Many people claim to have had a past life.
Sometimes it is easy to dismiss such a claim, for instance if six people all start claiming to have been Nefertiti or if someone claims to have been Sherlock Holmes.
But a lot of people let their cynicism cloud the evidence that aims to prove that past lives are indeed real.
What are past lives? A past life is a life a person lived prior to this lifetime.
They were born, they lived, they died.
Their soul then moved on to a new life, maybe even their current life.
A belief in past lives, and in future lives, is a part of the belief in reincarnation.
People who believe they will be reincarnated believe in past lives.
However, a person who believes in past lives does not necessarily believe in reincarnation.
This is because reincarnation is seen as a way of improving yourself, lifetime after lifetime until ultimately you reach enlightenment.
Some people believe in past, current and future lives without worrying about enlightenment.
They believe that you simply return over and over again with no overarching plan.
Which ever way you see it, the belief in living life after life is paramount to the human experience.
Is there any evidence that past lives are real? Some people would tell you that a belief in past lives is simply magical thinking.
Many mainstream religions frown upon the concept.
For example, Christians do not believe in reincarnation or past lives.
Rather, they believe that you get one life and after you die you go to heaven, hell or purgatory.
But there has been some evidence that suggests that pasts lives are, in fact, real.
There have been many attempts to prove that past lives are a real thing, and there is far more evidence in support of past lives than there is evidence that any God exists.
The scientific community refutes this evidence, however.
In a case reported by Dr Morris Netherton, an eleven year old boy began speaking in an ancient Chinese dialect when he was hypnotised.
The boy had no conscious knowledge of that language and had no way of learning or memorizing it.
The tape was taken to a Professor at the Department of Oriental Studies at the University of California, where it was to be a recitation from a forbidden ancient Chinese religion.
Then there is Robert Snow, a Captain in the Indianapolis Police Department, who was dared to undergo hypnotic regression by a fellow officer.
He didn't believe in reincarnation, but didn't want to back out of the dare.
Under his regression, he had 30 distinct memories of the life of an artist.
Using his police skills, and a very lucky break through, he found out that the artist was Carroll Beckwith.
Through Beckwith's diaries, Snow was able to validate all the memories.
He has stated that if this was a murder case, the evidence he has gathered would ensure a guilty verdict, and no plea bargains would be entertained.
How to find out if you had a past life There are certain signs that can indicate that you've had a past life.
If you've ever experienced deja vu and felt that you had been to a certain place before even though you haven't or felt that you already had a certain conversation -- even though you haven't -- that could be signs of past life memories.
You may also meet someone that you feel like you've known forever even though you are strangers.
In some cases, a person you meet and have an instant connection to can be someone that you shared a past life with.
Often we travel through multiple lives with the same souls.
We may travel from life to life with a soulmate or even an enemy.
A qualified hypnotist can lead you through a regression to discover memories of your past life, and is the advised way to discover the life you have lived before.
Alternatively, there are many online do it yourself techniques involving meditation.