What Would YOU Do?

Ok, I’ve been toying with an idea for a new book for a while now, and although I admit I have not given a ton of thought to it, I get stuck trying to figure out what direction it will/could/should go. Before I ask the reading faithful to chime in, let me give a little background.
Those of you who follow me or have read my book Queen’s Gold know that I am a hypnotherapist and past-life regressionist. What the heck does that mean? It means I take people back to their past lives under hypnosis. I know, woo-woo, right? Ok, it’s not Western mainstream thought, but actually there are more people who believe in reincarnation in the world than those who don’t. I’ve reviewed over 20 of my own past lives and I’ve found it to be an interesting and satisfying plot device for a keep-‘em-guessing story.


So one day I was thinking about good and evil and how it all shakes out in the big picture and a random thought crossed my mind—what if Hitler were reincarnated? After all, I’m assuming he was a regular person before an abusive childhood, paranoid beliefs and a country ripe for kidnapping all converged and he turned into a monster. I’m assuming his soul follows the same rules of Karma that all our souls do, and if that’s true, then he would definitely reincarnate in order to learn, grow and reach his full potential. I’m pretty sure being the greatest mass murderer in the history of the planet would not be his soul’s ultimate goal. So if he was reincarnated … who would he come back as?
I reasoned that the most surprising and interesting result would be for him to come back as something far removed from what he was, yet going to the exact opposite would be too pat. Many people think Karma is a tit-for-tat kind of thing, so if you murder in one life, you are murdered in the next. Actually it’s much more subtle and complex than that, and it can take many, many lives to resolve an issue. 
What I came up with is … (drumroll, please) … a housewife. In Poughkeepsie. Maybe Des Moines. Thirty-something, two tweener kids, husband is a banker or an engineer or maybe a salesman. Ordinary. Normal. Until she finds out …
(Jawsmusic here … duh DUM; duh DUM …)


I picture her balancing housekeeping and shopping with chauffeuring kids to soccer games and supporting husband through pay cuts brought on by the recession. She also struggles with her weight. In an uncharacteristic grab for some control over the life that has morphed away from her dreams, she sees a hypnotist, but during the course of the weight loss session, the stunning nature of her soul reveals itself.
Her first reaction, of course, is total disbelief. She has no interest in reincarnation. She’s … Baptist … or Methodist, maybe even Jewish, whatever. But religion for her is like background music; she can hear it if she focuses on it, but otherwise it just gets lost in the noise of daily life. Being presented with this silly wild imagining does not send her screaming for church. She’s a pragmatist. She goes home and washes a load of laundry.
But the thoughts don’t go away.
So here’s my question to you: If you found out you were the reincarnation of Hitler, what would you do? What would you think? How would you feel?
I would love to have your comments below. I’m dying to hear how this is going to come out!