James Arthur Flowerdew (1 December 1906 – 30 September 2002) was an English man from Norfolk, England whose claimed recollections of the ancient city of

Petra Petra (; "Rock"), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu (Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: or , *''Raqēmō''), is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit systems, P ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

are offered as a supposed proof of the existence of

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...

Life

Arthur Flowerdew was born on 1 December 1906. From his adolescence, Flowerdew experienced strange visions of a stone city carved into a cliff, which were particularly strong when he played in the multicolored pebbles on a beach near his home. The clarity of his visions grew as he did. One day, as an adult, he watched a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

documentary on the ancient city of Petra in Jordan and immediately recognized it as the city of his visions. He became convinced that he had lived a previous life in Petra and contacted the BBC. They filmed and broadcast a short piece on Flowerdew, which the Jordanian government saw and was intrigued by. They offered to fly Flowerdew out to Petra to examine its remains and perhaps offer insights on analyzing the city. In '' The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying'', Rinpoche claims that before Flowerdew left for Jordan, he was interviewed by an archaeological expert excavating Petra to test his knowledge of the ancient city. He also claims Flowerdew described the city with astounding accuracy and pointed out three landmarks prominent in his memory, as well as going directly to these landmarks upon his arrival at Petra (including his purported place of murder), explained a very plausible use for a device whose explanation had baffled archaeologists, and even correctly identified the locations of many landmarks that had yet to be excavated. Many experts said that Flowerdew had more knowledge of the city than many professionals studying it, and they did not believe him to be an incredible con man (a feat which, in this case, they felt would have taken extraordinary skill). The archeological expert on Petra who accompanied Flowerdew to Jordan said, According to Sogyal Rinpoche's story, Flowerdew maintained he had never seen or heard of Petra before the BBC documentary and had never read any literature on the city. Rinpoche, Sogyal. '' The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying''. San Francisco: Harper, 1993. pp. 88-90. . Many spiritual leaders, including

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Arunachal Prades ...

lama Lama () is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word ''la-ma'' means "high mother", ...

Sogyal Rinpoche, believe that Flowerdew's experience offers highly suggestive evidence for the existence of

rebirth Rebirth may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Film * ''Rebirth'' (2011 film), a 2011 Japanese drama film * ''Rebirth'' (2016 film), a 2016 American thriller film * ''Rebirth'', a 2011 documentary film produced by Project Rebirth * '' ...

Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanian History of religion, historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. One of the most influential scholars of religion of the 20th century and in ...

may have used Flowerdew's experience as the basis of his 1976 novel " Youth without Youth", which was adapted into a

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

in 2007 by

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

. He died at James Paget University Hospital in

Gorleston-on-Sea Gorleston-on-Sea (), historically and colloquially known as Gorleston, is a seaside town in the borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England. It lies to the South of Great Yarmouth, on the opposite side of the mouth of the River Yare. Historic ...

, Norfolk.''England & Scotland, Select Cemetery Registers, 1800–2016''

References

External links

Zoroastrian publication's account of Flowerdew's experience
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flowerdew, Arthur 1906 births 2002 deaths People from Great Yarmouth Reincarnation