Phobias may be due to past life trauma. The symbol for phobias is a snake.
Article by: Walter Semkiw, MD
Phobias in a current lifetime can result from trauma in a past lifetime. In particular, a traumatic cause of death often leads to a phobia related to that particular cause of death. For example, someone who died in a car accident may have a phobia of automobiles in a subsequent lifetime.
A snake phobia is observed in the Sharada xenoglossy case.
How Derived: Memories in Childhood
Researcher: Ian Stevenson, MD
From: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, by Ian Stevenson, MD
Article by Walter Semkiw, MD
Gedeon Haich was born on March 7, 1921 in Budapest, Hungary. Vajdahunyad Castle, in Budapest, is pictured to the right. His parents were Subo and Elisabeth Haich. Elisabeth was raised in a Christian home, but later developed an interest in yoga and eventually she wrote a spiritual autobiography entitled, Initiation.
A section of her book is dedicated to her son’s reincarnation case and she provided quotations from Gedeon in her narrative. In European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, Ian Stevenson reproduced these quotations.
Elisabeth vouched that in his childhood, Gedeon did not have any books on Africa or other places with dark-skinned natives. He didn’t see any movies on Africa and he didn’t know any African people. She stated that Gedeon did not learn of African places or customs through normal means.
When he was 4 to 5 years old, Gedeon developed a habit of drawing people in pictures with dark brown skin. When his European mother, Elisabeth, pointed out that he was making the complexions of his figures too dark, Gedeon ignored her and continued to color them brown.
During the same period of time, Elisabeth noticed another unusual trait during an outing at their family’s summer home near a lake in Hungary. When Gedeon was asked to join other family members who were swimming in the lake, he refused.
Gedeon screamed and struggled to get free, so that he would not enter the lake’s water. Elisabeth couldn’t understand Gedeon’s fear of and resistance to swimming in the lake. She noted that Gedeon didn’t respond in the same way when entering man-made swimming pools.
When Gedeon was 6 or 7 years old, he unexpectedly told Elisabeth that he thought he had a prior lifetime. He said he remembered being in a different country with different people. He said that he had a wife and children. He continued:
“My wife and children and other people there are not like people here; they are all black and completely half naked.” (1)
Elisabeth then asked Gedeon where he lived and he responded by drawing a picture of a hut, with a cone-shaped roof topped with a vent for smoke. In front of the hut was a naked woman with long breasts and next to the hut there was a river with waves on it. Gedeon claimed that this woman in his drawing was his wife.
Elisabeth asked why he drew his wife with such long, hanging, ugly breasts. Gedeon looked at his mother as if she was insane. He retorted:
“Because that is the way they were. And they are not ugly. She is very beautiful.” (2)
Further, explaining to Elisabeth why he thought he had a past lifetime, he bemoaned:
“And listen, Mama, I am also asking how it is that every morning, when I wake up and my eyes are not yet open, I immediately have the feeling that I must jump out of bed and go hunting in order to find food for my wife and children. It is only when I get my eyes open and look around the room that I remember that I am a small boy and your son.” (3)
Gedeon continued to describe his lifetime and draw pictures that illustrated his narrative.
“We lived in little huts like these, which we built ourselves. Also, each of us made a boat for himself by hollowing out and carving the trunk of a tree.
There was a large river, but no one could go into it as we can in the lake here. A kind of monster lived in the water. I don’t remember what kind it was, but it bit people’s legs off and that’s why last year I yelled so when you wanted me to go in the water of the lake.
I was afraid that there was something in the water that could bite my legs; and even now I get that feeling when I go in the water, even though I know there is nothing dangerous living in the water here. (4)
Ian Stevenson reasoned that the monster in the river was likely a crocodile and that a past life fear of being bit by this reptile was responsible for Gedeon’s phobia of swimming in the lake near the family’s summer house.
Still at the age of 6 or 7, Gedeon continued his story. He told Elisabeth:
“And remember, Mama, how, when we bought a boat for the family I wanted to row it. You told me that I had first to learn how to row. But I knew that I can row, because I could make my tree-boat move long the water just as if it were part of me. I could even sit in my boat and flip over to one side, go under the water and come up on the other side, still in the boat.
And you said: ‘All right. Try to row. You will find that you can’t do it.’
Then you were all surprised when I, taking one oar—my arms were too short to handle both oars—showed that I could row and even maneuver the boat between other boats and between people. With my tree-boat, where I lived, I could do everything. You should have seen me! The trees were not like the ones here.” (5)
Gedeon then pointed to a tree that he had drawn, which looked like a palm tree, indicating that his was the type of tree his past life boat was carved from.
Gedeon also drew a picture of himself using a bow and arrow to hunt a bird that was in one of the palm trees. He also drew a curved object that he used for hunting. Gedeon explained that when he threw this curved weapon, it would return back on its own. Though he didn’t know the word, Gedeon was describing a boomerang.
When Gedeon was 13 years old, an incident revealed a hidden skill for climbing trees. A neighbor came running to Elisabeth and exclaimed that Gedeon had climbed to the top of a poplar tree that was 20-25 meters high, which is the equivalent of 65-80 feet.
Elisabeth ran out and looked up into the tree. She couldn’t see Gedeon, due to the branches and leaves of the tree, but she could hear him. She demanded that he come down. Reluctantly, Gedeon climbed down slowly, but very skillfully. Elisabeth said he climbed down the tree “like a small monkey.” (6)
Elisabeth asked why he did something so dangerous. Gedeon replied that he had made a nest at the top of the tree and that he could eat cooked corn up there, which tasted much better than on the ground. He also remarked on the wonderful view that he had at the top of the tree.
Elisabeth told him that it was too dangerous for him to climb so high and she ordered him to build his nest on the ground. At that, Gedeon became angry and snapped at her:
“I would like to know who looked out for me when I was in the jungle and climbed trees even higher than this one to watch for animals. Where were you then?” (7)
When Gedeon was 15 years old, he asked his mother to buy him a drum. Elisabeth took him to the largest music store in the area, where Gedeon picked out the biggest drum in the shop.
When they returned home, Gedeon started playing the drum with what was described as astonishing skill. He played very complicated rhythms and he appeared to be in an ecstatic state while doing so, even crying as he drummed. After playing an unusual rhythm, he said to Elisabeth:
“Do you see, Mama, that is the way we could send signals and messages to each other over great distances.” (8)
Elisabeth had no idea of how Gedeon had learned to play the drum in a sophisticated way, nor did she understand how he acquired his ability to row a boat with one oar or climb “like a small monkey.”
When asked where his past lifetime took place, Gedeon, as a child, would simply state that it was in the jungle or tropics. When Elisabeth suggested to Gedeon, as an adult, that he should read about Africa, he replied:
“What is the point? I know better how things were there and don’t need to know what white men think about them. And when I do read correct descriptions, I weep, even though I try not to do so.” (9)
When Elisabeth went with Gedeon, as an adult, to a movie about dark-skinned natives, presumably in Africa, she noticed that he wept, and even sobbed uncontrollably, during the movie.
Also, as an adult, Gedeon indicated that he felt that his past incarnation was indeed in Africa, noting that he had a strong affinity for Africa, even though he had never been there in his contemporary lifetime.
In 2020, the world was been shocked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer during an arrest. This officer knealt on Floyd’s neck as he was lying on the ground while handcuffed until George died by the lack of air to his lungs and compression of the arteries in his neck that provided blood flow to his brain.
Though the trial of this officer has not yet occured and we do not know what the result will be, there is a consensus that there is a bias in the United States against African-African Americans. I am Caucasian, so I have not experienced this directly, but I remember vividly an episode that demonstrates racial hate, which happened when I was in my medical training.
I was walking on a street in Denver with a dear African-American friend of mine, Keith La Grenade, MD, who was in the same medical training program in psychiatry with me at the University of Colorado.
Without provocation, a Caucasian driver of a car driving by us yelled out: “Nigger!”
I was shocked, as I had never witnessed such a racial insult to another in my life. I asked Keith: “Has this happened to you before?”
Keith answered: “All the time.”
After I wrote these passages, I had the desire to contact Keith, as we had not been in touch in many years. Sadly, I learned that he had died in 2016.
Evidence of reincarnation shows that we can change religion, nationality, ethnic affiliation and race from one lifetime to another. When people realize this is how life works, the basis of hate and prejudice against those we see as different from ourselves disappears. Those with dark skin can reincarnate as someone with light skin and vis versa.
In this way, evidence of reincarnation can help create a more tolerant and peaceful world
As Gedeon’s presumed past life persona in Africa was not specifically identified, his case could not be historically validated. The strength of this case rests upon the unexpected talents that Gedeon demonstrated, which one would not be expected from a Hungarian youth.
These include, as a young child, the natural ability to row a boat with one oar, climbing trees like a monkey and being able to play complicated rhythms on a drum without any prior experience or training.
In addition, Gedeon’s phobia of swimming in lakes or rivers can not be explained without a past life cause. In his past lifetime in Africa, Gedeon remembered a fear of entering a river with monsters that bit people’s legs off. These monsters were most likely crocodiles.
Phobia from a Past Lifetime: As noted, Gedeon had a phobia of natural bodies of water, which seemed to stem from his past life experience with crocodiles.
Past Life Talents & Abilities: Gedeon could steer a boat with one oar, climb trees like a monkey and drum like a professional, without any prior training or experience in his contemporary lifetime.
Reincarnation & Change in Race: Gedeon described himself, his wife and the people of his tribe as dark skinned natives that lived in a land that was most likely Africa. Gedeon, as an adult, expressed a great affinity for Africa, though he had never been there in his contemporary incarnation. He himself thought his past incarnation, indeed, took place in Africa.
Another important reincarnation case that shows how evidence of reincarnation can help create a more peaceful world, where a person was killed for being a Jew in a Nazi world, but reincarnated as a Christian, is the:
Reincarnation Case of Anne Frank | Barbro Karlen
Footnotes
1. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 116
2. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 116
3. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 121
4. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 116
5. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 116
6. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 103
7. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 118
8. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 118
9. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 121
David died as a young Jewish boy in a Nazi concentration camp, David reincarnated into a Christian family though David’s biologic father, Solomon, was Jewish, David was not aware of this. If Nazis and German people knew that one could be born Jewish in one lifetime and Christian in another, would the Holocaust still have happened.
How Derived: Memories in Childhood
Researcher: Ian Stevenson, MD
From: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, by Ian Stevenson, MD
Article by: Walter Semkiw, MD
David Llewelyn was born in Chester, England, on September 1, 1970. His mother, Susan Llewelyn, was Welsh. At the time that David was born, she was married to Jeffery Llewelyn, but David’s biologic father was Solomon Rosenberg, a Jewish man who Susan had an affair with for a period of two years.
Susan hid the affair with Solomon from her husband, Jeffery. As such, David was raised as the son of Susan and Jeffery. The couple stayed together at least to the time that David was nine years of age and as such, David was raised in a Christian culture. Susan and Jeffery Llewelyn eventually divorced.
Susan noted that Solomon Rosenberg saw David a few times, but he never took interest in or responsibility for David. Growing up, David was not aware that Solomon was his biologic father.
Susan contacted Ian Stevenson, MD about her son’s reincarnation case after she heard him on a BBC television program on reincarnation in 1982. Following a period of correspondence, Stevenson traveled to Chester, England to meet with David and Susan.
As a young boy, David had nightmares of large, dark, deep holes which contained bodies. He smelled the stench of dead bodies and he was afraid that he would fall into the holes. There were people with guns.
At times, David would run crying to Susan describing the camps, guns and the dying people he saw in his dreams. He complained of an unusual odor in his bed room.
At home, the family cooked on an electric stove. When they visited an aunt who cooked with gas, David said, it “was like the smell in my room at night, it’s going to smother me.” (1) The Nazis had used gases, such as carbon monoxide or hydrogen sulfide, to kill concentration camp victims.
David also had past life images arise in his mind during waking hours. These images included people who were prisoners of war who lived in wood huts. David thought these people were Jewish.
When Ian Stevenson interviewed him, David said that he had past life memories in which he was being put into a pit as a young boy. He remembered looking up to the top of the pit where he saw another boy looking at him. He thought the boy was a companion who might save him. There were other bodies in the pit. (2) This image recurred many times and David told Stevenson that he remembered the terrible odor of the camp.
Stevenson noted that in Nazi concentration camps, children 14 years of age and younger were killed, as they were deemed unfit for work. Stevenson noted that at the concentration camp of Treblinka, “children were thrown into a ditch, sometimes still alive, where they are consumed by fire. Alternately, they could be thrown into a ‘regular mass grave.’” (3)
A most dramatic aspect of this case is that when David began to read and write, he would spontaneously read and write from right to left, which his how the Hebrew language is read and written. No one had taught him to do so, rather, he was taught to read and write in the usual English manner, from left to right. Though teachers would correct him, he continued to have this Hebrew habit of writing from right to left until he was 11 years old.
David, as a child, surprised his mother by asking whether food she was serving had blood in it, an apparent reference to Kosher processing of meat. No one had told David about Kosher customs. When he and his parents went to another city when he was nine, David looked at a building that looked like a church. He told his parents, “They wear caps there. Jeffery, Susan’s husband, then noted that the building was a Jewish synagogue. David was referring to Kippahs that Jewish people wear.
When David drew pictures, he would always include a star, though at the same time, he seemed to have a phobia of stars. When he was 12 years old, Susan took David into a shop where he saw a necklace with a Star of David attached to it. David then started to cry and ran out into the street. Susan ran after him and asked what disturbed him. David said that the necklace with the Star of David was “beckoning to him.” (3)
David also had a strong aversion to the color yellow. Susan stated that David “hated” yellow. The Nazi’s made Jews wear yellow stars on their clothing, so that they could be distinguished from gentiles. David also had a strong fear of camps. When Susan told him that people have very pleasant vacations at camps, David replied:
“No. There is no happiness there. People are caged in and cold, hungry, and frightened. They’ll never get out.” (4) David said that the people in camps were like skeletons, they were bald and they had no food. David would say in despair, “I’m worried for the other people. Why did it happen? Why did it have to happen?” (5)
Susan, David’s mother, insisted that David did not learn of the Holocaust, Nazi concentration camps or Jewish customs as a child in their home. When David was older, she noticed that when David saw Germans on television, he became fearful and angry. Similarly, he displayed fear and anger when he saw German people on a vacation trip that he took with his mother to the island of Corfu.
David’s past lifetime in a concentration camp could not be validated historically, as he did not remember his name or give other specific details from which could allow verification.
The strength of this case rests on David having innate knowledge of Jewish customs, such as reading and writing from right to left, and memories of scenes characteristic of Nazi concentration camps. David’s mother, Susan, strongly denied that David could have learned this information by normal means.
Regarding whether David somehow acquired this knowledge from Solomon Rosenberg, his biologic father, through some type of genetic memory, Dr. Stevenson commented:
“Even the most ardent geneticist would not suggest that genes would transmit the habit of reading and writing from right to left, concern about whether food has blood in it, and images of a concentration camp.” (6)
This reincarnation case demonstrates the following features:
Past Life Talent & Knowledge: When he began to read and write in the English language, he did so from right to left, which is the technique used for the Hebrew. Though teachers tried to correct this practice, David persisted in this practice until he was 11 years of age. He seemed to have innate knowledge of Kosher food and Kippahs.
Past Life Phobias: David had fears of the Star of David, the color yellow, vacation camps and of German people.
Change of Religion and Ethic Affiliation: In his past lifetime, David died as a young Jewish boy in a Nazi concentration camp. In contemporary times, David reincarnated into a Christian family. Though David’s biologic father, Solomon, was Jewish, David as a boy was not aware of this paternal relationship since Susan, his mother, kept her affair with Solomon secret.
A dramatic and very compelling reincarnation case of this type is the Anne Frank | Barbro Karlen reincarnation case, as Anne too was persecuted as a Jew in a Nazi concentration camp, yet she reincarnated as Barbro Karlen to a Christian family in Sweden. If the Nazis and German people knew that one could be born Jewish in one lifetime and Christian in another, the Holocaust could never have happened. In this way, evidence of reincarnation can help create a more peaceful world.
Reincarnation Research Home Page
Reincarnation Research Case Categories
Footnotes
(1) Stevenson, Ian: European Reincarnation Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 82
(2) Stevenson, Ian: European Reincarnation Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 82
(3) Stevenson, Ian: European Reincarnation Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 84
(4) Stevenson, Ian: European Reincarnation Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 85
(5) Stevenson, Ian: European Reincarnation Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 83
(6) Stevenson, Ian: European Reincarnation Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 83
(7) Stevenson, Ian: European Reincarnation Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 85
(8) Stevenson, Ian: European Reincarnation Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland, 2003, page 85
Reflections on Reincarnation and a Child’s Life Cut Short was influenced by flashes of memories of a past life that recurs as nightmares on Tikvah Feinstein. She hears about Elsagene, but then she searched for concrete proof that indeed she, Tikvah is Elsagene’s reincarnation.
Case Proposed by: Ruth Dobsch, Tikvah’s Mother
Researched by: Tikvah Dobsch
Narrative by: Tikvah Dobsch
My name is Tikvah Feinstein. I was born Tikvah Dobsch in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1944. We were a family of eight siblings. I am the sixth child born alive to the late Ruth and Rudolph Dobsch. My father emigrated from Sudeten, on the German border with Czechoslovakia as a youth. He worked in the steel mills. My mother, a US native, was a homemaker. My parents were raised Christian, but my mother, Ruth, converted to Judaism at about the time of my birth. I was raised Jewish. Neither of my parents graduated from high school, but that was not unusual for the time.
As a child, I had displayed acute phobias. I could not bear having anything around my throat, especially anything that was tied like a scarf. I could not swallow pills. I would panic immediately if a door was stuck or would not open. I absolutely avoided the dark.
As a toddler I refused to go to sleep due to my fear of the dark. Mother had to rock me, hold me while I sobbed until I fell asleep each evening before darkness set in. I had terrifying nightmares and would wake in cold sweats. The nightmares were about being held down and I could not call out for help, though I knew there were people in other rooms nearby, who would hear me if only I could scream to them for help. In the dream, my mouth is clamped shut and I can only moan through my teeth. I awoke to my own deep throaty awful sounds. The nightmares intensified during adolescence and continued into adulthood.
Death was a horror to me, a dreadful condition. I was acutely aware of death and instinctively feared dying young.
Tikvah’s First Grade School Photo and a Young Girl Found Dead in a Bathroom
My life became happier when I became old enough to go to school. I was excited about learning and thrilled by every new thing in my life. In first grade, we were having school pictures taken. To get me ready for the photo shoot, my mother cut, washed and combed my hair in a shorter than usual style.
It was at that time, in 1950, while getting me ready for my first grade photo, perhaps stimulated by a physical resemblance made clear by my new haircut, my mother shared a story regarding a girl who died 6 years before I was born. I remember the conversation with my mother vividly. It would be hard not to remember. The death of a child can never be an easy conversation.
The girl, Elsagene, my mother continued, was found dead one evening in the bathroom of the boarding house where she lived with her mother, whose name was Etta. The door was locked, my mother quickly added, as if that provided an explanation. My mother added that Etta ran a brothel.
The Sexual Abuse of Elsagene and her Desire to have Ruth as her Mother
Prior to Elsagene’s death, my mother said Elsagene had complained that she was very unhappy about intense physical tickling to the point of making her cry that she often endured from her mother’s boyfriend. Elsagene pleaded to be able to stay with my mother. Elsagene begged her, “Please, let me stay with you. Why can’t you be my mother?”
My mother, Ruth, explained that she had pity for Elsagene and wanted to help her, but my mother at the time was only a teenager herself, an orphan who lived with her deceased mother’s sister, Elsie and her husband, Eugene.
My mother then shared that she thought that I was Elsagene reborn. She was serious, but I’m not sure I even then understood or believed her.
To hear this story so young I was shocked, and at five or six years of age too immature to understand. At that young age, I had already been introduced to death. I knew of twin brothers, my parents’ premature first-born babies, who had died at birth. I also knew of the deaths of two neighbor children, one by drowning and one of disease, but it disturbed me greatly that a child can die alone in the bathroom!
Further, how could I be the dead girl? I wasn’t dead. I was living.
Aside from being present during several conversations concerning Elsagene that took place between my mother and her sister, that is all I knew about the little girl who was found dead in the bathroom of the boarding house where she lived. I let it go. What else could I do? Elsagene’s death remained a mystery for over 60 years of my life.
As an adolescent, though, my terrifying nightmares increased, nightmares of being held down, of something pressing down on me, of something clenching my jaw shut so that I was unable to open my mouth to call for help, all the while knowing that there were people in other rooms who would help me if I could just scream. I would wake up still paralyzed, terrified in a cold sweat. I was trapped in a body that would not move. I would not be able to move for some time after waking. I wouldn’t dare to go back to sleep for fear that I would have another nightmare.
Sometimes the nightmares began as a dream that suddenly became terrifying, always with a similar theme. One began with (I find this strange) a bird, high in a tree, staring at me, always the angry dark eyes, but I was not afraid at first. I saw the bird’s interest or anger, but I was aware in my dream that I was not doing anything to provoke the bird so I felt no threat. Until, that is, the bird with the angry eyes took off flying, dove suddenly at me and bit me, sank his beak into the skin of my hand. I could not shake him off as he hung on until he had bitten completely through the skin between my thumb and finger. He had clasped tight, until the flesh was cut completely through and there was nothing to hang onto. So released, the bird flew away, as it did it split into two birds. An identical bird of a gray color rose up from the body of the black bird. The dream is a metaphor of a violent death, as I see it now, taking into account the absolute terror and confusion I felt during and after the dream. In the dream, there is an attack, a struggle, and following a piercing injury, a spirit body is released, symbolizing death. I believe our spirits survive death. This belief is supported by an experience of a cardiac arrest in 2007, when I retained consciousness from above the chaos as the paramedics worked on my body.
In another nightmare that also began as a dream, an angry bull is staring at me with threatening eyes, pacing back and forth, glaring at me from within a corral. As he was penned, I wasn’t concerned. That is until the huge bull escaped the fence and rushed toward me.
Dreams like those immediately became the same nightmare. Always the same terrifying nightmare, with me being held down, unable to scream for help, knowing if only I could call out I would be helped. Waking in a cold sweat, I would be afraid to go back to sleep, anxious for weeks following. There were many such nightmares.
I also always had a persistent fear of dying young. I desperately wanted to live a long lifetime, like everyone, I suppose, but the possibility of early death was always in the back of my mind. It was an instinctual thing. I lived through a number of close calls in my life, but somehow I survived.
In 2011, I began writing a memoir of my life and was in the process of asking family members for old photos. I had earlier received my first grade school photo. It was from among the possessions of my mother’s late sister. She had saved that photo of me all these years. If she hadn’t, I would not have seen it with my adult eyes.
At about that time, out of the blue, my sister arranged a meeting with a long-lost family contact, a relative of an in-law, who had boxes of old photos to share. She asked me to come along.
During the lunch meeting I asked the woman if she knew about a girl named Elsagene. I was curious to see a photo because of what my mother had told me as a child. I was surprised that my sister did not know of Elsagene. I find it revealing that this sister who arranged the meeting is about five years older than I, yet our mother Ruth never mentioned Elsagene to her.
I was stunned when the woman said yes, that she had heard of Elsagene, a daughter of her relative Etta. The woman related that when Etta became elderly, she lived with this woman’s family. She didn’t have a photo of Elsagene with her, but a few days later, she forwarded an image of Elsagene to me. When I saw it, I was startled, as I saw myself in the image of Elsagene. She looked like I did in my first grade school photo.
The photo of Elsagene made me reflect on what my mother said more than 60 years before, that she thought that I am the reincarnation of this girl who was found dead in a bathroom. It was at that point, in the year 2011, that I decided to research the life of Elsagene.
Who was Elsagene?
I learned that Etta, Elsagene’s mother, as a teenager had been hit by a trolley, which resulted in a life long disability which made it difficult for her to walk. Etta’s husband, John, had died at the onset of the Great Depression when their youngest child, Elsagene, was just three years old. After John’s death, their older children, a son and a daughter, began living on their own.
Etta and her daughter, Elsagene, moved into the boarding house, near where Etta’s brother, Eugene, and his wife, Elsie, lived. Recall that Elsie raised my mother, Ruth, after Ruth’s mother died. Elsie and Ruth’s mother were sisters.
As such, Elsagene and I are related not by blood, but through marriage. In fact, merging the names of Elsie, Etta’s sister-in-law, and Eugene, Etta’s brother, was how the name Elsagene was created.
The Sexual Abuse of Elsagene
To make ends meet after her husband John died, Etta worked for people who ran a Speakeasy and brothel on the North Side of Pittsburgh during Prohibition and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Etta met a man through her employment who became a boyfriend. Recall that my mother shared that Elsagene complained that her mother’s boyfriend tickled her to the point of making her cry. Etta’s boyfriend was apparently sexually abusing Elsagene.
Children don’t leave a lot of footprints of their lives. It had seemed, while researching, for so long, that she just disappeared. But I did find out some information through census and other records. Through my research, I obtained Elsagene’s death certificate, which, coincidentally, I was able to obtain even though I am not related by family, when in 2010 it had been enacted to law that death records become public 50 years after the death of a resident of Pennsylvania.
I found her name in the indices and that she died on October 25, 1938. Although it was widely known that she died at home, the death record has recorded that it occurred at Allegheny General Hospital.
There was an autopsy. A subarachnoid hemorrhage was found at the base of her brain. Essentially, a blood vessel ruptured in her neck under her brain and bled into the space where spinal fluid bathes the brain and spinal cord, causing a dangerous increase in pressure on the brain. According to articles I read about the condition, this is a common injury found in shaken baby syndrome. Also, it can be brought on by choking and other violence to the head and neck, or extremely rarely can be spontaneous if a defect is present. Either way the result is a thunder-clap headache, weakness, paralysis and death.
After seeing the photo of Elsagene in 2011, I understood the nightmares of my childhood and adolescence. I have gathered a snapshot from Elsagene’s life. I have not solved the mystery of why, only what she died from and when she died.
For my part in this I have given voice to the girl who was silenced, who by her haunting reached out to me, to herself, through time and space to inhabit the world again within these pages of written words. I will share one last dream.
In a dream I am lying on a bed. It is evening and a man, who is familiar to me, is sitting on the bed. We are both above the blankets. It feels safe and natural, like we have been together like this many times. I am on my back at the bottom, just small enough to fit with my legs bent slightly across the width of the full bed. I turn to my side. The room is bright and warm. The man makes a stiff figure sitting on the bed toward the head, reading something, intensely reading a page that is spread open, a neat fold in the center, it is shaped like, looks like a letter. I can only guess.
He is studying the information, numbers or a report or something with words on a page. He holds the letter up in his shaking hand and I see the sides of the folded paper bounce and tremble. That’s an odd reaction to a letter taken out of an envelope, I think. I don’t pay much attention. I am busy with reading a comic book. Even though I know he is upset about what he is reading, I don’t feel threatened. His eyes are glued on figures or something, impressing me that he has to somehow change the news he is reading. He is reading it over and over. It is important to him, but I am not aware of the disclosures and don’t believe I am involved in it, except for seeing how upset the man is. I do not feel I can do anything except remain quiet. I am not afraid. Even when the distressed man turns his attention to me.
Even when he makes a groan and says something I can’t make out in a low steady voice and moves towards me. Even when he reaches rather slowly up to my throat and gently wraps both hands around my neck. I am stunned. I am familiar with his touching, but not on my neck. I turn to face him. His eyes are scary. His pupils gone big and black as night. I jerk away from his hands. He tightens his lips, grimaces, hisses, and squeezes my neck with both large hands that surround my ears and neck completely. Again and again in bursts of great strength and what seems like anger, he squeezes. I hear the trapped air, as it rushes out of my ears, each time he moans, and grips his hands tighter around my neck, shaking my head back, like a whip, harder with each grasp.
There is extreme pain in my neck and head, an overwhelming terror and confusion take me over until I am consumed by a heaviness. My arms fall away from my body, my legs are exploding with electric shocks and I find I can’t lift them. My jaw becomes tight, then lax, like a seizure. My back arches and then my entire body goes limp. The pain in my head feels like thunder, like my brain has exploded. I think of my mother. I desperately want my mother. But she is not there. The last thing I see is his face, the expression of hate or something like it, his eyes gleaming, his breaths rapid. I am like a chicken gone limp, all the air is pushed out of me. He keeps pressing. I can’t breathe in. I am terrified, but can’t scream out. I know there are people in the other rooms; if I could cry out they would hear and help me. The world goes black. I wake up with a start. I am thinking of Elsagene.
That was my last nightmare. I am happy to share that I have not had nightmares since 2008 or so. It seems that the integration of my phobias and nocturnal fears with her life and death have brought peace to my soul.
What Happened to Elsagene?
What happened to Elsagene? If Etta knew, she never told. She died an old woman and is buried beside her husband in United Cemetery, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. I was told during a phone contact with United Cemetery that there is no record of Elsagene McCormick being buried there, although it is stated on her death record she was taken there.
If Elsagene has another life as me, she wasn’t a lonely child. Born into a large family, the sixth of eight children, she spent a childhood in many locations where she would discover and enjoy the outdoors enormously. She had early talents of art and writing, played the violin and guitar and wrote songs as a teen, would grow up to marry and divorce, learn empathy for Etta’s struggles by becoming a single mother of a daughter herself. She would become a nurse, earn a degree in English Writing from the University of Pittsburgh, work as a reporter, creative writer and editor, author several books, display her art, and by an astounding coincidence, she would be guided to rediscover her former self. I am telling you the story of Elsagene. That’s amazing enough, either reincarnation or coincidence. And this time she or I or we are leaving this record of a life or two. We will rediscover ourselves when or if we will live again.
“We are closer to God when we are asking questions than when we think we have the answers.”-Abraham Joshua Heschel
“The opposite of good is not evil, it is indifference.” – Abraham Joshua Heschel
Postscript by Walter Semkiw, MD
Though Tikvah’s story is very compelling and stands on its own, I did review it in session with Kevin Ryerson. Ahtun Re, the spirit guide channeled through Kevin who has demonstrated an ability to make past life matches with a high degree of accuracy, agrees or affirms that Tikvah Dobsch is the reincarnation of Elsagene. The work I have done with Kevin can be reviewed at: Ryerson-Semkiw Reincarnation Research
Physical Resemblance in Reincarnation Cases: There is a similarity in facial archtecture or bone structure observed in the images of Elsagene and Tikvah, which apparently was observed by Ruth, Tikvah’s mother, which prompted Ruth to disclose to Tikvah that Ruth believed that Tikvah is the reincarnation of Elsagene. Physical resemblance would be appreciated better if the photos were taken with similar expressions. Tikvah in her first grade photo has a wide grin, whereas Elsagene is captured with a smile.
Relationships Renewed through Reincarnation and Planning of Lifetimes: Prior to her death, Elsagene shared with Ruth the sexual abuse that she was enduring. Elsagene expressed unhappiness regarding her living situation and asked whether Ruth could be her mother. Six years after her death, Elsagene indeed appears to have been born to Ruth as Tikvah, which shows how souls can plan their lives and choose their parents.
Past Life Phobias & Nightmares: Tikvah had phobias as a child which seem to reflect being trapped in a room and being strangled to death in a past lifetime, which appears to have been the manner in which Elsagene died.
It is important that these phobias started before Ruth, Tikvah’s mother, told Tikvah at 5 years of age that she believed Tikvah is the reincarnation of Elsagene. If the phobias started after Ruth shared her belief that Tikvah is Elsagene reborn, the phobias could be attributed to suggestion.
Note: An earlier brief version of this reincarnation story and the photos are published in Music From a Broken Violin: A Memoir by Tikvah Feinstein, Taproot Press, 2011. Some part of the story of Elsagene will appear in Taproot Literary Review Edition 25 in 2014.
A child Alessandrina died of meningitis at a very young age of 5, who later reincarnated as her younger sister. A reincarnation research case showing proof of reincarnation within the same family by Dr. Ian Stevenson, MD.
How Derived: Past Life Memories in Childhood, Spirit Being Guidance, Similarities in Appearance and Behavior
Researcher: Carmelo Samona, MD
From: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, by Ian Stevenson, MD
Article by Walter Semkiw, MD from Born Again: Reincarnation Cases Involving Evidence of Past Lives with Xenoglossy Cases Researched by Ian Stevenson
Alessandrina Dies of Meningitis
Camelo Samona was a medical physician in Palermo, Italy, who in 1911 published a report regarding a reincarnation case involving his daughter, Alessandrina. Carmelo’s wife’s name was Adele and in addition to their daughter, they had three sons.
Alessandrina contracted meningitis at the age of about 5 and she died on March 15, 1910.
Three days after Alessandrina’s death, her mother, Adele, had a dream of her dead daughter who said.
“Mother, do not cry, I have not left you, only withdrawn. Look! I am going to become small like this.” In the dream, Alessandria then made a gesture to indicate the size of a baby. She then said, “You will have to suffer again for me.” (1)
Three days later, Adele had the same dream. A few days after these dreams, Camelo and Adele both heard three loud knocks at their door. Their three sons also heard the knocks. The family opened the door, but no one was there.
On April 10, 1910, less than a month after Alessandrina had died, Adele realized she was pregnant. Due to the dreams and the knocks on the door, Camelo and Adele decided to participate in séances, hoping to better understand what was going on.
On May 4, 1910, Camelo and Adele participated in a mediumistic seance. In these sessions, a medium would pass on information from deceased individuals, souls in the spirit world, to the human beings who participated in the séance. Often times, deceased relatives of participants would communicate through the medium.
In a seance, Alessandrina came through and said that she had caused the there knocks on the door to draw attention to herself. She told her parents that she was coming back and that she would be born before Christmas. She said she would be very similar to before. She repeatedly said that she wanted all her family and friends to know that she was returning. Alessandrina said this so many times that Carmelo found it annoying.
In the seances, Adele and Camelo were also told that a second soul was around them and that this soul would be born with Alessandrina. In other words, Adele would have twins.
Through the medium, Alessandrina also told Adele and Camelo that after the third month of pregnancy, Alessandrina would not be able to communicate through the séances as she would be more attached to matter and as a result, would be sleeping.
In August 1910, an obstetrician determined that Adele was indeed pregnant with twins. On November 22, 1910, twin girls were born. Adele and Camelo immediately realized that one of the girls bore an uncanny resemblance to Alessandrina. Due to the physical resemblance, they also called this girl Alessandrina, who we will refer to as Alessandrina 2. They named the other fraternal twin girl Maria. We will refer to the deceased daughter as Alessandrina 1.
Adele and Camelo noted marked similarities in appearance and behavior between Alessandrina 1 and 2, which contrasted with the appearance and behavior of Maria. When the girls where two and a half years old, Camelo published a report outlining these similarities and differences. They include the following.
At birth, Alessandrina 1 and 2 both had redness in the left eye, a rash called seborrhea behind the right ear and slight facial asymmetry. Maria did not have these features.
As toddlers, Alessandrina 1 and 2 were both quiet and liked to sit quietly in their mother’s lap. They didn’t like to play with toys, but they did like to play with other children. Maria, in contrast, was restless and liked to be on her own, playing with toys.
Alessandrina 1 and 2 had phobias of loud noises and of barbers, and they both disliked any cheese. They liked to fold and smooth clothing and cloth, such as sheets and towels. They both liked to play with shoes and put adult shoes on. Maria didn’t have phobias of noise or barbers and she liked cheese. She didn’t like to fold cloth or play with shoes.
Alessandrina 1 and 2 tended to speak in the third person. When fearful, they would say, “Alessandrina is afraid. (2) They also like to create pet names. For example, Aunt Cateria became Caterana. (3). They were both left handed, became interested in spiritual matters, but avoided housework.
Maria, in contrast, did not speak in the third person, didn’t modify names, was right-handed (like all the other family members) and wasn’t interested in spiritual affairs, but she did like housekeeping.
In his report, Camelo published photos comparing Alessandrina 1 when she was almost 4 years old to Alessandrina 2 and Maria when the twins were 2 years old. The images showed that indeed, Alessandrina 1 and 2 both had the same facial asymmetry, in that the left eye was significantly closer to the midline than the right. The folds of the eyelids were similarly asymmetric. Adele thought that in physical appearance, Alessandrina 2 matched Alessandrina 1 “perfectly,” except that 1 was darker in complexion. (4)
Camelo also reported a past life memory that Alessandrina 2 had when she was 8 or 9 years old. Camelo and Adele proposed to their children that they take a vacation trip to the city of Monreale, where they would tour the great Norman church in that city. Adele said to their girls:
“When you go to Monreale, you will see some sights you have never seen before.”
Alessandrina 2 then responded:
“But Mama, I know Monreale. I have already seen it.” (5)
Adele then told her daughter that she had never been to Monreale. Alessandriana 2 then protested:
“Yes I have. I have been there. Don’t you remember that there is a great church there with a huge man on the roof with his arms spread out? And do you not remember how we went there with a lady who had horns, and we met some small priests who wore red?” (6)
Adele and Camelo were stunned by their daughter’s response. They did not recall ever speaking to her about Monreale and they were puzzled by her reference to a woman who had horns.
Adele then remembered that a few months before Alessandriana 1’s death, they had taken to her to Monreale to see the church there. On this trip, they had taken a female friend who had a skin condition that involved prominent, protruding lesions or bumps on the forehead, which could be interpreted by a child as horns.
Adele also recalled that just as they were entering the church, they met Orthodox priests who were wearing blue robes decorated with red. Adele and Camelo also remembered that Alessandrina 1 took great notice of the woman with the skin condition on her forehead and by the priests they had met at the church.
The similarities in physical appearance and behavior between Alessandrina 1 and 2 could be explained by genetics, as they were born from the same parents.
A factor that supports that the similarities are related to the reincarnation includes observations of spirit being guidance. Adele had dreams in which Alessandrina 1 said she would be reborn to Adele. In addition, Adele participated in seances in which Alessandrina 1 said that she would be reborn with a twin, which came true.
The shared phobias of barbers and of loud noises support Alessandrina 2 being the reincarnation of Alessandrina 1.
Most importantly, Alessandrina 2 had memories of the visit to the church in Monreale, of the woman with horns on her forehead and the monks in robes with red, which all correspond to events that occurred in the life of Alessandrina 1.
Physical appearance remains the same from one incarnation to another.
Personality traits remain consistent. As toddlers, Alessandrina 1 and 2 were both quiet and liked to sit quietly in their mother’s lap. They didn’t like to play with toys, but they did like to play with other children. They both disliked any cheese, liked to fold and smooth clothing and cloth, such as sheets and towels, and they liked to play with shoes and put adult shoes on. Alessandrina 1 and 2 tended to speak in the third person. They also like to create pet names. Maria, the sister of Alessandrina 2, did not share these traits.
Phobia from a Past Lifetime: This case demonstrates that phobias can persist from one incarnation to another, as Alessandrina 1 and 2 both had phobias of loud noises and of barbers.
Relationships Renewed through Reincarnation: This case shows that souls can reincarnate in the same family.
Spirit Being Involvement: Alessandrina 1 was able to predict from the spirit world, through a medium, of her coming birth with a twin sister before Christmas, which did occur.
According to Alessandrina 1, after three months of pregnancy the soul becomes more closely attached to the physical plane, to the extent that communication between the soul and humans, through mediums, becomes more difficult. In short, the soul becomes more attached to the fetus at three months of pregnancy.
Split Incarnation: If it is assumed that the soul is involved with the fetus from the time of conception, this represents a case of split incarnation, as Alessandrina 2 was born only 8 months after the death of Alessandrina 1. In other words, the soul of the Alessandrinas was already involved with the fetus of Alessandrina 2, while Alessandrina 1 was still alive.
This type of split incarnation case, in which a soul is involved with a pregnancy while it animates a living person at the same time, was also observed in the Hanan Monsour | Suzanne Ghanem reincarnation case, which was also researched by Ian Stevenson, MD.
Footnotes
1. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland & Co, 2002, page 24
2. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland & Co, 2002, page 24
3. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland & Co, 2002, page 25
4. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland & Co, 2002, page 25
5. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland & Co, 2002, page 26
6. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland & Co, 2002, page 26
A.K. Nandadasa Johnny was born in 1945 in Unawatuna, a coastal town in the district of Galle, at the southern tip of Sri Lanka.
How Derived: Past Life Memories in Childhood
Researched by: Godwin Samarante, Ian Stevenson, MD and Trutz Hardo
From: Reincarnation and Biology (pages 1940-1970), by Ian Stevenson, MD and Children Who Have Lived Before (pages 87-106), by Trutz Hardo
Article by Walter Semkiw, MD
The Early Lives of Johnny, Robert and Gnananadasa
A.K. Nandadasa Johnny was born in 1945 in Unawatuna, a coastal town in the district of Galle, at the southern tip of Sri Lanka. Unawatuna Beach is pictured above and to the right. He was known by all as “Johnny.” His father was Pedric Appuhamy and mother Sisel Hamy. Johnny had a brother named Gnananadasa, who was three years younger than Johnny.
In 1946, Akmeemana Palliyagurunge Robert, who went by the name “Robert,” was born in the same town. His parents were A. Dharmasena and Mary Nona. Robert did not have a good relationship with his father, but he was very close to his mother.
Johnny and Robert became best friends in childhood. They played cards, excelled at swimming and diving in the sea, as well as climbing trees. They were both born to poor families. Johnny and Robert were Buddhists and they worshipped at the temple at Yatigala. Robert was the more devout of the two.
Johnny obtained work in a factory in the city of Galle that made frames for eyeglasses. Johnny acquired a primitive house in the jungle on Romassala Hill, not far from a cliff overlooking the sea. Robert left school while in the ninth grade and he took temporary jobs as a mason and laborer. He later worked in a battery factory.
Johnny’s Friend Amarapala
At the spectacle frame factory, Johnny befriended a man named Amarapala Hettiaratchi. Both Johnny and Robert traveled to the village of Pitadeniya, 14 kilometers north of Galle, to attend the wedding of Amarapala and his wife, Yasawathie, which occurred on October 20, 1966. The couple lived in Pitadeniya, though Amarapala worked at the factory in the city of Galle.
The Rebellion of 1971
Due to the divide between the wealthy and the poor, a movement towards rebellion brewed in Sri Lanka. In the District of Galle, Johnny, a gifted speaker, became a rebel leader, with Robert his second in command. Due to its’ remoteness, Romassala Hill became a rebel training ground. Food and supplies were stockpiled in Johnny’s house.
Robert was in charge of acquiring weapons. From his experience in the battery factory, Robert learned how to make homemade bombs. Their bombs were tested at the beach of Utawatuna. The rebellion was launched on April 5, 1971. Rebels raided police stations at night, when officers were asleep, to neutralize the police and to seize weapons.
Woman with a Radio in Yaddehimulla
A woman Johnny and Robert knew, who lived in Yaddehimulla, was one of the few people in the area who owned a radio. Only at nighttime, when they would not be seen, Johnny and Robert would visit this woman to listen to news of the rebellion on the radio.
Police and the Sri Lankan Army moved to quell the revolt. It is estimated that 1200 people lost their lives in the fighting.
The Capture of Johnny and Robert
In the District of Galle, police and the army surrounded Romassala Hill. Johnny and Robert escaped capture by hiding in caves and crevices between rock formations. Two weeks later, in mid-April 1971, the pair tried to leave Galle, but police captured them at the bus station.
Robert’s Attempt at Escape and Death
In jail, Robert formed a plan. He told police that he would lead them to a stash of weapons and bombs hidden on Romassala Hill. On April 19, 1971 at about 10 in the morning, handcuffed, Robert led a group of officers to a place on the hill that had a cliff overlooking the sea. Kicking one policeman and head butting another, Robert attempted to dive into the sea. Gunshots rang out. Robert suffered a bullet wound to the right side of his abdomen just below his rib cage and fell dead into the water.
Johnny is Hung Upside Down, Beaten to Death and his Body Set on Fire
Police officers, enraged at Robert’s ruse, returned to the police station where they beat Johnny to death. At one point, the police hung Johnny by his feet upside down. He died of the beating by 1 PM on April 19, 1971. A few days later, gasoline was poured on Johnny’s body, which was set on fire, then buried.
A little over 7 years later, on November 3, 1978 in the village of Pitadeniya, Amarapala, Johnny’s friend from the factory, and his wife, Yasawathie, celebrated the birth of fraternal twin girls who were named Sivanthie and Sheromie. Sivanthie was born with a birthmark measuring 2 cm by 1 cm on the right side of her abdomen, just below her ribcage, corresponding to Robert’s gunshot wound. No one else in the family had such a birthmark.
When Sivanthie started talking at 2 ½ years of age, she said that she had another home where she had a father, mother and sister. She described how she had to hide in a cave with “Johnia.” (1) Sivanthie said that she and Johnia had been arrested and that their hands were handcuffed behind them. Sivanthie would place her little hands behind her back to demonstrate being handcuffed.
She said she had been shot while trying to escape by leaping into the sea. When describing this incident, Sivanthie pointed to the birthmark on the right side of her abdomen, which corresponded to the location of Robert’s gunshot wound.
Sivanthie said that her mother was Mary Akka. “Akka” means older sister. Recall that Robert’s mothers’ name was Mary Nona. Ian Stevenson posited that Mary Akka was a nickname of Mary Nona. Sivanthie asked to be taken back to her home.
Sivanthie said that in her past life, she knew a man named “Kurune Uncle.” (2) Mary Nona later confirmed that one of Robert’s collaborators in the insurgency was indeed called Kurune Uncle.
Sivanthie told her mother, Yasawathie, that they would hide in caves in the dark. She also said that “Sudu Nangi” had once sent her cloths in a bucket. (3) In fact, Robert had known someone who he called Sudu Nangi. When he was in hiding, this woman allowed Robert to bath and wash his clothes utilizing her well. Robert would leave his clothes to dry and Sudu Nangi would later take or send the dried clothes to Robert. Once she did indeed send Robert’s dried clothes in a bucket. Sivanthie also stated that Sudu Nangi saw her, as Robert, being taken away by the police. In fact, Sudu Nangi had witnessed Robert, handcuffed, being led by police after his arrest.
Sivanthie would talk about a temple called Yatigala that she would go to. Recall that Robert was a devout Buddhist. When the twins were 3 1/2 years old, their mother took them to the temple at Yatigala, where Sivanthie noticed that it had been rebuilt. Indeed, a new wing had been added to the structure. At the temple, for the first time, she stated that her name used to be Robert. This occurred in May or June 1982.
Amarapala and Yasawathie, the twins’ parents, now realized that Sivanthie was recalling the life of their friend Robert, who had attended their wedding. Word of Sivanthie remembering a past life as the rebel Robert spread through the community in Pitadeniya. A schoolboy studying in Pitadeniya wrote to his family in Unawatuna, where Robert had lived, of these past life memories. In this way, Robert’s family learned of Sivanthie’s statements.
On July 17, 1982, several members of Robert’s family and friends visited the twins, who were now 4 years old. One of the first to visit was Johnny’s younger brother and Robert’s friend, Gnananadasa. Upon seeing the visitor, Sheromie said, “my younger brother has come.” (4) This was Sheromie’s first statement about a past life. She then ran up to Gnananadasa and hugged him. Gnananadasa wept at this reunion and promised to return. Sheromie also made the statement that her past life name was Johnny.
The next day, on July 18, 1982, Gnananadasa returned with his and Johnny’s mother and sister. When they entered the house, Sheromie, in seeing Johnny’s mother, Sisel Hamy, exclaimed, “this is my mother.” Sheromie also called her “Ama,” which means mother. She then said, referring to Johnny’s younger sister, “this is my Nangi.” “Nangi” means younger sister in Sri Lankan. (5)
Sheromie expressed much affection for her past life mother, Sisel Hamy, while she was cool to Johnny’s father. This reflected Johnny’s relationship with his father, as the father and son did not get along well. When Johnny’s mother and sister got ready to go home, Sheromie repeatedly said, “Take me with you!” Sheromie weeped as they left. (6)
Sheromie stated that they were traveling together when they were arrested. One witness said that when Johnny and Robert were arrested, one of them was already in the bus, while the other was still outside the bus. Sheromie also said they were caught together.
Two days later, when Gnananadasa asked Sheromie for details of her past life, she described how she was tortured and hung upside down. Sheromie said she remembered seeing an upside down picture of the Buddha while hanging by her feet from the ceiling. Sheromie was on the verge of tears in describing these past life events.
Significantly, Sheromie also remembered that something was poured on her body and that her body was burned. Recall that the burning of Johnny’s body occurred several days after his death. As such, the soul of Johnny | Sheromie was able to observe the burning of Johnny’s body from the perspective of a spirit being, as Johnny was already dead when his body was set on fire. This is reminiscent of how in the case of Ahmet Delibalta | Erkan Kilic, Erkan remembered how the body of Ahmet was misidentified, even though Ahmet was already dead.
Sheromie now recalled that she had been Johnny in a prior lifetime and she recognized her twin sister as her past life friend, Robert. After this point the twins frequently talked about the past lives they had together.
For example, Sheromie said to her twin, “Your hands were also tied.” Sivenathie replied, “Your hands were also tied. Can you remember our bus ride together?” (7)
Godwin Samararatne, a research scientist, heard about the twins’ past life memories through a newspaper report and decided to investigate the cases. He visited the twins at the end of June 1982. Ian Stevenson interviewed the twins and families involved in the cases in October 1982, with Godwin serving as an interpreter.
On July 4, 1982, when the twins were about 4 years old, Godwin took the twins to Romassala Hill. At the point where the road for vehicles ended, the twins were deposited on a footpath and asked to show the way to the homes of their previous lives. The twins made their way up the twisting and rocky path. Sivanthie led the group to the spot on the cliff where she, as Robert, tried to escape by diving into the sea and was shot. When Ian Stevenson traversed this route, he was amazed that Sivanthie could find her way to the cliff, as there were so many rocks that in places, Stevenson could not even discern that a path existed.
At this point, the twins were again asked to find the their past life homes. Sheromie now swung into action and led the group directly to the ruins of Johnny’s house on Romasalla Hill, which were located more than 100 meters away from the cliff where Robert had jumped into the sea. The house had by now largely disintegrated, though the foundation was still present.
These examples of Geographic Memory are similar to how Barbro Karlen, at age 10, found her way to the Anne Frank House without directions, even though she had never been to Amsterdam before.
Godwin also took the girls to Yaddehimulla. The woman with the radio in Yaddehimulla heard about Sheromie’s and Sivanthie’s past life memories. When she saw the twins passing by, she said to them, “Aren’t you going to come to listen to the radio?” The twins replied, “We will come in the night.” (8) Recall that Johnny and Robert would only come to listen to the woman’s radio at night, when they would be hidden by darkness. Ian Stevenson was impressed with this statement by the twins.
The twin girls both had phobias of people wearing khaki colored shirts, which were the kind of shirts worn by police in Sri Lanka. They also became frightened whenever they saw the Jeep with policemen or soldiers in it. This is similar to the phobia that Barbro Karlen had of men in uniforms, including policemen, in the Reincarnation case of Anne Frank | Barbro Karlen.
While playing, both girls enjoyed making bombs of clay. When Ian Stevenson asked the twins what was used to make bombs, the twins recited, “nails, paper, tins, wire, broken bottles,” which indeed were used by the rebels in making home-made bombs. (9). Both had a habit of putting sticks in their mouths and pretending to light and smoke them. Johnny and Robert had both been heavy smokers.
Sivanthie and Sheromie both behaved as if they were still men. For example, they insisted on urinating while standing up. Both liked to wear T-shirts rolled up from the bottom to expose their bellies and part of their chests, as did Johnny and Robert, but was unheard of for girls. Both like to climb trees and ride bikes, which was not done by girls in that era. Both twins said they had beards and they would even stroke their chins pretending that they were stroking their beards, which Johnny and Robert did indeed maintain. They also asked their older brother to prepare cards so they could play a game. Recall that Johnny and Robert often played cards together.
Masculine behavior was observed in the twin girls even up to when they were in their twenties, except that they learned to urinate sitting down, like women do.
In Ian Stevenson’s 1200 cases in which children’s past life memories were validated, in only 10 percent of cases was a change in gender observed, which is why when a change of gender occurs the reincarnated individual may still identify with the past life gender. This observation can explain why individuals are transsexual or homosexual. A dramatic case in this regard is the male Japanese soldier who reincarnated as a woman but retained a male mindset, including an attraction to women, and became a lesbian.
As adults, the twins would visit Gnananadasa, Johnny’s younger brother, in Unawatuna several times a year and in reciprocal manner, he would drive to visit the twins in Pitadeniya. The twins and Gnananadasa would exchange gifts on these occasions.
All three families involved in the case, that is Johnny’s family, Robert’s family and the twins’ parents, accepted these two reincarnation cases based on recognitions made by Sheromie and Sivanthie. The twins’ parents noted that they had never talked of the lives of Johnny and Robert at their home.
In fact, their father, Amarapala, stated that he had “completely forgotten of these deaths [of Johnny and Robert] until the twins started talking [about them].” Keep in mind that over 10 years had passed from the date of the deaths of Johnny and Robert, April 19, 1971, to the point in time when the twins started to talk about their past lives in 1981 and 1982. (10) As such, since their parent had never spoken of the rebels, Sheromie and Sivanthie did not learn about the lives of Johnny and Robert through normal means.
Of note, Amarapala, the twins’ father, was not particularly happy that his daughters had been notorious rebels in their past lives, as Amarapala was not a supporter of the rebellion. Amarapala’s brother held a high position in the community, which led Amarapala’s family to support the rule of law, not insurgency.
Robert was shorter, stockier and had lighter skin than Johnny. Similarly, Sivanthie (Robert) was shorter, stockier and had lighter skin than Sheromie (Johnny). Gnananadasa, Johnny’s younger brother, noted a similarity in facial features between Johnny and Sheromie. (11) (12)
Physical Resemblance in Reincarnation Cases: Sivanthie had the same build as Robert and Sheromie had the same build as Johnny. There was a similarity in Sheromie’s and Johnny’s facial features.
Planning Lifetimes and Same Family Reincarnation: Johnny and Robert were best friends and they reincarnated together as twins. This observation shows how souls can plan lifetimes to be reincarnated together.
Gender Change and Retention of Past Life Gender Traits: Johnny and Robert were males, reincarnated as females, but retained male behavioral traits, including urinating standing up. These types of cases can shed light on why some people become transsexual or homosexual.
Past Life Talent and Behavior: Sheromie and Sivanthie made bombs out of clay and they knew what ingredients Johnny and Robert had used in building home-made bombs. The twin girls rode bikes, climbed trees, rolled up their T-shirts exposing their stomachs and pretended to stroke their beards, behavior typical of men and characteristic of Johnny and Robert.
Past Life Phobias: The twins were afraid of men in khaki uniforms and of Jeeps. Johnny and Robert were arrested and killed by police and army personnel who wore khaki uniforms and traveled in Jeeps.
Geographic Memory: Sivanthie led a group researching the twins’ cases along a barely discernible path to the spot on the cliff where she, as Robert, tried to escape by diving into the sea and was shot to death. From there, Sheromie led the group to where her house was located during her life as Johnny. In addition, Sivanthie’s past life memory was stimulated by being at a past life location, the temple in Yatigala, where she recalled her name had been Robert. Robert had been a devout Buddhist who worshipped at the Yatigala temple.
Past Life Birthmark: Sivanthie had a birthmark in the same location on the right side of the abdomen just below the ribcage where Robert incurred a gunshot wound. Sivanthie would point to her birthmark when describing how she died while attempting to jump into the sea.
Spirit Beings in Reincarnation Cases: Sheromie knew that Johnny’s body had been burned after his death. Gasoline was poured on Johnny’s body and burned several days after he had died, which means that the soul of Johnny | Sheromie observed this event from the spirit world.
Footnotes
1. Hardo, Trutz, Children Who Have Lived Before, Verlag Die Silberschnur (Germany), 1998, page 90
2. Stevenson, Ian, Reincarnation and Biology, Praeger Publishers, Westport, CT, page 1950
3. Ibid, p. 1951
4. Ibid, p. 1958
5. Ibid, p. 1958
6. Ibid, p. 1956
7. Ibid, p. 1961
8. Ibid, p. 1960
9. Ibid, p. 1962
10. Ibid, p. 1968
11. Ibid p. 1964
12. Hardo, Trutz, Children Who Have Lived Before, p. 99
From the Holocaust, a child prodigy finds her way home. Barbro Karlen as the reincarnation of Anne Frank.
How Derived: Past Life Memories in Childhood
From: And the Wolves Howled, by Barbro Karlen
Article from Born Again, by Walter Semkiw, MD
Click on images to enlarge
One of the most culturally significant reincarnation cases involves Barbro Karlen, who I have had he honor of doing joint presentations with since 2001. I first met Barbro in 2000 and I now consider her a very good friend. I would like to share her experiences with you. At the end of this article, a video may be viewed in which Barbro tells her story in her own words. Enlarge images by clicking on them.
Anne Frank died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945. Less than ten years later, in 1954, Barbro Karlen was born to Christian parents in Sweden. When she was less than three years old, Barbro told her parents that her name was not Barbro, but “Anne Frank.” Barbro’s parents had no idea of who Anne Frank was, as they were unaware of the book, Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, also known as The Diary of Anne Frank.
Barbro relates that her parents wanted her to call them “Ma and Pa,” but Barbro knew that they were not her real parents. Barbro even told her mother that her real parents would soon come to get her and take her to her real home. These statements are typical of childhood memory reincarnation cases researched by Ian Stevenson, MD, at the University of Virginia.
During her childhood, Barbro told her parents details of her life as Anne, which her parents thought were fantasies. In addition, Barbro had nightmares in which men ran up the stairs and kicked in the door to her family’s attic hiding place. An image of the exterior of the Frank family’s attic hiding place, which has the red tile roof, is provided below and to the right.
Barbro is evaluated by a Psychiatrist
Barbro’s past life memories worried her parents and at one point, when she was a child, they had her evaluated by a psychiatrist. Barbro, though, by this time, had learned that it was not wise to talk about the other world she lived in, the world of Anne Frank, as she noticed that everyone “got tense” when she described her memories to them. When she saw the psychiatrist, she made no mention of her memories of being Anne and was deemed a perfectly normal little girl.
Barbro’s Elementary School Teacher Discusses Anne Frank
When Barbro was seven or eight years of age, she became confused when her schoolteacher began talking about Anne Frank in class. Barbro thought to herself, “How could my teacher know about Anne Frank?” Barbro knew that she was Anne Frank. Barbro began to realize that Anne Frank was a famous person. “How could that be,” she thought? Describing her confusion as a child, Barbro has related “all this didn’t work for me.”
Imagine how hard it must have been for Barbro to have spontaneous memories of a past lifetime and to have no one to talk to, no one who could help her with her confusion, traumatic memories and nightmares.
Since childhood, Barbro has had a fear of men in uniforms. Even as an adult, if stopped for a traffic violation by a police officer, Barbro would have such anxiety that she would consider fleeing. In order to get over her phobia of uniforms, as well as to work with horses, Barbro in adulthood, decided to become a mounted Swedish police officer. After completing her training with the Swedish Police Authority, Barbro did become a mounted police officer and she worked with police horses for over a decade.
In addition, Barbro has had an aversion to eating beans since childhood, which the Frank family existed on for nearly two years. Barbro would also only take baths, not showers. In concentration camps, Nazi’s would bring prisoners into large rooms telling the prisoners that they would be given showers. Instead of water, poison gas was piped into the room to kill the prisoners. Anne was first taken to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where such gas chambers were used to kill those too feeble to perform forced labor. Later, she was transferred to the Bergen-Belsen camp, where she died.
Barbro also resisted having her hair cut. In concentration camps, new arrivals were stripped naked and heads were shaved, followed by a process of disinfection.
Barbro received her first validation of being Anne Frank when she was ten years old, when she was able to find her way directly to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam without directions.
The graphic to the right, which can be enlarged, shows how circular the streets of Amsterdam are. It is easy to get lost wandering the streets of this city, yet Barbro’s past life memories of the streets of Amsterdam were clear. I will now describe the scene, utilizing excerpts from And the Wolves Howled.
When she was ten, Barbro’s parents took her on a tour of the major cities in Europe, including Amsterdam, the city where the Frank family lived. During World War II, Otto Frank and his family had to go into hiding in the attic of the building where Otto had his business, for the Nazi’s had invaded the Netherlands and were persecuting Jews. The Frank family hid in this attic for about two years, until they were discovered by the Nazis, arrested and sent to concentration camps.
The only survivor was the father, Otto Frank, who subsequently was given Anne’s diary, which he later had published. After the war, the hiding place was made into a museum, which is called The Anne Frank House.
By the time Barbro was ten, the Diary of Anne Frank had been published and distributed in Sweden and her parents had become aware of who the historical Anne Frank was. While in Amsterdam, her father wanted to visit the Anne Frank House. At their hotel, he took the phone off the hook and asked for a taxi to take them there.
Barbro suddenly exclaimed: “We don’t need a taxi, it’s not far to walk from here.” Barbro was so certain that it didn’t occur to her parents to object, they just meekly followed her as she walked off.
“We’ll soon be there, it’s just round the next corner,” Barbro told her parents. She herself wasn’t at all surprised when they arrived at the Anne Frank House after a ten minute walk through the twisting streets of the city. An image of the Anne Frank House is provided to the right. Upon their arrival, her parents stood there speechless and just looked at one another.
“That’s strange,” Barbro said, when they stood in front of the steps up to the house. “It didn’t look like this before.” She looked wonderingly and her parents didn’t know what to say. They entered the house and went up the long narrow staircase. Barbro, who had been so carefree when showing them the way, suddenly went white in the face. She broke out in a cold sweat and reached for her mother’s hand. Her mother was horrified when she felt Barbro’s hand, which was as cold as ice.
When they entered the hiding place, the same terrors overcame Barbro that she had experienced so many times in her dreams. She found it hard to breathe and panic spread through her body. When they went into one of the smaller rooms, she suddenly stood still and brightened up a little.
Barbro looked at the wall in front of her and exclaimed, “Look, the pictures of the film stars are still there!” The pictures of the movie stars that Anne had clipped and affixed to the wall, which Barbro saw at that moment, made her feel happy, almost as if she had come home.
Her mother stared at the blank wall and couldn’t understand this at all. “What pictures? The wall is bare?” Barbro looked again and she saw that this was true. The wall was bare! Her mother was so confounded that she felt driven to ask one of the guides whether there had been pictures on the wall at one time.
“Oh yes,” the guide replied, “they had only been taken down temporarily to be mounted under glass so that they wouldn’t be destroyed or stolen.” Barbro’s mother didn’t know what to say.
“How in the world could you find your way here first of all, then insist that the steps outside were different and then see the pictures on the wall when they weren’t there?”
Barbro’s mother was full of questions, but Barbro was quite incapable of saying even a single word. She just wanted to get out of there; she couldn’t stand it a moment longer.
Her legs felt like jelly as she went down the stairs. She had never before in her life felt so wretched. The tears ran unrestrained down her face, and her legs would not carry her. When she reached the bottom step her legs folded under her and she fell.
Barbro relates that these incidents in Amsterdam finally made her parents believe that she is the reincarnation of Anne Frank. After all, how else could she know how to get to the Anne Frank House on the family’s first trip to Amsterdam, and without directions? How could she know that the stairs had been modified? How did she know that pictures of movie stars, which Anne Frank had clipped from magazines, should be found on a specific wall inside the house, when these pictures had been removed so that they could be mounted behind glass?
In time, Barbro’s mother responded by becoming very spiritual and a believer in reincarnation. Barbro’s father, on the other hand, seemed annoyed. Barbro relates that her father responded by saying: “I can’t deny that you have somehow been here before. Perhaps you have lived before and have reincarnated, but you are the only one!”
Barbro understood that by being faced with the reality of reincarnation, her father’s Christian world view, where “everything was set right,” was threatened. Barbro was much happier, though, as from this point on as she could talk to her mother about her past lifetime as Anne Frank. She had her mother’s support.
Anne Frank was a childhood writing prodigy. She is not the most famous victim of the Holocaust because she had the worst death. Rather, she become the most famous victim because as a teenager she wrote a book, a diary, that was readable and addressed universal themes, such as the nature of man and man’s tendency to be good or evil. Children around the world have been instructed to read The Diary of Anne Frank to learn about prejudice, which has made Anne’s diary the second most read book in the world, next to the Bible.
Like Anne Frank, Barbro Karlen was a childhood writing prodigy. Barbro relates that learning to write was a great gift. As a child, she could not speak to anyone about her past life memories, but once she learned to write, she could have discourses on her writing tablet.
One day, when she was eleven or so, a family friend read a few of her compositions and realized that this was worthy prose. Barbro was asked if her casual writings could be sent to a publisher, which she agreed to.
At the age of twelve, her first book of prose was published. This book, Man on Earth, became the best-selling prose/poetry book in Swedish history. Barbro became a child celebrity, debating theology with ministers and theologians on television programs. In her teenage years, she had a total of nine books published. These books, written in her youth, have been translated into multiple languages, much like the Diary of Anne Frank.
After her adolescence passed, Barbro’s past life memories began to fade, which was a relief to Barbro, as now she could finally lead a normal life. As she pursued her career with the Swedish Police Service, Barbro thought that she never would be public regarding her memories of being Anne Frank. As Barbro wistfully states in her video interview, though, “never say never.”
It was not until she was in her forties that past life memories began to emerge again. Barbro began having negative interactions with another mounted police officer, who seemed to be persecuting her. It was these interactions that triggered the rekindling of her memories of being Anne Frank and in particular, she recalled scenes from a concentration camp. Barbro realized that this police officer was a reincarnated Nazi guard from the Bergen-Belsen concentration.
Though these past life memories were painful, they gave Barbro the will to write her book, And the Wolves Howled. Barbro relates that she wanted to show that though these guards, these wolves, participated in her persecution in the Anne Frank lifetime, she would not allow them to hurt her again in contemporary times. She wanted to share with others that the soul perseveres and in this way, to provide comfort to others.
As she prepared her book, And the Wolves Howled, for publication, Buddy Elias, President of the Anne Frank Foundation and at the time, the last living relative of Anne Frank, heard about Barbro’s claim to be the reincarnation of his cousin, Anne Frank. Through her publisher, Buddy invited Barbro to his home for dinner, though he asked Barbro’s publisher not to reveal who he was in relation to Anne Frank or the Anne Frank Foundation. Buddy advised the publisher to tell Barbro that their dinner host was a fan of the books she wrote as a child and adolescent. Though he did not believe in reincarnation, Buddy wanted to meet this person who claimed to be the reincarnation of Anne. Buddy and Anne Frank, as cousins, played together in their youth.
Barbro describes her first face to face meeting with Buddy, which occurred in 1995, in the Barbro Karlen: Reincarnation of Anne Frank video, which is provided at the bottom of this web page.
Barbro relates that when they first saw each other, she and Buddy fell into each others arms and cried together. Barbro says she had instant recognition that Buddy was someone she knew and loved from the Frank lifetime. They spoke for two hours at the time of this first meeting and they continued to be very good friends for 20 years, until Buddy’s death in 2015. Barbro would stay at Buddy’s home in Switzerland when she visited Europe and Buddy had stayed in Barbro’s home when he visited her in the United States.
An article from the leading German magazine, Zeitspiegel, was published regarding this event on May 19, 1998:
“Buddy Elias, actor in Basel, is the cousin of Anne Frank and the President of the Anne Frank Foundation. Buddy Elias met with Anne Frank the last time just before the war broke out. She mentions him as “Bernd” in her Diary many times.
Anne’s father, Otto Frank, returned to Amsterdam after his liberation from Aushwitz. He then lived with his nephew, Buddy Elias, in Basel until his death.
Two years ago, Buddy Elias and Barbro Karlen met for the first time. At the presentation of the autobiography by Barbro Karlen, Buddy Elias read parts of it for the audience.
Bruckenbauer: “Buddy Elias, what memories do you have of your cousin, Anne Frank?”
Buddy Elias: “She was a very pleasant person, a lively child with her head full of ideas how to live. We loved each other very much, when the war began, we corresponded with each other.”
“Do you believe in reincarnation?”
Buddy Elias: “Yes, I do.”
“So how is it for you when a woman claims she is the reincarnation of your cousin? Barbro Karlen is not the only one!”
“I have been very skeptical, but Barbro is different from everybody else.”
“How was the first meeting with Barbro?”
“It was very emotional. First time I saw her, I had heard about her. I had a very strange feeling, a very positive impression. It felt like we had a soul connection. Barbro seemed absolutely trustworthy to me. I could very well imagine she was Anne. More than that I can not say. I have Anne too close in my memory to say anything more.”
“Do you see any similarities between Anne and Barbro?”
“The black hair is obvious!”
“Will you stay in touch with Barbro?”
“Of course, I have developed a very deep friendship with her.”
To view a video of Buddy Elias talking about his relationshp with Anne Frank, please go to:
Barbro and a female friend of hers took a vacation to experience California’s coastal Highway 1. While on that trip, based on an intuition, Barbro decided to open a Swedish import shop in Carmel, even though she had no prior experience in business or retail sales. Barbro moved from Sweden to Northern California, where I met her. When I first received the phone call in 2000, in which I was told about a woman who claimed to be the reincarnation of Anne Frank, I was very skeptical. When I met her and listened to her story, I came to believe that she is genuine and that I had truly met the reincarnation of Anne Frank.
In her book, Barbro never mentions that she has the same appearance as Anne Frank, as her memories are what are most meaningful to her, not appearance. Upon meeting her, I realized that Barbro has the same facial features as Anne.
In the image comparison featured on this website, Barbro as a seven year old girl is featured on the left side, Anne Frank as a teenager is in the center and Barbro as an adult is on the right side. It appears that we are looking at images of one person in three stages of life. In actuality, we are looking at one soul in two different lifetimes.
In addition to facial features, there are many character similarities between Barbro and Anne. These include:
A. Spirituality and a Love of Nature
Lawrence L. Langer, in his essay included in the book, Anne Frank, Reflections on Her Life and Legacy, writes the following regarding Anne.
“Spiritual insight rarely falls from the lips of a thirteen or fourteen year old girl. Indeed, as many of the new entries in the diary will show, Anne Frank was essentially a physical being, a lover of nature, intrigued with her own sexuality.”
These traits are reflected in Barbro Karlen, who at sixteen years of age used her book earnings to purchase a cottage in the woods. She soon populated her property with her horse, two dogs, two cats, a sheep and a flock of hens and chicks. Barbro especially loved her horse and horseback riding, which eventually led her to pursue a career as a mounted policewoman.
Her sexuality is evidenced by an early marriage and her pregnancy at the age of 18. Indeed, many of Anne’s desires seem to have come to fruition early in the life of Barbro Karlen.
B. Natural literary skills
Anne Frank had natural gifts as a writer. Similarly, Barbro Karlen was a childhood literary prodigy. Her first book, Man on Earth, which was published when she was 12 years of age and became the all time best-selling poetry book in Sweden. Between ages 12 to 17, nine books written by Barbro, including When the Storm Comes and a Moment in the Blossom Kingdom, were published.
It is interesting to note that Anne Frank always hoped to be a published writer. On May 11, 1944, Anne wrote that her “greatest wish” was to become a journalist, “and later on, a famous writer.” Once again, it appears that Anne’s desires were fulfilled early in the life of Barbro Karlen.
C. Similar Writing Themes
Similar themes are found in the writings of Frank and Karlen. Though one may argue that these similarities are intentional, Barbro Karlen maintains that she has not studied Anne Frank’s works.
Anne Frank, due to the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis, reflected extensively on issues of good and evil. Anne also had a tendency to personify human qualities, as seen in the quotation cited below regarding “Lies.” Anne’s legacy is based on her ability to maintain hope in the face of dismal circumstances. Anne Frank’s most famous quote affirms the basic goodness of man.
Barbro Karlen also writes of good and evil in her book, And the Wolves Howled, in part due to her memories of the Frank lifetime and in part due to persecution experienced in this lifetime while working for the Swedish Police Service. Barbro also has a tendency to personify human qualities, like Anne. Let us compare passages written by Frank and Karlen regarding evil:
“There’s in people simply an urge to destroy, an urge to kill, to murder and rage.”
“I get frightened myself when I think of close friends who are now at the mercy of the cruelest monsters ever to stalk the earth. And all because we are Jews.”
“Yesterday evening, before I fell asleep, who should suddenly appear before my eyes but Lies! I saw her in front of me, clothed in rags…Her eyes were very big and she looked so sadly and reproachfully at me that I could read in her eyes: Oh Anne, why have you deserted me? Help, oh help me, rescue me from this hell!”
Barbro Karlen-On Evil
“If only she could write about how important, even vital it is never to give up in the face of evil, regardless of how dark and wretched everything may seem. Evil was present on the earth and would probably always be there. It would always try to conquer Good.”
“In spite of everything, I still really believe that people are really good at heart.”
Barbro Karlen-On Good
“But the more people there were who believed in Good, and in the Good Force within themselves, the greater the possibility of keeping evil under control. If only they could believe in Good, and in the presence of the inner Force, many unhappy people would be able to fight their way up from the darkness.”
“Most people on earth were not yet aware that they could find the Good Force within themselves and that it could help them if they only sought it out.”
Annette Lantos is the wife of the late Tom Lantos, who served in the United States Congress for 27 years. Tom, whose picture is featured to the right, was the only Holocaust survivor to be elected to the US Congress. When President George W. Bush traveled to Germany for a Holocaust memorial, he took Tom with him. U2 singer Bono was a close friend, as he admired Tom’s dedication to bringing justice to the darkest corners of the world.
It was Annette and Tom who nominated the 14th Dalai Lama for a Nobel Prize, which he won.
When Annette heard about Barbro’s case, she wanted to meet Barbro, as Annette is also is a Holocaust survivor. Annette, Barbro and I spent almost 3 hours in Tom’s Congressional office in San Mateo, California. Tom and Annette were very much in love and while we were in a conference room, Tom repeatedly poked his head into the room to ask his beloved wife whether she was finished. Annette, fascinated with Barbro’s story, kept sending Tom away.
By the end of our meeting, Annette was intrigued enough by the proposal that Barbro is the reincarnation of Anne Frank that she asked us to attend a “by invitation only” benefit concert at the Kennedy Center, in Washington DC. At this event, Tom and Annette’s granddaughter, Charity Sunshine Tillemann-Dick, would sing and Condoleezza Rice would accompany Charity on the piano. We did attend, sat in the front row and later met Dr. Rice at a reception.
Annette now serves as the Chairman of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice. In honor of Tom, recently constructed tunnels along Highway 1 between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay have been named the Tom Lantos Tunnels. Every time I traverse these tunnels, I fondly reflect on Tom, Annette and Charity, and our experiences in Washington, DC.
A person who supports Barbro’s case is Carol Bowman, who is a pioneer in studying children who spontaneously recall past lives. In 2006, Carol and Barbro attended a reincarnation conference in Colorado Springs. In addition to Carol learning about Barbro’s case, Carol and Barbro had the opportunity to spend an afternoon together horseback riding. Carol has stated that she judges Barbro’s reincarnation case to be a strong one.
Carol shared an amusing anecdote regarding the time they spent together. To go horseback riding, Carol and Barbro had to take a taxi from the hotel to the stables. Carol was raised Jewish and both women were taken aback when their taxi driver turned out to be a bearded Hasidic Jew wearing the traditional black hat and clothing. Carol reflected, “What are the odds of getting a taxi driver who is a Hasidic Jew in Colorado Springs?”
Carl Jung called meaningful coincidences like this “synchronistic events.” As discussed in the section Principles of Reincarnation, it is thought that one’s own soul or spirit beings can orchestrate such a meaningful occurrences to convey messages symbolically.
I will cite one last quotation from Anne Frank’s diary, which refers to the perseverance of the Jewish faith and people. It also has a poetic ring of truth regarding reincarnation, perhaps not intended by Anne, yet beautiful all the same.
“Who has inflicted this upon us?
Who has made us Jews different from all other people?
Who has allowed us to suffer so terribly up till now?
It is God who had made us who we are,
but it will be God, too, who will raise us up again.”
Past Life Physical Resemblance: Anne Frank and Barbro Karlen have the same facial features. It is of interest that Barbro never mentions this physical resemblance to Anne in her book And the Wolves Howled, though others had told her that she looks like Anne Frank. The physical resemblance between Anne and Barbro was first published in 2006 in my book: Born Again
Past Life Talent: Barbro Karlen was a childhood writing prodigy, as was Anne Frank.
Phobias from a Past Lifetime: Barbro had an irrational fear of men in police uniforms, which seems to stem from Anne’s experience with Nazi soldiers and concentration camp guards. Barbro also had an aversion to showers, did not want to eat beans and resisted having her hair cut, which also reflect incidents in Anne Frank’s life, as described above.
Geographic Memory: On her first visit to Amsterdam at the age of ten, Barbro was able to spontaneously lead her parents from their hotel to the Anne Frank House, without directions.
Change in Religion, Nationality and Ethnic Affiliation: Anne Frank was born in Germany, where she was persecuted as a Jew during the Holocaust. Barbro was born into a Christian family in Sweden.
If the Nazi’s during World War II knew that one could be born Jewish in one lifetime and Christian in another, the Holocaust could never have happened. Similarly, when Muslim Palestinians realize that then can be reborn as Israeli Jews, when Sunni’s know they can reincarnate as Shiites, Christians understand they can be reborn into an Islamic culture and vice versa, then conflict based on these cultural differences of identity will be mitigated.
Barbro Karlen’s case dramatically demonstrates how reincarnation research and evidence of reincarnation can transform the world in a positive way.
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