It may have started with The Search for Bridey Murphy, read when I was a teenager. Or maybe Jess Stearn's Yoga, Youth, and Reincarnation came first. Either way, my interest was piqued. And books that came after developed my interest into something more solid.
No Goodbyes, by Adela Rogers St. Johns
Across Time and Death: A Mother's Search For Her Past Life Children, by Jenny Cockell
Past Lives Future Lives, by Jenny Cockell
Many Lives, Many Masters, by Brian Weiss, MD
Messages From the Masters: Tapping Into the Power of Love, by Brian Weiss, MD
Children's Past Lives: How Past Life Memories Affect Your Child, by Carol Bowman
Edgar Cayce, The Sleeping Prophet, by Jess Stearn
There Is a River: The Story of Edgar Cayce, by Thomas Sugrue
There are others. But the ones that meant the most to me were two that I read not long after Jill died: Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls, both by Dr. Michael Newton, Ph.D. Dr. Newton, who died in 2016, was a psychologist who hypnotized a large number of people and asked them not about their past lives, but their lives between lives. He questioned them in detail, and their answers were remarkably similar. These two books are the result.
I don't remember how I heard about them—so many people recommended or gave me so many books around that time—but I've bought and given away a number of copies of Journey of Souls over the years, paying it forward. The two books should be read in order, Journey first.
Wow. I'm not sure if I want to read these (too scary?), but glad they meant a lot to you.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say the books are scary, but what I find less-than-reassuring about reincarnation is the possibility of being born into scary circumstances. There are plenty of those around the world, near and far.
DeleteI had a friend whose little boy went through a period of talking about a past life. They would pass a house, and he would say, seriously and with clarity, so many things that he had done in that house. It may have been so many things, including just a really cool imagination, but it unnerved her. He eventually stopped. (And then, unfortunately, grew into a rather bland adult. I liked him so much better when he was scaring the bejezus out of us!)
ReplyDeleteLOL Perhaps he enjoys his bland life after too much excitement in previous ones. Children's past life memories are taken much more seriously in places like India, where belief in reincarnation is commonplace. There, parents have been known to help their kids locate members of previous families.
DeleteI've been interested in the idea of reincarnation for a while. I don't think I have read any books about it though.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I have such a definite disbelief in these types of things (the idea of a soul, or continuation of consciousness, any sort of afterlife, reincarnation, etc.), and maybe it's because I find these notions scary as well. I don't know... and I sometimes ask myself if it even matters, as I'm not sure believing would have any impact on how I choose to live in this world. But it would be lovely to be reunited with those we have loved and lost.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the absence of an impact on how I live my life. Organized religious often cover that by promoting a fear of whatever higher power they worship, but there's no fear (nor worship) involved in what I believe. The dramatic and unmistakable signs I received from my daughter Gillian after she died left no doubt in my my mind (and in the minds of others who shared these experiences) about the survival of the spirit. But even before that, there was my parents' dog, Dukie. I should write about that one of these days. :-)
DeletePlease do, and I would really like to hear more about Gillian's communications, if you don't mind sharing. Actually, I vaguely recollect that you may have blogged about this before... if so, could you post the link?
DeleteYou have a good memory, Helen. The only sign I blogged about was this one. I wrote about it in 2009. After that the honeysuckle too disappeared. I promise to post about Dukie in that blog soon. And another sign I'd like to share.
DeleteIf anyone's curious and would like to learn a little more, I would recommend the first two books on my list. Adela Rogers St. Johns was a well-known and groundbreaking journalist whose son died in WWII. Jenny Cockell is an Englishwoman whose remarkable story has been validated (as you will see if you read the book) by a number of people. Although less sophisticated than St. Johns, Jenny Cockell is equally believable. (And I should add that I've abandoned a few books on the subject of reincarnation that I'd read partway because I didn't believe them at all.)
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