Signs of Reincarnation

Having completed Jim Matlock’s course, Signs of Reincarnation, I can say that I am not aware of any other educational resource that offers such a comprehensive overview and analysis of the research data that has been collected over a period of many decades. Not only does Matlock review the most salient cases, he explains why each case lends weight to various interpretations and theories of ostensible reincarnation. Furthermore, in the process of preparing this course, Matlock has developed his own theory of reincarnation and he argues convincingly as to why it offers the most parsimonious explanation of this complex and fascinating body of knowledge. While the course focuses primarily on the published cases within the reincarnation literature, it also draws upon the larger fields of anthropology and cultural history.

Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD
Dean of Programs in Transformation Psychology
University of Philosophical Research

From a retired English teacher:

I thought reincarnation was an interesting subject, particularly after my young son told me where he had “lived” before, however, after completing Jim Matlock’s comprehensive course, Signs of Reincarnation, I am convinced that it is a very real phenomenon.  The course delves into a rich array of academic diversity ranging from anthropology, psychology, parapsychology, philosophy and religious studies to scientific research and evaluation. 

I approached Jim Matlock’s “Signs of Reincarnation” course from a difficult place. Raised by strict atheist/materialists to believe that past-life memories couldn’t possibly really happen, I was afflicted with them anyway, both in childhood and adulthood.

In the course, after learning the first astounding, supposedly-impossible thing – that reincarnation has been studied scientifically for decades, producing a knowledge-base big enough to reveal universal patterns – I was shown fascinating cases from all over the world.  I read astonishing accounts that I wouldn’t have believed possible if they hadn’t been painstakingly investigated. I learned that the real-life evidence confirms some common beliefs about reincarnation – but completely refutes others, even some major sacred cows.

Meanwhile, the course’s anthropological component revealed just how pervasive reincarnation belief has been throughout human history and prehistory globally — clearly rooted in observation of a real phenomenon rather than myth or wish fulfillment.  And finally, Matlock tackled the mechanisms of reincarnation – heady stuff for a student who just remembers and feels things from a long time ago – arriving at a by-no-means conclusive but still compelling theory.

Over and over, all the way through, I got confirmations and revelations about my own experiences, all via the compiled and analyzed experiences of others. As a result, I became more able to credit my own experiences, listen to my inner knowing and trust myself.  Taught as a child that I was wrong and insane, I found it deeply liberating to see the sheer volume and depth of evidence that I’m actually right, and not so insane after all.

I highly recommend the course to past-life experiencers who want to make sense of what they remember by seeing it in the greater scientific rather than dogmatic context.  I also recommend it generally to all who want to learn more about reincarnation, perhaps the most pertinent issue of our lives – because it casts a completely new light on the meaning of “our lives.”

From an adult experiencer:

Before taking the course, I already was convinced of the reality of reincarnation, due to my own personal experiences dealing with different forms or expressions of past life memory. As a child, I was not consciously aware of teachings regarding reincarnation, having grown up in a Southern Baptist family, being born in 1942, so my experiences were perplexing, not knowing how I could possibly remember what I seemed to remember, since in this lifetime I had not been in the places or involved in the circumstances I seemed to be recalling. As an adult, I had a sudden realization of who I had been in the most recent previous incarnation, but then I could remember many things related to that lifetime which I had disregarded as meaningless before then, and later there were more experiences I could relate to that lifetime, including (but not limited to) waking visions (or apparitions?) involving two people I knew in that lifetime. However, I have some very limited, partial memories from some other lifetimes, also.

Taking the course helped me to realize that the “strangeness” of my life was not as abnormal as I had felt it to be when I was young, and the course provided helpful examples of the experiences of others and probable explanations for what had seemed rationally unexplainable previously. There are many skeptics who still do not accept reincarnation or even the survival of consciousness as being possible, but carefully researched cases of reincarnation claims are helping to provide more evidence for survival, which seems important for the good of all, since we are likely to be returning to the earth again in the future, and what we do to our environment now is likely to affect us personally someday. I think it is important, also, that we don’t assume that everything will be bright and beautiful after we die, regardless of how we have lived, because there is evidence to indicate that for many people, things often don’t change a great deal from one lifetime to another. Our abilities and attitudes are often similar, and we didn’t acquire great wisdom just by dying.

I am convinced that all of our previous selves still have some influence on our current self, and that our parents and our society are not fully responsible for how we are now. Both nature and nurture are important, but we definitely don’t come into this world as “blank slates or pages.” Our previous selves gave birth to us, as much as our parents did. The Signs of Reincarnation course can help us to understand some of the ways we may have contributed to the production of the “who” we have become, or the people we are now. Reincarnation is not just a theory. There is a great deal of evidence indicating consciousness does survive, thanks to important validated research, such as presented in the course.

From a Christian writer:

I approached the course Signs of Reincarnation as part of my widening search for information on continuing life. I’ve written several books on my Christian, spiritual experience, and yet, I’m constantly drawn forward hoping to expand my understanding. I particularly liked Dr. Matlock’s course because of its scholarly approach. Instead of fantastical narratives and flights of fancy, it contains actual documented accounts and credible analysis.

Add his research on reincarnation to the many documented NDE’s and SDE’s and OBE’s. Supplement it with archaeological evidences like the 5,000-year-old Maes Howe passage grave and Gobekli Tepe, a temple of worship from 11,000 years ago. Glean biblical support from Old Testament images like Jacob’s ladder and Paul’s New Testament reference to being “caught up to the third heaven.” Include as well the aboriginal dream narratives and the Inuit intermingling of human spirits across lives.

And then, finally, we hear the common-place voices of children, relating and recalling past-life memories. What I read in the reincarnation class, and what I’ve researched over the past decade, confirms for me that each human consciousness, each living soul, drops into the natural world’s timeline fully formed. 

From a student of metaphysics:

The course has high personal impact, and has enhanced my understanding immensely of the concept of spiritual growth. I found the class to be both challenging and fun and had a well established base line that shed light on an area of life, in a way that I had not experienced before. Thank you Jim for your communicator skills and ability to format this course in such a manner that my ideas have been changed by the lectures  and readings which flowed succinctly toward provoking thought and wonder, of a topic that is so much a part of our daily life.

From a foreign researcher:

Dr. Matlock’s Signs of Reincarnation covers a wide range of topics related to the reincarnation phenomena in a highly professional, yet uncomplicated and readily comprehensible fashion. The approach taken is empirical (scientific), and unbiased. In addition to the high quality materials provided in the course, Dr. Matlock’s comments and questions to the participants during the course greatly helped me deepen my understanding of the phenomena. I highly recommend this course to whomever is interested in empirical aspects of reincarnation.

From a retired professor:

My degrees were in history and literature, but for long I have given intermittent attention to the findings and controversies regarding parapsychology. Related to that, I have been puzzled by the recurrent reports of people who seem to remember past lives. Sensational accounts of some of these reports were questioned by experts, as were some of the findings of parapsychology by mainstream psychologists. Nevertheless, there seemed to be something there beyond the reach of materialist science. As I pondered the successive revelations of research in quantum physics which undermined the assumptions of the “standard” model, I looked for a course that would describe and explain the evidence for rebirth and reincarnation instead of dismissing it without close examination. Fortunately, I was able to take a test version of Dr. Matlock’s Signs of Reincarnation Its solid scholarship, comprehensive look at the evidence, and well grounded speculation on how one might explain the evidence for reincarnation provided exactly the insight I sought. I recommend it to all who are perplexed by recurrent reports of persons who remember past lives and who wonder whether there is substance to them and, if so, how one might explain them.

From a former social science teacher:

As a result of my association with Dr. Rhine at Duke, I became fascinated by the concept of reincarnation as evidenced in various societies. I appreciated the opportunity of previewing Dr. James Matlock’s course. It is packed with pertinent information and contains information from many sources about reincarnation.