I was recently asked by a colleague to submit an article for potential publication in the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis that addresses, in some way, the use of hypnosis in the treatment of traumatic experiences.
It then occurred to me that I have yet to speak more directly and thoroughly in this article about the use of what is frequently referred to in the psychotherapy arena as “Past-Life Regression Therapy” or simply, “Past-Life Therapy.” (For simplicity I shall use PLRT as the shorthand throughout this article.)
I define PLRT as the use of hypnotic trance (an altered state of awareness), and the suggestion to go back in time to the lifetime (or lifetimes) in which the person experienced a trauma that is at the source of a current symptom for the purpose of resolving the trauma and thus, resolving the concomitant symptom(s). There are, of course, certain premises inherent in any discussion of PLT which, fortunately, are not necessary to abide in order for the experience to be successful.
Those premises are as follows:
Humans are spiritual beings comprised of body, mind/awareness, soul, and spirit.
Souls can experience traumas.
These traumatic experiences can and do cause symptoms that can be physical, emotional, cognitive (beliefs), and behavioral.
These traumas can be carried by the soul, into another or other future lifetimes.
Souls can be healed of these traumas thus clearing/healing/curing the symptoms.
Souls are eternal.
Souls reincarnate.
In the research and clinical literature, there are many anecdotal stories about both clinicians and patients who had no concept of and past-lives and/or of soul, nor of reincarnation, who nonetheless observed, encountered, and/or spontaneously experienced, past-life traumas and the concomitant symptom resolutions.
An excellent example of this is evidenced in psychiatrist Brian Weiss’ case of “Catherine” as first published in his book, Many Lives, Many Masters (Weiss, 1988). Following one and a half years of psychotherapy (including psychopharmacology) with no improvement, Dr. Weiss decided to introduce Catherine to self-hypnosis, which he hoped would help her learn to relax and calm herself. Catherine spontaneously accessed a past-life scene as if watching a movie trailer. Neither she nor Dr. Weiss understood what was happening and Dr. Weiss knew that she was not psychotic, i.e., not delusional.
One week later, Catherine returned for her next session and reported significant relief for some of the anxiety and depression she had been plagued by. Dr. Weiss, who had known of some publications regarding PLRT, always considered the phenomenon unreasonable and certainly unscientific and thus, unworthy of consideration. Catherine herself had absolutely no prior knowledge of past-lives, let alone PLRT. Ultimately, Dr. Weiss came to accept and practice PLRT, which he has written about and teaches extensively (Weiss 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2012).
Theoretical Considerations: The theory/theories underpinning PLRT include the above mentioned premises. The narrative description of the theory goes something like this: humans are spiritual beings having human and material/embodied experiences. Certain experiences can be perceived by the person as traumatic, such as death by drowning, fire or fatal battle wounds. The soul remembers and carries these traumas into future lifetimes, which of course implies that reincarnation occurs (Stevenson, 1966; 1977). These traumas can be revisited and also resolved, thus leading to the resolution of the associated symptoms that the person is experiencing in his/her current lifetime (Woolger, 1988).
Hence, a person who drowned may find him/herself phobic about being in water. One who was killed in battle for example, by a sword wound through the back and forward through the heart, might have scars in their current body at the past-life wound sites (Stevenson, 1997). This person might also have chronic back pain or cardiac issues. Others who have died by fire and smoke inhalation may have asthma in his/her current life.
As mentioned above, it is not necessary for a person to believe in past lives, or reincarnation, or the existence of an eternal soul. I, along with a number of my colleagues, have observed that it is only necessary for a person to be open to experiencing past-life regression hypnosis for them to have the experiences which often bring about the resolution of any variety of symptoms.
The results that clinicians and clients have observed and experienced might, of course, be attributed to the phenomenon referred to as placebo. This means that the person’s belief in the PLRT process is what caused the cure, so to speak, not the supposed Past-Life Regression Therapy.
Most important is this, regardless of whether or not past-lives, multiple lifetimes, or reincarnation exists, clinicians and clients have themselves experienced symptom relief after using PLRT. This author himself has experienced the cure of several physical and emotional symptoms through the use of PLRT. For example, a chronic pain in the upper spine area of the back, behind the heart, was cleared when the author remembered being killed by a spear through the back and through the heart in a past-life event.
The Process of Past-Life Regression Therapy Hypnosis: One very popular protocol used in conducting a Past-Life Regression Therapy session is explicated in the appendix of Brian Weiss’ book, Messages from the Masters: Tapping into the Power of Love (Weiss, 2000, pp. 252-258).
Prior to describing the steps of the protocol, it is important to understand certain ground rules so to speak, about who should conduct this therapy, when it should be conducted, and what preparations the client would need for the process to be conducted safely and effectively.
I recommend the lay person seek out a licensed clinician such as a psychologist, psychiatrist, or social worker who has been trained in and is experienced in conducting PLRT. A thorough clinical assessment should be conducted before venturing into a PLRT session. The clinician should explain what hypnosis is, clarify the client’s beliefs about hypnosis, and also discuss the issue as to whether or not the past-life experiences are real or imagined. Once the therapist has a clear understanding of the symptoms the client wants to address and has determined that the person can safely experience PLRT, then both can proceed with the following:
Rapport and trust have been established between the clinician and the patient.
The steps of the protocol are described to the client.
The therapist and client establish safety procedures in case needed. For example, the therapist advises the client that he/she is able and free to come out of trance anytime he/she desires if the experience were to become too strenuous.
The therapist guides the client into a trance state by first guiding him/her through a relaxation exercise such as progressive muscle relaxation.
The clinician helps the person deepen the level of trance by using any variety of deepening techniques. For example: “Imagine yourself at the top of a flight of 10 stairs. Then begin walking down the stairs understanding that with each step down you are going more and more deeply into the trance.”
Once at the bottom of the stairs, step out into a garden area and find a relaxing and safe place to sit.
At the back of the property of this garden, see a small step bridge which crosses over a brook. On the opposite side of the brook is a portal through which you will eventually step into and through into the past-life that contains the experiences that are at the source of the symptom(s) you are experiencing in the current life.
Sometimes a person can enter into that past life in an unpleasant experience. Therefore, the clinician reminds the client that he/she can step back by watching the event as one would watch a movie in a theater.
Then the person is guided through any variety of experiences in the lifetime that will help explain the relationships to the current life symptoms.
Another important part of the PLRT process is to help the person to experience the death of the PL character.
Next is to experience the life review process after the death and to learn the importance and relevance of the events of that life and perhaps how those events correlate to the current life symptoms and what solutions can be applied.
The next step is for the clinician to guide the person back to his/her ordinary, alert, waking state, i.e., the person is reoriented to the normal waking state of awareness.
Then the client and the clinician can discuss/process the experiences and address questions and comments the client might have.
There are often a number of past-lives and experiences to be had during the therapy process, so several PLRT sessions are often common and useful.
PLRT Case Studies (PLRT)
Katie
The client whom I shall refer to as Katie, (a pseudonym), was the mother of two young children. She began to experience significant anxiety thinking she and the children would be harmed while her husband was away on an extended business trip. More specifically, she imagined a home invasion by a couple of bad people who proceeded to kill her and kidnap the children. This kind of terror was a very atypical experience for her.
During her past-life experience regarding this matter, she saw what appeared to be a field of yellow which turned out to be a desert (sand) landscape. She saw a man lying on the ground due to blows to his face and head. In the distance she saw her (his) two children being kidnapped away on horses by three bandits, never to know the fate of her/his children. Once we had processed these recollections, the terror disintegrated. Additionally, unbeknownst to this therapist, Katie had experienced chronic sinusitis which cleared several weeks after this PL experience. The sinusitis appears to have been a symptom expression of the trauma of the PLRT character’s having had his face/head smashed in. So this is, in part, an example of a physical symptom in one’s current life that was being caused by a trauma experienced by the soul in a body during a past life.
Madison
Madison, 38, was, at the time of treatment, a mother of four children and the primary caretaker of a four year old granddaughter. During the course of her therapy, it was discovered that since her menstrual cycle began, she experienced near hemorrhaging cycles which had been managed through hormone treatments.
The past life experience revealed a life in which, as a pregnant woman of approximately seven months, her village was raided by Vikings. She was slashed from stem to stern by a Viking’s sword and she and her baby were killed.
Nearly two months following this past-life experience, Madison intuitively felt it was time to have her physician wean her off of the hormone treatment just to see if her body had somehow come to re-set itself, as she presented it to her doctor. In fact, her cycle became normal, i.e., without hemorrhaging-like symptoms.
Doc
Lastly, here is one of the author’s experience of a past-life type that resulted in the elimination of a constellation of symptoms he recalls experiencing since childhood.
For as long as he could remember, Doc would experience the following symptoms whenever he would observe someone losing a loved one in real life or in the movies or losing love object, such as a pet (for example, Timmy, in the “Lassie” TV series, losing Lassie): a severe and painful constriction of the throat; a profound emotion of grief; a felt-sense to sob but no tears would/could flow; then a resulting throbbing headache, all of which would require an hour or two to recede.
In 2003, Doc said good bye to a friend at the end of a relationship. That evening, he spontaneously accessed a past-life experience in which he observed himself as a Native American, holding the head of a loved one who was soon to die. He saw her soul emerge from her eyes as she passed. During the following three days Doc experienced episodic bouts of deep grief, loss, and sobbing. A few months later while watching a movie in which a man lost the love of his life, Doc felt none of the old, chronic symptoms. In fact, he laughed thinking to himself: “You can’t get me with that one anymore.” He has not experienced those symptoms since.
Conclusion: Some of the basic tenants, theories, procedures and examples of Past-Life Therapy have been presented in this article. This was intended to introduce this tool to those of you who have not heard of Past-Life Regression Therapy and to expound a bit further for those of you who have heard of it. The reader is invited to research this clinical tool as a way of potentially helping to alleviate any variety of symptoms, especially those that have been chronic and which have not responded to contemporary medical or psychological interventions. Click here for References and Research.