First written & published 27th May 2020
Many people believe in some sort of afterlife, like Heaven for example, but what about the concept of Reincarnation – could it be possible that our souls are born again into new bodies after we depart this world?
It is widely accepted in many cultures and religions that our souls do indeed transfer into new bodies upon death – be that Human, Animal or Plant! The Hindu religion in particular believes that our actions in this current lifetime directly affect our status in the next – Karma! Karma, they say, is the key to the path of enlightenment and the ultimate escape from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. But is this just a means of keeping people in their place?
There are many documented cases of young children (usually around 3 years of age) being able to describe people, places and even circumstances of which they could have no prior knowledge – at least not in this lifetime! One such case is of a 3 year old boy from the Golan Heights Region of Israel who was born with a long red birthmark on his head. He claimed to have been killed by a blow to the head with an axe in his last life and could recall his previous name and even the name of his murderer! He took the Village Elders to a location where he said his body lay and sure enough they dug up a skeleton with a wound to its skull that corresponded with the boy’s birthmark, next the little boy showed them where to find the murder weapon and a decomposing axe was found. How on earth could a 3 year old boy have known where a body and a murder weapon lay, especially a body with wounds that matched his own birthmark? It offers an interesting case in support of reincarnation.
Most of us have no such memories, at least not as adults, but some of us have an underlying feeling that this is not our first incarnation and seek ways to explore this and uncover previous lives. One such way to explore our previous incarnations is under Hypnosis where a trained professional can help guide you through your past lives; this is called Past Life Regression. I have spoken to a qualified Hypnotherapist who videos clients during Regression sessions and he states that you can clearly hear changes in a person’s voice, see changes in their body language and even see physical changes in their faces when they are regressed and experiencing previous existences.
Another compelling piece of evidence is that of babies dreaming whilst in their Mother’s womb. Studies have been carried out and many Scientists argue that during the phases of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep the babies are actually dreaming and whilst no reference has been made directly to Reincarnation, what could a baby possibly dream about if its soul hasn’t lived before?
But if Reincarnation exists then how does it work – do our souls transfer into new physical bodies immediately upon our death, or is there some sort of transitional period? It is widely accepted among Spiritual circles that when we die our souls return to Spirit where we can evaluate what we have learned and spend time with our Soul Family, then, when we feel ready, we can choose to reincarnate – this could be a very short period of time, like months perhaps, or very much longer, as in centuries. Often members of our soul family share life times with us and this is why we sometimes get a feeling that we “know” someone even if we’ve only just met – a kind of karmic link.
There is another possible explanation for at least some accounts of Reincarnation – Genetic Memory. We are all born with some genetic memory passed down to us from our Parents which often explains phobias and such like. This could go some way to explaining feelings such as deja-vu, they are actually memories from our blood relatives stored in our genes and many people argue that past life memories are nothing more than this. However, most scientists dismiss this idea as research has shown that there is usually no link between these past life memories and a person’s genetic ancestors – the memories would have to have come from a complete stranger and are therefore impossible.
Dr Ian Stevenson has carried out extensive research in the field of Reincarnation and has amassed over three thousand case studies. He dismissed any claims from adults, particularly those who have undergone regression, as it could be argued that what they experienced was simply their imagination conjuring up a story, or even a false memory that had been planted in their minds. Instead he concentrated on the accounts of children aged between the years of three and five who remembered aspects of their past lives, he then attempted to match these details to real people and events and looked for birth marks and other physical signs that would correspond with previous injuries. He was incredibly strict and controlled in his approach and has led many sceptics and scientists to question the possibility of Reincarnation – he offers extremely compelling evidence.
There is no absolute proof that any of us have lived before or will again, but science is uncovering new and previous thought bizarre concepts all the time, surely it is only a matter of time before they find conclusive proof of the reality of Reincarnation?
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