In my Griffin Witches series, my main characters are triplet sisters who have the ability to manipulate energy. They are very spiritual beings. Due to the loss of loved ones close to them, these stories delve into the afterlife and reincarnation.
According to data released by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, a quarter of American’s believe in reincarnation. The research also claims that women are more likely to believe than men, and Democrats are more likely to believe than Republicans. Being stuck in religious dogma can hinder the mind to be open for learning, but I believe it is always important to look outside the box. Many in the West believe the soul’s order is birth, life, death, and rebirth. Where after your life you die, you’re judged, and you’re sent to heaven or hell with no appeals allowed for eternity. In the East, there are nearly a billion Hindu’s and a half billion Buddhists, not to mention the ancient civilizations, who have a cyclical view. They believe the soul’s order is birth, life, death, and because no one is perfect, the soul is reborn on earth to begin anew.
The concept of reincarnation dates back 3,000 years to India and Greece, although it has largely been rejected by the Jewish and Christian traditions. The idea of reincarnation has been stepping to the forefront in the West due to pass life regression hypnotherapy and the fascination American’s have with the idea of living before. I’ve read dozens of books regarding these past life regressions and life between life regressions. Although it cannot be proven with certainty that what these people experience is true, it has been proven that experiencing these kinds of regressions have been known to help the therapist’s client heal. In Lifetimes new series, Reincarnated: Past Lives, the clients’ stories often contain historic names and places. This information is then traced through history to be found factual. Could these people just be making up tribal signs and places they never heard of from imagination? Is this information stored in some energy grid and pulled from the ether? Or are they in essence experiencing a life they had once lived? I definitely find these theories fascinating and I hope to one day participate in my own Life Between Life session. And when I do, I will be sure to blog about it.
The people who undergo this type of therapy believe what they imagine under deep hypnosis has happened to them and they seem to have intense feelings and often cry while undergoing a past life death. If you are interested in learning more I suggest researching Michael Newton. And since I feel it essential to examine concepts from various angles, it’s important to note that skeptics believe these hypnotic journeys into past lives is due to a construction of the brain to project itself into a future state that doesn’t exist. Many scientists point to cryptomnesia (the emergence of forgotten memories), suggestibility by the hypnotherapist, fantasy and imagination, hysterical dissociation, wishful thinking, or self-delusion. Science has not proven life after death to be true or untrue, making reincarnation and past life regression therapy, controversial theories.
Jim Tucker, a professor of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences at the University of Virginia claims, “there are good reasons to think that consciousness can be considered a separate entity from the physical realty.” To read more on this, http://www.npr.org/2014/01/05/259886077/searching-for-science-behind-reincarnation And according to Dr. Ian Stevenson, Ph.D., former Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, who spent 40 years researching reincarnation stories with children states, “About 35% of children who claim to remember previous lives have birthmarks and/or birth defects that they (or adult informants) attribute to wounds on a person whose life the child remembers.”
Spiritualist, like my characters, believe we are here on earth to learn and love, that we are all connected, and when we harm another, we harm our eternal soul which then needs to make an amends in this life or in another life. As Dr. Weiss states, “We are souls having a human experience.” We are always connected to the higher power, our angels, and our deceased loved ones, and thus we are never truly alone. Our higher self still exists on the higher plane, learning and teaching younger souls, as a portion of our soul on earth is also busy learning. We learn through love, compassion, and giving, as we try to raise our vibration and energy levels higher so to become closer to God. The trials and tribulations we face on earth are in place to teach us empathy toward others. Once our spiritual energy is wise enough, we no longer find it necessary to incarnate, unless we wish to. We tend to become guides to younger souls, sharing with them the wisdom we learned through our own soul’s journeys. Thus, the Griffin sisters do not believe in coincidences, and know there is much more being manipulated and arranged by our guides and angels than we realize. Perhaps there’s a reason why you feel you’ve known someone forever, it could be because you have. The Griffin sisters see the signs before them, but they do not always read them correctly, which in essence, is part of life.
It is easy to learn about reincarnation, as the Eastern traditions are making their way West in the form of Yoga studios, Reiki, acupuncture, movies, and much more. The eternal soul is not a new concept, but not all believers in eternity believe we return to begin life anew, as a new person, likely in a different culture, and with many of the same souls we’ve journeyed with before. It’s little wonder the concept is so fascinating to ponder.
A special thank you to: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/fashion/29PastLives.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 and https://www.spiritscienceandmetaphysics.com/the-scientific-evidence-for-reincarnation-fact-or-fantasy/#sthash.Yfz0pZTi.dpuf Also special thanks to Michael Newton and Brian Weiss.
