Thursday, August 1, 2013

Reincarnation - the Good and the Bad

Photo: Six decades ago, a 21-year-old Navy fighter pilot on a mission over the Pacific was shot down by Japanese artillery. His name might have been forgotten, were it not for a toddler named James Leininger. 

At first, the parents of the boy were puzzled, then disturbed, when their two-year-old son began screaming out chilling phrases such as, "Plane on fire! Little man can't get out!" during recurring nightmares, since the boy was a regular toddler who had only just begun stringing together sentences. 

Over time, James' parents say he revealed extraordinary details about the life of former fighter pilot James Huston. They say the kid told them his plane had been hit by the Japanese and crashed. James also told his father the name of the boat he took off from — Natoma — and the name of someone he flew with — Jack Larson. After some research, Bruce discovered that both the Natoma and Jack Larson were real. The Natoma Bay was a small aircraft carrier in the Pacific, and Larson is living in Arkansas. 

James also described how his plane had sustained a direct hit on the engine. Ralph Clarbour, a rear gunner on a U.S. airplane that flew off the Natoma Bay, says his plane was right next to the one flown by James M. Huston Jr. during a raid near Iwo Jima on March 3, 1945. Clarbour said he saw Huston's plane struck by anti-aircraft fire. "I would say he was hit head on, right in the middle of the engine," he said.

Now, quite a few people, including those who knew the fighter pilot, think James is the reincarnated pilot. In 2010, he published a best-seller called "Soul Survivor."
 
Six decades ago, a 21-year-old Navy fighter pilot on a mission over the Pacific was shot down by Japanese artillery. His name might have been forgotten, were it not for a toddler named James Leininger.

At first, the parents of the boy wer...
e puzzled, then disturbed, when their two-year-old son began screaming out chilling phrases such as, "Plane on fire! Little man can't get out!" during recurring nightmares, since the boy was a regular toddler who had only just begun stringing together sentences.

Over time, James' parents say he revealed extraordinary details about the life of former fighter pilot James Huston. They say the kid told them his plane had been hit by the Japanese and crashed. James also told his father the name of the boat he took off from — Natoma — and the name of someone he flew with — Jack Larson. After some research, Bruce discovered that both the Natoma and Jack Larson were real. The Natoma Bay was a small aircraft carrier in the Pacific, and Larson is living in Arkansas.

James also described how his plane had sustained a direct hit on the engine. Ralph Clarbour, a rear gunner on a U.S. airplane that flew off the Natoma Bay, says his plane was right next to the one flown by James M. Huston Jr. during a raid near Iwo Jima on March 3, 1945. Clarbour said he saw Huston's plane struck by anti-aircraft fire. "I would say he was hit head on, right in the middle of the engine," he said.

Now, quite a few people, including those who knew the fighter pilot, think James is the reincarnated pilot. In 2010, he published a best-seller called "Soul Survivor."
 
This is a story of a reincarnation that did not turn out so well:
 
I met the Mom of a teenager who killed himself. She told me that her son was a reincarnated Nazi SS Officer. He grew up having nightmares of actions he did, atrocities he participated in as this soldier. She and her husband sent him to therapists, ministers, counselors, hypnotists, and other professional specialists, none of whom could help him. This tragically stoic woman appeared relieved that he took his own life, after more than 16 years of his tormented life.   Ron Alexander
 
Ashley Bee That's so sad. I hope his spirit was able to find peace and he forgave himself.
 
Ron Alexander I have to imagine Ashley Bee that he was able to find a better incarnation, and I think that is the way his Mother thought. She talked to me as a client, as I was a counselor working with young adults who were dying. The good news is that most of these teenagers were living life to the utmost and were reconciled leaving this earth early. My job was to help them enjoy life as much as possible - fulfilling early "bucket lists" if you will.  I took them on all kinds of field trips - sailing, to Yosemite, river rafting, to the Mendocino fabulous aquarium, Monterey, annual young adult dances, on and on! They were the most PRESENT people I have ever had the joy to work with. They were Angels on Earth! That was the best job I have ever had! The biggest headache was the grief-stricken Mothers and a couple of the Fathers, but mostly Mothers, who were so angry in their grief, that sometimes they took it out on me.
I worked with Dr. Jerry Jampolsky, who wrote the book above and many others. As a sensitive Child Psychiatrist, who saw the need for spiritual support groups for dying children, he created the Center for Attitudinal Healing. I came along as a psych. grad. student needing an internship. I was told that some of the original children wanted support as "Young Adults", so I obtained a grant and created a "Young Adult" group for life-threatened older kids up to 21 - mostly teenagers. This center was in beautiful Tiburon Ca across the Bay from San Francisco! Dr. Jampolsky inspired me to take these Angels on these trips, which turned into the best internship ever, I think. Although, my professors in Grad. School thought I was taking on the hardest part of counseling first!
 
 

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