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In Another Life: Reincarnation in America - Video

A highly recommended introduction to reincarnation can be downloaded at http://www.ial.goldthread.com/ (select View Trailer). The full video is a very professional production and if you live outside the U.S. and Canada you can purchase a copy $25.00 plus S&H. If you are in the US ask your nearest PBS station to broadcast it.
The interview with Dr Jim Tucker who talks about the reincarnation research of the University of Virginia is worth watching. He is one of a number of experts whose interviews are featured on In Another Life- Interviews. It’s interesting to learn that the wonderful academic research on the afterlife at the University of Virginia came about because of a bequest by Chester Carlson, inventor of the Xerox machine.
Additional Sources
There are several other sources that provide insightful information on the subject matters of reincarnation and the afterlife. Among these non Spiritist sources we would like to mention some that we consider very significant because of the amount of information they provide and because they are readily accessible in the Western world, even though they may differ with the Spiritist interpretation in some details.
Edgar Cayce, internationally known as the American Sleeping Prophet, is arguably the person whose psychic abilities have been best documented. Several websites, including the site of the A.R.E. (Association for Research and Enlightment), provide ample information about Edgar Cayce on reincarnation and karma:
http://www.edgarcayce.org/about_ec/c...ion/index.html
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Theosophical Societies, based on the esoteric works of Helena P. Blavatsky, also advocate the concepts of reincarnation and karma. In Theosophy reincarnation is universal, not only limited to humans, but as opposed to esoteric Buddhism, regression to less evolved life forms in not possible:
Blavatsky text
Spiritualist Churches are Christian organizations that incorporate mediumship as one of their main religious practice, and whose origin can be traced back to the Movement of Modern Spiritualism initiated in America after 1848; when the news about the phenomena of "table rapping" and the Fox Sisters of Hydesville, New York, spread throughout Europe and the world. Although reincarnation is not a fundamental tenet in many Spiritualist Churches, some of them do belief and advocate the concept; and because of that they share many philosophical principles with Spiritism. See for example:
About The First Spiritual Temple
Famous People who accepted Reincarnation
The concept of reincarnation is not exclusive of a specific religion or culture. So it should not come as a surprise that reincarnation has been accepted by many famous people, even by some that define themselves as secular humanists, agnostics, and no theistic in general.
Famous Quotes:
http://www.reversespins.com/famousquotes.html
http://www.healpastlives.com/pastlf/quote/qureincr.htm
Famous People:
REINCARNATION - FAMOUS PEOPLE
http://www.geocities.com/richard_holmes/reincarnation/faq.htm
Conclusion
The amount of evidence we have today about reincarnation provides more than ample room for, as Dr. Stevenson liked to put it, "a rational person, if he wants, can believe in reincarnation on the basis of evidence."
The study of reincarnation is important because when we accept it and consider its implications, this knowledge will clear the way to a better understanding of the many challenges of the human experience on Earth, and will hopefully provide solutions to these problems, too.
Finally, the study of reincarnation is obviously related to the more general question of survival of consciousness and the reality of the afterlife. For more information about this related area of research please visit our page about the Afterlife.
References:

	The Gospel Explained by the Spiritist Doctrine by Allan Kardec. This exceptional work offers a reasonable and logical explanation for the teachings and miracles of Jesus from the perspective of reincarnation and spirit phenomena. The book also explains the origins of the reincarnation belief in the Western world, from the times of the ancient Greek civilization when great philosophers like Pythagoras, Socrates and Plato, taught this concept. We recommend the AKES translation of the book which can be obtained through their website: AKES - Allan Kardec Educational Society.
	Kardec's Spiritism by Emma Bragdon. Emma Bragdon, Ph.D., has been studying the modern movement of Brazilian Spiritism (Kardecism) and its practical therapeutic applications as alternative medicine. In the appendix of her book there is an excellent summary of the relations between the concept of Reincarnation and Christianity and how this relationship has changed in different times: http://www.emmabragdon.com/review_kardec.html
	Children's Past Lives by Carol Bowman and Steve Bowman. This book, along with the classic Twenty Cases Suggestive Of Reincarnation by Dr. Ian Stevenson about children that remember their past lives, are the best documentation for this kind of scientific evidence we have today about reincarnation. Chapter 14 of Children's Past Lives contains a summary of the political events that lead to the removal of the reincarnation concept from the official Catholic theology of the time, in spite the fact that the belief in reincarnation was supported by several Church Fathers, including Origen of Alexandria. An extract of Chapter 14 (Dogma Bites Man) can be found online here: http://www.childpastlives.org/dogma.htm
	Reincarnation The Missing Link in Christianity by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. Using information from The Bible, as well as from the Gnostic Gospels found in Nag Hammadi (Egypt) in 1945 and the Dead Sea Scrolls found in 1947, the author makes a very strong scholar case in favor of the presence of the reincarnation concept in the teachings of Jesus as well as in some early Christians. From Jesus, to the Gnostics, to the European Cathars killed during the Crusades, to Giordano Bruno judged and killed by the Inquisition, the belief in reincarnation did not completely disappear from Christianity in spite of the efforts of several powerful Emperors, Kings, and Church leaders.
	Reincarnation A New Horizon in Science, Religion, and Society by Sylvia Cranston and Carey Williams. This book, as others from the same author Sylvia Cranston, like Reincarnation: Phoenix Fire Mystery, offer an excellent background on the concept of reincarnation, pulling information from Western and Eastern traditions as well. It should be noted that even though Sylvia Cranston writes from the perspective of Theosophy, the information she provides is extremely valuable for anyone interested in studying the concept of reincarnation through different historical times and different cultures.
	Edgar Cayce On Reincarnation by Noel Langley. Contains an excellent analysis of the information obtained through Edgar Cayce, internationally known as the American Sleeping Prophet, about reincarnation and karma. The author also gives detailed accounts of several ecclesiastic councils, like The First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD sponsored by Roman Emperor Constantine and The Second Council of Constantinople in 553 AD sponsored by Emperor Justinian, where the issue of the pre-existence of the soul (another name for reincarnation) was declared anathema and removed from the official theology of the time.
	Reincarnation: A Study of Forgotten Truth by E. D. Walker. Anthological work about reincarnation in Christianity and its relationship with the Eastern concept of karma. This book is an important reference for anyone studying the concept of reincarnation in Christianity.