Past Lives - Hints, Clues and Signposts, Part 2
There can be a number of reasons why each of us are inclined towards certain interests or possess certain talents. There is a long standing debate on nature versus nurture to explain the choices we make. Parents, teachers and the environment can influence who we are. Perhaps genetics might come into play. Some minds tend to be more creative, others more technically inclined. Sometimes, however, our interests can come from seemingly nowhere.
This is especially evident in children who are inexperienced in world knowledge. Mozart had the opportunity to become a musician under his father’s tutelage, but what he was able to accomplish should have been impossible for a child his age. Children have a definite pattern of development which progresses at a more or less predictable rate. Physically and psychologically, no 5-year old brain should be able to compose sonatas. We call these children prodigies and geniuses but where does that knowledge and ability originate?
One theory is that some interests or talents stem from a past lifetime and have been carried over into the current one. Many case studies have made this correlation. For example, a man who loved collecting American Civil War memorabilia had regressed under hypnosis to the life of a Confederate soldier. Another person who was obsessed with WWII aircraft relived, under hypnosis, a life as an Allied pilot during the war. This is called “gathering the familiar”. There is a great sense of comfort that the person gets from collecting items or actively pursuing an interest that they were once connected to in a previous life.
In one case study, a woman had lived all over the world throughout her life. Of all these places, three countries in particular evoked a sense of ‘home’ the moment she arrived. Over the course of two regression sessions, she was able to go back in time and remember happy past lifetimes in those very same countries. In another case study, a lady who is a deeply spiritual person, was regressed to a lifetime where saw herself as a preacher who “taught by example” on a Greek island hundreds of years ago.
Past life memories can also have a negative impact on our current life as exhibited through fears and phobias. Most fears and phobias can be traced to some earlier event in the present lifetime or easily explained by our “built in” warning system that alerts us to certain dangers (fire, loud noises, snakes and so on). Sometimes, however, finding the root cause is elusive and freeing ourselves from the afflicting fear or phobia becomes difficult through traditional forms of therapy. Dr. Raymond Moody, psychiatrist and author of several books, relates in his book, Coming Back (1990), a case study of a woman who suffered from a very powerful fear of fire. She could not even watch a match being lit without becoming hysterical. Simply discussing her phobia made her hyperventilate. Through past life regression, she experienced a life in France where she was burned as a witch. The memories were horrendous, but after the session her frequent nightmares just stopped. Moody writes, “Although she doesn’t seek out fire, she doesn’t hide from it either…regression therapy is like sending a drillbit down into the unconscious…Without this therapy, she could have wrestled with this problem for years to come and maybe never have come to grips with it.”
What defines us and makes us who we are might go beyond our present physical existence. It is intriguing to think that there is greater depth to our self and that factors buried in our subconscious can shape and influence our lives.
By Elaina Curran, HPD, DSFH, DPLR, CNHCreg, MPLTA, AfSFHreg, Clinical Hypnotherapist
Published in BS35 Local Thornbury Magazine, October 2017 issue
