Reincarnation in the Bible and at the Movies

The term, "born again," for many people, means, "Born Again Christian," but for others, "born again" means "reincarnation," and for those who don't believe in reincarnation, the topic incites many heated debates.

Reincarnation, or transmigration of the soul, is a belief that the spirit or soul of an individual returns to a different body upon the death of a previous body.

According to Comparative Religion, "The concept of reincarnation seems to offer one of the most attractive explanations of humanity's origin and destiny." 

Well, not everybody agrees. Many people consider the concept of reincarnation to be blasphemous. Some religious leaders argue against the possibility that reincarnation exists, and others use the Bible to prove that it does, saying that Jesus spoke of reincarnation when he said that John the Baptist was Elijah (in the book of Matthew). "Matthew 11:11 states: 'I solemnly assure you, history has not known a man born of woman greater than John the Baptizer. …' Matthew 11:14-15, in continuing Christ's remarks about John the Baptist, states, 'If you are prepared to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who was certain to come. Heed carefully what you hear.'"

The argument is extremely controversial because some people take the Bible verbatim while others understand it metaphorically. But even those who take the Bible literally will debate the theory of reincarnation as it relates to those three sentences. 

If you ask a biblical scholar what the statements mean, you might discover that Jesus referred to John the Baptist as being LIKE Elijah. And others will tell you that Jesus speaks in parables – puzzles that, until we reach a certain level of understanding, are left for us to figure out. 

But even if Jesus spoke in parables, wouldn't he have said John the Baptist was LIKE Elijah instead of saying he IS Elijah if that's what he meant? How can you pick out one part of the Bible among others to argue that this statement is figurative and then be emphatic that the rest of the Bible is literal?

While Western religions frequently denounce reincarnation by claiming it is evil, reincarnation is a commonly accepted certainty in Eastern religions. Belief in reincarnation requires them to live their lives with the understanding that whatever they do in this life impacts their souls in their next life.

Some people seek explanations about their former lives using hypnotic regression. Hypnotic regression has been used to explain the relationship between circumstances they are experiencing in this life and events that occurred in a previous life. 

The story of Bridey Murphy, depicted in the movie, The Search for Bridey Murphy (1956), tells the tale of a housewife, Virginia Tighe, who, after having been hypnotically regressed, relates to the hypnotist, without previous knowledge of Ireland, her 19th century past life in that country.

Though much of what Virginia said while regressed proved to be false, many things she related proved to be accurate, neither proving nor disproving reincarnation.

The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975), starring Michael Sarrazin, Margot Kidder, Jennifer O'Neill, and Cornelia Sharpe, is a movie that provides a scenario that, if reincarnation truly existed and people were aware that it existed, might explain why people either don't want to believe in reincarnation or wouldn't want to believe in it.

Peter Proud experiences flashbacks to a previous incarnation and finds himself drawn to a place and to a woman he knew in a previous existence. Morals concerning the possibility of entering into relationships with one's own child become muddied in the world of reincarnation theory.

A haunting movie about what happens to a child who is regressed occurs in the movie, Audrey Rose (not to be confused with the 2005 horror film, The Exorcism of Emily Rose), that debuted in 1977. Starring Anthony Hopkins and Marsha Mason, the story involves a man who is convinced that his daughter has been reincarnated in Audrey Rose, a little girl who has been born to a different family. What happens in the movie, if it were ever to be true, is frightening.

Karz, a 1980 movie inspired by the Reincarnation of Peter Proud, tells the story of a man who is reborn into a situation in which he may have to remain silent unless he wants to suffer the same fate as he did in his past life. Starring Rishi Kapoor and Tina Munim, Karz also examines the repercussions of knowing about your past life.

Is reincarnation merely a theory or does it indeed exist? Is this one life all we have? In terms of eternity, if one life is merely one speck of dust on the timeline of infinity, what can you do to make your life count?

For a list of other movies about reincarnation, click HERE.

Karma - Cosmic Justice or Cosmic Joke?

(from the Magical Mysteries Collection)

Originally published in the Daily Journal – later published on Associated Content / Yahoo Contributor Network August 15, 2008

Isaac Newton, a 17th Century scientist who defined the laws of motion wrote, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." Newton's Third Law of Motion bears a striking resemblance to the law of Karma that states, "What goes around comes around." Reaping what you sow is another form of Karma.

The word Karma has its beginnings in Sanskrit. It means "deed." The Hindu and Buddhist believe a person's actions determine his consequences - cause and effect. But according to the laws of Karma, consequences can occur in this life or in the next incarnation.

Without proof, though, how can we believe in Karma? How do we know that somebody like Hitler will meet the fate we believe he deserves? And what about people like Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy, murderers who were both executed (one by his former prison mates, another by lethal injection)? Do executions prove Karmic justice or do expectations of reward or punishment prove to be one big cosmic joke? Apparently it matters not how many people murderers kill; whether they ended one life or destroyed twenty, the murderer's life ends with one swift death.

Without Karma, according to most religions, we are left with only two ultimate choices, Heaven or Hell. In some religions, if you break one of the Ten Commandments you are forever condemned to Hell. What that means is that a man who robs a bank is just as likely to go to Hell as is a woman who murders her children or a psychotic leader who commits genocide.

But what if the man who robs a bank has a child who will die without expensive drugs? In his lifetime, with the job he has, with insurance that has run out, and with the hospital refusing to treat his child, the father is left with what he perceives to be no other choice. He knows he will never be able to pay his medical bills and he knows he is not eligible for any government aid because he makes five dollars a month more than the minimum allotted allowance. With no relatives to rely on, and no hope for a raise, he feels he must choose between letting his child die and robbing a bank.

Martin Short's character in the movie, "Three Fugitives," was faced with such a problem. The movie, of course, was fictitious, and I'm not advocating robbing banks to solve problems, but we all have to admit that no matter how religious we are, situations arise that challenge our beliefs and determine our choices. Some might say that the man mentioned above should trust that God will take care of the matter, but nobody can truly understand the torment of any human being without experiencing exactly what another person experiences under exactly the same conditions. Maybe, at the end of his life, the man would ask forgiveness for robbing the bank.

How many times must God forgive him? If you believe in the Bible, according to Matthew 18:22, "seventy times seven." So what is to stop somebody from committing a crime, or even several crimes, and deciding to apologize a minimum of 490 times at the end of his life for every wrongdoing?

Perhaps the answer lies in the conscience. Most religions teach us that we are all sinners. Sinners know, because they have a conscience, when they have broken a Commandment. Some sinners care about their behavior and make amends. Others justify their behavior and make excuses. Unless they are completely apathetic about their crimes (antisocial personality disordered individuals, for instance), they carry their guilt with them their entire lives.

If Karma is absolute, why can we not know what it was we did in our past lives so that we can rectify our past misdeeds in this life? Some people attempt to find out by having hypnotists regress them into their past lives. Perhaps, though, if we were aware of the torment we caused others, we might become so focused on the past that we would be unable to change the course of our destiny. Does Karma provide a link to our destiny or do we determine our futures by our actions in the present?

Jesus recommended that we "know" ourselves. If our spirits have inhabited other bodies, might we benefit by knowing what we did in our pasts to effect a change in our futures?

People who believe in Karma feel responsible for their actions. They care about their behavior. Everything they do, every thought they have begins with choice because they know that at some point they either reap rewards or suffer consequences as a result of their actions.

To believe in Karma, in light of the aforementioned scenarios, requires a belief in reincarnation, an opportunity to return to Earth to make amends. To those who believe the life we are currently living is all we have, faith drives them to believe that only God can know the true nature of any deed or action. And if God resides in our consciences perhaps we, along with God, at the moment we depart this life, determine our own rewards and consequences.

Life Between Lives

Previously published in The Daily Journal as part of the Magical Mysteries Collection in the early part of the century and on Yahoo Contributor Network, July 30, 2008.

Every day, while we are alive, we experience our world through our physical senses. But what happens when we die? Who are we without arms, legs, torso, and head?

Whether we are buried in the ground or cremated, ashes cast into the ocean, our bodies are shed like skins from a snake and it is the soul that lives on after we die.

Perhaps the soul hovers above the body at death and watches events that take place on Earth. Many people who have "died" and come back report they heard conversations between doctors and paramedics who treated them while they were supposedly dead. After traveling through a tunnel and seeing a white light, they return to their bodies when they are told it isn't their time to die. Hundreds and perhaps thousands of people have described the same scenario. No longer afraid of dying, they are forever changed by the experience. Death does not kill the soul.

Reincarnationists believe that our spirits live again and again in order to progress our souls through eternity. But are we capable of understanding eternity?

Imagine a million dollars, a billion dollars, or a trillion dollars. How much space would it fill? Now try to imagine a zillion dollars, or the number one with an infinite number of zeros.

If we could contain infinity by comparing years to grains of sand and assigning one grain of sand to represent one year, every person living during that year would be part of that one grain of sand. Infinitesimal, in terms of infinity, is it possible to imagine, after removing only 80 grains of sand (an approximate lifespan), living more than one lifetime?

Many doctors, utilizing hypnotherapy to regress their patients while seeking explanations for fears and behavior, stumble across previous lifetimes or incarnations. Dr. Michael Newton, however, a retired hypnotherapist in northern California, asked his patients about the period of time between lives.

The patients he regressed were varied in sex, age, religion, and ethnicity. With amazing consistency, people reported similar experiences: spiritual guides, lessons learned, and life reviews.

Personal guides questioned them about the way they lived their lives. Did they treat others the way they wanted to be treated? Did they exert power and control over loved ones? Did they allow their physical senses to control them? Pleasure abused results in alcoholism, gluttony, greed, incest, and a myriad other problems that create a block to spiritual growth. As the souls review their own lives, they gain knowledge and understanding that each life has a purpose.

According to Newton in his book, Journey of Souls, "If death were the end of everything about us, then life indeed would be meaningless." Life then must be a transition from one phase of soul development to another. And even though the number of grains of sand on the entire planet is nearly impossible to imagine, each life is valuable in that living it affords the soul an opportunity to return to the Source, to the One, to God.

Reincarnation Controversy

(from the Magical Mysteries Collection, initially published in the mid 90s, later published online for a website that no longer exists)

He appears on your television set with a pathetically sorrowful expression asking, "Have you done something incredibly stupid? Would you like to blame somebody else for your own stupidity? Call the law offices of Will Gettum and we will sue whomever you deem wealthy enough to provide you with the lifestyle to which you would like to become accustomed."

The more we blame and accuse, the less likely we are to assume responsibility for our actions. Lawsuits border on, and many times cross beyond, the absurd. Many people today, however, applaud the absurd, even going so far as to sign up for lawsuits with attorneys already stationed in hospitals scrambling for the attention of the recently afflicted.

But what if we truly are responsible for our actions? If we shirk our responsibilities in this life, who can say with certainty that reincarnation is not merely theory, but reality?

Reincarnation is most assuredly a controversial issue, bordering on sacrilegious. Passages taken out of context from the Bible arouse contempt in those who take the written Word literally. But for those who try to understand its meaning and believe the Word was written for "those who have ears," some passages are intriguing and worth investigating. In the 80s I read with interest the following passages and came up with my own conclusions, which I relate here.

Matthew 11:11 states: "I solemnly assure you, history has not known a man born of woman greater than John the Baptizer. ..." Matthew 11:14-15, in continuing Christ's remarks about John the Baptist, states, "If you are prepared to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who was certain to come. Heed carefully what you hear."

Further discussions about the Elijah/John connection appear after Christ's disciples asked, "Why do the scribes claim that Elijah must come first?"(Mark 9:11). Christ's response is, "Elijah will indeed come first and restore everything. ... Let me assure you, Elijah has already come. They did entirely as they pleased with him, as the Scriptures say of him." (Mark 9:12-13) Christ was referring, of course to the beheading of John the Baptist.

So what if John the Baptist was Elijah? Is it possible Christ meant that he was the reincarnation of Elijah? What other explanation could we consider? That he was like John the Baptist? Why then did Christ say, "he is Elijah"?

If infinity could somehow be contained so that each year represented one grain of sand, and each grain of sand was divided by the number of people living on Earth during that year, we still wouldn’t have a grasp of “infinity” – infinity would still be incomprehensible.

Are our lives so inconsequential that this one life is all we have, and forever afterwards we are either rewarded with heaven or punished with hell?

Why is it more difficult to accept that, at the end of this lifetime, we can ask and receive permission to make amends to the people we have harmed – through living another life, than it is to accept the greed that plays out in commercials asking us to avenge other people for our own mistakes? Are we heeding carefully what we hear?

A Dream Reveals A Strange Connection Between Birthmarks and Past Lives

Not until I had the dream that I relate in the following link, did I ever connect birthmarks with past lives. If you're curious, I invite you to read, Birthmarks Provide Surprising Evidence for Reincarnation and learn about a relationship that a very impressive researcher discovered many years ago.

Thank you for visiting!

Is One Family Member Reincarnated From Another Family Member?

Previously published as Reincarnated Relatives on February 4, 2013 HERE.


You've probably read stories of kids who recount in vivid detail lives lived prior to their current lives –€“ lives they couldn't possibly or reasonably know or understand. Maybe they hear voices or see visions nobody else hears or sees. They might talk to unseen individuals or refer to themselves by another name. And sometimes they talk about bedrooms they slept in that reside in homes their parents never knew existed.

Therapeutic regression hypnotists, psychics, and many Eastern religions believe that beyond this life –€“ and before this life –€“ we will live –€“ and have lived –€“ other lives. According to the theory of reincarnation, we choose various life experiences to progress our souls, though most of have no memory of our previous lives. Every once in a while, however, we hear something that causes us to wonder about the reality, as opposed to the theory, of reincarnation.

Years ago I read a story about a little girl who insisted that she had lived in a place other than her own home –€“ as another little girl with a different name. Never giving up her belief, her parents decided to investigate.

After getting permission from the owners of the house where the little girl insisted she had lived, the family entered the home and the minute the door opened, the little girl scurried up the stairs to "her" bedroom. The surprising factor was that the owners had lost a little girl several years prior to this meeting –€“ and her name was exactly the name this little girl insisted was hers. The child was familiar with the layout of the house; the bedroom the child entered was the bedroom that belonged to the little girl, and she recognized family members. 

As far as I know the two girls were not related. But a lot of psychics suggest a familial connection between reincarnated souls.

According to reincarnation theory, one soul dies, enters another state of being, and then is reborn into another body of the soul's choosing –€“ when the soul is ready to accept the new body. So why not choose a family member? 

A little boy named Sidney* has always called his stuffed animals Jackson*. He even calls himself Jackson when he plays various games. If you ask him why he likes the name Jackson, he will tell you he just does. Unbeknown to Sidney, long before Sidney was born, a cousin by the name of Jackson had been born.

Jackson led a troubled life. His father treated Jackson sadistically, and the father's consistent humiliation of Jackson caused Jackson to become one of those troubled individuals who others felt was destined for failure or a life of crime.

Jackson's mind warped under the pressure of his father's incessant cruel treatment. He was put on medication, but when he felt he no longer needed the medication, his mental aberrations kicked into gear. When Jackson became an adult, he killed a man for reasons that made sense to no one. And when the police finally found him, they ambushed the hotel room where he was staying and, after a showdown, killed him. Some family members considered the murder to be a mercy killing for the tortured soul, and they wondered how his father reacted to the death of the troubled son he created, but the father never showed any remorse.

Decades later Sidney was born. Sidney calls himself Jackson sometimes. Nothing about his appearance suggests any relation to his cousin. Where one had dark hair, the other has blonde. Where one was solidly built, the other is thin. Jackson had been a bright and cute kid who grew up to be a handsome man. Nobody would have thought he'd have turned out to be a murderer. 

Sidney is a cute kid too and both Sidney and Jackson are/were introspective, curious, and creative. If Sidney chose the man and woman he now refers to as his father and mother, he probably did so because he wanted an entirely different experience, and his chances of progressing his soul with a nurturing set of parents, instead of a sadistic father, should help him pave a different path.

Though these two people were both male, according to reincarnation theory, people don't always come back as the same sex they were in their previous lives. Souls want to experience life in ways that will advance their spiritual journey. Perhaps as we die, we examine the life we just lived, judge ourselves, and decide which lessons we need to learn. Who is to say we don't choose to come back on the anniversary of the death of another relative or treasured friend?

A man I know was born on the same date (decades later) that his great great aunt died. He bears some of her characteristics. She was always very prim and proper in her appearance and in her gait, and she was fastidious when it came to keeping her home in order. He walks straight and tall and takes great care of himself, his home, and his possessions.

He may have come back as a male to learn different lessons, and chose to be born into the family of the descendants he, as the great great aunt, once loved, but, like most people, if he truly was reincarnated as his great great aunt, he has no memory of his previous existence. Apparently, if reincarnation truly exists, some cosmic reason also exists to explain why no reincarnated soul remembers his previous existence.

Having written that, I must also relate that advances in parapsychology have caused some parapsychologists to believe that as our souls progress so too does our ability to remember our previous existences. Through regression therapy, we can tap into realms of universal knowledge. And in dreams we might find remnants of our former lives.

If the prediction that we use only 10% of our brain is true, might we possibly be storing previous lives in the other 90%, information we can access through dreams, meditation, or therapy?

Perhaps some day or maybe even as I write this, some paranormal research facility is investigating the theory that children born on the same date that relatives or friends died, might be the reincarnated souls of deceased ancestors who died on their birth date. The world seen and unseen, heard and unheard, is filled with limitless possibilities.

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My Past Life or Is it?

Sexy – Snobby – Handsome

Recently I attended a psychic luncheon with my oldest daughter, one of my best friends, and several of my friend's friends. When the psychic grabbed my hands, her eyes grew wide and she let out a small gasp. "You were an actress in your former life! And a very loved one." 

But she didn't tell me which actress I had been. And I didn't want to know, because I wanted to go home and research loved actresses who died before I was born. I reasoned that in those days, "loved" actresses must have been small in number, because today so many of them are members of the Actors Guild that we would need an encyclopedia to list them all. Also back "in the old days" movies were fairly new.

So I decided to find out for myself which actress I might have been. Wikipedia lists all of the actresses, so I checked out those who died before I was born. Here's the list with an explanation about how I feel a connection to all of them in one way or another (note the small number of actresses who died prior to my birth): 

Renée Adorée, also known as Jeanne de la Fonte (She was French. I am part French.)

Agnes Ayres (She was born near Chicago; I was born in Chicago.)

Alice Brady (Though she is not the Alice Brady from the Brady Bunch, I did watch the Brady Bunch.)

Marguerite Clark (My mother's name is Marguerite. Marguerite died of pneumonia. I had pneumonia once.)

Marguerite De La Motte (Again – the name and the French connection.)

Marie Dressler (I worked with a guy whose last name was Dressler.)

Marie Prévost (She gained weight. I have gained weight.)

Zelda Fitzgerald (When I was at Northern Illinois University, Robert Zemeckis lived on the same floor as my ex did – one of the girls there went by the name, Zelda, which was not her real name.)

Jean Harlow (I used to go to a cocktail lounge on the southwest side of Chicago, called Harlow's – in honor on Jean Harlow – I sat at a table with the band, Styx, because I was dating JY's brother.)

Carole Lombard (She and I share the same small shoe size.)

Grace Moore (I know a bunch of people whose last name is Moore.)

Florence Nash (I listened to Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.)

Mabel Normand (I don't like the name Mabel.)

Pearl White (I once met Pearl Bailey in a train station.)

After narrowing the list of potential actresses I might have been, I have decided I must have been either Jean Harlow or Carole Lombard, but only because my psychic said I was loved in my former life and those two are the only two I'd ever heard about.

After looking at their biographies, I've decided I must have been Carole Lombard. Why? Carole was in the entertainment industry. I pretend I am in the entertainment field. Pretending is very much like acting, so we have that in common.

Carole had tiny feet. I have tiny feet. Carole was married to Clark Gable. I did research on Clark Gable for a play that a former friend wanted to write with me many decades ago when people cared about Clark Gable. Carole had lots of "presence." I tried that once, too. You can read about that here: How to Have PRESENCE.

And there you have it. I must be the reincarnation of Carole Lombard. Or – if people are reincarnated 9 months after they die, perhaps I was Al Jolson. Then again, the psychic did say actress.

If you believe in reincarnation, during what time periods do you think you lived? What kind of lives did you lead? Who were you?

The snobby looking one in the middle is me, by the way, so that is what Carole would look like at twice her age and in a different body.

Sources and Photos:

Photo of Carole Lombard is located HERE.

Photo of Al Jolson, who died October, 1950, is from Wikimedia Commons

http://www.goldensilents.com/stars/reneeadoree.html

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Karma and Newton's Third Law of Motion

Newton's Third Law of Motion states that, "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." But would that law apply to Karma? Karma, according to dictionary.reference.com, means:

1. Hinduism, Buddhism. action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation: in Hinduism one of the means of reaching Brahman. 

2. Theosophy. the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in one incarnation according to that person's deeds in the previous incarnation.

(Brahman indicates individuals reaching the supreme goal of enlightenment.)

So taking the dictionary meaning of Karma, which includes, "action," and applying it to Newton's Third Law of Motion, we see a correlation between the actions we take in this life and the application of the Law of Motion. If we apply the principles of Karma and Reincarnation (the soul's return to life in a new body), we can begin to understand the WHY of life.

Why does that person get away with killing another human being?

Why do I have to suffer while it seems nobody else suffers as much as I do?

Why did that person take such and such an action?

Why does the punishment not fit the crime?

When you see a connection between the actions you take and the consequences that surely will come your way in this life or in the next, you consciously create good Karma, because you want to reap the rewards and not suffer the consequences. 

In order to generate good Karma, you reach out to help a friend who is suffering, and you help in whatever way you can the people who touch your heart. You behave in a way that will cause Newton's "reaction" to be positive and rewarding.

Perhaps in this life when things happen to us, the reason they happen to us is because we set in motion situations because of actions we took in our earlier years or in a previous life. Perhaps the people we love suffer because of something they set in motion in a previous life. We may never know for sure, but we can try to understand and we can empathize.

Newton's third Law of Motion and Karma provide a roadmap for how we should live our lives. They give us reasons for forgiving others, for forgiving ourselves, and for living the best life we know how to live. Unless we've been regressed, we don't have access to our previous lives. Our lives may make no sense to us, but if we start, from this very moment, to put into motion every loving action we can think of, once we work off our Karma, we can help others who are working off their own. And we can use our talents and the gifts with which we were born – whatever they are – to GIVE of ourselves, creating even more positive Karma.

Even thoughts have energy, so every thought and every action you generate sets into motion laws you cannot see. Start paying attention to your words, your thoughts, and your actions so that you can generate good Karma and work off any Karmic debt you may have accumulated.

Source(s):

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/newton3laws.html

http://dictionary.reference.com/

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Are You the Reincarnation of Your Deceased Relative?

Have you ever wondered if you, or one of your family members, is the reincarnation of a deceased relative?

Some people believe that we come back as one of our own descendants or as a relative of one of our ancestors. You've probably read stories of kids who recount in vivid detail lives lived prior to their current lives – lives they couldn't possibly or reasonably know or understand. Maybe they hear voices or see visions nobody else hears or sees. They might talk to unseen individuals or refer to themselves by another name. And sometimes they talk about bedrooms they slept in that reside in homes their parents never knew existed.

Therapeutic regression hypnotists, psychics, and many Eastern religions believe that beyond this life – and before this life – we will live – and have lived – other lives. According to the theory of reincarnation, we choose various life experiences to progress our souls, though most of have no memory of our previous lives. Every once in a while, however, we hear something that causes us to wonder about the reality, as opposed to the theory, of reincarnation.

Read more HERE!

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