necessity, Renata’s father became absolutely fascinated by this procedure. After he had completed the required five-generation pedigree for the authorities, he continued this activity because of his private interest, tracing the history of his family back through the centuries, thanks to the relatively complete system of birth records kept in the archives of parish houses in European countries. With considerable pride, Renata’s father pointed to large and carefully designed ramified pedigree of their family, and showed her that they were descendants of one of the noblemen executed after the battle of White Mountain. After having described this episode in the letter, Renata expressed how happy she was to have obtained this independent confirmation of her “gut feeling” that her ancestral memory was authentic. She saw this as a proof that highly emotionally charged memories can be imprinted in the genetic code and transmitted through centuries to future generations. When I got over my initial amazement regarding this most unusual coincidence, I discovered a rather serious logical inconsistency in Renata’s account. One of the experiences she had had in her historical LSD sessions was the reliving of the terminal anguish of the nobleman during his own execution. And, naturally, physical death terminates the possibility of further genetic transfer; it destroys the biological hereditary line. A dead person cannot procreate and “genetically” pass the memory of his terminal anguish to future generations. Before completely discarding the information contained in Renata’s letter as supportive evidence for her experiences, several facts deserve serious consideration. None of the remaining Czech patients, who had a total of over two thousand sessions, had ever even mentioned this historical period. In Renata’s case, four consecutive LSD sessions contained almost exclusively, historical sequences from this time. It is practically out of question that something like this is a mere meaningless coincidence. The absence of a conventional pathway for biological transfer of this information and the independent confirmation of Renata’s experiences by her father’s independent genealogical quest suggest a situation that characterizes past life experiences. In any case, it is hard to imagine any plausible explanation of this astonishing coincidence that would not violate some basic assumptions of traditional Western science. 3.2.4 Attempts at experimental verification of past life experiences Some interesting experimental work has been done with hypnosis aimed at obtaining verifiable data about reincarnation. The objections against this kind of research emphasize the danger of suggestion. However, a strong case can be made for information that comes from a skilled use of hypnosis and is verifiable. Helen Wambach regressed 750 subjects into various past lives and employing a detailed sociological questionnaire, she collected from them specific information about costumes, food, weapons, money, and other aspects of the periods involved. She has often found verification even in the smallest details. Interestingly, the balance of males and females was maintained in her work, except during wartime when women were more numerous than men. Famous personalities were not more frequent; most Spirituality Studies 1 (2) Fall 2015 23 (21)
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