My God

[JamesG]

love loaded titles but ill get to the point.

 

We all believe in something whether its the universe popping from virtual particles coalescing into a point so dense that a universe explodes into existence or that a magical sky fairy from another dimension created an extremely vast and expansive universe to make it a home for a small tiny group of people on a rock in the middle of nowhere. Point is we all believe something. After some delving into buddhism during my agnostic years. I have slowly taken bits of that and bits of science to form my own belief. I believe in an atheistic point of view but I like to put a poetic twist on it so believers can understand where I am coming from better after all no good idea gains ground with out great marketing <---- case in point.  I like the idea of reincarnation but I think the Buddhist view on it focus to much on the individual. If we look at the universe from a non quantum perspective matter is neither created nor destroyed it merely transfers from one form to another. So in that perspective on things how do we view our identity what happens to us after death? well I would like to postulate that life is neither created nor destroyed but merely rolls on to the next. yes I get the loop holes and the fallacies of said statement its just meant to be catchy.  My idea comes from DNA when we look at our DNA there is tons of junk in there that we simply do not use. All of this is carried over from our ancestors left over bits here and there. The point being is when you die your information is carried on via your offspring the whole of humanity is just one giant walking talking databank of information rolled over from past lives. we carry on through the new generations after us. That is our reincarnation not of the individual but of the ancestrial line. When we are born we inherit the lives of our ancestors before us and we live on through the dna we transmit to those after us. Death at this point is just the natural progression of our species there is nothing supernatural about it or mythological it is just another process of life.  Of course through natural selection there are dead ends in the DNA strain but even so if we trace things back far enough whether its plants lobsters or humans we all carry the same original dna and to that extent we are just extensions of our common ancestors. If we are to look at ourselves as not  individuals in that regard but as a collective whole then we to live on.

 

 

 

Of course this is just a rough idea of it all please feel free to add or subtract from my statements I think its an idea worth evolving. I don't claim to know everything I just have ideas bouncing around in this gray matter I call a brain. I don't think this as my idea so much as just thoughts on a collection of information. If I am totally out of bounds feel free to correct any statements in which I have made. As I am sure there are many smart individuals  on this board who can improve upon any ideas I present.

 

[Burt_Lemur]

Have you seen the film "Cloud Atlas"? I loved this film and I think you would as it relates to the topic of life continuing through time with many interesting concepts.

 

And it comes out on home video May 14th!

[Deva]

It the Buddhist view (I am talking Tibetan), the "individual" doesn't really have one consciousness, but several - see

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight_Consciousnesses

 

In fact, I am not quite sure there is such a thing as an individual -especially if you look at some of the prajnaparamita teachings, the Heart Sutra, for example."No eye, no ear, no body, no mind.."

 

There are different levels of reality - the relative and the absolute.  At the absolute level there is no such thing as a person, karma, or reincarnation.

 

It is quite a bit more complicated than most people realize. There is certainly not one monolithic solid thing that is a person, such as you would imagine a "soul" to be in the west. The Dalai Lama has said that he is an emanation of many different people not just his predecessor, the last Dalai Lama. 

 

Consciousness is also not held to be a product of the brain. It is not confined to any particular body part. That is the Buddhist view, as far as I understand it.

 

I think your idea is interesting. I just wanted to add something extra about Buddhism.

[JamesG]

thanks for the input so far and  my wife and I just saw cloud atlas last night. In so many words I think that sums up parts of my thinking with a bit more of a Buddhist lean see the above post by Deva.

[BlackCat]

I remember having a discussion with an atheist, and him wondering if it is not impossible for us to come into existence more than once.  If it was possible for 'me' to have come into existence at all, then why not more than once? 

 

The reincarnation idea is very intersting.  I watched a documentary recently about a little boy who remembered his 'other' mum and family on the Island of Barra. 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOHfsugF1cI

 

 

The boy in the above film mentioned 'falling through a hole', meaning how he came from that past life to his present life.  Interestingly, this same description has been used by other children who report a previous life. I'll try to find the film by this scientist or doctor who studied reincarnation and spoke about these similarities ie the 'falling through a hole' description.   I'm sure these children are picking up 'memories' or rather bits of information from the people around them (and the telly).  But you wonder how this little boy knew certain specific things.  Interesting....

[JamesG]

I think that is entirely possible black cat. Interestingly enough I believe there are certain species of tape worms that transmit memories to its offspring however rudimentary that might actually be. Its been about 8 years since I was last in biology so someone help me here. I think it would not be that much of a stretch if we consider that memories are just a function of our biology that it could be transmitted down the genetic line however vague or acute it really is.

[BlackCat]

The guy in the documentary, Jim Tucker has these interesting but probably weird ideas:

 

''Although critics have argued there is no physical explanation for the survival of personality, Tucker suggests that quantum mechanics may offer a mechanism by which memories and emotions could carry over from one life to another.^[8][9] He argues that since the act of observation collapses wave equations, consciousness may not be merely a by-product of the physical brain but rather a separate entity in the universe that impinges on the physical. Tucker argues that viewing consciousness as a fundamental, non-physical, part of the universe makes it possible to conceive of it continuing to exist after the death of the physical brain.^[26] He provides the analogy of a television set and the television transmission; the television is required to decode the signal, but it does not create the signal. In a similar way the brain may be required for consciousness to express itself, but may not be the source of consciousness. ^[27] On the other hand Susan Huelga, a lecturer in quantum mechanics at the University Of Hertfordshire, notes that brain dynamics are highly complex, and she finds that there is no more evidence that quantum mechanics is relevant in this field than that it is relevant regarding whether or not God exists.^[28] ''    

 

 

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_B._Tucker}

[florduh]

I believe that aliens seeded our planet with humans a long time ago. Eventually we will evolve to a state where we can be subservient, yet intelligent slaves for our master race. They are beginning now to harvest the most suitable specimens and take them to the home planet. As this activity increases, alarm and panic will be somewhat mitigated by our preparation for this inevitability. We will be used to Roswell type stories and Rapture theology; all part of the plan.

 

Since we're all just guessing and making shit up, why not my scenario?

[JamesG]

perfectly acceptable florduh =D my only premise is that our data is maintained(not in its entirety) through the genetic record anything additional is up for grabs. So feel free to BS as much as you want.

[JamesG]

also I noticed your from st. pete how is it these days I went to school at Ringling in Sarasota =D.

[florduh]

 

 

also I noticed your from st. pete how is it these days I went to school at Ringling in Sarasota =D.

 

 

 

 

I love this area, but it is becoming a bit crowded for my taste. Of course, it's also too crowded in areas that have shitty weather and no beaches, so I'll take the Gulf Coast. I love Sarasota, Venice, etc.

 

BTW, it was the aliens that designed our DNA 

[JamesG]

=D love that area just ignore Tampa and its all good !!!!!   And I think someone made a blog post about moore's law and the time it would take to achieve our complexity of life would be about 11 billion years. I could only think that this would make the seeder Idea all the more reasonable. then again the hypothesis is just theoretical to begin with anyways no real evidence but a math equation to back it up.

[BlackCat]

I believe that aliens seeded our planet with humans a long time ago. Eventually we will evolve to a state where we can be subservient, yet intelligent slaves for our master race. They are beginning now to harvest the most suitable specimens and take them to the home planet. As this activity increases, alarm and panic will be somewhat mitigated by our preparation for this inevitability. We will be used to Roswell type stories and Rapture theology; all part of the plan.

 

Since we're all just guessing and making shit up, why not my scenario?