"For those who believe, no proof is necessary.
For those who don't believe, no proof is possible."

Eyes of the Beholder
John & Lyn St.Clair-Thomas/Steve Shackel
If you are interested in the topic of "reincarnation" and want to join the authors, first of all, remember that writing an interview paper will add weight to you.

If you are new to the idea of reincarnation, then I expect you would like to see the proof before you accept it. And to be honest, I wouldn't mind seeing it myself. But I don't expect to see the proof in this lifetime. It is one thing to "prove" some physical manifestation, some material fact — but to try and prove something that is not of this world is going to be difficult. But what is proof? In science it has long been established that there are no final definitive laws, there are just working hypotheses, that is: a proposition made as a basis for reasoning, without the assumption of its truth.

Once you claim you have found the final truth about anything, then you have shut the door to anything new. The Earth is flat, end of story. So it took a long, long time to accept that it was round. The trouble is that organized religions like to have everything cut and dried, never to be questioned. And why not, surely if it is the word of God, then there can be no need to make changes; no modifications, no admission of mistakes. (And how do we know it is the "word of God"? Because the holy book says so!)

That is not to say you should accept everything that is presented to you. Each of us has an inbuilt "bullshit sensor". But to make sure it is working properly we have to trust ourselves.

Jane Roberts said in The Nature of Personal Reality: "You must begin to trust yourself. If you do not then you will forever be looking to others to prove your own merit to you, and you will never be satisfied. You will always be asking others what to do, and at the same time resenting those from whom you seek such aid."

So what am saying about reincarnation? First thing, you will find many people, particularly those who are adherents of other religions, who will try to convince you that the concept of reincarnation is either false or evil. The second thing is you will find other people who, although they do not understand the idea, will ridicule it, make jokes about it, scoff at it.

If you think there could be something in it, look for more information, read a book, search the web. Think about it. If it strikes a chord in your inner self, then listen to the song. But don't try and sell the idea to others unless they are truly interested. It is for yourself. Sometimes when we start on a new path we like to have someone accompany us, and so we try to persuade them of our new beliefs. This unlikely to be successful, for no one can be expected to accept these beliefs until they are ready for them.

It is said that when the pupil is ready, the master appears. Not literally, but when someone is ready for a truth, it will usually present itself to them, either as a real-life drama, a book, a paragraph. If you are not ready, it will pass you by and it will not matter. When you are ready for the lesson, it will be presented again.

I am not a master of anything. I don't have all the answers to reincarnation. There is much I do not understand, and I accept that. Just as I accept there is a great deal about the solar system, or the nature of electrons that I do not understand. I just try to accept my concepts about all these things, and do my best to keep an open mind for the future.

But I confess, not too open! There are some people who will try to convince me that "the world is flat". I don't want to waste time on things that I have already passed over. Who knows they might even be right — but for the time being I give them the slip and focus on things that I want to know. I guess I even feel suspicious of those who try and convert me to their religion/beliefs as if it were of great importance. And for many religions it is: they have been told to go out and "save the world". We only have so many years of life, and I don't want to waste mine on what I have already discarded. Let those who wish to preach get on with it, but I have no desire to argue with them.

If you have read this far, then perhaps you might be interested in learning a little more about the concept of reincarnation.

Well, rather than writing it all up in my own words, you might like to go to the following site where you can find all the basics:

THE REINCARNATION FAQ

(http://www.geocities.com/richard_holmes/reincarnation/faq.htm) This site gives a good presentation, lots of examples and explanations – and the good news is it is all on one page, so you can save it as one file.

© Marcus Clark
25 Aug 03

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