AnnaBella,
I do think reincarnation is a real, natural phenomenon. My previous questions were in no way intended to be demeaning to what you believe, they are simply efforts to understand the situation. I am disappointed that you could not respond to some of them more directly.
I don't think you posted this story here without expecting feedback. If you didn't desire feedback, one must wonder why you posted your story for others to see. Why not keep it to yourself? By opening yourself to this feedback, you can not be upset when the feedback is not all affirmative of everything you think.
I agree with fiziwig when he says -
some are here looking for answers to deep mysteries.For those who wish to collect solid evidence hard questions must sometimes be asked. Read some of Dr. Stevenson's books to see how many really hard questions he asks himself about his own case histories. The scientific approach needs to be tough-minded.This is in no way meant to suggest that anyone knows better than you what is going on in your house. Exactly the contrary. Since nobody else can know what is really happening, those who are outsiders feel the need to ask questions in order to better understand what is going on
That's all this is about, understanding what's going on. Whether or not it's a past life, it's important to understand what's going on with your niece because something is bothering her. If it is a past life, it would be nice to have some information you can provide to an outsider and norm. of today's culture who relies on evidence to be convinced of things as opposed to maternal bond.
I do not understand why you are so defensive about the suggestion that this was inspired by television. If you claim your eyes have been held open by toothpicks every moment your niece watches television, so be it.
I also don't understand how having a conversation with someone and asking questions is making the other person out to be a lab rat. If it is, and this is a rule of social etiquette that I am not aware of, I have to admit that I have shamelessly asked my little niece questions when having conversations with her. Perhaps I owe her an apology.
I think it was just last week that I asked, "Do you know what the answer to number 18 is?" while helping her with her homework. Next time when she says the answer to 4 x 4 is 18, I will tell her that she is correct, and if soemone asks about it, I will firmly state that she is indeed correct. I will even protest her math teacher's refutations.
In the mean time, one must also question why you watched Saving Private Ryan with a seven-year-old. Maybe her interest in war films doesn't arise from a past life at all, but from the fact that her curious, young mind is being fed images of heads splattering and machine guns thudding in glorious THX digital 8-track sound.
Parenting criticisms aside, here are my thoughts. If your niece has indeed never seen a documentary about the operation in Somalia, and has never heard the name Casey Joyce before, there is high potential that she has recalled a past life.
You wrote the following:
"Zia will you talk with me about The Battle of the Black Sea" I told her I did not know what she was talking about and she whispered "18 Americans were killed in 1993 in Somalia"
It's interesting that she worded this the way a child would about a subject they were taught in school.
But I have another interesting point about this. An excerpt from the website dedicated to the soldiers said that Casey Joyce died after falling out of a helicopter. AnnaBella has just informed me this was not correct, so I removed the inaccurate reference.
However, even in light of this new information, Casey Joyce died before some of the other 18 Americans, making us wonder how your niece - relying solely on memories from the past life since she, according to your confident words, saw no documentaries on the incident - could have known that 18 Americans died. The only way this would be possible is if she/he haunted for awhile after the death, or was provided with some sort of viewing glass from heaven. This statement is not so much skeptical as it is curious! If this case is true as you so strongly believe, then after a death it is not an immediate transition to the next life, or absent time, but somehow there is the opportunity to see what happened after you went.
You also wrote:
We are not American and I was extremely surprised when the morning of October 3 2002 came and she stood up and sang teh American national anthem from start to finsh without mising a word.
Oh dear God, see that's why you shouldn't let children watch football games.
AnnaBella, it is not at all amazing that she knows the words to the American national anthem. I know Canadians - adult, born and raised Canadians - who know the words to the American national anthem but not the wailing lyrics of "Oh Canada". What is amazing is that she sung this on October 3rd!
My conclusion that is if everything you say is true and she has had no exposure to documentaries we're looking at a good chance that this is all genuine. Note there is a lot of "if's" there.
For those of you who are curious to catch a glimpse of what Zia's niece looked like back when she was a man, here are some photos.
[This message has been edited by TaoistGuy (edited 01-22-2003).]
[This message has been edited by TaoistGuy (edited 01-22-2003).]