empathy, livingly. as it happens, your two posts have touched on two of the many theories i have used to ? ? ? dunno? ? ? what is it i do to myself with these theories? i got mine under control before the advent of the internet or even cable. does the information overload of the internet make it even meaner?

just wondering. . .

for sure, i the information overload makes it easier than ever to work myself into a lather. the good news is that my tools from the bad old days help me recognize when i am spiraling that particular compulsion. the tools do, also. among the tools is that when i start terrorizing myself with highfalutin concepts and theories, i set myself the challenge of attempting to develop them in some form or fashion. you mentioned, "the butterfly effect." i love that movie enough to have watched it several times. that particular movie didn't inspire me to highfaluter phobia, but i have imagined eric bess channeling similar anxieties in order to write that screenplay.

just sharing. . .
gentle support while you sort your own.

Don't about that...........If Your Christian, Christians know there is a God, and The lord Jesus Christ died for our sins on the cross, and he has set us free by doing that, and when we die we live in eternal peace in heaven.

My thought is people can believe in what they want and it’s interesting to dabble in different beliefs and what may happen once we no longer exist. I think humans do that because it’s so hard to fathom the end of one’s existence permanently.

For me I try to keep it pretty pragmatic since all I truly know is what I can prove. I believe in myself first and foremost above all else because if I’m breathing, I know I exist. Here. Now. One day I won’t exist. And if there happens to be something beyond, my hope is I will have perfect knowledge in the beyond. And if I have perfect knowledge, I will understand had I known better I would have done better. And now that I know better I will do better. In the mean time, I make every effort to stay present and not give too much thought to the non proven possibilities.

I don’t know. Maybe it’s getting older and now seeing more days behind me than in front of me that has made me so stubbornly rooted in this life vs the next. Thankful for science to keep my feet on the ground I suppose. Otherwise yeah it’s kind of terrorizing oneself. Beliefs seem like they should bring comfort not harm.

Hope you can free yourself a bit from the over analyzing.

Lovingly, I don't know where you are getting your information from but it's not true to my knowledge. I have followed the renowned psychic, Sylvia Browne, since 1999 and enjoyed her when she appeared on the Montel Williams Show before then. A friend bought one of her books and would call me and read some of it to me. I was fascinated and felt that what she was saying was what I believed all along. So, yes, there is reincarnation but we don't come here as the same person, living the same life over and over again. There are accounts of small children telling stories of their past life and how they died. I became friendly with a client around 2000 and she told me that her granddaughter was her mother reincarnated. When the girl was little, she pointed to Christmas ornaments on the tree and said "Remember when I was Virginia and I made those?" I love stories like that. So Sylvia says that it's not God who plans our lives, but rather our souls. I really haven't read her books in years but recommend The Other Side and Back. Sylvia is funny and down to earth. She passed away, unfortunately. Her son, Chris DuFresne is also a psychic. I watched one of his question and answer gigs. A lady asked if her husband would get disability and Chris advised that he would get it but only if he got an attorney. I took that same advice and got disability via an attorney. It's bedtime here! Good night!

Buddhists believe the same thing. that we are all stuck in a perpetual cycle of reincarnation until we become enlightened.

I had the same fear. As I don't understand how my conscience a rose how can I ever be sure it won't rise again? This line of thinking would happen a lot before I was saved. I leaned on my own understanding instead of God's.