Incredible Evidence For Remembering Past Lives
Could your love of sushi be proof that you were Japanese in a past life? Maybe not, but for a group of 24 Burmese children, it might just be the case. After WWII, a large group of children in Burma claimed to have been Japanese soldiers in a past life. They could not tolerate the spicy Burmese cuisine; instead, they craved raw fish.
This is just one of the thousands of documented cases in which memories seem to carry over from past life experiences. The concept of reincarnation is held in many parts of the world, especially those areas where Hinduism and Buddhism are practiced, but not until recently has it come to be a widely accepted idea in the Western world. A number of researchers are seriously exploring the evidence for reincarnation, especially in the context of past life regressions.
It’s been estimated that about a million people have accessed past life memories in one way or another. The most common method is through a guided therapy session with a psychotherapist. During these sessions, the subject is put under hypnosis while a therapist guides them with directions and questions. Regressions are often cathartic, accessing memories that are somehow tied to physical afflictions or anxiety experienced in the current lifetime.
One of the most prominent names in past life regression is Dr. Brian Weiss. His daughter, Amy Weiss, had never had a successful regression, despite her father’s profession. Amy had recently been diagnosed with cataracts at the age of 25, an unusual condition for someone her age, and she decided to participate in one more session.
Surprisingly, Amy experienced a successful past-life regression; connecting with an old man in the middle ages who was accused of being a wizard. His house was set on fire by villagers, subsequently burning his eyes. She said she felt a connection with the man’s heart and realized it could be tied to her cataracts. The session proved to have a profound therapeutic benefit, and her cataracts cleared up shortly after.
Past life regressions can be a contentious topic among practitioners of psychology. The evidence and accounts are overwhelming, but there is debate as to what they really are.
Dr. Ian Stevenson was a well-respected psychologist and was the chair of the department of psychology at the University of Virginia. He was given a million-dollar grant to fund research into paranormal psychology, or parapsychology, with the intention of disproving the concept of reincarnation. Stevenson researched thousands of cases on the uncanny memories of young children from their past lives. While his intention was to disprove this phenomenon, in the end, he became one of its staunchest defenders and most dedicated researchers.
One child in India, who was born with boneless stubs for fingers on his right hand, remembered the life of a farm boy who had lost the fingers on his right hand in a grass-chopping accident. What really makes this case remarkable is that Stevenson was unable to find a single medical record of another birth with this unique deformity.
Today, Dr. Jim Tucker continues to conduct the work started by Stevenson. Unlike past life regressionists, Dr. Stevenson and Dr. Tucker do not study those put under hypnosis. Instead, they look at cases of kids who start to spontaneously remember things and who start speaking about their previous lives while fully cognizant. In one of Tucker’s papers, he recounts a story of a boy from Thailand who, at the age of three, started complaining that he had been shot and killed in his past life while riding a bicycle to school. He even remembered that he was a local teacher named Bua Kai. His grandmother took him to the village where he said he lived, and he lead her to a house. He recognized the people living there and they confirmed that five years earlier, their son Bua Kai had been shot and killed while riding a bicycle to work.
He was shot in the back of the head marked by a small entry wound with a larger exit wound in the front of his head. The little boy had been born with a small birthmark on the back of his head and a larger, oddly-shaped mark on his forehead.
Closer to home, Dr. Tucker investigated a truly uncanny case in Oklahoma that made national headlines. When Ryan Hammons was 5 years old, he began telling his mother “I used to be someone else” and “take me home to Hollywood.” The boy had a surprising array of specific facts on hand about his former life, including dancing on Broadway, starring in films with Mae West, and eventually becoming a Hollywood agent. Ryan’s mother began looking through books of old Hollywood, and when she reached a still image from the 1932 movie “Night After Night,” Ryan pointed to a man on the edge of a frame and said, “that’s me!” With the help of Dr. Tucker, they were able to identify this man after weeks of investigation as Marty Martyn, an extra who had danced on Broadway and eventually became a powerful agent.
All in all, Ryan was able to provide 55 specific details of Martyn’s life which would not have been available without an investigation: including the name of the street he lived on, his work history, details of his wives and children, and more.
Is it possible that we have led past lives in which memories could have transcended into this lifetime, continuing to remain in the depths of our subconscious? There is widespread evidence that is hard to refute or explain. Past life regression therapists and traditional psychiatrists are still at odds as to what is really being accessed when someone undertakes one of these sessions. But even some of the most astute academics and doctors have been convinced that there is some sort of phenomenon happening that can’t be easily explained.
The After Effects of a Near-Death Experience
Stories of near-death experiences have existed for centuries. The subject is well researched yet the question remains: Is the origin of the near-death experience rooted in science or religion? Despite the continuous search for empirical explanations, accounts of near-death experiences and their aftereffects prevail.
Initially, aftereffects of a near-death experience can incite feelings of love while negative reports often express fear. Over time, aftereffects can stimulate psychosocial and psycho-spiritual deviations. Psychologists, school counselors and professionals in the medical field understand a need for intervention. Professionals can assist people who have near-death experiences by helping them integrate their experience, as well as provide support for family members.
The Question Remains: Is a Near- Death Experience Fact or Fiction?
Do we need to question our scientific world or spiritual space to understand near-death experiences? Stories from real people and their perceptions may shed some light upon clarifying the subject of near- death experiences.
Over several decades, many clinical cases have been recorded explaining events of people having life-changing experiences of dying, then coming back. This mysterious phenomenon has been named “near- death experience”, or “NDE.” According to the 2006 article Near-Death Experiences and Spirituality by Bruce Greyson, many stories revealed common features such as bright lights, tunnels and feelings of joy.” Furthermore, investigators collected data and found similar features including helping others more often, amplified compassion, spiritual versus religious inclination, and an overall disposition of gratitude and appreciation for life.
History of Near-Death Experiences
Stories of near-death experiences have been reported by many different cultures throughout several eras. The 2009 article Near-Death Experiences and Psychotherapy by LJ Griffith retells the story of a near-death experience: “Plato recounted a tale of a soldier who seemed to be dead, but came back to life explaining he had visited another world.” Global accounts of near-death experience stories “originate from Israel to South America,” Griffith states.
Raymond Moody is considered the pioneer of near-death studies in the mid-1970s. The main focus of his studies was to look at the actual experience and aftereffects. In 1975 Moody published Life After Life, which initiated further research and public interest. Moody’s book ignited over 50 research teams who published more than 55 studies involving a wide cultural span. According to the 2001 article A Hawaiian Near-Death Experience by Allen Kellehear, data collected on near-death stories spans the experiences of over 3,000 people practicing a range of religions.
Research on Near-Death Experiences
Research on near-death experience caught the interest of professionals in a variety of fields. According to Christian Agrillo’s 2011 Near-Death Experience: Out of Body and Out of Brain? research on near-death experiences is considered a valued subject in the field of cognitive neuroscience. The mystery of whether an afterlife exists represents an extremely important topic in philosophy as well. Additionally, Griffith discusses how researchers involved in near-death experiences include physicians, nurses, chaplains and psychologists – and some have written substantially on the subject.
Despite the amount of research on near-death experiences, a roadblock remains regarding what exactly a near-death experience is. Agrillo explains that some investigators have attributed roadblocks to the reality that the process of death and subjective manner in which we die is still a topic of limited knowledge.
Definition of a Near-Death Experience
Psychological and physiological models postulated in the past have failed to pass empirical investigations thus limiting a clear definition of a near-death experience. Research has involved exhaustive interviews resulting in categorical evidence. According to the 2010 article by KE Bell on How School Counselors Can Assist Student Near-Death Experiences, the results of interviews from several studies indicate patterns that define a near-death experience.
In Greyson’s 1999 article Defining Near-Death eExperiences, Greyson described twelve to fifteen consistent themes and features that were discovered on near-death experiences:
- An awareness of being above your body or dead
- Rise in joy or euphoria
- Entering a space or sometimes tunnel
- Seeing or feeling a very bright white light
- A sense of a being in a peaceful, beautiful or sometimes frightening place
- Encounter with loved ones who have previously passed on
- Angel type beings, guides or religious figures
- Some form of a life review which often involves experiencing deep emotion associated with ones actions
- A choice or perception that one has to come back
After effects
What happens after experiencing the near-death experience phenomenon? Often experiences result in positive, sometimes profound aftereffects such as a sense of bliss and euphoria in their lives. Many people find their personality has changed in addition to different beliefs and attitudes toward subjects in religion and death. Furthermore, Griffith explains that physiological transformations such as experiencing heightened sensation to noise or other senses, increased or decreased need for sleep and some level of sensitivity toward electromagnetic were described by people interviewed.
Religion
While examining the subject of religion, researchers found profound changes in near-death experiencers. According to Greyson’s 1999 article, interviews found the most often reported alteration in life was that of a spiritual matter. Additionally, reports of a stronger concern or empathy for others, a solid sense of purpose, closeness to God and an aversion to conventional religious practices were recorded. Not surprisingly, as reported in the same article, newfound characteristics parallel the definition of a spiritual transformation which often encompasses an authentic love for others on a large scale.
