Victor’s Comments (group member since Mar 27, 2013)

Victor’s comments from the Reincarnation group.

Intriguing, Vivian. The Group Soul thesis is ripe for exploration. Will put your work on my reading list. I suppose you've checked out Arthur Guirdham's writings. Very definitive (non-fiction) on the group soul phenomenon.

Also visit the Visionary Fiction Alliance site. Several of us write on reincarnation also.

Bob wrote: "Hi Victor,
I was at the MESA IANDS (Int'l Assoc of Near Death Studies) chapter meeting on Friday night and Susan Amsden game me your card. ..."
Glad Susan passed my message, Bob. Look forward to meeting. Vic

Great thread going here. Not surprised to hear you here, Bob, and I second your analysis on reincarnation. I heard something on belief in reincarnation lately that resonates: As with gravity, believing in reincarnation or not doesn't matter. If it is, it is, believe it or not. If it isn't, it isn't, believe it or not. Bob's summary of the science is a good one. I also recommend The Synchronicity Key by David Wilcock as a non-fiction presentation of reincarnation and related subjects, including NDEs--a heavy weight/.

Daniel wrote: "I've joined this group because I've written a novel where the protagonist reincarnates again and again. This is a fascinating thread - thanks for sharing all these novels - I have a lot of reading ..."
Your personal story sounds intriguing. Sounds like you were a Swiss Guard or something. My novel The Anathemas is largely the story of how reincarnation was made a heresy at the Council of Constantinople in 553. We should compare notes.The Anathemas: a Novel of Reincarnation and Restitution

Hi Stephen--
Welcome to the discussion. Hope you too will check out the VFA website given above as there the discussion is more lively and regular.
I did time in NJ (Princeton area) and on NJT commuting to NY. It does have its exotic side--if you have a good sense of humor!
Will check out your book. Quite interested in the phenomenon of group reincarnation and use it some in my work.
Might I suggest that you hyperlink your book when you mention it. Makes it easier for the reader to jump there.

Welcome, Russell. Always good to meet another author who delves into reincarnation and from what to me, here in Tucson AZ, is an exotic corner of the globe. Since you work with the paranormal, I invite you to check out the Visionary Fiction Alliance, a group of diverse writers dedicated to the evolution of human consciousness through the fun medium of the novel. I think you'll enjoy the company.

Sounds quite interesting, Toni. I largely agree with your pre-pub premises. Let us know when the book is available.

Eleni Papanou’s Unison (The Spheral) is an elaborate concatenation, usually elegant, in places difficult and disturbing, of metaphysical, psychological, science fiction and visionary elements blended to present a hero’s epic quest to overthrow an autocratic mind-controlled society, called Unity, which he was instrumental in creating in the first place after a Great Cataclysm befell Earth as we know it. A sort of Groundhog Day (the movie with Bill Murray) in the far future, only the day is a lifetime that repeats until the protagonist gets it right.

As a reader, there were points where I felt like I was struggling through rapidly shifting dream (both fantastical and nightmare) material that got me as confused as the characters in the story seemed at that juncture. I’d feel like I’d read the same scene earlier and was tempted to skip ahead. Just in time to keep me in the story’s flow, the character would experience a similar déjà vu, recall the previous instance, and use the memory to recast his actions to achieve a more positive result. Nice tracking of effect on the reader by the author, intentional, I assume.

Unison is an excellent example of uninhibited experimentation with Visionary Fiction, a genre long practiced by classical and best-selling authors but still relatively unknown, at least by its proper name. Brown University professor, Edward J. Ahearn, in his book Visionary Fictions: Apocalyptic Writing from Blake to the Modern Age “finds this form at once exhilarating, immensely disturbing, vital, and subversive.” Ms. Papanou’s Unison (The Spheral) does all that to perfection but takes it a positive step further. Not to spoil the conclusion, but, unlike T.S. Eliot’s Hollow Men, Eleni’s novel ends with a bang, not a whimper.

Not to distract from the conversation here, but there are some lively discussions relative to reincarnation (as well as other types of spiritual/psychic phenomena) going on over at the Visionary Fiction group. Some of you may want to join in. As a VF novelist who includes reincarnation as an integral ingredient in my books, I'm learning a lot through this more broadly-based group. Thought I'd let people know.

Samyann wrote: "Hi Victor, I'm not so sure that the concept of reincarnation is considered with such negativity anymore. I agree that it certainly was ... but, not so much any more. I think it has gained acceptanc..."

Thank you, Samyann, for reminding us that the glass is at least one thirds full now in the West. The CBS News piece is an excellent introduction for those first inquiring with genuine curiosity on the subject. (Will add that link to my website.) the clip even makes it clear that recognition of some form of "spirit" is a prerequisite for willingness to contemplate reincarnation.

I, with many others, am still working my way through material on the purpose and process of past life regression. But that for another thread.

Reincarnation is generally accepted as a part of life in the East. However, in the West it is thought to be heretical, occult, or plain weird. What are your thoughts about this denial in the West? What caused it? Does it hinder the way people in navigating through life? What would happen if belief in reincarnation became more commonly accepted?

Amy wrote: "Victor wrote: "Amy wrote: "I started this discussion group ages ago and have not really been active in it. Mainly, I started it because I was writing a novel that featured reincarnation. But I real..."

I see you've added me as a moderator and I read through the "rules." Please do stay active. The poll is a good idea. Thanks for starting this group and I'll check out your time travel group also.

Amy wrote: "I started this discussion group ages ago and have not really been active in it. Mainly, I started it because I was writing a novel that featured reincarnation. But I really never got it off the gro..."

As a reincarnation author who just joined this group, would hate to see it fall by the wayside. Add me as a moderator and I'll work on firing it up. Perhaps you can direct me to a summary of moderator's duties on GoodReads. Thanks. Vic

Samyann wrote: "Victor wrote: "I just joined the Reincarnation group and would like to introduce myself as a author whose work, primarily fiction, focuses on reincarnation and the paranormal. The question posed he..."

Thanks, Samyann. Looked at your title and marked "to read." Also read the interview on Ed Martin's site. Curious, my novel, The Anathemas, also has a Civil War and post-Civil War setting; loved what I learned from doing the research. Noticed not many men have reviewed your book; perhaps I'll provide a viewpoint from the other half once I've read your book. Happy writing.

I just joined the Reincarnation group and would like to introduce myself as a author whose work, primarily fiction, focuses on reincarnation and the paranormal. The question posed here about “soul pods” caught my attention as I had, during research for my current novel in progress, just finished reading Arthur Guirdham’s non-fiction work, We Are One Another, which begins with this startling claim: “This is a record of group reincarnation. It involves eight people who, alive in the twentieth century, had a previous existence in the thirteenth. In seven out of the eight cases I have been able to trace their thirteenth-century identity.”
The seven, it turns out, are not famous people. Their names and stories survived, ironically, in records kept by the medieval Inquisition, only recently translated from the Latin original; all were Cathar “heretics” condemned by the church and, in some cases, burned at stake. None of these people were aware of these records prior to the events in the twentieth century that brought them into contact with one other and the author.
Their story itself is dramatic enough, but Guirdham’s path of authentication is unparalleled, in my opinion, in reincarnation literature.