Sunday, July 19, 2009

Reincarnation, Early Memories

"I am certain that I have been here as I am now
a thousand times before,
and I hope to return a thousand times."
~ Goethe (1749-1832)



There was a long tradition of investigating evidence relevant for the question of life after death. But Ian Stevenson, M.D. started a new field of inquiry, namely the investigation of phenomena that might give evidence for life before birth, the theory of reincarnation. A well-known and revealing study of reincarnation was conducted by Professor of Psychiatry, Ian Stevenson, M.D. of the University of Virginia Medical School.
Dr. Stevenson documented more than two thousand cases of children who have reported past life experiences and his works has been published by the University of Virginia Press and in numerous medical journals. Ian Stevenson died in 2007 and child psychiatrist Dr. Jim Tucker is carrying on the work of Dr. Stevenson at the University.

Dr. Stevenson’s Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation has aroused considerable interest around the world and is regarded as almost a textbook by serious students of the subject. The children reported in his studies cover the full range of ethnic backgrounds, about half from European heritage and with strong ties to the Judeo-Christian ethos where reincarnationist ideas are largely alien to the culture. He will be primarily remembered for his pioneering field investigations of children who claim to have lived before.




My previous posts on Reincarnation:
Dr. Jim Tucker Interview



~Linda

8 comments:

Barbara Martin said...

In childhood I had repetitve dreams of several different lives, two in particular being: after WWII in Europe waiting beside a country road for a particular soldier to return, and earlier in 18th century England of a headboard banging against a wallpapered wall. About ten years ago I meditated on the latter dream and learned it was a horrific event involving the soul of a person I know today.

Ronda Laveen said...

I have practiced hypnosis since I was 12 years old. I have done sessions with many people in which the unexplainable surfaces. I can never possibly guess what will occur.

Matt said...

All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again.

Mark said...

Thank-you for sharing this resource. I have added this to my reading list. I truly believe we live many lives.

Anonymous said...

I've read this book, but I am not convinced of the birthmark stories. Mainly because my daughter was born with an extensive birthmark and I really doubt it has anything to do with a former life. As for reincarnation I do believe in that, this is an interesting book, but with little scientific evidence, which is what people usually want to see. A few more american cases would have been nice, since it seemed most of the cases were over seas.

Linda Pendleton said...

Barbara, interesting, often those repetitive dreams do have meaning. Thanks for sharing.

Ronda, I'm sure yu familiar then with Dr. Weiss and his work and books.

Matt, thanks for your comment.

Mark, I believe as you do.

Nancy,
I have read much of Ian Stevenson's work over the years and found it quite incredible. Of course it is much more than birth marks, but is confirmed memories and knowledge, Xenoglossy, etc. A lot of his work was in India.

I have only glanced through and read a little of Dr. Tucker's book as I bought it along with Carol Bowman's Children's Past Lives, for my oldest grandson when he wanted to know more about past life memories. Have you read Dr. Weiss?

Nancy said...

I am really enjoying the interviews that you are posting. Very informative. My youngest daughter suffers from night terrors - still. And they always involve "her mother" hurting her, burning her, etc. When she was a baby we would have to close the window during one of these episodes because she would be screaming - no mommy, no mommy, noooooo! We thought people would hear her, and think we were torturing our child. (This is a child who has been loved, adored, spoiled, pampered, her entire life. She has never had a spanking!) So my thought was how an innocent little baby could be so terrified during these episodes. It had to be a past-life issue. She simply did not have the experiences in this life to know anything about child abuse.

Linda Pendleton said...

Gosh, Nancy, that sure sounds like the things we've read about with those memories being so vivid from a past life. A very young child has no experience with these things that seem to come forward, except as memories of events from a previous life.

I'm glad you're enjoying my postings. :-) And I always enjoy your comments. Thanks.