Are We Our Past Lives?: Soul Patterns in Personalities and Relationships
by Marie Gates (CreateSpace, 2010)
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Are We Our Past Lives?: Soul Patterns in Personalities and Relationships
Phil Collins – the reincarnation of an Alamo soldier?
British rock star Phil Collins believes he could be the reincarnation of a 19th Century American town mayor and soldier who played a role in the Battle of the Alamo.
Pyramid scam? – Evolutionary psychologists take on the Hierarchy of Needs
“raiders of the lost maslow” by Laurence Simon (isfullofcrap) — Flickr.com
Abraham Maslow must be turning in his grave. In a recent paper, a group of evolutionary psychologists has set out to replace his famous humanistic theory of motivation with something a lot less … human.
You have probably heard of the Hierarchy of Needs. It looks like a pyramid, and it’s one of the most popular images to come out of modern psychology.
But recently, a group of evolutionary psychologists has sought to overhaul the model. Or as they put it, to “renovate the pyramid”.
The result is a perfect illustration of the fundamental division within psychology itself.
Western belief in reincarnation on the increase
A recent New York Times article on the growing Western belief in reincarnation is causing a bit of a stir.
The article is called Remembrance of Lives Past and it originally appeared in the NYT on 27 August. It has since ‘reincarnated’ (sorry) in the San Fransisco Chronicle and elsewhere.
The author is Lisa Miller (left), the religion editor for Newsweek and author of the book Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination with the Afterlife.
Miller cites several indicators, both statistical and cultural, of a growing interest in reincarnation among Westerners (but primarily Americans):
Growth and the journey of life: A dream
30 August 2010
05:54 am: What an extraordinary dream I have just had. Long, elaborate, multi-layered and highly symbolic. Let’s see if I can remember it.
To set the scene, before going to sleep I had been writing something for this website about one of the personality features in the Michael teachings, the goal of growth. I was wondering how best to describe it and how it operates in life. I know that growth is my own life goal, so I was thinking that I “should” know all about it from personal experience.
New Zealand near death experiencers needed for first Kiwi study
Personal accounts of near-death experiences (NDEs) are wanted for the first large-scale study of the phenomenon in New Zealand.
The study is being undertaken by Massey University‘s Dr Mary Murray, a sociologist and senior lecturer, and Dr Natasha Tassell, a psychology lecturer. They have set up the Massey University NDE Research Group whose purpose is to investigate NDEs in New Zealand and is the first research group of its kind in the country.
Successful psychopaths [update]
Psychologists have recently started taking notice of so-called “successful psychopaths”. These are people who have the same kinds of disturbed personalities as regular psychopaths — but, remarkably, they have no history of criminal prosecution. In fact, they can live seemingly successful lives in normal society.
Update on Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka – India’s past life reality TV show
This is a follow-up to my 22 January post: ‘Groundbreaking reality TV show features past life regression‘.
According to an article in the Hindustan Times of 25 July 2010 (‘Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka is back’), the second season of Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka will start filming on the 1st of August for broadcast in October.
Dr Trupti Jayin, the NDTV Imagine reality show’s regression therapist, says that it will “be a mix of interesting cases from India and abroad.”
The Swiss mystic and his big Red Book: the secret world of Carl G Jung
As Carl Jung’s mysterious masterpiece, The Red Book, is finally published, a new biography portrays the psychologist as a modern-day mystic.
For much of his life, pioneering psychologist Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) presented himself to the world as a rational, no-nonsense scientist. If he appeared to have any interest in mysticism or the occult, it was purely academic: just a way to help him understand the symbolism appearing in his patients’ dreams.
In truth, however, Jung was every inch the modern mystic.
The Character Project: Templeton Foundation funds study into the nature of human character
University awarded $3.67 Million to study the nature of character.
The past 30 years have seen a resurgence of interest in character, particularly in the areas of psychology, philosophy, and theology. This work has given rise to a number of challenging questions, such as:
- Do character traits such as honesty or compassion really exist?
- If they do exist, how prevalent are they, and what is their underlying psychological nature?
- Should character traits such as the virtues be the centerpiece of our best ethical theory?
- How should we go about improving our characters and overcoming our character flaws?
- For those working in theology, should thinking about human and divine character be central to theological ethics?
The goal of the Character Project, a research project funded by the John Templeton Foundation, is to address these questions and to foster new advances in the study of character.