Children's Past Life Memories

I enjoy reading stories about near death experiences and children who have past life memories , as it gives me hope and inspiration that "this world isn't all there is." I have been reading a book called Near Death in the ICU and also read an article in the daily mail about a book that I want to get called Memories of Heaven and it was a good article that shared many interesting stories. It also got me thinking about something that I wanted to share on this forum to get some other opinions on. My two questions related to children's past life memories are as follows:

Why would someone choose to go into a messed up family? U know how many kids r in foster care? So they chose their parents , who then chose to give them up so they go to different parents? Doesn't make sense.. And 2, if there is no such thing as time, then how come none of these kids report things from a "future life"?

I don't know.. It just got me thinking and was hoping we could create a dialogue.
 
I may come off as a drag but reincarnation doesn't seem to involve choice in many cases? I mean would someone want to have a birthmark indicating their previous life's death wound? Apparently there's also a case of someone recalling being stabbed in the eye in the past life while being blind in one eye during their current life?

Additionally this whole idea of time being an illusion...I just don't understand what that even means if things are still happening to experience-haver. Beyond Physicalism talks about this, how it's not exactly as though time stops in mystical visions but the perception of time expands or at least alters.

Even if there is this incredibly wonderful afterlife within which we choose all the suffering in this existence...wouldn't that diminish the value of this reality?

"For my own part, I do not know what the sweat and blood and tragedy of this life mean, if they mean anything short of this. If this life be not a real fight, in which something is eternally gained for the universe by success, it is no better than a game of private theatricals from which one may withdraw at will.

But it feels like a real fight,—as if there were something really wild in the universe which we, with all our idealities and faithfulnesses, are needed to redeem."
-William James, The Will to Believe
 
I enjoy reading stories about near death experiences and children who have past life memories , as it gives me hope and inspiration that "this world isn't all there is." I have been reading a book called Near Death in the ICU and also read an article in the daily mail about a book that I want to get called Memories of Heaven and it was a good article that shared many interesting stories. It also got me thinking about something that I wanted to share on this forum to get some other opinions on. My two questions related to children's past life memories are as follows:

Why would someone choose to go into a messed up family? U know how many kids r in foster care? So they chose their parents , who then chose to give them up so they go to different parents? Doesn't make sense.. And 2, if there is no such thing as time, then how come none of these kids report things from a "future life"?

I don't know.. It just got me thinking and was hoping we could create a dialogue.

Hi Bill. How are you? :)

1. Why would someone choose to go into a messed up family? My thoughts would be either to learn from that experience whether it be rejection, independence, loss. Equally this can be for the parent, to feel remorse, loss, separation.

All suffering is for spiritual growth, just as it acts to strengthen us through this life. Some may not rise to the occasion, but that's ok too.

2. How do you know that children don't have memories of future lives? It would hard to identify, no proof possible.
 
I may come off as a drag but reincarnation doesn't seem to involve choice in many cases?.

Personally I do think reincarnation involves choice. Maybe not every detail, but much is outlined.

Additionally this whole idea of time being an illusion...I just don't understand what that even means if things are still happening to experience-haver. Beyond Physicalism talks about this, how it's not exactly as though time stops in mystical visions but the perception of time expands or at least alters
.

Interesting

Even if there is this incredibly wonderful afterlife within which we choose all the suffering in this existence...wouldn't that diminish the value of this reality?

I don't think so, but it is at least part of the reason why we do not generally remember past lives, especially into adulthood.

"For my own part, I do not know what the sweat and blood and tragedy of this life mean, if they mean anything short of this. If this life be not a real fight, in which something is eternally gained for the universe by success, it is no better than a game of private theatricals from which one may withdraw at will.

But it feels like a real fight,—as if there were something really wild in the universe which we, with all our idealities and faithfulnesses, are needed to redeem."
-William James, The Will to Believe

Awesome quote!
 
I enjoy reading stories about near death experiences and children who have past life memories , as it gives me hope and inspiration that "this world isn't all there is." I have been reading a book called Near Death in the ICU and also read an article in the daily mail about a book that I want to get called Memories of Heaven and it was a good article that shared many interesting stories. It also got me thinking about something that I wanted to share on this forum to get some other opinions on. My two questions related to children's past life memories are as follows:

Why would someone choose to go into a messed up family? U know how many kids r in foster care? So they chose their parents , who then chose to give them up so they go to different parents? Doesn't make sense.. And 2, if there is no such thing as time, then how come none of these kids report things from a "future life"?

I don't know.. It just got me thinking and was hoping we could create a dialogue.

I just received Near Death in the ICU yesterday...
 
Why would someone choose to go into a messed up family? U know how many kids r in foster care? So they chose their parents , who then chose to give them up so they go to different parents? Doesn't make sense.. And 2, if there is no such thing as time, then how come none of these kids report things from a "future life"?

.

I think you might find this documentary interesting. They describe the Buddhists whole afterlife experience, and the struggles they have to go through to be reborn again.

The Tibetan Book of The Dead

Death is real, it comes without warning and it cannot be escaped. An ancient source of strength and guidance, The Tibetan Book of the Dead remains an essential teaching in the Buddhist cultures of the Himalayas. Narrated by Leonard Cohen, this enlightening two-part series explores the sacred text and boldly visualizes the afterlife according to its profound wisdom.

Part 1: A Way of Life reveals the history of The Tibetan Book of the Dead and examines its traditional use in northern India, as well as its acceptance in Western hospices. Shot over a four-month period, the film contains footage of the rites and liturgies for a deceased Ladakhi elder and includes an interview with the Dalai Lama, who shares his views on the book's meaning and importance.

Part 2: The Great Liberation follows an old lama and his novice monk as they guide a Himalayan villager into the afterlife using readings from The Tibetan Book of the Dead. The soul's 49-day journey towards rebirth is envisioned through actual photography of rarely seen Buddhist rituals, interwoven with groundbreaking animation by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Ishu Patel.

I think you should start with Part 2 first, since it touches more on your questions.

Part 2


Here is Part 1 divided in 3

Part 1:1


Part 1:2


Part 1:3

 
Some of those stories are fascinating. I need to buy Ian Stevensons book!

Have you heard Alex's interview with Jim Tucker? (The guy who continues Stevenson's work.)

Also Scientific American's blog section had one guy admit he felt Stevenson's work had some value:

Ian Stevenson’s Case for the Afterlife: Are We ‘Skeptics’ Really Just Cynics?


Naturally the materialist faithful threw a fit! Even worse for them one of their leaders says he had an experience that suggests a ghostly visitation:

Anomalous Events That Can Shake One’s Skepticism to the Core
 
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