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ABC PRIMETIME Discussion

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James'smom

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Hi! This is Andrea, James's mom. This piece on Prime Time is definitely airing tonight, so I hope everyone will watch it. The boy in the story is my son, who turned 6 last week. I look forward to reading your comments after you view the piece.

Andrea
 
Great Piece on ABC!

Hello, all. We are Andrea's brother and sister-in-law (James' uncle and aunt). We thought the piece about James was great! Andrea and Bruce came off as very credible, while the so-called "expert" from University of Buffalo came off as...well, fill in the blank with whatever derogatory term you wish. Even Dorothy's dad, the ultimate skeptic when it comes to the metaphysical, believes. As Andrea said in the piece, "the human spirit is immortal." As a first-year seminarian, I can attest to that. What must be taken on faith is that souls can, and do, come back in new bodies. But then, the body is no more than a vehicle--and who drives the same car forever? Thanks to all in this thread for your support of James, Andrea, and Bruce!
-Jeff and Dorothy
 
Dear Jeff and Dorothy,
I agree... the "expert" came across as a turkey. And what's with that guy from "Skeptic" magazine?? He's on EVERY show about the unexplained that I've ever seen. He's like the "resident turkey" whenever the subject of the afterlife comes up. Apparently, this poor, misguided guy has nothing else better to do!!! (Just my humble opinion)
 
Interesting Statistic

Chris Cuomo cited an interesting statistic in the Primetime piece--that 1 in 4 believers in Judeo-Christian faiths also believe in reincarnation. I was not aware that the percentage was that high, but have also never claimed that Juedo-Christian doctrine is either infallible or all-emcompassing. As much of what the Christian faith holds as doctrinal truth was formulated in the first 6 centuries of the Common Era, what was once held as "heretical" or "pagan" is now being incorporated into daily practice (zen in conjunction with Benedictine contemplation, for example). And as for kharma--well, I just hope that the circle is a little forgiving, or that Mr Skeptical guy is really in for it .

Peace to all,
Jeff
 
Congratulations to Carol! I just watched the Primetime segment, which I taped last night. This presentation was fundamentally different from what the major networks have broadcast in the past. This time, the case was presented fully and fairly. And this time, it was the *skeptic* who looks foolish. He's obviously sincere, but he's obviously in denial. And this is very significant for the public--because they need to know that someone with credentials, appealing to logic and science and who appears to be rational, may in fact be in denial. The parents were magnificant--both as people, and also for the type of people they are--meaning, the father was a skeptic (i.e., not a cynic, but a true skeptic), and the mother is traditional and religious.

So this case was almost archetypal in its power and simplicity--presenting in capsulated form several major themes and elements.

In addition, military survivors seem to be more amenable to reincarnation (civil war re-enactors have given Jeff Keene a much warmer reception than I ever thought possible), and the culture as a whole may be more open to military-related cases.

Plus, again, Primetime didn't distort or withhold any of the facts.

The interviewer looked like someone had hit him over the head with a two-by-four, though ;-)...

I think this broadcast is a landmark. I think it represents years of work by a lot of people behind the scenes, and the fact that it aired is an indication of the progress made.
Steve S.
 
Carol on ABC Primetime

Hi Everyone,

I was very nervous about the segment (with good reason, since I know how editing can change a piece), but was very pleased with the outcome. I'm glad that the Leiningers got to tell their story without it being chopped up, which is the usual way they do it on TV. I regret that they didn't get a little more from me telling how these memories are actually common, etc. but, it was probably more important to let the Leiningers story be told in full. They did a fabulous job! As you can see, they are very intelligent, articulate people. And Bruce really was very skeptical when this began. Fortunately, Andrea was open to the possibility of reincarnation, especially after her mother sent her CHILDREN'S PAST LIVES.

As for the skeptic: he came off as dogmatic, without a good response. Those who have no inclination to believe will go along with whatever garbled message he gave about James's parents and friends prompting him. What rubbish, in light of the facts!

Anyway, I'm glad it came out as well as it did. Hopefully some minds were opened a little more.

Be well everyone.
Carol
 
Thanks to everyone for their positive feedback. It was a big decision for us to tell James's story, and by yesterday I was a nervous wreck, having not seen the piece before it aired and being uncertain as to how we would be presented. I was thrilled with the final product, and thought it told a very clear story. As to the "Nay-Sayer", he didn't offer one compelling argument or rationional explanation for this. If you have ever seen 2 year old's playing, they aren't usually sitting around the sand box discussing WWII battles! Sheesh.

As for the WWII helmet that my son wore in the piece, it was a gift to him. From Jack Larsen, given to my son BEFORE Jack knew about the real story!

Another piece of info that didn't make it into the final editing: James Huston was flying an FM-2 Wildcat when he was shot down. My husband grasped onto this one piece of information while doing his research, because James insisted he had flown a Corsair, and even when asked, would never deviate from this. When Anne Barron, Huston's sister, sent us some photo's of her brother, there was one (shown last night) with him standing in front of a Corsair! My husband ordered Huston's military service records, and found out that before joining squadron VC-81 aboard the Natoma Bay, Huston had been part of VF-301, an elite squadron of pilot's put together to figure out how to fly the Corsair, the Navy's premier fighter, off of aircraft carriers. Once he completed his service with that squadron, he was moved to VC-81 on Natoma Bay, about 4 months before he was killed. Another detail, when Huston was shot down, his wingman in formation next to him was Jack Larsen. Now if that doesn't make your hair stand on end, nothing will!!!

Andrea
 
Primetime ABC Website

I just checked out the "debate" on the message board on the Primetime ABC website, and was amazed/appalled at how closed-minded people can be. Reading some of the posts there, it is also sad to see how intolerant some Judeo-Christians are to the concepts put forth by other bodies of spirituality. I have to apologize to those members of this forum who are not Judeo-Christian, both as a seminarian and as a human being. And I would like to thank each of you for your support and encouragement. This was a tough, and courageous, decision for my sister to open her life, and that of her family, as she has.

Peace,
Jeff
 
Steve S, Your description articulates well how we feel about the great job ABC did with the segment. It's good to hear what you got from it looking at it with new eyes (we've been living with this case for a couple years).

I think we should start a movement to email or contact ABC news and tell them how much we liked it.

Anybody know where to send compliments to ABC news?

Steve
 
James Huston Sr (the aviator's dad) was James 1. James Huston Jr (the aviator) was James 2. So, in this life, James (my nephew) saw, and sees, himself as James 3.

Naysayers don't bother me. There are skeptics and doubters regarding everything. But life is so much more dreary with nothing to believe in.
 
Thanks, Deborah

I appreciate your kind words. The truth is that the entire family (Andrea has 2 sisters, plus myself as siblings) stands behind she, Bruce, and James. One brother-in-law is not 100% on board, but what family doesn't have a skeptic. I have chosen to support Andrea, Bruce, and James both in this board (where there is no opposition) and on the ABC News board (quite another matter). I have been quite conflicted over this, given that I am an Episcopal seminarian--rather than just shrug and say "no way," I choose to keep an open mind and see what happens. There are forces in creation we cannot explain; who am I to say that I know how God (or whatever name others have for the supreme diety or spiritual force) works? Too many Christians want to believe they have the only answer, whereas Jesus Himself said "in my father's house are many mansions." Who is to say that the room next to His is that of the Buddha...or one of the cheif Hindu dieties?
Peace,
Jeff
 
Bruce and I are so pleased to see all of this positive feedback. I must say that I was extremely anxious about the way Prime Time would portray our story. In their defense, when they filmed the piece, Chris Cuomo and my son James seemed to really have a connection, and it was obvious that Chris felt our story was quite compelling. I am proud of the piece, and grateful to Clem Taylor, the producer, and the editor (who did an awesome job!) for putting together such a wonderful piece of journalism. Based on our feedback today, many were touched, and a lot of minds were opened to possibilities that were previously not considered. What more could one ask for?

Sadly, James's memories seem to fade with time, which is in some ways a blessing. I look at it like this: James came back with a mission. The sacrifice of his life should not be forgotten. His sister Anne, interviewed in the piece, has been deeply touched and changed by this experience. My husband Bruce is writing a book about the Natoma Bay and making sure that it's glorious contribution to the war in the Pacific is properly recognized. Are these the reason's James returned? Perhaps so. My only hope is that we honor James Huston's memory, and that once the mission is complete, my son, James, will go on to an extraordinary life. I hope God blesses and enriches all of your lives, and I hope that you will all stay open to the wonderful mysteries that life offers us!

Andrea
 
I can help with the technical aspects of streaming video from a website. I'm assuming no copyright infringement issues.

Galadriel, I don't know if it will help get my show aired more widely or not. So far it's still only been aired in Denver in Jan. of 2003. (Wisdom TV accepted it and then recently backed out, apparently when they changed hands.) I think each effort reinforces the other, and the entire thing moves forward slowly. I think this Primetime segment was a major leap forward, the culmination of a lot of public education and work behind the scenes. We have gone in the space of a few years from the reincarnationists looking flakey, to the skeptic looking foolish (and more importantly, *illogical*). That's a huge gain.
Steve S.

p.s. FYI regarding DNA comparisons, it's my prediction that there will be no DNA match, and this is because it is the incoming mind which shapes the development of the new body using the "raw materials" of physical genetics at its disposal. We see this clue in the birthmarks Dr. Stevenson studied. There was no hereditary link between the previous personality and the new incarnation, and yet the mind of the incoming person somehow imprinted the mark using the new body's DNA. When I say "mind", I don't mean conscious mind, I mean the deeper subconscious and unconscious mind, the underlying mental impressions from the previous incarnation. I think it will soon be apparent that our understanding of heredity is far too limited, leaving as it does the mind out of the equation.

pps. My son just sent me this link to an article about the (then-upcoming) show:
https://www.alienhub.com/threads/uniontown-ww-ii-flyers-memories-in-louisiana-boy.1687/
 
Primetime - My son James and the spirit of James Huston

Hello Folks,

Carol, please do not faint because I am on-line. This journey of discovery that led to my discovery of the compelling set of facts with regard to the past life of my son is still not over.

I was a skeptic as one of the earlier posts indicated. But as the facts unraveled in front of me there was little left to do but change my mind about what I thought was possible.

The revelation of nine pieces of the puzzle by my son when placed in the context of the events could only point to one person James M. Huston, Jr. The details of Huston' life match the details revealed by my son. They are an exact match with - one person out of 297,000 men and women who gave their lives in WWII. Those are long odds.

What is most amazing about all of this has been the reaction of people who saw the program. In the past 2 days two men have called me and have relayed past life ocurrances in their lives. One is a Viet Nam era Naval Aviator who says he has struggled with dreams he has had for years. The second person happens to have been a member of the ship company of Natoma Bay. His son had recurring nightmares that were similar to those of my son, but he and his family were never able to discover anything tangible about the experiences that his son dreamt about.

In both instances these men thanked us for telling the story. One can only say this has been a humbling experience. Our hope is that our story helps many with the mystery of their past life experiences and also boost the faith of those that need some facts in order to believe something.

Reincarnation remains a word that I am still uncomfortable with, not because I am not a believer, but because I do not believe it is a word that is fully adequate to the task of describing this event. These events are an awe inspiring gift that only some people experience and I feel blessed that this has occurred to my family.

Reincarnation is indeed a manifestation of the Promise which God has made to all of us. Believing in it requires a tangible step of faith.

I want to thank Carol for what she has done to help us with our son. All of you are an incredible body of believers.


Bruce
 
Transmigtraton is interesting. A simple analogy seems do better for me. Bear with me for a second. This phenomena of reincarnation is like tasting a fine wine. I enjoy people who try to describe the experience of tasting and drinking a fine wine by reducing that experience to words. While the effort to share what it means with others is admirable, the taste and savoring of the wine is a complete experience. It is difficult to reduce this experience to words because the experience is too full of things that stimulate a range of senses and thoughts.

In my response to one man, who was a crew member on Natoma Bay, that sent an e-mail yesterday thanking us for this story I responded:

The event of having the spirit of an Angel manifiest its spirit in my son has been a gift. But there is a Navy of Angels awaiting each of us. When it is our turn to move on to the next level of consciousness to make a great landing on that heavenly deck it will our turn to catch the wire. We will then get our own set of wings.

I like the mystery of all of this, because at some point you must step forward on faith.


Sorry if I have rambled. There are many things racing through my mind at this moment.
 
As James father I had to step out of that box myself. The compelling nature of experiencing this raised my skeptic meter to a very high level. For those that know me, they are astonished but not surprised. My doggedness about finding answers to questions I have about all things I encounter, in this case, resulted in answers I did not like, because they were contrary to what I belived. As the statements made by my son became verifiable facts that I had no choice.

This event has been enriching and a blessing that it is difficult to reduce to words, much less one word.

Bruce Leininger
 
Kelly,

Thanks for the feedback. The essence of the right word is hard to capture. The phenomena of reincarnation is an experience and one word does not do it justice.

I have read some of the other comments about fundamentalist Christians. sometimes I wonder what they would do If Jesus appeared to them. I have a very strong faith in God and am not about to claim I have all the answers. We can put ourselves in a tidy little box of faith and miss the whole show because the lid keeps us from seeing the real picture.

We are most often in the dark when we are the most certain, and the most enlightened when we are the most confused. I was quite confused and dismayed about all of this, but that is no longer true.

Bruce
 
I'm not fainting, Bruce!

I want to thank Bruce and Andrea for having the courage and the conviction to go on ABC Primetime with me. As all of you who saw the segment know, they told their story beautifully. You would have thought they did TV interviews all the time!

I am grateful to Bruce for doggedly pursuing his investigation of James's memories, beyond what most people would do, especially someone who did not believe in reincarnation at all when this began. That says a lot about him as a person and as a parent. He had to find the truth; he had to get to the heart of the matter. And he did. I know what a leap in faith and thinking he had to make in opening himself to what was happening. He made that clear to me in our first phone conversation, when he opened by saying, "I just want you to know that I'm a Christian." Well, he still is.

Andrea ran with it. Each time we talked, I could tell that her intuition was becoming more keen. Once she found out that it was safe and beneficial to talk to James about his memories, she understood more and more how to be with him when he was remembering. I look forward to the day when she writes a book with her very peronsal observations about James's memories. I think that it will be a gift to all adults and children. (Positive reinforcement, Andrea.)

I also want to thank Shalini Sharma of 20/20 who initiated this project. I know the Leiningers agree that she opened the door for all of us. She wanted to see ABC do a good story about reincarnation, and set the tone for the piece. She gained our trust. Without her, we probably would not have gone ahead with the show.

Thank you, thank you. Well done!
Carol
 
Hello, all. I agree that it was extremely courageous of Bruce and Andrea to go forward with this. Thanks to Carol for helping them understand what James was describing...and to Andrea's and my mom for recommending Carol in the first place. In retrospect, there are any one of a number of places where this "chain" could have come disconnected. That it did not is a testimony to the faith of a number of people. I am just thankful that, through James, James M. Huston Jr. is not lost at all.
Peace,
Jeff and Dorothy
 
Jeff and Dorothy,
It's so true: at any point this could have disconnected. The way in which it all came together is a testimony to a power totally beyond us. We did do "the work," but it all fell into place, in a way none of us could have expected.

When Shalini Sharma of 20/20 originally contacted me, she said they wanted a child's story related to war. I didn't think that I had one, so I pulled up my archived files of more than 1,000 email cases. Most of them hadn't been investigated in any depth, because I simply don't have time to follow up on every one. I swear I was led right to the Leiningers' email, out of so many. From what Andrea said in the email, I wasn't sure if the case had substance, because Bruce had just started his research. It was long before he identified James as being James Huston.

That was just one of the pieces that fit together. There are many more that makes this whole process miraculous, and as Bruce so aptly put it, very difficult to describe in words. There is definitely divine orchestration working here.

Carol
 
This was a difficult and challenging journey of discovery and reinforcement of my Christian faith and belief in God. I do not believe the past life of my son is contrary to my Christian faith; it is a manifestation of the human spirit which is what Gods promise to all of is all about. Getting to the point of reconciling reincarnation with my Christian faith was a difficult and trying journey for me. But I have arrived.

We decided to share this story with the world because of the verifiable nature of tying my son to the life of James M. Huston and, at the same time, maintain the dignity of his life and that of my son.

During the past few days my family has been bombarded by numerous people who wish sensationalize this story including various media organizations who see it as worthy of air time. The science fiction network has also expressed interest.

THIS IS NOT SCIENCE FICTION IS MY REFRAIN TO THEM.

During this bombardment were contacted by someone who we have now retained to preserve and protect the best interests of this family story.
 
Yes, I am working on a book. It will a memorial tribute to 21 men who were lost while serving aboard Natoma Bay. The story of the ship will be integrated into the story of their brief lives. It will then dwell on the pain of loss to the families and how it affected them. It will be spiritual and historical.

All the very best to you,

Bruce
 
We were fortunate to have found Carol Bowman. He book helped us in our effort to help our son James. This was our primary goal. My obsession with seeking answers was based upon the few things he said that had some basis in fact. Iwo Jima, Jack Larsen and Natoma. When I discovered and verified the validity of all three, this while experience turned into a compelling journey.

I was actually trying to refute all of this as I began my search. But at every turn my effort resulted in confirming what my son was saying.

I do not believe my son has had a unique experience; the only thing unique is that I was stubbornly determined to find answers and never quit my search.

You may have said things similar to the things my son said, but they may have been missed by your parents. We are glad our experience may be of some help to you as you confront your dreams.

All the very best to you.

Bruce Leininger
:) ;)

The original thread can be read in theABC PRIMETIME discussion
 
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