M.J. Rose

Welcome to the Reincarnationist Blog’s series of interviews using the infamous Proust Questionnaire. Today’s subject is Gayle Brandeis…

THE QUESTIONS:

Title of your latest book as of Sept 1, 2007:

Self Storage

Do you believe — even a little bit that reincarnation is possible?

I’m a bit of an agnostic when it comes to reincarnation–skeptical but

open to the possibility.

Have you ever read anything books the subject that made an impression

on you?

In my novel Immensity which comes out next year, my main

character is a twelve year old girl who believes her family is the

Lincoln family reincarnated and it’s her job to save them from her

fate. In researching the book, I read (or at least skimmed) several

books on Jewish ideas about reincarnation, and found them fascinating.

I hadn’t realized that reincarnation was part of of Jewish mysticism.

What is your most marked characteristic that you believe could be a

hold over from a past life?

My relationship with language. I taught

myself to read at 3 and started writing poems at 4, and feel as if

words were with me from the start–maybe even before the start!

What is your principle defect that you believe might be inherited from

a previous incarnation?

My shyness, perhaps? It feels very deeply rooted.

Which of your favorite heroes do you think you actually could have

been and why?

I’ve always felt a real resonance with Isadora

Duncan–her approach to movement, wanting to rid herself of all

restrictions and flow, is very similar to my own experience with dance

(and creativity in general).

What three people from history would you like to have over to dinner

for a discussion about reincarnation?

Abraham Lincoln, for sure, since

I’ve been spending so much time thinking about him and reincarnation,

plus I’ve loved him since I was little. Buddha. And Isadora, just to

see if there’s a real connection there. That would be a very

interesting dinner party–I can picture Buddha meditating, Isadora

dancing, Abe speaking earnestly (and cracking a few jokes.)

What do you think happens when we die?

I think we dissolve back into

the earth. Some of our molecules probably end up in the stars. Since

matter can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed (I can’t

remember if that’s the second or third law of thermodynamics) the

stuff of us will be around forever, in various forms.

When you come back next time, who would you like to be?

I’d love to be something other than a human. Maybe an ameoba–life at its most basic,

boiled down form. Pure movement.

 

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Welcome to the Reincarnationist Blog’s series of interviews using the infamous Proust Questionnaire. Today’s subject is Michelle Moran…

THE QUESTIONS:

 

Title of your latest book as of Sept 1, 2007 – NEFERTITI: A NOVEL

 

Do you believe — even a little bit that reincarnation is possible?

Yes, I do believe in reincarnation. Although I will be the first to admit

that my belief isn’t pure. It stems from the idea that reincarnation is

certainly better than the alternative – oblivion – just as much as the idea

that too many people across the world have had similar Near Death

Experiences (NDEs) to dismiss the phenomenon as coincidence.

 

Have you ever read anything books the subject that made an impression on

you?

I have read all of Dr. Ian Stevenson’s books, including Twenty Cases

Suggestive of Reincarnation, and he, more than any other researcher, has

convinced me that death isn’t the end. I am also anticipating the conclusion

of a study on NDE during cardiac arrest at the University of Virginia Health

System’s Division of Perceptual Studies. This study is being led by

Professor Bruce Greyson, and includes a computer screen which is turned to

the ceiling on which a simple image will be displayed. It is estimated that

approximately 10% of patients who go into cardiac arrest have an NDE, and

many report the experience of floating above their body. If this is the

case, then those patients should be able to identify the image on the

computer screen (an image that no on else in the room can see). What a

creative and exciting study!

 

What is your most marked characteristic that you believe could be a hold

over from a past life?

My interest in history. My passion for history is all-consuming. The books

that I read and the vacations I take are all historical in nature. When I’m

in France, I’m more interested in reading a biography of the Sun King and

touring the fortified town of Carcassonne than sunbathing or shopping on the

Riviera. And don’t get me wrong, I really like sunbathing and shopping! But

my interest in history takes precedence. Am I drawn to historical places

because I have an inkling that I’ve lived there in the past? I don’t know.

Of all of the places a tourist can go in France, I’ve been to Carcassonne

four times. Did I live there before?

 

What is your principle defect that you believe might be inherited from a

previous incarnation?

I must have been really poor in my past life, because I’m always “stocking

up” on things. If I see a sweater I like, I buy three, not one. And my

refrigerator constantly looks like I’m having guests over for a big party —

and I don’t even eat a whole lot. My husband and I are always having to give

food away by bringing it to other people’s parties or over to my mom’s,

whose household is bigger. So my principle defect would be waste. I don’t

need three sweaters, and I certainly don’t need a freezer full of food I’m

not going to eat. Maybe this is throwback from a past life, or maybe I’m

just a compulsive shopper. But I try to balance it out by giving away

whatever I don’t use. I actually hate to see waste.

 

Which of your favorite heroes do you think you actually could have been and

why?

One of the publicists I wanted to hire suggested that I might be Nefertiti

reincarnated. I disabused her of this notion, however, and told her it was

more likely that I was Nefertiti’s servant! I find it deeply suspicious when

people claim to have been Marilyn Monroe or Napoleon in their past life. Of

course, if reincarnation does exist, someone had to have been Marilyn

Monroe, but the sheer number of people who are convinced they were Marilyn

Monroe disturbs me and makes reincarnation look like a farce, which is

unfortunate. I don’t think I was anyone famous. Historical characters I have

a deep and abiding interest in include Lafayette, the historical (not

Biblical) Jezebel, Elizabeth of Austria and Margaret Mitchell. Was I any of

these people in a past life? Probably not, but one wonders why particular

people in history fascinate us more than others.

 

What three people from history would you like to have over to dinner for a

discussion about reincarnation?

Buddha, Christ and Dr. Ian Stevenson, who passed away this year.

 

What do you think happens when we die?

I think that there’s a good possibility we meet with the

energies/souls/spirits of those we knew in this life as well as past lives.

I’d like to think we have the choice of whether to reincarnate, and on what

planet.

 

When you come back next time, who would you like to be?

A writer, what else?

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Welcome to the Reincarnationist Blog’s series of interviews using the infamous Proust Questionnaire. Today’s subject is Caroline Leavitt…

THE QUESTIONS:

 

Title of your latest book as of Sept 1, 2007 – Girls in Trouble, St. Martin’s Press

 

 

Do you believe — even a little bit that reincarnation is possible?

Yes, I do. I’ve had premonitions of things that happened (to my astonishment), and a few times, there has been that strange feeling of absolute connection with someone the moment we meet.

 

Have you ever read anything books the subject that made an impression on you?

I love the books that deal with doubt–doubt is smart! When I was ten, my father gave me all these Edgar Cayce books and I was haunted and fascinated. I loved it that here was this deeply religious, simple man who was horrified at the information he would give while in trance about reincarnation and healing and the future. I also loved the Jane Roberts books, because here was a college educated woman (I think it was Swarthmore) who was somehow channeling all this info on reincarnation and the future, who refused to believe it, and who in fact, went to doctors to try and stop it. She never stopped questioning, even in her later acceptance.

 

What is your most marked characteristic that you believe could be a hold over from a past life?

 

I know this sounds irrational, but because I have nearly died three different times, and I am always almost miraculously healed by doctors or saved, I believe I’m here for a purpose, that I have to complete something that wasn’t completed before.

 

What is your principle defect that you believe might be inherited from a previous incarnation?

 

Breathing problems, which can translate into “holding my breath” instead of acting and taking control.

 

Which of your favorite heroes do you think you actually could have been and why?

 

I don’t, for some reason, think I was anyone famous, but for some reason I do think I was a Victorian woman with a lot of children. If I was someone, I would want to see some growth so I wish I had been Isadora Duncan because of her reckless passion for life (tamed a bit in this lifetime) or maybe Emily Dickinson because of her need for privacy and her reclusive nature (which has made me much more outgoing and adventurous in this lifetime.) .

 

What three people from history would you like to have over to dinner for a discussion about reincarnation?

Jesus Christ, Jane Roberts and Edgar Cayce!

 

What do you think happens when we die?

 

I take a quantum physics point of view. I’ve been reading a lot of quantum physics, and many scientists say that the universe is far stranger than anything we could imagine. I’m not certain, and while I don’t believe in a heaven or hell, I do believe that energy and matter are not destroyed and that there is something else out there. Maybe an alternate universe. Maybe we do reincarnate. How can love ever be destroyed?

 

When you come back next time, who would you like to be?

 

I would love to again be a woman who has an adoring marriage with a fabulous child and a career she loves and health. To me, that’s more important than anything else and it feels somewhat greedy to ask for wealth, which would certainly be fun and helpful. But I would love to be in a world that is saner and more compassionate and I would like to be able to help achieve those ends.

 

We would love to hear your responses to these questions. Please feel free to copy and paste the Questionnaire with your answers into a Comment for this post.

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