Is reincarnation real? Have you had a child talk to you about their past lives?

During my daily scrolling, I saw a post in my reincarnation group about a child talking about their previous life. Of course, this is a topic I think about with frequently, and the discussion inspired me to write about my own child.

The quantity of responses from other parents of children remembering previous life was quite surprising to me. Especially considering the group is so small at just 151.3K members.

Culturally, the concept of past lives is nothing new. One case in particular I find to be extremely compelling involves Shanti Devi.

Shanti Devi was born in Delhi, India in 1926. She claimed to have had a previous life in Mathura. This girl narrated very specific details about her past life. The experiences that Shanti remembered regarding her past life were validated by her previous friends & family. Many details were verified by a man named Kedar Nath, who was her previous life’s husband. A committee was formed to examine her claims, and after conducting tests and questioning, many members believed in the authenticity of her story.

The case of Shanti Devi received international attention and is regarded as a remarkable example of reincarnation. And Shanti’s case is not the only one of its kind.

There’s also:

• James Leininger: A boy from the U.S. who claimed to have been a World War II fighter pilot named James Huston. James could identify specific types of aircraft, recalled details of life on a naval ship, and described his death in an air crash near Iwo Jima. After extensive research, his parents discovered that a pilot named James Huston Jr. did die in the manner described by their son.
• Cameron Macauley: A boy from Scotland who remembered living on the Isle of Barra. He described his previous home, a white house overlooking the beach, his black-and-white dog, and being hit by a car. When Cameron’s family visited Barra, they found a house and locations very similar to his descriptions.
• Pollock Twins: The case of Gillian and Jennifer Pollock is famous for its purported evidence of reincarnation. The twins were born after their sisters Jacqueline and Joanna died in a car accident. The younger twins reportedly recalled events from their deceased sisters’ lives, had birthmarks corresponding to their sisters’ marks, and showed preferences and fears similar to the deceased siblings.
• Dyan Stevenson: A Burmese girl who claimed to be a Japanese soldier killed during World War II. She had memories of the war, spoke some Japanese phrases, and exhibited masculine behaviors.
• Ryan: A boy from Oklahoma who claimed to have been a Hollywood agent in a past life. After looking through a book with his mother, he pointed out a man in a picture from an old movie scene and said he used to know him. With the help of a researcher, the man was identified as Marty Martyn, a former movie extra who later became a powerful Hollywood agent.
• Purnima Ekanayake: A Sri Lankan girl who remembered being a monk. She described details of her monastery & many of the details she mentioned were verified upon investigation.

In a similar fashion, my own son started talking to me about another life when he was just 2 years old. He continues to mention different lives to this day, at the age of 4.

The first story of his past life that he shared came very briefly in between playing and reading books. “When I was in Africa and I had a baby brother, all the cows died.”

“What do you mean?” “When I was In Africa!” and he would mention Africa frequently.

Certainly, this boy of age 2 has a very limited vocabulary and at this point in his young life, we had not made a point to include continents in his curriculum. Where was this coming from? I do not know, but I always asked him more questions. What I learned is that he had a baby brother, and all the cows died, and then he and his baby brother passed away.

Throughout year 3 and 4, Africa became less of a topic for him. At this point, he regularly talks about his “Uncle Dan in California who passed away”. Additionally, he tells me about when he was a black “grown up” in California. “I remember this from when I was 19 years old” and I’ve never heard him recall things from beyond age 19.

He seems to remember a lot of cartoons from when he “was black”- many of them are cartoons I remember as a millennial adult from my own childhood.

He asked me if I liked the show Bananas in Pyjamas.

Now, Bananas in Pyjamas is an Australian children’s television series that first aired on 20 July 1992 on ABC. How would HE EVEN know about this cartoon, being bron in 2018?

In conclusion, I find it all so interesting. And I believe what the children are saying, especially with such strong anecdotal evidence. From what I understand, young children have past life recall up to age 6/7. I will continue to observe, ask questions, and admire my little human for all of the things he has done across many lifetimes on this Earth. And I will never let him forget that he is here with great purpose.