Can we truly choose our next life—or is rebirth just a comforting myth?

Starflame

I’ve been thinking a lot about reincarnation lately, especially after revisiting my somewhat now tatty copy of The Tibetan Book of the Dead. It talks about awareness continuing through the dying process and even after the body is gone. That idea has always stuck with me—the thought that consciousness doesn’t just blink out, but transitions. The text suggests that to be reborn as a human, you need to hold onto a very clear, aware state, almost like a state of enlightenment. If you don’t, you could come back as something else, maybe an animal.

This makes me wonder about the choices we might have to make. It seems to be about consciously holding onto your sense of self, that feeling of “I,” and making a deliberate choice about what comes next. But then I look at how many people talk about reincarnation today. It often feels like the idea has changed. Many older beliefs included the possibility of coming back in many forms, but now it often seems to be presented only as an upward path, a spiritual progression. I think religious views and the idea of karma being managed by some invisible force have shaped that. It’s become a more comforting story.

I have to admit, I’m skeptical about anyone truly knowing what happens. I’ve read about research into past lives, and it never seems to give clear answers—just hints that are interesting but not proof. It feels like we often choose the version of rebirth that makes us feel the best, even if the original ideas included harder possibilities, like being reborn into suffering. We prefer the hopeful narrative.

Yet, despite all my doubts, the possibility itself fills me with a sense of wonder. The fact that we are here at all is amazing. The thought that this consciousness, this experience of being alive, might get to happen again in some form is genuinely exciting to me. I don’t have any answers, and I’m not sure we ever will, but just pondering it makes the present feel more vivid. It makes me appreciate the mystery of simply being here, now, with the chance to think about these things at all.

ShaoGui

Starflame
Nicely written ideas! Within my own way of interpreting my own life, and after a lifetime of searching for answers, I can finally now confidently state the semi-final answer: "I don't know how it works." 🙂 Though electrical physics was my profession, and though I can ramble for hours on various topics of how life proves all theories to be wrong (including science's), still it is not possible for a three-dimensional mind with three-dimensional sensory perceptions to adequately comprehend the nature of a thing (consciousness/soul) that has no dimensions.

As an easy example (that no one is safe from hearing me speak of 😉 ), there is no such thing in the universe as a stable electrical wave, and especially not for the 70 to 100+ years of a person having the same "I" consciousness. It simply cannot happen: ever. All theories of an 'electrical brain' are extraordinarily easy to be proven incorrect.

Seemingly all topics directly relate to the 'problem of consciousness', including 'time' itself (oh how I enjoy talking for hours on that topic also!). When the topic of reincarnation is researched with sincerity, it is found that an individual must become quite proficient with physics, biology, intelligence, emotions, all acts of thinking, and even music: topics that cannot be learned from a book nor in a classroom.

Nevertheless, there do exist evidences of the natures of non-dimensional consciousness, but recognizing their existence requires prolonged personal dedication and effort. For very specific reasons, descriptions of the natures will never be made public, and neither can the reasons be spoken of.

Related is a word per word translation of the Taoist book 道德經 Dao De Jing #56:
知者不言言者不知
'Know person-ist not speak. Speak person-ist not know.'
A popular modern English version is 'He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know'.

Another example is from the Confucian book 先進 Xian Jin #20 (a word-per-word translation with use of dictionary words):
子張問善人之道子曰不踐跡亦不入於室
'Zi Zhang inquired virtuous person his way.
Zi (Confucius) replied: Not walk-on footprint, also not enter in room.'

Answers are not in books, nor in classrooms, nor in temples, nor from following other people's paths. Answers, are always, from oneself.

"It makes me appreciate the mystery of simply being here, now, with the chance to think about these things at all."

Excellent. There, that is the one and only way that I know of to find answers; to think for oneself. It will take decades of continuous effort, but the answers to most questions can be found if a person sincerely strives to find answers.

When an individual has begun acquiring answers, the individual is then able to recognize the grievous errors that invalidate all ideologies' books, including "The Tibetan Book of the Dead".

"...choose the version of rebirth that makes us feel the best, even if the original ideas included harder possibilities, like being reborn into suffering."

A fun parallel is the Chinese drama "Eternal Love" also known as "Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms". It is a two-season series of souls incarnating for the purpose of learning through firsthand experiences. My wife and I recently finished watching it for the second time (about 114 episodes on DVDs).

Some of us have suffered harshly all of our lives, but we found what we came to find, and now we would never trade the present live for anything different. To literally cry with intense happiness and overpoweringly burning love, it is worth living this life all over again a million-billion times.

To "feel the best"; think of your life's happiest and most wonderful moment. Now double the strength, then multiply the strength again, and continue exponentially increasing the strength to where it feels as though the body is disintegrating cell by cell. As the body adapts to the strength, in future years the intensities of happiness can continue to increase.

Emotions are not fixed. Emotions have very specific physics. The only limit of emotions is the body's ability to withstand the intensities. And, there are many more emotions than what dictionaries, school rooms, sciences, books, and ideologies claim.

Welcome to the search for answers!

VickyStarNight

If that were true, it would imply that every person alive on Earth right now teeters on the brink of enlightenment—an assertion I regard with a generous grain of salt, aware that true awakening is far from guaranteed.

Starlighte

In esoteric philosophy, there is a clear distinction made between human and animal incarnations. Once an individual attains a human birth, they cannot revert to an animal form. This is because the human constitution involves an individualized Soul, a unique and enduring consciousness. Animals, in contrast, are believed to be animated by a group Soul, a collective consciousness shared by a species. This isn't a belief chosen for comfort, but a point of deeper understanding within this worldview.

Looking at the path ahead for humanity brings a quiet concern for the coming century. Yet, there is also a hopeful space for positive change, perhaps through new spiritual understandings that could enrich our collective existence. While personal feelings about rebirth may come and go, it is ultimately that individualized Soul that guides each being’s journey according to its own purpose. This perspective invites us to thoughtfully examine what we believe and to consider the evolving story of humanity with both care and openness.

StarfallerX

I hold the conviction that every sentient being possesses a soul, undergoes continual evolution, and experiences the cycle of reincarnation—animals included, sharing the same spiritual journey as humans, forever linked in the grand tapestry of existence.

EtherealEcho9

Do you ever notice how adding natural items can change a space’s vibe? I’ve discovered that surrounding myself with plants, minerals, and even a few crystals makes the room feel calmer and more balanced. Some people also incorporate herbs, stones, and other organic elements into their daily routines, believing they boost wellbeing and energy.

WinterBaile

I’ve heard it said that those who destroyed their own planets in the past are stuck in a kind of limbo, neither progressing to the next level of consciousness nor returning to an earlier one. It makes me feel we won't repeat that history. We seem to be learning, and there’s a real sense we can take better care of our world and move forward together.

Stellalux88

I've been thinking about reincarnation a lot lately, but in a different way. Not about coming back as another person, but maybe as something else. Like a bee, or an elephant, or a lion. It makes sense to me that every kind of life has its own clock, its own speed for the soul to grow. A bee's life is so short and busy, an elephant's is long and maybe thoughtful. I think I'd want to be a lion, honestly. They just seem so at ease, lying in the sun without a worry.

I keep coming back to this idea of suspended animation. Like, your spirit just rests between lives, for a long, long time. It makes the jump from one form to the next easier. Maybe after enough times, you could even shift between shapes while you're still here. That feels possible to me.

What’s harder is the feelings that come with it. I carry this anger, this deep bitterness, and I'm starting to think it's not all from this life. It's old. From before. That weight makes wanting to change, to move on to the next shape, really difficult. Sometimes I look at an animal and I wonder, is that a piece of me from another time? It makes you question who you really are, underneath all these layers of lives.

PreciousLolly

Elephants, like any sentient being, can continue their journey beyond this life. A similar story is Lakshmi the cow, whom Ramana Maharshi recognized as having attained Nirvana. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramana_Maharshi provides more context. I also study the Tibetan Book of the Dead and practice “dying before death” in meditation. It reminds me of our shared compassion.

PreciousLolly

Many traditions teach that the mind at death shapes the next birth, and the tale of King Bharat illustrates this clearly. Bharat’s lingering love for a deer at his final breath is said to have drawn him into a deer’s form, a reminder that attachment can steer the soul toward lower realms. For those who wonder about elephants, similar teachings suggest that a compassionate heart toward these giants might influence future experience, though the specifics vary across lineages. An overview can be found here: https://example.org/elephant-reincarnation. I also enjoy studying how animal symbolism appears in meditation practice.

AstralGem12

From the Yoga Vashishta comes the view of life as a skillful dancer, moving in endless cycles. Souls ascend and descend, taking form in heavens, hells, or here on earth. All our actions, no matter how grand, become only memories in time. This flow means we may be reborn as animals, and animals as us, in a constant transformation of consciousness. Seeing this can quiet our pride and open compassion, for every being is on its own journey through these forms. It asks us to consider what endures, and to hold our own endeavors with a lighter grasp.