Do you think you're drawn here because of past life memories....

[Blackjack]

Maybe, maybe not. Some years ago I was talking with a friend of mine whos an author in Chicago over lunch and we were discussing Riverview Park in Chicago. I had been there several times when I was young but there was an image that stuck in my mind of standing in line outside of a long castle like structure holding my fathers hand. When we got inside the were statues and stained glass and stairs leading to an out side garden. I can still picture it very well. he told me there was nothing like that at Riverview but there was something exactly like that in the 1920's in Chicago called Midway Gardens. I looked it up, saw pictures of it and knew I had been there. Literally I could have found my way around, explain that please, other than A. I'm totally lying, or B. I'm nuts...

 

[Blackjack]

That's a charming thought, but think about it. Because of a past memory of living in the 1930's America you're drawn here to a modern internet site?

Why not be drawn to the Roman Helmet Lounge, because if you believe in past lives, it's plural...

If you indeed did have past memories, would you not be drawn to a site that reminded you of them?
Past lives may not necessarily be plural, depends on how old of a soul you have Poohbang...

 

[PoohBang]

Sorry I can't help you Blackjack. I'm not a Psychiatrist. That's a question for someone trained in that field. Anyone here licensed that help him with this childhood memory?

 

[C-dot]

Because of a past memory of living in the 1930's America you're drawn here to a modern internet site?

Realistically, one can't live their life entirely as if it were a past era. People with our interests use modern technology as a means to an end, not for the sake of using it (I know I do.)

It's also exceedingly difficult to find people in your backyard who share your interests, but it's very easy online. There you have your means to an end: We aren't drawn to the internet, but to the people.

Sorry I can't help you Blackjack. I'm not a Psychiatrist. That's a question for someone trained in that field. Anyone here licensed that help him with this childhood memory?

That was rude.

 

[rue]

Realistically, one can't live their life entirely as if it were a past era. People with our interests use modern technology as a means to an end, not for the sake of using it (I know I do.)

It's also exceedingly difficult to find people in your backyard who share your interests, but it's very easy online. There you have your means to an end: We aren't drawn to the internet, but to the people.

Agreed. I don't know anyone in day to day life that finds any of the subjects at the FL even remotely interesting. I never have. I was thrilled when I found it

 

[PoohBang]

to me, this is like the library, with many volumes of items I like. I skip the volumes that don't interest me, and sit and read the ones that do. I stop by because this is a corner of library I enjoy, "Vintage Items" I'm not drawn here for the people, I'm drawn to the things. I also hit the "other" sections of the library, such as cars or clothing on other internet websites.

 

[fortworthgal]

I personally do not believe in reincarnation. That's just my own personal opinion and belief, and it isn't meant to offend anyone - just share a different viewpoint. That said, my husband and I both completely agree with and share this sentiment from rue. We understand and recognize those feelings of nostalgia and longing sadness. I feel as though I'm living in the wrong time. I don't fit in with the world of today, and I don't like much of what I see in modern society. I prefer things of the past. For as long as I can remember I have been borderline obsessed with the 1940s. What I know is that I do firmly believe that I was born in the wrong era, and I really do believe I would have been happier in the past.

...I don't think I belong here and I've never felt completely comfortable. Even though I enjoy some things from this life I'm living in (movies, etc.) I have always felt better connected to life during the mid 1800s to the early 1900s and the 1920s to the 1950s. When I read about those times, see pictures or watch footage of it I feel immediately nostalgic and frustratingly sad. Not because I wish it could be that way, but because I actually miss it, like I was there and someone snatched me up and threw me into a world that I don't understand. Every single person that has ever known me, even when I was a very small child, has said the same thing..... "You belong to a different time". ...

 

[Blackjack]

Except modern dentistry rocks...

 

[harty]

I am coming up on the first year since I have been reconnected with my birthfamily (except my dad, but that is a different story). While I don't believe in reincarnation per se, there are a couple of interesting ideas that I have developed from the experience:

1. It seems as if interests, likes, etc, via through DNA or otherwise, run through my family so strongly, that perhaps I am picking up attitudes or even actual memories from my ancestors. Growing up I always fancied myself as an indiviual, loving history, philosophy, and writing, while if I picked up interests from my adoptive family, I would be more interested in the hard sciences. When I met my siblings, one of my brothers made a statement something to the effect of "We all tend to be philosophers, writers, and artists, but most of us have eschewed those things for a steady paycheck". I have a brother that loves hats and vintage casual clothing. My sister does her writing on a typewriter. I have always had an intense longing for the sea. My grandfather was in the Navy. I have always been drawn to Canada and France in my head. Turns out my heritage is primarily French Canadian. I don't know. If nothing else, DNA is much stronger than I ever imagined. I also find intense moments of Deja Vu from time to time. Those are much harder to put into words.

2. I have noticed an interconnectedness with my family (again, who I didn't know until recently) throughout my life. The best example I can easily put into words is that I for reasons have never really been able to explain, chose a college out of state. I would find out later that my brother was on campus at the same time, while meanwhile, Mom and the rest of the family lived in the next town. When I graduated, my brother put college on hold and joined the Army, and the rest of the family moved farther away. I think that was perhaps an opportunity to reconnect that none of us realized at the time. Since I have noticed these little syncronicities, I have become more aware of similar ones with people whom I love but didn't necissarily know all my life, my wife in particular.

So reincarnation? I don't know. But I look at my son and daughter and I can so strongly see an actual part of myself living in them. I have come to the conclusion that all humanity is spiritually connected, with a particular emphasis on family/ancestors/loved ones.

 

[PoohBang]

That was rude.

must everything be personal?

Can't we just have a conversation?

 

[Travis Lee Johnston]

Try making some sense kid, or just go to bed and give mommy back her lap top before she finds out you're off your meds again.

 

[Blackjack]

Play nice, or the bats and balls are getting put away.

 

[Tomasso]

Riverview Park in Chicago.....an image that stuck in my mind of standing in line outside of a long castle like structure holding my fathers hand. A. I'm totally lying, or B. I'm nuts...

Or C. You were at the main entrance.

 

[Blackjack]

No, it was this...

[/IMG]

 

[Taz-man]

I have never had any past life dreams but when I was a child, I had a fear of fire. I became almost obsesses with disasters like the Titanic, Lusitania, Morro Castle, Wilhelm Gustloff, Hindenberg, Macon, Akron, Shennandoah, the Cocoanut Grove Night Club Fire, and the Barnum and Bailey Circus Tent Fire. When my grand parents passed away I became obsessed with the 1930s-1960s. I feel like I am not in the right time period. I also have a fascination with WW2, I feel like I was apart of some of these events for some reason. My mother-in-law calls me an old soul and have heard that a lot in my lifetime, and I kind of agree with that.

 

[Blackjack]

Welcome to the club Taz-man....

 

[Taz-man]

Thank you....I really like this club. Trying to get some ideas for my book here.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The thing with childhood memories/influences is that they can be shaped by surroundings without our really realizing it. I've always had a Golden Era inclination, as far back as my memory goes -- but most of the physical things that surrounded me as a very young child, and most of the cultural beliefs and attitudes that surrounded me, were also of the Era. If you bring up a child in such an environment, and if other influences are minimal, I think it's only natural that such a child would grow up connected to that Era, regardless of what's happening in the outside world.

It's sort of the way Amish kids grow up -- outsiders might see their beliefs and practices as quaint Luddism, but to the Amish kids themselves, it's simply the way the world is supposed to be.

Which leads to an interesting question: of the folks here who have felt a Golden Era affinity since early childhood, how many were raised with no Golden Era influence at all? How many grew up in strictly-modern-contemporary families where there were no lingering ties to the Era or its culture?

 

[Amy Jeanne]

Which leads to an interesting question: of the folks here who have felt a Golden Era affinity since early childhood, how many were raised with no Golden Era influence at all? How many grew up in strictly-modern-contemporary families where there were no lingering ties to the Era or its culture?

Very good question! Probably no one here. There's a 12 year age gap bewtween my parents. My dad was always about the 40s and 50s. My mom was always ultra-modern and tried so hard to keep up with the Joneses. My dad always watched old movies on TV and listened to old music. My mom tried to be hip and loved the current stuff.

My maternal grandmother was always very much into history -- mainly the 1940s (the era she grew up in!) She always liked old movies, big band music, and always liked to tell us grandkids about those days and our family history. My grandmother was always what is now known as a "death hag", too. She loved taking us to old cemetaries to try to find the oldest tombstone. She also liked to know HOW people died (she was also a nurse...lol). My grandmother also always used to comment on old buildings when I was growing up. She always used to say how it was "a shame" they were left to rot and not rejuvenated.

Today I love old movies, old music, I'm fascinated with my family history and any illnesses or tragedy within, I love cemetaries, I'm a total "death hag", and I'm obsessed with old buildings and finding out their histories. I'd say there's a huge correlation between me and my grandmother!! Grandmom has also ALWAYS been a huge Anglophile. I'm married to a Brit. You do the math!

This leads to another question: Why was *I* the only one of my siblings and cousins that took to my grandmother's "old fashioned" influence and they didn't? Hmmmm.....

 

[LizzieMaine]

I love cemetaries, I'm a total "death hag"...

I never knew there was a term for this, but I've always enjoyed cemetaries too. When my cousin and I were kids, Memorial Day was our favorite holiday, because it meant a trip to the graveyard where we'd go around and make up stories about the residents.

This leads to another question: Why was *I* the only one of my siblings and cousins that took to my grandmother's "old fashioned" influence and they didn't? Hmmmm.....

Another very good question. I have a younger sister and younger brother, neither of whom has any Golden Era inclination: my sister wouldn't have "rotten old furniture and trash" in her house, and won't set foot in mine for fear of catching the cholera or something. And the only Golden Era inclination my brother has is being chronically unemployed.

So, go figure. My Golden Era inclinations were fully developed by the time my siblings were born, so maybe the extra attention I got during my time as an only child made a difference? Who knows?