M.J. Rose

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.

THE 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.

We want to remind our readers what a fantastic job the Bitten By Books blog is doing promoting great paranormal fiction (“A paranormal review site with bite”).

They even posted an interview with M.J. last year – here it is again, enjoy!

Will a simple disciple find the “unmistaken child”?

We don’t post about films very often here, but this one seems quite compelling as well as visually stunning and with a beautiful soundtrack. It offers a rare glimpse into age-old traditions that Westerners are not usually able to see.

Unmistaken Child
Directed by Nati Baratz. STC. 102 min. Opens Oct 2.
(Jeff Cottrill)

It’s not always easy for outsiders to document the finer details of a culture. Israeli filmmaker Nati Baratz wisely eschews commentary or judgment in Unmistaken Child, his documentary look into the closed world of Tibetan Buddhism. Aside from a few explanatory opening titles, Baratz lets his footage speak for itself from a rare, up-close point of view.

The film follows a young monk, Tenzin Zopa, on his three-year search for the reincarnation of his master, Geshe Lama Konchog, who died in 2001. Grief-stricken but serene, Tenzin travels throughout Nepal’s Tsum Valley, using vague astrological clues as his guide.  It’s Tenzin’s personal journey that makes the Unmistaken Child richly moving. He speaks candidly in English about his close relationship to Geshe, his childhood and his dialogue with nature. Baratz complements Tenzin’s story with beautiful shots of Himalayan landscapes and striking footage of Buddhist ceremonies and family life…

For the complete review click here.

The official film site is here. Watch the trailer below.