M.J. Rose

Thank you to author David Toussaint for answering this week’s Reincarnationist Q&A:

What is your most marked characteristic that you believe could be a hold over from a past life?
Talent and the need for adoration.

What is your principle defect that you believe may be inherited from a previous incarnation?
Gluttony. I’m sure I was filthy rich.

Which of your favorite heroes do you think you could have been and why?
Charles Dickens, because when I read him, I know him. I’ve never even been to England. Vincent van Gogh, because I fell in love with his paintings when I was in grade school, and my mother is a wonderful painter—my drawing talent ends at those Hangman figures. And some incredibly wonderful gorgeous Cuban gay man who had his own “harhim.” Because my lust for Latins is eternal and Divine.

What three people from history would you like to have over to dinner for a discussion about reincarnation? Marilyn Monroe, because I want to thank her, and to let her know we love her. And I’d kill to know what her personality is like when she’s not “being” Marilyn. Madeline Kahn, because we need someone that talented to grace our planet again. And Shirley MacLaine, when she does go, so she can tell me how the whole thing’s working out.

What do you think happens when we die?
I think “die” is a human phrase that doesn’t translate into the answers of life and death. We can’t understand death—nor life, for that matter—we can only try and figure it out on a human, mortal level. That’s why none of the answers people come up with make sense. All we can do is live in and for the present.

When you come back next time, who (or what!) would you like to be? Myself, only sexier, smarter, richer—in other words, Jake Gyllenhaal but with more acting talent and fuller lips.

You can find David’s book TOUSSAINT here.

“David Toussaint’s tremendous wit and sharp social commentary are genius. Fans of David Sedaris will adore Toussaint’s charm, edge, and take on life.”
— New York Times bestselling author, Lisa McMann

A speech delivered by Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, affectionately known as “Amma”, about the increasing occurrences of war, violence and natural disasters in the world today…

I want to share with you something I found online that seems like it would be incredibly interesting to reincarnationists everywhere, Jivamala: A Buddhist Practice of purification relating to reincarnation –

(From the site Many Lives.)

This site describes one person’s practice of the Jivamala, a process of purification where the individual embarks on a spiritual journey to remember past lives in order to be free of the bondage of those lives.

One of the fundamental elements of Buddhism is the doctrine of reincarnation. Human beings die and are reborn over and over again because they fail to see things clearly and wake up to the spiritual emptiness which lies behind the phenomenal world. It is this false perception of the nature of things that leads to wrong thinking and wrong behavior, which in turn causes this painful cycle of death and rebirth.

In the sixth century BCE, when prince Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) began his process of awakening, tradition has it that his first stage of meditation involved remembering his past lives.

The Jivamala practice maintains that a similar process can be revealed to and practiced by others who are on the spiritual path. This site contains detailed biographies of many lives, and documents the initiatory Jivamala practice showing how it works. It also contains descriptions of many deaths and many afterlives, where several of the past lives or personalities describe where their actions and experiences in life led them after death.

The Jivamala practice is ideally performed by renunciants (monks or nuns) initiated into a Tantric Buddhist lineage, but is sometimes also practiced by householders. The Jivamala practice should only be performed under the direction of an inner guide, a dakini, or bhairava, or bodhisattva acting as a yidam (spiritual guide or tutelary deity). In this instance, the practice of the Jivamala was revealed to a householder by a bhairava. The practice was therefore not begun in a traditional way, since it was not handed down to a disciple by a living teacher in a recognized spiritual lineage.

This is a description of a meditative practice based on the life of the earthly Buddha.

Click here for the website.