Friday, July 26, 2013

“Life Before Life” an alternative way of viewing reality


Studying the human brain is fascinating, it really is. The way we store and retrieve memories is an interesting process. The study of brain matter and the ability to regenerate brain cells is fascinating and I have enjoyed studying it. If you would like to know more about such things there are books such as “The Brain that Changes Itself” and “Use Your Brain to Change Your Age” or just take a class on psychology or neurophysiology.

But one thing that psychologists and neurophysiologists have yet to figure out and continues to be a fun discussion in these fields is Where does the seat of consciousness reside??

What part of your brain or your being is running the show? Experiencing the dance?

The frontal lobe is associated with planning and decision-making. And various parts of the brain are involved in various forms of memory. But the materialistic approach of mapping the human brain has been insufficient thus far at determining the locus of the part of you that is experiencing the experiences or cherishing the memories.

Science is fucking cool, but it is still in its infancy and it falls short sometimes.

This piece that I am writing will now shift its focus to a book. My hope is that you enjoy reading as much as I do, because there really is no other way to really experience this one. I can not link the book for free. But, it is well worth the price I paid, and I bought it new. Maybe it can be found at a library? I will link some short videos, but they do not do the thing justice. The book is “Life Before Life” by Jim B. Tucker, M. D.

It explores the similarities between many case studies of young children who claim to recall memories from previous lives.

Suspend any skepticism and consider this for a second... Imagine you have a little kid like two years old and they tell you... “hey, I used to live in Indiana, in a town called Cedar Lake and I lived on Robin Lane in a little brick house that had a swing on the oak tree in the front yard. My name was Sarah” and so you live in Illinois, you google it and find out that there is a Robin Street in Cedar Lake so you decide to take a 45 minute drive one day and there is a little brick house with a swing hanging from a lovely old oak tree... what would you think? And then imagine you take a second trip out there with your daughter and she is like “that's it!! That's it!!” and then shows you where the name Sara is carved on the oak tree. And then rather decisively and deliberately goes into the back yard, kneels by the base of a tree and pulls out a little tin box that is filled with coins and pretty rocks and a ring and says this is where she hid her treasure chest.

Well, what would you make of it? You know your two year old had no way of being told all these details.

There are events like this taking place quite often. A few people have been studying them for years. They prefer to get to the scene before the parents start researching the validity of the children's statements so as to conduct more controlled studies. And so a few controlled studies on this phenomena have been conducted.

They also look at many angles to consider every possible debunking that skeptics would consider. They do not insist that you believe in reincarnation. They simply present facts for one to consider for one's own self. And they are interesting to consider. I personally found the book well worth considering.

Here are some little links to very short videos discussing the book to get you started...




“Though many people in scientific fields hold views that can be just as dogmatic as those of an intensely religious person, judging from firmly held beliefs does not make for sound scientific inquiry.” -Jim B. Tucker, M.D.

So, do I personally think I know where the seat of consciousness is located? No. But I do think it is one of the funnest, most fascinating questions we can ask.

Wishing you everything that is wonderful on this fantastic Friday.


Take care and have a lovely weekend.

No comments: