When I tell people that I am a hypnotherapist, they often ask if I can help them access their past lives. "Maybe" is what I usually reply. I have been a clinical hypnotherapist for several years now, and have performed past life regressions on numerous occasions. I have even experienced one myself. However I remain undecided as to whether hypnosis can actually helps us remember a true past life.
In my mind the jury is still out as to whether we have actual past lives. Many think that we do, but I am unsure whether it is the creative part of the mind making up the details of a past life, or indeed there are remnants of memories of a past life that hypnosis can bring out. I can tell you about when I was hypnotically regressed to a past life, and maybe you can decide for yourself.
I experienced a past life regression several years ago. This was during my training as a clinical hypnotherapist. After being guided into trance, I was regressed backwards through my life, to times when I was younger and younger. Eventually I was regressed back further, to a point before I was born.
I recalled being a hunter gatherer in a forest, providing for my family. I remember being aware I had a beard, and was using a wooden spear, and bow and arrow. I did not have to put any effort into these details as they just flowed automatically into my mind. I simply relaxed my mind, and allowed these thought to come, no matter what they were. I was aware that the subconscious part of the mind is very creative, and more than capable of making these details up, without any conscious effort at all. However I was still a little intrigued as I was also aware that just because it was capable of doing so, it didn’t mean that my mind was merely creating these vivid ‘memories’.
I was then regressed to the point just before dying in that life. I remember lying on the forest floor with a wound to my right shoulder, slowly dying. I knew I was dying, but it was not a traumatic experience, in fact quite peaceful. I reasoned that I had been attacked by some animal that had horns or antlers, although I did not see this happen. As I led there staring up at the trees, I felt a sense of loneliness. I was dying on my own, without anyone to comfort me. I knew my family was close, I could see my home in the distance, but I could not go to them for comfort. This made me feel a tinge of sadness and loneliness.
At the end of the session I was fairly convinced that I had experienced some memories from a past life of mine. It was so vivid, and so emotional. However as time passed, I became more skeptical, thinking that it is very possible that it was all fabricated by my subconscious mind, in order to satisfy what was expected of me during the session. This is very possible, but who knows?
I cannot say for sure whether hypnosis can help you access a past life, or even that we have had a past life. Perhaps this does not really matter. It was definitely a worthwhile experience. I somehow felt a little wiser because of it. I remembered how lonely I felt as I stared upwards from the forest floor, yearning for the comfort of my family. This made me realise how precious people in your life are, and how I should not take people for granted. The experience of being a bearded hunter taught me this lesson several years ago, which I will never forget. To this day I always try to bear this in mind, and I am grateful to him whoever or whatever he is.
Jon Rhodes is one of the UK’s leading clinical hypnotherapists. Click here for more information on his online hypnosis store, and here for a mega store of hypnosis downloads
