Scientists have identified a striking pattern in reports of reincarnation that they say cannot be explained by existing psychosocial theories.
Researchers at the University of Virginia analysed 1,678 accounts from people who said they remembered experiences from a previous life.
Their study found that the apparent gap between a person’s death and their supposed rebirth varied significantly depending on how they had died.
Violent and unexpected deaths were linked to a shorter interval, while the most shocking circumstances were associated with reincarnation occurring up to 40 per cent sooner.
Most unexpectedly, the association was strongest among families who said they did not believe in reincarnation.
The researchers stress that their findings do not prove reincarnation exists.
They argue, however, that the pattern is difficult to reconcile with current explanations for how apparent past-life memories develop.
Study co-author Dr Marieta Pehlivanova, of the University of Virginia, said: ‘The mechanisms underlying these findings are currently unclear, but that gives us even more reason to keep looking, not to look away.’
Scientists say they have identified a surprising pattern in reports of past lives, although they do not believe it demonstrates that reincarnation is real (stock image)
University of Virginia researchers analysed 1,678 reincarnation reports. Pictured: Eric, aged seven, who says he remembers being crushed by a tractor in a previous life
For reasons that remain unknown, some people describe exceptionally vivid memories that seem to originate from a previous life.
Researchers say such accounts are most frequently reported by children, and that the memories typically disappear by about the age of seven.
In certain cases, children also display behaviours, fears or preferences that appear unusual within their families and cannot be linked to events from their current lives.
Some scientists have further argued that these memories correspond accurately to the lives of identifiable historical figures.
Yet systematic research into past-life reports remains limited, and the reliability of such claims remains highly controversial.
For their paper, published in the journal APA PsycNet, the researchers reviewed a database containing some of the strongest and best-documented reports of alleged past-life memories.
Lead author Dr Saeedeh Sadeghi, of the University of Virginia, said: ‘An earlier published report had suggested a link between violent death and a shorter interval between death and birth.
‘We wanted to examine that relationship more systematically and determine whether cultural or psychological factors could account for it.’
The team focused on cases in which a child’s reported memories had been linked to a particular deceased person, then examined the circumstances of that individual’s death.
The researchers classified deaths as natural, including those caused by illness or old age, or unnatural, such as deaths resulting from accidents, violence or suicide.
Scientists managed to link the apparent memories of 1,600 children to real deceased individuals. Pictured: Cameron, star of the 2006 documentary Extraordinary People — The Boy Who Lived Before, who claimed to have previously been a soldier who died in World War I
Scientists found that people who died unexpectedly had a shorter turnaround between death and supposed ‘reincarnation’. Pictured: The moment a mother filmed her daughter, Ella, repeatedly points at her own great-grandmother in the photo, telling her, ‘That’s me!’
Additionally, they also looked at how unexpected the death had been and what age the person was when they passed away.
While you might expect the arrangement to be somewhat random if all the past life stories were fabricated, the researchers actually found a striking level of consistency.
There was a strong association between unexpected deaths and speedier ‘intermissions’.
At the lowest level of unexpectedness, there was an average of 21 months between someone’s death and the birth of a child who seemed to recall details of their lives.
At the highest levels of unexpectedness, the turnaround was almost 50 per cent quicker, with the child being born just 12 months later.
More strikingly, this pattern seemed to persist even when the researchers attempted to control for social factors such as religious beliefs or the recent death of a loved one.
Dr Sadeghi says: ‘To our surprise, the relationship was still there when we tested it in a much larger number of cases, and the social and psychological factors we examined did not explain it away.’
According to the researchers, this suggests that past life beliefs aren’t due to ‘memory contamination’, where children repeat stories they have heard elsewhere, or families using a belief in reincarnation as a coping method after a death in the family.
The researchers don’t currently know why this strange pattern might emerge, however, Dr Sadeghi suggests one possible theory.
She says: ‘Something related that comes up in the field of past-life memory research is the idea of “unfinished business.” The idea is that each person’s life may have a mission or certain things they are supposed to experience
‘If a life is cut short and that mission is not fulfilled, it might somehow be related to children spontaneously reporting past-life memories corresponding to that life.
‘Our results could be seen as consistent with an extension of this idea, suggesting that the child might also be born sooner on average.’
While the researchers don’t necessarily believe that this proves reincarnation is a real phenomenon, they insist that the data shows that past life memories are worthy of serious investigation.
Dr Sadeghi says: ‘All we can say is that there is documented evidence of these reported memories corresponding to the lives of deceased individuals, along with some seemingly anomalous patterns associated with these cases.
‘Some people prefer to interpret the phenomenon in terms of reincarnation, while others consider phrases like spirit possession or some form of psychic identification with a deceased person.
‘I’m not as concerned with these speculations as I am with the empirical evidence and whether this phenomenon can be explained through ordinary processes or points to something beyond the physicalist view of human consciousness.’
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