Thoughts on Otherkin/Therianthropes?

I have someone on my LJ who beleives that she is an "otherkin. She beleives she is a reincarnated non-human soul and has dreams and visions of her former home. (I don't want to go into specifics, to protect her privacy.)

Then some of you may remember the "Jason the Horse" Coast to Coast Live show.

The idea of a "wheel of karma" which includes reincarnation as animals is very prevelant in Eastern religions.

Of course there is also the talk about the Indigo Children cult subculture.

I'd like to start a general discussion of other kind and therianthropes:
For those that beleive in reincarnation, Do you beleive that cross-species, be it animal or alien, can happen?

Since our genetic pathways stretch back to the dawn of life on this planet, I'd say that if we do reincarnate I see no reason why we couldn't or wouldn't reincarnate as anything. Applying status and order on creation to say that we can only move one way is akin to spiritual bigotry. If all is one, all is equal.

I'm sorry if I offend anyone with that statement, as I know it is a part of certain belief systems. I'm just expressing my idea of the hypocrisy of spiritual hierarchy. Having said that, I do my best not to quantify anyone solely by their system of belief. So, it isn't personal. I'd rather know people by merit of character than by the ideas they express.

Originally posted by TravelerintheDark
Since our genetic pathways stretch back to the dawn of life on this planet, I'd say that if we do reincarnate I see no reason why we couldn't or wouldn't reincarnate as anything. Applying status and order on creation to say that we can only move one way is akin to spiritual bigotry. If all is one, all is equal.

I'm sorry if I offend anyone with that statement, as I know it is a part of certain belief systems. I'm just expressing my idea of the hypocrisy of spiritual hierarchy. Having said that, I do my best not to quantify anyone solely by their system of belief. So, it isn't personal. I'd rather know people by merit of character than by the ideas they express.

I assume that was a reference to the "wheel of Karma?"

Perhaps heirarcy was a bad word, then.

I am not Buddhist but as I understand it one m ight be incarnated as a "lower"(lower from our perspective, that is) life form in order to teach them a certain lesson.

Nobody is better or worse than anyone else, but each species manifests different things and thus the experience is different.

Originally posted by asmeone2
I assume that was a reference to the "wheel of Karma?"

Not specifically, but rather any system that promotes the idea that arbitrary and subjective measurements of awareness determine individual importance. I see it as an idea common to several ideologies and by virtue of being organized I think all organized religions have a hierarchy. In too many of our minds it seems placement implies value and value spurs "competition". We compete for food, sex and possession which is a consequence of life. But competition for the affection of our creator strikes me as truly barbaric.

Sorry I don't want to derail the topic. To get it back in line... I think reincarnation implies itself as "universal" and so reincarnation in any form of life would be possible without regard to perceptions of station. Birds, fish, mammals. etc. are all life and so in the loop. I do though believe karma, rather than being a cosmic point system or cause and effect, refers to the spiritual chain that link us to this earth's life cycle. So I don't believe it would be possible to reincarnate on another world if your body dies on this one.

Originally posted by TravelerintheDark


Sorry I don't want to derail the topic. To get it back in line... I think reincarnation implies itself as "universal" and so reincarnation in any form of life would be possible without regard to perceptions of station. Birds, fish, mammals. etc. are all life and so in the loop. I do though believe karma, rather than being a cosmic point system or cause and effect, refers to the spiritual chain that link us to this earth's life cycle. So I don't believe it would be possible to reincarnate on another world if your body dies on this one.

Interesting thoughts there. I always supposed that if reincarnation happned, then it woudln't matter so much where one reincarnated, since we are all part of the same Creator.

Could you clarify, though, if you mean "world" as a planet, or as a serparate dimension?

I would think that it would be relatively common for a soul to reincarnate on different planets in the same dimension, especially if they have a lot of contact with one another, but unlikely to have cross-dimensional rencarnation.


If I follow your exact line of thinking, It makes me wonder what would happen in hypothetical cases where an "alien" comes to one world and dies there, whether he would then reincarnate in that world or the one that he was originally from.

[edit on 15-9-2008 by asmeone2]

Originally posted by asmeone2
Interesting thoughts there. I always supposed that if reincarnation happned, then it woudln't matter so much where one reincarnated, since we are all part of the same Creator.

Could you clarify, though, if you mean "world" as a planet, or as a serparate dimension?

I would think that it would be relatively common for a soul to reincarnate on different planets in the same dimension, especially if they have a lot of contact with one another, but unlikely to have cross-dimensional rencarnation.


If I follow your exact line of thinking, It makes me wonder what would happen in hypothetical cases where an "alien" comes to one world and dies there, whether he would then reincarnate in that world or the one that he was originally from.

[edit on 15-9-2008 by asmeone2]

My overall perception is that all laws work in union, physical and metaphysical, so our spirit energy is just as prone to earthly forces as our physical bodies. This means for me that death and reincarnation implies a recycling of our energy with the planet until that energy regrows into another lifeform. I guess in that sense I could say I see karma as a sort of spiritual gravity that is specific to the physical place we exist. Perhaps this is the source for religious emphasis on "lightness" of the soul that's required for that soul to "ascend to heaven". So in the hypothetical case of the alien, it's energy would recycle with the rest of the planet, making no difference where it comes from but where it ends up.

As to the question about planet or dimension, I see it as a question of the characteristics of time and space rather than physical location. The universe makes sense to me as an infinite system in a finite space. For the sake of simplicity, a circle that encompasses the potential for everything. I simplify that potential by viewing it as the ancient concept of the tree of life. The root and branch system of that tree intertwines, overlaps, crosses and forms all the threads of universal reality. As a result, some parts are closer than others allowing for most of the psychic, spiritual and metaphysical experiences people have. These other branches as we see them are what I think people are referring to when talking of other dimensions. Whether or not it's possible to jump from one branch to another, I honestly don't have an idea. It strikes me that it could be, because what isn't possible when not all possibilities are known, but I would suspect it would have to be as a result of an immense release of power and perhaps some lucky circumstances. I doesn't seem unthinkable that cosmic forces could push branches closer together.

[edit on 15-9-2008 by TravelerintheDark]

reply to post by TravelerintheDark


Very interesting thoughts there, Traveler.

I'm happy I could pique your interest