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Dr. Michael Newton was a traditional psychotherapist opposed to past life regression work when a client spontaneously entered what seemed like a past life regression.

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The man had complained about a persistent pain in his side that doctors couldn’t diagnose or treat. In the regression, the man found himself in the battle of Somme of World War I  on the British side. He was dying of a bajonet wound. Newton, a keen scholar of martial history immediately asked him to look at the division patch on his arm. The client could describe it correctly. That was the clincher for Newton. But was it proof a past life?

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I’m in two minds about past life regression because on one hand I have reservations about the validity of so-called past life experiences. On the other hand, I’m happen to be one of the people who may have had a past life experience. (I’ll tell you about it further down).
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Past life regression

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This is a form of therapy where people allegedly access previous lives in the course of hypnosis. It’s a controversial form of treatment and there are two main questions one could ask. One is: are these really previous lives? The other: is this therapeutic intervention useful?

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Are past life regression memories real?

They certainly feel real to the person experiencing them and seem convincing to therapists who evoke them. Whilst I have some reservations about the validity of this therapy, it’s fair to say that there are respected psychotherapists and psychiatrists amongst the PLR (Past Life Regression) therapists, as well as people whos qualifications are more doubtful.

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One of the leading developers of PLR therapy was Brian L. Weiss, M.D., the Chairman Emeritus of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami. The well-known psychotherapist Dr. Michael Newton explains why he became a PLR therapist in this video.

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I’m not sure whether past life regression is a useful tool for well-being and mental health. I would hate to see people whose psyche is already fragile burdened with more life-times of trauma. To heal the wounds of this life seems to be more than enough for many people.
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Prof. Ian Stevenson’s work, whom I introduced in my article on reincarnation, is often quoted by therapists as supporting evidence for the validity of Past Life Regression. Actually, he was dead set against it. In an article he voiced strong concerns: Read the rest of this entry »

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When a young Turkish boy named Celal Kapan first began to speak, almost the first thing he said was:

“What am I doing here? I was at the port.”

Later  he told his parents that he had been  a dockworker who had fallen asleep in the hold of a ship when a heavy oil drum fell on him and killed him instantly. Was he remembering a previous life?
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What happens when we die?
.Is there life after death?

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From the earliest beginnings of the human race, people have asked these questions. This week’s article is about reincarnation. Others on past life regression, near death experiences, death bed visions, crisis apparitions, and ghosts, will follow at irregular intervals.

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Reincarnation

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Reincarnation is the belief that the human soul is reborn into a new body after death. Many Buddhists and Hindus believe in reincarnation. Even some strands of Christianity believed in reincarnation, until the Council of Nice banned such beliefs in 553 A.D.

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What do we really know about reincarnation?
Is there any evidence for it?

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The foremost researcher of reincarnation was Dr. Ian Stevenson, Professor of Psychiatry and Director or the Division of Personality Studies at the University of Virginia. He died in 2007 after a long, distinguished, and fruitful career. Stevenson researched cases of children between the age of two and five who suddenly started speaking of a previous life and offered details. His research was published in reputable scientific journals.

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In Stevenson’s book “Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation”, he recounts the story of the Indian girl Swarnlata Misha:

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When Swarnlata was three, she was travelling in a car with her father and a driver. When they were in Katni, an area 100 miles from her home, she suddenly pointed and said to the driver:

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“Please go along this road here. We can go to my house. We can get a better cup of tea there than on the road.”

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Her father was taken aback because this area was unknown to him and to her. She then related more details of her previous life in Katni, giving her name as Biya Pathak, and describing the house in detail. She said that she had two sons and had died of “a pain in her throat”.

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When she was ten years old, an Indian researcher, Prof Banerjee, heard about her story and decided to investigate. He found the house where the Pathak family lived, using only Swarnlata’s description. Everything was just as Swarnlata had described it. He interviewed the Pathak family and they informed him that Biya Pathak had died in 1939 and had left two sons and a husband.

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A few months later Biya’s husband, her brother and one of her sons paid a surprise visit to the girl in order to see her and test her memories. You can imagine the turmoil they must have felt as went on this mission. She recognised her family and even knew their nicknames.

It’s hard to imagine what it might have been like for Chintamini Pandey, Biya’s husband. To meet a 10-year old who seems to be a reincarnation of his beloved wife who died twenty years ago must have been an extraordinary experience.

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I wonder how Swarnlata felt about all this? It must have been confusing to remember the life of a grown woman when she was only a child. Stevenson visited her in later years and corresponded with her for ten years after this case was investigated. He reports that she grew up normally, received an advanced degree in botany, and got married. She visited her ‘former family’ in Katni regularly.

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You can read a candid interview with Stevenson, as well as the full story of Swarnlata here.

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Stevenson said of his research:

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All the cases I’ve investigated so far have shortcomings. Even taken together, they do not offer anything like proof. But as the body of evidence accumulates, it’s more likely that more and more people will see its relevance.

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To round off the picture, here is an article in which the author critizises Stevenson’s methods and findings.

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What do you make of reincarnation?

Please share your thoughts in the comments.
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I plan to explore themes that may shine some light on what happens when we die in a series of seven articles that will appear at irregular intervalls. The themes are: past life regression, near death experiences, death bed visions, crisis apparitions, ghosts, and beliefs about death and afterlife. The next article of the series is on past life regression. I’l reveal a mysterious experience of mine that could be construed as a past life regression. But I’ll only publish it if you leave a lot of comments here so that I know that you are interested in the mystery of life and death, and would like to read some more!

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Related post: Past Life Regression: Evidence of Life after Death?

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What do people remember about you when you walk out of the room?

In my case, I may think it’s my background and knowledge that makes me special, but it’s more likely that what’s really memorable is seeing food magically transports itself from my plate onto the floor or onto other laps when I’m excited…

What makes YOU special?

Take a look at the following list of 35 things that make you special. It’s like a life inventory. When you consider all the questions, you’ll get a sense of how your life is at the moment, and how you could change it to bring out YOUR special uniqueness.

1. Personality

What is your personality? Take a look at the following personality types according to the Enneagram. Are you

• An idealistic Reformer,
• a caring Helper,
• a success-oriented Achiever,
• an introspective Idealist,
• an idealistic Reformer,
• a caring Helper,
• a success-oriented Achiever,
• a sensitive Individualist,
• an intense Investigator,
• a security-oriented Loyalist,
• a spontaneous Enthusiast,
• a powerful Challenger,
• or a reassuring Peacemaker?

You can take the Enneagram test here, or take another personality test here

2. Signature style

What’s your signature style? Are you engaging, entertaining, moving, intense, funny, bold, ditzy, serene, boring, or threatening? Read the rest of this entry »