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All the hype about the newly released Amir Bar-Lev documentary–”My Kid Could Paint That”–makes me think of when I was casting “Wiccan types” last year & more than a few mothers kept bragging to me about the past lives of their offspring. Of course, this isn’t to cast any shade on Wiccans, or challenge the could-be-a-past-life-reference accounts of families–secular and otherwise–for whom I’ve babysat. I’m always interested in how families make sense of life & death vis-a-vis the idiosyncrasies of their children–in college I researched Carol Bowman vanguard of the child past lives phenomenon, and I’ve seen the 6 year-old purportedly reincarnated WWII pilot on Montel and ABC Primetime. Coaching speculation aside, it’s pretty chilling to listen to a kid expound on getting shot down by Imperial Japanese aircraft.
A 2005 Harris Interactive poll showed that one in five Americans believe in reincarnation. And according to reincarnation theorist Walter Semkiw, Oprah may likely have been abolitionist James Wilson! (via daily mantra) My question to you is: if you’re thumbs-up on reincarnation, which historical era do you suspect you’ve trafficked? If the transmigration of souls is offensive, moot, or otherwise, is there a period in history you wish you could have witnessed?
My youngest daughter had night terrors. When she was a little older, three-ish–she said she dreamed that she was put into a wicker cage and burned. She couldn’t possibly have known of that custom, leading me to wonder if she did experience that in a previous life.
posted by Barbara on 10-10-2007 at 8:30 pm
When I was much younger….perhaps around 3 or 4, I told one of my older sisters that I had been a wolf in a previous life.
posted by Brenda on 10-11-2007 at 6:28 am
While I believe that I have had several past lives, my most recent one was as an Army Ranger that was killed in Germany during WWII.
posted by Casey on 10-11-2007 at 9:05 am
No strong individual identity, but I’ve always felt the late 30s through the early 40s were some sort of heyday for me (I was born in the 70s). “Topper” is my favorite movie, I love Big Band music and know alot of lyrics to familiar tunes even though I don’t know where I learned them. The clothing, the architecture, the dancing,… it is so appealing in a comforting way.
posted by elizabutt on 10-11-2007 at 9:26 am
Now all at once, repeat after me: “I’m cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs”
posted by Drew on 10-11-2007 at 9:49 am
I just finished reading the book “Audrey Rose” by Frank DeFellita.
It was really good. A little girl has nightmares, a man journeys to India and back to NY after his daughter dies in a horrible car crash and contacts the parents of the girl he believes is his daughters reincarnation. It’s creepy and good.
posted by Lea on 10-11-2007 at 10:21 am
When my brother first started to talk in full sentances, every once and a while he would tell us about being in college and how he committed suicide by “jumping out a window”. He’d get into these long rants about having to go back to find his friend because he forgot to tell him goodbye, but when we would ask him the name of the friend or the school, he would get frustrated and stop talking. He’d usually forget a few minutes later and wouldn’t bring it up again for a month or so. It was weird, especially since he used words that a normal 3 year old wouldn’t use. By the age of 6 he stopped talking about it and by 7 he forgot completely.
posted by Cassie on 10-11-2007 at 11:28 am
When I was 3 years old, I told my mother very matter-of-factly that I used to be a man. When she asked me about it, I replied that I had been a doctor, but I died.
posted by jzimm on 10-11-2007 at 11:52 am
I don’t have any personal past memories to share, but sometimes I get some incredibly deep feelings of deja-vu and the only recall I can get on the feelings is that they happened ‘a long time ago.’
I also have a friend who swears up and down that she once died on the Titanic. She says she was about five years old, was in 3rd class, and that she had a fraternal twin brother who also died.
posted by Katherine on 10-11-2007 at 1:06 pm
I am familiar with the writings of both Carol Bowman and Walter Semkiw, Prof. Ian Stevenson, among many others. I encourage everyone to read their works and make your own decisions.
The majority of the earth’s population accepts reincarnation. Besides, it makes sense. If we are all supposed to be recycling, why wouldn’t God recycle souls?
check out www.johnadams.net
posted by KIRSTEN on 10-11-2007 at 1:33 pm
If there were a such thing as reincarnation, wouldn’t the world population generally remain the same?
Of course, you can always argue that new souls are still regularly born. So 6 billion souls right now. How come everyone that gets reincarnated was either a war hero, famous, or died on the titanic? Why don’t used car salesmen ever get reincarnated?
posted by Drew on 10-11-2007 at 2:15 pm
I think this is a wrong view on re-incarnation. Being a practicing Buddhist for 19 years I’ve learned its a difficult subject to talk about intelligently so I will now take this opportunity to shut up.
posted by Scott on 10-11-2007 at 4:35 pm
The scientific part of me doesn’t believe in reincarnation, but I also believe I could be wrong. I have always had an interest of the past, and objects from the past. There is something about the time period of 1880 to 1910, and especially the 1880’s that seems to draw my attention more so than any other. It’s like an almost subconcious, innate fascination with anything from that era, especially the architecture. I was a movie extra for a scene that took place in 1905 and I could borrow what Elizabutt said about the late 30’s/early 40’s, the clothing and architecture was appealing in a comforting way. If I did have a past life I must have had a good time in 1880’s.
posted by Tdave on 10-12-2007 at 3:36 am
I was born in 1949 and as a small child had frequent dreams (memories?) of being shot in the left temple by a Japanese soldier while charging a pillbox on a sandy hill. There was much more to this dream including things that I could not reasonably have known as a toddler, including that skin sloughs off and exudes a whitish fluid as it decays. I stiopped dreaming this sometime in my childhood, but still rememeber it clearly.
posted by peterg on 10-12-2007 at 11:21 am