Past Life Regression
Past Life Regression (PLR) is the term used to describe the experience of a person, who under hypnosis, appears to remember or re-live another life that occurred in the past or even the future.
This is obviously a controversial issue since some people have strongly held views that they only have one life and that the notion of reincarnation is, to them, absurd. There is also a reluctance on the part of some to accept what they consider to be 'un-scientific' ideas, and they want to hear a scientific explanation that does not involve actual 'past lives'.
At the moment I think it's safe to say that all parties can be accommodated. You don't have to believe in reincarnation to experience PLR. Whether you believe or not, the technique can still prove to be very therapeutic in the hands of a skilled hypnotherapist.
One thing is certain, PLR is real in the sense that it is not a conscious fabrication on the part of the client. Of course, people can fake a PLR session, but true PLR is genuine. Something happens. The person in PLR believes that they have experienced actual events, in another time and place.
If we take PLR at face value, then it is some kind of link with a past (or future) life. Reincarnation would seem to be a likely explanation. Currently there are more people in the world who believe in reincarnation than do not. There is a great deal of evidence of people, particularly children, spontaneously remembering past lives - evidence which investigations have subsequently substantiated.
At present, what you choose to believe PLR actually is seems to be down to personal taste. There are no proofs for any particular theory. However, as I've already said, you can discount fraud on the part of the hypnotherapist and client. Some cases might be some kind of 'trick' but that still leaves genuine PLR sessions, so the 'fraud' theory can be discarded as an explanation for PLR itself.
Do the events 'remembered' during PLR always tie up with historical evidence? Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. But either way, this does not constitute any kind of proof as to what PLR actually is. Many scientists now readily accept the theory that there are multiple parallel Universes all coexisting, each different from the other in minor or major ways. So a PLR that does not exactly match 'history' may be a life in a parallel universe - or history might not be as accurate as some people like to think it is.
If we feel uncomfortable with the idea that we have souls that migrate from life to life, then we can choose to believe that PLR is some kind of trick played by the subconscious - a false memory or some kind of fantasy created without conscious awareness. Bear in mind, this does not mean the client or the hypnotherapist are deliberately creating a 'delusion'. It just means that the human mind may be terrific at creating 3d virtual reality utilizing all five senses and maintaining a cohesive 'plot' and consistent scenery and cast of supporting characters. This level of 'reality' is not evident in normal dreaming. Generally, when we wake up, we realise that our dreams were inconsistent and rather absurd, even though we believed they were real at the time.
Personally, I think the above theory is more far fetched than the reincarnation theory, but you can make your own choice if you need to choose. It may be best to be open minded and just enjoy the benefits of this wonderful natural gift that we may all possess - the power to witness other lives as if they were happening to us. As far as the therapeutic effects go, it does not matter if PLR is evidence of reincarnation or not - it still works for the client.
Elsewhere I've seen websites that advocate the reading of historical novels and watching historical movies to build up to a PLR. This seems to me to be nonsense. It may be a good way to create a fantasy, but if you want to 'remember' a previous life, I think a clear open mind is the best approach.
I would be very interested to hear your opinions, or questions about Past Life Regression: it's a fascinating field.
Website created and maintained by Pauline Day