Dr. James Paul Pandarakalam

Introduction

The theory of reincarnation may offer insight into several features of human personality and biology that contemporary theories do not clarify adequately. Past life regression (PLR) is a posited journeying into past lives, undertaken while the individual is subjected to hypnosis.

The late Professor Ian Stevenson’s book Reincarnation and Biology:

A Contribution to the Aetiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects has become a classic in the parasciences and has a worldwide readership.1 It has resulted in a resurgence of interest in PLR. Alternate explanations proposed for previous life memories include wishful thinking, cultural construction, deception, self-deception, and paranormal explanations other than reincarnation.

The dichotomy between scientists and practitioners is ever-widening, as is that between evidence obtained by research and the outcomes of clinical work. Mental health professionals are commonly consulted about the efficacy of complementary therapies, and they need an informed awareness of the merits and demerits of these therapies.

Professionals in psychiatry and psychology must address the dangers posed by the application of questionable mental health techniques, but at the same time, they need to be receptive to their potential. Paying more attention to research in PLR would be more to their advantage than dismissing it in its entirety.

Previous life memories Proponents of PLR who cite the works of Stevenson tend to ignore

Previous life memories

Proponents of PLR who cite the works of Stevenson tend to ignore the fact that he did not claim to have proved the incidence of reincarnation. He simply discerned and reported evidence that seemed to make it possible for it to happen. PLR has indisputable value only if reincarnation is objectively demonstrated to exist.

The scientific evidence that Stevenson presented justifies a suspension of disbelief in the occurrence – albeit rare – of reincarnation, but the evidence for it does not have its foundation in PLR. If reincarnation does take place, it is only one manifestation of survival after physical extinction, and it makes other forms of survival scientific possibilities also.

The existence of reincarnation is not inconsistent with early Christian teachings. Concerning the various categories of scientific evidence that support reincarnation, Stevenson attaches maximum credibility to spontaneous utterances made by young children about previous lives.

It is noteworthy that these children reveal their apparent recollections of their own volition. The information that they give has the appearance of verisimilitude, and it is easy to determine whether any suspect channels of communication have been brought to bear on young people.

In his recent publication, Stevenson opened his commodious file of cases of people who have birthmarks and birth defects corresponding to the wounds of people of whom they are hypothesized to be reincarnations. About 35 percent of children who claim to remember previous lives have birthmarks or defects that they attribute to wounds suffered by a person whom they represented in an earlier existence.

A total of 210 such children have been investigated by Stevenson’s research team. In those instances in which it was possible to identify a deceased person the details of whose life reliably matched the child’s statements, a close correspondence was nearly always found between the child’s birthmarks and defects and wounds known to have been inflicted on the deceased person’s body.

This is currently the only objective evidence in favor of the hypothesis of reincarnation. A less tangible kind of evidence occurs: remembering a previous life may have a specific positive outcome in adulthood, and conversely children who recall a previous life may become neurotic as a direct result of the circumstances. Many child subjects may experience the turmoil of conflicting personal loyalties between their present and previous families.

Stevenson was not a fanatical advocate of PLR. His skepticism is demonstrated by his pointing out that if the memories of all the hypnotically regressed subjects claiming to have been present at the Crucifixion of Christ were true, there would have been no room for Roman soldiers to be in attendance at Golgotha. Many PLR studies inevitably lack the scientific discipline of Stevenson’s work.

Opening the box that constitutes the previous life of an individual is not always beneficial to them; memories remembered may multiply when transported into the conscious mind, and they may never be eradicated.

From a clinical perspective, however, investigation of the putative undesirable effects of the therapy is potentially as valuable as an appraisal of its benefits.

I am a trained hypnotherapist & regressionist devoted to enhancing the well-being of our community through top-notch services. I am dedicated to a mission to craft innovative solutions addressing an array of health issues, spanning from weight management to chronic conditions.