My journey to becoming a past life regression therapist - Part 2 (The Workshop Begins)
In March 2018, I confirmed my participation in a five-day Past Life Regression Therapy (PLRT) workshop scheduled to begin on August 15. At the time, I was serving my notice period at Unilever. My role involved managing senior stakeholders across Asia and Africa, as well as leading a team of 55 employees. I was responsible for ensuring a smooth handover to my successor. My notice period was extended from three to four months while the organization searched for a suitable replacement. During this time, many colleagues reached out to ask about my future plans. I was excited to share details of my new consulting venture and even more enthusiastic about the upcoming PLRT workshop.
In June, Venu, our teacher and workshop trainer, began communicating with participants via email. He began assigning us preparatory tasks, which included reading books on past lives, primarily those written by Dr. Brian Weiss, and answering online questionnaires. Around this time, Venu encouraged us to begin meditating. He recommended a mobile app called Insight Timer, available on the Play Store, for guided meditation. The app was free, and by recommending it to friends, clients, and family, I felt I was helping both them and its creators. Although a premium version was available, the free features were more than sufficient. To this day, I continue to use the app for my meditation practice. As Venu suggested, I began using the app, though I initially struggled to remember to meditate daily.
Finally, the day of the workshop arrived—August 15. As it was Independence Day, the usually congested Bengaluru roads were unusually clear, allowing me to reach the venue early. The workshop was held at a five-star hotel in the heart of the city. In the lobby, a signboard directed participants to the conference room. I hurried down the stairs and found several attendees already gathered in the common area outside, waiting for the doors to open.
The registration desk, managed by Neha, Venu’s wife, was set up just outside the conference room. Venu had taken only 10 percent of the fee as an advance, with the remaining 90 percent due on the day of the workshop. After registering, I received a course book and took a seat outside, exchanging pleasantries with a few fellow participants as we waited. Eventually, the doors opened and Venu stepped out to welcome us. His warm smile and gentle tone immediately put everyone at ease.
There were about 30 participants in total, some of whom had traveled from abroad. To ensure international attendees were comfortable with their meals, Venu always arranged his workshops in five-star hotels, which offered a wide variety of cuisines—continental and oriental. He conducted two workshops each year, one in August and another in December. Each batch was given a name, and ours was called Aster.
The conference hall was arranged with round tables and chairs facing a projector screen. Soft music played in the background as Venu began the session by introducing himself. A software engineer by profession, he had worked with a leading technology company before leaving to dedicate more time to helping people through Past Life Regression (PLR). At the time, he was still involved with a startup founded by his friends. Impressively, he had designed the navigation system at Bengaluru International Airport, now known as Kempegowda International Airport.
It was striking to realize that a computer genius was guiding us into the world of past life regression. Venu briefly shared his journey into PLR, which he had documented in his book My Mystical Past Life. His purpose in conducting these workshops was not only to share his knowledge but also to empower others to help more people in turn—a truly noble vision.
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| 'Aster batch' with Venu in the black in the front row |
After Venu’s introduction, he broke the ice by asking us to introduce ourselves and share any paranormal or extraordinary experiences from our lives. Although the thirty of us had never met before, many participants opened up, speaking about deeply personal events they would rarely share with strangers. Very quickly, we began to feel like a family.
The first half of the day was spent listening to one another’s life stories and the reasons that had brought us to the workshop. The group was diverse—army officers, doctors, engineers, accountants, healers, single mothers, retired professionals, and even a school principal. Their stories touched on relationship struggles, abuse, paranormal encounters, health challenges, financial concerns and family issues. The women’s accounts, in particular, carried a great deal of pain and abuse compared to those shared by the men.
Although only an hour had been allotted for introductions, the session stretched to nearly three hours as participants poured out their sorrow, pain, and hardships. Some of us grew restless, worried that we were falling behind schedule and might miss important topics. Observing our body language, Venu acknowledged the impatience and reminded us that two essential qualities of a PLR therapist are patience and compassion. In that moment, we understood the importance of patience in the most practical way.
To make up for lost time, Venu extended sessions into the evenings and began earlier in the mornings for the remaining days, ensuring that no topics were left uncovered. After a late lunch, delayed by the lengthy introductions, he began teaching the theoretical foundations of PLR, which continued into the following day. He spoke about scholars who had documented past lives through rigorous research, focusing primarily on Western practitioners, as Indian advocates of PLR were often not taken seriously by participants.
When Venu explained the concept of karma, I was reminded of my grandmother’s teachings from the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita, or “Song of the Lord,” is part of the Mahabharata, where Lord Krishna imparts spiritual wisdom to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Some of its key lessons include:
The soul is indestructible and moves from one body to another.
We all face the consequences of our karma.
Karma is often loosely understood as “actions,” but it encompasses even our thoughts. The PLR sessions, as I would later discover, only confirmed this truth.
Venu spent time dispelling common myths about regression, emphasizing that the process is safe. He explained that hypnosis is simply one method of calming the body and mind, and there are many other techniques to achieve regression. Only when the body and mind are relaxed can one access information about previous lives. Some of the myths he clarified included:
Myth: A person is unaware of their surroundings during regression, leaving them vulnerable to abuse by the therapist. Fact: This is false. The individual remains fully aware during regression. They are not unconscious but in a trance state.
Myth: A person may get stuck in past-life memories and forget their present identity. Fact: This is also untrue. The awareness experienced during regression is similar to a dream. Just as one naturally awakens from a dream, a person can simply get up and exit the trance.
Myth: A person may remain trapped in a past life if the therapist is not skilled enough. Fact: This fear is unfounded. Regression is not a time machine, and no one can get stuck in a past life. A person can end the trance at will by sitting up. Importantly, no one can be forced into trance against their wishes.
Myth: A therapist can control the person’s mind and compel them to perform illegal or dangerous acts. Fact: Again, this is false. The individual remains fully in control of their mind and cannot be made to act against their will. Interestingly, a person in trance can even choose to lie or withhold information.
At the end of Day 2, Venu guided us through a group relaxation exercise. During the session, he asked us to recall a happy moment from our lives. As I relaxed, a series of joyful memories flashed quickly before me until I found myself settling into the moment of my birth. Searching for the happiest moment of my life, I saw myself as a newborn baby lying on the bed beside my mother, positioned on her left side. A window was visible to the right of the bed. This was my first experience of past regression.
When I returned home, I asked my mother about the layout of the hospital room and where I had been placed as an infant. Her recollection matched the scene I had witnessed during the regression. I reflected on why I had gone to the moment of my birth when asked to recall happiness. Though I could remember many joyful experiences, in trance I went directly to my birth. I realized that I was happy simply to be born and deeply grateful to my parents for giving me this life.
Day 3 was devoted largely to theory, with Venu explaining the nuances of PLRT. Towards the end of the day, he led another relaxation session. Since some participants had fallen asleep during the previous day’s exercise, he kept this one shorter and used a counting technique to guide us. Afterward, he moved around the room, asking how we felt. One participant shared that she had felt good initially but became frightened when Venu began counting.
Recognizing that she was still slightly under trance, Venu gently guided her deeper so she could identify the source of her fear. In time, she saw herself as a Buddhist monk in a past life. The monk had died in a fire that spread through the cave where he sat meditating, using the counting technique. From that life, she carried a lingering fear of numbers.
This was my first firsthand experience of witnessing someone regress into a past life. I felt immense gratitude to Venu for giving us this opportunity and bowed to him in respect. He promised that the following day he would demonstrate a full PLRT session. To select the participant, there would be a lucky dip of names from those eager to undergo the process. This would be followed by role play, where each of us would take turns acting as therapist and client. The announcement filled us with excitement, and we eagerly looked forward to the next day.
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