Have you had the feeling of deja vu? A feeling like you know this place, or know that person, or have had this conversation. It is like a hazy memory of a far away place, but where? Have you had dreams where you know its you, and yet you look nothing like you do in this life? Have you met someone for the first time and for some reason you feel an instant affinity? You wonder, “Why do I feel like I’ve seen them or somehow know them?” Many have had such experiences and yet many do not admit it. Past lives is not a subject you discuss with people who do not believe. However, even the believers are skeptical, although are more open to the realm of its possibility. Let’s think about it for a moment, why would the idea of past lives be so off the mark? Why would the idea of living in another time and place be so threatening? When viewed from this lens, would this idea not explain some of the inequalities, injustices and suffering in this world?
Personally, I’ve had many over the years. I’ve been given glimpses through dreams, simple clues that have allowed me to make sense of the many scenarios in this life. The idea of past life exploration is really to understand this life not for escapism purposes or evading responsibility of lessons needed to be learnt. Many use past lives as a crutch to dismiss or ignore what this life is trying to bring forth. Its use must be approached in a responsible manner and not out of a desperate attempt to justify lack of personal evolution by declaring ‘It must be a past life thing’. To declare that everything is a result of the past is to miss the point. No doubt, that the past has created your present and your present contains all the lessons from the past but you need to address, explore and put them into a meaningful context.
Many have asked me over the years if they should explore past lives through regression and my reply to them has been: “You can’t even handle this one, why add to your troubles’. If you are on a journey to develop yourself, your soul will send the clues and give glimpses because it’s the result of personal development. You receive it in order to increase your understanding and heighten your awareness. Do not pursue it because you are curious but because you truly want to understand the mystery of your soul.
Your soul chose the circumstances of your current life and its the best clue you’ve got. Explore the reason and purpose of the family you were born into, the characteristics that you exhibit, the friends you love, the career you have chosen, the tensions between you and a parent or a sibling, your likes and dislikes, places you’d like to travel or that resonate with you, languages that you love or would like to learn, foods and cultures that that appeal to your imagination. All this reveals your greater life and being, perhaps even your past life. You need to dig, investigate and explore the clues given to you. Upon a closer look, many of us have traits and abilities that are not found within our family tree, in fact, we are completely different. This may cause angst for many because they are acutely aware that they do not belong or that they are different, but rather than taking this stance, they need to look at it as a clue that those talents and abilities they have are in fact carried over from a previous existence. The soul through time and space developed and refined these talents and abilities to such an extent that in this life it needs to express them in the world of form.
With each lifetime, our spiritual nature has a chance to take root, our attachments and desires for earthly pleasures to be transformed into altruistic work and purpose. The intent is no longer to serve the desires of the human self but that of the Divine Self. Hence, the spiritual quest or search for higher forms of meaning and happiness become the central theme for each successive lifetime, thus preparing our consciousness to attain enlightenment.
Perhaps after the perennial debate on the ‘Existence of God’, the existence of Past Lives might well be called the next most contested topic in today’s world. Volumes have been researched on and written for and against the existence of past lives. However, in this forum, it is not our endeavor to prove whether ‘Past Life’ as a concept is true or not! We leave it to the individuals to experience and decide for themselves whether or not to believe in it!
Rather, the focus of our efforts would be to use this as a therapeutic tool to resolve and heal issues. It would help immensely if one were to go through Past Life Regression keeping healing in focus.
Skeptics could consider their regression as their own subconscious mind bringing to fore (metaphorically) deep-rooted thought-patterns that might be affecting their daily lives. We do not focus on what the individual perceives, but as therapists, we are more intent on how it is linked to their issue at hand.
However, having said this, past life regression therapy stands as a very powerful tool in healing a wide array of physical, emotional and spiritual issues. Eminent psychotherapists such as Dr. Brian Weiss and Dr. Michael Newton have spoken widely on how their practice has given them tangible resolutions in the world of Psychiatry and Psychology.
There are a few people who see a few past lives with completely verifiable information, and some even meet their past life relatives and comfort them. But these are not so common, and the average past life memory will usually have little or no verifiable information at all.
And the power of this healing is so tremendous, that it has now become a rage among logic-loving Westerners too, as well as scientific psychologists and psychiatrists. Many of these therapists don’t even believe in past lives, but they know that past life regression works like nothing else!