What is reincarnation?
Reincarnation is the concept of being born into a new body after a previous life and death. It’s a belief that has been around since the beginning of history and has recently been gaining interest in both culture and scientific research. Roughly a quarter of Americans believe in reincarnation according to a 2012 Pew Research report, and there are thousands of case studies on reincarnation stories from around the world.
Is there anything behind these reincarnation stories?
Reincarnation is a topic that’s been studied quite vigorously in th3 academic world. Dr. Ian Stevenson (October 31, 1918 – February 8, 2007), a psychiatrist at the University of Virginia, was a pioneer in the field who devoted the last 40 years of his life to researching reincarnation claims. He documented more than 3,000 cases of people who remembered past lives and was able to verify the facts and claims in approximately one third of the cases he investigated [source].
Stevenson’s colleague, Dr. Jim Tucker (video above), worked with him to put together an overview of 40 years of reincarnation research called, “Life Before Life: Children’s Memories of Previous Lives
When it comes to reincarnation stories and research, another pioneer is Dr. Michael Newton who studied the reported experiences that souls go through between their incarnations, known as the life between life. According to Newton’s case studies, souls don’t just jump from one body to the next immediately, there is a transition process between incarnations in which the souls return to their soul families in a world for spirits.
Dr. Newton was not a believer of reincarnation until witnessing several of his hypnotherapy patients spontaneously regress to past lives and life between lives (LBL). Once Newton realized there was a real phenomenon occurring, he went on to document over a thousand cases and charted the experience, places and souls go through the life between lives.
If you want to learn more about Dr. Newton’s work, you can read his case studies and incredibly interesting accounts in:
- Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives
- Destiny of Souls: New Case Studies of Life Between Lives
Why don’t most people remember past lives and life between lives?
As Dr. Stevenson, Dr. Newton, Dr. Tucker, and all independently documented, many people are born with memories of past lives, but these memories often fade away by age five or six. Dr. Newton’s research noted this forgetfulness of past lives and LBL is purposely put in place by the soul so that the person may concentrate on their current life and not have interference from past lives. The reason most research and case studies of past lives and reincarnation stories come from children is because the veil of forgetfulness takes time to come into full effect as the soul slowly integrates with its new body.
Is it possible to regain past life memories and experiences?
The answer is yes. The way to regain access to past life memories is through a form of regression hypnosis. There are many hypnotherapists around the U.S. and around the world who are trained and certified to bring clients to past life memories. If you are looking for a hypnotherapist who can, look for one who specializes in past life regression. Past life regression hypnosis is different than regression hypnosis in that the latter only regresses the client to a younger age.
To gain access to life between life experiences, this also requires a specialist – usually one who is trained by The Newton Institute for Life Between Lives Hypnotherapy. LBL regression and progression requires a deep state of trance and the specialist knows a path – of sorts, as documented by Dr. Newton’s research – to guide the client through this process.