That is not dead which can eternal lie, yet with stranger aeons, even Death may die.

H.P. Lovecraft

In the belief of reincarnation, the "soul" is constantly passing into new bodies and the space in between births is thought to be seemingly short to the living and very long to the deceased (It is believed that the longer you stay in a meditative state of peace while living the space between death and life shortens,) this is why you cannot remember pasty lives, they feel VERY distant.