Should You Plan for Your Next Incarnation?

This made me feel...

But at the same time, not. 

It takes some courage to go through such a hell.

I've been there... and still am, to some degree. But... I don't suffer quite as much as before, as I cling to my vague understanding.

It takes some courage to go through such a hell.

I've been there... and still am, to some degree. But... I don't suffer quite as much as before, as I cling to my vague understanding.

Has this forum helped? 

It has me, along with Skeptiko. I’ll always be grateful. 

The Soul doesn't consider its ego's suffering unimportant ~ it is, most often, important in order for the Soul to grow in certain ways, for to learn whether certain approaches are a good idea, or to strengthen the Soul in some way, to see how far it can push its ego without breaking.

How do you feel about ‘evil’ ? Some people get really hung up on it imo.

Also, and this is not a criticism, you seem to write with authority. Can you comment on this?

Oddly, when I was a young adult, I felt I could be some sort of therapist, someone who could help others who were troubled. Not long after that, the proverbial s*** hit the fan and I was the most screwed-up person around. But perhaps one needs to go through troubles, not for some rather sterile purpose of one's own self-interest, but in order to subsequently be able to help others.

Oddly, when I was a young adult, I felt I could be some sort of therapist, someone who could help others who were troubled. Not long after that, the proverbial s*** hit the fan and I was the most screwed-up person around. But perhaps one needs to go through troubles, not for some rather sterile purpose of one's own self-interest, but in order to subsequently be able to help others.

This is the sort of post that I find uplifting. 

Has this forum helped? 

It has me, along with Skeptiko. I’ll always be grateful. 

Yeah, it definitely has. It's helped me learn things I wasn't aware of, and subsequently allowed me to have a broader perspective on life.

How do you feel about ‘evil’ ? Some people get really hung up on it imo.

Also, and this is not a criticism, you seem to write with authority. Can you comment on this?

Authority? I dunno about that... I just share my musings and intuitions. I'm no shaman or psychic, despite my interest in topics surrounding these roles.

"Evil"... it's a very subjective opinion. Certain actions and deeds may well appear to us to be "evil", and that's quite true, if you personally believe it is, on a subjective level.

For instance... some subjects may be almost universally agreed to be evil, like, say, pedophilia. Setting my own thoughts and opinions aside... there have been cultures that didn't have a problem with it... and there are modern cultures, like those found in a few Muslim countries, that see it as acceptable. They don't perceive it as evil, even though basically every other modern culture does.

Then there are subjects like rape and torture... some cultures in the past didn't perceive these actions as evil, as long as the afflicted was a designated enemy, or someone who'd committed a crime. Even if most cultures see these actions as inexcusable, along with pedophilia.

Very difficult topics to wade through, as not all cultures perceive them to be destructive. :/

Oddly, when I was a young adult, I felt I could be some sort of therapist, someone who could help others who were troubled. Not long after that, the proverbial s*** hit the fan and I was the most screwed-up person around. But perhaps one needs to go through troubles, not for some rather sterile purpose of one's own self-interest, but in order to subsequently be able to help others.

Heh...

The first time I saw a Reiki healer many years ago, afterwards, I rambled, as I usually do, and she asked me what goals I had in mind. She asked me if I'd ever thought about being a healer... and yeah, something... clicked. I wasn't sure why, as I hadn't really considered it until then. Maybe I just wasn't aware of my interest in it until that prompted me to realize something, even though it was a really vague intuition.

Even now, I'm not sure where to go in that regard, other than being a psychologist or something. I have to work on healing myself fist, I suppose, before thinking much further.

There are many cases investigated and compiled by Ian Stevenson and colleagues of small children speaking of the immediate past life (where usually the death was traumatic via gunshot, knife, accident, etc.). In these thousands of cases there were some where the child recalled choosing his current mother and father, home, etc. They are more credible because of the great amount of empirical evidence of verified details of the last life.

I am well aware of those cases, and I have Stevenson's books in my book collection. I also mentioned those cases in an earlier post in this thread.

I specifically asked if there is any credible evidence that suggests that some souls deliberately choose a miserable life. I did'nt ask if they chose their parents etc.

I am well aware of those cases, and I have Stevenson's books in my book collection. I also mentioned those cases in an earlier post in this thread.

I specifically asked if there is any credible evidence that suggests that some souls deliberately choose a miserable life. I did'nt ask if they chose their parents etc.

There is evidence that some or most souls choose the next life. The Stevenson et. al. evidence does just show that, not necessarily that they chose a miserable life. The rest is a logical, rational chain of inferences.

We know that many though not most human lives have a lot of suffering, and that some are predominately egregious suffering. We reasonably believe that souls have great knowledge of the material world including the likelihood of hereditary genetic disease or of likely misery caused by other particular choices of place, time, parents, etc. Souls therefore almost certainly know, before their next life decision, if the upcoming human life will be burdened by (for instance) severe hereditary genetically-cause disease. 

Many human lives are afflicted by genetically-caused hereditary disease and/or other conditions that could be predicted by the soul for those particular choices of time, place, parents, etc.

Therefore it is a reasonable inference that some souls some time deliberately choose miserable lives for their human incarnations.

Therefore it is a reasonable inference that souls deliberately choose miserable lives for their human incarnations.

I know that I certainly did. And I wouldn't ask for anything different, when I really think about it.