Death and Reincarnation

Death. Reincarnation. Death. Reincarnation. Death. Reincarnation.

Ever get that “been there, done that” feeling but you’re not sure why? Well, you’re not alone. Millions of people have pondered life after life, and many more millions throughout the ages have believed in reincarnation, or re-embodiment, the process whereby the soul, the impermanent aspect of one's self, has the opportunity to evolve in order to fulfill its divine plan and return to its God source. Many famous people have believed in reincarnation--Benjamin Franklin, Henry Ford, George S. Patton, Mark Twain, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Schweitzer, and, Jesus, to name a few.

There are a lot of books out there, online and in print. Some dry; some interesting; some too bizarre to finish reading; some so good you can’t put them down. Here is a list of some of the most interesting books on reincarnation that I’ve read--maybe you’ll find one that piques your curiosity.

If so, please let me know!

Beyond the Ashes: Cases of Reincarnation from the Holocaust, by Rabbi Yonassan Gershom. Published by A.R.E. Press, Virginia Beech, Virginia, 1992. From the back cover: “Rabbi Yonassan Gershom presents compelling evidence that supports this seemingly impossible phenomenon. Based on the stories of people he has counseled over a period of ten years, Beyond the Ashes sheds new light on the subject of reincarnation and the divinity of the human soul…Whatever your faith, you will be moved by this exploration into how the human spirit arises again from the ashes of tragedy.”


I Have Lived Before: The True Story of the Reincarnation of Shanti Devi, by Sture Lonnerstrand, translated by Leslie Kippen. Published by Ozark Mountain Publishers, Huntsville, AR, 1994. From the back cover: “The most thoroughly documented and authenticated case of reincarnation in modern times. The fascinating case of Shanti Devi has been reported in the annuals (sic) of famous studies of reincarnation ever since it occurred in the 1930’s in India. It was not a case obtained through the use of hypnosis or any other means. She consciously remembered her former life in minute detail from the earliest age. She was so insistent that a major investigation was conducted by an impartial committee. Even Mahatma Gandhi became involved and encouraged examination of the case. The results were published and submitted to scientists for analysis. No one was able to disprove the evidence, and it was declared valid.


Karma and Reincarnation: Transcending Your Past, Transforming Your Future, by Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Patricia R. Spadaro. Published by Summit Publications, Inc, second edition, 2004, Gardiner, Mt. From the back cover: “The word karma has made it into the mainstream. But not everyone understands what it really means or how to deal with it. This insightful book will help you come to grips with karmic connections from past lives that have helped create the circumstances of your life today. You'll discover how your actions in past lives—good and bad—affect which family you're born into, who you're attracted to, and why some people put you on edge. You'll learn about group karma, what we do between lives, and what the great lights of East and West, including Jesus, have to say about karma and reincarnation. Most of all, you'll find out how to turn your karmic encounters into grand opportunities to shape the future you want.

Attribution

Gone at dawn

John died at dawn on a Thursday. The day before he died, he woke up at 7:21 a.m. and asked, “What time is it?” When I told him, he closed his eyes, slowly shook his head back and forth and said, “Darn.” For a minute, I couldn’t even breathe. I knew what this meant--that he would hold out one more day so that he could die at dawn.

One of the other books that John kept on his nightstand was The Chela and the Path. In one of the chapters, it describes how the angels bring in the color of the day at dawn. When I read it, I thought it sounded really neat. When John read it, dying at dawn became his goal. Since he was definitely dying, he figured, “Why not pray to die at dawn?” And, so, about two weeks before he died, he asked me if I would please start praying for him to have the opportunity to die at dawn so that he could see the angels bring in the color of the day. So, I began praying to God to grant his request, not knowing how such a request might be granted, because, you know, I had worked in a nursing home years before and most people passed on in the middle of the night when no family members were around to hold them back emotionally. Not really wanting him to die at any time of the day, and still hoping for a miracle of some sort, I ended my prayer with “according to God’s will.” I had always prayed for God’s will throughout my life, but this time, I have to admit, I was really hoping that God’s will was somewhat similar to mine. It wasn’t.

Later that night, at around 9:00, John went into a coma and a nurse from hospice came and stayed in an adjacent room. At around 1:00 a.m. on Thursday, my sister came over to be with me at his bedside. About 2 hours later, he started that horrid breathing pattern that is so difficult for the living to hear. My sister panicked somewhat and called the hospice center and they said it could last up to 3 days like that and they would send some kind of a machine over in the morning. I told her to forget that--and to get the newspaper from the kitchen and see what time dawn was the day before. She did. I told her that when it got close to the same time, we had to really start paying attention, because, knowing John, he was going to be as focused in death as he was in life. And, boy, if ever there was a guy who was determined to die at dawn, it was John.

His room was painted off-white and had a window facing the East, so we opened the curtains and waited. Sometime shortly after 6:00 a.m., the room began to literally change---accelerate-- in vibration and color. At first, it was filled with what I can only describe as what felt and looked like sparkles of light, white light, similar to the sparkles at the end of one of those hand-held sparklers we had as kids on the 4th of July. Then, the colors started filling the room--pink, purple, light gold, aqua, violet, green--colors I’m not sure to this day that I’ve seen before or since--it was as if we were standing inside a cloud of color and light. And, there seemed to be the very tangible presence of angels in the room. I mean big angels; larger than life angels, who filled the room and radiated so much love and hope and peace and warmth that I was so overwhemed for a few moments, that I forgot about John. Thank God my sister was there--because she was experiencing and seeing everything that I was. We were speechless. It was as if we were in a different compartment of time and space, even though we hadn’t left John’s side.

I had been holding John’s hand for hours by then, and after a few minutes, when the light and colors and radiation were most intense, I looked at his face, which had a soft, pain-free, peaceful expression on it and heard him quietly exhale. He was gone. It was as if his soul took flight and was absorbed into the light, into the arms of the angels or cosmic beings or whoever it was that was there with us. My sister whispered, “Is that it?” I said, “Yes.” And, it was. We just looked at each other, with tears streaming down our faces, in awe of what had just occurred.

Today is Wednesday and it is green. It was on a Wednesday that I realized my husband would be gone by dawn the next day.