reincarnation research

• United Communities of Spirit
  A global network, linking people of diverse beliefs who want to work with others to build a better world. An extensive database of information seeks for the common factors and universal truths that unite people of all cultures.
• Children's Past Lives
  This wonderful online book by Carol Bowman explains how past-life memories emerge and how they heal. It gives guidelines for distinguishing between genuine past life memories and fantasy and it tells parents how to respond if their child has such a memory. Illustrated with dozens of original cases, the book shows how to use these experiences as a powerful tool for understanding and helping children. Children who remember their past lives offer the most compelling evidence yet for reincarnation. And as the stories in the book show, when adults listen - really listen - to what the children are trying to say, their own understanding of spirit and of children is changed forever. The accompanying website contains many valuable articles and reincarnation resources.

Children's Past Lives is now available in paperback ($6.50 list), and still available in hardback ($22.95 list). Both can be ordered from Amazon.com (at a 20% discount). (Further books about reincarnation are described below.)
 

• Reincarnation, Karma & Past Lives
  An excellent article by Benjamin Creme.

• APRT
  Association for Past Life Research and Therapies
• A.R.E.
  The Edgar Cayce research organization.
• Noetic Sciences
  Dedicated to expanding science beyond conventional paradigms. Founded by Edgar Mitchell, the astronaut.
• Journal for Scientific Exploration
  The journal of the Society for Scientific Exploration.

Birth Psychology
The Association for Pre- and Peri- Natal Psychology and Health.

• Lighthearts
  Pre-Birth Communication and other mysteries of parenthood. Features the book Soul Trek by Elizabeth Hallett.
• Spiritual Books on-line
• New Frontier Magazine
• Foundation for Shamanic Studies
• Society for Psychical Research

Books about reincarnation

The following is a selection of books that contribute to a general understanding of past lives and past life regression.

To make it easy for you to find these books, we have associated with Amazon.com, the online bookstore. To order, click on the title of any book you want and you will be linked directly to the catalog page for that book on the Amazon.com site.

IAN STEVENSON, M.D., Carlson Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Division of Personality Studies at the University of Virginia, has devoted the last forty years to the scientific research and documentation of the past life memories of children. He has collected thousands of cases from around the world.

In each case, he documents the child's statements and behavior with a rigor equal to any in science. He persists to identify the deceased person the child remembers being, and verifies, from witnesses and medical records, the facts of the deceased person's life that match the child's memory. His strict methods and careful argument systematically rule out all possible "normal" explanations for the childrens' memories.

Dr. Stevenson has published hundreds of such cases; other researchers, using Stevenson's methods, have duplicated his results and added to the body of cases. Many people believe that these cases offer the best evidence yet for reincarnation. His work needs to be known because it could be the key to widespread acceptance of reincarnation in the West.

• Children Who Remember Previous Lives. (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1987.)
  This is the most accessible of Stevenson's works. It summarizes his research findings, gives a sample of cases, and showcases Stevenson's main ideas and theories about the phenomenon of children's past life memories. If you want to discover what Ian Stevenson's work is all about, but only want to read one book, read this.
• Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect. (Praeger Publishers, 1997.)
  A summary of Stevenson's much larger two volume magnum opus, Reincarnation and Biology which presents more than two hundred solved cases that included birthmarks or birth defects. In each case the child was born with a physical mark or deformity that corresponded closely to a wound, often fatal, or scar on the body of the deceased person the child remembers being. This book is in paperback and affordable.
• Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation. (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1974.)
  The seminal work on children's spontaneous past life memories, and essential reading for anyone seriously interested in research of this phenomenon. These are full-blown cases, not summaries, and the best way to get a taste of Stevenson's full methodology and detailed reporting.

Other authors

• Soul Trek: Meeting Our Children on the Way to Birth, by Elisabeth Hallett. Light Hearts Publishing, 1995.
  Soul Trek is the first in-depth study of contact and communication from children before birth, even before conception. Based on actual reports from parents, it explores the full range of pre-birth communication. Like childrens' past life memories, pre-birth communication gives evidence that children approaching the womb door are much more aware and involved than we normally give them credit for.

Elizabeth has put a wealth of information about Soul Trek on her website: LightHearts.

A review of Soul Trek:
"There's really nothing new about a mother communicating with her child before its birth; it's just that no one has ever documented the fact so exhaustively. This book demonstrates the pervasiveness of a phenomenon that is just as intriguing as near-death experiences. I found it impossible to put down; personal accounts of many women (and a few men) tell of encounters with their children before birth, even before conception! What is remarkable is the variety of ways in which parents received communication; some had vivid dreams, others visions, some just a strange feeling. The loveliest aspect of these stories is the voices of the children: agonizingly pure, but with an earthy practicality... Mysterious, joyful, and touching." -- NAPRA ReView

• Other Lives, Other Selves: A Jungian Psychotherapist Discovers Past Lives by Roger Woolger, PhD. Doubleday, 1987.
  Woolger is one of the leading theorists and practitioners of past life therapy. His awesome intellect synthesizes ideas from many sources, including conventional psychology, Buddhist and yogic thought, and his own years of clinical experience as a past life therapist. He merges all into a cogent theory and explanation that is accessible to any intelligent reader. This is the most comprehensive introduction to the psychological depths of past life regression.
• Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss. Simon & Schuster, 1988.
  A great introduction to past life therapy for the skeptic or the inquisitive reader. Psychiatrist Brian Weiss' credentials are impeccable, and his story is completely credible. An easy and enjoyable read.
• You Have Been Here Before: A Psychologist Looks at Past Lives by Edith Fiore.
  A primer in past life regression therapy. The transcripts of the cases in the book give the reader a glimpse of what a past life regression is like. This is a classic in the field.
• Beyond the Ashes: Cases of Reincarnation from the Holocaust by Rabbi Yonassan Gershom.
  Accounts of Jews and non-Jews who sought out Rabbi Gershom because of their puzzling memories of dying in the Holocaust. The Rabbi shares his advice to those with memories, and gives an overview of Jewish beliefs on the afterlife.
• The Children That Time Forgot by Peter and Mary Harrison.
  Wonderful stories, warmly written, and one of the few books available about childrens' spontaneous memories. Available through Reincarnation International, Ltd., PO Box 10839, London SW13 0ZG, e-mail: reincar@dircon.co.uk; web site: http://www.dircon.co.uk/reincarn/rein-library.html. This website has a very complete list of books on reincarnation, including some that aren't available in the United States.
• Regression Therapy: A Handbook for Professionals, Vols. I & II by Lucas, Winafred Blake, Ph.D. Crest Park, CA: Deep Forest Press, 1993.
  This two-volume set is the most comprehensive work on past life regression therapy to date, and a must for any professional in the field. Also available from APRT, PO Box 20151, Riverside, CA 92516-0151; telephone: 909-784-1570.
• Beyond the Brain: Birth, Death, and Transendence in Psychotherapy by Stanislav Grof, 1986.
  An overview of transpersonal psychology by a true pioneer of the mind. Grof writes about the intersection of science, psychology, and spirituality. This book will challenge your conception of reality. Heavy reading, but worth the effort.
• Across Time and Death: A Mother's Search for her Past Life Children by Jenny Cockell. Simon & Schuster, 1993.
  A remarkable and true past life story.
• The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Evans-Wentz, translator. Oxford University Press, 1960.
  The classic translation of this sacred Tibetan Buddhist text.
• The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche, 1993.
  A modern explanation and interpretation of Tibetan Buddhism. Clear, inspiring, written for the Western mind.
• Lifetimes: True Accounts of Reincarnation by Frederick Lenz, 1979.
  Cases of spontaneous memories in adults. It can happen to you!
• Life After Life: The Investigation of a Phenomenon--Survival of Bodily Death by Raymond Moody, M.D., 1975.
  The seminal book on near death experiences by the original pioneer of the field.
• Closer to the Light by Melvin Morse and Paul Perry, 1990.
  Near death experiences of children.
• Through Time Into Healing. Brian Weiss, 1992.
  Case studies of regression therapy.
• Reincarnation International Magazine
  The only magazine in the world dedicated exclusively to reincarnation and its implications. Highly recommended. This is a labor of love published in England by author Roy Stemman. They also have a great bookstore and a forum on their website.