Reincarnation

Reincarnation – rebirth – is the conviction that life does not end with the death of the body: the spirit endures and incarnates again, as D. Harald Alke writes, “later in another body, in order to live on Earth once more”. For the Kyborg Institute this is a settled personal conviction, one we share with billions of people across cultures and millennia. We expressly do not claim scientific proof. Put more briefly: “Life never ends, it only changes its form.”

How does the Kyborg Institute see reincarnation?

D. Harald Alke formulated the Institute’s position himself – and it has two sides that belong together:

• Personally certain: “I know that the phenomenon of reincarnation is a fact.” Whoever has experienced something like this no longer needs “to believe in reincarnation” – they know it.
• Scientifically open: “We wish to leave open, in the sense of definitive proof, whether reincarnation exists.”
• Free for everyone: “You may really believe whatever you like! That is individual freedom and your good right.” For those without such experiences the subject remains “doubtful – that is perfectly clear and really fine”.

We understand this as a “stimulus towards a new image of the human being” – not as a doctrine that anyone must adopt.

What is the meaning of repeated lives?

In our conviction “we have already been everything”, each soul with its own inclinations and paths of development. D. Harald Alke describes a person’s life goal as twofold: first, working through old life problems from earlier incarnations; second – “with a little luck and skill” – a new, better way of living, new insights and experiences.

Mistakes we made earlier may repeat themselves: “That is our chance to learn.” Behind this there is no principle of punishment, but a calm trust: “They are simply different lives, and somehow the development will make sense.” Here lies the connection with karma: in this view, karma is “a memory programme from which we are meant to learn”.

How often do we return? “Until it no longer means anything to us.”

Which traditions know rebirth?

The idea of repeated lives is at home in many cultures, and we place them side by side as equals:

• In Hinduism and in yoga, rebirth belongs to the wheel of life; many a yogi seeks liberation from it – “That is his path. It cannot be the path for everyone.” And, paradoxically but aptly: “Only the one who no longer craves liberation is free.”
• In Tibetan Buddhism, deceased teachers are recognised again in a child.
• In early Christianity, one passage is still read in different ways today: Jesus says of John the Baptist that he is Elijah, “who is to come” (Matthew 11:14). Some read this as a hint of rebirth; the teaching of the Church understands the passage differently – as John coming “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17).
• The Cathars in the south of France taught the transmigration of souls.

D. Harald Alke sees a bridge in this: “Awareness of rebirth and a bond with foreign cultures can remove many current problems from the world.” Whoever assumes they have already lived on Earth many times has probably also lived in distant lands. In more detail: Reincarnation in cultures and religions.

What happens between death and a new life?

In our conviction: “We die, pass through a phase of detaching from the life just ended, and then plan our rebirth.” How long this takes varies – “everyone decides that for themselves”; D. Harald Alke regards around 40 days as a “short, healthy measure”. Rebirth as an animal is possible in this view, but “has become very rare” – and, with a wink: “One can be pretty beastly as a human too.”

Why do we not remember – and how does one recognise genuine memories?

“We lose the concrete memories so that we can fit better into the games currently being played here.” We have to let go of the old in order to build anew without preconceptions. And not everyone has such memories: “Many of my students have had no experiences of this kind at all.”

Where memories do arise, care is called for:

• Déjà vu is something else. These experiences “feel quite different, however, from recollections of earlier lives and times”.
• One’s own criterion of authenticity: whether the inner “films” feel intense and genuine – or more like fantasy.
• Healthy scepticism towards great names: “I am very sceptical of statements like ‘I was Maria Theresa or Charlemagne’.” Most remembered lives are unspectacular.
• Keep other explanations in mind: D. Harald Alke himself distinguishes between memories of the spirit from earlier incarnations and a possible memory passed down through one’s ancestors.

And not everything has its origin in earlier lives: “It would be quite wrong, however, to look straight away for the cause of every persistent problem in earlier lives. Most everyday problems stem from the present life.”

What is regression – and where are its limits?

In the spiritual sense, “regression” means an inner, experience-oriented process: images and sensations arise that are interpreted as memories of earlier life circumstances. For years D. Harald Alke worked in this way without hypnosis, with breathing techniques, over several days. People describe how “the relativity of things” shows itself – and often they lost above all one thing: “the fear of change”.

The limits matter to us just as much:

• Regression is not a treatment of illness and comes with no promise of healing. Our own work already says: “Regressions are successful only for healthy people.”
• It is not something “simply to be done as a game”, and it is always a matter of trust: have clarifying conversations beforehand, pay attention to experience and integrity. “Better no therapist at all than a bad one.”
• The Kyborg Institute has not offered regressions since 2003.

The term regression also has a psychological meaning: a temporary return to earlier, simpler states, for instance in order to recover. In this sense autogenic training also works with a deliberately induced pause for rest. The two meanings should be kept apart.

Does the idea of rebirth take away the fear of death?

For many people, yes. “Death is only a transformation. Whoever has spoken with death, whoever knows of their earlier incarnations, sees the world with different eyes.” And: “If death is progress, there is no reason to be afraid of it.” “Life does not end with death, nor does it begin with a birth.” More on this in the entry Death. To those who believe one lives only once, D. Harald Alke replies: “At least James Bond lives twice. Better than nothing.”

What sources and personal accounts are there?

In his work on the emotional foundation of the child, Tobias Alke expressly takes earlier incarnations into account as a possibility, in order to “do justice to the belief in rebirth present in many cultures and to the research that now exists in this field” – for instance the case studies of children who speak of a previous life, carried out at the University of Virginia. C. G. Jung noted in his memoirs, in substance, that the more myth we are able to make conscious, the more life we integrate.

D. Harald Alke’s personal experiences are told in the viewpoints An account towards a better understanding of reincarnation and A message from another life. Related terms: Karma, Death.

Note: This entry sets out a personal, worldview-based conviction, not a scientifically proven fact. It is not medical or psychological advice; regressions are no substitute for a medical diagnosis or treatment. Illnesses and blows of fate are never to be interpreted as the consequence of an earlier life.

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By D. Harald Alke, Tobias O. R. Alke