Well, first of all, let's start off with what past life regression IS, although it is equally important to explain what past life regression is NOT.

 

There are a great number of myths and fears around hypnosis in general, and past life regression specifically. This is one reason the therapist's pre-session consultation with the client is so important. Eliminating as many fears and misconceptions as possible increases the chance of a session being successful, as the client is reassured about what is happening and better able to relax into the experience as a result.

 

Many different things are discussed during a consultation, including a client’s stability, medical history, previous experience of hypnosis, reasons for wanting a past life session, information about the process, and various other key information.

 

So what is past life regression? Past life regression is a technique which uses hypnosis to guide a subject into a relaxed state, where they are able to access subconscious memories from previous incarnations which are not available to the conscious mind during normal, everyday awareness.

 

Past life regression is an incredibly powerful therapeutic tool, which can sometimes produce healing results in just one session that might take months or years with many of the more conventional, mainstream practices, if indeed the client is truly healed at all by these methods.

 

If the root case of an issue does not lie in a client's present life, mainstream medicine's limited viewpoint might not be able to locate and treat the problem at source, as it does not accept the concept that we live more than once. If the root of a problem lies in a past life, the best conventional therapy can do is cut the head off, so to speak. Unfortunately, when you do that, the problem simply regrows and reoccurs somewhere down the line, as the root has not been treated. When you are able to get right to the root of the problem, deep and truly meaningful healing can take place, which produces long-lasting results.

 

Past life regression is completely safe. A client is always safe and protected and this is reinforced a number of times during their session. In terms of what comes up during a session, a client is never given more than they can safely handle. There's a fear that something incredibly traumatic will come up, which will hurt, rather than help, a person. This does not happen.

 

I'm a great believer that past life regression sessions are driven by spirit and a person's spirit guides. The subconscious mind is very protective, so coupled with the influence of guides, a client is not going to be given something way beyond what they can cope with. That's not to say that there won't be emotion, and possibly trauma, involved, but only as much as the client can actually handle. Also, the past life therapist will be well trained in handling whatever comes up during a session.

 

During the consultation, the therapist will ask the client to think of a 'safe place', where they feel completely comfortable, protected and safe. This can be anywhere, from a room in the client's house, to a scene in nature, or anywhere else. The safe place is used as part of the therapist’s hypnotic induction and is there as a fallback, just in case the client feels things are getting too involved for them to handle. Again, please do not be worried about this. To reiterate the point I’ve already mentioned,  the client will only be given memories they can actually cope with at the time of their session.

 

One common myth about past life regression hypnotherapy is that the therapist makes suggestions which lead the client. This is not the case. A good therapist will only ever ask open-ended questions and will be careful not to lead the client in any way with suggestions. For example, a good therapist might ask ‘what do you see?’ not ‘do you see such and such?’

 

A common technique used in regression therapy is to ask a client to look down at their feet, to see what footwear, if any, they are wearing. This helps the client to connect with the experience and start the ball rolling in terms of information flow. A good therapist will ask something like ‘what do you see when you look down?’ They will not ask ‘what do your shoes look like?’ because that would create a pair of shoes, and the information reported as a result might be inaccurate or completely false.

 

So, for this reason, a good therapist will only use open-ended questions, which allow the information reported by the client to be completely their own, without anything being projected in by the therapist.

 

Another common myth about hypnotherapy is that the therapist has control over the client while they’re in a state of hypnosis. Again, this is not the case. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis, with the client in full control at all times. The therapist is there to help guide the session and keep an eye on proceedings, not control in any way.

 

Yet another myth about past life regression is that of famous lives. For some reason, the myth that everyone was a famous historical figure of some kind is one that has stuck. This is simply not the case.

 

The vast majority of people who undergo past life regression find that they have lived normal, everyday lives. The percentages are exactly what you would expect, statistically, given the relatively small percentage of the population who are famous in some way. That’s not to say, of course, that it’s impossible to find a famous life under regression – just that the odds are against it.

 

Another concern people raise is ‘how do I know I’m not just making it all up?’ Well, there are several ways to determine whether or not a memory is likely to be genuine. The first of these is by checking historical records after a session. If a lifetime is recent enough, there may well be historical documents to support the information reported. This can be very validating for the client, and we do offer a package that includes the service of searching historical documents. Please see our ‘Prices’ page for more details of this, along with our other packages.

 

I also have a short exercise that I do with people, to help them tell the difference between a real memory and a false one. This exercise is available to anyone who wants to try it, either after the consultation or on the day of the regression. Everyone who has tried the exercise has told me afterwards that they found it very helpful.

 

I find that there are certain indicators which allow us to tell whether a regression memory is likely to be genuine or not. The first of these is that the memory has a depth of detail. The second is that there is emotion involved. The third is that a real memory is quite often a multisensory experience, engaging several of the senses. The fourth is probably the most important, and that is simply that it just feels real. There is a real sense of being there, in that time and place, and feeling everything connected to it.

 

An intellectual objection people sometimes have is the concept of BC dates. Say, for example, that you went back to a lifetime in ancient Egypt and reported that the year was 5000BC. A critic will ask how someone could possibly report a BC date from that memory, when BC wasn’t even a concept at that time. This is a fair question, and the answer is that during a past life regression, you’re not actually there, as such. You’re remembering something that happened, albeit sometimes in a way which makes it feel like you’re there. What you’re actually doing is reporting on a memory from your present frame of reference, being able to draw from concepts you do know about now. BC is a concept now, and we know about it now, which is why we are able to report it.

 

The success of a past life regression session largely depends on two things, although there are many factors which can contribute. The two main ones, I find, are whether the client is able to suitably relax into the experience, and the ability of the client to concentrate. The two might seem to contradict each other, but a state of ‘relaxed concentration’ is what we are looking for. In eliminating as many of the fears and misunderstandings about hypnosis as possible before the session, our hope is that a client will be better able to relax fully into the experience, knowing exactly what is (and isn’t) going to happen.

 

It’s important for a client to throw themselves fully into the experience, no matter what seems to be happening in their memories, and question it later. Having said that, it’s also important not to try too hard, as this will more than likely impede the flow of information. Simply relaxing and letting it happen is the key here, as we push the conscious mind aside and bring the subconscious to the fore.

 

Research has shown that we reincarnate with many of the same souls, over and over again, playing many different roles to one another. Investigating and getting to understand how these connections play out from lifetime to lifetime can give a fascinating insight into our relationships, allowing us to effect positive changes in the present, in terms of how we exist day to day with one another.

 

This is just one use of past life regression. There are many others, such as healing fears, phobias and other issues. We can also use past life regression for research purposes. Dr Brian Weiss calls this 'regression archaeology' and it is fascinating and extremely gratifying to find historical records which validate your memories.

 

Although we delve into the past, regression therapy is all about helping people in the present day. Now is the most important time for any of us, and by investigating the past to heal the present, we become better equipped to shape our future in a positive way.

 

Post-life progression is another very interesting area of work, which again focuses upon providing positive change to benefit the present. In looking into potential futures, we are able to make better decisions in the present, and this can be very beneficial to us. This is a service we will be adding to our practice later in 2015. Details will appear on the website when this becomes available.

 

We are a constantly expanding and changing practice, and you can keep up to date with all the changes and new things we offer by clicking the 'News' page, under the 'About Us' tab above.

 

Many key points will be covered with the therapist in the consultation. Please don’t be daunted by all of this, though. We just want your experience with us to be as successful as possible, which is why we are thorough in our preparation, ensuring a prospective client knows as much as possible about what will happen during a session.

 

We hope you have found this information useful and look forward to welcoming you to Evidential Hypnosis very soon.