The scientific method requires a dispassionate willingness to let the data lead one to conclusions.  It requires repeatability under controlled conditions. Essentially, in science, observations lead to conclusions — whereas in religion, conclusions lead to observations.

I consider both to be vital to a well-integrated life.  I’ve personally had experiences of the sacred and even of the miraculous that I could not begin to prove scientifically.

The advantage of scientific data is that they can be tested and verified by others. One of the most interesting subjects at the junction point of spirituality and religion is reincarnation. Many people consider it nonsense based upon their religious or scientific perspective, and I respect their right to this point of view.

Personally, I’ve always kept an open mind about reincarnation. Jesus’ response to his disciples when asked, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?” seemed to leave open the possibility. He did not declare that they had made a mistake, but gave another explanation instead.

Most other major religions assume reincarnation as fact, and a 2005 Gallup poll found that 20% of Americans do so as well.

I personally had an experience in college that seemed to fit the bill. After consuming ½ dozen donuts (disclaimer: if I worked for the Drug Enforcement Administration I would investigate Krispy Kreme), I seemed to see a series of distant images that were at once historical and strangely familiar… 

Most interesting to me, the images explained some anomalies in my life and the information gained changed my perspective on some things. Since childhood, I had harbored hostile attitudes towards France, a country with which I had no apparent connection whatsoever. I regarded the French as irrational and prone to mob rule. I also had a phobia of being in crowds.

After seemingly “remembering” a life as an insignificant member of the nobility in France, apparently born in 1756, all of my irrational attitudes disappeared. And for the first time in my life, I was able to enjoy vacationing in Quebec and listening to the French language spoken.

In addition, during the “memory” I heard a waltz playing and saw the orchestra playing it. I should mention that I have never in my life composed music, much less a waltz. (I never even took a music class after grade school.) I was able to sing this well enough that it was recorded on cassette and given to a professor of classical music at my college.

He declared it to be the work of “an unknown composer,” probably circa 1800.

Coincidence? Hallucination? Perhaps — but the subsequent changes were real and now it turns out I’m far from alone.

Enter science. Last night, I heard Dr. Brian Weiss expound on his research into reincarnation through hypnosis. Dr. Weiss is a Yale-trained psychotherapist, and Chairman Emeritus of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami. His research is published in peer-reviewed journals.

One can reasonably disagree with his conclusions, but one cannot ignore his credentials or body of work.

Dr. Weiss has personally regressed over 4,000 patients including some very well-known persons such as famous scientists. He has also trained over 1,000 therapists to do this work.

He did not start out with any interest or belief in reincarnation.  Rather, he was using regressive hypnosis as a tool to help people deal with buried traumas in this life.

He was amazed when a patient spontaneously leapt to a “life experience” not of this life and pinpointed it as the source of her trauma. Not only did she experience a quick and spontaneous healing, she went on to tell him information about his own father that she could not possibly have known.

Intrigued, he began the research process into which he has now invested 26 years of his life. Dr. Weiss has documented numerous such cases of spontaneous healing associated with these seemingly recovered memories. These include both psychological and physical conditions, even including cancers.

Further, he has many documented instances in which people regressed one or two generations to remember specific details about faraway places or deceased people, details which were later corroborated to the amazement of both the subject and the people whose lives were actually involved.

He emphasizes that it does not work in all cases, nor does any therapeutic modality. But it seems to afford an exceptionally low risk and inexpensive way to deal with at least some chronic or severe life-threatening problems.  Most people do not even need a therapist to engage in this practice.  They can use a guided hypnotherapy CD which he supplies at nominal charge from his website.

Some critics assert that these are not past lives, but rather memories of lives lived by others for which one has a particular affinity. (This still requires some extraordinary faculty of the mind, a faculty worth studying.) Others, of course, maintain that these are nothing but hallucinations akin to exceptionally vivid dreams.

Nevertheless, the capacity to heal objectively measurable diseases is significant. So is the capacity to recover hidden information. Both seem to be measurable and repeatable and warrant significant additional research. (The book Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation by Prof. Ian Stevenson of University of Virginia stands as a respected if debated work.)

Perhaps most provocative of all, Dr. Weiss claims to be able to “progress” people into their probable (not fixed) futures. This would seem an interesting field for personal research — less amenable to science unless the window is short.

You are probably wondering, what is the investment significance of all this? While I am usually able to make clear inferences and predictions from technology breakthroughs, it is not so easy here.

On the other hand, if this research is valid — and I cannot find any credible source that asserts Weiss to be a fraud or incompetent — then it may offer investors a powerful tool for self-discovery and perhaps well being. (After all, what is money worth without health?)

I am reminded of the work of Van Tharp, perhaps the world’s most noted coach of futures traders. He once remarked that any trading system can work, provided the trader was in good mental health and congruent with the trading system.

I note that many long-term investors also self-sabotage, often by taking profits too early. Most of my Transformational Technologies Portfolio recommendations take years to bear fruit.

Perhaps an easily available tool such as Weiss’ research could help?

To your profitable future,

Jonathan Kolber
August 23, 2006

Scientific Evidence for Reincarnation? was originally featured in the Penny Sleuth.