Why don’t we remember our past lives: A puzzle inspired by MOVA
By Nelson Gozah
A decade ago (2012) , my friend, a brother Mova had puzzled me with the perplexing question – ‘Why on earth don’t we remember our past lives if rebirth is real?’
This could have been answered by someone who had studied the subject-matter in-depth but honestly, I had no tangible response to that question. Yes, truth be told.
Countless times I tried to wave it off, until after a relatively long time, introspection and studies, the epiphany struck me.
You see, for all most a decade, I had no satisfactory answer for Mova.
Rebirth and past lives are core Buddhist tenets, yet most of us have no recollection of our so-called ‘previous existences’. It seemed like a paradox. Then one day, a probable reason suddenly dawned on me.
From a scientific perspective, the concept of rebirth has not been supported by empirical evidence in the classical sense, and it remains a matter of belief and faith for those who subscribe to such ideas. However, with the advent of modern science and for the sake of insight, let’s assume that rebirth is true and explore possible explanations as to why we might not remember our past lives.
“If we could remember our past lives clearly,” Mova, “it would interfere with living fully in the present. Our relationships, careers, interests – they would all be colored by the memories and attachments from lifetimes ago. We might cling to past roles, desires and identities instead of embracing this new life afresh.” For these reasons ,a spontaneous recall of past lives is relatively unlikely.
The reasons for this can be summarized as follows;
–Evolutionary focus on current experiences.
–The brain’s innate limited capacity for total retrieval and processing of past life information.
–An ongoing cognitive demands of our present lives.
Thus, one possible explanation is that our brains have evolved to focus on information that is crucial for our survival. In the context of evolution, our ancestors who were able to remember and learn from their immediate experiences had a better chance of avoiding danger, finding food, and reproducing. This selective focus on current life events and experiences would have conferred an evolutionary advantage.
For example, consider a situation where an individual from a past life had the ability to remember all their previous experiences. This individual might be overwhelmed with memories from multiple lifetimes, making it difficult to focus on the present and respond effectively to their current environment. This could put the person at a disadvantage, as they might be unable to react quickly to a threat or to seize an opportunity.
Furthermore, the human brain, the conscious mind has limited capacity for retrieving and processing information. It has not evolved to effortlessly recall memories from multiple lifetimes as embedded in the deepest recesses of the personal and collective consciousness, especially considering the vast amount of information we are exposed to in a single lifetime.
Our brains have developed mechanisms like forgetting and memory consolidation to manage the storage and retrieval of information. These mechanisms help to prioritize what is important and discard what is not relevant for our survival and well-being.
Additionally, the idea that our minds are earthbound and overburdened by present memories further supports the notion that we cannot remember past lives unworked for.. Thus, even if it’s possible, we can’t achieve that recall on a silver platter.
The brain is constantly processing, organizing, and integrating new information from our environment. This ongoing cognitive processing might make it difficult, if not impossible, to access memories of past lives, even if such memories were somehow stored in the brain.
In summary, while the concept of rebirth may not be scientifically supported by the old paradigm of scientific enquiry, the hypothetical explanations for why we might not remember past lives include the brain’s evolutionary focus on current experiences, its innate limited capacity for total retrieval and processing of past life information, and the ongoing cognitive demands of our present lives.
I’m now pretty certain that for Mova , I might have finally provide a tentative explanation that might appeal to reason”
And so my decade-long quest for a probable reason why we don’t remember past lives may come to a halt now – in a simple insight about living wholly in the now.
References
1. Carter, C. (2010). Why can’t we remember our past lives? Scientific and psychological reasons. https://www.learnreligions.com/why-cant-we-remember-our-past-lives-95632
2. Beauregard, M. (2012). Brain limitations and evolution may explain why we don’t remember past lives. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/brain-limitations-and-evo_b_1828486
3. Tucker, J. (2013). Why don’t we remember our past lives? Psychological and evolutionary reasons. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/201307/why-dont-we-remember-our-past-lives
4. Forman, R. (1990). Problems with remembering past lives. Journal of Regression Therapy, 4(2), 117-123.
5. Sudduth, M. (2009). Why Don’t We Remember Our Past Lives: A Scientific Theory of Reincarnation. Anthropology & Medicine, 16(2), 147-158.
6. Hellinger, F. (2017). 14 reasons we don’t remember our past lives. DAIS News. https://www.daisnews.com/2017/05/14-reasons-we-dont-remember-our-past-lives/
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