People are naturally inquisitive, so they often come up with questions about things they see or hear, and they often develop ideas or hypotheses about why things are the way they are.
This introductory sentence is not my own; I found it in Wikipedia under the heading of Scientific Method. Through history this method to find "the truth", to better explain the nature of reality, has evolved to the point that a lot of apparent truths simply fall outside the realm of science. This means that a lot of observable truths will never be proved scientifically. But does that mean we just act as if these truths don't exist?
Unfortunately we do. All accounts of people experiencing past-life events, UFO's seen sometimes by tens of thousands of people at a time, they just get discarded, forgotten and eventually frowned upon simply because science refuses to deal with them. This is unavoidable, though, because of the way science works.
source: Wikipedia
If we describe science in it's broadest sense, we could say that it is a method to find truth, to explain that which we call reality. Do religious people not try to find truth in their own way? Isn't faith, or religion, born of a similar hunger for truth? As such, could faith be science to then? Yes it can, and it has been for the longest time and still is in some cases. The Catholic Church and it's missionaries have been the authority for truth in the past, just as Universities and scientists are now.
Science is just the best method we have to come to shared truths, in my opinion. I never was a religious person, but I also do not believe that you and I are our material selves, we're much more than just "the stuff" we're made of. And that is why science, as we know it now, will never be able to explain the realities of life, love and wonder in a completely satisfactory manner.
The limitations of science become apparent when we delve into the "scientific method":
The Oxford Dictionaries Online defines the scientific method as "a method or procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses". Experiments are a procedure designed to test hypotheses. Experiments are an important tool of the scientific method. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry is commonly based on empirical or measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning."
source: Wikipedia
At it's core, this method lends itself very well for explaining the material world, or at least that which we all see as reality. At it's very basis this method is dependent upon independent and repeated observations that can then be tested by an independent peer through repeated experimentation by which the hypothesis to explain the observations is proven or disproved. More often disproved: I heard one scientist describe his profession as "the art of being wrong all the time" and "we don't answer questions, we create them".
source: Wikipedia
And this is why so much of the things we heard about so often, are thrown at a side, never to be looked at again, simply because they are almost all one-of-a-kind-once-in-a-lifetime personal experiences. You just can't experiment on that; a vision, a memory cannot be transferred to a lab to be put under a microscope.
I'll try to illustrate this with such a case that isn't dismissed or refuted by science, but can never be investigated or scientifically proven.
There once was this boy in America, not so long ago. He and his parents lived a fairly ordinary life and were mostly a happy family. Concerns began when one day the boy's teacher called the parents to make an appointment for "a serious talk"... The boy behaved different than the other kids, almost never wanted to play and, most disturbingly, his drawings were full of explicit, bloody violence. Where the other kids drew houses and trees and stick-figures, "our" boy depicted war-scenario's full of stick figures with machine-guns and others laying on the ground in a red pool of blood...
Psychiatry didn't help. Long discussions, an overdose of love... nothing seemed to help; the boy was a "lone wolf" and kept displaying hostile tendencies towards his fellow classmates. It even became worse when at some point the boy began crying for no apparent reason, he himself couldn't explain why he was so intensely sad at random times. And things became scary when he started remembering things. Things he shouldn't be able to know.
He remembered his name, the names of his brothers and sisters, he knew the name of the marine-ship he served on and the names of a lot of his shipmates. One day he remembered that the ship was an aircraft-carrier... Of course the boy's parents and the counselling agencies and professionals that helped the family investigated this. It turned out that the ship really existed, the names really were actual crew-members and "our boy" was a fighter pilot! He even remembered the exact location where his plane crashed near a coast during operations at Pearl Harbor in World War 2.
source: GoodFreePhotos
That boy is okay now. His parents booked a vacation and went to the place the boy's plane had crashed in another life; upon arrival "our boy" had an uncontrollable crying fit that seemed to last forever. Since that day, the violent drawings stopped, he became part of the wolf-pack, "our boy" was finally able to truly become his new self.
Now, this is a story I heard in a documentary a long time ago, so I cannot give you a link for you to verify my words; and since we're all trained in the scientific method, since we're all visual creature's for whom "seeing is believing", this account about "our boy" will forever be just a story, something you tell each-other for entertainment, stop a second, and then laugh it away... And that's the point I'm trying to make; don't discard it just because it falls outside the realm of science. Science has it's limitations.
Also remember this: in a much lesser degree, we all are this boy. We are all part of each other and part of the world and universe. This isn't some spiritual feeling only: it is an observable fact and even scientifically proven. Read my previous posts the law of Six Degrees Of Separation and Science Vs. Buddhism to delve deeper into this reality. We influence each other continuously, we make each other and we break each other and we all stand on the shoulders of giants.
I won't leave you without any reference material, that's just not who I am. So, here's a good selection of documented past-life experiences by Ervin Laszlo, a scientist and classical pianist. I think an awakening is taking place and science will perhaps evolve to a point where the extraordinary will be treated a bit more like the material and mundane. Read The Evidence for Reincarnation:
Scientifically Documented True Stories That Prove Past Lives Are Real.
If science has proven anything so far, it is that observable phenomena can be very deceptive. Interestingly, many of the greatest gurus/masters across different esoteric branches of different religions, have also come to similar understanding.
Yes indeed, @techwizardry, that's what my previous post about science vs Buddhism was all about :-) Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
We are also living all of our lives simultaneously, time is an illusion formed by our minds.
Agreed.
And Thank you for stopping by my little space on the internet @skycornish :-)
Great article. Science is a method, but unfortunately, many have transformed it into a belief system and an infallible one, at that. So, for them it is effectively as faith based as the religions you mentioned.
Regarding past lives. Through extensive work in this area, myself and clients, as well as plant medicine journeys, I believe that they are actually concurrent lives, all occurring right now and we can tap into whichever one can support us in resolving a pattern in our own lives.
Of course, this is completely subjective, and this is the problem with anything subconscious from the scientific perspective. Most of it is unmeasurable.
Thanks so much for the compliment @eftnow! And you summed it up so neatly too:
That's just it. Most of life is not measurable, but western dogma's have thrown us on a path where we almost believe that if it can't be measured, it doesn't exist. Or in the economy: efforts are only worth something if they produce a measurable gain for the economy. Artists, parents, they produce so much, but economically they don't exist. If one of the kids wants to be a painter, than that's fine as long as he or she also studies for a real profession... Or did you think yourself to be Picasso or Dali..?
This purely material worldview is slowly losing ground though, I'm glad to say. Would these hippies, you know, "The Age Of Aquarius"-kind, be right after all?
Very interesting that both you and @cause-no-harm have the same opinion on multiple concurrent lifes... I've followed you both, and I'm looking forward to an article about this. Really, if you have the opportunity, please share your experiences with us!
Once again, thank you for sharing!
It's a pleasure and thanks for this great reply. I did talk about concurrent lives in one of my podcasts on DLive, but it wasn't a big mention, so I'll go into more detail some time. SOOOO much to talk about :D
It's interesting, really – I've never felt the need for solid, scientific proof of anything. There are truths about the fabric of this universe that have always rested within me...some kind of inherent knowing given from my ancestors through my DNA.
There are simply elements of this life that cannot be measured nor tangibly perceived. Even my photos are but signposts – visual evidence of subtle undertones, unseen by the naked eye. And my songs, are like snapshots of emotional landscapes – portraits of very real places that my camera simply cannot reach.
This universe is wonderfully magical. No evidence necessary – the fact that we are here at all is all the proof I need.
I like what you've said here @zipporah. And, in fact, ancestral patterns being passed on epigenetically via the DNA is scientifically measurable.
Unfortunately they aren't teaching it in the schools yet as it's a complete paradigm shift.
And this should be enough.. You're right. So why isn't it for me and so many others?
I truly admire this ability to be attuned to this ancestral knowledge. I did have a suspicion you would be, after reading your post about your travels in India and Nepal and also your mother's post. It was so late when I read those, but you were so brave in my eyes; I wouldn't know if I have that in me. My uncle is a professional Psychiatrist and he always said that you mustn't study the mind and brain if you do not want to be confronted with some uncomfortable truths about your own self... Until now I don't get any further than reading and learning about mind, soul and brain on a cognitive level, and that's just not enough. That's maybe why you're the inspiration an such a talented artist.
I know. I should just try it for myself. Maybe I will.
You are an example and an inspiration, and I'm grateful for your wisdom and art :-) <3
I actually wrote a post yesterday about materialism not necessarily making the opposite argument, but certainly coming from a very different perspective. It's about my thoughts on death, morality, and the immortal soul from the perspective of a materialist (which I am). I'm not trying to hijack here, but it sounds like it's right up your alley!
Hijack? Not at all :-) I'm glad to share ideas about these subjects. I bookmarked your post for now; gotta go out, but I will read it; right up my alley indeed :-) Thanks, @malloryblythe ! <3
I have heard a lot of stories about children that remember past lives up until a certain age and then they forget. My little sister would often talk about her sister, Agatha, up until she was 6 but we didn't know anyone with that name at all. And she would talk about her children and the strawberries that she grew in her garden. Now she doesn't remember ever saying anything like that. Kinda weird but I totally think you have made a point with this post.
Ivy
Thanks so much for sharing this @socent! What a lovely story! It must be so good to have that experience now, although I can imagine it could have been unsettling, scary even at the time... I'm so glad you wanted to share this with us!
Blessings, Ivy :-)
It was scary when we were kids and I didn't know what to think. She's 5 years younger than I am so I tried to comfort her and convince her that everything was ok. I'm glad to have had the experience because it opened my eyes at a young age to the random possibilites of the world.
Blessings to you as well!
Ivy
I agree for this comment
Thank you for reading and leaving a comment! Much appreciated :-)
Your welcome
This is an amazing post and I'll still come back to read it. I also watched a documentary about a kid in the middle east. Iran or Iraq, can't really remember. Anyway, it was said that he often told his parents he was murdered before, and he was buried at a certain location in a shallow grave.
One day, he was going out and saw the man he alleged killed him in his former life. This time, the case was investigated, and after some pressure, the man agreed to killing the person that was being described.... More strangely, the body was buried exactly where the lad said he was buried.
Science can't really explain these.... Are these implanted memories, some form of consciousness? It's uncharted waters, and always gets my attention.
I'm so glad you liked it, @solcross :-) And I'm also grateful you shared that story with us! You are very much appreciated, my friend!
Thank you. Glad to have you around. Cheers
Thanks so much @zyx066 for this very informative post.
I have experienced first hand, two very clear past lives through regression therapy and believe those experiences to be true.
However, without doubting the experiences, these days I am more inclined to think we may be experiencing multiple, simultaneous incarnations, perhaps with access over a couple of hundred thousand years.
If all there is, is Here and Now - that is - this Present Moment, then past and future (separateness and duality) do not exist, except in the mind, where it/they appears very real! But an apparency all the same.
There is just One Energy, Spirit, Life Force or whatever label we choose (and whenever we label it, that is not it), then that One Essence is sharing 7.4 Billion bodies on this planet alone!
It is feasible then to believe that we can "pick up" characteristics, skills, knowledge, etc., from those others that share the One same Essence.
Extend that further into the Multiverse, then the idea we may be experiencing multiple, simultaneous incarnations, may not be so obscure.
Just sayin!
Thank you for your kind and informative response, @cause-no-harm! I believe this to be true:
And I also believe that I'm one of those lost souls that cannot avoid the labeling part of that truth! :-(
But I believe you may be on to something here. @eftnow arrives at the same conclusion in his work! I followed you to now, and I'll be watching if one, or maybe both of you together, would like to expand on that in a future article here on Steemit.
If not, no biggie! But please do keep sharing your thoughts and ideas here: sharing is growing! :-)
Thank you "CryptoBrother" for sharing you perspective and encouragement.
I would be interested, very interested, to hear your definition of a "lost soul?"
Where would a soul go to be lost?
If you have a soul, lost or otherwise, and I have a soul, and everyone else on the planet has a soul, then that is more duality, more separateness, which is the great illusion the sages of old told us about.
At this level, in this dimension, it appears very real that everyone and everything is separate. But at another level, all is of the same One essence.
Yes I know, the mind cannot conceive of this too easily, but the heart can feel it.
Here's to more growth for all of us.
I have read about that boy before, as well as many other people's experiences of NDE's experiences, reincarnation, etc. We cannot rely on science for all of the answers. Science is always changing as new things are learned, but often it takes a long time for science to accept and in the meantime people who experience different realities are ridiculed, scorned, and ignored. Even if in some cases these altered realities are imagination, that is interesting in itself. For where does imagination come from? Have you read "Afterlife Revolution" by Anne and Whitley Strieber as well as Dean Radin's new book, "Real Magic." Thanks for the great article.
No no no, thank you for responding @shevans! I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one to remember that touching story! :-)
Al comenzar a leer tu publicación me llamo mucho la atención , que al igual que nuestra amiga @omitaylor, y muchas personas mas, vengo de una familia que lleva parte de su vida en una religión tal ves no sea igual a las de muchos, ya que son muchas las que existen. Y entrando en lo que es la parte de la ciencia, que es el tema e el que mas se enfoca tu post, en el tiempo que llevo de estudios me e dado cuenta de la polémica que existe entre la ciencia y la religión.
Es algo un muy confuso que se llevara a través de los años, como lo dijiste y es algo que esta enfocado en el titulo la ciencia se limita. Si buscamos información en la red y buscamos el origen del hombre podremos ver ilustraciones de esqueletos de primates con la que hicieron o hacen comparaciones del ser humano.
Y describiendo la parte religiosa lo que podemos leer en la Biblia es que fuimos creados del barro a imagen y semejanza de Dios.
En Fin la ciencia y la religión son así mismo patentes en las explicaciones, que ambas dan del mundo natural.
thanks for reading and commenting, my friend :-) I really am very bad at understanding Spanish (or is it Portuguese?), and I have to leave the house for now. I will try and translate later and give you a better response!
Thanks again for your reaction, @oscardavid !
Hello @zyx066 let me write @oscardavid response.
Thank you for the mention!
You're welcome and thank you very much for the translation, @omitaylor.
Finally! Steemit works again :-) Thank you so much, @omitaylor, for this translation! And also for your suggestions and thoughts of course. <3
Hi there, @oscardavid, thanks again for reading and I'm glad our friend @omitaylor helped us both here :-) I'm glad you liked the article and I agree that this topic is sometimes confusing and that science and faith are often regarded as mutually exclusive and pitted against each-other in many debates and literature. Nowadays these so called "warriors for atheism" preach their idealism of atheism and their fear of faith and religion with a fanaticism that rivals the religious fanaticism they warn us about...
These now famous an infamous scientists have started a modern day crusade against religion under the banners of freedom of speech and the war against terrorism.
I'm glad we both see science and religion as two different ways to come to some sense of truth, whatever truth may be "out there". The whole truth we may never know, so it can only be beneficial to try to reach some of that truth through as many lenses as possible. That's what I believe anyway ;-)
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and personal experiences regarding this complicated subject!
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