What is a Past Life and Past-Life Regression?

by Ellen Hecht, CHt

Eastern religions embrace the belief that the soul does not die, but is born into another body, lives a life, dies and is reborn again and again.  This is the theory of reincarnation.  The East Indian Hindus used the word "karma," to describe the purpose of reincarnation; the concept that each individual's soul has lessons to learn in order to grow spiritually and it returns to earth again and again to learn moral lessons from past transgressions and become more spiritual. 

Lending credence to this belief, there are many recorded instances of children recalling other time periods from the viewpoint of someone who died prior to the child's birth.  The child voices thoughts as memories of this other person's personality and experiences.  Most of the time these children's memories are spontaneous.  No one knows what triggers them.  In other instances, adults sometimes have very vivid, detailed dreams which seem to recall experiences in another era as well.

What is Past-Life Regression Therapy?

Under hypnosis it is possible to envision what seems to be a memory from a  time other than the life you are presently living.  Many of these experiences appear to give credence to the theory of reincarnation.

To experience this, the hypnotherapist guides the client backward in time,
through the birth experience and out the other side - usually entering another
life time, usually as a witness to their own apparent death.  The client may find they are looking out from the perspective of someone else's eyes. 
 
"I am looking down. I am wearing something like black, high-buttoned shoes. My dress is long, almost to my ankles.  My hair is also long and dark."  This individual may never have heard of high buttoned shoes.  Their hair may be
other than the color they envision under hypnosis.  In some instances, the
observer may not even be of the same sex observed.

The psychological makeup of this person may also be dramatically different.
Someone who, in their present life is meek, sensitive and non-assertive, may
have been ruthless, an unfeeling person, who victimized people in a past life.
They have the opportunity to feel the inner feelings of the central character as their own.  It becomes clear why they have been destined to live the life of "the victim" in this life, since it appears they had previously lived the life of a "victimizer."  

A profound sense of this purpose can occur as the individual views a former
life as it impacts this one.  You might say, "Now I know why I am continually
victimized.  I no longer need to do this."  Empowerment results.

Does This Mean Karma Can Be Effected Through Past Life Regression?

If you believe in karma, you believe our souls have been born into subsequent bodies, and will continue to do so until we "get it right!"  Yet our conscious minds do not recall previous lives, so how are we to know what the lesson is that we are here to learn?

Can you imagine the value of a "shortcut" to learning what our karmic lessons might be?  Hypnosis is now more readily available to the average person than ever before, allowing mankind access to self-awareness that was never previously available. Could it be that this may provide us with the option to speed up the karmic process, allowing us to make quicker strides towards the ultimate spiritual lessons we need to learn, whatever the lesson might be. 

This may be why coming out of Past-Life hypnosis therapy, the client typically says, "Oh!  That is the reason why I have always felt that way," (or behaved that way).  Insights have deep fundamental impact on the individual and many times moral and spiritual enlightenment takes place.

How Can Someone Benefit From Past-Life Regression Therapy if They do Not Believe in Reincarnation or Past Lives?

Even if you do not believe in reincarnation, there is value in hypnotic Past-
Life Regression therapy.  Sometimes we find ourselves repeating behaviors that
are not productive, sabotaging career opportunities, or having relationships
that seem damaging.  Under hypnosis, we get to view "scenarios" that the mind
plays for us - if not real memories - then miniature life lessons, which are
illustrated in story format, with the individual experiencing being the key figure. 

These scenes are very vivid and may include not only sights, but sounds, smells, impressions and strong emotions.  It is almost always a story with a moral at the end and its usefulness is in the way it calls attention to patterns in the present life.  Many individuals come out of the hypnosis sessions able to interpret what they saw, without the assistance of the therapist.

These illustrations often appear to be scenes "explaining" the cause of current problems that do not seem to have any other explanation.  People with phobias about water, for instance, may have a Past-Life Regression session and "see" a scene where they appear to drown in a "former" life.  They view the death experience and find that afterwards, they are no longer afraid of water. This is another use of Past-Life Regression Therapy, and regardless of where the images come from, they frequently serve the purpose of laying fears to rest.

Whether this is proof of past lives or not, it is astonishing that many therapists have recorded cases of birthmarks located on the same part of the body as the wounds apparently received as illustrated when viewing under hypnosis what appear to be former lives.  Regardless of your belief system, examples of such events are documented many times over by professional clinical hypnotherapists.

My own experience on the receiving end of a Past-Life Regression impacted my life to such a degree that I became aware of and learned to avoid the pitfalls of a life-long, harmful pattern of behavior. 

I highly recommend hypnotic Past Life Regression Therapy if you are presently on the path toward self-awareness.