The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be;
and that which is done is that which shall be done:
and there is no new thing under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:9 King James Version
Do you believe in reincarnation? The idea to incarnate again or to give bodily form or substance to something that has died. Most eastern religions do believe in this. I don’t know about western religions but this quote strikes me as similar in idea.
Two years ago, Hurricane Irene felled a number of trees around our home. I cut and split them for firewood. Last winter we burned them for heat, saving some of the wood ash. This spring I spread the ash on the garden. The vegetables will take up the nutrients from the ash and we will consume them. In a sense, the trees will be reincarnated in us. Physical reincarnation happens all around us, we are all star dust.
If you follow the path of Jesus or Buddha or some other prophet, are you not reincarnating their spirit in the present? Spiritual reincarnation?
This image is a detail of “psalm 174”
Roger Vincent Jasaitis 
Yes I do believe in it. I was at a preserve the river meeting once a long time ago. The speaker introduced us to a person who spoke a long poem about the bug who was eaten by a bird who was eaten by a cat who was eaten by etc. and took off layers of appropriate tee shirts in the process of telling the story. And it also says, from dust we began and back to dust we will go…. not the exact words. Also there is talk of the air we breathe containing bits of particles of persons/animals that have passed away due to the earth changing..earthquakes bringing up long ago land, and archealogists sifting the sands of time. We are all one … connected being.
We just experienced what is a yearly phenomenon here, and that is the dust of Africa blowing across the sea to Miami. Sounds incredible, but it’s true. We have a paler sunlight due to the dust. It’s intriguing to think it comes all this way to filter our sunshine.
As for reincarnation. I have an open mind about this for sure. Why do we have an affinity for a certain culture or belief? Is it possibly because we lived before in that culture? What about the people we love or feel closest to? Or with whom we have conflict? Are we recycled and entering each others’ lives in turns as father, mother, siblings, spouse, friend, lover, son, or daughter until we “get it right”? Intriguing ideas, and I hope to learn more about them as I go to a presentation in August by Brian Weiss, psychiatrist and the author of “Many Lives, Many Masters”, which deals with past life regression.
I look forward to this adventure. We are all stardust.
Roger, thanks for another thought-provoking subject and lovely painting. Ginger
Roger, I do believe in reincarnation. I will share an incredible story. It was a bitter cold November day in Virginia of 1988, we had just come from my step-dad Juan’s memorial service at Arlington National cemetery. My mom, Juan Jr and I got out of the car and went up to the door. Out of nowhere appeared a beautiful monarch butterfly that flew up to Mom, circled around the house, then flew away. In that moment I knew this butterfly was Dad letting us know that he was alright. He has visited me in the form of a butterfly many times since that day. Most recently on our boat in the middle of the river. He always lands somewhere nearby and seems to be gazing at me.
I believe we have been here many, many times, even as a different gender or race, each time we have the opportunity to learn a lesson.
Life is a magical journey… anything can happen
This is really interesting. Great blog, I’ll follow! I think a lot of people confuse regeneration with reincarnation. Also, it is a misconception that Buddhism actually teaches literal reincarnation. That would be like seeing the truth in Aesop’s Fables, yet also believing that animals can talk. I published a post about it just today, and linked this page to it. Check it out if you like: The Problem With Reincarnation: The Glory of Ressurection
Reincarnation and Christianity have nothing in common. The Book of Hebrews (chapter 9, verse 27 KJV) states, “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
I see it as, “we are all connected to …one Being.” I think this is why it’s easy to confuse other people animals and things as other versions of ourselves, or past lives. I like being an individual being, connected to other individual beings, by one Being, the One who created it all.