Past Life Regression
Past Life Regression
What is Past Life Regression?
Past life regression is a technique that uses hypnosis to recover the memories of past lives or incarnations. Past-life regression is typically undertaken either in pursuit of a spiritual experience, or in a psychotherapeutic setting. Most advocates loosely adhere to beliefs about reincarnation, though religious traditions that incorporate reincarnation generally do not include the idea of repressed memories of past lives.
The technique used during past-life regression involves the subject answering a series of questions while hypnotized to reveal identity and events of their past lives. The use of hypnosis and suggestive questions can tend to help the subject to recall his past memories. The source of the memories is more likely that of combine experiences, knowledge, imagination and suggestion or guidance from the hypnotist or regression therapist.
Once created, those memories are indistinguishable from memories based on events that occurred during the subject's life. Experiments with subjects undergoing past-life regression indicate that a belief in reincarnation and suggestions by the hypnotist are the two most important factors regarding the contents of memories reported.
Historical Context
In the 2nd century BC, Sage Patanjali, in his Yoga Sutras, discussed the idea of the soul becoming burdened with an accumulation of impressions as part of the karma from previous lives. Patanjali called the process of past-life regression "prati-prasav" or "reverse birthing" and saw it as addressing current problems through memories of past lives.
Past life regression can also be found in Jainism. The seven truths of Jainism deal with the soul and its attachment to karma and Moksha. To be freed from the cycle of rebirth and death, one must separate karma from the soul. To discover what karma is attached to your soul, you can participate in "Jati-Smaran," which is remembering past lives.
How Past Life Regression Works
Past-life regressionists use:
- Hypnosis and suggestion to promote recall in their patients, using a series of questions designed to elicit statements and memories about the past life's history and identity.
- Bridging techniques from a client's current-life problem to bring "past-life stories" to conscious awareness.
Practitioners believe that unresolved issues from past lives may be the cause of their patients' problems.
Past life regression can be achieved in as little as 15 minutes, but to recall past a point of death and into "soul memories," it takes upwards of 45 minutes of trance induction. Doing a kidney and liver cleanse is believed to improve the performance of the session.
Facts to Know for PLR
The following points should be borne in mind for a successful session:
- The more turmoil you have in your life, the more revealing your past life will be. If you lead an uneventful life with no major upheavals, your past life is also likely to be similar.
- For a successful session, you do not need to believe in PLR, though you should preferably have a basic idea of the following:
- The journey of the soul
- Age of a soul (e.g., a baby soul, a young soul, and an old soul)
- Mind structure
- Body parts
- Types of your birth
- Birth trauma
- Intuition
- Hypnotism
- Development cycles
- Archetypes
- Regression - How it works?
- Super conscious state of 'Life between Lives' (LBL), which is a highly developmental phase where we meet guides/masters and get guidance. During LBL, we can visit the 'Akashic Library' where all records of all of our past lives are kept in super digital form. There is also an interesting aspect where we can visit the hall of records and see our past. Similarly, we can see our future, which is called Future Life Progression (FLP).
Uses of Past Life Regression
Quite a few issues can be resolved through PLR, such as:
- Relationships problems
- Chronic ailments
- Various chronic fears
- Life purpose: why we are here?
- Alien lives: some people lived earlier lives on other planets
PLR can also unravel the root cause of the following current problems (obstacles and challenges faced during our lives):
Psychological Disorders
- Mood disorders
- Anxiety disorder
- Psychosis
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Personality disorder
Fear and Trauma (Phobias)
Here's a list of fears and phobias that can be traced through PLR:
| Phobia Name | Fear Of |
|---|---|
| Arachnophobia | Spiders (affects women four times more) |
| Ophidiophobia | Snakes (phobics avoid certain cities with more snakes) |
| Acrophobia | Heights (5% of general population suffer) |
| Agoraphobia | Open or crowded spaces (people often won't leave home) |
| Cynophobia | Dogs (from Poodles to Great Danes) |
| Astraphobia / Ceraunophobia / Brontophobia / Tonitrophobia | Thunder/lightning |
| Claustrophobia | Enclosed spaces (elevators, small rooms) |
| Mysophobia / Germophobia / Bacterophobia | Germs |
| Aerophobia | Flying (25 million Americans share this fear) |
| Trypophobia | Holes (unusual but common) |
| Carcinophobia | Cancer (people develop extreme diets) |
| Thanatophobia | Death (even talking about death can be hard) |
| Glossophobia | Public speaking (not being able to do speeches) |
| Monophobia | Being alone (even while eating and/or sleeping) |
| Atychiphobia | Failure (single greatest barrier to success) |
| Ornithophobia | Birds (individuals may only fear certain species) |
| Alektorophobia | Chickens (panic inducing) |
| Enochlophobia / Demophobia / Ochlophobia | Crowds |
| Aphenphosmphobia | Intimacy, being touched, and love |
| Trypanophobia | Needles |
| Anthropophobia | People (being afraid of people in all situations) |
| Aquaphobia | Water (being afraid of water or being near water) |
| Autophobia | Abandonment and being abandoned by someone |
| Hemophobia | Blood (even the sight of blood can cause fainting) |
| Gamophobia | Commitment or sticking with someone to the end |
| Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia | Long words |
| Xenophobia | The unknown (fearing anything or anyone strange or foreign) |
| Vehophobia | Driving (affects personal and work life) |
| Basiphobia | Falling (some may even refuse to walk or stand up) |
| Achievemephobia | Success (opposite to the fear of failure) |
| Theophobia | God (causes an irrational fear of God or religion) |
| Ailurophobia / Gatophobia | Cats |
| Metathesiophobia | Change |
| Globophobia | Balloons |
| Nyctophobia | Darkness (common for kids) |
| Androphobia | Men (usually seen in younger females, but can affect adults) |
| Phobophobia | Fear itself (the thought of being afraid of objects/situations) |
| Philophobia | Love (being scared of falling in love or emotions) |
| Triskaidekaphobia | The number 13 or the bad luck that follows |
| Emetophobia | Vomiting and the fear of loss of self-control |
| Gephyrophobia | Bridges and crossing even the smallest bridge |
| Entomophobia | Bugs and insects (also related to Acarophobia) |
| Lepidopterophobia | Butterflies and often most winged insects |
| Panophobia | Everything or fear that terrible things will happen |
| Podophobia | Feet (some people fear touching or looking at feet, even their own) |
| Paraskevidekatriaphobia | Friday the 13th (about 8% of Americans have this phobia) |
| Somniphobia | Sleep (being terrified of what might happen right after you fall asleep) |
| Gynophobia | Women (may occur if you have unresolved mother issues) |
| Apiphobia | Bees (many people fear being stung by angry bees) |
| Koumpounophobia | Buttons (clothes with buttons are avoided) |
| Anatidaephobia | Ducks |
| Pyrophobia | Fire (a natural/primal fear that can be debilitating) |
| Ranidaphobia | Frogs (often caused by episodes from childhood) |
| Galeophobia | Sharks (in the ocean or even in swimming pools) |
| Athazagoraphobia | Being forgotten or not remembering things |
| Katsaridaphobia | Cockroaches (can easily lead to an excessive cleaning disorder) |
| Iatrophobia | Doctors (delaying doctor visits) |
| Pediophobia | Dolls |
| Ichthyophobia | Fish (includes small, large, dead, and living fish) |
| Achondroplasiaphobia | Midgets (because they look differently) |
| Mottephobia | Moths |
| Zoophobia | Animals (applies to both vile and harmless animals) |
| Bananaphobia | Bananas |
| Sidonglobophobia | Cotton balls or plastic foams (due to the sound) |
| Scelerophobia | Crime (being afraid of burglars, attackers or crime in general) |
| Cibophobia | Food (may come from a bad episode while eating, like choking) |
| Phasmophobia / Spectrophobia | Ghosts |
| Equinophobia | Horses (animal phobias are common, especially for women) |
| Musophobia | Mice |
| Catoptrophobia | Mirrors (being afraid of what you might see) |
| Agliophobia | Pain (being afraid something painful will happen) |
| Tokophobia | Pregnancy (involves giving birth or having children) |
| Telephonophobia | Talking on the phone (phobics prefer texting) |
| Pogonophobia | Beards or being scared of/around bearded men |
| Omphalophobia | Belly buttons (touching and looking at navels) |
| Pseudodysphagia | Choking (often after a bad eating experience) |
| Bathophobia | Depths (lakes, tunnels, caves) |
| Cacomorphobia | Fat people (induced by media, affects some anorexics/bulimics) |
| Gerascophobia | Getting old |
| Chaetophobia | Hair (phobics tend to be afraid of other people's hair) |
| Nosocomephobia | Hospitals |
| Ligyrophobia | Loud noises |
| Didaskaleinophobia | School (affects kids mostly) |
| Technophobia | Technology (often induced by culture/religion) |
| Chronophobia | The future (a persistent fear of what is to come) |
| Spheksophobia | Wasps (panic and fear of getting stung) |
| Ergophobia | Work (often due to social or performance anxiety) |
| Coulrophobia | Clowns |
| Allodoxaphobia | Opinions (being afraid of hearing what others are thinking of you) |
| Samhainophobia | Halloween (affects children/superstitious people) |
| Photophobia | Light (caused by something medical or traumatic) |
| Disposophobia | Getting rid of stuff (triggers extreme hoarding) |
| Numerophobia | Numbers and the mere thought of calculations |
| Ombrophobia | Rain (many fear rain due to stormy weather) |
| Coasterphobia | Roller coasters |
| Thalassophobia | The ocean (water, waves and unknown spaces) |
| Scoleciphobia | Worms (often because of unhygienic conditions) |
| Kinemortophobia | Zombies (being afraid that zombies attack and turn you into them) |
| Myrmecophobia | Ants (not as common as Arachnophobia, but may feel just as intense) |
| Taphophobia | Being buried alive by mistake and waking up in a coffin underground |
Relationship Problems
- Unresolved Relationship problems: Issues between wife, husband, son, daughter, parents; extramarital relationships, marriage, divorce, children's behaviour, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law relationship problems.
- Marriage, Long term relationship issues: Feeling hurt, angry, sad, cheated, disappointed, let-down, unappreciated, no longer admitted, unloved, bored and confused about relationship status.
Medical Issues
- Health hospitalisation, surgeries, major illnesses and psychosomatic diseases.
PLR - Preparation
It is generally preferred to do sessions in the morning. Most people prefer to do PLR lying down, while some prefer sitting, though rarely. The position doesn't matter; the important thing is to be comfortable throughout the session. The room temperature should be comfortable, and outside noise should be kept to a minimum.
Having a light dinner the previous evening is advisable to keep the stomach relaxed. Getting sound sleep the previous night improves results.
During the session, you may experience pain, anxiety, crying, fear, etc., due to the release of emotional baggage. The process of relieving pent-up emotions takes 2-5 minutes. You may be frightened to let it go, but don't worry. You will feel a lot lighter after releasing this baggage from your past life. Keep tissues handy for crying. You can tape or video record your PLR session.
Your conscious mind is alert and working throughout the session. The scope of questions about you is strictly limited as defined by you. No hypnotherapist can and will ask you questions beyond the scope you define. If the therapist tries to exceed this limitation, your conscious mind resists and takes over, and you come out of the trance.
- Loose, light-colored clothes are recommended during the session.
- Use a sheet to cover the body.
- Exercises like stretching, jumping, and deep breathing help. Massaging your legs, back, arms, and neck vigorously improves blood circulation in the muscles. It helps the process of release of deeply embedded thoughts from the mind.
- The mind is not just in the brain; it is embodied in each part of each organ. Therefore, jumping, skipping, stretching, massage, and deep breathing before a session are recommended. After the session, it helps the body for its journey through the present life.
- During the trance, various parts of your body will not be in a position to move. If you feel an itch, you may bear it or let the regression therapist know. If you experience thirst, tell the therapist to put a few spoons of water in your mouth. In case you need to go to the toilet, you will have to come out of the trance. You can be hypnotized again afterward.
- During past life sessions, you often notice your legs/feet first. The therapist will ask you to notice the ground below your feet – whether it's a road, mud, grass, rocks, or some other surface. During LBLs, you usually notice the upper half of your body. You may not recognize your face initially, but later you may be able to recognize it. This recognition is made by the mind and not by the eyes and takes time.
- Before starting the session, a regressionist needs to know your preferences. Some people are singers, some dreamers. Some people are partial to certain smells, e.g., rose, jasmine, etc. People have to be hypnotized through songs, dreams, or scents of their choice. For example, playing a client's favorite song in their native language helped them achieve a deeper trance. It's helpful to provide details about previous sessions when discussing them, as records are not kept.
- If a session is done over the phone, keep your phone stationary near your ear or use earphones. If the line gets disconnected during the session while you are in a trance, you will come out of the trance in 15-20 minutes, and then you can reconnect.
PLR - Procedure
A Past Life Regressionist will ensure the following for the session:
- Cool, calm, and serene place
- Alone or with a family member
- Recording with consent
- Confirmation about exercise, massage, sleep, light food, kidney, liver cleanse etc.
- Case history, questionnaire
To begin the session, you will be directed to do as under:
- To take a deep breath
- To hold, then release and exhale totally
- To repeat steps 1 & 2 three times
- To resume normal breathing
- To imagine your right toe getting lighter and lighter
- To imagine the 4 fingers of right foot
- To imagine your right ankle getting lighter and lighter
- To imagine your calf muscles getting lighter and lighter
- To imagine your right knee getting lighter and lighter
- To imagine your right thigh getting lighter and lighter
Subsequently, you will be directed to imagine your left toe getting lighter and lighter, and so on, moving up to the pelvic portion, abdomen, kidney, liver, heart, lungs, chest, neck, shoulders, and from there to your right hand, left hand, throat, jaw, tongue, mouth, nose, head, brain, eyes etc. At the end of this procedure, most people are hypnotized, and the actual process begins.
Visualise and Imagine
You are directed to visualize and imagine that you are in a huge, lush garden with many plants, trees, birds, and animals of your choice. You can hear the sound of water flowing through the middle of the garden. Listen to the chirping of birds. Enjoy the breeze. This is your favorite place. Enjoy and feel it.
Then, come out of the garden through the other gate. Look for an isolated room with a door. When you reach the door, request it to open and get inside. You will find a staircase with a maroon carpet, marble railings, and golden handles going down. It has 10 stairs. Walk down slowly, one step at a time, as the therapist counts from 1-10, beginning at the count of 1. At 10, you have reached the center of the earth. Everything is dark. You may see a little light. You will find a few doors in the surroundings (imagine).
On the other side of these doors are your past lives. You have to go to that past life where the main cause of your present problem (the problem has to be very specific and only one for any session) lies. Select that door and stand in front of it. Request the door to open. Now, gradually, open the door with respect and get inside.
Once inside, you come face to face with your past life. You are at a particular place at a particular time. The role of your imagination ends at this stage. The hypnotherapist is now going to navigate you during the rest of the session to find answers to the most complicated events of your present life.
Sometimes the therapist may need to channel some energy from the head to the heart to enhance the trance. Rarely, very deep trance can cause a mild headache, which goes away in 10-15 minutes. Sometimes, you may see demons or scenes of your own death, punishment, or rape, and your body becomes tense. Experience the pain and relieve the event from your past life, so that the baggage of that life, which you have been carrying for so many years, is released. The experience may make you cry. Let your tears flow and have a cathartic effect. Rest assured that life after the session is going to be greatly less stressful and much more enjoyable.
A personal anecdote illustrates this: a client suffering from cancer found in a previous life he was a military leader of Tipu Sultan's army, chained and dragged through the streets to curtail his powers, feeling trapped. He was able to read the fine print in his punishment order and listen to private communications of his enemies. Incidentally, the same group of rivals surrounded him in his current life. Once he identified them through the past life session, his life became much better and more relaxed. Bear in mind that faces may not always be clear, but given the events, you can make a reasonable assessment of who the people are.
Souls sometimes use dreams as a means of communication. Many dreams remain incomplete or forgotten. It is possible to revive and interpret these memories from the subconscious mind.
Bad things cannot happen after PLR because you seek answers to your most complicated problems of this life.
Past Life Regression Meditation Exercise
Guided Journey to Your Past Life
Find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed. Lie down comfortably or sit in a relaxed position. Close your eyes gently.
- Deep Breathing and Relaxation: Take three deep breaths. Inhale slowly through your nose, feeling your abdomen rise. Hold for a count of three, then exhale completely through your mouth, letting go of any tension. Repeat this two more times. Now, return to your natural breathing rhythm.
- Body Scan Relaxation: Bring your awareness to your right foot. Imagine it becoming lighter and lighter, completely relaxed. Feel this lightness spread through your ankle, calf, and right knee. Continue up your right thigh, hip, and then move to your left leg, repeating the process. Feel your entire lower body becoming wonderfully light and relaxed.
- Upper Body Relaxation: Allow this feeling of lightness and relaxation to move up through your pelvic area, abdomen, and lower back. Feel it expand into your chest, heart, and lungs. Let your shoulders drop, releasing any burdens. Feel your arms, from fingertips to shoulders, becoming light and free. Relax your neck, jaw, and tongue. Smooth out any tension in your forehead and around your eyes. Feel your entire body deeply relaxed.
- The Sacred Garden: Now, visualize a beautiful, lush garden in your mind's eye. This is your sacred space. See vibrant plants, towering trees, and hear the gentle chirping of birds. A stream flows through the garden, its water sparkling and clear. Feel a soft, comforting breeze on your skin. This garden is filled with peace and tranquility. Spend a few moments enjoying this perfect sanctuary.
- The Path to the Past: When you feel ready, find a gate at the far end of the garden. Step through it and notice a path leading to an isolated room with a door. As you approach the door, know that it holds a key to understanding your present. Gently ask the door to open for you.
- The Descent: As the door slowly swings open, you see a magnificent staircase descending downwards. It has a soft maroon carpet, elegant marble railings, and golden handles. There are ten steps. Begin to walk down slowly, one step at a time, as you count silently from one to ten. With each step, you go deeper into a state of awareness.
- The Hall of Lives: At the count of ten, you arrive at a profound place, feeling as though you've reached the very center of the earth. It might be dark at first, but then you notice a soft, inviting light. Around you, there are several doors. Each door represents a past life. Intuitively, choose the door that feels most connected to a current question or challenge you are facing. Stand before that chosen door and respectfully ask it to open.
- Entering the Past Life: With a sense of calm and openness, gently push the door open and step inside. You are now in a specific place at a specific time in a past life. Observe your surroundings. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel? Notice your feet, the ground beneath you, your clothing, or any details that come into focus. Allow the scenes to unfold naturally.
- Processing and Return: If any strong emotions or difficult scenes arise, allow yourself to experience them, knowing that you are safe and releasing old energies. When you feel complete with this experience, gently bring your awareness back to your current body. Start to feel your fingers and toes, then your arms and legs. Take a deep breath and, when you are ready, slowly open your eyes, bringing back only the insights and healing from your journey.