Emperor1956
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Joined: 11/7/2005
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Actually, no, wulfy, Arpig's statement is very much that of a theist, not an atheist. He acknowledges that one's "soul" goes to whatever Valhalla the owner of said soul believed in. What he's saying is that it is a one way ticket...one ride, no repeats. No rewashes, no redos no takeovers. ONE SHOT. You get your average 72 years (77 if you are an XX chromosome carrier) and that's it. Finis. Kaput. The End. (imagine stuttering pig saying 'th-th-th-at's all, folks' here.)
and you know what? I think he's right, if I think of it at all. And I'm not really big on navel gazing, so I don't usually think about "past lives". But the idea that we live on, or we've lived before, is just too damn egotistical for my taste. Its like you get to be about my age (almost 50) and you JUST want to believe that you got another shot at getting it right. PLEASE? Just one more chance to undo the fuckups I did. And so you invent this idea that maybe you've been there before and can be there again.
Notice that NO ONE ever has a past life of crushing, unbearable mediocrity? NO ONE -- from Shirley MacLaine to the posts on this board -- talks about how they were a totally forgotten insignificant human chaff in the 8th century and came back again as...a totally forgotten insignificant human chaff in the 9th century, and again...and again.
It may all be chemical. Indeed, there is some incredible new thought that the very existence of God is chemical -- our brains are wired to produce a "supreme being" else we go mad. There is a species of flatworm that crawls around in muck all day. You can "teach" the flatworm to contract -- you run an electric current thru the muck it lives in at the same time you shine a very bright light on the worm. Electric current = muscle contractions during bright light. OK? You do this a few times, until the flatworms "get it". THEN you shine the bright light on the flatworm, without any electric current, and PRESTO, it contracts without the electricity...you've "taught" it LIGHT = Contraction. Big deal you say? but wait...just wait...
NOW things get interesting. Take some of these conditioned flatworms that have the light sensitive training and grind them up into a tasty (to another flatworm) paste. Feed the ground up conditioned flatworms to a new set of flatworms that have never been conditioned, never been zapped, never been illuminated...they just do flatwormy things in their little flatwormy ooze all day. The new boys eat the paste made from the old boys. SHINE A LIGHT ON THE NEW WORMS and...YES...THEY CONTRACT! What did we do? Pass on some sort of "learning food"? Did we modify the flatworm's DNA? Is this a Past Life? well...why not? To the new generation of flatworms, I bet it sure feels like some sort of past life deja vu. Makes you think, hmmmmm?
(EDITED to note that while I typed the long winded screed above, Candle was talking about "worm food". WOW. Eerie? amazing. Maybe she and I shared a past life? I hope so *GRIN* it will get me in good with her to share some of this one *WINK*
Or maybe...just like the fact that 'dog' spelled backwards is 'God'...its a coincidence.)
E.
< Message edited by Emperor1956 -- 7/1/2006 11:40:19 PM >
_____________________________
"When you wake up, Pooh," said Piglet, "what's the first thing you say?"
"What's for breakfast? What do you say, Piglet?"
"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?"
Pooh nodded thoughtfully.
"It's the same thing," he said.
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RE: Past Lives - 
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