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LightSide
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« on: Nov 28, 2009, 12:08 PM » |
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I had troubles finding a good place to post this question. Astrology, off topic, what? Mods, if you think this thread fits better somewhere else, please move it accordingly. This might best fit into anything about "General spirituality" but there's no such topic here. The Soulmates thread made me wonder about the spirits of animals. What do you think happens to the spirits (or souls, or whatever) of animals? Are the spirits that inhabit animals different from those who inhabit humans? Can you be, for example, a cat in one life and a human in another, or can "human" spirits only inhabit humans and "animal" spirits only inhabit animals? When the body dies, is there a difference in the ether between animal and human spirits? Also, I believe there are planets out there with some kind of developed life forms. Can you choose the planet you're primarily living on? And if you can, can you also choose between the levels of the life forms of that planet? I believe that you can at least choose the planet you incarnate on, since that's a huge choice. But then again, even when looking at our planet Earth, it totally makes a difference if you incarnate as a human, or a cat, or a fly. I could imagine it'd make a difference on the other planets as well. I'm confused and don't really know what to think about this, so I'd love your input.  |
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« Last Edit: Dec 02, 2009, 09:41 AM by Admin »
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ThelemicWaves
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« Reply #1 on: Nov 28, 2009, 12:36 PM » |
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The topic you are wanting to start here might have a lot to do with the seven rays ideas of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Light (and all their descendants), Theosophy, folks like Alice Bailey and Paschal Randolph, the ancient gnostics of Egypt and so forth. They would argue that evolution of the soul is always upward (never back down) from mineral to vegetable to animal to human and so forth. To examine our personal beliefs regarding your questions, we have to begin with certain premises about do we believe we have souls? Do we believe in an afterlife or do we prefer reincarnation? And then to each of those answers we have to find the answers to other questions - is the soul immortal or one shot? Do animals have souls (if like me you believe in reincarnation and transmigration - yes)?
None of your questions seem answerable in any sure way. "But of course," you say. So just for the sake of discussion I will say that I like the way my life works out for me if I choose to believe in spiritual beings of a higher order, of the existence of an immortal soul or point of existence that is unique to me, of the transmigration of the soul upward in complexity toward that higher order of being, and yes - choice in the matter by way of karmic obligation and some model of a plan prebirth. Other planets? The odds are mathematically in favor of that - and so I just simply inject that model in all my above mentioned theories and acknowledge that if what I believe about the above mentioned ideas, then it simply goes without saying that it most likely must be one of the factors of choice and karmic obligation involved.
But other than flavoring the movie of my own life, I don't know a whole lot of reasons I would use to spend too much time asking myself these questions.
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AineB
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« Reply #2 on: Dec 17, 2009, 05:12 PM » |
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Wow, that's a lot of ?s with a vast number of answers!  A lot of people will say that yes, you can reincarnate as an animal, rock, leaf, etc... and some say only animals, and some only human. It's really going to be up to you to decide. I mean, there's people that don't believe in reincarnation at all, ya know? Soooo as far as the whole other planet bit... you might want to look into some information about Starseeds, Walk-ins, and Lightworkers. Here's a pretty good description http://www.nibiruancouncil.com/html/starseeds.html. That sounds about what you're asking, I think! LOL!! Everyone has their own spiritual experience though and will believe what they will.  (oops, forgot to put that you might also want to look up the Rainbow Bridge in regards to pet's crossing over!) |
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jellyrofl
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« Reply #3 on: Dec 25, 2009, 10:55 AM » |
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Agreed, nobody knows. I like the Buddhist take on it... and even they will tell you that they don't know! But it's helpful to think that the cats and dogs are coming along right behind us...and that we'd better not be greedy or we could land in a mosquito egg next time!
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Bulal
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« Reply #4 on: Jan 19, 2010, 05:09 AM » |
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Momentarily remove time from your musings and imagine you are in the middle of a grand library filled with countless books that allow you to "choose your adventure". Every time one of these books is read, it changes just a little.
Now, reconsider time. You pick up a book and begin your journey. So engrossing is the story that it takes on a life of it's own. Time slows to a crawl as the pages wrap themselves around your consciousness and after only a single chapter, you've nearly forgotten who you are. In fact, you are so lost in the experience that when you finally turn the back cover it takes a couple of minutes to recover. This couple of minutes is just a little bit longer than it took to read the book.
It doesn't really matter that the main character in the book lived to be 95 years old and you experienced his life in "real" time. You are immortal. Truly, you are timeless. The only question that remains is, "What would you like to read about next?" Whether dog, cat, bird or human animal really doesn't matter. You are sure to learn something from any of them as they have all lived and learned differently.
At least this is a glimpse of my take on it.
Love and light,
Bulal
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« Last Edit: Jan 19, 2010, 01:28 PM by Bulal »
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jellyrofl
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« Reply #5 on: Jan 19, 2010, 11:03 AM » |
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But where do they get this idea that we always evolve upward? I would think a Hitler might drop back down to cockroach level. Get the fogger...we can lose ground in any area of our lives if we aren't careful. 'As above, so below'. New Age writings make everything sound like a cakewalk, but traditional Eastern ideas are not so easy.
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jellyrofl
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« Reply #7 on: Jan 19, 2010, 11:32 AM » |
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LightSide
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« Reply #8 on: Jan 24, 2010, 05:54 AM » |
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It was very interesting to read your opinions on the matter! I realize I stated my question in a rather absolute way but I'm well aware you can't know this stuff for sure... it's very much a matter of belief. So, in my question, it was implied "Where do you believe the spirits of our pets go?"  The links you all provided were very interesting... though the starseed article (and other articles on that site) seemed a bit like, um, science fiction.  I've read the Bardo Thodol before but I think I should check it out again. Actually, I've seen it applied in a very interesting concept: as a guide for going through "ego death", not a real death. Ego death is something that can happen to you in this incarnation, something that will give you a taste of what it's like to be free from the boundaries and limited perspective of your ego, something that shows you that you are not your ego. This can happen during deep meditation or while consuming sacred plants (during a psychedelic trip, in other words). Oh, and just to clarify, I've never experienced an ego death myself. The concept just seems interesting. |
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jellyrofl
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« Reply #9 on: Jan 26, 2010, 02:39 PM » |
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It does work on that level, you can even look at the whole thing as metaphor. Like if you get greedy, "being reborn in the realm of the hungry ghosts" means you want, want, want. Let the greed go and you're content.
Nobody knows what happens when we die and anyone who says they do is full of it, IMHO. People who say they know just lose all credibility with me. Someone once asked the Dalai Lama if he really thought that he was going to come back in another lifetime. He laughed and said "I don't know - I guess I'll find out!"
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Bulal
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« Reply #10 on: Jan 28, 2010, 02:26 AM » |
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What kind of a sad world would we live in if nobody ever thought beyond their vision. I am glad for those who aren't afraid to conceptualize for fear of being discredited. I am sorry for those lack the courage to think outside the box. If man were never brave enough to grab the flame, how could we have ever evolved beyond our primal roots?
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Starcana
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« Reply #11 on: Feb 02, 2010, 02:52 PM » |
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What kind of a sad world would we live in if nobody ever thought beyond their vision. I am glad for those who aren't afraid to conceptualize for fear of being discredited. I am sorry for those lack the courage to think outside the box. If man were never brave enough to grab the flame, how could we have ever evolved beyond our primal roots?
Amen. Rock on. And I'll drink to that Bulal. |
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Bulal
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« Reply #12 on: Feb 02, 2010, 05:28 PM » |
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What kind of a sad world would we live in if nobody ever thought beyond their vision. I am glad for those who aren't afraid to conceptualize for fear of being discredited. I am sorry for those lack the courage to think outside the box. If man were never brave enough to grab the flame, how could we have ever evolved beyond our primal roots?
Amen. Rock on. And I'll drink to that Bulal. Cheers! |
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