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Another Reincarnation Case

Bikewer

Penultimate Amazing
Bikewer
Joined
Sep 12, 2003
Messages
13,242
Location
St. Louis, Mo.
The Today show just profiled a case involving a child, now 10, with claims of a past life as a Hollywood character...An extra in a couple of films, eventually becoming a producer in the 40s.

Many supposedly-accurate details of the fellow's life "remembered" by the kid, who supposedly started this recall around age 5.

Supposedly first started this recall after seeing "his" picture in a book on Hollywood...No mention of where this book came from.

Some footage from an "investigator" who just happens to have written a number of books on past lives and reincarnation, James Tucker. "These cases demand an explanation!"

Sounds like garden-variety information feeding to me, but of course the Today crew expressed no skepticism whatever, nor did they bother to consult anyone with a skeptical viewpoint.
 
In my past life, I was a peasant who slowly starved to death eating what little grain and few potatoes I could farm. Before that, I was a peasant who slowly starved to death eating what little grain and few potatoes I could farm. Before that though was more exciting, when I was a peasant too, but I died of an infection before I could starve to death.

I am very envious of the many, many people who had romantic and exciting past lives. What do you think happens to all the souls who led boring lives (and who should vastly outnumber the movie producers, Queens of the Nile, etc): are they never reincarnated?
 
In my past life I was the psychic who told Peasant Giordano that in a future life he would be reminded of how often he starved to death and died of infection in previous lives.
 
Giordano said:
In my past life, I was a peasant who slowly starved to death eating what little grain and few potatoes I could farm. Before that, I was a peasant who slowly starved to death eating what little grain and few potatoes I could farm. Before that though was more exciting, when I was a peasant too, but I died of an infection before I could starve to death.

I am very envious of the many, many people who had romantic and exciting past lives. What do you think happens to all the souls who led boring lives (and who should vastly outnumber the movie producers, Queens of the Nile, etc): are they never reincarnated?
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No, they're reincarnated--they just don't remember their former lives cause they were too boring to remember. I'm envious that you can recall yours--I can't recall my boring former life at all--though I strongly suspect that I was a peasant who starved to death farming potatoes ;)
 
I remember a poster here who went on about reincarnation. He invited anyone to go to his favorite forum, the Past Life Forum. A number of members took him up and registered there much to the chagrin of the other members of the Past Life Forum. For the most part the members there were not interested in having any of their memories challenged for some reason. The guy who invited us was suspended from that forum but as far as I know everyone from this site behaved themselves in the Past Life Forum and were not banished.

Does anyone else remember that?
 
Senex said:
I remember a poster here who went on about reincarnation. He invited anyone to go to his favorite forum, the Past Life Forum. A number of members took him up and registered there much to the chagrin of the other members of the Past Life Forum. For the most part the members there were not interested in having any of their memories challenged for some reason. The guy who invited us was suspended from that forum but as far as I know everyone from this site behaved themselves in the Past Life Forum and were not banished.

Does anyone else remember that?
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If we're remembering the same incident, then yes. I and dlorde went to that forum. I stayed a short while; dlorde stayed longer and remained more civil.

The blatant cognitive dissonance was astounding.

Skeptic: Please define the criteria by which you are evaluating the claims of reincarnation and then present the best case you have.

Believer: A valid case would exhibit traits A, B, and C. Here's SPECIAL CASE #1 that does just that.

Skeptic: Actually, SPECIAL CASE #1 does not exhibit traits A, B, or C, and here's why. In addition, it exhibits traits D, E, and F, which are indicative of inauthenticity.

Believer: That doesn't apply to SPECIAL CASE #2.

Skeptic: Actually, it does, and here's why.

Believer: I see where you're coming from in regard to technical dissection of the claims, but you're not considering the totality of claims or the unlikelihood that a child will lie about this.

Skeptic: Sigh
 
Giordano said:
In my past life, I was a peasant who slowly starved to death eating what little grain and few potatoes I could farm. Before that, I was a peasant who slowly starved to death eating what little grain and few potatoes I could farm. Before that though was more exciting, when I was a peasant too, but I died of an infection before I could starve to death.

I am very envious of the many, many people who had romantic and exciting past lives. What do you think happens to all the souls who led boring lives (and who should vastly outnumber the movie producers, Queens of the Nile, etc): are they never reincarnated?
Click to expand...

Help! Help! You're being oppressed?
 
Garrette said:
If we're remembering the same incident, then yes. I and dlorde went to that forum. I stayed a short while; dlorde stayed longer and remained more civil.

The blatant cognitive dissonance was astounding.

Skeptic: Please define the criteria by which you are evaluating the claims of reincarnation and then present the best case you have.

Believer: A valid case would exhibit traits A, B, and C. Here's SPECIAL CASE #1 that does just that.

Skeptic: Actually, SPECIAL CASE #1 does not exhibit traits A, B, or C, and here's why. In addition, it exhibits traits D, E, and F, which are indicative of inauthenticity.

Believer: That doesn't apply to SPECIAL CASE #2.

Skeptic: Actually, it does, and here's why.

Believer: I see where you're coming from in regard to technical dissection of the claims, but you're not considering the totality of claims or the unlikelihood that a child will lie about this.

Skeptic: Sigh
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That sounds like the one. I found it humorous all these skeptics invaded their little forum all at once and felt invited.
 
Senex said:
I remember a poster here who went on about reincarnation. He invited anyone to go to his favorite forum, the Past Life Forum. A number of members took him up and registered there much to the chagrin of the other members of the Past Life Forum. For the most part the members there were not interested in having any of their memories challenged for some reason. The guy who invited us was suspended from that forum but as far as I know everyone from this site behaved themselves in the Past Life Forum and were not banished.

Does anyone else remember that?
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Yes, indeed - hard to forget! The guy was known as 'Charles Stuart' on that forum.

As Garrette said, we spent some time there. Initially, a few of them were very defensive (i.e. aggressive!) when asked even fairly innocuous questions, but after a few weeks treading on eggshells, we were - more or less grudgingly - accepted.

A few posters seemed to be intelligent and reasonable people, but generally lacking in scientific knowledge or background; I spent most of my time correcting the incorrect science that was being used; what people believe is up to them, but if they're using science to support those beliefs, I'd like them to get it right.

Towards the end of my time there, I discussed and superficially researched some 'good' cases with the site administrator ('Sunniva'), who seemed quite a reasonable person, and we eventually agreed that, given the incentives for falsification, there really wasn't much hard or convincing evidence even for the most popular cases, and belief in reincarnation & past lives was more a matter of personal world view than solid evidence. I was pleasantly surprised by that.

However, many other posters were of the 'why are you trying to spoil it for us?' variety, and worse.

Some of the threads we were involved with have disappeared(!), but if you search for my handle on the Past Life Forum, you can still see some of them.
 
The current rage in the bigfoot discussion threads is this thing called BLAARGing, an acronym for Bigfoot Live Action Alternate Reality Gaming, in which participants pretend to believe in all things sasquatch, to the point of aggressively defending said beliefs and anything they decide to label evidence that the animal exists.

I suspect that much the same thing is happening with reincarnationists... and with any participant in paranormal belief, really. They're kidding themselves and others because it's fun, provides a sense of escape from the non-fun world, and imparts a feeling of specialness. Anyone who attacks or threatens their pretend belief system will be aggressively shouted down. After a while they might forget that they're pretending.
 
Senex said:
I remember a poster here who went on about reincarnation. He invited anyone to go to his favorite forum, the Past Life Forum. A number of members took him up and registered there much to the chagrin of the other members of the Past Life Forum. For the most part the members there were not interested in having any of their memories challenged for some reason. The guy who invited us was suspended from that forum but as far as I know everyone from this site behaved themselves in the Past Life Forum and were not banished.

Does anyone else remember that?
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No, but I'm more focused on remembering all the times I starved to death. ***** hard!
 
I love it when people try to say "kids wouldn't make this up." Just the other day, my daughter, 3 months shy of 3 years old pulled this one:

Her babysitter called me and said I was to pick her up at the doctor's office, she had to take her son there so she was bringing my daughter too. So I picked her up, and on a whim, asked her as we were driving home why Eric had to go to the doctor.

She proceeded to tell me that he was skateboarding in the parking lot, and he tripped on the skateboard and hurt his knee and was bleeding a lot. When I inquired with the babysitter about this, she informed me he was at the doctor for a routine check up.

Kids make stuff up ALL THE TIME.
 
DuvalHMFIC said:
I love it when people try to say "kids wouldn't make this up." Just the other day, my daughter, 3 months shy of 3 years old pulled this one:

Her babysitter called me and said I was to pick her up at the doctor's office, she had to take her son there so she was bringing my daughter too. So I picked her up, and on a whim, asked her as we were driving home why Eric had to go to the doctor.

She proceeded to tell me that he was skateboarding in the parking lot, and he tripped on the skateboard and hurt his knee and was bleeding a lot. When I inquired with the babysitter about this, she informed me he was at the doctor for a routine check up.

Kids make stuff up ALL THE TIME.
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How do we know you didn't make all that up? Are you secretly your own 3-year old daughter? :D
 
Vortigern99 said:
I suspect that much the same thing is happening with reincarnationists...
...
After a while they might forget that they're pretending.
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I dunno; I got the feeling from the Past Life forum that most of them have grown up believing it; it's just part of their lives.
 
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