Reincarnation

The Problem of Death

As I get older, I wonder more and more what I'm going to find when I finally get to answer the age old question, "What happens when I die?" For me, the most aggravating answer would be "nothing"; nothing happens when I die, I just go to sleep and never wake up. On the plus side, I wouldn't feel aggravated; in fact, I wouldn't feel anything. Still, the thought that all the hassle I've been through in this life amounted to big bupkis is annoying. The truth is, if I really, truly, deeply believed that only "nothing" awaited me at the end of my life, I'd end it all today. If, for one moment, I honestly thought that everything ends for me the moment I die, I'd get into my car and seek a fast train. After all, what is the point of living if life has no meaning?

The Meaning of Life

As far as I can tell, life is all about experiencing. The more I've thought about it, the more I'm convinced that we're here for the experience, to "have fun", so to speak. The fact that many-a-time we don't, appears to be strictly our own fault. To me, we are here to play victor and vanquished, victim and perpetrator, super star or adoring fan. If I am right, then we're all just playing preordained parts. The stalker is enjoying her part, the victim should enjoy his part too, but most of us don't understand life well enough to know how to do that.

In this regard, we can understand the meaning of Nirvana. Letting go of the idea of "self" to the point where we accept the part we've chosen to play in life logically should lead to less frustration, regardless of whether we are facing success or failure. Our successes are those things we planned to succeed at. Our failures are those things we planned to fail at. Of course, part of the plan is nearly always that we should not remember we're playing a game, that we are in fact in a virtual reality world.

What is Reincarnation?

There are three major variants in answer to the question, "What happens to us when we die?"
1. When we die, we return to the nothingness from which we supposedly came.
2. When we die, we go to an afterlife, where we stay forever.
3. When we die, we go to an afterlife where we stay for some time before returning to Earth as a newborn child.
This is called "reincarnation".

Is Reincarnation Possible?

I wouldn't be at all surprised if you thought that reincarnation is merely a religious belief. However, starting in the early 1960s, a professor of psychology called Dr. Ian Stevenson began using a strict, academically rigorous approach to studying the memories of some unusual children. What these children all had in common was a firm belief that they had lived before. Many even thought that they were the victims of some kind of prank and constantly asked to be returned to their "true" home. Several of these children would say things like, "My real mother had long hair," or "My actual mother is prettier than you." Dr. Stevenson noticed these children began voicing these claims from about the age of two until about the age of eight, when the memories in most of the children faded away.

Dr. Stevenson's research revealed some astonishing data. These children were able to recall facts about the deceased person which they couldn't have known. One girl asked about gold she had hidden in a secret compartment in the wall of her former house! It turns out, her former husband had found the gold after she had died. A commission set up by Mahatma Ghandi studied this girl's unusual memories and subsequently concluded that she was indeed reincarnated. (Look up "Shanti Devi" online.)

I have had the great pleasure and luck of meeting Jenny Cockell, who believes she is the reincarnation of Mary Sutton, a woman who died in Ireland in the early 1930s. Jenny's case is pretty amazing. Not only did she find out about her past life personality, she helped to bring Mary's children (five of the eight had survived) together again after authorities had separated them following Mary's death – over 60 years later!

Real Life Reincarnation Stories

There are thousands of well-known reincarnation stories today, with at least 2.500 recorded by the Virginia University Department of Psychology, where Dr. Stevenson once worked. If you'd like to learn more about reincarnation, there are books, magazines, videos, films, even online and in-person social groups. I intend to publish a resource for those who are fascinated by the subject, so please keep an eye on this page.

Warning

There are a lot of charlatans out there. Be VERY careful if anyone offers you a service for which you must pay. Also, if you ever undergo regression hypnosis (or any hypnosis for that matter) ALWAYS have a close friend or relative in the room with you. If you intend to use your sessions to support your personal research, gain the hypnotist’s permission to record (or better yet, video) them.

Advice

If your child begins to say strange things like, “When I was big…,” please do not tease or dissuade them from speaking. Just listen to what they have to say quietly, and without judgement. Researchers have noticed that children who genuinely remember a past life are always extremely factual. It is critical for believability that you record in writing, or better yet, in audio or video, what the child says. Record as surreptitiously as possible to avoid interrupting the child’s free flow of thought. Lastly, do NOT ask leading questions! This means, do not “put words into the child’s mouth”. Let them speak freely and naturally.
If you need further advice or assistance, feel free to get in touch with me using 'Contact Tayo' buttons or menus available throughout this website.