far more people KNOW that god is fact because they recall that god spoke to them or heeled them or a loved one. so you know these recollections to be fact huh? ok. then knowable to you as is knowable to the god fearing. nothing's knowable to me other than my own experiences. but what do i know huh? lol.

I don't know. I believe in an after life. We will find out when we get there. It's part of the journey. Perhaps it is A choice when we die. We were given free will. Why wouldn't that carry on into the beyond? After all we would take who we are with us into the void.

If nothing is knowable to you, other than your own experience, then how do you know that you had breakfast this morning? You’re not experiencing it now. The only way you have of knowing that you had breakfast this morning is to consult memory.

The entire basis of your knowing is memory. In fact, it could be said that memory is knowledge.

I believe in reincarnation....

Yes I do believe..I've had 8 lives so far and have memories from each one..explains alot about this life.

i didn't say i only know the experience at the present did i? i said "experiences" not this one experience. yes, i do know what i did yesterday, haven't had breakfast today that i know, or a year ago. indeed my memory does fail me from time to time and then some experiences likewise i'm not sure of anymore. they are not really unknowable because i may have a recallection.



nope. the entire basis of learning is memory. i remember my own experiences so i know what happened. i learn about what scientists have to say about the big bang for instance but as i'll never experince it happining i can't know absolutely that it did. the basis of knowing as memory is concerned is limited to the experiences of mine that i can recall.

Yes I do believe..I've had 8 lives so far and have memories from each one..explains alot about this life.
this is great!oh my god!we have living example here.that is amazing.science also support this fact.energy can neither be created nor be destroyed and atma is the pure form of conscious energy.hindu philosopical scripture give so many evidence about this.BHAGWADGITA CAN CLEAR ALL DOUBTS OF UNBELIVING SOUL.

Based on one of the lastest scientific theories of the Big Bang (namely Inflation Theory), it is no longer considered to be true that energy can neither be created nor destroyed.

It only appears that way to us via the simple experiments that we can do at this particular point in the history of the universe.

In other words, the idea that energy is always conserved, is a fleeting property of the universe that doesn't hold true in the big picture. The very concept of energy is ultimately as meaningless as the concept of spacetime.

In other words, both energy/matter and spacetime, are products of the very existence of the spacetime fabric itself, neither are absolutes. Both were 'created' at the Big Bang, and both may very well wind down to 'nothingness' eventually. In fact, the precise fate of the physical universe is truly speculative at this point.

It's unlikely that our true essence is 'energy'.

I personally feel that it's far more likely that our true essence is pure conciousness which may not require any 'energy' at all.

After all, 'energy' is ultimately nothing more than a measurement of how to manifest and transform observables in spacetime. Take away the concept of spacetime, and the concept of 'energy' becomes just as meaningless.

If spirit exists as pure consciousness then it doesn't even require a concept of energy to even exist at all.

Energy itself is genuinely a physical notion. It's a meaningless concept outside of a physical context.

If spirit exists, it's most likely entirely non-physical in ways that are totally beyond our comprehension.

That's my energyless opinion.

I believe in re-in-tarnation. You die and come back as Yosemite Sam.

This: "i remember my own experiences so i know what happened" was my whole point.

Do you mean, essentially, provable?

I won't fault someone with the experience of 'memories of a past life' for dropping into the easy route of assuming reincarnation is true (and for personally lacking the objectivity to explore other explanations for these 'memories')....

But once the question is posed - 'can this be known', I think a higher standard of investigation should be called in before declaring 'it is knowable'.

Regarding the OP - key question is 'what kind of reincarnation'.

The energy and matter of my body will be reincarnated. The whole of my mental/emotional life will 'live on' in the way that it impacts the thoughts, feelings, memories of others.

Are we talking a one-to-one correspondence of a personal spirit or soul specific to each individual, which then inhabits another individual? Specific to humans, or for all life? If its humans only, there is a bit of a numbers issue - the history of the worlds population would imply that most 'souls' are incarnating for the first or second time these days.

Or are we talking about a return to an amorphous 'collective spirit/soul' from which new discrete entities are spun off?

i came back as a bag of groceries accidentally taken off the shelf before my expiration date!

Ok, now we have a semantic problem with the word “know”. Here’s my viewpoint. There is “the present” which we are currently perceiving through our senses. And there is “the past” which is perceived by what I describe as “looking at memories”. These memories are constituted of “recordings” of the sense perceptions” plus what could be summed up as “thoughts about” those and other memories. Now what I call “knowing” is simply “being certain about those memories and/or thoughts”. So in my opinion, anytime anyone is certain about their memories and thoughts”, they “know”.

It appears that there are many different views on the matter, so what “we” are talking about are many different things.

My own personal view is this: The “spirit” (for lack of a better term) inhabits and controls a body for a time. When the body dies, that spirit takes on another body to inhabit and control. Much as a person would own a car for a time, inhabiting and controlling it until it failed to work anymore. Whereupon the person would obtain a new car to inhabit and control.

I do believe ...and I want to come back as my cat, he has the best life!!

my point as well. i know what happened that i experienced. everything else is unknowable. i cannot know something i'm told. i'd have to believe the teller and i believe nothing outside of what i experience with my sences. i question everything. some less than others, stephen hawkings for instance, but still i question.

I believe 'recordings' is a poor choice of words, given the accuracy of human memory vs actual 'recordings' (of sound, video, etc using modern devices).

"Being certain" can simply be a position that someone takes - I side with JRBroglie and others that there are 'better' and 'worse' methods or approaches, or coming, (or not) to such a position.

Memories are not reliable; anyone who thinks that the simple fact that they have a memory of a past life as proof that 'past lives are real' does not hold themself to a high standard.

Now, memories of past lives could form the basis of a better kind of investigation... I can't think of a solid method off the top of my head, but I'm sure we could do something by talking to children about their 'past life memories' and then looking at historic or archaeological records. Something where the interviewers are chosen for ignorance, the children might be living in the country, homeschooled, without access to TV or internet, etc...

not sure, but that would be interesting if it's true. :)

Cool!

Don’t confuse “the recordings” with “the perception of the recordings”. You’re arguing that the perception of what you call “reality” is not always accurate. Why would you assume that preception of the recording would be any more accurate?

Let’s qualify that. They don’t hold themselves to a high enough standard to satisfy you.

But there is no necessity that they do. The standards they have only need be high enough to satisfy them.

And lets face it, if you washed and put away the dishes, and cleaned up the kitchen and dining room, there is no way to prove that you ate breakfast this morning. So one could say that anyone who thinks that the simple fact that they have a memory of eating breakfast this morning is proof that eating breakfast this morning is ‘real’ does not hold themselves up to a high enough standard.

So I don’t think “proof” enters into the picture. I don’t think anyone is claiming “proof” of past lives. I know I’m not. I’m simply saying that memory is sufficient for a belief.

That has been done. Just Google “past life research” and you’ll see lots of it.

Here’s one example of exactly what you suggested: http://new-age-beliefs.suite101.com/article.cfm/scientific_evidence_could_point_to_reincarnation

There are several others.

By RE-incarnation you must be talking about living more than once.

Yes I have.