Buddhist view on past lives influencing the present I seem to be making rather unusual choices in my life for unknown reasons. Like on a mere hunch or for some reason I gain interest in a strange topic. And later it turns out that these choices were exactly what I needed to have done to prepare for things that eventually happened. Is this addressed in the dharma? I make no claims about psychic powers or anything like that - I just wonder if it is merely coincidence.
Your question is not about whether past life actions influence present life circumstances. For that, see this answer and this sutta. 

Rather, you are asking if your past life thoughts, affect your present life thoughts (or thought choices).

In a single lifetime, the answer is yes according to Dvedhavitakka Sutta.


  "Whatever a monk keeps pursuing with his thinking &amp; pondering, that
  becomes the inclination of his awareness. If a monk keeps pursuing
  thinking imbued with sensuality, abandoning thinking imbued with
  renunciation, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with
  sensuality.


But does this cross into other lifetimes?

From the Nakhasikha Sutta, Samudda Sutta and Pokkharani Sutta:


  "In the same way, monks, for a disciple of the noble ones who is
  consummate in view, an individual who has broken through [to
  stream-entry], the suffering &amp; stress that is totally ended &amp;
  extinguished is far greater. That which remains in the state of having
  at most seven remaining lifetimes is next to nothing: it's not a
  hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth, when compared with
  the previous mass of suffering. That's how great the benefit is of
  breaking through to the Dhamma, monks. That's how great the benefit is
  of obtaining the Dhamma eye."


When one obtains the Dhamma eye, and attains stream-entry, he would only have at most, seven remaining lifetimes. The Dhamma eye is explained as the ability to see firsthand and experientially, the impermanence of the five aggregates and dependent origination.

This is obviously an example in the Pali Canon that at least some thoughts or knowledge could cross over into the next life. In this case, it is the strong and irrevocable inclination towards the Dhamma in future lives, due to the opening of the Dhamma eye.

Also see this question and this answer.

Some say that child prodigies bring with them the strong inclinations of the immediate previous life, but I think that cannot be found in the scripture, and the Buddha would not bother to answer this (parable of the poisoned arrow, parable of the simsapa leaves, etc.).