Reincarnation...

There's been many curious and credible reports of it.
It's even mentioned in the Bible.
I too have felt the curious tingle of 'knowing' an unfamiliar surrounding.

In general, the part about reincarnation that frustrates the living-heck out of me, is why all the previous knowledge is stored so deeply that you have to re-learn everything, everytime (well, most people do) and get only a snippet or tingle of 'almost remember' sporadically.

I cannot understand for what purpose a person returns in a different body with little or no recognition of their previous skills and knowledge.

It's like going to college and learning to be a doctor and then dismiss all the knowledge from your mind to become a tinker.

It's baffling to me...
But then again, most things of this nature baffle me...

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.

Synchronicities are just piling up.

Very validating that a white feather fell in sync with your thoughts.

Over the last few days I have been watching "Sightings" a program from the early 90's about the paranormal. The topics keep synching up with our discussions and today was about pastlives. Yesterday was bigfoot.

I agree with you on the cellular level...

On a DNA theory, I understand, I am clear and accepting... I base my resolution on a the shared dream of a family about a house... The children were all 'adults' when they 'first discovered' that they each had dreams of the same house. They did some checking and discovered that in reality, none of them had ever been too a house like it.
Even accepting the Biblical mention of reincarnation, I couldn't fathom that most of a family would be reincarnated together.
Then sometime later, I read 'Clan of Cave Bear'. I thought about it's theory, and after awhile, I formed my DNA reincarnation theory... 'CoCB' helped me to understand how a family could share a dream of a specific non-existent place... This was years before I heard the 'experts' mention DNA as a possible factor.

I think that we do have memories of our ancestors in our DNA.
I think whatever they saw, read, heard, lived, did, experienced or whatever effected them greatly is passed down as surely as brown eyes or blond hair.
Maybe like a recessive gene, if the dynamics are right, the memories are born into the conscious part of some people.

I do think there really are 'soul reincarnates' that have certain aspects and traits of the previous life or body, sharing physical traits or similar interests as well, like the ones you have mentioned here.

I'm still baffled as to the repetitive ones that don't or won't or can't carry on their intelligence from one life to the next...

It's a mystery to me...

Very interesting...

I loved reading Clan of the Cave Bear books.

I have considered the DNA memory angle. I think it has validity. I also think the Jungian collective unconscious of archetypes has validity. I believe in straight-forward reincarnation, as well. Perhaps these concepts all fit together similar to the way the physical world does with spirit.

Meanwhile, I had a couple of ideas as to why many regressed people believe they are the reincarnation of someone famous.

One possibility is that a soul is like a pie that can be slivered up and exist in numerous containers. So a particularly prominent/strong soul, such as the one that produced Cleopatra for example, could be reincarnated in many bodies--whenever, including at the same time.

Another theory is along the lines of the collective unconscious, where we tap into a huge pool or filing system of all thoughts and all lives. From here we could experience anyone's previous (or current, or future) life. I also think this accessible "whole" is where psychic information comes from.

Another thought about reincarnation of popular historical figures is that because the lives of these people are dwelt upon by so many others, their path is highlighted, strengthened, easy to tap into, and may also be archetypical of certain eras.

I think I must've presented my thoughts wrong on DNA. I didn't mean for it to sound like a conclusion for everyone. I meant that it was my resolution as a possibility. But it's just one of the possibilities because I do think there are reincarnated people and there always have been.

Clan of Cave Bear is a book... (well, they made a movie about it and I didn't care for it at all.) In CoCB the people are born with the memories of their ancestors and know about it and use them in their survival and laws.

You know that diamond you spoke of in your post to Alisa, I consider DNA to be like one of the prisms.

I can honestly say that I believe that I don't know for sure...
My thought process on reincarnation is quite limited. I think it's because it hasn't directly effected my life much in one way or another (yet).

If I had been born of your knowledge and gifts, I would probably become a maven on the subject... I guess that I believe that personal life experience with reincarnation and the spiritual is the greater teacher in subjects such as this.

maybe?

Wow, you're a certified Hypnotherapist! Coooool! Thanks for sharing this interesting case!

I would have loved a session with you. Instead, I have had to regress myself using recorded regression instructions. But then I soon realized I could will myself to remember pastlives and have dreams or meditations that reveal them.

There is so much to explore in the mind! Apparently even the future. Regress me to the future!

The idea of having to do it all over again prompts me to pay extra attention this time around!

Being the leader of groups of people who regularly meditated and 'inner journeyed', I have listened to many rich and wonderful accounts of what they experienced.

At the end of the sessions, I would have herbal tea and cake ready ( this is a good grounder which helps to bring the person back fully into the physical and makes it much more of a group experience). Time was given to each person to share if they wished, their 'inner experience'.

I tend to have a good, retentive memory and so, can recall quite vividly the accounts of these people.

Here is a story of one such person, who was new to the group and quite skeptical of what we did, but came along to 'see' for herself.

On one occasion, I led the group through a deep relaxation process and on to deeper subconscious level of their being.
The journey itself was quite a revealing one for many and quite a few tears trickled down faces(which is quite a normal thing when one gets in touch with feelings).

At the end of the session, this particular woman had tears streaming down her face and was obviously emotional.
She related her account of the 'journey' to the rest of us which was interesting but, unremarkable until she reached the centre of her journey.

She discovered a sleeping baby girl. She felt emotionally tied to this child, as if there was a strong bond between them. This had caused her to feel very emotional and did not know what this image meant, but she felt it was important(this woman did have children) The group talked about it with her and I told her that the meaning of what she had seen may not be obvious to her at that time, but would probably reveal itself to her shortly.

I was correct it seems. The vision of the baby was strong for her and a few days later she contacted her mother and told her of the journey and the baby image and what could it all mean.

Her Mother was silent for awhile and then surprisingly for the woman, told her the story of her 'twin sister'.

This woman was an only child and was certainly not expecting this story.

Her Mother told how she had been expecting twins, but for some reason one of them died just before they were due to be born, so, only this woman came into the world.

For whatever reasons the mother had, she did not tell her daughter she would have had a twin sister, so the child grew up without this knowledge.

She told me that she felt the baby image was her twin sister, and for some reason she had been told this at a deep level of her subconscious.

This insight and knowledge for the woman sparked interest in the group, which she joined and enjoyed quite a few more journeys.

Some weeks after, she came to the group one evening quite excitedly and told us of a vivid 'dream' she had had.

The dream was set in Victorian England and concerned a large house.
She and another woman were servants in the house and one day the house caught fire. This woman escaped, but the other woman was trapped and died in the fire.

At some level, information came to her that the woman who died in the fire would have been her twin sister in this life, but she had decided not to be born and so the baby died within the uterus.

I have many accounts of people discovering things about themselves, their lives and past lives and all this information they discovered, was in themselves - they only had to look.

Wow, what a fascinating story, Chris. Thanks for sharing it. Twins are such an interesting spirit topic.

Twins is definitely an interesting topic from a metaphysical perspective and one that deserves more time - maybe in a future post.

[size:11pt][color:#6633FF]Past life memories can and do surface at different times.

Visiting a place or a theme where one has never been can unlock the memory process in differing degrees.
Strong feelings of being in the place before, but knowing in this life this is not so. Pleasant or not so pleasant memories may stir, depending on what was previously experienced in another life.

I have heard many accounts of people visiting someplace new and feeling they have been there before.

One person visited Nepal and on visiting one mountain village felt overwhelmed by the feelings of knowing this place so well. He said it had the feeling of being 'Home'. Up to this day he has only visited the once, but the pull to return is still very strong.

Personally, I had a similar experience on reading a history book on Crete. I turned to a page which showed the partially restored Palace of Knossos. I was instantly flooded with strong emotions about the place. I did take a holiday there not too long after and loved the place, and was especially drawn to the old ruined palace sites on the Island.

A place I also feel drawn to visit is the Languedoc region of france, because of the Cathars. They built their fortified castles in the hills and mountains. the ruins are still there today, standing testament to their existence.

The Cathars were a religious group who appeared in Europe in the eleventh century and eventually were wiped out by the Catholic church who claimed these people were Heretics and systematically slaughtered and burnt them at the stake.

One day I will pay a return visit.

More interesting experiences and more history tidbits for me to learn from as well! Thanks for sharing them, Chris.

And I love that photo!