Titus Rivas
Senior Registered
I recently published the following article in The Paranormal Review, 29, pp. 17-20 (2004).
It covers other cases than my article in the Journal of Scientific Exploration
Six Cases of the Reincarnation Type in The Netherlands by Titus Rivas
IT IS INCREASINGLY CLEAR that reincarnation is here to stay as a rational explanatory concept within the theorizing of parapsychology and psychical research. A recent landmark for reincarnation research is the reporting of Western cases of the reincarnation type (CORTs) resembling those found in non-Western countries such as India or Sri Lanka.
Some normal hypotheses, which seem already displaced in many Asian cases, can often entirely be excluded in a Western context. For instance, the claim of children to remember previous lives rarely fulfils a clear social function amongst Europeans, Americans, Australians or other Westerners. Few parents of Western children who claim to remember past lives strongly believe in reincarnation prior to their children’s reports. This makes the sociological hypothesis for most Western CORTs even more far-fetched than for the average non-Western case.
Dutch reincarnation research
THE FIRST PERSON TO UNDERTAKE a serious survey of possible Dutch CORTs in young children was Dr Joanne Klink, a Christian theologian who wrote a book based on letters from Dutch parents. Her treatise is entitled Vroeger toen ik groot was (When I used to be big) and in my view it certainly deserves to be translated into English. Dr Klink clearly shows that there are many parents in Holland who are confronted by unusual and sometimes quite detailed statements by their children about previous lives.
My own investigations in the Netherlands
SINCE 1985 I HAVE BEEN conducting investigations of spontaneous CORTs in the Netherlands. At first, my research was part of a shared project with my brother Esteban Rivas on behalf of the Foundation for the Scientific Study of Reincarnation (Stichting voor Wetenschappelijk Reïncarnatieonderzoek). Since 1996 I have continued these studies as a researcher affiliated to Athanasia, which is a foundation for parapsychological and philosophical research into life after death and the evolution of the personal soul, based at Nijmegen.
In general, it is not easy to collect Dutch CORTs. Many parents are willing to share their experiences as an anecdote, but they often withdraw as soon as more than a merely superficial interest is shown in their story. Mothers often seem to be more open-minded about the statements of their children than fathers and they also seem to be more prepared to take them at face value.
Besides, in the Netherlands one often encounters the almost untranslatable concept of ‘nuchterheid’, which partially overlaps with the English concepts of ‘sobriety’ and ‘soberness’. ‘Nuchterheid’ in the relevant sense is an unwillingness to be overwhelmed by strong emotions and a resistance to any kind of ‘superstitious’, irrational or even religious beliefs. Another approximation of this Dutch concept may be ‘being down to earth’.
Many (though by no means all) Dutch seem to take pride in their claimed ‘nuchterheid’, or at least try to keep up appearances of it if they in fact really do believe in paranormal phenomena. Our so-called contemporary ‘poet of the fatherland’, Gerrit Komrij, actively promotes ‘nuchterheid’ as a general virtue. This appears to be reflected in the way many parents deal with their child’s statements concerning past lives. They often don’t talk about them with their friends or (even close) relatives and prefer to keep a low profile when the experiences are covered in publications out of fear of negative social repercussions for themselves or, more often, their child.
These cultural attitudes render it difficult both to find a case and to get a chance to thoroughly investigate it. However, there is a positive side in that it appears simply ludicrous to suppose that such parents of children who recall previous lives would be looking for publicity. Combined with the fact that most Dutch parents (as most other European parents) don’t have strong beliefs about reincarnation or are even opposed to the idea (because it clashes with their supposed ‘nuchterheid’ or because it cannot be reconciled with their religious, mostly traditional Christian, convictions), this suggests that many or even most Dutch cases are probably authentic.
However, I have found some evidence for fantasy cases, particularly in adults. These cases don’t show the same structure as CORTs among young children. For example, one schizophrenic patient claimed to recall that in his previous life he had personally saved nearly all the Jews from the death camps. For this reason he supported revisionistic theories about the Holocaust.
(See next message)
It covers other cases than my article in the Journal of Scientific Exploration
Six Cases of the Reincarnation Type in The Netherlands by Titus Rivas
IT IS INCREASINGLY CLEAR that reincarnation is here to stay as a rational explanatory concept within the theorizing of parapsychology and psychical research. A recent landmark for reincarnation research is the reporting of Western cases of the reincarnation type (CORTs) resembling those found in non-Western countries such as India or Sri Lanka.
Some normal hypotheses, which seem already displaced in many Asian cases, can often entirely be excluded in a Western context. For instance, the claim of children to remember previous lives rarely fulfils a clear social function amongst Europeans, Americans, Australians or other Westerners. Few parents of Western children who claim to remember past lives strongly believe in reincarnation prior to their children’s reports. This makes the sociological hypothesis for most Western CORTs even more far-fetched than for the average non-Western case.
Dutch reincarnation research
THE FIRST PERSON TO UNDERTAKE a serious survey of possible Dutch CORTs in young children was Dr Joanne Klink, a Christian theologian who wrote a book based on letters from Dutch parents. Her treatise is entitled Vroeger toen ik groot was (When I used to be big) and in my view it certainly deserves to be translated into English. Dr Klink clearly shows that there are many parents in Holland who are confronted by unusual and sometimes quite detailed statements by their children about previous lives.
My own investigations in the Netherlands
SINCE 1985 I HAVE BEEN conducting investigations of spontaneous CORTs in the Netherlands. At first, my research was part of a shared project with my brother Esteban Rivas on behalf of the Foundation for the Scientific Study of Reincarnation (Stichting voor Wetenschappelijk Reïncarnatieonderzoek). Since 1996 I have continued these studies as a researcher affiliated to Athanasia, which is a foundation for parapsychological and philosophical research into life after death and the evolution of the personal soul, based at Nijmegen.
In general, it is not easy to collect Dutch CORTs. Many parents are willing to share their experiences as an anecdote, but they often withdraw as soon as more than a merely superficial interest is shown in their story. Mothers often seem to be more open-minded about the statements of their children than fathers and they also seem to be more prepared to take them at face value.
Besides, in the Netherlands one often encounters the almost untranslatable concept of ‘nuchterheid’, which partially overlaps with the English concepts of ‘sobriety’ and ‘soberness’. ‘Nuchterheid’ in the relevant sense is an unwillingness to be overwhelmed by strong emotions and a resistance to any kind of ‘superstitious’, irrational or even religious beliefs. Another approximation of this Dutch concept may be ‘being down to earth’.
Many (though by no means all) Dutch seem to take pride in their claimed ‘nuchterheid’, or at least try to keep up appearances of it if they in fact really do believe in paranormal phenomena. Our so-called contemporary ‘poet of the fatherland’, Gerrit Komrij, actively promotes ‘nuchterheid’ as a general virtue. This appears to be reflected in the way many parents deal with their child’s statements concerning past lives. They often don’t talk about them with their friends or (even close) relatives and prefer to keep a low profile when the experiences are covered in publications out of fear of negative social repercussions for themselves or, more often, their child.
These cultural attitudes render it difficult both to find a case and to get a chance to thoroughly investigate it. However, there is a positive side in that it appears simply ludicrous to suppose that such parents of children who recall previous lives would be looking for publicity. Combined with the fact that most Dutch parents (as most other European parents) don’t have strong beliefs about reincarnation or are even opposed to the idea (because it clashes with their supposed ‘nuchterheid’ or because it cannot be reconciled with their religious, mostly traditional Christian, convictions), this suggests that many or even most Dutch cases are probably authentic.
However, I have found some evidence for fantasy cases, particularly in adults. These cases don’t show the same structure as CORTs among young children. For example, one schizophrenic patient claimed to recall that in his previous life he had personally saved nearly all the Jews from the death camps. For this reason he supported revisionistic theories about the Holocaust.
(See next message)