Evolution Through the Acceptance of Paranormal Experience

Why do we tend to deny the very thing that might be key to our most profound transformation - The paranormal?

More often than I can count, I'm hearing a story from a friend, a family member, a colleague, a stranger about the weird thing that just happened to them.  

One of the most recent of which was a story that was featured in my new book, Conscious Musings about a dear friend who personally witnessed the lid of a pot she was preparing to put away, fly in mid-air like a frisbee, probably some twenty feet, aiming and landing right at her foot. Then there was another friend who insisted that a rocking chair in a family friend's home began moving erratically with no one in it - witnessed as well by both her niece and her mother. And then there was another story featured in Conscious Musings about "Lisa," a woman who shared with me an occasion where she heard her deceased father's voice on the phone while in conversation with her sister.

Now as an investigative journalist - a collector of accounts of  the "strange and unusual," you can imagine the stories I get.  They range from the classic experiences of ghostly hauntings to the outright bizarre.  But many of these anecdotes, told with the most passionate of intentions I feel are quite authentic, especially to the experiencer.  Their zeal denotes their belief that these things really happened to them - or at least you would think....

Interestingly, each of the aforementioned scenarios - the paranormal occurrences witnessed by the individual(s) that conveyed them, have a twist of the skeptical as well.  In the case of the "flying lid" account - the individual who told me the story, although she believed what happened to her and moreover that it had some supernatural or nonphysical origin was even more horrified about the backlash she knew she would receive should her husband or daughter find out about it, more horrified in fact than the spookiness of the incident itself!  "They'd think I'm crazy," she said.  Perhaps this was a self-fulfilling prophecy!  In fact, when I finally convinced her to tell them, her surmise was correct.  They laughed her out of the room, calling her silly and full of #$%. After that, I sensed a tone of abandonment in her - she was more willing to let the incident go for fear of sustained ridicule, rather than explore it further. In the case of the moving rocking chair, when the witnesses who were house guests at the time informed the homeowner, she said, "Nah, I doubt that happened...you were just imagining it."  After that, they decided not to mention it again, never mind investigate it further.  And in the case of Lisa who conveyed the story of her "dead" father breaking in on she and her sister's phone conversation, at the end of her admission, she then shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't really believe in these sorts of things."

So the real question becomes WHY are people so loathed to accept experiences that don't fit perfectly within the nicely behaved Universe they think they inhabit?

I suspect there are a few explanations for this.  First, from the time we land on this little blue planet, we are taught and told what reality is.  It's black and white.  It's three dimensional.  If you can't see it, touch it, feel it or kick it, it doesn't exist.  Various belief systems have rules, and if an experience doesn't fit within the given framework you've been taught then it is impossible to have any validity.

Dr. Dana Zohar

I recall this quote from physicist and philosopher Dana Zohar who commented (about the experience of after-death communication): "People experience things.  And that experience is denied because science doesn't have the instruments of the moment to measure it."

Measurement comes in many forms. Experience not being the least of them. And yet, so many are so quick to deny the experience because it doesn't fit within the 3D reality they've come to know, or the science they've come to trust.

The late Michael Talbot, researcher and author of the acclaimed book, The Holographic Universe once said:

"It's not that I am just interested in the 'weird,' I am interested in what these things have to teach us and the practical applications."

Late author of The Holographic Universe, Michael Talbot

And yet, for some reason we are dumbfounded and perplexed by "the weird," and thus quick to dismiss it altogether.  We are not keen to investigate and are more apt to shrug the paranormal off, determined to dig for some practical explanation that will keep our nicely behaved reality in check (and our relationships in tact).

On the other hand, some have chosen to truly explore the world of the unseen and inexplicable- determined to probe the underpinnings, realizing that these experiences may shed light on who we really are, what reality really is and ultimately, our true potential.

It was Albert Einstein who said, "The only source of knowledge is experience."  But he also said, "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."

I agree.  In fact, as a child I would have "unusual" experiences, mostly in the form of what we call pre-cognitive dreams.  I'd dream of an event, whether mundane or magnificent, and invariably the event would play out in real life!  But rather than shrug it off , I made the decision to explore it, delve deeper into the true mechanisms at work in this reality that the Hindus refer to as Maya, roughly defined as illusion.

Anita Moorjani, author of Dying to be me

Speaking of unusual experiences, it would behoove me here to mention this para-normal, extraordinary and life changing experience of a woman named Anita Moorjani.  Moorjani had been suffering from a terminal form of cancer and given the edict that she would not live long.  After experiencing what is referred to as a near-death experience (NDE), and given the opportunity to evaluate her life and her reality while in this supernatural state, she woke up to the notion that her life was so much more than she surmised.  In this state she was healed and subsequently emerged from a coma, despite the doctor's certainty that she would die in just a short time.  She was completely healed of her cancer.  But what is more profound about this experience is that while having the NDE, she had the epiphany that life and reality is far greater and infinite than we have been accustomed to knowing. Moreover, she realized that the reality that we are mostly acclimated to, is illusory and that we are only glimpsing a tiny portion of the scale of reality.

Talbot's holographic universe intimates much of the same - that reality is but a holographic projection emanating from another level of reality that is far from 3D.  It's infinite, fluid and malleable.  And if this is so then the idea of paranormal experience is far more plausible, making the idea of a sticks and stones reality as the ultimate reality the real illusion!

But if this is so - If 3D reality is a construct, an illusion of sorts, why do we hold on dearly to the illusion?

Now that's a loaded question.  But let's look at this...

Does Hollywood influence our perception of reality?

Over the years, many have criticized Hollywood's portrayal of extraordinary or paranormal experience.  In some cases it's glorified and magnified but ultimately vilified as an inauthentic component of reality.  It's just "fantasy" or "fiction."  The larger than life possibilities that are portrayed in movies under the auspices of "fiction" are paraded in front of our eyes and our senses, but are relegated to wishful thinking and pure entertainment.

These days, our "entertainment" is Reality TV.  A snapshot of "real" life, complete with the defective and demented behavior of everyday people (or so we would think).  No time for paranormal stuff here, and thus, no time to reflect on the extraordinary goings on (the underpinnings of reality). Most importantly, with the media projecting reality to us, we certainly have no time to investigate our own potential, on our own terms.

To veer our attention away from the real juice of reality is to veer us away from ourselves. Maybe some want it that way!  ...But that's another story altogether!

As you peruse this post, contemplate the vast nature of reality, of the Universe and most importantly of self!  When you have an experience that doesn't fit within the average, everyday world you've come to know, you might ask yourself the question, "Am I the average, everyday person that I've been taught to be or am I much more?"

Recognizing the paranormal in your life might just hold the answer!

Explore - Embrace -  Grow - Share - Live!

Alexis Brooks is the best-selling author of Conscious Musings - Contemplations to Transform Life and Realize Potential and is the host of the popular  Conscious Inquiry Radio program, exclusively presented by Conscious Life News.  Visit Alexis on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!

Self Help? It May Be Easier Than You Think!

Updated: March 2014

Bestselling author Alexis Brooks debuts 

Conscious Musings - Contemplations to Transform Life and Realize Potential

What people are saying about Conscious Musings...

"A real page turner" - "mind boggling" - "inspirational"

"transformational" - "a must read!"

What does this post 2012 era have in store for us?  Will we have any say in how our lives play out?  Can we truly create our own reality to our own specifications?  Can we use our dreams, intuitions, and synchronicities to trade our current reality for one we would rather experience?  According to the new release of Conscious Musings – Contemplations to Transform Life and Realize Potential, the resounding answer is YES!

The act of self help takes on a whole new meaning with Conscious Musings - a powerful anthology of thoughts covering a broad range of experience and potential of today’s human.  From rationalizing reality to spiritual sovereignty; from dichotomies of consciousness to the emergence of individualism, death of the ego and behavior modification to transcending the limits of physical life as we know it.  This book delves deep into the big questions, and offers suggestions for achieving in ways we’ve yet to experience both individually and collectively.

Will out of body experiences (OBE’s) shed stunning light on our true potential?  Will accepting the reality of paranormal phenomena shift our paradigm to a whole new level?  Can we literally design our life from the Imaginal realm?  According to some of the most widely respected individuals in many areas of transformation and potential who are mentioned throughout this book, the answer is YES!

Hear from OBE expert William Buhlman about how incorporating self-initiated OBE’s can literally transform our perceptions about life and death.  Paranormal researcher and author Rosemary Ellen Guiley talks about how the thinning of the planetary veil has possibly initiated a more robust link with the spirit realm.  Gifted intuitive and teacher Penney Peirce shows us how to engage the imaginal realm to begin a joyful journey that is squarely within our grasp.   Near-death experiencer and researcher PMH Atwater reminds us about the necessity to take stock of our position in life: Are you a complacent consumer or change-maker?  The late author of the Holographic Universe, Michael Talbot comments on how the “weird” is a means to understanding the practical applications of the paranormal realms and what they have to teach us.  Dream expert and author Robert Moss conveys a riveting and inspiring story of how abolitionist and humanitarian Harriet Tubman used her innate psychic influence to change history!  There’s so much more!

Find practical and attainable solutions using heart-based visualization and meditation to begin the reality shift for yourself and learn how I tapped my own inner guidance to shift out of a reality that was fraught with challenge and desperation.

We do have a choice in how we live our lives and I am confident that once you read Conscious Musings you will never look at your life or your world through the same lenses again!

Exciting times are upon us, knocking at our door. Self help and transformation has taken on a whole new meaning in this new world for which we live.  Let’s unlock that door – we’ve already been given the key!  Let’s approach the mystery, the magic and the magnificence of life and of the Universe, because we have a unique stake in the process and in the outcome!

The time is now  to help your SELF!

Early praise for Conscious Musings!

“In Conscious Musings Alexis Brooks reminds us that the perfect world we are looking for might already be here. With an emphasis on personal responsibility and the importance of service to others, we become the change we want to see. This is an intelligently written, thoughtfully composed collection of essays that examine the human potential. It is a well-researched book that examines the influence of consciousness on reality, looking at the act of reflection rather than reaction. I was particularly intrigued by the idea that a simple change in one’s daily routine can be a pre-cursor to change in other areas of life. Read this enlightening work, and as Alexis so clearly states, ‘Embrace the journey’.”

-William Buhlman, author of Adventures in the Afterlife

“Conscious Musings is a marvelous collection of metaphysical principles designed to both educate and enlighten the reader. I highly recommend this book.”

-Dr. Bruce Goldberg, author of Exploring the Fifth Dimension – Parallel Universes, Teleportation and Out-of-Body Travel

“Conscious Musings is a celebration of inspiration and a feast for the soul. Alexis Brooks has a rare talent for combining the most mind-boggling metaphysical concepts with down-to-Earth practical ideas. She illuminates some of the great ideas of our time with graceful dexterity and takes us on a journey to comprehend the nature of reality, asking questions such as, ‘Is paranormal the new normal?’ Conscious Musings guides us through the challenges of our times, envisioning a state of mindful awareness and wonder we can attain by which all problems can be solved.”

  -Cynthia Sue Larson, author of Reality Shifts – When Consciousness Changes the Physical World

“Alexis Brooks is a great ‘muser!’ She zooms in on poignant topics in the news and life, and examines them in a spiritual, intuitive light. She connects the nonphysical and physical realms this way, helping us see through the veil of confusion and ignorance that surrounds us on a daily basis. It’s fun to contemplate the ideas along with her. It will help you notice other important things that want noticing.”

-Penney Peirce, author of Leap of Perception and Frequency

“Conscious Musings is wonderful, inspirational and motivating!  Alexis Brooks offers insights of great depth and wisdom that she seamlessly brings together into a perfect wholeness.  This book will help you gain a higher perspective on life and how to make it richer and more rewarding.”

-Rosemary Ellen Guiley, author of Dream Messages from the Afterlife and

Soul Journeys.

“If you are ready to contemplate the unknown, to expand your awareness, to remember who you are, I recommend Conscious Musings as a roadmap and Alexis Brooks your muse.”

-Ann Bolinger-McQuade, author of Everyday Oracles – Decoding the Divine Messages That Are All Around Us

“Alexis has provided all of us with a thoughtful, beautifully written understanding of ourselves, the times we are living in and the power of love. This book is sure to inspire, motivate and stimulate our perspectives on life in an uplifting way. It is a testament to the beauty of all that we are and a beauty we should never, ever forget.”

-Howard Martin, Executive Vice President, HeartMath and co-author  with Doc Childre of The HeartMath Solution

“Conscious Musings is a deep, entertaining and enlightening journey into these times of great crisis and opportunity.  Alexis Brooks effortlessly weaves personal reflections, cosmic truths, and our collective reality, into a narrative that is both thoughtful and heartful.  This work is a great contribution to an awakening humanity.”

-Steve Bhaerman aka Swami Beyondananda, co-author with Bruce Lipton of Spontaneous Evolution – Our Positive Future and A Way to Get There From Here

“Alexis Brooks’ search for truth has been so diligent that her Conscious Musings is able to offer sophisticated insights beyond the usual platitudes. The altitude of her worldview allows her to see beyond seeming dichotomies. She describes how a true ego is necessary to be both distinct and unified with the cosmos, that responsible individualism is the core of real connectedness as community and that authentic spirituality depends on the recognition of our sovereignty of every being. Such grounded expansiveness is both inspiring and timely when both waking up and clear manifesting are critical.”

-Foster Gamble, Creator of Thrive Movie – What On Earth Will it Take?

Read a sample chapter from Conscious Musings

The new release of the expanded print and Kindle version of Conscious Musings is

available now on 
Amazon

What is Psychic Ability?

Psychic ability or "Psi" as it is called in some academic circles is a phenomenon that few

truly understand and yet this amazing faculty has persisted throughout history.

Intuition, psychic ability, mediumship, ESP - although these abilities may have some unique attributes as they relate to one another, they are all nonetheless apparently a part of this nonlocal connection we all possess to what some have called "The Field."

This field or zero point of the universe is said to permeate all existence or rather all of us permeate it; we glean information from it - we communicate with it and it to us and perhaps this is the basis for which psychic information is derived.

The term psychic is formally defined as "outside of scientific knowledge; spiritual" and "sensitive to influences or forces of a non-physical or supernatural nature."

To first understand how psi or ESP works we must first understand that the average human has a very limited range of  sight as compared to many other species.  Our typical range of sight (called the visible spectrum) is only 390-700 nm or 430-790 THz.  Essentially, we are only picking up a tiny, tiny fraction of information around us at any given time.

There are exceptions however - those who for whatever reason can extract a little more of this spectrum.  Additionally, on occasion, unusual circumstances can intercept our own typical physical environment resulting in a blending or intersection of frequencies.  It is then that one can experience something not usually available through normal channels.  Certain physical locations on the earth apparently carry these cross-section of frequencies and are known as ley lines and vortices; intricate grid patterns of energy that can be tapped to heighten psychic ability.

In addition to the picking up of information, psychic information through the visible channel or clairvoyance, there are other means by which pockets of information can be gleaned.  Among them are hearing (clairaudience), or feeling (clairsentience).  These are two additional "channels" that we can often pick up information outside of the usual frequencies we operate within.

I recently had a chat with psychic and medium Mike Schopp to discuss these dynamics - just how the psychic channels do in fact work and why.  This was a fascinating discussion as we traversed many elements of psychic ability including the idea that we all have some measure of psi ability.  Too often, our everyday lives have usurped this ability, especially due to the fact that we live in a world where quick decision making and reflexive responses to the myriad of stimuli (namely from our technologies) have taken center stage.

I have always had a pure fascination with the inner workings of reality and how intertwined we are with this invisible world.  Moreover, if we can first accept this ability as innate within us all and make an affirmative decision to incorporate these abilities into our everyday lives, we may just find that our lives will be so much more fulfilling!

Make sure to listen to my interview with Mike as we discuss the dynamics of psychic ability and ponder for yourself, the possibilities!

If you enjoyed this article and would like to see the work of Higher Journeys continue, in addition to my broadcast of Conscious Inquiry with Alexis Brooks on CLN, please consider making a small donation today to keep us going! 
...thank you!

Past, Present AND Future - Breaking the Boundaries of Reality As We Know It

Dr. Bruce Goldberg’s spellbinding interview with Open Minds Host Regina Meredith on GaiamTV.com, sheds light on the past, future and more!

Many have become entranced about a process called past life regression – a modality typically induced through various measures of hypnosis to recall previous incarnations on this planet.  Although Dr. Bruce Goldberg, internationally known hypnotherapist, made his entry into hypnosis work doing regressions, he is one of the first, if not the first to tackle what he calls, “progression therapy,” literally guiding the patient into some future time period, whereby the individual is able to live and relay back to this reality their experience; what they are seeing, feeling and doing.   The results of progressing his patients have been nothing short of fascinating and the range of experience is about as boundary busting as one can imagine!

He includes as part of his repertoire of therapy: life progression (including to the 35^th century!), age progression, alien abduction in the “future state,” time travel, parallel universes – the list goes on.  And the experiences range from visits with reptilians which he insists are in fact real, to Arcturians, grand spiritually endowed entities whose mission is in part to assist in our evolutionary growth.  These experiences truly run the gamut. 

Dr. Goldberg shared a wealth of information on these topics and more during a recent interview with GaiamTV’s Regina Meredith on her Open Minds television show.

“Progression therapy gives you psychic empowerment to see the future in a way where you can change and therefore help yourself,” says Goldberg.  But one needs to be aware of the surroundings one finds themselves in and most importantly be in a positive frame of mind when taking these sojourns to other levels of awareness and reality.

Among one of the potential dangers of venturing beyond the physical plane whether through monitored hypnosis, self hypnosis or the dream state (which Goldberg says is in fact a form of altered condition, rooted primarily in the alpha state), are interactions with beings whose agendas may be less than positive. What he refers to as the lower astral plane is a frequency in which ill intending energies reside. Some have referred to them as shadow people, demons, djinn – whatever the names, the energies they radiate are from a lower realm and their influence can affect some who find themselves there.  This of course, is not the first time we’ve heard some semblance of this terrain described as such.  Some might call this a “hell-like” state.  Nonetheless, these areas of experience can be avoided and Goldberg gives much insight and information about how one can navigate the nonphysical realms with relative ease and as a result emerge with uplifting and even life-altering experiences!

Future progression saves one woman scheduled to be on TWA Flight 800!

During this interview he covered not only progression from a future life perspective but also from an age perspective (while still in this life).  He tells the story of a female patient he calls “Tammy” who he’d been progressing as well as teaching how to use these techniques at home.  Tammy talks about doing a self-initiated progression session in which she wanted to see how an upcoming trip to Paris would turn out.  During the session, in which she was in an out of body state, she was able to see the flight in which she was scheduled to go on.  Upon departure from the airport, the plane quickly crashed to the ground killing all on-board including Tammy!  When she explained this frightening scenario to Dr. Goldberg, he calmly advised her not to panic but to consider changing her flight arrangements of which she obliged.  It turns out the ill fated flight that Tammy “witnessed” in her progressed state was none other than TWA Flight 800, which was bound for Paris but ended up in a fiery crash shortly after take off.  There were no survivors.  This was the flight Tammy was scheduled to be on!

In Dr. Larry Dossey’s book, The Power of Premonitions, he as well looks closely at the phenomenon of seeing future events play out, including some with a less than desirable outcome.  But the stories that Dossey documents in his book are arrived at through an involuntary bleed through of insight called premonition or even precognition, most of which happens arbitrarily to the experiencer.  Dr. Goldberg maintains that when one decides to use progression as a proactive means by which they can see a potential outcome, whether in this life or another, the outcome can be altered or at the very least different choices can be made so the experiencer has the opportunity to create a better choice for themselves.

In addition to the more relatively approachable subject of progression therapy, Goldberg discussed the phenomenon of alien abduction and memory retrieval while in an altered state, hybridization during encounters with alien abductions, the 5^th dimension, parallel realities and time travelers from our future including some from the 35^th century!

According to the information he’s gleaned from his patient’s visits to this point in our evolutionary trajectory, individuals in the 35^th century can live from between 500-900 years of age, they will be spiritually adept, and illness and poverty will be a thing of the past…which is certainly past due!  In other words, we have much to look forward to in our subsequent incarnations!  Perhaps most curious and interesting to me was that he said the population would not exceed 1 billion!  Of course there has been much talk about an agenda to greatly reduce world population, albeit in the context of a malevolent agenda.  The 35^th century, he contends will be the result of anything but!

So whether peaking into the future or the past, interacting with a myriad of species from all walks of dimensional life, or glimpsing our own future selves or those of others, I count this interview with Dr. Goldberg on GaiamTV as a must see for your own boundary dissolving and mind expanding travels!

Thank you to my colleague and friend, Dr. Bruce Goldberg for your brilliant in-sight, breadth of knowledge and master (true) story telling and for delivering this captivating interview and breaking the boundaries of reality - as we know it!

Be sure to read:

Past Lives, Future Lives Revealed and Exploring the Fifth Dimension, both by Dr. Bruce Goldberg, to learn more about these amazing subjects!

                                       

Do you have a story to share about a past or even future life you've glimpsed?  Share it with us on our Facebook page!

If you enjoyed this article and would like to see the work of Higher Journeys continue, in addition to my broadcast of Conscious Inquiry with Alexis Brooks on CLN, please consider making a small donation today to keep us going! 
...thank you!

Soul Journeys - Past Lives and Reincarnation

If you haven't yet had a listen to my recent interview with bestselling author and researcher Rosemary Ellen Guiley, I definitely suggest you check it out.  Then you'll know why I so heartily recommend her latest title, Soul Journeys - Past Lives and Reincarnation.

This is from the book's back cover:

"The past can change the present in dramatic and miraculous ways.  Learn how people from all walks of life are able to heal, empower and change their lives through past-life recall.

Soul Journeys is a comprehensive, thorough examination of reincarnation, covering beliefs throughout history, and startling cases of past lives documented by researchers and scientists.

Discover the past lives of famous people such as rock star Jim Morrison of the Doors, authors Marion Zimmer Bradley, Taylor Caldwell and Joan Grant, psychic Edgar Cayce and General George Patton.

Learn about the compelling stories of others who have explored their pasts in order to improve the present and the future, and how their fears, phobias, self-imposed limitations and karmic patterns were healed through past-life recall.

If you have ever wondered whether you lived in another time...why you have strong likes and dislikes that defy explanation...why you are drawn to certain people and places...this book will answer your questions."

Rosemary Ellen Guiley is one of the most respected researchers and authors in the fields of the paranormal and spirituality and has authored over 50 books on these and other related subjects.

Don't forget to check out my interview with her on Reincarnation and the New Age.

You may also be interested in my previous interviews with her:

The Phenomenon of Shadow People

A Conversation with Rosemary Ellen Guiley about Talking to the Dead

Pick up a copy of Soul Journeys on Amazon:



Continue the discussion about Reincarnation on our Facebook Page.  We'd love to hear from you!

If you enjoyed this article and would like to see the work of Higher Journeys continue, in addition to my broadcast of Conscious Inquiry with Alexis Brooks on CLN, please consider making a small donation today to keep us going! 
...thank you!

Can Birthmarks Leave Clues as to Our Past-Lives?

The grandmother of a little boy from Thailand made a fervent request while she lay dying.  “When I come back, I want to be a male.”  When the woman eventually passed away, her daughter-in-law took some white paste and drew a broad line on the back of the deceased woman’s neck in hopes that one day she would be identified in her next life.

White "birthmark" is visible to the eye in this photo of Cloy.

The little boy, named Cloy was born just a few years after his grandmother’s passing. Clearly noticeable at his birth was a white line on the back of his neck, as if someone had drawn it directly onto his skin.

As he got older and could communicate, he began to state emphatically that he is his grandmother!  His adamancy grew, even to the point where he exclaimed that the rice field which his grandmother once owned belonged to him!

In some Asian countries, there is a common practice that involves marking the deceased with ash or paste so that when the soul is reincarnated, the relatives can recognize them from the designated marking.

Although markings (birthmarks) or even deformities of the body are less documented among the cases of past life evidence, they do occur.  The details are still quite nebulous as to where birthmarks originate from, although roughly 80 percent of all babies are born with some sort of mark or discoloration on their body.  Sometimes the marks fade over the years and other times they remain.

In my recent article, The Phenomenon of Animal Reincarnation, I drew from my own personal encounter with what I suspect to be the rebirth of my beloved Persian cat Paws (now Clover Paws), in which the new kitten displayed the same identical birth mark as my former cat.  Both eventually faded over time.  This encounter has inspired me to explore further into perhaps one of the more profound clues as to the validity of reincarnation.

The late Dr. Ian Stevenson, a pioneer in parapsychology research and particularly the study of the past lives of children authored a seminal work which was published in 1993 in an academic journal entitled Birthmarks and Birth Defects Corresponding to Wounds on Deceased Persons.  In it he stated, “Among 895 cases of children who claimed to remember a previous life (or were thought by adults to have had a previous life), birthmarks and/or birth defects attributed to the previous life were reported in 309 (35%) of the subjects. The birthmark or birth defect of the child was said to correspond to a wound (usually fatal) or other mark on the deceased person whose life the child said it remembered.” 

Although the aforementioned case of the little boy Cloy whose mark seemed to emanate from his previous life as his grandmother was not the result of a violent infliction of some kind, it still leaves clues as to how the physical remnants of a former incarnation can carry over into the next life.

Still, according to past life research, it appears that many of the documented cases of reincarnation yielding physical marks or scars corresponded with a violent or traumatic account of the reincarnated individual which most often led to his or her death.

Dr. Jim Tucker, medical director of the Child and Family Psychiatry Clinic and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Medicine at the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine who wrote the book, Life Before Life – Children’s Memories of Previous Lives along with Dr. Stevenson, said “Certainly, I think birthmarks and birth defects argue that there is something that has carried that trauma with it to another life and affected the fetus.”  Tucker’s data indicates that physical trauma in one life can carry over.

Out of 2,500 cases that Tucker studied, roughly 2,000 of them involved cases of traumatic death.  For some reason, the mind seems to have the ability to record and recall, vividly past trauma and inflict it on the new body.  In a strange but not so uncommon correlation, I have read of cases of individuals who encountered violent episodes in their dream states, only to wake up with wounds; scratches and even blood stains that corresponded to the violence encountered in the dream.

In some way, what is intimated here is that the consciousness of the individual has the ability to manifest (or be a conduit for) a physical marking, be it from a previous life or a violent scuffle in the dreamscape!

Can we remember a previous life from our birthmark?

This is a curious phenomenon – that of the origin of birthmarks.  Would it be possible to somehow use our birthmarks as a reference to a possible remembrance of a past life?

Before we rush to answer this question, let us assume that many if not most birthmarks are simply minor anomalies of the skin during the forming and development of the fetus or even resulting from the birthing process itself.  But if you felt somehow more drawn to or simply inquisitive about a particular birthmark you have, perhaps you can divine its meaning and elucidate as to whether this may be a clue as to your previous incarnation on earth.  You might take a photo (or have someone take a photo for you) of the particular mark, print it out and simply meditate on it, recording the visual of the mark in your mind and recalling it up during meditation.  Similarly, you might focus on the image of the mark just prior to falling asleep and request a dream that might leave some clues as to its origin.  Or you could see one of many good past life regression therapists who might suggest working with your birthmark as a focus for hypnosis.  My surmise is that there are quite a few creative options here.

One caveat, however.  Before you embark on such an adventure as discovering your past life, be certain that you want to know the life you previously led.  Curiosity for curiosities sake can often prove to be less desirable than you might have expected.  Obviously make your decision to explore this other life of yours with total responsibility.  On the other hand, if you choose to go forward, you may discover a pertinent clue as to who and what you are today and how to be a better you!  Nonetheless, this is certainly a fascinating subject to explore.

Tucker says, “The explanation for how this carry-over (memory) occurs, largely remains to be elucidated, but in general terms, the ideas that consciousness is not purely a creation of the brain; consciousness can be considered a separate entity from the physical brain and continue on in another life.”

The mysteries of the Universe and of our selves continue...

Read about the amazing story of "Cloy," the past life phenomenon, and birthmarks as well as other compelling accounts to help us understand and transform ourselves in the new bestselling book, Conscious Musings - Contemplations to Transform Life and Realize Potential.  In this powerful volume, we weave together commonalities between human personality, the recognition of past lives, the phenomenon of animal reincarnation, dreams, intuition, synchronicity, life after death/after-death communication and much more! So investigate and explore for yourself and continue on your own Highest Journey!  And remember - The Universe leaves clues - You just have to look!

Available on Amazon.com

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Further reading/resources:

Birthmarks and Birth Defects Corresponding to Wounds on Deceased Persons, originally published in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol 7, No.4, pp403-410, 1993. Copyright © 1993 Society for Scientific Exploration.

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Journey to Atlantis with Dr. Bruce Goldberg

Many are familiar with the Bermuda Triangle, as an area in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean, well known for the mysterious disappearances of a number of aircraft and sea vessels as well as their occupants.

Jeanne, a vacationer who went on a snorkeling excursion within the Bermuda Triangle, managed to escape its potentially dangerous wrath, only to emerge with a possible clue to what could have been a past life during the civilization of Atlantis.

An intriguing account to be sure, we weighed in with noted hypnotherapist, past life regressionist and author, Dr. Bruce Goldberg to try and make sense of this otherwise anomalous and mystifying encounter.

What he has to say just might give us all pause for thought on the true nature of spiritual growth and our evolution both individually and as a species.

Listen to the full interview here.

You can read Jeanne’s fascinating account here.

Dr. Bruce Goldberg’s web site: www.drbrucegoldberg.com

What are your thoughts about the lost civilization of Atlantis? Tell us what you think on our Facebook Page!

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The Shadow People with Paranormal Researcher, Rosemary Ellen Guiley

Last month during our “Strange Encounters” series, we profiled the story of Kelly; a single woman in her mid 40’s who has been plagued by regular nightly visits from a strange figure at the foot of her bed. This being says nothing and does nothing except gaze over Kelly as she sleeps. Although initially startled and at times frightened, Kelly has grown used to her mysterious visitor but has no explanation for who or what this being represents.

As tempting as it may be to write off this extraordinary tale as mere delusion, we learn from paranormal researcher Rosemary Ellen Guiley that this phenomenon, she calls “shadow people” is far more common than we might realize and according to her research, the shadow people phenomenon has occurred throughout human history.

Visit Conscious Life News to listen to the full interview and while there, register to win an autographed copy of one of several great books by Rosemary and other special guests who I will be interviewing all month long on CLN!

You can read the full transcript of “Kelly’s Visitor” here.

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Strange Encounters Story Number Three – Excursion to Atlantis - "Jeanne’s Journey"

“To the sea and its mysteries – whose solution may tell us more about ourselves…” – Charles Berlitz, author of The Bermuda Triangle.

Accounts of mysterious disappearances within the famous Bermuda Triangle have been thoroughly researched and well documented, yet despite best efforts, no one has been able to unravel the mystery as to where or how over 1,000 people and their vessels vanished.

While on vacation in the Bahamas Jeanne, a woman living in the Boston area made an excursion to that famous location and although she managed to make it back, her excursion left her with an indelible imprint that changed her life forever. Here is her story.

Jeanne – It was May of 2003. We went to the island of Bimini to go on a dolphin swim for 10 days. I went with one other person on this trip, but met two others at the airport who would be joining us on our excursion: Alice and Lisa. We all clicked. We got to Bimini. We were on a catamaran that was supposed to be docked 22 miles off shore. But the engine broke, so we were docked at the pier. And we would take one of those small rubber boats that hold about 12-15 people out for our daily excursions.

We went out anywhere from 20-30 miles from shore on a daily basis, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. Some islands we visited were uninhabited. Typically we would do yoga classes at sunrise prior to our excursions to start the day. It was really nice.

Alexis - And at what point did the experience - your encounter happen?

Jeanne – It was towards the end of the trip. It was one of the last excursions of the trip.

Prior to the experience, we were told by our trip leader (captain) that we were going to one day go to this area of the waters where they claim there’s a road. They call it the Bimini Road. Some people hypothesize that it’s the old Atlantis. There’s a phenomenon where there are slabs of rock on the floor of the ocean that simulate a road.

What’s interesting is at the airport in Boston I had picked up a book about Bimini. It just happened to be right in front of me – go figure. I went to get a paperback to read at a little concession stand at the airport and right there in front of me was this book about Bimini. I mean the planes out at Logan are going everywhere. Why did I see this book? But I bought it. They had a story about “the road” and the story of Atlantis. The article was saying there was controversy over whether it was manmade or a natural phenomenon. They said that different people had different experiences at this site. So the day came that we were going and some people kind of knew about this and other people didn’t.

So we went out in our little boat. As we’re going, the captain is telling us to have an open mind. He knew the waters really well. We were in what they call the Bermuda Triangle. So he’s telling us to have an open mind. He said that there are a lot of theories of things we might see but he wouldn’t go into detail. He said different people experience different things. Some people would experience nothing.

But it was a snorkeling excursion. We were out in the middle of nowhere, maybe 70 miles or so from shore. He tells us we have to partner up. Of the three women that I was with, myself and this woman named Alice, we just clicked throughout the whole trip, so you would think we would partner up. So we’re in the boat and we’re all just looking at each other and sort of selecting who our partners would be by eye contact, you know? All of a sudden, Lisa stands up in the boat and points her finger at me and says firmly “YOU! You’re going to be my partner.” And it was so out of character for her. She was so firm. So I said “me?” And she said “yeah, you’re going to be my partner!”

So we get in the water and we start swimming and almost instantly we see what is described as “the road.”

Alexis – How deep was the water at the point you were entering it?

Jeanne – Oh God, I don’t know, we were in the middle of the ocean. 100’s of feet deep I guess.

Alexis – So you did a dive, basically. When you got in the water you dove down?

Jeanne – We had snorkel gear that was specifically equipped for free diving. The snorkels are made to go under water. Not the traditional straight up snorkels.

Alexis – I’m just trying to picture…so you’re out in the water in the middle of the ocean, you get in the water and you begin swimming. At what point are you able to see the road? I mean you can’t see the road at the surface, right?

Jeanne – I mean we weren’t diving. We were snorkeling pretty close to the surface. But to us we were very close to the floor of the ocean. But there was no way, several hundred feet – we couldn’t have been.

Alexis – This is where it gets a bit strange you might say.

Jeanne – Understand that it’s what we saw; it’s not where we were.

Alexis – So this is where the anomaly really begins, right?

Jeanne – I guess so. I mean, other people could see us. The captain was on the boat.
He typically stays to watch to make sure we’re safe. And they keep a head count. So they can see your head bobbing up and down. You’re not down on the floor of the ocean like a scuba diver – you’re on the surface.

People just got in the water; he had us get in two at a time. We got in the water and almost instantly, we saw a road. Much like it was described in the book that I had gotten at the airport. I didn’t know what Lisa was experiencing because I can’t communicate with her with a snorkel in my mouth. But I just remember that she grabbed my hand and we started swimming hand-in-hand together, following this road. I don’t know - we could kind of see each other through the mask so we were kind of looking at each other in awe. Our conscious minds were fully there and aware of each other, but off in the distance it was somewhat foggy. I could see forms of like hills, a few scattered trees and then at one point, Lisa let go of my hand and kind of went off to the side – of the road. She went off the road, but I could see her swimming about or treading water. And then something compelled me to continue on down the road by myself. As long as I could see her, it was okay but at one point she was nowhere to be seen and I started to get a little overwhelmed – a sense of fear, but I was also being compelled to go forward.

Alexis – You felt a pull?

Jeanne – No, it was more in my mind. I felt more compelled, a feeling, rather than physically pulled.

Alexis – So assuming at this point you’re both in an altered state (although you say you don’t know for sure what Lisa is experiencing) did you have a sense that you were making physical contact with this road or were you simply following it but not touching it?

Jeanne – I wasn’t touching it. It was like I was swimming right above it, but it was right below my feet. I could see it. But in reality I couldn’t see all the way down to the bottom of the ocean. It was maybe three feet below me.

Alexis – this is where it gets really interesting. You know, a lot of research has been done and many people have seen pictures of what they think to be this road. Is this road supposed to be in actuality at the bottom of the ocean based on what they think they’re (archaeologists) seeing? In conscious reality? I mean, how thick or high up is this road? You were perceiving it to be right below you but you were clearly not at the bottom of the ocean. So the question is how high is this road in actuality?

Jeanne – I think it’s at the bottom of the ocean.

Alexis – So this would lend credence to the fact that you were perhaps experiencing something in an altered state.

Jeanne – Perhaps. I mean I felt different but I was somewhat conscious. I can’t say what I was in that state but I can say what I thought.

Alexis – Fair enough.

Jeanne – So I followed the road to a point – I mean the more I followed it, the more I felt somewhat isolated and I was getting a little nervous, but I couldn’t stop following it. And then I came upon like a gateway, like to a city. It was kind of like a crumbled archway that was sort of gothic. But it was crumbled and distressed but you could tell it was a gateway. There were these voices telling me to come in but there was also this very strong force, and I don’t remember if this was a voice but it was definitely holding me back and conveying to me “NO!”

It was a very strong force. This is when I sort of stopped swimming and was upright and treading water, contemplating “am I going to go forward?” But (the voices) sort of were coaching me forward and it was pleasant, like I wasn’t afraid anymore. It was a pleasant experience. I felt there was life on the other side of that gate, but there was a very strong force that was holding me. I would have had to swim really hard to get through.

Alexis – So you actually felt that? Like it was a physical resistance?

Jeanne – Yeah. And yet there was a familiarity about the other side of that gate for me. Like it said, “have no fear.” But the fear I had was that force that I was contemplating. I mean I’m an adventurer of sorts. My conscious mind was trying to say “go ahead.” I wasn’t thinking “I’m not really seeing this.” I was thinking “wow – this is cool.” But not aware of anything else around me except the road and off to the distance, some landscape. A very, very sparse landscape. It wasn’t a lot.

I don’t know how long I was there contemplating, but the longer I stayed there the stronger this fear or force got. So I ended up turning around and trying to follow the road back and as I was going, I see Lisa off to the side, so I’m signaling for her to come and swim towards me. So she was coming but reluctantly. Then I started to get a more conscious state of, “maybe it’s time for us to go back to the boat.” So I’m sort of pulling her.

But here’s the other thing I recall, it seemed like we were underwater and at some point I wasn’t aware of the snorkel itself and breathing through it. I wasn’t aware of the fins or anything. I felt like I was just swimming with no breathing equipment or anything. And then I was completely submerged underwater the whole time. I could see water all around me – above, below and to the sides. I couldn’t see the surface. And I wasn’t even thinking about the surface – I was just swimming. Even when I saw Lisa, she was submerged, she wasn’t near the surface.

Anyway, we start to head back and I was pulling her and she was resisting. It seemed like we were moving away from the road and eventually it wasn’t there. I just remember the surface, swimming up to the surface. I came to the surface and I see everybody on the boat looking at us. Some people looked kind of worried. I realized we were the last in the water. We were probably 20 feet away from the boat at this point. They were telling us to come on. But Lisa was still pulling me, like trying to pull me down underwater.

Alexis – Why was she doing this? Couldn’t she tell that it was time to get out of the water?

Jeanne – I don’t think she did. Based on what she told me later, no I don’t think she realized she was back in this reality.

So, I took my mask off to show her I wasn’t going back in, but she grabbed onto my arm and was treading water and every time I tried to swim toward the boat she’d resist. Then I looked at her mask and said “are you ok?” She said “no.” I could see in her mask that she was crying. She kept shaking her head, no. We eventually made it back to the boat and they helped her on. One thing I forgot to mention earlier is that Lisa was seven months pregnant at the time. So obviously that concerned me. But we all got her on the boat and she sat right next to me.

The next phase of that was everyone sitting quietly in the boat probably for about 10-15 minutes. Then the captain asked us if anybody wanted to share their experience. People started talking about what they saw or what they thought they saw. There was nothing very significant that we heard.

Alexis – Except for your experience…

Jeanne – But we didn’t share it on the boat. We just stayed quiet. And Lisa kept crying, and it made me cry. She asked if I saw the road and I said yes. She kept saying to me, “I have something to tell you.” And I said, “Well I have something to tell you.” People asked us if we wanted to share but we just kept looking at each other and said, “No.” Interestingly, people saw us in the water swimming around, but we couldn’t see them. They said we didn’t really go that far from the boat. They pretty much saw us the whole time. So they couldn’t understand why we weren’t responding when they asked us to come out.

So it wasn’t until we got back to the catamaran and changed our clothes that Lisa asked if she could talk to me. We went out on the deck by ourselves and she told me the full extent of what she saw and I told her what I saw.

Alexis – And what did she see?

Jeanne – She said that she saw the road, almost right away but she went off to the side because she said that her unborn child started communicating with her – talking to her – like we’re talking right now. He was very excited. He was telling her that his name was going to be Solon. They hadn’t named him yet, but he said his name was going to be Solon or his name was Solon. He told her that he used to live in Atlantis as did Lisa and me and he wanted to show her around. He wanted to show her where he used to live. So she said he took her inside. She said it was a city. He showed her where he used to live and showed her around the area.

Alexis – So he actually took her inside that gate?

Jeanne – No, that’s the thing. She never saw the gate. She went into the city, but she didn’t see the gate. When I saw her off to the side, when we parted ways and where I found her as I was returning, she said she was with her son and they were in the city. And he said I lived there too. He said he was very excited that he was coming into the world as her son and that his name was Solon.

So I told her about my experience and the archway, etc., but I didn’t realize that I had lived there (in Atlantis). He told her that I did.

That’s what we got from each other. We connected the two. Although our experiences were different, they were connected. Apparently we all lived at this time, in Atlantis.

Alexis – Do you think that when you look back in retrospect that Lisa’s being so adamant about partnering with you in the beginning was all connected to the fact that on some level she knew something powerful would happen?

Jeanne – Oh yes, because as I said, it was so out of character for her to jump up the way she did and point and say “I’m partnering with you!” It was just strange. And further more you don’t stand up in those boats. She jumped up and pointed her finger – it wasn’t even her. My sense was, “what the hell is going on?” We talked about that afterward. She told me that right away he (her son) took over her – before we got in the water. She said she didn’t know why she picked me. She wanted to go with Alice. She said all of a sudden this took her over, although she wasn’t conscious at the time it was him. She was as shocked as me. It was automatic. She had no control.

Alexis – When you felt that force holding you back and as you reflect, do you think that if you were able to push through that gate – swim through, I mean we’ve all heard stories of mysterious disappearances of people, ships, planes that have gone missing, never to be found - Do you think that if you made it through, that would have happened to you? That you would have been lost forever?

Jeanne – I don’t know. Initially I thought about it, but the force that was holding me back was so much stronger than the force that seemed to be luring me. That sensation was familiar – like I wanted to go, but the force that was holding me back was scaring me. It made it clear that it wasn’t for me to do that (go through the gate).

I’ll never forget this experience.

Jeanne’s experience is not the only such account in which individuals are convinced that they’ve somehow pierced the veil of this reality and perhaps through an energetic portal are instantly transported to another time and place.

In Charles Berlitz’ landmark bestseller, The Bermuda Triangle, he cites the work of Ivan Sanderson, a writer and naturalist who had covered the anomalies associated with the Bermuda Triangle and other mysterious sights at length. In the book, Berlitz says, “Sanderson poses the question as to whether the Bermuda Triangle and certain other areas, functioning as ‘…vast machines, generate still another kind of anomaly…Could they create vortices in and out of which material objects can drop into or out of other space-time continua?’ For besides the many disappearances that have taken place, a vastly greater number of appearances have occurred in recent years and over the centuries, throughout the world, and seem to continue to occur despite official denials and the fact that they are logically impossible.”

As logically impossible as Jeanne and Lisa’s excursion may appear to some, there are others like Berlitz and Sanderson who dared to ask the questions and to take their own journey into the unexplained. Did Jeanne and her snorkeling partner enter a vortex, warping time and space as we know it? So much of the way our universe works is likely misunderstood. Every once in a while we are afforded a glimpse of the broader spectrum of reality and our place in this continuum of life. Jeanne and Lisa (and Solon) were a few who were fortunate enough to get that glimpse and an excursion that they won’t soon forget.

Make sure you tune in to Higher Journeys as we have a special guest returning! Dr. Bruce Goldberg, world renowned for his work in hypnotherapy and past life regression will talk about Jeanne’s experience and bring a sense of understanding to this amazing story!

Have you been through the Bermuda Triangle and have a story to share? Visit us on our Facebook page and tell us all about it!

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