(oldnewmethod.com)
The idea of reincarnation is spoken of all too lightly, especially in modern spiritual circles. “I must have been a mother in a previous life,” or “I’m sure I was a dog in a past existence.” This is said with the same certainty we recount yesterday’s events, and this casual attitude erodes our understanding…
Last month, twenty-eight students gathered with me in Athens for a week-long exploration of Ancient Greece. Our aim was not only to visit the famous sites—the Acropolis, the Parthenon, the National Archeological Museum—but to press Greek wisdom into our entire being. Following the pattern we’ve established in previous gatherings, I wrote a play we would rehearse and perform together. This time, the story was of Demeter and Persephone, the myth of a mother’s grief when her daughter is abducted to the underworld, and how, in her grief, Demeter withholds abundance from humankind until divine justice restores what was lost.
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One scene in particular became the focal point of our post-performance discussions. Inspired by Plato’s Myth of Er, I portrayed Persephone witnessing souls in the underworld choosing their next lives. Each gazes into a bowl of seeds (a collection of potential future lives) and selects which existence it will inhabit next. Some choose impulsively, grasping rashly at what destroyed them before. A former tyrant glimpses power in the bowl and instantly chooses the same pattern that led to his previous downfall. Others genuinely reckon with their past and choose thoughtfully. A former mother, understanding how her protective love weakened her children, selects a harsh life where she will be forced to relinquish her illusory control over their lives. Hades explains to Persephone that this is the importance of the underworld: to serve as an intermediary place where souls can either learn from their past experiences and progress in understanding, or relive their patterns in eternal repetition.
Soul of Former Mother Choosing her Next Life
In Plato’s myth, after our souls have chosen their next lives and had their choices ratified, they travel to the Plain of Lethe and camp by the River of Unmindfulness (Amelēs). Each soul is required to drink a certain measure of water from this river, and those who drink more than the measure forget everything. This forgetfulness is what causes us to be born anew without remembering our past existence or the deliberate choice we made.
Whether rooted in fact or fantasy, we know for certain that we don’t remember having had a past life. Neither do we remember having chosen our present one. Therefore, the implications of Plato’s myth cannot be verified in the ordinary sense. This impossibility of verification matters because it is crucial not to confuse verification with theory. The idea of reincarnation is spoken of all too lightly, especially in modern spiritual circles. “I must have been a mother in a previous life,” or “I’m sure I was a dog in a past existence.” This is said with the same certainty we recount yesterday’s events, and this casual attitude erodes our understanding. Not all theories can be verified—some lie beyond the reach of our direct experience—yet this does not strip them of value. Even as unverifiable theory, the possibility that we might have chosen our present life has practical worth. It forces us to shift our attitude from passive to active: this life was not imposed on us; we participated in its selection.
As long as we experience life as something that happened to us by chance, our experience easily degenerates into complaining and victimhood. It goes without saying that if I never chose to be here, upon encountering the slightest inconvenience, I feel entitled to complain. On the other hand, if I allow—or even momentarily pretend—that I am here by deliberate and intelligent choice, I am forced to alter this fundamental attitude. Even my most difficult experiences have been thoughtfully picked as the optimal means through which I might learn a specific lesson. This change of attitude—whether factual or not—is itself a fruitful mental exercise.
So why did you choose this life?