . . . and reached for those worn by the 13th Dalai Lama before his death.
“Mine.”
He repeated the exercise with several other objects that had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama. In each instance, he passed over more “attractive” items in favor of objects of familiarity to him in his previous life.
“Mine.”
Wikipedia ~ The Dalai Lama (in Public Domain)
Years . . .
Days . . .
Moments . . .
Lifetimes . . .
So many chances to “get it right.”
Aah . . . that’s better!
What about you? Have you seen the movie, Kundun? Or read about how the High Lamas found the 14th Dalai Lama? Any stories about reincarnation or near death experiences to share?
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Spirit Lights The Way 
I won’t stand on insects anymore if that counts!
Do what you will . . . an harm none. 😆
The possibility alone is refreshing!
I agree. I don’t know what comes “next” . . . but I’m confident that there is more to LIFE than meets the eye.
This is beautiful, beautiful post…..with so many insightful, sincere and precious ideas and questions…thank you, Nancy….
Thanks, Kathy. I’m reading a book on Karma and Reincarnation by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. Some amazing stories within its covers.
I may share another verified reincarnation story tomorrow.
I would love to read that verified reincarnation story! I look forward to it!
Tomorrow it is, then. 😀
I started out to share Shanti Devi’s story today . . . but this post got too long. (I try to keep most posts at 500 words or less.) Mohandas Gandhi appointed a 15-person committee to review and document her unusual case.
Nancy, a beautiful (and educational) post. I do have a few stories, but I will respectfully decline to share in this format. I have shared with only a very few individuals, because I hold these experiences as being so sacred to me, that I rarely speak of them, unless I “get that feeling” that there is some reason to share it with a person. I am held, enraptured, however, when I hear others speak of their own experiences.
And, having been blessed and given the honor of being a hospice RN for so many years, I’ve been “near” the deaths of many, present, in the days, weeks, minutes and hours just prior, and during the deaths. What an unspeakable honor that has been, and I treasure those moments I’ve been given.
I always believe what these individuals have entrusted me to share, and there have been just too many things that are otherwise unexplainable, that I must say there’s something there in the hereafter. I’ve never heard a patient share fearfulness after having a near death experience, which in itself, is comforting.
My hospice patients have often spoken of many interesting phenomenon prior to their deaths, and frequently, there are multiple experiences preceding death; some might put these experiences in the category of “extrasensory”, because they’re outside of the realm of the five senses that our culture typically recognizes. I’ve witnessed patients “hearing” conversations that were taking place in other places in the home, too far away for the patient to hear with their ears, or “seeing” events occurring in other geographical locations that were definitely later validated.
I will share this: months after my NDE, I walked in to see a patient who was close to death, and her eyes lit up, as she held her arms out to me, grasped my hands with hers, and the most relieved smile spread across her face! She said, “You KNOW!!” It took me a minute to figure out what she meant, because I had never spoken a word to her about my own experience. So, I asked her, “… tell me more about it …”. She said, “I’m so happy you’re here, and I can talk with you about this, because everybody else tells me I’m hallucinating, it’s just the drugs,” then, she said with obvious relief, “But, you KNOW, don’t you?”
Perhaps some other senses are awakened for some after coming close to death, or in some instances, bathing in the light’s brilliant love; I don’t know (not everyone sees a light). I do know that, since my NDE, I no longer fear death. And I know that there is no separation, only interconnectedness, we are all one.
When I left that lady’s home, I knew she was happy to have been able to freely discuss her experience, and to not have what she was saying negated, explained to her, or minimized. She didn’t need me to validate her experience, she just wanted to share it with someone.
Thank you, Nancy, for letting me share just this little bit.
Thanks, Janet. We are all tied together through a universal web of connection. Sometimes we “know” what we cannot know because we are tapped into the “source of all things.”
At those times, we garner needed information through extra-sensory perception ~ and recognize kindred spirits.
Like you, I do not fear death. I expect that death is merely a pathway leading us from HERE to THERE . . . where greener pastures and joy await.
Namaste. _/!\_
A wonderful post. Wonderful. While I have not had near death experiences, I have worked with terminally ill clients. Many heart warming and inspirational stories come from that time in my life. The dying taught me the most about living fully and completely. Changed my perspective and my life. Again, thanks for you wonderful post.
Thanks, Cecelia. Although I have not personally had a near death experience, I’ve read recountings that are vivid and believable. I expect that we are met at the EXIT sign by the welcoming light of spirits who have departed before us.
Likewise, I don’t know that I’ve had past lives . . . but sometimes a spectral shadow makes me suspect that I’ve been here before.
Once book that opened my eyes to the “next realm” . . . Embraced By The Light. Fascinating discussion of one woman’s Near Death Experience . . . and the reason she returned HERE even though she wanted to stay THERE.
I firmly believe there’s something next. While I hold to a certain faith about that, it is fascinating to read about the experiences and beliefs of others, whose happenings could just as well indicate the rightness of their own faiths as anything to which I may point to try to explain my own. I’ve never had an NDE, but my mother did. When she was a tiny girl, she had a high fever and briefly saw herself lying still and dead on the sofa. She roamed around a bit more before returning to wake up with fever broken. She never believed it was a dream.
When young children, like your mom, share a NDE or recount stories which point to past lives, their inherent innocence tends to lend credence and veracity to their words. Same goes when young children talk about deceased relatives visiting.
The after-life is a fascinating frontier for exploration. Thanks for sharing, Andra.
Being open to reincarnation has led some people through incredible healing experiences. Ainslie MacLeod who wrote, “The Instruction” and who was on our Soul Safari to S. Africa, has helped countless numbers of people move through issues that haven’t made any sense until they uncovered the origin in a past life or a series of past lives. Made all the difference in the world to these people – big and small!
Thanks, Amy. I remember you sharing some information about Ainslie Macleod a while back . . . great last name, eh?
The book that I’m reading is on Karma and Reincarnation . . . the more past lives we have had, the more Karmic Baggage we may be carrying.
All the more reason to simplify in the Here and Now. 😀
Hi Nancy, This a fascinating post.
I don’t think any of us know for certain ‘what comes next’. Near death experiences are either a real world ‘I could have died then’ moment or a visualisation born out of some point when the individual was in a state of limbo – neither in this world or another.
My Realworld one was on Barking Station – so busy watching what was happening in one area of the station and standing very close to the edge of the platform I turned around to find a Class 45 Diesel bearing down on me from short range. A couple of inches further forward and still looking the other way, it would have had me for lunch!
Railways are dangerous places and 139 Ton locomotives are capable of travelling like they are wearing carpet slippers! 😉
As for the non-physical… Our house has a ghost – seen by my mother and occasionally felt by me. She likes music and I can remember the day when the piano played while no one was in the room.
Do I believe in a hereafter? You Bet!
That is so awesome! A ghost playing the piano when no one is in the room appeals to me as a lover of music . . . and a lover of all things spirit related..
I am so glad you turned around in time to deprive the Class 45 Diesel of “lunch.”
Thanks Nancy – It’s the only time I have ever been caught out on the railways and probably because I was on the passenger side… If I’d been on the tracks I’d have been much more careful!
An interesting book is The Search for Bridey Murphy. Worth checking out if you’re interested.
Thanks, Janet. Shall do.
That book was one of the first in the recent past (<100 years ago) to bring the subject of reincarnation into the general public's consciousness. It is my understanding that that particular book was proved to be a hoax. That of course does not mean that all such claims are hoaxes. Some stories are so compelling it is very difficult to dismiss them as such. I might also be wrong about my understanding of the Bridey Murphy case – just thought I'd weigh in here. . . 😉
Not so much a purposeful “hoax” . . . as an unsubstantiated story with lots of holes in it. Sounds like the subject, under hypnosis, did what we all do in dreams ~ she took a bit of this and that and wove it into a new creation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridey_Murphy
Could have been, but it gets people talking, thinking. . .
I agree, Janet.
Some of what she said under hypnosis has been verified . . . she “remembered” things that she had not directly experienced in this life . . . even if they were intertwined with recollections that could not be substantiated..
Maybe reincarnation?
Maybe the whisper of the collective conscious?
Maybe messages from beyond ~ being tapped into the source of all things?
Ditto!
What an interesting post.
I haven’t had any near death experiences but I did hear my first MIL call me the night before my husband passed away….it was so clear I got to the door when my husband asked where I was going.
I vowed never to get up if anyone called again!!!!
I love Close Encounters of the Spectral Kind.
I have, on occasion, “heard” a silent voice call my name ~ very different from the “sound” of my regular thoughts.
Once, it said, “Hang in there, Nancy.” That’s when I decided to become a sloth. 😉
I had little goosebumps reading your post and Janet’s (Cuhome’s) comments about the patient who KNEW she had an NDE herself. Wow. I have had three quick spontaneous past life recalls yet, I admit, I am not yet totally over the fear of death, but I suspect one day I will be. Looking forward to your next post about reincarnation, one of my favorite subjects. 🙂
Thanks, Marie. This subject has fascinated me for ever . . . one of my favorite quotes by Ben Franklin is the epitaph he wrote for his tombstone . . . addressing his belief in reincarnation.
The body of
B. Franklin, Printer
Like the Cover of an Old Book
Its Contents torn out
And Stript of its Lettering and Gilding
Lies here, Food for the Worms.
But the Work shall not be lost,
For it will (as he Believ’d)
Appear once More
In a New and More Elegant Edition
Corrected and Improved
by the Author.
Benjamin Franklin’s Epitaph (1776)
What a concidence… I have posted the B. Franklin’s epitaph on my page just yesterday 🙂 I enjoy reading these posts.
His self-written draft epitaph is perfect for a printer of books . . . re-issued in new and improved editions.
Can I ask you a question please that has nothing to do with these posts and comments?
I can access your blog from here by clicking your user name, but I am new here and to blogging altogether and don’t know how one can access people’s blogs when clicking on the thumbnails containing their gravatar picture? It only opens to show gravatar profile link and not the blog link. I only signed up here three days ago and this question may sound very stupid but have nobody to ask. Thank you
If someone has a blog and you click on their name, it may lead you to their blog (but only if it’s linked to their blog).
If it’s linked to their gravatar account, you’ll go there instead.
Clicking the avatar “always” takes you to their gravatar profile (I think).
Hope that helps.
Thank you. I was wondering about when bloggers leave just a like on my blog and no actual link, just the thumbnail with their name, how to trace them. But, I figured out that copying their username in the wordpress link works :). You were kind to help me.
You’re welcome . . . good luck . . . and have FUN! 😀
I just re-read your comment and realized I skipped over your “three quick spontaneous past life recalls,” Marie.
Don’t share more than you want . . . but I’d love to know if all three were of the same past life, or if they were three different past lives.
I’d be interested in that, too, Marie!
I had forgotten about Benjamin Franklin’s Epitaph, he definitely believed in reincarnation. 🙂
I will share a little: The three spontanous recalls were from three different lifetimes; the oldest I was in Egypt by the ocean and I was beautiful, with long black hair and knew a man I was dating in my current life then, and knew what our karma was. The last or third memory, I was in the civil war in Spain and was a soldier, so my last life was not too long ago! In this lifetime as a child I would hear the sound of a war tank or trucks (not sure, but it was a war sound) while falling asleep (and still do on occasion) but didn’t know what it was until I had my past life recall years later as an adult.
Fascinating, Marie!
That’s exciting, Marie. Thanks for sharing. The book I’m reading on Karma and Reincarnation includes the author’s own recollection of a past life memory in Egypt:
She was playing in her sandbox in Red Bank, NJ, enjoying the sun and watching the sand slip through her fingers. Then, “as if someone had turned the dial on the radio,” she found herself in Egypt, playing with the sand on the banks of the Nile River.
I have had so many experiences of past lives, both mine and others, and a near death experience of my own. I know that reincarnation is a fact. I guess everyone has to find their truth for themselves.
In one technique I was involved in when I was studying ESP and Reincarnation some years ago, I was in a large outer circle and this girl (let’s call her Marie) was in the smaller inside circle facing the outside circle. Both circles were moving…one clockwise, one counterclockwise. When the music stopped, we were told to take the hands of the person standing in front of us.
I took Marie’s hands. The instructions were to gaze into the third eye (center of the forehead) of your partner. Then share any impressions we received. Marie went first:
“I see an arena covered in sand,” Marie said. “Around the arena is a grandstand, with seats grading upwards. I get the impression of you, possibly in the top stand, above the arena anyhow, and you are watching what is going on below. I see bodies lying in the sand. I seem to be one of the people standing there in the arena. I don’t feel much of anything, though. That’s pretty much it.”
She had me at the “arena covered in sand.” My “experience” was being in a Roman-type arena, possibly the Colosseum. I was a tribesman of some kind–no details on that–had a bolo type thing in my hand and a net. The man facing me had a metal helmet and a long thin spear…I think they called them tridents. Unquestionably, I knew somehow that the man was Marie.
I was down and bleeding when the man/Marie made the finishing blow, and I died. My soul drifted up out of my body and hovered over the arena for some time, watching what was happening below. I felt at ease and at peace at the time. Then I drifted away.
When I related it all to Marie, she was impressed to and some of what I said clarified some of the things that she had seen/felt in her experience. One of the things that was cleared up was my location. I was not in the upper stands as she thought, but above the arena itself.
Strangely, although Marie was a pleasant enough girl, I had little to no feeling for her, and realized it was the same feeling I’d had when I was floating above the arena. Marie had had a job to do and she did it. Same as now.
Yes, I believe in Reincarnation 🙂
Very cool experience, Sandra!
If I have a past life recall, I hope it’s in the middle of a really good meal (or something equally enticing) . . . and not in the midst of being slaughtered. In an arena. For “sport.”
From all that I’ve read, it seems that most spirits lose interest in what’s “happening below” and happily drift off soon after death ~ much as you’ve described.
That spiritual detachment is quite different from the attachments we feel as “spirits having a human experience.”
Wonderful To Read You ………Yes “Kundun” and His Holiness The Dalai Lama ….. “MINE” incredible post ….I think we die every day – Not in a finite way – because energy is infinite . —– But Dying a bit to the old US and coming back or moving on to the Child – The eternal Child – That is where the wisdom is . I believe – Not In Growing up – But in Letting Go – and Fully Integrating every day —–
wonderful to meet You ….
Happy 2012 …
best to You
Cat
I see what you’re saying, Cat. We enter the world with knowledge of eternity . . . knowing we’re loved with absolute certainty. Then we develop an Ego, and don masks, and strive to fit in, and meet the expectations of others . . . losing ourself in the process.
And, in the end, we reach the beginning . . . all over again.
YES ! and when we take off the mask for Good – and seek only Truth – Unveil our true heart —- uncomfortable as it may be …. Then we are Truly Free – Freeeeeee – The beginning and the end merged into JUST heart ——- x
Well said! I agree. We are both prisoner and jailer . . . we hold the keys to our own FREEDOM!
I have not seen it, but it is now on my agenda!
Enjoy it, Suzi!
I always think that just as matter cannot be destroyed or created – but simply changes form – it seems logical to me that when we die and our bodies disintegrate and change form (ever wonder what your bits were before? Trees? Rocks? Atilla the Hun?) in the same way our transcendence/souls/consciousness also simply changes form but isn’t destroyed.
I’ve no way of proving that, it just makes logical sense to me.
Thanks, Nancy.
I agree, Patricia. Our animating life force and energy cannot be seen . . . but it can be felt . . . and it feels eternal to me.
I liked Kundun quite a bit… (although I always manage to get parts of it confused with ‘Seven Years in Tibet’).
Anyway, it’s been a while, and you’ve definitely inspired me to check it out again, Nancy!
🙂
Seven Years in Tibet is also based on a true story, and stars Brad Pitt as a mountain climber, Heinrich Harrer, who befriends the young Dalai Lama.
Another movie (similar to the search for Kundun) is Unmistaken Child:
Filmmaker Nati Baratz follows the spellbinding journey of Tibetan Buddhist monk Tenzin Zopa as he travels far and wide to identify the child who is the reincarnation of his deceased master, Lama Konchog. Acting on instructions from the Dalai Lama, the shy Zopa relies on astrology, dreams and other signs to locate the child, knowing that if he succeeds, he must also convince the boy’s parents to release their child into his care.
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Unmistaken_Child/70109096?trkid=2361637
I’ve seen both ‘Kundun’ and ‘Seven Years in Tibet’… but I hadn’t heard of ‘Unmistaken Child’… sounds very interesting, though, Nancy…
🙂
You know, I’m rather comforted by my more or less “traditional” Christian faith/beliefs about heaven and a more celestial after life…but I am also a firm believer that the God I believe in isn’t bound to my somewhat small imaginings. I don’t want to lose the wonder of believing that mystery is wonderful. I don’t have to know. I am better for being joyfully open to possibility. Thank you for pointing me to a movie I have never seen. I would indeed find this fascinating. Happy New Year, Nancy. You have a wonderful point of view you share so generously…and happily! Debra
Thanks, Debra. I hope you’ll enjoy the movie. It’s a delightful story with beautiful costumes and scenery.
Like you, I rather enjoy the “not knowing.” The more open we keep our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds . . . the more we enjoy our journey through life.
I haven’t seen that movie but it does sound interesting except the mean parts.
I have been near death twice and had a most wonderful near death experience that I will never forget. I did see the light.
That’s so cool, Linda. Knowing how many people have had a “wonderful” NDE, filled with love is light, is very reassuring and comforting ~ to them and to us.
The Dalai Lama’s forced exile is sad . . . but the movie is a wonderful glimpse at some of what HH has been through in THIS lifetime.
Fascinating subject, Nancy…thanks for sharing and including that link, although Netflix is not available in our country yet. Time to get with the program, SA 🙂
Maybe the movie is available some other way. It’s written up on Wikipedia if you need more info to find it.
Excellent post Nancy and thanks for the reminder on Kundun. I must see it this year… The rest I leave to the Gods… light and love to all. 🙂
Beautiful film.
There is so much unknown, I hope for more after death but we need to make the most of living regardless!
That’s wise, Vix. The goal is to Be Here Now . . . not Be Here Later. But, when we realize that we don’t have to accomplish everything in a single lifetime, we are more able to focus on “one thing” at a time.
I haven’t seen this movie, but it sounds excellent. Going to make a note to find and watch it. Hadn’t realized that was part of the story of how they identified the Dalai Lama and it really gives me chills to think of the intense mystery of it.
My personal belief is that we will experience many lives, and I’m always curious about how it all works. Very much enjoyed reading Brian Weiss’ ‘Messages From the Masters’ which shares a bit about past lives as told by a client/patient who surprisingly began retelling hers during hypnotherapy treatment.
Loved this post…thank you Nancy. xo
The book I’m reading now, Karma and Reincarnation, talks a bit about Dr. Brian Weiss, chairman of the department of Psychiatry at Mt. Sinai, Miami. Highly skeptical of parapsycology, he steered clear of “unscientific” fields until a patient began recalling past life memories.
Since then, he’s regressed 2,000+ patients and has written 4 books on his work, including “Messages from the Masters.” In his words:
I believe we do reincarnate until we learn our lessons and graduate. There is considerable historical and clinical evidence that reincarnation is a reality.
When it comes to what happens in the afterlife, I’m in no hurry to find out. I can wait.
As a Christian I believe that the most thorough vision of what’s going on in the Heavenly Realm, is found in the Book of Revelation. It contains many symbolic images, that are far beyond the limits of full human understanding.
It also contains messages that people find very disturbing; but dealing with the things of God is always disturbing. Even His most devout followers find them very difficult to deal with; but He is the one in charge, not His followers, not their critics.
I find the God of Christianity (as described in the Bible) to be deeply disturbing ~ my “God” is far more loving. 😉
God is the breath within the breath. God dwells within me, as me.
There is so much more in this earth than we understand with our rational minds. What an inspiring post on doors which open when it’s time…
Agreed! I enjoy the occasional glimpse of the mystery and miracles which abound around . . . but generally prefer to be grounded firmly in the NOW.
Very interesting post, Nancy! I have always been interested in reincarnation and had come to the conclusion that there are probably some genuine cases. I don’t think, however, that we are all reincarnated. I love to keep an open mind on these things though. Thank you for this post.
That’s the key, Denise. Being open-minded and willing to reconsider our opinions helps keep us awake and aware.
[…] where the narrative originated. Unrelated to the holidays, I especially enjoyed her recent post Rebirth….Renewal….Reincarnation about the Tibetan monks confirming the identity of the Dalai Lama when he was 4 years […]
Thanks, Jackie! Loved your blog descriptions . . . and subscribed to two new-to-me blogs. 😀
Rather than make an extensive comment here, I think I’ll go ahead and do my Theme-less Thursday post on this subject, instead of the other thing I had planned (save it for later). What a fascinating subject and a terrific though-provoking post – one that has obviously pricked the interest of many.
I’ll ping back to you on my post, so everyone will know “who started it!” Great job, Nancy, and thank you.
Awesome! Something to look forward to on the morrow! 😀
[…] done it again – in her usual wonderful and inimitable fashion. She posted (twice – here and here) recently on a broad subject that has re-stimulated the interest of many, parts of which […]
There are some plausible scientific explanations for NDEs…
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128294.900-neardeath-experiences-may-be-triggered-by-serotonin.html
..but who knows the whole story, eh? 😉
Thanks, BB. There are similar explanations for feelings of deja vu (that it’s a delay in the synapses between visual stimuli and actual perception, etc.).
Some NDE may have “cold and dry” scientific explanations and rationales. Other NDE may be the “real deal.” I’m in no position to say . . . and it’s FUN to consider the possibilities.
[…] Fascinating topic for almost all of us, I would imagine. Many comments, on my post and on Nancy‘s mention their own experiences with Near Death Experiences, actual death experiences, or […]
I was wondering if any of the commenters here has passed the past life regression therapy.
I have not seen the movie, Kundun, but once round the clock is enough for me.
If we get a choice in the matter, I’m not coming back either.