The Science of Reincarnation: Inside UVA's DOPS Research Center
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Nov. 1979 – The Dalai Lama toured UVA Grounds with Dr. Ian Stevenson
In the view of Tibetan Buddhism, there is a continuity of consciousness, so the consciousness that inhabits the body of this life is a continuation of the consciousness that inhabited the body in your previous life.
- Dalai Lama
If you're reading this, you've most likely accepted the cyclical nature of life by now. Last month was nothing short of another perfect example of this. My friend Craig Martin (co-host and producer of "The Good Road") and invited me and two other curious minds—Steve Martin (publisher and former principal of The Martin Agency) and Keni B (musical theater composer and producer)—to visit the Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS) at the University of Virginia.
For those unfamiliar, DOPS is the only academic research group in the world, housed within a Tier 1 research university, dedicated to the scientific investigation of phenomena that challenge our conventional understanding of consciousness—near-death experiences, children’s memories of past lives, and other unexplained experiences that suggest consciousness might exist beyond the physical brain.
A Dream Deferred
As a high school student, I stumbled upon a documentary called “The Boy Who Lived Before,” which followed Dr. Jim Tucker’s research with over 3000 cases of children who had vivid memories of past lives. This documentary opened doors in my mind at a time when I was already questioning the religious dogma I’d been raised with.
Back then, I dreamed of studying parapsychology and joining researchers like Dr. Tucker at DOPS. I’d been kicked out of religion class at the catholic military school I had attended as a kid for asking too many questions and reassigned as an English tutor. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it gave me internet access and the freedom to explore world religions and spiritual traditions beyond my upbringing.
Peter Arango, First Communion, Gimnasio militar Fuerza Area Colombiana. 1997
I became particularly drawn to Buddhism and its perspectives on reincarnation, consciousness, and karma. The idea that science could investigate these deep questions without religious dogma fascinated me. I eventually chose to study Child Developmental Psychology with the secret hope of someday conducting research at DOPS.
But...life had other plans. Music became my path, opening doors and opportunities I couldn’t ignore. Yet my curiosity about consciousness and its mysteries never went away—it simply simmered in the background while I built my career as a creative director and producer.
Walking Through the Doors
Walking into DOPS felt surreal. Our guide Patrick Belisle was clearly stoked to share their work. Patrick is the Director of Philanthropy at the Hoffman Institute. The DOPS was founded in the late 1960s by Dr. Ian Stevenson, who began collecting cases of children with apparent memories of past lives.
"Ian worked 365 days a year," Patrick told us. "He was just passionate about this research and super productive."`
I learned that the inventor of the Xerox machine, Chester Carlson, was actually a Buddhist who offered UVA a million bucks to start this division—which they initially turned down. This was the late 60s in Virginia, so a Division of Parapsychology (its original name) was too out there for them.
Dr. Stevenson believed in this research so much that he basically stepped down as Chair of Psychiatry to focus on it full-time. Over the years, they've changed the name from Parapsychology to Personality Studies to Perceptual Studies, probably to make it sound less woo-woo to the academic world.
Dr Kim Penberthy explaining her research
Where Science Meets the Unexplainable
We met several researchers during our visit. Dr. Kim Penberthy talked about her work on after-death communications—which is way more common than I thought. A Pew Research poll from 2023 found that 53% of Americans say they've experienced some kind of communication from dead loved ones.
Dr. Marieta Pehlivanova shared some wild stats about kids who remember past lives. Get this—90% of these kids remember being the same sex they are now. Even more interesting, kids who remember being the opposite sex in a past life are way more likely (83% vs. 6%) to show "gender non-conforming behaviors." That got me thinking about how this research might connect to gender identity in ways we don't understand yet.
Dr. Marina Weiler studies out-of-body experiences, working with people who can actually do this at will. She's running experiments where these people are hooked up to EEG equipment while trying to "view" objects in other rooms—basically scientific testing of remote viewing. We'll dive deeper into remote viewing another time 0.0
The Physical Evidence
One of the most mind-blowing parts was learning about the physical evidence. Dr. Philip Cozzolino explained that 44% of kids in their database who remember past lives have birthmarks or birth defects that match wounds from the person they remember being. In 10% of these cases, they've verified through medical records that the previous person really did die from wounds in those exact spots.
We saw photos of some of these cases—kids with birthmarks exactly where their "previous personality" had been shot or stabbed. Dr. Stevenson documented all this in his massive two-volume work, "Reincarnation and Biology."
The DOPS library is packed with over 6,000 books and journals on consciousness research, some dating back over a century. It felt like discovering a hidden history of questions that mainstream science has mostly ignored. Here's a list of recommended reads if you're interested in exploring more about this subject:
It's hard to be a culture mutt if you aren't open to others experiences. I admire how these researchers move between strict science and phenomena that push our boundaries. They're skeptical but open-minded, careful but willing to consider radical possibilities. They follow the evidence wherever it leads, even when it challenges mainstream paradigms. In doing so, they exemplify what I find to be the most valuable thing about the culture mutt approach to life—the ability to draw from different perspectives to create something uniquely valuable.
With love,
Pete Rango
P.S. If you'd like to reflect on anything discussed in this post please reach out! pete@peterango.com