Origin of the Soul and the Purpose of Reincarnation serves as a complement to prior books on reincarnation written by Dr. Semkiw, such as Born Again and Return of the Revolutionaries, which focus on cases which demonstrate objective evidence of reincarnation. Dr. Semkiw draws upon independent research, including books such as Twenty Cases of Reincarnation, Xenoglossy, Unlearned Language and European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, all written by Ian Stevenson, MD, to better understand the nature of the soul and how reincarnation works. Dr. Semkiw also utilizes information gathered through Kevin Ryerson, a trance medium who has been featured in Shirley MacLaine's books, including Out on a Limb. Topics covered in Origin of the Soul and the Purpose of Reincarnation include when and how souls were created, how personality is determined, the nature of soul mates, stages of human evolution, and the nature of time and space. Split incarnation, where one soul inhabits more than one body at a time, as well as ghosts, astrology, the Kabbalah and Enneagram are also addressed. Past lives of Jesus are discussed, including his controversial past incarnation as Joshua, as identified by Edgar Cayce. The karmic effects associated with the Joshua lifetime are addressed in relation to the crucifixion of Jesus, as well as the Holocaust of World War II. Stages of initiation, as identified in the life of Jesus, are reviewed. Child prodigies are explained through reincarnation, as illustrated in cases involving Beethoven, Anne Frank, Gauguin, Picasso, Rubens and Oprah Winfrey. New reincarnation cases include those involving Hans Christian Andersen, Beethoven, Francis Collins, Copernicus, Edvard Grieg, Jean Baptist Lamarck, Bruce Lipton, Louis Pasteur, Michelangelo, Napoleon, Adam Smith, Craig Venter and St. Teresa of Avila. A past lifetime of Nobel Laureate, Kary Mullis, who agree to be featured as a reincarnation case, is discussed. Respected clairvoyants, who can access spiritual realms and beings, have contributed to Origin of the Soul and the Purpose of Reincarnation. These include Echo Bodine, Judy Goodman, Wayne Peterson and Michael Tamura. In working together and through an organization called IISIS, contributors seek to establish a new science of spirituality.