Division of Perceptual Studies

As you know I am a believer in reincarnation and one of my passions is to help others experience their past lives. And you may well share my beliefs and also be interested in past lives. But did you know that there are a growing number of scientists and researchers who are working to prove that we have past lives and investigate them.   

Founded in 1967, the Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS) is a research unit of the Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences of the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine in the United States. For the most part, science and philosophy see the mind, personality and consciousness as by-products of brain activity which end at death. Through it’s research, DOPS challenges this view by rigorously evaluating evidence suggesting that consciousness survives death and that the mind and brain are distinct and separable. 

DOPS has four main areas of research – altered states of consciousness, near death experiences, Neuroimaging Studies of Psi (Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) and Psychokinesis) and Children Who have Memories of Previous Lives. And it’s that last one that really interests me. Yes, they have a large number of children who remember past lives and they have researched these lives to see if the information they provided could be verified. And, in many cases it can.  

I have written before about reincarnation and the cultures and religions that believe in it. In the west this is regarded as highly unusual and is often not believed. As Jim Tucker (Director of the Division of Perceptual Studies) says “Some young children, usually between the ages of 2 and 5, speak about memories of a previous life they claim to have lived. At the same time they often show behaviours, such as phobias or preferences that are unusual within the context of their particular family and cannot be explained by any current life events. These memories appear to be concordant with the child’s statements about a previous life”. 

A notable example is Ryan Hammons who recalled specific facts about the life of a man name called Marty Martyn.  Research revealed that these were verifiable memories of being a Hollywood extra and talent agent. One further case is that of James Leininger, a young boy who had verifiable past-life memories of being a WWII pilot. And due to the unusual nature of his death it was possible to verify his recollections.