That's the big one, isn't it.
Personally, I believe "I" is just a construct of memory and experience that gets formed at birth and grows with you. We attach a lot more value to it than I think it deserves.
As to it continuing after death. I'm sure it does in some form. The latest advances in theoretical physics suggest that everything, every moment and place in space and time is co-terminant. My past, present and future all exist right now in a never-ending present. Whether you express that idea via the Holographic Principle or quantum singularity doesn't really matter, but what it does mean is that "I", and indeed all the "I"s I might reincarnate as exist forever, right now, and that this I should, in theory, be able to access them all.
Boggles the mind, but it makes the ride fun. If you're interested in this. Do yourself a favour and pick up String Theorist Brian Greene's books "The Elegant Universe" and "The Fabric of the Cosmos" He also did a documentary for PBS Nova, which you can view online at their website. For the more metaphysical bent on the matter, get a hold of "The Holographic Universe" and "The Science of the Craft". I can't remember the authors names, but both make very compelling links between magick/spirituality and the direction modern physics is taking these days.
Also feel free to to PM me if you wanna chat about this stuff. I LIVE for metaphysics.
