How can it be proven?
The best evidence I’ve come across is the stories from children who are too young to have been influenced by media and/or those stories that are so compelling they are hard to refute.
One such report Could a Little Boy Be Proof of Reincarnation? appeared on ABC Primetime telling the story of James, who describes his life as a fighter pilot in World War II.
Unfolding: Awakening introduces an adult Tyler Anderson to memories of a life he shared with the man asked to help him, Drew Hopewell. In their earlier life Tyler was a woman married to Drew during the Civil War in the United States. Both lives ended early and tragically. They must deal with the residual effects of the bond they shared.
I was surprised to find my personal experience wound up in the forward of Unfolding: Awakening:
When he was five years old, Jeffrey Limpert was sitting on the front porch at one of his friend’s homes following an afternoon of adventure. The small rocking chairs he and his two friends, Ross and Jimmy, occupied reminded Jeff of what it was like to sit outside the bunkhouse on the Great Plains one hundred years earlier. He told Ross and Jimmy what he remembered of that life and of that time, when he was called by another name and inhabited another body.
Unfortunately Jimmy’s mother overheard and sent Jeffrey home.
Jeffrey’s mother took great pains to assure Jimmy’s mom he was not under the influence of the Devil, but the damage was done: Jeffrey was made to promise never to speak of such things again.
And he didn’t … for a long time.
From Unfolding: Awakening Forward
Even today I can easily recall that time sitting on the porch with my two friends. It was so long ago though, there are gaps in those precious minutes, I can remember the confidence with which I spoke and felt the truth of the events I recalled from our previous life. I can also remember the emotion Jimmy’s mother expressed, my mothers kind admonition to not tell people those stories, and my confusion and commitment to keep the promise I gave to her.
I was able to tell each of my friends some unique detail about our life together, things like the names of their horses, or that one would take great pleasure in offering his horse treats. He also took especially good care of his horse and I had clear pictures not only of those events, but of the three of us riding across the plains. I can still see a favorite purple shirt I wore at special times and almost feel the texture of it’s vertical striping.
The details and scenes from my lifetime with them are no longer as clear as when I told Ross and Jimmy; that afternoon though, is as clear as if it happened several days ago.
CBS Sunday Morning presented the well prepared Reincarnation: Believing in second chances which looks at a reincarnation convention where people are “regressed” to a point where they can remember past lives. It includes background information, and seeks input from a skeptic and a believer who does not believe hypnosis is a trusted tool.
The CBS report states “Americans are fascinated by the idea.” We’ve put a positive spin on a process India does not see as desirable. They wish to be freed, Westerners see it as a second chance.
I’ve worked with enough people in group discussions and in performing past life regressions to be cautiously optimistic concerning the accuracy of the reports people have brought back from their sessions. It is very easy for people to influence their memories and there is seldom sufficient verification to offer satisfactory proof.
Counter to one person interviewed by CBS, not one of the people I’ve directly worked with have reported memories of being a famous historical figure.
Full Disclosure:
That being said, one of my friends believes he is the reincarnation of Dr. John Dee who lived in the 16th and 17th centuries. I’ve also met one person who claimed to have been Pandora – yes, that Pandora. I may write about her someday.
To err on the side of caution, I’ve taken to instructing the people I regress that what they see, experience, and remember is a message to themselves. Something from their unconscious self to their conscious self. If it’s imagination, there is truth in it, just as there is in a dream. If it is a real past life memory, or they choose to accept it as one, that decision is theirs.
A past life memory or simply imagination, it’s always fun to see what people reveal about themselves.
In the soon to be released Unfolding: Nexus, you will read about two men who uncover compelling evidence that reincarnation is a real process. This is one fictional scene written almost exactly as I remember them telling the story themselves.
Presented for your consideration is the following straightforward critique by Robert Almeder Ph.D. on the evidence for reincarnation put forward by a Dr. Ian Stevenson.
Reincarnation Evidence: Stevenson’s Research
You will find additional information regarding Dr. Stevenson and other sources in the references at the end of this post.
I look forward so seeing you all again,
– Jeffrey A. Limpert
__________________
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation
http://www.near-death.com/reincarnation.html
http://reluctant-messenger.com/reincarnation-proof.htm
http://www.reincarnationcentral.com/resources.html
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/pamphlets/KarmaReincarnation.html
Image information:
Oslo – Oseberg Ship at Viking Ship Museum
https://secure.flickr.com/photos/24736216@N07/6472710307
By roger4336 Roger Wollstadt
Amazon – Unfolding: Awakening