Inspired by an SPR Journal article…
I recently read an article in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research (Vol. 82, No. 2, p. 81) on a reincarnation case detailed by Dieter Hassler. What was particularly interesting about this case for me was that the information transferred apparently led to the discovery of a letter, which confirmed the communicator. Beyond that though was the strange addition that the communicator seemed to know when the letter would be found. This very unique case seems literally too good to be true.
As many of you may not be members of the SPR, something you should certainly consider rectifying, I will do my best to give a brief overview of the case. A book published in 2015 described the various paranormal experiences of one Udo Wieczorek. These has started with various nightmares of dramatic events associated to World War I from the age of four. These stopped, but returned in his early adulthood. The vivid dreams and later flashbacks provided Wieczorek with enough information to start gaining an understanding of their probable source. This led him to an Austrian-Hungarian soldier called Vinz who Wieczorek believed he had once lived as back in 1915. What was equally interesting was that Wieczorek believed Vinz had shot and killed his best friend ‘Josele’. Wieczorek’s dreams led him to the Hochpuster Valley where he later found the letter from Vinz, written to the person he thought would find it and even identified the year it would be found too.
That is literally the shortest overview of this case as there are many pieces of information and probable evidence to be considered. However in this blog post it wasn’t so much the details of the case I wanted to discuss. That has been done by the SPR and also detailed in the JSPR too by Hassler. I wanted to discuss how this maybe possible, how could Vinz have known in his final days that his letter would be found on that exact year. Is this a case of precognition or telepathic interaction (void of space and time)?
Avoiding the element of fraud…
One thing to cover off quickly is the question of fraud. A golden rule with Paranormal investigators is; if it appears to be too good to be true, then it probably is. Within the JSPR article Hassler actually looks at the possibility of fraud and rules it out based on the information that is provided. Although in my opinion a case such as this, that suggests such a remarkable occurrence should demand further investigation. However for the concept of this post let’s take Hassler’s conclusions as given and look at this possibility of information being transferred from a soldier in 1915 to Wieczorek years later. Information that then potentially brought Wieczorek to find the letter on exactly the year Vinz wrote that it would be.
Let’s just think about that concept for a second. What is it we are talking about here? Did Vinz see the future when Wieczorek finds the letter? Actually thinking about it I don’t think he did see the future. The reason being is that in order to write the letter in the first place he would have had to have seen Wieczorek finding it, but surely he couldn’t see something that would equally require him to have already completed the letter. One could not exist without the other really, so seeing the future becomes a paradox.
A hidden letter from WWI…
So, how could Vinz of known that Wieczorek would find he’s hidden and preserved letter in 1997?
It was thinking about this possibility that troubled me a little. Could it be that Vinz was reincarnated into Wieczorek? Personally I didn’t feel comfortable with this possibility. Whilst this case certainly could be seen as good evidence for reincarnation, the information received by Wieczorek is somewhat fragmented. Granted that it fits the theoretical framework of reincarnation, but perhaps there were other possibilities occurring?
Whilst contemplating this and attempting to narrow is all down, to simplify it, one thing became apparent to me. This was perhaps about specific information that was associated to the letter and beyond it. You see Wieczorek also knew information linked to Vinz’s family too. What if all that information or memories is linked somehow. When Vinz was in his final days as his emotions were running high, adrenaline pumping, perhaps the intent and attention Vinz put into that letter connected him to it somehow. Although that still fails to explain how Wieczorek picked up the information.
Is it precognition?
If indeed Vinz intent was to send a letter to himself he surely would have made more of a reference to it. Instead he makes reference to someone finding it after his death and then expressing a date it will be found. It is this claim the letter makes about it being found after Vinz ‘s death that could be key here. As it could be this particular statement that highlights why Vinz chose such a distant year for when it would be found. The reason being is that at the point of writing the letter Vinz was injured and perhaps thought it could be his final days, but equally was aware that he could survive. With these possibilities in place he then set the date at a point in the future that he knew would be without doubt beyond his probable life span. What’s equally fascinating in this particular case is that Vinz also specifies that an individual will dream about Vinz and learn of his story. Well he says ‘maybe’ to be fair.
A little intent and attention…
If we suggest that Vinz didn’t comprehend the future in a precognitive manner, but instead put in motion the events through his intent and attention to details. Then we are still left with some finer details to work out. The main one being how was it that Wieczorek tuned into this information; first as a child and then as an adult, its certainly difficult to theorise why he may have dreamt of World War I. However the fact that he did only provides us with varied information and nothing specific to Vinz. The specifics related to Vinz only came once Wieczorek started dreaming again as an adult. Perhaps rather than being specifically chosen to receive the information or even a reincarnation of Vinz; Wieczorek may have done something in his life that inadvertently generated the connection.
The best way to explain this idea is by using the concept of searching the internet for a specific piece of information. If you use a search engine like ‘Google’ and simply enter one word related to the information, then the results will be vast and still there will be a lot to go through. None of which would allow you to narrow down to specifics easily. However if you add a few more words to your search the you quickly refine the search and connect with what you’re looking for quicker. What if Wieczorek’s mind was working in a similar way telepathically and thus picked up more information, which in turn refined to the specific information related to Vinz. Now this may seem like a touch of a leap to be fair, especially as it may not be a normal understanding of how these things may work. That said, this is a Psi Theory post!
Belief and the desire to comprehend the afterlife drives us all in someway. It equally allows us to follow the more romantic path of reincarnation as an explanation, especially in this case. Should we consider an individual to be a reincarnation of another based only on the fact they are in receipt of certain information specific to that person, is equally a leap to be fair. We should be prepared to look at greater possibilities rather than those old school romantic approaches.
What about zero dimensions…
If not reincarnation then, is it truly possible that there is a collective consciousness or perhaps a zero dimension for information. Is it also possible that Vinz tied his information together and highlighted it by using the intent of that letter, which focussed on specifics that would bring it recognition in the future. Is it possible that we may have the ability to connect with such intent and information, which in cases such as this become such a strong connection, that we can then understand a lot of that persons life? Personally I think varying levels of telepathic interaction may better explain phenomena such as this case. Its not quite as romantic as reincarnation, but it could be something we could possibly understand more about. Especially as there is already a great deal known about telepathy.
The point here being, as ever with a psi theory post, that just because we believe something to be a certain way, doesn’t mean that is way it is. We should always remain open to alternative possibilities that could explain phenomena, it might not all be ghosts, spirits and past lives!
Ashley Knibb 