Following a thought to it's conclusion does not connote agreement or belief in said thought.
Let's , for a moment, consider reincarnation. The belief that after death our soul is reborn into aanother vessel. Many people believe that by living a good life you could be reborn as a higher species than human, like a cow. (Some how coming back as a cow does nothing to promote this belief system to me. I guess I just have no interest in some farmer putting his cold hands on my udders at five in the morning) Others believe we've lived many human lives in our souls return to flesh. Of course everyone can't be Napoleon, Caesar, and Marie Antoinette, all though it seems like those hypnosis regression dudes always work with the famous rebirthers. Where's the ditch diggers, and that silly farmer with the cold hands? Ok, this moment's over. Move along.
Albert Einstein brought us the theory of relativity, which states that you can't escape your relatives. Well, it's a rough aproximation of that. Anyway, Einstein says everything is relative. An event Albert can see from point A can appear different from the event Brett can see from point B, even though they are observing the exact same phenomina. (do Do dododo) Fairly well understood by those who make a living at understanding things like that. Also included in that whole relative thing is Time. Yes, time is relative depending upon the point of observation of the observer. Another step on the mobius path is made.
Now this one's a little harder unless you watch a lot of Science Fiction. Let us assume (and we're all aware of what that leads to) that time is not the linear construct that we know and love. Let us put aside all the practical knowledge we have that time flows from past to future. Let us claim to belive that time is a force of nature rather than an absolute, and we can stand outside of it and observe it as a whole, moving back and forth along it's length looking at whatever little bit catches our attention. Hold that thought. Hold it. Hold. It.
Get out your mental blender with the metaphysical attatchment. Take one part reincarnation. (the human kind, not the moo-cow kind) Add two parts cream of Time is not a straight line. Add in a heaping heap of the souls of the departed exist outside the Space-Time Continuum. (I snuck that one in on you didn't I) Mix till liquified and serve over Ice-9.
Now what do we have. How about reincarnation along the time line out of cronological order. your last life was in 500 ad, before that 1492 ad, before that 2118 bc, before that 1902 ad, before that 3024 ad. And your next life after this on right now will be in 67 bc. Now is that wierd or what? But I'm not through yet, this is all still kind of linear in a slightly mixed up way. Why couldn't your next life be concurent with this one? Yes, you could be living your next life right now at this very moment in Baltimore, or Tokeo, or Dover, or even three blocks over in the very town you're in right this very second! Silly? Yes, but think about it a bit. You know that guy you absolutely cannot stand at all, and don't know why? It's you! You don't like the you you were when you were him, so you have this unrational hatred for him, because somewhere deep in your mind you remember just how bad you were when you were him. Or another angle to try is Soulmates! yes that special someone special that you knew the second you saw them that they were the one for you. It's You!! So in sync with your next life that both youse are drawn into that heady togetherness that is soulmatedom. It's as if you have the same thoughts and ideas, likes and dislikes, because you do! Do you ever go some where and see someone who acts just like someone you know back home? of course you have, and you know why you found someone like that out where you never expected to see them? Because it's the same soul as the person you know back home, living another incarnation at the same time. Make's you wonder (makes me wonder at least)
I hope you've been sufficiently twisted for the evening. If not, it's not for lack of trying on my part. So, off with you now. I need to figure out how to get my elbow out of that mixer. (that metaphysical attachment is quite painful)
