Clarifications regarding Regression Therapy

Questions People Often Ask

This part contains answers to some of the most frequently asked questions I hear concerning hypnosis, regression, and reincarnation. Because concerns, doubts, and fears may block. I hear someone from experiencing the full efficacy and enjoyment of the regression audio, this chapter should help to remove those possible barriers and may also explain some of the phenomena that occur.

Q. Do the regression exercises always evoke memories of past lives? Is this the only way to have such  memories?

A. It’s certainly possible to have actual past-life recall through these regression exercises, although many other types of relaxation or meditation techniques can lead to the same thing as well. People may also experience past-life recall during dreams or déjàvu, spontaneously (this is often seen with children), or in many other ways. For example, my first recollection of a past life actually didn’t take place during regression therapy or hypnosis, but as a result of the state of relaxation caused by shiatsu massage (or acupressure). Suddenly, I vividly observed myself as a priest in ancient Babylon. Now, for those of you who feel discouraged because you can’t seem to bring back memories of past lives when you first play the audio, I’d like to point out that it took me three months of daily meditation before I had this first regression. So, the more you practice, the better prepared you’ll be to open up to these experiences.

Keep in mind that the audio might not lead to a memory of a past life at all; or you may retrieve a memory from your childhood, where the causes of your current problem may lie. The wisdom of the sub- conscious will take us wherever we need to go for the cure to take place.

Q. Do the regression exercises offer any type of risk if I do them alone?

A. Thousands of my patients, readers, and work- shop participants have used these exercises without any problems, because the subconscious offers powerful protection against distressing feelings or experiences. Therefore, nothing too traumatic will enter your awareness. If anything uncomfortable arises in the regression exercises, I instruct you to detach from the scene and float above it, where you can view it without emotion. You can also open your eyes and end the experi- ence. The choice is always there. The only risk lies in doing the exercises while driving a car or handling equipment that needs your full attention.

Q. Do you need to achieve a deep level of focused relaxation to experience past-life regression?

A. No—even people with a moderate response can experience the benefits.

Q. What are the memories like that come during regression?

A. I find that actual past-life memories are usually accessed and described in one of two ways. The first is the classical pattern, where the person enters one lifetime only and is able to perceive an extremely com- plete, detailed depiction of that life and its events. Al- most as if it were a story, much of the entire lifetime passes by; that is, it often begins with birth or child- hood and doesn’t end until death. It’s possible that the person will painlessly and serenely experience the death scene and a life review, where the lessons of the lifetime are illuminated and explored with the benefit of the person’s higher wisdom and possibly by a religious figure or spiritual guide.

The second pattern of past-life recall is what I call the key-moment flow. Here, the subconscious knits together the most important or related moments from a cluster of lifetimes, those key points that best eluci- date the person’s hidden trauma and can most quickly and powerfully heal them.

Q. I can recall just short moments of previous lives—will that help me?

A. Remembering these “short moments” is often enough to give you insight into your present life and to open your mind to the possibility of soul survival, reincarnation, and the like.

Q. How can I know if the memories I have are real, or if they’re fantasies or the result of my imagination?

A. It isn’t critical to determine whether what comes to mind is a symbol, a metaphor, a true memory, your imagination, or a mixture of them all. My advice is to relax and let what happens happen, in a nonjudgmental way. If you allow the rational side of your brain to take over, you may block memories and waste an opportunity. Just experience and let your super-conscious wisdom come—afterwards, you can analyze what you’ve gone through. With practice, things be- come clearer, and you can differentiate what is memory and what is metaphor, symbol, or imagination. There are many people who try to validate their memories with proof: Some of them have found their own graves; others find official records that confirm evidential details of their recall, offering proof of past lives. One of the most extraordinary cases of this involves a woman named Jenny Cockell. As a child, she had memories of living in Ireland and dying when her children were still small. As an adult, she decided to look for them, and she managed to find five of the eight children that she had borne during that life. Validation may also take place through the intensity of the feelings associated with the memory and by the alleviation of symptoms. Xenoglossy, which is the ability to fluently speak a language one has never learned or even encountered, is another type of proof.

Q. What’s the reason for using images of light, a stair- case, and a garden during the process?

A. The image of the light (and its symbolism) is found in all cultures and societies on our planet. In near-death experiences, a magnificent light often ap- pears as the consciousness detaches from the physical body. The light transmits the feeling of peace and is associated with understanding. And just like color, light is a form of energy. I like to use light and colors to deepen the induction to regression, and as a metaphor for opening up the mind and enhancing perception.

As for the staircase, slowly descending it symbolically leads to deeper awareness and concentration. The garden is a metaphor for a safe harbor, or the place where one feels protected and secure from any danger. This is why I sometimes recommend that when people experience anxiety and tension, they should breathe in deeply, imagine themselves immersed in light, and visualize the garden of safety and serenity.

Q. What happens if I’m unable to visualize the symbols that appear in the exercise?

A. Remember that the other senses also count— the experience doesn’t have to be visual. For instance, during the process, people have described that they “knew” or “felt” the symbols.

Q. How frequently should the exercises be done?

A. The more you do them, the more experiences you may have, and the deeper you’ll be able to go. This means that it would be ideal to meditate with the exercises every day, particularly because it’s healthy for the body and mind to have a half hour of relaxation and concentration amidst all the tumult and stress of daily life. But if you take long breaks between the exercises, don’t give up—simply go back to doing them, without judgment or guilt.

Q. Does everyone reincarnate?

A. Reincarnation occurs because we have lessons to learn about such things as love, compassion, charity, nonviolence, inner peace, and patience—it would be hard to master them all in only one life. If your education isn’t finished, you’ll find yourself being born into another lifetime. There may be some choices involved, however, but apparently these choices are limited. For example, when you learn all about love, you don’t have to come back. Yet highly evolved souls often voluntarily choose to reincarnate to help teach others.

Q. Where do the souls come from if there are more people on Earth now than ever before?

A. I’ve posed this question to many patients, and the answer is always the same: This isn’t the only place where there are souls. There are many dimensions and different levels of consciousness where souls exist. Why should we feel that we’re the only place for souls? After all, there’s no limit to energy. Earth is merely one of many schools in the universe. In addition, a few patients have told me that souls can “split” and have simultaneous experiences.

Q. In Many Lives, Many Masters, Catherine remembered a lifetime in 1863 _B._C. How could she know that it was _B._C. when that wasn’t even a concept yet?

A. In ‘Through Time into Healing’, I explain the process of hypnotism in more detail: Your conscious mind is always aware of what you are experiencing while you are hypnotized. Despite the deep subconscious contact, your mind can com- ment, criticize, and censor         Some people in hypnosis watch the past as if they are observing a movie. In hypnosis, your mind is always aware and observing. This is why people who may be deeply hypnotized and actively involved in a childhood or past-life se- quence of memories are able to answer the therapist’s questions, speak their current life language, know the geographical places they are seeing, and even know the year, which usually flashes before their inner eyes or just appears in their minds. The hypnotized mind, always retaining an awareness and knowledge of the present, puts the childhood or past-life memories into context. If the year 1900 flashes, and you find yourself building a pyramid in ancient Egypt, you know that the year is B._C., even if you don’t see those actual letters.

Q. Does past-life regression therapy conflict with other psychotherapeutic techniques?

A. Regression therapy is very similar to traditional psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. When traumatic events are brought to the surface, interpreted, and integrated, clinical improvement usually results. The main difference is that regression therapy enlarges the arena, so memories can be retrieved not just from this life but from previous lives as well.

Q. Do animals have souls? Do they reincarnate?

A. I think that animals do have souls. At least this comes up in my work from time to time. I’m not sure that their souls are as individuated as ours—there may be more emphasis on  a  group soul.  I’m also unsure about  animal  reincarnation,  but  I’m  open  to the possibility. Becoming aware of a pet or beloved animal after crossing to the Other Side is a frequent occurrence. However, I’m not convinced that people reincarnate as animals or plants. Perhaps they do, but the memory from those states isn’t retained.

Q. Is it possible to go into future lives?

A. It is possible to go into the future, and some people spontaneously do, but I don’t pursue that area for several reasons. For instance, there seem to be possible futures and probable futures. Also, there may be distortions related to going into the future, and you might make decisions that you don’t need to make. You absolutely need to have reached a certain level of maturity in order to “go into the future.” I think that destiny and choice both exist and keep interacting with each other, because as soon as you make a choice, it changes the future. So maybe the possibilities and probabilities change to an extent as you do that. It’s true that we learn because of free choice, but we also can’t discount the role destiny plays in our lives.

Q. Is a past-life reading from a psychic as valuable as experiencing one’s own regression?

A. Although information from a psychic is interesting and sometimes informative, it usually doesn’t remove symptoms. For in order to get resolution, you should experience the memory, with its accompanying emotion, yourself. Your own experience of the memory through regression will be much richer, deeper, and more personal. It will contain a feeling of “knowing” that a simple reading would never be able to convey.

“You are much, much more than your body or your mind. You are a beautiful being, immortal, eternal, full of love and light.” —  Brian Weiss

The quest for happiness is a common denominator among all human beings. Driven by this desire, we create new technologies and fine- tune existing techniques in order to reach levels of extraordinary sophistication  in  the  consumption of consumer goods. Yet, despite the incredible sophistication of our society, I feel that there is widespread dissatisfaction on the individual level. Having more, earning more, needing more; and being better, more famous, more brilliant, and more successful than every- body else are just superficial attempts to find happiness—but these social differences are creating wider and wider chasms among people. In addition, our society is seriously threatening the planet and rapidly poisoning the environment. At the same time, a spiritual revolution is occurring. It seems to me that the people who read my books, attend my lectures, or write to me are trying to do far more than solve mere physical or emotional problems. They’re seeking a pathway to endow their lives with more meaning, fulfillment, and joy, and they’re transcending the mundane. For me, the essence of happi- ness is inner peace. And this peace can be achieved only when we recognize our fundamental nature, which is unconditional love: love that’s freely expressed and asks for nothing in return.

This is what we came to learn in this school of life, and we need many lives to accumulate this wisdom. As this is not an easy school, and the process takes much time, advances are often imperceptible, while lapses may well discourage us. It’s worthwhile to invest in this path of love, how- ever, because it’s one of peace and happiness.

Don’t worry about the pace of progress or judge yourself when you make mistakes. This is your unique path, and there’s so much to learn along the way. In this school, we have physical bodies and we learn through emotions and relationships. As we progress along the path of spirituality, we’ll become more tolerant, understanding, and open to love.

I want to offer you my support and encouragement and be a companion for you on this journey. Be persistent, patient, and open—the journey truly is as important as the destination.