Chris, I enjoyed your post and the great link to Gauguin. It so reminds me of "Return of the Revolutionaries" (link).

I have used regression tapes and remembered numerous probable pastlives. I have also had dreams of pastlives and also some spontaneous remembering. Once I opened my mind to the idea of it and I reached out to it, much like spirit photography, it reached back to me.

Your questions about reincarnation are similar to the ones I've had, Dawn. I began reading books and asking the universe for answers on it and most of my questions were answered.

Interestingly, some people do retain quite a few memories. Often it is children who remember vividly and it fades after a while, but some adults have held onto chunks of memories. I came to believe that people who are absolute experts in anything (amazing composers and pianists are good examples) have mastered such skills by various incarnations working toward it.

It is my belief that the soul still retains every single memory of what has happened in every single lifetime and more, in the form of individual identities. And the piece of soul that is incarnated in the current body right now can access these other identities through practice. There is a good reason for not being immortal and for having the opportunity to see life as male, female, rich, poor, handicapped, skilled, etc. And if the memories are retained in full with each life, then the drive to succeed is not as strong because you would know that this is all temporary (a simulation-like) and you would also be prejudiced by previous beliefs and experiences. You would not be objective and therefore would not learn as much. If you had been a prince before, how could you remember this and become a struggling mother of 11?

However, coming to learn that reincarnation exists, experiencing bits of pastlives and realizing that life is eternal, gives hope and relief. Soon you realize that each lifetime is finite and precious because it is an opportunity to learn as much as possible within its span and scope. It is an experience that happens only once specifically so it is indeed precious and very valuable. Overall skills learned in pastlives are generally still with us anyway, things we are good at and pick up on quickly. As are our stumbling blocks, things that freak us out and that we fear. There is cohesion.