past lives

i've always believed in reincarnation. i know, as un Christian of a belief as it is, i've always just felt that we all cycle the earth several times. i think back to the first time i heard about reincarnation, i was in high school and i was talking to a wiccan woman who told me about it. I was extremely intrigued by the idea. she told me that by looking at someone's birth chart (a chart based on the celestial bodies locations at the time of your birth) you could see how many lives they've lived etc.

i always envisioned it like the rings in the trunk of a tree. the older the tree the more rings...anyway, i remember her telling me that this was my 2nd to last life "cycle" in the cosmos...or at least on earth. which was shocking, but seemed right to me.

i mean, i've always been an older leaning thinker, i've always been somewhat conservative (though i'm guessing my mother would take this moment to remind me of my early 20's...), and i've always had odd fascinations with specific timeframes, events, presidents, etc.

the theory that was presented to me also postulated that the people around you in every life have been around you for centuries. that your mom is this life might have been your sister in another life. your dad could have been your son, and so on and so on. meaning that our souls surround ourselves with the same souls over and over again. this notion i truly connected with because it gave more meaning to those i feel the closest too...it gave more meaning to my friendships, past lovers, and my family. it brings to mind a lot of people i knew for a short time or people that greatly changed me and what our true connection is/was/will be.

today on the way to work i saw a billboard for a show called "past lives" which brought all of this line of thinking to the forefront of my mind, which in turn lead me to think about the timeframes that i feel a connection to.

specifically i have always had an interest in the 1600's-1700's, colonialism, benjamin franklin, 1930's fashion, harry truman, and some specific songs from the 1970's.

i think that these are questions that someday the O will be looking for answers too. she'll hear about reincarnation, want to talk about religion, my beliefs and my opinions. whether she agrees with me or not, i think it's important that i have a firm ground to stand, and teach her to develop the same type of ground.

who knows...she could have been the one to teach me that years ago...