Interesting thing is that after reading the AOY and taking up meditations I was no more interested in military things, I even signed up as a conscentious objector. The interest came up later with the ruminations you are referring to (aloso based on DAya Mata, bro. Anandamoy's talks and writings), and I subsequently changed my mind officially, that is I resigned as a conscentious objector and started training in the use of fireweapons.
In my case, Steve, it's not easy to figure out my past interests, since my present ones (this life) have been multifarious and I switched from one to the other according to opportunities . What I remember: Sports & fitness, weapons, jazz music (piano), vegetarian cooking, languages, fishing, hiking, rough trekking, archery, firearms shooting, martial arts, dogs training, farming vegetables, backpacking, mathematics, history, philosophy, teaching to professional colleagues, first aid and surely more. Sure I took up geology out of spirit of adventure and physical fitness helped to walk up the hills and mountains to chart outcrops but I also like the engineering part of it.
Bottom line, I gave up trying to figure out what I did in my previous life, but maybe from the few hints I gave you you may be able to figure out more than myself.
i get a sense of physical agility, various forms of offence/defence and adventure as a theme behind many of your interests. This is concurrent with my idea of the military and various forms of exploration. Some people who forged their way through the west in the early pioneer days of the U.S. were much like this. Scouts in war. The Knights of King Arthor, the soldiers of Alaxander the Great, the Vikings and the American Indians were like this. Fishing, hunting and protecting themselves were paramount goals and in the spirit of adventure they often had to use any and all opportunities at hand. Of course this type of exploration happened in many parts of the world and anyone being involved with it would obviously have to have a interest in the lay out of the land to be successful in their travels and survive.
