Reincarnation and Karma by Paul

One could look at it from the "Realist" interpretation. Everything on the island did happen. Season 6 flash-side ways were Jacks way of reaching peace; and finally letting go. The characters journey together brings them together in the end; not wanting to let go of each other.

Then theres the metaphysical interpretation. The story of lost ends where it began. The word purgatory is being thrown around; though I'm not sure I believe it is purgatory exactly. The island is more of a place of redemption, which is why the "whispers" are stuck on the island; because they are unable to reach peace. Throughout the entire show, main characters in the mythology tended to talk about the "rules". The mysterious thing about the rules though, is they are possibly defined by subjectivity; the rules are there to make it make sense to the observers; the whole island being subjectively defined. The rules are defined because of the human minds incapability of comprehending the infinite. Some are saying it is a test, though I am more of the opinion that it is the "imagination" that spirits concocted to find peace. It may not be an island for everyone, but the castaways together through "shared karmic imagination" subjectively created the island. The island was their own creation. It was one of infinite possibilities, but it was the one that finally brought the souls retribution; because the castaways had a unique connection.

From this interpretation you could look at Desmond as being the significant figure in everyone finding peace. Different from everyone else, he came on a boat. Mainly because he is the first one to realize the "illusion". In the episode the constant, Desmond broke through to the other side(not the exact alt reality but another alt possibly). Because he found his "constant" he was able to break layers between two different realities and see himself in different possibilities. Towards the end, he does it again, but this time he finally completely connects his soul to the infinite. Penny "his constant", helped him pull himself over across the boundaries of space and time. In many eastern religions, it is often thought that the reality in which we live in is an illusion; that to find peace we have to "see through" the veil of reality(especially in buddhism and hinduism). Desmond helped pull his fellow castaways through the veil. The island was just a veil created for by certain souls to reach peace. The island could be looked at as an illusion or actual reality(though I think the purpose of it all was the show that illusion and reality are the same thing; the pain and suffering we do have in life is just a metaphor for a soul finding its way to enlightenment).

When I look at Lost now, I think the entire show was laced in eastern spiritual concepts. It could be said that our spirit creates the boundaries we live it, because it is always trying to find the best way to find its way out of the illusion and pain of everything. Lost can be interpreted as the story of a group of souls breaking the karmic chain.

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108 was on the counter clock in the hatch and pressing the button was to symbolize the repetition. The number resetting every time the code is entered is symbolizing reincarnation. 108 is considered to be the divine number. Each time we start off with the possibility of perfection but it dwindles away with life(symbolized by the pain and agitation caused by worrying about pressing the button).

Another thing about the button is John Locke finally decides to quit pushing the button; but you can't just quit pushing it(this symbolizes the journey that one must go on to release). You can't just die and it be the end of it, you have to work at it.
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To Jack : "How are you here?"
Jack: "I died too"
To Jack: "It's ok son"
Jack: "Are you real?"
To Jack : "I sure hope so, yea I'm real, you are real, everything that ever happened to you is real, all those people in the church are real to"
Jack: "Are they dead?"
To Jack: "Everyone's gotta die sometimes; some before you, some after you"


To Jack: "This is the place you'll made together so you could find one another; the most important part of your life was the time you spent with these people; nobody does it alone Jack.... you needed all of them and they needed you"
Jack: For what?
To Jack "To remember and let go".


To Jack: "Not leaving no. Moving on.
Jack: "Where are we going"
To Jack: "Lets go find out"






Another quote I liked to support this is Jacob's quote to the MIB.
"Yes, but it only ends once...everything before that is progress"