Since the beginning of time, people have wondered what comes after death. It’s the ultimate unknown because those who have truly died can’t come back and tell us what it was like. So philosophers, religious groups, and conspiracy theories each have their own version of what the afterlife will be like. But one theory about the afterlife spooked thousands of TikTok users.
TikToker’s Theory About the Afterlife
In the TikTok video, Brandon Monhollen explains a version of the ‘reborn’ theory. Essentially, right after someone dies, they are immediately reborn into a new life.
His video is a response to a question posed by another TikTok that asked: “What’s a conspiracy theory that absolutely blows your mind?”
In the caption, he wrote, “hope this gains some traction! seriously intriguing.”
This is what he said: “I’m not exactly sure if this is a conspiracy theory, but I read this about six months ago.
“What if when we die, the light at the end of the tunnel is the light to another hospital. There we are born, and the only reason you come out crying is because you remember everything from your past life, and you’re crying at the fact that you died and lost everything.
“As you grow and start to forget your past life, and you focus on the life that you have now, patches of memory stay behind and that memory causes déjà vu.”
The video now has over 1.3 million views.
Some users remained skeptical of the idea; many commented how it felt like an episode of Black Mirror. Meanwhile, some didn’t hate the afterlife theory and felt it made sense.
One commenter wrote, “Whooooooa dude!!! I think that’s the most sense anyone has ever made!!!”
Someone else wrote, “Did you have to… omg… not going to sleep for a week.”
A person added their own idea to the theory, writing, “”And that’s the reason why we have certain anxieties or fear of something is because of our past lives.”
Another coincided their religious beliefs with the theory, “I believe in God but maybe if u haven’t been bad enough for hell or good enough for heaven so he keeps sending u back till the last judgment lol.” [1]
Read: Geologists say a new ocean is opening up in Africa
Other Theories About What Causes Déjà Vu
“Déjà vu” is that uncanny feeling that you’ve already seen or experienced something that you know you haven’t. It’s difficult for researchers to study this sensation because it comes without warning and lasts only a few moments.
One theory suggests that you did see the thing before, but unconsciously, perhaps in the corner of your eye or while you were distracted. Still, the brain forms a memory of that thing so when you view it again with your full attention, you think you are seeing it for the first time.
Another theory states that déjà vu is a “brain glitch,” similar to what happens during an epileptic seizure but on a much smaller scale. It’s a mix-up in the brain, colliding present events with past memories. Unless this happens often, this dysfunction isn’t a cause for concern.
There is another “brain glitch” theory, but this one states that short-term memories cut into long-term memory storage. So it feels like you are recalling a past memory instead of a memory from a second ago.
Of course, there are many less scientific theories, such as the above afterlife theory that says déjà vu are memories from your past life. As intriguing as this sounds, it’s impossible to prove. [2]
Other Theories About the Afterlife
The reborn theory is just one among many about the afterlife, some are based on religious philosophy and some are from movies and TV shows.
- The Hindu theory – Hindus believe that people are reincarnated 52 times, even as plants and animals, before becoming human again.
- The Buddhist theory – Buddhists believe that after people die, they are reincarnated into one of six destinies: gods, demi-gods, humans, animals, ghosts, or they go into a hellish realm. Good people are typically born into one of the first three.
- The pessimist theory – We are all already dead.
- The Beetlejuice theory – According to Tim Burton’s movie, after people die, they live as ghosts in a parallel dimension. (Ok this is a pop culture creation, but we’ll leave it in here.)
- The cryogenicist theory – Some people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to store their corpses at freezing temperatures until science finds the cure for death and brings the bodies back to life.
- The biocentrism theory – Some quantum physicists maintain that after people die, their consciousness continues to live in the universe.
- The egocentric theory – You are the only person who actually exists and the rest of the world is from your imagination. So when you die, the universe dies with you. [3]
Keep Reading: Most Life On Earth Will Be Wiped Out In A Billion Years, Scientists Predict
Sources
- “This theory about what happens after death terrifies everyone.” GQ Magazine. Paloma González. March 3, 2021.
- “What Causes Déjà vu?” Healthline. Crystal Raypole. March 30, 2020
- “20 theories on life after death.” MSN.