Reincarnation Forum

I'm gonna break my response up into multiple comments because I'm too long-winded for this

I am not Jewish in this life, but yes, I had a massive connection to Judaism, though I didn't understand it. Growing up, I thought my mom was "secretly" Jewish, as we don't know much about her mother's side. Ever since I was little I sort of expected this from her, but she always denied it.

I had several Israeli friends in elementary school, though I didn't know what Israel was. I may have picked up some Hebrew from them, as they didn't speak English at first, because when I finally went to Israel at 22 (speaking English and a little Arabic) I would speak Hebrew fluently in these weird bursts.

That could also be the power of immersion, though, the mystery of the human brain. I could never speak Hebrew when I tried, but if I wasn't paying attention or half-asleep, I could. There's a fascinating case of a man who calls himself "Johann Ek" -- an American who woke up after a coma speaking only Swedish. Might be reincarnation-related, might not. Who KNOWS what's lurking in the human mind!

Either way, in my last life, my mom spoke conversational Hebrew before it was "cool" (hipster that she was) and I became fluent myself as I grew up, way beyond biblical Hebrew. We were passionate Zionists -- which is funny because for the most part in this life I've been ANTI-Zionist. One of the strangest things to reconcile was having such opposing views between lives!

I also feel that's a fairly strong confirmation, though. If I was just making it up, I'd probably make past-me and present-me agree more, right? After all, in both lives I've been prone to dogma Remembering has given me a huge shift in perception, actually, and I view things with a lot more nuance now.

I did a past life regression a few years before remembering being “Reuven,” and I saw myself as an ancient Israelite woman living near the Jordan River. I've had a lifelong interest in the Middle East history, so that's unsurprising. I was raised with no religion in this life, and have no influence in that regard. I took a secular approach.

What I've NEVER felt drawn to, however, is London, where I clearly spent most of my last life. THERE'S a mystery!

My reaction when I first remembered was to break down in tears! When I was pregnant with my 2nd daughter (who I suspect is my past life mom) I had memories of dancing with a man I loved just before he went to fight in WW2. It felt so real I couldn't call it anything BUT a memory. In fact, that pregnancy triggered a lot of memories in retrospect.

The memories took years to come together, though, because I always assumed I must've been a woman on account of being so in love with a man. Once I realized I was ALSO a man, it all came crashing down, every single bit of it, in one fell swoop -- and I was left a blubbering mess.

It's been a year since then. I've gone through multiple phases of processing, sometimes ceremonially, sometimes just crying it out. I'm now in a practical stage, trying to make up for things I did wrong before. I have a much clearer picture of my personality flaws, being able to see them play out in such disparate settings. I feel I've worked through the really emotional stages and am now on to "damage control."

Some huge changes have happened in my personal life since remembering, too -- I've had lifelong bouts of really intense gender dysphoria in this life, but since remembering my last life that's gone away, and I'm completely fine with being a woman.

Many anxieties have gone as well, since remembering their origins: fear of my children drowning, fear of low flying planes, fear of suffocation, fear of buildings collapsing, an abstract terror of being somehow "outed" -- so many fears, cured!

I am much more grounded in my life and body now than ever before -- though it's been a process. Sometimes I look in the mirror and am excited by who I am, like life is a game and I get to be this whole new character I never fully appreciated before. It's a hard feeling to describe, but I sort of got "stuck" as Reuven, and only now am moving on.

I took my own life then, though, and had a rough start to this one -- that has played a HUGE role in remembering. I chose this life deliberately, I've realized. I don't know if ALL lives tie together in such a cohesive narrative, but I feel very little division between me and who I used to be, now that I remember it -- but I'm no longer stuck there, either.

It's no differently than "regular" trauma, really. Until you fully process the traumatic event, you will continue to relive it.

Anyway, that was a MASSIVE answer to your questions! I could've just said, "yes, I felt connected to Judaism" and "I cried when I remembered" and I wouldn't have had to break it up into so many comments.

But there ya go

Wow that's a lot you have there