Signs of Reincarnation: Exploring Beliefs, Cases, and Theory

I've never written a book review before but I feel compelled to after reading this one. As someone of Hindu cultural upbringing, one of the most vexing questions I've had is over the issue of karma and reincarnation -- how does it work, exactly? To what extent do my actions on earth influence what form I take on in the next life, if at all? What happens after we die, what happens to my consciousness? Would I be reincarnated as an animal? If I have good karma, do I get reincarnated as a higher caste? A lower one for bad acts? For the first time, Matlock has put together an extraordinarily well-researched, well-written analysis of the theory of reincarnation, citing Greek philosophers, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist thinkers, physicists, psychologists and more. He makes a compelling argument for why juridical karma as proposed by Hindu thinkers doesn't make sense as an operating force behind reincarnation (essentially, karma doesn't align with the data from reported cases of reincarnation). My takeaway from his theory is that reincarnation occurs all the time, every time someone dies, where the "consciousness" gets associated with a new body, almost like a halo. It doesn't control the body, but may influence it to some extent. Under Matlock's proposal, consciousness emerged as a byproduct of evolution, and each species has developed its own form of consciousness, which is passed on to the next life, as a sort of guiding force or energy that assists the new life as he, she or it engages with the world. There is a subliminal consciousness associated with the new brain that may impact how the new life lives. The questions I have are many: where do the "subconscious, non-physical information bearing matrices" of consciousness exist after the death? Do they float in space, do they congregate at hospitals? Do consciousnesses fade away over time (i.e., is a given consciousness as old as modern humans have been alive, or does it refine itself with time, and more an amalgamation of previous souls?) What is the evolutionary value of the amnesia that sets in to the new life? Why is it so difficult to connect with that consciousness? And how or where does the primordial background consciousness exist (which is Matlock's proposal for the issue of population growth and 'new souls'? I have so many questions, but this is a key book that at least lets us explore or validate reincarnation theories.

I’ve spent nearly 20 years researching topics in parapsychology, mostly focusing on psychic phenomena and reincarnation. If you read this book, you should be able to discern exactly why the connection between these topics is important. Context for this review—I did not read the entire book, because my main focus was in learning about the author’s overall theory, which he refers to as “processual soul theory”. I was familiar with most of the topics covered, some not in as much depth as presented. I probably read about 40 percent of the first six chapters, skimming parts, then carefully read chapter 7. I did this over the course of three days, but if this were my first book on the topic, I could have easily spent a year or more reviewing the book and exploring the references. The author is an anthropologist, and this was obvious. The amount of information presented is extensive, and it felt like every paragraph had references to other books or papers. It’s also obvious that he has thought deeply and objectively about the subject.It’s hard for me to know how someone not already familiar with the topic would view this book. In some ways, I wish this was the first book I read when I started my research. On the other hand, I’m glad it’s not, because it allowed me to know that I have reached almost the exact same conclusion that the author did, by different means, which is very satisfying. If this is your first book on reincarnation, then you found the right book. The information is very well written and organized.The author surveys a wide range of related subjects, from psychology, theories of mind, Theosophy, the origins of cultural beliefs on reincarnation and other areas. He compares his ideas to those of Whitehead, Myers, and others. He says in chapter 7 “The processual soul theory introduces no new explanatory concepts and requires no great concessions from biology and psychology, although it does oblige us to think about some things in new ways.” I agree with this, and whether or not you’re familiar with reincarnation, this book will give you a lot to think about.

The author has done a lot of in-depth research on the subject of reincarnation, and has included his findings in this book. For discussion of the data, case studies, and a theory of how reincarnation works, this is a good read.

I highly recommend this book to everyone and anyone who has more than a passing interest not only in the mechanics behind reincarnation, but also to those who are interested in the possibility of survival after death.Not only does the book offer an in-depth look into a greatly undervalued and understudied subject, it builds on the knowledge of reincarnation which is set out as the chapters progress, offering an in-depth look at the years of research that the author, Jim Matlock, has built into his theory of reincarnation. The book draws its knowledge from several fields -- psychology, parapsychology, physics, philosophy, anthropology, etc. and for that reason, the content will appeal to a fairly wide range of audience. When it comes to understanding reincarnation, and survival beyond death, I believe there's nothing else out there right now that surpasses Jim Matlock's 'Signs of Reincarnation' in the level of depth, research, and knowledge.In short, if you're interested in reincarnation, this book should be mandatory reading. In fact, even if you're not interested in reincarnation -- buy this book and see how the serious research that has been going on in this field is far different than the New Age perception of the subject.

Jim Matlock’s ‚Signs of reincarnation’’ masterfully combines large amount of 'data' from his own investigation and interviews, and also references from others.He investigated this subject very deeply but also step by step so that the readers can understand the subject. ,considering the cultures ,different beliefs among a lot of different folks and people . We can't even imagine how broad and considered ‚Reincarnation‘ is.I have read the book during our online course, I can recommend the course as well as the book itself. If you haven't read the book yet, you read it while you take part in an online course, so you can go through the chapters of the book together and understand them better and also ask Jim if you have questions.. Thank you Jim for the wonderful work !