Reincarnation is the belief that one’s soul or spirit returns to the material world after physical death and is reborn in a new body.

Jenny Cockell is a celebrated case. She grew up with memories of her past life as an Irish woman called Mary Sutton. Her memories allowed her to track down the village where Mary lived and she was “reunited” with Mary’s children.

References to reincarnation can be found in all religions. In Hinduism it is believed that the soul advances to another body after death, just as the body casts off worn out clothes. This is an infinite cycle continually changing bodies until the breaking of this rite of passage and on to nirvana.

The belief in reincarnation is stronger than ever. Although hard to obtain accurate statistics, a 1991 Gallup Poll showed that 25% of Americans did believe in the rebirth of the soul in a new body.

There are more options than ever to explore past lives including regression therapy. This works on the premise that the cause of a patient's problems might result from trauma experienced in an earlier existence.