Study of reincarnation has yielded some of the strongest evidence supportive of life after death. This research can be divided into two broad types. The first, statements made by psychics about their clients’ previous incarnations such as those in the Cayce readings, while no doubt interesting to the particular client, don’t provide the kind of details that could be checked for accuracy. Even if they did offer a rich variety of details about an individual’s specific past life, to establish that the psychic could not have acquired that information by normal or even paranormal means and passed it on to the client in a reading would be next to impossible. The second broad type of evidence, individual’s apparent recollections of their own previous lives, can be subdivided into three groups: (a) cases in which adults spontaneously in a normal state of consciousness, or at least not under hypnosis, seem to recollect previous lives, (b) cases of children doing so, and (c) evidence from hypnotized subjects “regressed” to a past life, as with the case of Bridey Murphy.
Those people who, although not growing up in a culture where reincarnation is the dominant belief, come to that belief on their own most likely do so as a result of their own past life memories. These are not likely to contain the rich detail such as found in the Bridey Murphy case, but a few do. One such discussed by Fontana, involves Jenny Cockell, who reported that throughout her childhood her dreams were “swamped by memories” of being another woman, Mary. As Mary, while dying of fever, she was terrified of what would become of the children she was leaving behind. She experienced strong memories of having seven or eight children, particularly the eldest, a 13- year-old boy. She had clear images of a cottage standing on a quiet lane, of neighboring houses, of a church, of a nearby village, and of surrounding countryside. Sometimes she would find herself doing the things that Mary would have done, such as sweeping and cleaning, without the use of modern appliances. Repeatedly she drew maps of Mary’s village, and these maps were remarkably consistent. When looking at a map of Ireland she found herself drawn intuitively to a village called Malahide and was convinced that this was where she had lived as Mary.
Jenny finally decided to engage in past-life regression under hypnosis in order further to explore these memories. When regressed she experienced herself living as Mary O’Neil. Impressed with these memories, Jenny set about investigating whether she could verify that such a person had actually existed. She wrote to all the people with the name of O’Neil living in the Malahide area, visited the village, and was able to secure a copy of Mary O’Neil’s death certificate and the names of her children. A nationwide television network became interested in the story and helped her meet Mary’s oldest son, Sonny, then 71. The two provided independent descriptions of circumstances surrounding the family, which they then compared. Jenny’s extensive research and her meeting with Sonny confirmed that the great majority of the facts corresponded to those that had emerged in her dreams and during the past-life regressions.
Her map of the village, the cottage’s immediate surroundings, names and dates, and family events and experiences all turned out to be correct. Many of these experiences and events were so personal that it seemed impossible for them to have been accurately guessed or known by people outside the family. Sonny accepted that, incredible as it was, the facts clearly pointed to Jenny Cockell being the reincarnation of Mary O’Neil, his mother. As an outcome of the publicity given to the story on television and in the national press, as well as Jenny’s own book about her experiences, Mary’s children who had been split up at her early death at the age of 35 were able to reunite.
Fontana states that Jenny Cockell is highly intelligent and not a gullible person. She was investigated by a senior member of the SPR Council who was impressed by her integrity. The researcher for the television network covering the story became intimately connected with the case she investigated important details for herself and went to considerable lengths to ensure the veracity of the story. (Fontana, 2005)