By Laura Giles
Sigmund Freud revolutionized health care when he began his �talk
therapy.� He is the acknowledged originator of looking into the
past for causes of current pain and adjustment. But what about looking
beyond this life? Do past lives affect the current? Past life regression
therapists believe that they do.
My first journey into the past began out of curiosity ten years
ago. I went to a hypnotist with the intention of finding something
in my past that was most relevant to my current life. I went in
with an open mind and no real expectation of what I might find.
The session was dramatic and life changing. I don�t know if what
I saw was a past life or not, but the stories that unfolded resonated
with my soul. I was at a point in my life where I was exploring
my religious beliefs. The lives I experienced gave me insight that
answered many questions, provided much reassurance, and scared me
to death. Although I�ve had many regression sessions since then,
all of which acquainted me with aspects of myself and enriched my
understanding of life, I�ve never experienced one that was so dramatic,
traumatic, and life changing.
But philosophical answers are not the only thing that emerges
from past life regressions. In The Journey Within by Henry Bolduc,
he tells the story of Geraldine, a woman who came to him for relief
of headaches and recurring nightmares. The nightmares even occurred
in her waking state causing black outs, sometimes while driving.
In hypnosis Geraldine recalled a story of a woman who lived on
a Louisiana plantation in the 1800s. Her husband shot himself in
the head because he was ill and couldn�t stand the pain. She did
not remember the incidents after hypnosis, but was given the name
and location of the plantation where they lived. Once she visited
the place, the experience was enough to provide release and the
headaches and nightmares stopped.
It�s not unusual for physical manifestations of pain to carry
over into subsequent lives. It�s not unusual for the healing of
those pains to be released through past life regression.
Another use for past life regression is the uncovering of life
patterns. These can be positive or negative patterns. Positive patterns
may emerge as being with the same person (soul mate) or group of
people. The work of Tara and Dick Sutphen are full of examples of
people meeting life after life to share their love.
Negative patterns may emerge when actions from the past are repeated.
In Regression Therapy: A Handbook for Professionals, Dr. Ronald
Wong Jue relates a story of a woman who came into therapy because
she had never had a loving and supportive relationship. She was
regressed to several lifetimes where she saw this pattern, but she
was also given the tools to see why and how it was all a part of
her goals for the current life. The experience transformed her perspective
from a feeling of missing something she didn�t have to seeing the
beauty and opportunity in what she did have.
It would be difficult to write about all the ways in which past
life regression is helpful for the soul. Each experience is different.
Each client is different. What seems to emerge is what is most beneficial
for the person at that time. Going into it with an expectation of
seeing yourself as Cleopatra is usually disappointing. Almost all
of us are lowly peasants with difficult and pain filled lives, so
this isn�t a tool for entertainment. It�s a tool for growth and
understanding.
I heartily recommend past life regression for the curious, those
with problems relating to other people or with work issues, and
those physical problems. However, anyone considering past life regression
should be aware of the following limitations: Not all problems have
a past life cause. Not all people are appropriate candidates for
past life regression. Not all practitioners are appropriate for
the type of problem that you have.
For therapeutic purposes, the search for the root of any problem
should begin in the present. When we don�t have clarity in the present
life, it is often tempting to go searching in exotic places, but
it�s not always necessary. The truth may lie just in front of you.
People with poor ego strength may not have the capacity to make
the changes. For them this is simply an expensive entertainment
exercise. People who come into a session filled with preconceived
notions of their past life identities, stories, or religious ideas
are not great candidates for healing work. They need to first empty
their cup in order to receive new information. People who need to
control the session or who have a �I told you this wouldn�t work�
attitude are not good candidates. This process involves a great
deal of trust and imagination.
While past life regression work is therapeutic, not all practitioners
are therapists. So, it is important to distinguish your reasons
for having this done. If it is for entertainment, any practitioner
will do. If you want therapy, you should see someone who is trained
in this particular field and has the ability to do therapy without
the use of past life regression. Since there is no licensing or
certification required to do past life work, interview your practitioner
thoroughly before contracting for services.
Laura Giles is Counselor and expert on extra-marital families,
relationships, and murder by a parent (filicide). Author of "The
Other Child: Children of Affairs" and "Growing Up
Crazy".