(Part 2) Best reincarnation books according to redditors

Oooo this is my wheelhouse!

First, I would recommend looking at the Mormon History Association Best Book awards going back to 1966. Quality scholarship, research, and writing are a mainstay with them.

Required reading:

Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet by John Turner / Brigham Young: American Moses by Leonard Arrington

Considered two of the best books about early Utah and the Brigham Young years. Arrington's book was considered groundbreaking when he wrote it, and Turner's book brings in the valuable perspective of the non-Mormon writing about Young. For many Mormons, Turner's book will be less sympathetic to Young than Arrington's, but Turner also worked closely with the Church Archives (and spoke glowingly about them and that process), so his research had access to some better sources. If you need a primer for Brigham Young, I recommend Arrington's book. For a Brigham Young graduate level course, I recommend Turner.

Early Mormonism and the Magic Worldview by Michael Quinn

To understand much of what happened in early Mormonism, you must understand the role that folk magic played in the lives of Americans in the 1800s. Quinn's research at this time was top notch, and he was a quickly rising star among Mormon historians. Considered one of his best works, and foundational to the understanding things like seer stones, divining rods, visions, and everything else that happened in the early church days.

David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism by Greg Prince

Covers late 1940s - 1960s Mormonism, one of the "rising moments" of Mormonism when we went from a Utah-church to a worldwide church. Prince had amazing access to the journals of President McKay's secretary, which led to some candid discussions about things like the publishing of Mormon Doctrine by McConkie, blacks and the priesthood, ecumenical outreach, and politics.

Spencer W. Kimball by Edward Kimball / Lengthen Your Stride: The Presidency of Spencer W. Kimball by Edward Kimball

Ed was Pres. Kimball's son, and the books cover both the apostle years and presidency years of Spencer W. Kimball. If you had to choose one, get Lengthen Your Stride, but make sure it has the CD that comes with the book. This has the unabridged manuscript prior to the Deseret Book edits, which is much more interesting.

By the Hand of Mormon by Terryl Givens (heck...anything by Terryl Givens!)

I'll admit - I'm a Terryl Givens fanboy. By the Hand of Mormon was the one that first got me in to him, mostly because he took the Book of Mormon as a serious work of literature to examine it's merits. It's not as devotional as many traditional LDS books about the Book of Mormon (it was put out by Oxford University Press), but it really gave me a deeper appreciation for the Book of Mormon as contemporary literature. Also check out Viper on the Hearth (Mormons on myth and heresy), People of Paradox (Mormon culture), When Souls had Wings (the pre-existence in Western thought), and so many others.

And just because I'm a big book nerd, here's the list of books that are on my desk right now that I can give you quick reviews if you want:

• Leonard Arrington and the Writing of Mormon History by Greg Prince
  
• The Mormon Jesus: A Biography by John Turner
  
• Mormon Feminism: Essential Writings, edited by Brooks, Steenblik and Wheelwright
  
• Religion of a Different Color: Race and the Mormon Struggle for Whiteness by W. Paul Reeve
  
• Pedestals and Podiums: Utah Women, Religious Authority and Equal Rights by Martha Sonntag Bradley
  
• A Reason for Faith: Navigating LDS Doctrine & Church History, edited by Laura Harris Hales
  
• Glorious in Persecution: Joseph Smith, American Prophet 1839-1844 by Martha Bradley Evans
  
• The Mormon Church & Blacks: A Documentary History, edited by Harris & Bringhurst
  
• From the Outside Looking In: Essays on Mormon History, Theology and Culture, edited by Neilson & Grow
  
• Out of Obscurity: Mormonism since 1945, edited by Mason & Turner
  
• Mormonism & American Politics, edited by Balmer & Riess
  
• Seeking the Promised Land: Mormons and American Politics by Campbell, Green & Monson
  
• A Book of Mormons: Latter-day Saints on a Modern-Day Zion, edited by Jensen & McKay-Lamb
  
• Revelations in Context: The Stories Behind the Sections of the Doctrine & Covenants by the LDS Church
  
• Natural Born Seer: Joseph Smith, American Prophet, 1805-1830 by Richard S. Van Wagoner
  
• Revelatory Events: Three Case Studies of the Emergence of New Spiritual Paths by Ann Taves (looking at Mormonism, Alcoholics Anonymous and A Course in Miracles)
  
• A House Full of Females: Plural Marriage and Women's Rights in Early Mormonism, 1835-1870 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
  
• Baring Witness: 36 Mormon Women Talk Candidly about Love, Sex, and Marriage edited by Holly Welker

There are many cases. There is book which recorded 100 cases. MY friend was growing in that area/

100 Reincarnation Cases In Pingyang: Extraordinary True Stories of Kam People Who Recall Past Lives
https://www.amazon.com/100-Reincarnation-Cases-Pingyang-Extraordinary/dp/172008906X

I thought you'd never ask 😎

This is just some of my collection, any one of which would get you started, but I'd start with Dr Stevenson's stuff first:

Dr Ian Stevenson

https://www.near-death.com/reincarnation/research/ian-stevenson.html

https://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Cases-Suggestive-Reincarnation-Enlarged/dp/0813908728/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Twenty+Cases+Suggestive+of+Reincarnation&qid=1563082984&s=books&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.com/Where-Reincarnation-Biology-Intersect-Stevenson/dp/0275951898/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Where+Reincarnation+and+Biology+Intersect&qid=1563083023&s=books&sr=1-1

Dr Loell Whitton

https://www.amazon.com/Life-Between-Joel-Whitten/dp/0446347620

Neville Randall

https://www.amazon.com/Life-After-Death-Neville-Randall/dp/0552114871/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=life+after+death+Neville+randall&qid=1563083067&s=books&sr=1-1

Dr Raymond Moody

https://www.amazon.com/Life-After-Bestselling-Investigation-Experiences/dp/006242890X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=raymond+A+Moody&qid=1563083118&s=books&sr=1-1

Helen Wambach

https://www.amazon.com/Life-Before-Helen-Wambach/dp/0553254944/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=life+before+life+helen+wambach&qid=1563083173&s=books&sr=1-1

Dr Edith Fiore

https://www.amazon.com/You-have-been-here-before/dp/0698108833/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=Dr+edith+fiore&qid=1563083204&s=books&sr=1-7

Oh, I'd also check out the 4 part documentary: Life, Death and Reincarnation

Thanks to u/malibunyc for finding a low res 640x360 version of the show on YouTube, here are the links:

ep 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9bcNeLJTv8

ep 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycwZTYHqqoM

ep 3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkcljsaaFXs

ep 4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5URv5xxSFpo

Hope these help. Others will chime in with theirs too I'm sure.

I totally understand!! Honestly, I went through the same feelings while learning this stuff too. There came a point where I sat myself down and was like look - if I continue to believe what I’ve always believed, the world stays small and known. Imagine telling someone back in the 15th century that cars existed - no need to walk or ride a horse to travel. They wouldn’t have believed you, but it’s true - cars exist. I took the same approach to learning - a conscious decision to accept that there’s so much I took for fact, that actually isn’t known, just assumed.

For example, Darwin’s theory - he said himself, when presenting the theory, that he wasn’t actually sure that survival of the fittest was natural law, but theorized that it was possible and likely. Possible and likely, but NOT fact.

(I don’t remember where I originally read this, but here’s a great read from Quora: https://www.quora.com/Was-Charles-Darwin-100-sure-that-his-evolution-theory-is-right-and-without-single-doubt)

Scientists have been studying nature, and guess what - survival of the fittest is not The Law of Nature. There are endless examples of collaboration, support, exchange in nature - it’s about giving and taking, for the benefit of all.

As a society, however, we took Darwin’s theory and ran with it, and it’s literally baked into the fiber of our fabric. Capitalism, hierarchical structure, large corporations consuming small businesses, etc etc etc.

What would society look like if we built our structures on the basis of sharing, caring for each other, pursuing the highest good of all?

All of that to say, when you allow yourself to be open, to think, to consider different approaches, you achieve different outcomes.

When you close yourself off, assume you have “the answer”, act reactively, unconsciously, then you achieve the same outcome.

I just want different! For me, life is about growing, stretching, learning, getting my mind blown over and over and over, adjusting and adapting, constantly. And ITS FUN!

Regarding the whole life after death/soul separate from body concept, I was thrown into it via Dolores Cannon. If you like reading books, buy and read Between Death and Life: Conversations with a Spirit (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1940265002). If you prefer watching videos:
https://youtu.be/FhjoEnG4gww

She’s incredibly close to “the answer”, but I think since she was practicing, some things have changed - like the emotional evolution of the greys, nothing is static.

Another great book: The Gaia Project by Hwee-Yong Jiang (https://m.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-gaia-project-hwee-yong-jang/1123431981)

And another: The Complete Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0399153292)


In any case, all of us reach a point where we can’t be told “the answer”. Someone can tell us something close to it, but ultimately, you can only truly truly believe what you’ve searched and found to be true. That’s literally what belief is, and in its truest form, it cannot be forced. I think that’s the beautiful thing about exploration, and the great news is, if you consciously stay open to new information and actually seek, you absolutely will find and find and find until you choose to close down or stop.

I don't see Mark Johnston's work talked about much round these parts, but I think his work is great.

He looks at religion and immortality from fresh angles, using rigorous philosophy, and produces wild conclusions:

Saving God (arguing that all religions are idolatrous)


Surviving Death (arguing that you can live on after death without divine intervention - really brilliant personal identity stuff in there)

These books are recent, erudite, and keep away from some of the more over-wrought debates. They're also some of the most fun I've had reading philosophy, which I think is really important.

I share my truth, not THE truth. all truths are true.

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I have found that there is no death that death is just an illusion. This is what you are picking up on intuitively. There is no "stupid darkness." Just continued life, outside of the body which is just temporary to begin with. We are eternal spirits having a human experienced, as illustrated scientifically in the book Journey Of Souls, by Michael P. Newton. A used copy of this book can be obtained for like $4 on amazon used. It is very illuminating. This is the book that woke me up the most. And started me on my spiritual life journey.

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We are alive in order to seek happiness, by following our excitement. Excitement is the compass pointing us north to where our higher self wants us to go. This is what "woke" people have learned to do. And we see great results from practicing this in any given moment.

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"Unwoke" people do not know this and so they struggle in life and question things. Meaning, they get up in the morning and want to do A, but they choose to do B because they believe they have to do it. This is false. Its a trap. They have given their power away and also ignored their internal guidance. There is no legitimate reason to do something you do not want to do. Pigeons were created just like us and they are all happy and lack in nothing. Everything is provided for them. same with squirrels, Dolphins etc. Try it for a while and see how it goes. To the best of your ability. When you say you want something and take action on that thing, you tell the universe I want this, and so it give you more of it. When you want something and do not take action on it, you tell the universe you dont want it and so the universe does not give it to you.

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Death is a grand adventure in itself and is fully explained in the book mentioned above and also the book Home with god, by Neale donald walsh. I say to you the first words that the angel Gabriel said to Mohammad before he gave him the Koran. Read! For it is simply knowledge that you need dear one.

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Bless Sings

I hate Karma, years of research didn't help me. It is a lousy concept no one knows exactly how it works. Screw Buddha! You should read Earthly Cycles by Ramon Stevens. It is a channeled work but I kind of agree with what the spirit teacher 'Alexander' says in the book, that depending on the function to be served in the society consciousness chooses body types including sexuality. You can also try looking for few journals available on alexandermaterial.com. May be you will get satisfied.

P.S.: He also explains the workings of Karma in the book.

You should read Is There Life After Death by Anthony Peake. That is just about exactly his hypothesis.

That's kind of a dick move. "Happy birthday, you're wrong." Give him something he wants for his birthday and the book set at a later date. That said, Anne Rice wrote some stories that actually have a decent argument for the existence of ghosts, even if they are fiction. Memnock the Devil comes to mind. This looks to be more what you are asking for. It's written by a parapsychologist who has written several more books with equally hokey titles. This is another one, although it seems to be more general souls and after life than ghost specifically. Really though, the argument for ghosts is the same as the one for souls.
Oddly enough, you may with to recommend a fanfiction to your friend, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. It's very long, but has well thought out arguments on things like souls and ghosts.

This is similar to conversations I've had with dead people, so I'd say you were talking to a dead dude. Often, they'll meet up with old friends and take off on trips to different places and times. Their presence will be strongest during the first 9 months or so after death, and then they begin to distance themselves from the living, popping in only occasionally to check on things.

According to Dion Fortune, they undergo a 2nd death, whereby the lower energies disintegrate and the core of the spirit recedes to higher (more formless) levels.

here is an excellent book written on the subject. It was written by a Jewish born theology doctor who abandoned Judaism, began to study various religious texts from around the world, and also decided that Gnostic texts and Yeshua are indeed telling the truth.

The answer I have for you is one that you'll mostly likely will not want to hear.. Western and Eastern occultists have two beliefs of ascension, in which Blavatsky, an eastern occultists, claims that western beliefs are a 'shortcut', a cheating way to get to higher heavens. This is true.. in a sense.

Buddhism, enlightenment, does work.. but on such an epic scale of 'time', if you believe in time persay, that eventual soul enlightenment does eventually work based on the Archon soul recycling system in place. Near Death Experiences patients have claimed that many of times, after passing through the tunnel of light, they are shown their past life. The soul remembers ALL of your past lives lived, but while tethered to the 666 body made by Saklas, it is unable to remember all of them in this particular lifetime that you are here now. Hence why the Archon system is a sham, as this leads to the most unefficient way to soul ascension.

Now, western occultists believe in the 'Christ' conscious, well some do, such as Dion Fortune (and myself!). The Gnostic texts, the actual real version of the Torah, and the actual translations of the Apostles, to include the various banned books from the corrupt Roman Church, all tell one how. And, Archon/satanic entities cannot freely reign upon mankind.. they need 'CONSENT'! The Prime Creator, the Holy Spirit, the entity Yeshua speaks, creator of the Self-Created One, tells how to ascend into the higher heavens: Treat others how you want to be treated. When he says, he without sin cast the first stone, he is saying that we are all trying to become better people and to become one with the Father, one has to begin adopted love and mercy to one's life. The Creator, luckily for us, is a Creator of infinite love and mercy. We are part of the Creator, as said, "Then Jesus said to them, "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." And they were amazed at him." This is meant to show one not to fall in love with wordly things, as this place, this holo-matrix, is all a sham.. and two, we are part of the Creator. We cannot join or become into our original light/spirit form unless we shed the things we do in this life..

But, this is extremely hard! Archons are purposely erasing our memories, making it extremely hard to ascend, on purpose. Why? To keep their soul energy, holo-matrix farm in place for as long as possible.. but this will not last forever. Yeshua/Jesus says this place will eventually be destroyed because Archons are manipulating man's ability to consent with full knowledge of the current situation were in. Yes, we are consenting to this world.. or have in the past, hence the 'fall of man'.

The Wachowski's and the Matrix show humankind being used to be turned into batteries for the robots.. an analogy of man's soul energy being used to power the holo-matrix to be turned into spirit energy batteries for the Archons. Our spirit is of infinite protential, we are creative beings with exponential creative potential.. and they know this! If you think about this on a grand scale, how bad would it be to manage mankind if they were to 'rebel' against the archons, as in have full awareness of the current world they live in? Very hard to manage indeed, and I would say, unmanageable. Humanity, on a united front, has the potential to alter 'reality', or more accurately, alter this holo-matrix, as we are of infinite potential. Our current energy is being manipulated to power the holo-matrix because.. well, the Archons are most definitely benefiting from our limitless power potential. Why would they want us to awaken?

I like Ghost Adventures. It's the least flashy of all the shows out there and they really go about the science behind it. Plus I've seen some stuff on there that is rather curious. But I also watch it with a critical eye. I don't always agree with the show's findings.

Some days I don't believe in ghosts, some days I guess I pretend to. I have a good section of my library dedicated to ghost stories. One of my favorite books is Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places It's fun anyhow. You're spooked? That's hilarious.

The God Game by Mike Hockney: https://www.amazon.com/God-Game-Book-ebook/dp/B008H540EM

The Armageddon Conspiracy: https://www.amazon.com/Armageddon-Conspiracy-Coded-Book-ebook/dp/B003AKZC00

no we do that as well. we are not always the same gender every incarnation.
https://www.amazon.com/Return-Revolutionaries-Reincarnation-Groups-Reunited/dp/1571743421

If parental bias concerns you but the topic still interests you, see this excellent book on the philosophical case for reincarnation:

http://www.amazon.com/Lifecycles-Reincarnation-Christopher-M-Bache/dp/1557786453/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252796765&sr=1-1

Take a look at LBL Hypnotherapy to learn more check out this, this and this.

All the proof you need. I know some of the interviewees so trust me, this can be nothing other than the truth. /s
"Echoes from Medieval Halls: Past-Life Memories from the Middle Ages"

https://www.amazon.com/Echoes-Medieval-Halls-Past-Life-Memories/dp/0876043902/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1480953477&sr=1-2&keywords=memories+from+medieval+halls

Well, you can read some of the many books on Near Death Experiences, such as this one: http://www.amazon.com/Light-Beyond-Raymond-Moody/dp/0553278134

Or if you don't feel like buying a book, there are many videos on this topic, like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICdizzVY5h4

If you want to read an excellent book on the origin of hell/heaven, check out After Life in Roman Paganism by Franz Cumont.