Theos-Talk Archives (November 1999 Message tl00281)

Randy,

You are very kind. Well, aren't you? :)

Here are a few web references that you and others might like to look at,
where people with good academic backgrounds are attempting science at the
edges, somewhat out of the mainstream of science. That, of course, is a
constantly-moving boundary. The heresy of one century can become the
accepted wisdom of another. In fact, the transition is now frequently
measured in decades, witness the progress of the plate tectonics concept.

Re research into childrens' apparent memories of former lives, see

	http://www.childpastlives.org/stevenson.htm

On a range of topics, try the Journal of Scientific Exploration

	http://www.jse.com/

and its parent organisation, the Society for Scientific Exploration

	http://www.scientificexploration.org/

I am aware of other people and organisations working in "young science" or
rather "young topics" (they aren't really, of course), including those
beginning to bridge science and spirituality, and this is without going to
any lengths to make a search.

For the interest of those who haven't the means or time to look at the web,
I'm quoting a piece from the childpastlives site, below. It is about, but
not written by, Ian Stevenson.

Stevenson's mass of evidence is interesting - startling, in fact, from what
I've seen - but he is the first to emphasise that it is open to different
kinds of interpretation and has energetically examined a range of
interpretations.

Murray

By collecting thousands of cases of children who spontaneously (without
hypnosis) remember a past life, Dr. Ian Stevenson offers convincing
scientific evidence, if not proof, for reincarnation.=20
In each case of children=92s past life memory, Dr. Stevenson methodically
documents the child's statements.  Then he identifies the deceased person
the child remembers being, and verifies the facts of the deceased person's
life that match the child's memory. He even matches birthmarks and birth
defects to wounds and scars on the deceased, verified by medical records.
His strict methods systematically rule out all possible "normal"
explanations for the child=92s memories.=20

	Dr. Ian Stevenson

Dr. Stevenson has devoted the last forty years to the scientific
documentation of past life memories of children from all over the world. He
has over 3000 cases in his files.  Many people, including skeptics and
scholars, agree that these cases offer the best evidence yet for
reincarnation.=20

Dr. Stevenson's credentials are impeccable. He is a medical doctor and had
many scholarly papers to his credit before he began paranormal research.
He is the former head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of
Virginia, and now is Director of the Division of Personality Studies at the
University of Virginia.=20

	Why Isn=92t Dr. Ian Stevenson Better Known?

So why haven't we heard more about this amazing man and his revolutionary
research? One answer is that Ian Stevenson publishes only for the academic
and scientific community, and his writing =97 densely packed with research
details and academic argument =97 is difficult for the average reader to
follow.  And he intentionally shuns the popular media to prevent reporters
from sensationalizing his research. He refuses to appear on TV or radio,
and magazine interviews are rarely granted.

But that doesn=92t stop us from calling attention Stevenson=92s amazing and
vitally important work. We believe his cases are the key to widespread
acceptance of reincarnation in the West. And if more people knew about
these scientifically documented cases of children=92s past lives, they might
be more likely to listen when their own young children begin to speak of
"when I died before."