{"id":3242,"date":"2026-09-24T16:14:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T16:14:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.reincarnatiopedia.com\/encyclopedia-of-reincarnation\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T22:35:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T22:35:20","slug":"encyclopedia-of-reincarnation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/encyclopedia-of-reincarnation\/","title":{"rendered":"Encyclopedia of Reincarnation: Past Lives, Karma, Regression and Research"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>An encyclopedia of reincarnation is exactly what you are reading now. <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/what-is-reincarnatiopedia\/\">Reincarnatiopedia<\/a> brings together in one place everything important about past lives: what reincarnation is, what different peoples believe, what researchers have found, how regression works and where to find a specialist who speaks your language.<\/p>\n<p>People often forget the name of the project. But they remember that there was &#8220;some encyclopedia about reincarnation&#8221;. That is why this page is the front door. From here you can reach every section: articles, a dictionary of terms, books and a directory of specialists.<\/p>\n<h2>In short: what you will find in this encyclopedia<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Simple answers to the main questions about reincarnation and past lives.<\/li>\n<li>The history of the idea of rebirth: India, ancient Greece, Buddhism, Kabbalah, Spiritism.<\/li>\n<li>Research: children who remember past lives, regression, &#8220;life between lives&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>The key researchers and their books.<\/li>\n<li>A dictionary of terms: karma, soul, past life, regression, Reincarnatiology.<\/li>\n<li>How to choose a specialist, and a <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/directory\/?lang=en\">directory of specialists<\/a> in your language.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is reincarnation?<\/h2>\n<p>Reincarnation is the idea that after the death of the body, a person&#8217;s soul or consciousness is born again in a new body. Other names for the same idea: rebirth, transmigration of souls. In philosophy the Greek word &#8220;metempsychosis&#8221; is also used.<\/p>\n<p>A past life is a life that the soul is believed to have lived before the present one. A past-life memory means images, feelings and knowledge that a person cannot explain by the experience of this life.<\/p>\n<p>Read more in the article <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/what-is-reincarnation-science-and-evidence\/\">what reincarnation is and what science knows about it<\/a> and in the wiki article <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wiki\/Reincarnation\">&#8220;Reincarnation&#8221;<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Who believes in reincarnation: the history of the idea<\/h2>\n<p>Reincarnation is one of the oldest ideas of humankind. It appeared among different peoples independently of each other.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>India. In Hinduism the soul passes through a cycle of births and deaths called samsara. What a person does comes back to them: this is karma. The goal is liberation from the cycle, called moksha. The Bhagavad Gita says: as a person takes off old clothes and puts on new ones, so the soul leaves an old body and enters a new one.<\/li>\n<li>Buddhism. The Buddha taught rebirth, but without an unchanging soul: what passes from life to life is a stream of consciousness and karma. In Tibet the rebirths of teachers, such as the Dalai Lama, are still searched for and recognised.<\/li>\n<li>Jainism and Sikhism also teach the cycle of rebirth and karma.<\/li>\n<li>Ancient Greece. Pythagoras taught the transmigration of souls. In the &#8220;Republic&#8221;, Plato tells the myth of Er, a soldier who saw souls choosing their next lives.<\/li>\n<li>Kabbalah. Jewish mysticism has the teaching of &#8220;gilgul&#8221;, the cycle of souls.<\/li>\n<li>The Druze in the Middle East believe that the soul is reborn in a new person immediately after death.<\/li>\n<li>Spiritism. In France, Allan Kardec published &#8220;The Spirits&#8217; Book&#8221; in 1857. Today Spiritism is especially widespread in Brazil.<\/li>\n<li>Many peoples of West Africa \u2014 for example the Yoruba, whose children are named Babatunde, \u201cfather has returned\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/atunwa-reincarnation-ori-destiny-yoruba-ifa\/\">atunwa in the If\u00e1 religion<\/a>) \u2014 and Indigenous peoples of North America also believe that the dead are reborn within their own family line.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Mainstream Christianity and Islam do not accept reincarnation. Still, many religious people are interested in the topic and ask questions about it.<\/p>\n<p>How karma and rebirth are connected is explained in the article <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/karma-and-reincarnation-how-they-connect\/\">karma and reincarnation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>What does research say?<\/h2>\n<p>There is no direct scientific proof of reincarnation. But there is serious research on past-life memories. Here are the three main directions.<\/p>\n<h3>Children who remember past lives<\/h3>\n<p>The best-known research was done by psychiatrist Ian Stevenson of the University of Virginia (USA). From the 1960s he travelled the world recording children&#8217;s accounts of past lives: in India, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Turkey, Thailand and among the Tlingit people of Alaska. He checked the names, places and events the children mentioned. His archive holds more than 2,500 cases. His first book was &#8220;Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation&#8221; (1966). In &#8220;Reincarnation and Biology&#8221; (1997) he compared children&#8217;s birthmarks with the wounds of the deceased people they talked about.<\/p>\n<p>Stevenson&#8217;s work is continued by child psychiatrist Jim Tucker, author of &#8220;Life Before Life&#8221; and &#8220;Return to Life&#8221;. Children usually start talking about a past life at the age of 2 to 4, and by 6 or 7 these stories fade.<\/p>\n<p>Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/children-who-remember-past-lives\/\">children who remember past lives<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Past-life regression<\/h3>\n<p>Regression is a method in which a person in a relaxed state, often with the help of hypnosis, recalls events from the past, including past lives. In the 1970s psychologist Helen Wambach ran group sessions with more than a thousand volunteers. Most of them described not the lives of famous people but the simple lives of peasants and craftsmen. Regression became widely known after psychiatrist Brian Weiss published &#8220;Many Lives, Many Masters&#8221; (1988).<\/p>\n<p>Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/what-is-past-life-regression-therapy-a-complete-guide-for-2026\/\">what past-life regression is<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/what-happens-during-a-past-life-regression-session\/\">how a session works<\/a> and the wiki article <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wiki\/Past-Life_Regression\">&#8220;Past-Life Regression&#8221;<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Life between lives<\/h3>\n<p>Hypnotherapist Michael Newton (1931\u20132016) described not past lives but what people remember about the time between them. His books are &#8220;Journey of Souls&#8221; (1994) and &#8220;Destiny of Souls&#8221; (2000). They introduced ideas that many people know today: the <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wiki\/Spirit_World\">spirit world<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wiki\/Soul_Group\">soul group<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wiki\/Spirit_Guides\">spirit guides<\/a>. His students are trained by <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/terms\/newton-institute\/\">The Newton Institute<\/a>. Dolores Cannon (1931\u20132014) created her own hypnosis technique, QHHT.<\/p>\n<p>Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/michael-newton-life-between-lives\/\">Michael Newton and life between lives<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wiki\/Michael_Newton\">the wiki article on Michael Newton<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/dolores-cannon-and-qhht-complete-guide\/\">Dolores Cannon&#8217;s method<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>An honest word about doubts<\/h3>\n<p>Sceptical scientists say that memory can mix imagination, books, films and suggestions. Under hypnosis a person can &#8220;remember&#8221; things that never happened. I believe everyone should know this. A good encyclopedia does not promise miracles. It shows facts, research and different opinions, and you draw your own conclusions.<\/p>\n<h2>Key researchers and books<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Ian Stevenson (1918\u20132007): psychiatrist, University of Virginia. Cases of children who remember past lives. &#8220;Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>Jim Tucker: child psychiatrist, Stevenson&#8217;s successor. &#8220;Life Before Life&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>Helen Wambach (1925\u20131985): psychologist. Group regressions with more than a thousand volunteers.<\/li>\n<li>Brian Weiss: psychiatrist. &#8220;Many Lives, Many Masters&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>Michael Newton (1931\u20132016): hypnotherapist. &#8220;Journey of Souls&#8221;, &#8220;Destiny of Souls&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>Dolores Cannon (1931\u20132014): hypnotherapist, creator of QHHT. &#8220;Between Death and Life&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>Hans TenDam: Dutch researcher and teacher of regression therapy. More in the wiki: <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wiki\/Hans_TenDam\">Hans TenDam<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Maris Dreshmanis: reincarnatiologist, founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wiki\/Reincarnatiology\">Reincarnatiology<\/a> and of Reincarnatiopedia. Books.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Dictionary: the key terms<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Reincarnation: the birth of a soul in a new body after the death of the previous one.<\/li>\n<li>Karma: the law of cause and effect. A person&#8217;s actions and feelings shape their future events and lives.<\/li>\n<li>Soul: the part of a person that, according to this teaching, passes from life to life. More: what the soul is.<\/li>\n<li>Past life: a life the soul lived before the present one.<\/li>\n<li>Regression: a method that helps a person remember the past, including past lives.<\/li>\n<li>Life between lives: the time that, according to Newton&#8217;s accounts, the soul spends in the spirit world between incarnations.<\/li>\n<li>Reincarnatiology: a field of work with past-life memories. I, Maris Dreshmanis, founded it.<\/li>\n<li>Reincarnatiologist: a specialist who helps a person remember past lives and understand how they are connected with the present one. More: <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wiki\/Reincarnatiologist\">reincarnatiologist<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How to remember a past life and how to choose a specialist<\/h2>\n<p>You can remember a past life through regression. It is easier and calmer with a specialist. Here is what to do, step by step.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Read <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/what-happens-during-a-past-life-regression-session\/\">how a session works<\/a>, so you know what to expect.<\/li>\n<li>Open the <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/directory\/?lang=en\">directory of specialists<\/a> and pick those who speak your language.<\/li>\n<li>Have a session with 3 or 4 specialists. Then choose the one you liked most for deeper work on your questions.<\/li>\n<li>Ask the specialist directly: where they trained, how many years they have worked, how a session goes and what it costs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>How is our directory different from school websites? Schools show only their own graduates. Why would they promote competitors? We collect all specialists: all English-speaking, all Russian-speaking, all Chinese-speaking, from any school. The directory now lists 5,602 specialists. You can choose anyone, not only our graduates.<\/p>\n<p>Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/how-to-choose-a-regression-therapist-a-practical-guide-25\/\">how to choose a regression therapist<\/a> and is regression dangerous: facts and myths.<\/p>\n<h2>What is Reincarnatiopedia?<\/h2>\n<p>Reincarnatiopedia is a multilingual encyclopedia of reincarnation and past lives. I, Maris Dreshmanis, founded the project. The encyclopedia has 311 language sites. It includes articles, a wiki encyclopedia of terms, a knowledge graph and a directory of specialists. More about the project in the article <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/what-is-reincarnatiopedia\/\">&#8220;What is Reincarnatiopedia?&#8221;<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The project is still under construction, like a house where not all the windows are in yet. Register so that we can invite you when we open new sections. We can only write to those who have registered. <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/login\">Register<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<h3>Is reincarnation real?<\/h3>\n<p>No one has been able to prove it scientifically yet. But there are thousands of documented cases, especially the accounts of young children, which researchers could not explain by ordinary causes. What to believe is up to you.<\/p>\n<h3>Can you remember a past life on your own?<\/h3>\n<p>Some people remember on their own: in dreams, in meditation, in a place that feels familiar at first sight. But it is calmer and clearer with an experienced specialist. See the <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/5-signs-you-have-past-life-memories\/\">signs of past-life memories<\/a> and the article <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/self-regression-techniques-you-can-practice-at-home-24\/\">who was I in a past life: how to find out<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Is regression dangerous?<\/h3>\n<p>Regression is work with memory and feelings. Sometimes strong emotions come up. That is why it matters to choose an experienced specialist and tell them about your condition in advance. More: is regression dangerous.<\/p>\n<h3>What is the difference between reincarnation and transmigration of souls?<\/h3>\n<p>In everyday speech they mean the same. In philosophy, &#8220;transmigration&#8221; and &#8220;metempsychosis&#8221; sometimes also mean the passage of a soul into an animal, not only into a human.<\/p>\n<h3>Where should I start reading about reincarnation?<\/h3>\n<p>Start with Ian Stevenson&#8217;s books about children and with Michael Newton&#8217;s &#8220;Journey of Souls&#8221;. On this site, start with the articles on <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/children-who-remember-past-lives\/\">children&#8217;s memories<\/a> and on <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/what-is-past-life-regression-therapy-a-complete-guide-for-2026\/\">regression<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>How can I find this encyclopedia again?<\/h3>\n<p>Type &#8220;encyclopedia of reincarnation&#8221; or the name &#8220;Reincarnatiopedia&#8221; into a search engine. Better still, bookmark this page or register.<\/p>\n<h2>Read also<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/what-is-reincarnation-science-and-evidence\/\">What is reincarnation: research and evidence<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/children-who-remember-past-lives\/\">Children who remember past lives<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/what-is-past-life-regression-therapy-a-complete-guide-for-2026\/\">What is past-life regression<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/karmic-relationships-healing-past-life-connections\/\">Karmic relationships<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/what-happens-to-soul-at-moment-of-death-michael-newton\/\">Life after death: what happens to the soul<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/fear-as-a-soul-memory-the-echoes-of-past-lives\/\">Emotions from past lives<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/hypnotherapy-complete-guide\/\">Hypnotherapy<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wiki\/Life_Between_Lives_%28method%29\">Life Between Lives (method)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wiki\/Reincarnatiopedia\">Reincarnatiopedia in the wiki<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/directory\/?lang=en\">Directory of specialists<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Author: <a href=\"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/author\/maris-dreshmanis\/\">Maris Dreshmanis<\/a>, reincarnatiologist, founder of Reincarnatiopedia. Reviewed: September 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Encyclopedia of reincarnation in plain words: past lives and karma, the history of the idea, Stevenson and Newton, regression and a directory of specialists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reincarnation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3242"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3311,"href":"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3242\/revisions\/3311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reincarnatiopedia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}