Fruit of the Contemplative Life
Fruit of the contemplative life: => Recollection of Past Lives => : Sam Lim October 14, 2015, 09:15:54 AM
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REINCARNATION, Past Life Evidence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT0B4V_kowo
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Thank-you, Sam, for posting a video on this subject. I moved your post thread, because we already have a thread that is dedicated to the subject.
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Scientific Proof of Reincarnation Dr. Ian Stevenson' s Life Work:
http://reluctant-messenger.com/reincarnation-proof.htm
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Scientific Proof of Reincarnation Dr. Ian Stevenson' s Life Work:
http://reluctant-messenger.com/reincarnation-proof.htm
It might also be worth noting that Ian Stevenson comes from the University of Virginia, where they have a department that is for investigating these things. Unfortunately, not much recognition is coming from the mass public and while some of the evidence can be peer-reviewed as debatable, not many scientists are batting an eye. I would assume that since it does not entail a profit, it does not really get much funding either and is not profitable for a scientist to carry out such work.
Another one that I admire for solid work is Bruce Greyson, also from the University of Virginia, a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences. He has documented a lot of cases of past-life recall from many children.
You can see a list of his studies here: http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/clinical/departments/psychiatry/sections/cspp/dops/staff/biobruce-page
Also, he spoke at a conference on consciousness in 2011: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPGZSC8odIU
Some of his arguments that consciousness does not exist as a result of a brain, supporting reincarnation/rebirth:
1. Past-iife recall
2. Sudden lucidity in brain-damaged patients prior to death
3. near-death experiences
4. Perfect functioning in patients in "impossible" brain-states (parts missing or hydrocephaly)
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If you watch the video, the boy said that he chose his parents. Just wanted to highlight that. So, don't say I don't want to be born or I didn't choose you to be my parent in a fit of anger. LOL
Reincarnation Case of Anne Frank | Barbro Karlen
http://www.iisis.net/index.php%3Fpage%3Dsemkiw-anne-frank-barbro-karlen-reincarnation-past-life
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If you watch the video, the boy said that he chose his parents. Just wanted to highlight that. So, don't say I don't want to be born or I didn't choose you to be my parent in a fit of anger. LOL
Reincarnation Case of Anne Frank | Barbro Karlen
http://www.iisis.net/index.php%3Fpage%3Dsemkiw-anne-frank-barbro-karlen-reincarnation-past-life
It is interesting how they say Barbro looks exactly like Anne Frank... even though they have two different parents. How does that work? Do we carry our features/body memory over as well? I know birth-marks can be carried over from fatal injuries.
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Thanks, Sam, for the links. When I worked at a city school last year, I thought about this subject frequently. The students I had were all "low born," so their parents were criminals, drug addicts, etc. At first I had sympathy for the students as they were born into that environment. Surely, they couldn't help being damaged if they were born to those parents. But, the more I was with the students, the more I realized they were scum. I recalled the quote from the Bhagavad Gita of how a soul is cast into a womb based on its karmas.
Egotistical, violent, arrogant, lustful, angry, envious of everyone, they abuse my presence within their own bodies and in the bodies of others.
Life after life I cast those who are malicious, hateful, cruel, and degraded into the wombs of those with similar demonic natures. Birth after birth they find themselves with demonic tendencies. Degraded in this way, Arjuna, they fail to reach me and fall lower still.
The dislike I developed for my students reminded me of Dante in The Inferno, when he at first felt sympathy for the damned, then later on loses all pity for them.
Reader, so may God grant you to understand my poem and profit from it, ask yourself how I could check my tears, when near at hand I saw the image of our humanity distorted... Certainly I wept. I leaned against the jagged face of a rock and wept.
Virgil said, "Still? Still like the other fools? There is no place for pity here. Who is more arrogant within his soul, who is more impious than one who dares to sorrow at God's judgment?"
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Thanks, Sam, for the links. When I worked at a city school last year, I thought about this subject frequently. The students I had were all "low born," so their parents were criminals, drug addicts, etc. At first I had sympathy for the students as they were born into that environment. Surely, they couldn't help being damaged if they were born to those parents. But, the more I was with the students, the more I realized they were scum. I recalled the quote from the Bhagavad Gita of how a soul is cast into a womb based on its karmas.
I felt so bad and it was funny at the same time when you said "low born". They are born into a bad situation. One can climb out of a hell hole. I was born into a family where I was being physically abused every day and I do believe one can extricate one self from that situation. Which I did with so much hate, resentment and anger. I also believe that we born to do or to learn something. Once that lesson is done then there will be no more re-birth.
Quote from: The Bhagavad Gita
Egotistical, violent, arrogant, lustful, angry, envious of everyone, they abuse my presence within their own bodies and in the bodies of others.
Life after life I cast those who are malicious, hateful, cruel, and degraded into the wombs of those with similar demonic natures. Birth after birth they find themselves with demonic tendencies. Degraded in this way, Arjuna, they fail to reach me and fall lower still.
For those still with attachment, then they are caught in the wheel of samsara.(going in circles) They never progress. (Those who are malicious , hateful and cruel)
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Thanks, Sam, for the links. When I worked at a city school last year, I thought about this subject frequently. The students I had were all "low born," so their parents were criminals, drug addicts, etc. At first I had sympathy for the students as they were born into that environment. Surely, they couldn't help being damaged if they were born to those parents. But, the more I was with the students, the more I realized they were scum. I recalled the quote from the Bhagavad Gita of how a soul is cast into a womb based on its karmas.
I felt so bad and it was funny at the same time when you said "low born". They are born into a bad situation. One can climb out of a hell hole. I was born into a family where I was being physically abused every day and I do believe one can extricate one self from that situation. Which I did with so much hate, resentment and anger. I also believe that we born to do or to learn something. Once that lesson is done then there will be no more re-birth.
I agree with Sam. I too was born into an abusive family, and I extracted myself from the endless cycle of suffering by taking up a rigorous, self-aware contemplative life; so if I can do it, then I know anyone can. However, sadly, too few people do the personal work to do so. It is not due to their "low-birth" as I see the same problems among the "high-born" wealthy. Debauchery is common among the wealthy, as it is among the poor, and it has always been so.
Quote from: The Bhagavad Gita
Egotistical, violent, arrogant, lustful, angry, envious of everyone, they abuse my presence within their own bodies and in the bodies of others.
Life after life I cast those who are malicious, hateful, cruel, and degraded into the wombs of those with similar demonic natures. Birth after birth they find themselves with demonic tendencies. Degraded in this way, Arjuna, they fail to reach me and fall lower still.
For those still with attachment, then they are caught in the wheel of samsara.(going in circles) They never progress. (Those who are malicious , hateful and cruel)
Otherwise known as "thou shalt not covet...", or "suffering has a cause, it is your craving..." It is the same thing said in different religions.
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They're not scum.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-B_kmAebbQ This is a school very similar to where I worked last year, if anyone is interested; however, my students were much worse than these.
They're not scum.
This is the attitude I had as well, Zack, but I was unable to maintain it.
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They're not scum.
This is the attitude I had as well, Zack, but I was unable to maintain it.
Sadly, I agree.
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It seemed to me to be glorifying and finding justification for hatred.
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It seemed to me to be glorifying and finding justification for hatred.
Zack, not to defend the statement but to provide definition. Scum is defined as a layer of dirt or froth on the surface of a liquid, which is quite accurate if we look within a proper context. However, im not gonna isolate this to them, as this is a good description for mankind. I'll be the first to advocate helping others, but definition is rather important. Perhaps words like scum, which have a perceived negative connotation to them should be left out, as when they are taken within the context of perception, any number of different outcomes may occur. However, there are many many references to "balance" within a spiritual context. Simply, one thing cannot exist without the other. So we can take things like Alexanders statement that those kids were in fact scum, and isolate it. Say correct things in a social context, like your above statement. Or, we can look at the evidence provided and determine that this does actually exist. Why does it exist? To provide contrast for determination, balance. I found Alexanders statement interesting. I do not know how I would perceive the situation in his shoes, possibly the same way. However, I dont look at things in this way, I dissect them, as I wish to understand the base meaning. Kids and adults alike that are so far to an extremity are quite interesting, as they provide the clearest actions in which not to take. In order to recognize this, one must define. We all have a choice to make, until we dont.
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Alexander's emotional, and offensive, statement regarding students that he once taught reminded me of the first year that I had my major awakening back when I was 21. At that time I wanted to help people, especially children, so I found a job working as a psychiatric technician in an institute that housed, I guess they are called "mentally deficient" these days. Then they were called 'retarded.' I found that they had all been so institutionalized that they were not at all interested in me helping them.
After that I worked at a place for juvenile delinquents, which was called "Desert Sanctuary." It was a remote ranch near Benson, AZ, which was run by Bill Haines, who also happened to be an American Hindu-style swami, who called himself "Swami Dhayananda." He found a better living housing juvenile delinquents than running it as an ashram.
For those who are interested in the history of Millbrook (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_lysergic_acid_diethylamide), Desert Sanctuary is where the furnishings and people who ran Millbrook fled to after the feds raided Millbrook and arrested Tim Leary.
Anyway, I found the juvenile delinquents there were also not interested in me helping them out. Instead they enjoyed hijacking me.
Fast forward 40 years. I find the only people whom I can help are those who have stumbled upon deep meditation. Perhaps, Alexander, you will find the same, or find something else.
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It seemed to me to be glorifying and finding justification for hatred.
The trouble here is I am not really hateful toward anyone; however, no one could like these students. They make the job of the teacher into hell. If the job was sane and the teacher was not beaten up every day by the administrative staff, it would be easier. But, if that is the situation, it is insane.
I will give one of my discipline logs to the V.P. to illustrate.
Hi Mr. W---:
Before entering class, I had the students line up in the hall. Several students had difficulty doing this. Z--- and J--- were halfway down the stairs playing games. I asked them 2x to get in line with everyone else. They did not comply with this request. Y--- tried to enter the room before anyone else. She tried to push past me physically and open the door as I was telling her to wait patiently. I told Y--- she needed to wait and be respectful or I would send her to the office. She again tried to push past me before stopping.
I told the students I was having them line up to help them. By lining up, they would be better able to enter class courteously and respectfully. Finally, the students were let into the room. M---. was wandering around. I directed him to take his seat 2x. K--- was also out of her seat. I directed her to sit down. I instructed the students to settle down and to take out a piece of paper. Many students did not have supplies so I supplied I---, R---, N---, M---, T---, J---, and Z--- with paper. I supplied 2 students with pencils. While I was providing them with materials the students behaved in a way that was very discourteous. I asked them to relax and take it easy. The students had difficulty complying with this. When I gave M--- a paper she exclaimed angrily, "I don't need paper!" and crumpled the paper up.
The students were directed to the board where I had written a review question. I attempted to have a class discussion reviewing the novel while eliciting responses from the students. I continually corrected the behaviors of students who were talking and disrupting the discussion. Among these were N---, T---, and M---.
The students had trouble responding to my questions. I went through each question and wrote notes on the board to help them answer. I directed the students to write their responses using the discussion and notes, then to pick up their copy of the text and independently read the next 3 parts. The page numbers were written on the board.
I went around to T---, N---, Z---, M---, R---, and I--- and redirected them. I did this at least 1x for each student. These students did not get on task and effectively sat with a blank paper.
I sent R--- out of the room at 1:00. R--- was work noncompliant. I had issued the students a warning that the next person who talked would be sent out. R--- said "Balls!" I called down to the office. R--- left the room and then returned a short time later. I asked if he had been sent back up. Returning to class, R--- was adversarial and told me how he was not at fault. He told me he would not complete any work for me for the remainder of class. He told me he hated school and was not at fault.
I sent J--- out of the room at 1:06. J--- was not on task with his assignment and his behavior was disruptive. J--- kept banging and making noises. At one point J--- let out a loud screech. I told J--- to go to the office and called down. J--- took my pass as he left the room. I told J--- to put the pass down. J--- was sent back up to me a short time later. At this time I told J--- to go back to the office and sit there till the period ended. At this time J--- left the room.
I sent Z--- out at 1:07.
Further behaviors:
E--- was work noncompliant. She sat with a blank piece of paper. I redirected her to the assignment and reviewed it for her. She still sat and made no effort. Later, she was copying Y---'s paper. I told E to give me Y---'s paper as she was plagiarizing. E--- put her hands over the two papers and blocked Y---'s paper. This was very disrespectful and egregious.
K--- has been told multiple times not to throw things in the classroom. She threw objects across the room 2-3x. This is totally unacceptable behavior as she is reminded almost daily and corrected immediately each time she throws an object. Throwing things is dangerous to students, disrespectful, and negatively affects the academic atmosphere of a classroom.
I--- refused to change seats when I asked him. I told I--- that refusing to change his seat is not acceptable and I needed him to change where he was sitting. Sitting next to I---, R--- moved his seat instead. I consented to this because I needed I--- to move because he kept talking with R---. However, I--- should have changed his seat.
Respect for books, the classroom
The Per students are reminded constantly of the need to preserve the condition of the school's books and the classroom. I remind them not to lift the books by the title page; not to put the books on the floor; not to play with the books; not to bring candy or gum to class; and not to litter in the room. K--- is the most egregious offender when it comes to harming the quality of the room. M--- and T--- also have difficulty treating the books and the room with respect. The students need to keep their desks on the ground and not throw or strew things across the room.
Swearing
The swearing from the Per students - I---, J---, and M--- in particular - is not acceptable. Students are told constantly to use language which is appropriate for school and not to swear in the classroom.
Thanks,
Ha, I am trying to find an image I took last year, of a giant "FUCK" a student carved on a desk.
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I feel for you Alexander... Goodness knows how stressful it is to teach a bunch of rowdy kids who have no self-awareness. I myself taught young kids for tuition and while they were less mischievous than yours, they were already hard to teach. I cannot imagine teaching a huge class (full of teenagers I presume?) where hormones are raging and hijacking their ability to act sensibly. It's no wonder why a huge percentage of admissions to mental hospitals are usually teachers.
I feel that we cannot discount culture here too. Culture, to me, is somewhat like a "hive-mind" that slowly polarizes everyone within its vicinity towards a certain group of behaviours. I'd probably even call it the rebellious age... I've seen kind children turn into insensible, hormone-hijacked and angry kids over weeks.
Vandalisms... disruptive behavior in classes... Making loud noises... Swearing... Even physical bullying from the kids (whose parents will jump on you with just a word from the kid)... And I know teachers have to bear with all that trouble just because of how the schools have turned into a "commercial" service where parents pay for their kids' education and hence as a service-provider, teachers can't do anything about it.
Contrast that to the ancient eastern teaching culture, where teachers had respect and final authority even over the parents, and kids were hit on their knuckles with sharp rulers when they misbehaved (corporal punishment). Of course I am not advocating corporal punishment, but it also shows how the current culture itself is impeding education itself, instead of helping it flourish more.
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I agree it is insane, and the problems run extremely deep. I was basically reacting to the language used, and Cal made a good point about perception. I have to run out the door so can't write more than that at the moment.
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...I cannot imagine teaching a huge class (full of teenagers I presume?) where hormones are raging and hijacking their ability to act sensibly. It's no wonder why a huge percentage of admissions to mental hospitals are usually teachers.
This reminds me that my step sister used to teach school in San Francisco. She was given a large sum of money from a family member (most likely my father). She did not even cash the check. She went out and bought a large amount of coke, drew a hot bath and overdosed. Clearly she was sick of life as a school teacher, and could not see how a large sum of money would make any difference in her life.
I feel that we cannot discount culture here too. Culture, to me, is somewhat like a "hive-mind" that slowly polarizes everyone within its vicinity towards a certain group of behaviours. I'd probably even call it the rebellious age... I've seen kind children turn into insensible, hormone-hijacked and angry kids over weeks.
Well, I had two kids and they certainly had their teenage rebellion, which I believe is essential developmental behavior; however, the culture is truly insane, which I believe is why my step sister committed suicide.
Contrast that to the ancient eastern teaching culture, where teachers had respect and final authority even over the parents, and kids were hit on their knuckles with sharp rulers when they misbehaved (corporal punishment). Of course I am not advocating corporal punishment, but it also shows how the current culture itself is impeding education itself, instead of helping it flourish more.
I spent about 4 years growing up in the British commonwealth, where caning was common, and being an American, I was caned more than the other kids. Yes, discipline was in the classroom, but I did not see how brutalizing children makes for a better culture, just a submissive one.
Catholicism's traditional solution to culture control was to have the priests sexually molest precocious children, and the nuns beating them. It does make for a submissive culture that believes that they should make a big donation to the church upon their death for them to get into heaven; however, it has only lead to a deeply corrupted religion.
So, to me the only true solution to the problems of any society is for everyone to get that cultivating deep meditation will solve all of the problems of civilization. And, if those who cannot develop the skill of deep meditation would only value, and support, those who are willing to make the commitment to do so, and listen to their advice, then all civilizations that do so would truly manifest a golden age.
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To finish my thought, no matter how mentally ill, damaged, deluded, violent, or whatever, people are (and kids, in this instance) I don't think anyone is irredeemable or worthless. Realistically, of course, it's wise to steer clear of those that are unconsciously acting out their pain, and to remove yourself from unhealthy situations. Some days I feel like I need to remove myself to a closet, or a cave somewhere; other days it seems like it's myself I need to steer clear of.
At least you tried to help, Alexander; that's more than most people can say.
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Help those who wants help. From experience, those who does not want to be helped would not accept help. It always takes time, a lot of time to change depending on the culture and family situation or religious indoctrination. I suppose one should have faith and patience if one really wants to help.
Alexander, I do not pretend to know your situation even if I do "understand". If it's only when I am in your shoe , then I would truly understand. I do admire your aspiration.
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To finish my thought, no matter how mentally ill, damaged, deluded, violent, or whatever, people are (and kids, in this instance) I don't think anyone is irredeemable or worthless. Realistically, of course, it's wise to steer clear of those that are unconsciously acting out their pain, and to remove yourself from unhealthy situations. Some days I feel like I need to remove myself to a closet, or a cave somewhere; other days it seems like it's myself I need to steer clear of.
At least you tried to help, Alexander; that's more than most people can say.
Good advice, Zack.
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Stevenson Reincarnation Research
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRTBoRFTczI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scOQ7alpMBg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ge0-WCom0Ls