I would also like to caution that when I say I believe in the reality of
reincarnation, that doesn’t mean I necessarily subscribe to the more
esoteric and fringe beliefs that surround the subject, such as purported
memories of past lives in highly advanced civilizations, Atlantis, Lemuria,
different planets, as an animal, a plant, and so on. (As a separate category
I would add Future Life Progression - to be discussed in a later chapter.)
While of interest to some, these categories - in my opinion - lack
credibility and are not usually what they appear to be. The reader who does
not believe in reincarnation but has managed to wade this far into the book
may be relieved to learn that even my credulity has its limits. Of course,
some might argue that my dismissal of some of the more esoteric elements
listed above are just as prejudiced as my acceptance of the other past life
experiences which form the basis of my beliefs. However, I have
endeavored to base my interpretation of past life regression on those
experiences which can be rationally and empirically investigated.
The above being said, I’m also convinced that reincarnation in no way
represents some sort of final truth in our understanding of the universe. If
there’s one thing we’ve learned from the history of science, it’s that our
theories about the way the universe works are never permanent. Sir Issac
Newton gave us one picture about the way the universe works - and it was
and is a valid picture. However, Einstein gave us another picture; Stephen
Hawking yet another; and Quantum Physics - the branch of physics which
seeks to understand the behavior of sub-atomic particles – has given us yet
another. None of them are wrong, but each has gone a step farther than
the one before.
I believe the same is true of reincarnation as a way of understanding
how the universe works. I think that it’s a correct picture as far as it goes,
but that there are surely even more correct pictures waiting for us in the
future. For example, most proponents of reincarnation believe we live
sequential lives - in other words, one after the other in chronological time.
But science is showing us that there are levels of reality at which our
everyday concepts of time break down.