The above babble aside, the process by which this occurs is a bit more simplistic... somewhat. The issue is that not every deceased entity wishes to be in a physical body once more, while other entities want to have a physical body, sometimes desperately, hence possessions willingly and unwillingly.

One way to go about it, and rather simple, is at the time of death the spirit (which is assumed to have all the aforementioned parts connected to it, except the physical and associated physically dependant parts) is separated from the body, and it may exist for a short time within the ether most interconnected with the physical existence, where it can see the causes/results relating to its death. From there, if there is a major need for such, it will find an available body immediately. Otherwise it may stay in a sort of stasis or freeze where it awaits conditions for rebirth, though this information is sketchy and uncertain.

It might be mentioned that personality does not survive, but can be remade as previously existed in the new body. Personality is shaped by the physical brain and its influences. Under this, it is still possible for a person to grow up in a bad home but end up being a pleasant individual due to a desire to not possess the traits they saw as negative within their environment. Also, hypothetically, it is possible for a raging ax-murderer who died to be reborn and behave very passively in their new adult life, due to the personality not surviving. It may also be noted that mental illnesses may lead to behaviors undesired by the person, simply due to the fact they are still in a living body with all it's perks and flaws.

When it comes to identity, it might be noted that a person’s spirit has no particular form, but it may have a preferred form over others. In this current life one's mental image of oneself may be shaped by what they see in the mirror, or it may be something else. Trying to imagine looking at a mirror, but not forcing your current body to appear, is one method to discover the preferred form, but it doesn't work for everyone.

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Just for the sake of interest, I will look up websites giving arguments against reincarnation and try to answer some of their arguments.

Googling "arguments against reincarnation" brings up a site that goes straight for the bible. I'll deal with that in another article. Next one...

One find is "What is the sense in being punished for actions we do not remember?", referring to karma or similar, where the bad deeds in a past life will have justice brought upon them through misery in the next. That is not a necessity, nor a rule, yet it is still used as an excuse for just rotten luck or the inability to fix things. It may be the entity's own decision to experience things in the next life that teaches it understanding over a wrong from a prior one, though it may be interpreted as suffering. If the lesson is learned then all is peachy. The way to go about this is to simply do what you would do normally, or what you feel is right. If things aren't going right, one should seek out the solution rather than complain about it.

Eh, more religious bits that don't line enough as an argument, so I'll go with memory. I recall an argument that stated there are too many people alive or too many people dead, resulting in too many souls or not enough souls for all the people in the world. I believe this is solved with the idea of stasis, and the idea that one can exist and function without a physical body, with groups and societies existing on other levels of existence. And I don't say plane, because I dislike the idea of a flat landscape floating around in space, and too many folks use it anyways, some talking about concepts I disagree with; thus I use these terms.

Found a nice little bit about babies/fetuses and whether or not they feel pain and all the other ethical stuff relating. From current understanding, fetuses and babies are not directly aware of self for many years. Memories don't start for a while, and understanding of self comes much later. Though there are exceptions, and this doesn't give an excuse to cause harm onto others, babies or otherwise. As for the spiritual part, it may be that the spirit is associated with the form body at conception, or it may come to reside in the body at birth, or it may come to reside as the final resident many years after birth. Options are plentiful.

(Also Note: There appears to be some curiosity that occurs with children around the age of eight. It may be the next step towards personal awareness, empathy, or something else, but it seems more than random. Currently more data is required.)

In conclusion

I haven’t the slightest idea what goes on after death. It might just turn out it is unique for everyone. Having reviewed my babble I feel that it isn’t expressed all that clearly, and it is too easy to interpret it incorrectly, thus this will be on my list of articles to try and convert to be more professional at some point. Major issue with these ideas is that they are all too convenient and flexible, though that is the whole point of them; to try and fit in with our current understanding of the world, without using any magic. If I don’t set things in stone it is because these things are not set in stone; ideas evolve to work at their best. See my Intelligent Systems article. Also, don’t believe things just because they’re written by some guy. Think about how this may add to your own understanding, or whether it causes contradictions, or whether it too far “out there” to make any sense of. Oh, and I will state this article is extremely sloppy. I want to have it redone to be more concise, accurate, and pretty overall. And to stamp a disclaimer: This is nothing more than the fanciful creations of an obscure video-game. So if you have a problem with it, or are an ax-wielding murderer, there is nothing I can do to help you except guide you to the [X] button on the top right of your screen.

As another individual I am acquainted with says, “You never know”

Oh, and This website is worth a read. Interesting stuff, but a heavy read.