Thursday, July 25, 2024

Blog Post #3

    I find it interesting how we can have such a hard time recalling past memories and how easy is it for us to remember things so falsely and truly believe them. I sometimes feel that when I try to remember an event I forget certain things and tend to make up things that happened that seem correct for that time. I understand that is easy for others to tell us things and what they say can impact how we recall certain events. However, one thing that I find really interesting is when children recall their past lives. I have seen many videos of children discussing their past lives with details that they could have never known and talk about things that their family and friends have never told them about. I see that some people who do not believe that this is possible tend to say they must have overheard something adults were talking about or heard about these things on television or in videos. There are some instances though, that seem completely unexplainable as to how a child would know so much about an individual's life that lived before them. 
    In a video I watched on a 3 year old boy named Riley, he recalled an event where his past father was injured in war. He described the color uniform he was wearing, how he got stabbed in the shoulder, and how his friends had to carry him out. He described the gruesome details of his father's death and how they tried to stop the bleeding. He also describes the life of his father after he came back from the war, where everything had to be quiet and how he suffered from PTSD. These events are very strange for such a young boy to even be aware of. Children do have creative memories and it is easy to just say that they are making things up, but the extreme details of his father before and after the war are hard to believe that a 3 year old can have such knowledge to even come up with these stories. What was really surprising was that when asked if he knew the name of his father, his mother looked it up and found the man Cedric Popkin. The details she found of this man from Australia were very similar to the details Riley gave. Also, when giving Riley pictures from war, he pointed out Cedric Popkin first. After seeing this video and knowing that there are more kids who have similar stories, it really makes me believe that past lives. 

https://youtu.be/SD5f-0aQbds?si=l3NwG4IGo30I2VRB




3 comments:

  1. The video and case you described were really fascinating! The fact that there are so many kids that have similar stories is actually pretty creepy if you really think about it.

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  2. Your point about how easily our memories can be influenced or distorted is spot on. It's amazing how our brains can fill in gaps or even create false memories that feel completely real. The case of Riley is certainly compelling. It's natural to be impressed by the level of detail in his recollections. Your post really highlights the tension between extraordinary claims and our need for extraordinary evidence. It's a great example of why the study of pseudoscience and the paranormal is so fascinating - these cases challenge us to think critically while remaining open to new possibilities.

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  3. The concept of past lives and reincarnation is very intriguing. With the widespread popularity of religions such as Hinduism which holds the belief of reincarnation, it makes me wonder if there is some truth within this concept. The story of the three year old was also quite fascinating.

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