Discovering A Past Life & Accepting It

How do you discover your past life/lives?

Certainly, one way is to work with a therapist who has training with past life regression therapy--like my colleague Greg McHugh. The therapist may use relaxation, breathing, meditative, and hypnotherapy techniques to help you visualize and access your subconscious memories. These techniques may have to be rehearsed and practiced over many sessions, so don’t expect an immediate result. It may take some time to practice deep relaxation and meditation techniques at home. In my second book: God Denied, I describe such a therapy session between Greg McHugh and my character Ashford Connor, Caitlyn’s lover and fellow faculty member at Coronado University. It’s a process--a long process--that can’t be rushed or short-circuited. At the end of the day, this hypnosis technique may not work for everyone. Don’t get frustrated, and certainly don’t give up the effort since there are other things that you can try as well.

My memory discovery didn’t take place in a traditional therapist’s office. I was on vacation in Crete at an archaeological site, and before I went in, I had the strangest sensation that everything was familiar and I had been there before. My conscious mind argued back, “Really? How silly. You just got here. You’ve never been here before.” I felt anxious, so I pulled away from the group and sat down, but I just couldn’t stop my thoughts about what was next to come in the tour. When I finally decided to catch up with the group, I knew what had been there and where things were located. So, maybe, I had had too much sun. It could be, but when I spoke privately to the tour guide, and she confirmed the thoughts in my head, I had to admit to myself that this was very “suspicious.” At the time, I really didn’t know anything about past lives, and as a teenager, I just categorized the experience as interesting and kept it archived in my memory. But it made me uncomfortable when I thought about it, so I tried very hard to forget it and push it away from my conscious thoughts. And, of course, the more I pushed, the stronger the imagery became.

I decided that I would write all of it down and put it away in some closet and forget about it. I couldn’t forget about it, but I never told anyone; it was my “big secret” and has been since childhood. I did ask people what they thought about “past life memories” and consistently received strange looks and snide comments, which certainly did not help put me at ease as a young adult. Life moved on, and my secret remained safely and securely hidden until I was much older and returning on a flight from a lecture. Someone had dropped a Time Magazine on my seat, and I picked it up to skim through it. There I saw a small article about a Harvard psychiatrist, Dr. Brian Weiss, who was reported to have hypnotized a client, Catherine, who reported a past life memory. I was transfixed and excited; maybe I wasn’t the only one after all. I finally had my opportunity for closure when I read Brian Weiss’ book: Many Lives, Many Masters, which was all about his therapeutic experiences with his client Catherine.

There is undoubtedly more acknowledgment of and recognition for the “idea” of past lives, which is both constructive and positive for those who have experienced these life-changing events. But what if you haven’t been through my event experience and you’re just curious about past lives and if you can access yours? Well, you can start to do a lot of things on your own if you don’t want to search out a trained therapist. Be patient about the process; there are no guarantees that you will successfully find anything initially. I recommend setting up a journal and purchasing a book on relaxation and meditative techniques. This involves daily practice and time to yourself. Remember, this is a marathon and not a sprint race. Record in your journal your thoughts and your progressive practice. I found the journal entries to be very helpful over time, especially when I decided to record my dreams for several months. I set an alarm clock and woke up at 2 am to record my dreams. Look for patterns of information, names, and places. Can you recognize images of buildings or monuments, or people? Whether it takes a week or a year, or never, the search experience will be worthwhile. The question for each of us is, do we share this highly sensitive and personal experience and process with anyone else? If you do decide to share, prepare yourself for judgments, criticisms, critiques, and a flood of questions about your sanity at one end of the continuum and your motivation at the other end.

So how do you handle the flurry of curious inquisitors? Start with yourself and understand that you are not alone in this need “to know.” In actuality, there are thousands of people who are searching for answers just as you are, and you can be comforted by that knowledge. We are a growing group of interested, serious, and committed searchers. Next, do not feel pressured to share everything about your search process with every person you meet, and certainly do not continue to discuss the issue if the other party is judgmental. There obviously will be people that you meet who will never understand the process or the purpose. Join a group and stay connected to people who share your thoughts, feelings, and values about the search for past lives. In Tenure Denied, Caitlyn Morrys was haunted by her nightmares and memories. She tried to deny their significance and their very existence while she struggled to “keep her life together.” Eventually, Caitlyn realized that she was losing the “battle” with her memories, and she decided to deal with the reality of her memories. At this point, past lives do not have to be a closeted secret since there are books, lectures, training classes, and more mainstream discussions about the “possibilities” all over the internet. Look up Dr. Brian Weiss’ books and presentations that will get you started on your journey through self-discovery to a more enlightened level of understanding of your past and present lives. You have to start with determination and courage if you’re going to finish your challenging journey. Let’s do this together and encourage each other with love and support.

What are your thoughts?