Who was Barack before he became Obama?

Dr Walter Semkiw, who's just out with his book Origin of the Soul, will discuss past reincarnations of the US Prez, Michelangelo and Michael Jackson in town tomorrow

He thinks reincarnating souls have the same facial features, and there's a contemporary avatar of Bapu waiting somewhere in the wings. Don't write him off as some self-proclaimed bulls'''ing sadhu just yet, he's a master in medicine and more.

Dr Walter Semkiw is a partner at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, the largest medical group in the United States. But more so, he is the founder of IISIS, the Institute for the Integration of Science, Intuition and Spirit, which focuses on objective evidence of soul histories. This time around, his clinical expertise has wedded clairvoyance on a cover called Origin of the Soul, and the man will be in town for an open talk tomorrow.u00a0

>> Face value

It's funny, but true, proposes the author, that rebirth has little effect on facial features and personality traits. Feel like challenging that? Dr Semkiw has his case studies in place. Those of Suzanne Monsour and Daniel Jurdi studied by Ian Stevenson, MD of the University of Virginia, are some. Two, you may argue, is too less a number to prove anything worthwhile, so there are more: neurosurgeon Norm Shealy's, US diplomat Wayne Peterson's, police captain Robert Snow's and fire chief Jeff Keene's. What'll add to your astonishment is how the writer explains the trickling down of talent, birth after birth.

>> It's Anne Frank, again!

One of the most fascinating examples that Dr Semkiw examines is that of Barbro Karlen, who's had clear memories of being Anne Frank. Like the legendary teenager, Barbro was a writing prodigy, and her face, too, had a striking resemblance to Anne's.u00a0 Barbro was born to a Christian family in Sweden in 1954, while Anne was persecuted as a Jew and died in a concentration camp in 1945.u00a0 Semkiw goes a step further to explain how individuals undergo cultural changes from one incarnation to another an observation that can foster inter-ethnic goodwill.

>> Trancing around

If that's not enough to intrigue, the past life pro will review some new cases solved through trance expert Kevin Ryerson. Ryerson channels a master soul spirit named Ahtun Re, who can make accurate reincarnation matches. For testimony, there's the case of Conversations with God penner Neale Donald Walsch, of which Semkiw writes in his previous title, Born Again. His latest is based on dialogues with Re, who last incarnated over 3,000 years ago. Go, get a paranormal punch.u00a0

Dr Walter Semkiw will be speaking at Landmark bookstore, DLF Grand Mall, Gurgaon, tomorrow, 6 pm onwards. Entry is free.

His title Origin of the Soul is published by Ritana Books and is priced at Rs 295