Thursday 12 April 2012

Dead or Alive? Re-birth of the soul

 

R - Reincarnation


"I am confident that there truly is such a thing as living again, that the living spring from the dead, and that the souls of the dead are in existence."
- Socrates

Reincarnation actually means re-birth of the soul in successive bodies but people often use the word when they mean a re-launching of something in a different way.
In my kind of thriller writing, it is of course a very interesting concept that allows much artistic license. No one knows what happens to us after death so no one can actually deny the existence of re-incarnation. Along with tales of the afterlife, zombies, heaven and hell and many other similar concepts, the notion of returning to this life (in some form or another) is a very strong belief to dismiss. I guess this is why it fascinates so many of us.
It is not a new idea either as Ancient civilisations believed in the idea too. Perhaps it is the arrogance (or the fear) that this life could be all there is that drives some to believe so fervently. Most religions have a central tenet that there is life after death – although not all believe in a life reborn here on earth.  But the Hindu religion, especially, has embraced the idea of life after death since time immemorial.
Along with the idea of simply being re-born is the debate of who or what one would come back as! Some believe that a good life would be rewarded and one would come back as something better (whatever that means) or for those who have done bad deeds they would come back as lowly creatures! I would guess that many do not subscribe to this but it is certainly a fun notion to play around with in devising stories.
Whatever your belief, it is an intriguing subject to deal with and it most definitely appeals to those who write and read supernatural stories.
So what would you come back as, if you had a choice? Do you believe in reincarnation? Would you use these kinds of beliefs in your own writing?

11 comments:

  1. I believe in reincarnation - when my youngest son was very small, he described a previous life in such detail it was spooky x

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  2. I believe in reincarnation, even though I have no evidence to prove it. I think perhaps I'd like to come back as a bird :-)

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  3. I try not to touch on religion in my novels but I'm sure my characters are religious. However, I think if I had to come back as something, I'd like to return as me.

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  4. I don't believe in reincarnation, but, like Clarissa, I'd come back as myself if it were possible. (I do know lots of people who believe in reincarnation.)

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  5. Hello Pat - I enjoyed the post, thank you. It is a very intereresting topic and I agree is good to work with in stories, as none of us really truly know the facts on this. Tho if I was to be reincarnated and the choice was mine I would be a sea eagle. To combine the coast and freedom of flying would be ultimate for me :-)

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  6. I do not believe in reincarnation, but if I did come back I'd want to be someone who did something great like discover the cure for all cancers.

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  7. I'm not sure about reincarnation. I love reading about people who think they have been though, it fuels my love of strange occurrances. If I was reincarnated, I'd like to be... back before the destruction of the Earth through intergalactic warfare.

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  8. Hi Pat,- I've just read an interesting book called the Holographic Universe. It's a factual book and the overall theme is that the mind and everything in the universe is a hologram! The book also states that we are all interconnected, like a collective consciousness if you like. Through the idea of a holographic universe/ mind it goes on to explain how all the supernatural happenings occur. To me it makes perfect sense. Everything within a hologram,- and each hologram containing everything in the known universe and cannot be destroyed. You'll have to look up the book for a better explanation I'm afraid, but that's the gist of it. (Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot) Cheers.

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  9. I'm not really sure what to believe - I like the theory of it, as for reality... Hm. I'd like to come back as a cat, since I love lying around in the sun.

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  10. I believe that the soul lives on. This cannot be it - just end one day, totally and completely.

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  11. Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to comment. Certainly a lot of food for thought...

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