REINCARNATION: A WINDOW TO THE PAST

How many of you believe in reincarnation?

Personally, I was a bit of a skeptic until I had a very strange experience. The first, but not the last, it happened quite a few years ago. I’d tucked it away again, but it was brought to the forefront when I read Soul and Shadow, a romantic suspense mystery by the wonderful author, Susan J. McLeod. The story concerns Egyptology student and artist Lily Evans. She’s reluctantly drawn into solving the puzzle of who shared young priestess Amisihathor’s tomb. Was it her husband? Or a scribe that she’d loved? The story weaves the present and the past seamlessly together, the lives intertwining into a remarkable tale. The spell created awoke my own memories of a flashback that did much the same with the life I was now living. Although firmly in the present day, it gave me a haunting glance of a past life I apparently lived in Egypt.

The occurrence came about when I was taking a course at Baruch College in New York. It was given in the evenings, after my regular job ended. The class had just finished, and I was on my way home. It was a beautiful night—the air cool, the sky clear and filled with stars. I took a deep breath and started to walk.

New York is a pretty noisy place, but I found myself in a fairly deserted section of the city—one where every sound could be discerned. Hearing few distractions, I became aware of an ambient noise. It was the faint rustle of someone behind me. They were wearing crepe soled shoes and the crush of the rubber on the sidewalk elicited a soft suction type of noise—one so similar to walking barefoot on tile.

In hearing it, I was suddenly transported to another time and place. In my mind, I was no longer in the center of a bustling metropolis. Instead, I found myself in the hallway of a grand palace. Spacious and remarkably stunning, I was a servant there. It was in Egypt, I had no doubt. I had white linens or some kind of folded material in my hands. I was crossing the hallway to bring them to another part of the massive household. Although a servant, I was not downtrodden. Having read stories about oppressed classes of servants, this was not the case. I had a very healthy opinion of myself and was extremely happy with my lot in life. My mindset was confident and remarkably secure since I seemed to have the run of the place. I pretty much came and went as I chose. Whether this had to do with a relationship, or someone liking me, I don’t know, but it was a fantastic life that I thoroughly enjoyed.

In crossing the hall, I suddenly became aware of sounds behind me. Very much like the sound of those crepe soled shoes, it was the sound of bare feet running on the tile. Surprised, I realized too late that someone was attacking me. Someone extremely jealous of me and the position I held, they sought to remedy the situation. Before I could react, a knife was driven into my back, killing me. I sunk to the ground, never glimpsing the face of the person that had ended my life.

There I stood in the middle of Manhattan, a searing pain in my back where the knife had entered. Driven in with such ferocity, the handle of the knife was touching the skin. That similar noise had triggered the flashback, and I was caught up in the drama as the murder was replayed. Feeling that intense pain, in the blink of an eye, the remembrance disappeared like a puff of smoke. Like a magician snapping his fingers, I was back in present day, left with the memory of an ancient time.

I’ve always had a fondness for Egypt: the land, the culture and the people. I started to wonder if it was because the flashback was true. I mean, are there such things as having many lives? And if there is, can we really remember them? Can they be invoked by such things as sights, sounds, or smells?

I’m left to wonder. The remarkable clarity and vividness still is alive. I can recall all the details, and the wonderful vivaciousness of the person that was killed in this vicious way. She was quite something.

I’d love to hear if anyone else has had such an experience. It’s certainly a different perspective to think that the friends we have today, might one day be again …. in another time, and a very different place.