Reincarnation is an idea that varies in its interpretation likely as much as what heaven might be like. The most basic premise behind reincarnation is that when one dies, they are reborn again as something else. Many believe that this is possible because of some sort of non-physical essence that is our core self. A spirit, a soul, something that is not limited to the bounds of our physical body and therefore can live on after our body dies, finding a new host. So, that may imply that if one does not believe that we have souls, or anything beyond our physical body, then one could not believe in a concept like reincarnation. I would disagree with this however, I think not only is it possible to be reincarnated without a soul, but I think when looking at reincarnation from a certain point of view, it becomes obvious that reincarnation is a natural and necessary phenomenon.
The first law of Thermodynamics tells us that energy cannot be destroyed, it can only be transformed from one form to another. We are made of energy, we are powered by energy, we consume energy and we produce energy as biological creatures. So, when one dies, what happens to the energy that we embody? Our understanding of Thermodynamics tells us that it cannot be destroyed, it only changes into a different form. When we are buried into the Earth and left in the dark, we decompose overtime, releasing the energy in and of our bodies into the soil, back into the Earth. Perhaps the roots of a tree penetrate the casket, or perhaps insects or worms eat into the flesh of what we once were. A tree absorbing energy and elements from the soil that were released from our body, or a worm being powered by the energy it gains from consuming part of what once was us has in effect combined a piece of what we once were with themselves. In a very real sense, we have become the worm, we have become the tree. It may not be a conscious event, I believe it is likely we lose our consciousness upon death when our brain dies, but we do not need our consciousness to live on. We have been transformed into the wriggling red-worm or the mighty cemetery pine. We were assimilated into the form of another, helping provide it with life. Then soon after, the worm or the tree may die. Perhaps the worm is eaten by a bird, metabolized and turned into the energy the bird uses to fly. The body of the worm is absorbed by the bird and becomes the bird. Or perhaps the tree is burned and it's ashes are sent into the air and are scattered across the ground, eventually mixing in with the soil, or perhaps that cemetery pine was a bristle cone pine that upon being burned, it's pine cones open up and release its seeds that spread on the wind, brining the growth of future trees. When that tree decays into the soil or produces new trees, when the worm is eaten by the soaring bird, what we once were changes and transforms again. The human who died became the tree or worm, became the seed or bird, and the cycle continues on and on, far into the future.
Our story stretches far into the past as well. Our current understanding of the origin of the Universe starts with a singularity, a single point of infinite mass and infinite density that explodes from an imbalance within itself. Energy from that big bang is spread far and wide throughout the rapidly expanding universe eventually coming together to create hydrogen and then helium, and much later forming stars, so hot and dense that in their core creates the heavy elements. That initial energy from the very first explosion, we must surmise is still here today, trillions of years later, for if energy cannot be destroyed, only transformed, all of that initial energy is still with us in some form. If we know that the formation of the heavy elements like iron were created in the center of stars at some point in the distant past and then spread throughout the galaxy during supernova explosions, then we must realize that the iron in our blood, that pumps through our veins, was created inside of a star that died long ago. The star became us, we are made of stardust. The elements in our bodies were the same elements that built The Earth, that drifted in the expanse of space, that burned brightly so long ago and were created from a chain of energy that dates back seven trillion years. It becomes one form, it lives in some way, then it dies and becomes something else, again and again and again until at this very moment, it manifests into us. We are The Big Bang, we are star dust, we are the energy of the entire universe that at this moment, has just happened to take this form after wandering for eons.
We have existed for trillions of years, constantly changing, living and dying, and this life is just one more revolution of that every turning circle and when this expression of ourselves is done we will live on anew in a new forms until the ends of time. The never ending cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. This is reincarnation, this is samsara. We need not a soul, only to have happened and that is proof that we have always been and always will be.
