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Children who claim to remember a previous life have been found in many parts of the world, particularly in the Buddhist and Hindu countries of South Asia, among the Shiite peoples of Lebanon and Turkey, the tribes of West Africa, and the American northwest. Stevenson has collected over 2,600 reported cases of past-life memories of which 65 detailed reports have been published. Specific information from the children's memories has been collected and matched with the data of their claimed former identity, family, residence, and manner of death. Birthmarks or other physiological manifestations have been found to relate to experiences of the remembered past life, particularly violent death. Writing as a specialist in psychiatry and as a world-renowned scientific investigator of reported paranormal events, Stevenson asks us to suspend our Western tendencies to disbelieve in reincarnation and consider the reality of the burgeoning record of cases now available. This book summarizes Stevenson's findings which are presented in full in the multi-volume work entitled
Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects, also published by Praeger.
List of contents
Preface
Introduction
Bodily Changes Corresponding to Mental Images in the Person Affected
Bodily Changes Corresponding to Another Person's Mental Images
Birthmarks Related to Previous Lives without Verification of Possible Corresponding Wounds
Birthmarks Corresponding to Wounds Verified by Informants' Memories
Birthmarks Corresponding to Wounds Verified by Medical Records
Birthmarks Corresponding to Surgical Wounds and Other Skin Lesions on Deceased Persons
Birthmarks Corresponding to Other Types of Wounds or Marks on Deceased Persons
Nevi Corresponding to Wounds or Other Marks on Deceased Persons
The Prediction of Birthmarks
Changes in the Appearance and Relative Location of Birthmarks
Correspondences of Details between Birthmarks and Related Wounds or Other Marks on Deceased Persons
Discrepancies between Birthmarks and the Evidence of Reportedly Corresponding Wounds
Some Correlates of Birthmarks Attributed to Previous Lives
The Interpretations of Birthmarks Related to Previous Lives
Introduction to Cases with Birth Defects
Birth Defects of the Extremities
Birth Defects of the Head and Neck
Birth Defects Involving Two or More Regions of the Body
Experimental Birth Defects
Internal Diseases Related to Previous Lives
Abnormalities of Pigmentation that May Derive from Previous Lives
Physiques, Postures, Gestures, and Other Involuntary Movements Related to Previous Lives
The Face as a Type of Birthmark or Birth Defect
Twins with Memories of Previous Lives
General Discussion
Sources of Additional Information
Index
About the author
IAN STEVENSON, M.D. is Carlson Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Division of Personality Studies at the University of Virginia. Among his numerous earlier publications are The Diagnostic Interview, The Psychiatric Examination, and Unlearned Language.
