Frequent asked questions on Past Life Regression Therapy

This post deals with some of the frequently asked questions on past life regression and hypnosis.  The post is updated regularly based on questions that are sent to me.  So you can keep coming back to this to check out answers for new questions that you may have.  Feel free to also post your questions in the comments section.

I am pausing here to answer some of the questions that many of you may have with regard to PLRT.  Some of you have tried to reach out to me with questions on my personal number.  The questions have been very valid and I think many of them would probably have the same questions.  I have tried to capture the frequently asked questions here.  The answers to these are based on my experience, my clients' experiences and what I have learnt from the books on this subject.

PLRT uses hypnosis.  Hypnosis can be dangerous as it allows the therapist to control the mind of the client.  The client may be forced to do things against their wish.

Response: Hypnosis is definitely one of the techniques used by therapists to help clients access their past lives.  The general perception that most people about hypnosis is what they have read and seen in movies and on television.  It is important here to understand what hypnosis really means.  Simply put, hypnosis is a state of focused concentration.  It is required because the mind needs to be relaxed for one to recall the past life memories. 

I can relate the importance of relaxation of the mind to remember things.  As a student, I remember going blank during the Chemistry exam.  It was a Board exam and it was important for me to score good marks here.  I just could not remember anything, though I had read and understood the subject well.  I sat there with my eyes closed and took some deep breath, relaxing myself.  After about five minutes, I opened my eyes and looked at the question paper and could answer all the questions.  I ended up scoring good marks in the paper.

Most people think that hypnosis is a state where the person is not conscious.  Some people also think that the person is asleep when under hypnosis.  This is another myth.  A person under hypnosis is completely conscious and is not asleep.  The conscious mind is completely aware of what is being experienced by the hypnotised person.  Even though the hypnotised person is able to access the subconscious mind, the conscious mind is able to able to analyse, criticize, comment and censor information.

It is also believed by some that the person under hypnosis will reveal all the personal secrets to the therapist, which may be misused.  This is again another myth.  As Dr. Brian Weiss states, “Hypnosis is not a truth serum.”  The person under hypnosis is in total control of what they wish to say.  If they are not comfortable, they may not share the information or they may lie.  I have seen many cases, where the persons are not comfortable and do not disclose some of the information while in trance.  But, when we are reviewing the session, they have mentioned that they experienced something that they were not comfortable to share while in trance.

One of the fears that people have is about getting stuck in the past life.  After being certified a therapist, I met a friend who was keen to experience PLRT but was not confident about my skills.  He asked me, “What would happen, if I get stuck in the past life and you are not able to get me out of it?”  This again I would say is the impact of fiction stories and visual media, where person accessing past life is shown as if they are in a time machine, without awareness of the present.  This is not true.  The person under hypnosis is in the present with just memories of the past coming to awareness.  It is an experience that may be visual, auditory or just plain awareness.  For one to come out of the experience, they can just open their eyes and sit up.  The worst that one would encounter by suddenly coming out of trance is a heavy head that may last for few minutes or hours.  Once a person meditates this would also disappear.  But, if the person under hypnosis is brought out through a systematic process, the heavy head may not be there.  As far as getting stuck with an unpleasant memory is concerned, the experience is more like a dream.  We all have had bad dreams that we don’t get carried away by it.  Similarly, after PLRT the person can get the learning and move on.

PLRT is against my religious belief.  My faith does not support reincarnation.  My faith forbids me to access past lives.

Response: I would ask you to do some research about your faith.  Do look into it and see if it is really mentioned in your religious scriptures or is it just hearsay.  If you still are not comfortable with PLRT, it is your decision and choice.  No one can force you.  For those who think that accessing past lives is a sin or that we are made to forget the past for a reason, I would only say that the you will only remember the past life for a reason and if you are allowed to recollect the past it is only possible due to the divine force, so how can this be a sin?

What can PLRT be used for?

Response: PLRT can be used to resolve relationship issues, behavioral issues (including fears addictions) health issues and financial issues.  A person on a spiritual journey and curious about reincarnation can also experience PLRT to help in the journey.

Does PLRT resolve the issue or symptom 100%?

Response: It is seen that the issue or symptom occurs to teach the person a lesson.  The lesson in forgiveness, love, trust, charity, faith, humility etc.  If the person is able to acknowledge the lesson to be learnt and follows it the symptom or issue disappears.  This is my view and based on what I have seen.  For instance, one of the clients was suffering from a health issue and the reason for the issue cropping up was the karma in one of the past lives.  It was necessary for the client to seek forgiveness for some wrong done in the past life, but the client was not willing to ask for forgiveness.  The issue for the client still persists, though the intensity of the same has come down, as slowly the client has got the feeling of letting go.  It is hence important that the lesson is learnt to resolve the issue or symptom 100% in my opinion.  I am not advocating that people resort to PLRT to resolve all there issues.  This would mean living in the past by forgoing the present, but the experience of PLRT would make the person conscious of the implications that our thoughts, words and deeds have.  This would make the person more spiritually awakened and also make us contribute to a better society.  Just by regular meditation the person would be able to handle the complex issues and symptoms that may arise.  It is said that through meditation, one is able to burn the seeds of karma resulting in our progress to the next level.

Is the past life experience real or did I make it up?

Response: The person experiencing a past life is completely conscious and hence it is generally seen that some of them start doubting the experience.  They wonder if it was real or they made it up.  During the session the person is conscious and accessing the information from the sub-conscious.  There are chances that the conscious mind interferes at times and some of the information may be made up.  The objective of PLRT is not to validate history, but to bring about healing.  Like it is said that the proof of pudding is in eating, the proof of PLRT is in healing.

What is the point in digging up the past?  Why waste time and energy on it?  Instead why not do the right things now and enjoy the present moment?

Response: Very valid point of view.  As I have said, it is not required for everyone to go through PLRT.  It is only required for those who are not able to let go of some old baggage which is now making their journey more painful and difficult.  For those who carry no baggage or are able to handle it, will not be keen on this.  Life, will definitely teach the person the lesson he is required to learn, but PLRT helps in getting this insight.  If you get an opportunity to experience PLRT, it is 'help' that life is offering you and you are destined for it.

I don't think there is this concept of past life.  Are there any validated /documented cases of people having recollected their past life?
Response: Internet search will show a number of such cases where people, especially children have recollected their past life.  In India, the most famous case of past life recollection is well known as "Case of Shanti Devi", validated by Mahatma Gandhi himself.  There are couple of cases of PLR, where clients of my friends, who are PLR therapists have remembered lives as famous historical persons, where the key details remembered during PLR turned out to be correct.  But, again there are people who doubt if the session was made up.  So, there will be people who doubt will always doubt.  As I have said earlier, the proof of pudding is in eating.  Experience it to believe it.  See the healing to believe it.
I was fortunate to have a couple as my client where both of them were related in an earlier lifetime and during their respective sessions ended up recollecting the same details and events from the earlier lifetime.  Both there sessions were conducted in independent silos and they had no opportunity to discuss each other's session before we ended both the sessions.  This for me was the proof that past life exists.  I have captured it under the post "Soulmates", and you can read more of it on this blog site.

In every story it is seen that people are in relations in one way or the other- is it a pattern of life or just coincidence or there is something more to it?

Response: Yes, the problem in current life usually is from or with the people around us, who make us go through similar emotions at times.  Hence, during PLRT when you go back to the root cause, you generally find these people there.  But there are many other lives where you are associated with other people too.  All keep coming together again and again through different relationships till the balances are settled.  It would take us sometimes just one life to settle our karmic account with the person or may take many lives to do this.  It is in our hands.

In some cases, we see people being able to witness events even after their death.  They are also able to go and find out about events where they were not physically present.  How can one know what happened after death and give excerpts on that? If that is so then it can tell about future in current life as well?

Response: For the case where they are asked to see what happens after death, it is very much possible as the soul is able to go forward and witness it.  Sometimes, it is not very keen to go forward and see.  But these are all past events hence can be easily witnessed.  Yes, as a 'soul' one can go around and check about others too.  As a 'soul' as higher self, we are all connected, I have seen that in multiple cases people are able to talk about events where they were not physically present.  This is how the concept of using 'medium' also works, where the 'medium' (the person under trance) is able to tell events from the life of a person who is not in trance.  There are people who can witness 'some' parts of the future too.  But, the future is under wraps, and most of the time one cannot go forward and see things.  In my view, it cannot come completely true because it is also determined by one's present and future actions.

In some cases, we see couples had unfulfilled desires of staying together in earlier lives, come together again. But what happens if the desire is from one side? Will the soul keep on taking birth to achieve the objective?  Maybe that is the reason it is said that best is a case where departing soul has no desire or grievances in his life so that it can attain 'Moksh' (get out of the cycle of birth and death)

Response: More than desire, I would like to call it karmas remaining unsettled.  Or, may be desires - if one has the desire and the other does not, it may not happen.  The desire may not be only to love each other but can also be for vengeance or anything.  Now, when you understand the word 'desire' here, it comes from doing karma with an eye on the fruit.  The fruit is the desire.  Even the thought results the fruit is karma.  The only way to get out of the cycle is do the karma without attaching yourself to the karma.  Very difficult to achieve.  But, that is the end state to get out of the cycle.  The soul will have to take birth till it learns its lessons, has no regrets or desires.  In the 'Bhagawad Geetha' also it is said that despite all the karmas, at the time of death if the individual is able to focus on God at the time of death, he can attain Moksha, that is break from this cycle of birth and death.  But, this is very difficult to do, as at the time of death, the entire life seems to play out in fast forward mode and you are busy analysing your life, and basis this, the desire pops up instead of having no desire.

Mythology says that human body is attained after one goes through all other life cycles of life on earth?  However, PLRT suggests that humans are reborn as humans only.

Response: There are cases where people have been born as other creatures, but I am yet to come across one.  My other batch-mates have had such cases.  The reason that we see only human lives may also be because our karmas are done at the time we have human form.  Animals cannot think and make decisions like humans, so the form of animals may be only to suffer the consequence of our karma in human life.  This may be the reason that when we ask them to go to the root cause of the problem they always go to the human form.   Also, I see that between two human forms, there is a gap, where some souls rest and may be during this time they are also born as other beings - for eg. the life cycle of most of the animals and insects is so short that in few years they would have lived the lives of 1,000s of other forms of life.

I will be adding more questions and responses to these based on the questions that come up as we progress.  Feel free to ask your questions in the comments section.  Thank you.