Is Reincarnation Real?

Is reincarnation real? That is a good question. Reincarnation is a popular ‘paranormal’ topic on and off the Web. Generally, it is often brought up alongside ghosts, clairvoyance, and guardian angels. Reincarnation has been an important influence in many cultures throughout the ages, since the dawn of man, almost world wide. Socrates, Pythagoras and Plato all entertained the idea of reincarnation. Reincarnation was a common spiritual belief of ancient European pagan religions such as Druidism and with Native Americans. Yet, in Western culture today, the topic is largely ignored or delegated to the category ‘paranormal’. Is this really a fair evaluation of reincarnation?

In brief, reincarnation is the belief that the soul can be born over and over in this world. We do not have only this life. We have past lives and likely more lives to come. Two major religions that advance reincarnation and hold it as a spiritual cornerstone are Hinduism and Buddhism. In Hinduism, the soul can be said to be on a journey, towards perfection. A soul reincarnates over and over, continuing the cycle of life and death, until it achieves spiritual perfection. It doesn’t matter what kind of body it is born into, or where; male, female, wealthy, poor, provincial or cosmopolitan, the soul cares not, so long as it can come closer to achieving that perfection. Once the soul achieves that perfection, it becomes one with the Divine, known in Hinduism as Brahma.

Buddhism shares many of same spiritual beliefs about reincarnation with Hinduism (given that Buddha was born into ancient India where Hinduism was the primary religion). However, Buddhism gives us many different realms of being and allows for more of our beliefs, habits, actions, desires (your sense of ‘self’ in other words) to be carried over in each incarnation. But ultimately, the goal is all souls is to reach Nirvana, and to let go of all of one’s ‘self’. Buddhism and Hinduism also share the concept of ‘karma’ which, in a nutshell, is that the good or evil we commit in this life is carried with us into each incarnation. Check Britannica – Reincarnation for more detailed info on specific beliefs.

Reincarnation is rejected by major Christian denominations. In 1994, Pope John Paul II stated definitively in his letter ‘As The Third Millennium Draws Near’, that ‘Christian revelation excludes reincarnation’. This open rejection of reincarnation is rather odd considering that there are several references in the Bible that would seem to indicate a knowledge of reincarnation. The strongest of which are Jesus proclaiming no less than three times that John the Baptist is Elijah returned (Mark 9:13, Matthew 11:13-14, Matthew 17:12-13). Many Christians reject reincarnation as it seems to overturn a Christian religious concept that we die, go to heaven or hell and then all await to be raise from the grave on ‘judgment day’ or ‘the last judgment’.

Despite church doctrines, there are many Christian believers in reincarnation and the subject is, these days, is being debated much more openly. It is estimated that between 20 and 30 percent of Christians think reincarnation is at least a possibility. Naturally, any Christians who entertain the possibility of reincarnation are pushed into the ‘paranormal’ box, unfortunately. Two famed psychics, and self described Christians, Edgar Cayce and Ruth Montgomery, both advanced the idea of reincarnation and contributed to opening up a discussion on the topic in the 20th century. It’s worth mentioning that the majority of the people on earth today believe in some form of reincarnation.

These days, reincarnation seems to have become a popular topic. The author Carol Bowman has written novels concerning children who profess to remember their past lives. Many people have sought out specialists in past life regression who often use hypnosis. The musician Phil Collins, for example, visited a psychic who performed a regression for him, which led him to discover that in his past life, he’d fought in the Battle of the Alamo.

So, is reincarnation real? That is the question we started with. As to ‘proof’ of reincarnation, well, in those areas of the world where Buddhism and Hinduism dominate, the people of those regions seem to feel there is plenty of proof reincarnation is real. Stories involving reincarnation are common place. The Dalai Lama, an important figure in Tibetan Buddhism, feels in he is in his 14th incarnation as the leader of his branch of Buddhism. When it comes to ‘proof’ in the Western world where reincarnation is considered ‘paranormal’, proof seems hard to come by … or is that really true?

In the 1980’s a book was released Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation which was a scientific look at specific instances where the best explanation was reincarnation. Sadly, the author, Dr. Ian Stevenson, took so much criticism from his peers for even investigating reincarnation that no serious follow-up work took place. Skeptics just could not accept an honest investigation into the subject of reincarnation. Then, there is the interesting book by Jeffrey J. Keene, Someone Else’s Yesterday where Jeffrey, as someone who never considered reincarnation, feels compelled to investigate the possibility he had a past life during the American Civil War. Check out reincarnation books and reincarnation courses for more on this topic.

Is reincarnation real? Do we have past lives and possibly future lives? That all depends on who you ask. The only proof that seems acceptable to scientific western thinkers will be when someone can provide limitless details on some past historic event backed by empirical evidence. Even though there has been some possible evidence of reincarnation, there is likely never to be enough for some people. It is nearly impossible for science to test spirituality. Spirituality, by it’s very definition is beyond the material world and operates on it’s own rules. What is unfortunate is that too many people want to think of reincarnation as ‘paranormal’ rather than a spiritual phenomenon. It would seem that the universe and the rules of reincarnation dictate we largely start a life ‘fresh’. The very idea we can break that rule completely seems to indicate there will never be the kind of proof that science demands. We are only allowed to glimpse past lives, but never re-live them.

Interested in a personal past life reading or to chat about past lives? You will find
Psychic Brodi a great person to work with exploring past lives and how a past life may impact your current life … she’s also a gifted clairvoyant. Call Brodi at 1-866-407-7164.