September 9, 2022
By Vince Giuliano
Some of the ruins at Percepolis as they stand today By Hansueli Krapf – File:2009-11-24 Persepolis 02.jpg,
I had a past life experience 45 years ago that profoundly changed my life. Although I talked about this experience back then with a handful of people close to me, I have never shared the story of it in public until now, here. This is because of my trust in science at the time that led me to think that any or all past life memories were likely delusions if not sheer bullshit. In a scientific career, I did not want to be thought of as a kook. I retold the story of that experience three days ago to my 56 year old daughter for the first time, an experience that altered the trajectory of my relationship with her mother Lil, my second wife. Doing this, I re-experienced the same intense emotions as when the past life remembrances first came to me in 1977. Having robustly passed the test of time, It is time now to unseal and share the story
The time of the experience was in December 1977, a month or so before the fall of Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, the end of the Pahlavi dynasty
Persepolis Image source
The place was in Persepolis, a world-class archaeological site in Iran consisting of ruins of what had been the magnificent major city during the time of the grand Persian Empire. I was working in Iran as part a consulting contract my employer, Arthur D. Little Inc. (ADL) had with the Iranian government. The contract was part of significantly upgrading the country’s TV system. Most of the recent history of that country is chronicled in photo, film and audio forms rather than in writing, and, under the influence of the Shah’s American wife, Iranian TV was taking on the job of preserving, organizing and making that history available. I had a background in modern methods of information retrieval and contemporary library systems, so I led the part of the ADL team in concerned with this task.
During a weekend a colleague and I went on a long hot drive from Teheran to Shiraz, another major city in Iran,and then on to visiting the ancient ruins of Persepolis, the former capital of the kings of the Achaemenian dynasty of Iran (Persia). The ruins remain well preserved in the dry desert, and I found them even more impressive than any of the many Greek, Roman Egyptian and Mayan ruin sites I have visited in my extensive travels…See these images.
The Persepolis site includes a substantial underground museum, and my past-life experience started there when we encountered a stone lion upon entering the museum. Here is that same stone lion. Looking just as it appeared in 1977.
I was overtaken by emotion and confusion when I came into the presence of the lion, for I somehow knew I had been in its presence many times before. My immediate emotions were deep sorrow, regret and grief. Presence of the lion also evoked the memory that my second wife Lil was often with me when I encountered that lion, another memory that made no sense at all. How could that be possible? The lion had been in Persepolis for 2,500 years or so, and this was my very first visit there. I did recall that Lil and I often went on long walks in Arlington and Lexington Massachusetts where we encountered decorative stone lions in people’s yards, and how she very much loved them.
Going on to explore the museum in 1977, we came at one point to a display of the cities‘ accounting records, primarily associated with the production and distribution of food and the handling of tribute. These records were important, since food was valuable and rationed. I recognized some of the records; I knew I had seen them before although in this life I could not read the cuneiform. Again, a major wave of emotion and confusion swept over me. I decided to leave the museum and, outside, perched myself amidst the ruins on the lower steps of what appeared to be small pyramid-like stone structure to figure out what was going on. There the story begin piecing itself together. Here is what came to me, a story that still evokes strong emotion today.
Tomb of Cyrus The Great As I recall, the little pyramid where I sat to figure out what I was experiencing Image source
I was a mid-level bureaucrat at the time of King David, responsible for keeping the temple records, an important job for the life of the Percepolis and Darius’ empire. Darius was a wise king and a great administrator. I administered on his behalf and he gave strong support for my work. This article highlights how important accounting and bookeeping were in Persepolis. With a bit more digging I might be able to come up with the name of the chief accountant, me back then.
I don’t know my name then and will refer to me 2,500 years ago as Vince(0). King Darius had initiated wars with Greece, with some of the initial campaigns being successful for the Persians. “The second Persian campaign, in 490 BC, was under the command of Datis and Artaphernes. The expedition headed first to the island Naxos, which it captured and burned. It then island-hopped between the rest of the Cycladic Islands, annexing each into the Persian empire. Reaching Greece, the expedition landed at Eretria, which it besieged, and after a brief time, captured. Eretria was razed and its citizens enslaved.(ref).” the victorious Persian army returned to Persepolis with some of those slaves. Among these was a young woman, perhaps 18, who in a 20th century reincarnation became my second wife Lil. I don’t know her name back then and will call her Lil(0). When the army returned, the slaves were assigned to various duties in Persepolis. Vince(0), offered to take Lil(0) and use her in the accounting function. The generals agreed and Lil(0) was bound as a slave to Vince(0).
Vince(0) was kind to Lil(0) and took her as a lover. He protected her and shielded her from most of the horrors of slavedom, although he could not free her. She was young and pretty. His taking her was no doubt a response to lust. Vince(0) had no regrets for doing so, because he knew he was rescuing her from a much worse fate. She could have been assigned to the dye vats, where her entire body would soon turn bright green or purple and, in little time she would die from some terrible disease. She could be assigned to emptying toilets, where her job would leave her open to early death by infection, or she could have been assigned as a prostitute in the army barracks. From a material viewpoint Lil(0) lived a fairly good life for the times, But she was still only an unprivileged slave, depending on Vince(0)’ protection for ll aspects of survival. Liil(0) reacted to her relationships with society and with Vince personally by deep existential sadness and resentment. Until their death, hard as he tried and much as he loved her, Vince(0) could not engender happiness or contentment in Lil(0). That was the story 2,500 years ago.
In this current life at the time, 1977, the same story was playing out between me and Lil. Driven by blind lust, I Had left my first wife to be with and Marry Lil. Over a dozen years of marriage and despite many attempts at therapy, Lil was chronically sad and unhappy and blamed me for being the cause of her unhappiness. No changes of circumstances or forms of psychotherapy could make a difference. We had tried individual psychotherapy, family therapy, encounter groups. And seekng the aid of friends. None worked. I was at my wits end for knowing what to do about this,
Sitting on that pyramid after the past-life experience, right then and there, the solution to my present-day problem with Lil became very obvious. I had to completely free Lil from slavery. It was required that Lil become completely not beholden to me in any way. One action I subsequently took was supporting her to go to Simmons library school. In two years she was earning an excellent salary as director of the public library in Marlboro Mass. There, she was absolute boss; She did not need my financial support. The other action was a very friendly divorce so I no longer had any hold on Lil whatsoever. These actions, informed by the past-life experience worked wonderfully well. The anger, sadness and resentment completely vanished and Lil and I became close friends, a situation that persisted for over 40 years until she died three years ago. This fact alone, as I write this, still brings tears to my eyes
Was the past life experience real, bringing me memory of what actually happened 2,500 years ago, or was it an elaborate way of my inventing a metaphor that enabled me to solve an intractable personal problem? To this day, I do not know for sure. Possibly both. It was very hot that day, sitting on that little pyramid in the midst of a vast desert. On the other hand, I recall that the museum was air-conditioned and comfortably cool. I do know that the 1977 experiences in Iran and Persepolis were real for me, that they still evoke powerful emotions in me, and that my story appears compatible with the historical facts as they are known today. Perhaps further research could reveal more about Vince(0) and Lil(0). The stone lion knows the truth, but is not talking..
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