Talking Reincarnation with Dr. John Gilbert
It is always enjoyable to visit with Dr. John Gilbert, a man of keen insights and a scholar of the occult. His reputation as a Certified Tarot Grandmaster and a Kaballah Master is well known. This interview is centered around his vast knowledge of reincarnation and his opinions on the subject. John, let me start this interview by asking what you think of the growing public interest in reincarnation since the 1980s?
Dr. John Gilbert: Public interest always seems to follow new information. It seems to me more and more people are reincarnating with some residual memory of one or more past lives. As more people openly admit these things, interest will continue to grow. Also hypnotism is opening up some stored memories of past lives and this adds scientific evidence that tends to support the idea of reincarnation.
Is it possible, that when a person does automatic writing and states he or she is in contact with a deceased person, for example, Abraham Lincoln, that the contact is not with Lincoln, but with an entity who knew or encountered Lincoln on the Inner Planes, and that the real Lincoln has already reincarnated? What are your thoughts on this?
JG: I believe it’s possible for the real Lincoln to come through in automatic writing even though he has already reincarnated in another identity. I also am quite convinced people on the other side are exactly the same as they were in this lifetime. So, yes, it is possible that people who knew Lincoln could be writing messages. It’s also just as possible that charlatans are having a good time posing as Lincoln. Unless we know exactly who’s doing the writing, we must assume it could be anybody.
What are your thoughts on reincarnation as a universal theme in so many cultures?
JG: True knowledge tends to be universal, so it’s not unusual for many different cultures and many different people receiving the same information.
Can a past life be read through the use of Tarot cards?
JG: Anything is possible. I’ve written a paper on this subject that your readers may find helpful. It’s called "How to do Past Life Readings" and you can download it at http://TaroptInstitute.com/articles/past.htm
Can a future life be read through the use of Tarot cards?
JG: Again, anything is possible. But when we look at the past we can see what has happened in our life. When we look into the future, what we see is a look of probabilities and we don’t know which of those probabilities will occur because we don’t know what decision we’re going to make in the future.
Herein lies the great problem with all divination. What we see is not what will happen, but what might happen if we continue to make the kinds of decisions we’ve been making in the past. The great thrill of being human is that we can change our thinking and our behavior anytime. And, every time we change our thinking or our behavior, we change our future.
For this reason, and many others discussed on the Tarot Institute Web site, I use the Tarot to tell me what will happen if I continue doing and thinking what I’m doing and thinking right now. If I don’t like what I see, all I have to do is change my thinking and my behavior and the future I was going to get doesn’t materialize. Instead, I have a better future because I chose to have a better future.
Some astrologers believe that if a person dies on a given astrological sign date, that is the sign they will come back as in the next incarnation. What are your thoughts?
JG: I think it’s pretty clear we choose our birth dates based on the signs and planetary positions that will help us achieve what we want to achieve in any given incarnation. I’m quite convinced I chose to come into this lifetime with my Sun, Venus, and Jupiter all in Aquarius and in the Fifth House along with Mercury so that I could accomplish what I want to accomplish. The fact Neptune fell on the cusp of my First House may have been a fluke, but I suspect I wanted that Neptunian energy to assist me with my ministry.
I’m also quite certain I wanted to grow in this lifetime by arriving when the Moon, Mars, and Saturn were all in Aires in my Seventh House — the House of Hidden Enemies. Several people I’ve harmed in past lifetimes have come back into my life this time around to even the score by using the energy of this House. I’m really glad to get this behind me by accepting, forgiving, and loving them in this lifetime instead of becoming resentful and revengeful so we can go around again and again as adversaries. It’s good to be done with negative relationships.
Do you know what some of your past incarnations were, and would you share something about them?
JG: Yes, when I died at age ten, I started to remember a great deal about who and what I was in many lifetimes. I also started to remember people in this lifetime who were an important part of one of my previous lives. There’s a common thread.
I’ve been a priest of one kind or another in all of the lifetimes I remember. In Egypt I helped embalm the dead and counsel the grieving by helping them prepare to join their loved one. In France I was one of the inquisitors. Many of the people I harmed in that incarnation have come back at this time to even the score. Many of those I helped in other lifetimes have come back to assist me in my current ministry.
Another interesting thing is that most of my former teachers seem to be here during this lifetime. My Kriya Yoga Master was an old friend, mentor, and teacher. My Christian Gnostic teacher and mentor was an old friend, mentor, and teacher. My Druid teacher and mentor was an old friend, teacher, and mentor. I find this interesting and I enjoy being a Christian Gnostic Kriya Yoga Druid in this lifetime.
Are you able to foresee your own personal incarnations in the future?
JG: No, and I don’t care to go there — at least, not yet. There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to come back here again. But, there’s another part that wants to do something to relieve the pain and suffering of this world. I’m just not ready to plan my next incarnation right now.
If a person were to attempt to find out about personal past incarnations, what approach or techniques would you suggest to that person?
JG: In my opinion, absolutely the best way to discover things about your past lives is to go there during meditation. The Essene Healing Meditation is one of the very best ways to approach this. Most people can learn this powerful technique in less than a month of daily practice. Their technique is available on the Internet at http://ModernEssenes.com.
How often have you done past life readings?
JG: Quite often in the past. Today, I’m more prone to suggest people do their own work by learning to meditate deeply, meet and commune with their spirit guides, and go back into their own akashic records. First of all, what they learn for themselves is more believable than anything I can tell them. And, secondly, by approaching it in this manner each of them moves along their own spiritual path more easily. Besides, it’s a lot easier to teach somebody to do it for him or herself.
Do you have a spirit guide, or guides, that help you? Would you discuss them?
JG: We all have spirit guides helping us whether we care to commune with them or believe in them or not. It’s a commitment they made while we were on the other side before we decided to become the Fool and enter this incarnation. It’s also a mutual commitment, because we will be or already were their spirit guides in some other incarnation. It’s one way we help each other.
My main spirit guides are: 1) Wild Oak — a fellow Lakota medicine apprentice in a former lifetime, 2) Thomas — a Kaballah Master who was one of my star pupils a long time ago and who serves as my gatekeeper, 3) Chin Tsu — a Taoist master who was my first wife’s gatekeeper, 4) Judy — my first wife and gifted psychic (she passed over in 1996), 5) William — a ritualist who is an extremely powerful magician and Kaballah teacher, 6) Myriam — my Essene master teacher, and 7) Rhodonn — my closest friend and mentor.
Do you believe in what is popularly called “guardian angels”? Why or why not?
JG: Certainly. Guardian Angels are there to protect and to serve us. But please don’t take my word for it. Learn how to meditate deeply, meet your own Guardian Angel, and open the lines of communication. The Essene technique works as well as anything and better than most other approaches. In the Magickal Order of the Golden Dawn (http://MagickalOrder.com) we work with our spirit guides and Guardian Angel to make progress on our chosen spiritual path.
What do you think of the statement: “Every person has a guardian angel. Every person is capable of being clairvoyant in some manner. Most have forgotten how to access either as childhood is replaced by the culture or adulthood.”
JG: I agree we all have a Guardian Angel. I agree we’re all intuitive and through practice can become clairvoyant, clairaudient, and clairsentient or develop any psychic faculties we want to develop. All it takes is practice.
In recent years, some scientists have voiced the opinion that such things as reincarnation incidents, ghosts, hauntings, paranormal situations, psychic revelations, and the supernatural are mere by-products of overactive brain chemistry, not real. What do you say?
JG: I used to believe that, but I know science can be manipulated to prove anything the scientist wants to prove. On the other hand, people who develop their own intuition know what they know and nobody can take that knowledge away from them. Once you learn the truth, you know the truth.
What would you like your human form to be in your next incarnation?
JG: Whatever serves my purpose best is what I will be.
What are five of your most favorite books for reading and re-reading?
Oh boy! Now that’s a question. I love to read. Might I suggest that the reading list at http://UniversalGnostic.com is probably the best list of my favorites.
You seem a highly positive person. What one word, or one sentence, best sums up your personal philosophy?
JG: I believe the Divine is everything and there is nothing that is not a part of the Divine; and we’re all in this lifetime together to love and help each other.
Why do think your purpose is in this lifetime?
JG: Based on my work with my spirit guides, I’m quite convinced we all come here to accomplish three major things during our lifetime. First we come here to learn how to love more and more. We come here to learn how to love ourselves, other people, and everything in the creation more and more. Secondly, we come here to help each other learn how to love more and more. Thirdly, we come here to help each other make life easier for everybody concerned. Beyond that we come here to accomplish specific personal goals we set for ourselves and that varies from person to person.
What suggestions would you suggest for pursuing information and studies on reincarnation?
JG: Forget about studying about reincarnation and go for learning more about yourself and your own past lives. Learn about your spirit guides and open up communication with them. You’ll learn far more that way.
Do you have a personal Web site you could share with the audience?
JG: Aside from the few I’ve already mentioned, my main Web site is http://UniversalGnostic.com the Web site for the Universal Gnostic Church — where you can learn how to travel your own spiritual path. The Gnostic Lessons are a very powerful tool for following one’s own spiritual path.
Would you explain what a Gnostic is please?
JG: Sure. A Gnostic is a person who believes she or he can have a personal relationship with the Divine and opens up communication with the Divine to attain that personal relationship.
John, it has been good visiting with you during this interview. Thank you for sharing. Is there anything else you would like to add?
JG: No. I think we’ve covered everything. But I might mention that Kriya Pawer Meditation is a good alternative meditative system for people who don’t care to try the Esseme Healing Breath Meditation. See http://GnosticYoga.com for details.
