Reincarnation means once you pass away in this life, you will be reborn as a different person. In this way, your soul will continue to live new lives and have new experiences. In this sense, death really isn't an end but another new beginning - an opportunity for you to use what you have learned from consecutive lives in order to find further happiness and greater fulfillment in your new existence.

However, not everyone accepts reincarnation as a reality. Some believe death is the end of both our body and our soul. We simply cease to exist after only a tiny fragment of time. Others believe our bodies die while our souls transcend earth to live eternally in some type of paradise.

Regardless of your current beliefs, there are some very good reasons to believe in reincarnation.

The Long History of Reincarnation

Reincarnation is not a "new age" concept. The belief has been with us almost since the first civilizations and possibly even before. The Egyptians believed the soul (or ka, to use their terminology) left the body at death and would move to other bodies.

The respected Greek mathematician Pythagoras taught that reincarnation (or soul transmigration) was a reality. He believed the soul moved through different lives until it had become purified enough to leave the reincarnation cycle.

Some would argue that the Bible and Christianity also support a belief in reincarnation and that the many of Jesus' teachings, such as "Unless man is reborn, he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven." This idea may suggest an agreement with Pythagoras and other Greek thinkers on the purpose of reincarnation.

Today, reincarnation is an accepted part of several major world religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism.

Other Reasons to Believe in Reincarnation

Besides the numerous examples in other religions and throughout human history, there are still other reasons to believe in reincarnation. Below is a list of some of these reasons:

* Hypnotic Regression - Through hypnosis, many people have been able to uncover and remember actual experiences from their past lives. They have been able to describe places or events they had never read about or seen anything about before. These memories provide evidence that at least some of us have lived multiple lives.

* Past Life Recall - Although we may not trust adults who tell us stories about their past lives, most of us are more likely to believe children who have no motivation to lie about their memories. There are numerous documented cases of spontaneous past life recall in children and this further supports the idea of reincarnation.

* Intuition - Most of us have had the experience they we are reliving a moment of our lives or that we know a piece of information we should have no way of knowing. When we have these experiences, they stand out to us and stun us momentarily before we go back to our other occupations. However, these could very well be examples of our past lives seeping into our present memories.

Reincarnation is a serious belief with a long history among respected thinkers and world religions. Consider this when you decide whether or not to believe.