The Reincarnationist Questionnaire
Welcome to the first installment of the Reincarnationist Blog’s series of interviews with reincarnationists, authors, celebrities, bloggers and the like. Our first subject is M.J. Rose herself. M.J. Rose is an international bestselling author and writer of the book The Reincarnationist. This book, which is Rose’s ninth novel, is also her first foray into historical fiction.
Vanity Fair is uses a simple and yet revealing questionnaire called the Proust Questionnaire to interview celebrity subjects. The history of the origin of the questionnaire itself is rather fascinating. Click here and here for background on the questionnaire and on Proust himself. We’ve reworked the Proust QA for our own purposes here.
Tune in regularly to read new QAs as we publish them!
From M.J. Rose: I’ve spent the last few years studying reincarnation from the sublime to the ridiculous, the religious to the metaphysical. Along the way, I’ve read 60 books on the subject and have a shelf of at least 30 more to tackle.
When I started I had no idea how popular a subject it is. Not only is there a Reincarnation for Dummies, there’s also The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Reincarnation. Turns out more than 26 million people in America believe in it.
So I thought it would be interesting to alter and abridge Proust’s ubiquitous questionnaire and find out what my favorite authors and fellow reincarnationists think about the subject. I also invite you to fill out the questionnaire and send it in to us here at the blog and if we have time, we’ll post your answers too. (Post your QA to Comments).
To get started, I answered my own questions.
ShareTHE QUESTIONS:
Do you believe — even a little bit — that reincarnation is possible?
Yes.
Have you ever read anything on the subject that made an impression on you?
I’ve read about 60 books to date on the subject while doing research for this new novel. I’d say that Deepak Chopra’s book Life After Death is one of the most important books I read on the subject along with everything I’ve read written by and written about Dr. Ian Stevenson who studied over 3000 cases of reincarnation in his lifetime.
What is your most marked characteristic that you believe could be a hold over from a past life?
A fear of medical procedures. I’ve never had any reason to be as fearful of even the most simple procedure as I am.
What is your principle defect that you believe might be inherited from a previous incarnation?
An attachment to certain people and places that have made me unhappy.
Which of your favorite heroes do you think you actually could have been and why?
I don’t think I’ve ever been any one famous.
What three people from history would you like to have over to dinner for a discussion about reincarnation?
This is such a hard question. I’ve written about ten answers to it and keep changing who I want to invite. So screw it. This is my blog and my question so I’m going to have a big dinner party and invite: Edgar Cayce, Bridey Murphy, Dr. Ian Stevenson, Carl Jung, Buddha, as many Dali Lama’s as are free, Benjamin Franklin, William Wordsworth, Pythagoras, Ayna Seton, Baal Shem Tov and the Grand Duchess Anastasia.
What do you think happens when we die?
I think our souls break apart into thousands of pieces of light and we rejoin the collective consciousness.
When you come back next time, who would you like to be?
Someone wise.
2 Responses to “The Reincarnationist Questionnaire”
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Anna on 14 Sep 2007 at 4:25 pm #
Do you believe — even a little bit — that reincarnation is possible?
Absolutely.
Have you ever read anything on the subject that made an impression on you?
Yes, all of the Edgar Cayce books, Many Lives Many Loves by Gina Cerminara, Reincardnation: The Phoenix Fire Mystery by Joseph Head & SL Cranston, and every book by Shirley MacLaine. Thank goodness for her willingness to speak about past lives.
What is your most marked characteristic that you believe could be a hold over from a past life?
A fear of finanical loss. Living in luxury, losing it all and not being able to recoup from it.
What is your principle defect that you believe might be inherited from a previous incarnation?
Maybe I starved to death because I always want to have enough to eat.
Which of your favorite heroes do you think you actually could have been and why?
I don’t know if I was anyone famous, but certain eras have an impact on me…like the Revolutionary War. I also have dreamt the same dream over and over of being in France. I believe it was a traumatic event.
What three people from history would you like to have over to dinner for a discussion about reincarnation?
Difficult to answer however my thoughts right now are Jesus Christ, Catherine the Great and John Lennon.
What do you think happens when we die?
I believe our souls enter a peaceful haven where we detox from our life on earth, and then take up new challenges on the other side to learn and help all souls in the universe.
When you come back next time, who would you like to be?
Someone who remembers their past lives.
Bodikka on 14 Sep 2007 at 7:44 pm #
Do you believe — even a little bit — that reincarnation is possible?
>I KNOW it, not “believe” it. I have remembered some things and met a few people I knew in earlier lives.
Have you ever read anything on the subject that made an impression on you?
>A book on yoga by Ramacharaka (William Walker Atkinson) took me in one night from being a rabid atheist to knowing everything in this world is imbued with spirit and that we live over and over. Michael Newton’s book “Destiny of souls” finally made sense of it all – what life on this planet is really for.
What is your most marked characteristic that you believe could be a hold over from a past life?
>My obsession with God – even when that was anti! [I was a Mother Superior last time around.]
What is your principle defect that you believe might be inherited from a previous incarnation?
>Through most of the lives I remember, my worst defect has been being influenced by others in a negative way, a result of not knowing who I am. We are here to learn who we really are and then to act in ways which are true to that knowledge.
Which of your favorite heroes do you think you actually could have been and why?
>None at all, since they all lived during my own lifetime. (Malcolm X, Saul Alinsky, Cesar Chavez)
What three people from history would you like to have over to dinner for a discussion about reincarnation?
>C. W. Leadbeater, Yogananda, and some knowledgeable person from Atlantis.
What do you think happens when we die?
>If you’ve ever had a conscious out of body experience, you know what happens. Our spirits shed this ol’ shell of a body. We then go to “between lives” places, reflect on how we did in this last life, learn some more, then set up our next life.
When you come back next time, who would you like to be?
>I used to want to be a great blues singer until I realized I’d have to suffer a lot. Instead, I’d rather be a good mother and raise my children in the knowledge of spiritual reality.