REINCARNATION and MEMORY – Part 1 of 7

DEFINITION AND PROOF

Generally, when we speak of reincarnation, we mean that our essence has reappeared in a new human body. This is the connotation pertinent to the following discussion. There are broader implications to this concept. One is that this essence can be reborn into any form of life. Another is that it can be revived into anything, including inanimate objects or entire galaxies.

What a lovely thought.  To be reincarnated.  An assurance that it’s not over when it’s over.  Great to think that some of our essence lives on. Perhaps consciousness persists.

For many people, the existence of reincarnation represents hope and salvation.  It grants comfort that something of us persists beyond the present lives we live.  Proof that reincarnation is a reality bolsters our confidence.  We no longer feel limited by death.

There is so much written on the subject. The most tantalizing things are personal experiences. Some of these attestations seem to prove that reincarnation must exist.  

A psychiatrist wrote a book about a patient of his.  It concerned the experience of a poor, uneducated woman while she was under hypnosis as part of her therapy.  While in that state, she recalled a past life.  Her former self was a literate, schooled member of the upper class in an ancient society.  Besides knowing things about that long-gone world, the woman could speak its now-dead language. 

Expert observers were allowed to witness this amazing person while she was under hypnosis. Everybody agreed that she recalled her past life while in a hypnotic state. A highly regarded individual of good character, the psychiatrist was a reliable witness who is not prone to flights of fantasy. The other observers were objective witnesses who reported the events as they saw them. This adds substantial credibility to the story.

There are many other examples of people who knew things they could not have known. A lot of these declarations were subjected to close scrutiny. Enough of them passed the investigations to inspire credence to the concept that we must all be reincarnated from a past life. Furthermore, it strengthens our belief that we will ultimately be reincarnated into a future life. 

FALLACIES

Interpretation of the reported facts of these histories is not as straightforward as depicted in their abstracts. There are a few specific characteristics of reincarnation stories that I find questionable. Consider the following:

• Reports of past lives appear in the popular press. This makes sense because we are speaking about articles of faith. On the other hand, these accounts are offered as proof of reincarnation. The evidence that reincarnation is factual does not stand up to scientific scrutiny.  

• It is a belief, like believing in the existence and participation of a spiritual deity. Faith is a positive force for most people. It completes the expanse of existence. 

• When people recall past lives, it usually occurs while in a mental state wherein the will is suppressed.  This total disengagement from any mindful activity must be necessary for awareness of past lives.  

• Hypnosis is one method of suppressing the will.  Dreaming, fugue states, psychotic episodes, and epileptic seizures are also characterized by subdued conscious mental powers.  Being very ill, undergoing severe emotional or physical trauma, taking certain drugs either for medical or recreational purposes, and having a meditative out-of-body experience can also supplant frontal lobe activity. These are all circumstances wherein someone experienced an episode interpreted as recalling past lives. 

• Increased suggestibility is common to all of these conditions. A history of recalling former lives is most easily and convincingly revealed under these types of circumstances. While the ego, the intellect, and the will are suppressed, one loses one’s identity and can more easily accept the concept that they have had – or are part of – another identity that lived in a different time.

• It is interesting to note additional similarities in the narratives of reincarnation.  The recalled person is powerful, wealthy, and educated.   Many were also well known and often popular figures. They were celebrities, sometimes historical personalities.

• The remembered person is usually, if not always, of superior quality [in some way] to the person doing the recalling. 

• Another factor to take into consideration is that no one has rigorously investigated these episodes under controlled circumstances that might satisfy a skeptical and unbiased scientist. 

I think these characteristics of the nature of recalled past lives sounds a lot like wishful thinking. As if to say: “Gee, it would be just wonderful if I had been some amazing person in the past.” But something is happening. I’ll investigate how someone can feel they have been reincarnated and explain these events in the upcoming parts of this treatise. 

Stay tuned, more to come soon.

In the meantime, download my new health book for free at: http://www.drjackzoldan.com

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