Signs of Reincarnation

Signs of Reincarnation is an online advanced undergraduate or M.A.-level seminar (discussion) course that covers all aspects of reincarnation studies, including ideas about reincarnation in different traditions, research methods for studying cases, the results of research with children’s and adult spontaneous cases, regression under hypnosis, and past-life readings of psychics and mediums. It addresses criticisms of the research and different interpretative frameworks that have been put forward for the research findings.

Signs of Reincarnation is conducted on the widely-used Moodle distant learning platform through The Alvarado Zingrone Institute for Research and Education (http://theazire.org/moodle) and follows the Moodle philosophy that we learn best through interaction with each other. The course is designed to appeal to all those with a serious interest in reincarnation studies, including people with past-life memories, clinicians, students, and scholars in various disciplines. Each participant comes to the course with his or her own background and contributes to the discussion from that point of view.

There are no set meeting times in the discussion forums, allowing for participation from all parts of the world. There are no pre-requisites, although it helps to have a college background and to be able to read and write well in English. The organization of the course follows the book Signs of Reincarnation: Exploring Beliefs, Cases and Theory (see below), which is a required text. Supplementary readings are provided in PDF format for download to desktop computer, tablet, or other device. The course runs for 15 weeks but is self-paced with an estimated time commitment of 6-8 hours per week. There are optional written assignments at the conclusion of each week. A certificate of completion will be awarded at the end of the course.

Unit 1: Introduction to the Study of Reincarnation Signs

Unit 2: The Belief in Reincarnation

Unit 3: Research Styles and Interpretative Frames

Unit 4: Child Studies: Episodic Memories, Statements and Recognitions

Unit 5: Child Studies: Behavioral Signs of Reincarnation

Unit 6: Child Studies: Physical Signs of Reincarnation

Unit 7: Child Studies: The Interval Between Death and Rebirth

Unit 8: Child Studies: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Historical Patterns

Unit 9: Child Studies: The Psychology of Past-Life Memory

Unit 10: From Child to Adult: The Developmental Continuum

Unit 11: Past-Life Memory in Induced States of Consciousness

Unit 12: The Contributions of Shamans, Psychics, and Mediums

Unit 13: Mind/Brain Relations, Survival of Death, and Reincarnation

Unit 14: Postmortem Survival and Reincarnation: Philosophy and Theory

Unit 15: The Process of Reincarnation

 

Syllabus  View a more complete course description with a unit-by-unit (week-by-week) outline of requirements.

 

Evaluations  Read comments on the course by previous participants.

 

Next session  The course will be offered next beginning June 3, 2024.

 

Required text   All participants will need to purchase Signs of Reincarnation: Exploring Beliefs, Cases, and Theory, which will serve as the course textbook and the main basis of the discussion. This book is available in paperback and ebook formats from Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com.

Optional texts Recommended but optional additional texts are Ian Stevenson’s Children Who Remember Previous Lives: A Question of Reincarnation (2001) and Erlendur Haraldsson’s and my I Saw a Light and Came Here: Children’s Experiences of Reincarnation (2016). Both of these books are referenced extensively in Signs of Reincarnation but provide illustrative cases and much other information complementary to it.

Registration fee The registration fee for the 2024  session will be $150 for the 15-week course. Full-time students in undergraduate or graduate programs are eligible for a 50% discount. There is no charge for retaking the course, if you are unable to complete it or simply wish to take it again.

Questions?  Write to me at jgmatlock@yahoo.com with questions. Registration will open a week before the start date of the course, still to be decided.