One book was all about the lives of five psychics. Another described how to discover your life path. A third one involved finding out who you were in a past life.

After reading this book, I did a little research and played with some Web sites only to discover in a past life I was a pioneer who died defending her children from a bear attack.

Apparently, some time during the 1800's I headed into uncharted territory where I had a log cabin, large family and plenty of land. According to this site I died protecting my children from a large grizzly bear. I managed to kill the bear before I died and my children lived to carry out full and enriching lives.

This all came simply from entering my birthday and sex into their program.

Fascinated, I continued to research this phenomenon. I came across www.thebigview.com. This site gave me a past life diagnosis as a female born somewhere in the territory of modern Thailand around the year 400.

My profession was that of a jeweler or watchmaker. It gave me a brief psychological profile of my past life and told me I was inquisitive, inventive, and liked to get to the very bottom of things and to rummage in books.

I liked this idea better than being killed by a grizzly. And, it applied to my current life status. I like to read, I make jewelry and I am a female. The Thailand thing, I'm not too sure about although I do have a cool wooden Buddha and some jewelry from one of my brothers who was stationed there during the Viet Nam war.

Yet a third site www.selctsmart.com gave me a 100 percent chance of being Ben Franklin and Joan of Arc. And, an 85 percent rating of having been Lucrezia Borgia, the Italian femme fatale and daughter of a pope. Her family was synonymous with political and sexual corruption.

There were enough Web sites that I could probably keep going until I found somebody I really waned to be before I was me.

I admit I have gotten a kick out of having my questions answered by a "psychic" with a deck of Tarot cards. I haven't minded having someone look at my palm and tell me I was going to lead a long and prosperous life.

I think it might be fun to take part in a séance (like the kind we had when we were kids at a slumber party).

I would even be willing to try the old game of "Light as a feather." Remember when you would get one of your friends to lay on the floor and everybody were kneel around them with two fingers under their body and lift them up chanting "Light as a feather, stiff as a board."

But, I have to draw the line at having been Lucrezia Borgia in a past life. I don't mind being a pioneer, a Thai watchmaker or even Ben Franklin but I refuse to believe I was ever the daughter of a pope or a femme fatale.

I think I'll just stick with the palm reader who told me I would have a long and prosperous life.