Omniscient?

I really like the way that you described this, Bodhisatya, and from you description it sounds like you believe in reincarnation, right? It sounds like during the "evaluation" part of the journey, we would know and feel all that we have done and felt in our mortal lives. When we are reincarnated, though, would we remember these things? I have heard and read a little about "past life regression", which suggests that on some level we are conscious of our actions in previous lives. Do you agree with this belief?

Hmmmm.. an Interesting question again dear friend. Let me say, it shall depend to a great extent on the person him/herself. It is something like how open are you towards accepting the facts and how well can you swallow your pride when the evaluation part is happening. Maybe I am not clear so I shall cite a small example but I admit I really don't know how apt it is at the given context. it could be something like this, Suppose there is this person who by his actions and deeds have made others suffer. He was the cause of grief to many. He rose to power and supremacy by his ruthlessness. But slowly during the passage of time the wheels of fortune churned. And everything that he treasured was lost. He started losing even the last straw that he believed that belonged to him. At this juncture he starts a self- assessment. What went Wrong? The answer is right in front of him, whether he realizes it and amends his way or not will depend a lot on himself. Another interesting belief I would love to mention here, that all the bad doings would be punished in this very life and possibly would prolong to the next lives that you would possibly gain. But it takes a lot of effort to fill in the pot of good deeds. It seems like forever and the rewards of it takes time to come to you to savour. Just my thoughts towards the subject I could possibly be very very Wrong!

I think that you explained that very well, my friend, and it makes a lot of sense. Some people cannot accept or refuse to take responsibility for their own actions in their current lives, so they would not want to remember their past lives, especially if they were not good people. Others try to learn from their mistakes and do better, so they might remember their past lives, especially if they had a deep love or strong positive memories. Am I correct? I like the aspect that you brought up about paying for your actions in the current life, which might help you to gain and get positive things in the next life, especially if you try to learn from your mistakes and do more good. I do think that it takes longer to get the rewards, but I also think that they are worth working towards and waiting for.

Of course there is cheesecake...

I agree with you, Dawn. In fact, I used to think that once your spirit (or whatever you want to call it) left the body, then somehow it automatically became omniscient and had all the answers to the questions of the universe - it just "made sense" to me that it would be like that, although I am not really sure why I felt that way. Now, I am not so sure what I believe, and I was wondering what others thought about the subject.

"I am going to make it my mission to come back and find a way to let people know that there is an afterlife." That actually the exact thing that keeps bothering me. If there really is an afterlife, and we did keep our memories after we die, then wouldn't more people be "contacted" by their loved ones? There are some instances where this has happened, usually in a "dream" or "vision" or whatever they want to call it, and sometimes the loved ones provide "proof" by giving information to the person that they wouldn't know but could verify. I guess that is the best "proof" that they can have, and I guess it doesn't really matter whether or not anyone else believes it if it satisfies them and makes them feel better. I would also like to think that I would be strong enough to be able to come back and reassure my family after I die, because I think that it helps with the grieving process.

I mean keep on asking and you will know, keep on seeking and you will find...

"It is good to question but it is also good to not get caught up in the future too much at the expense of the present moment." I definitely do agree with this statement. If you worry too much about the future ... or even the past ... then you will not be able to enjoy all the blessings that you have in the present moment. However, there are times when our minds just go to these things, and now is one of those times for me. I do not necessarily believe in the "cookie cutter" definition of Heaven and Hell, either. I also wonder about just becoming part of the universe again once we die. If that happened, then wouldn't our energy (or spirit or whatever you want to call it) be part of the universal consciousness, which would imply that we would in fact become omniscient rather than just a nothingness?