Past Life Regression Therapy Explained for Boomers

Past life regression therapy or PLR is based on the principle of re-incarnation. It means that all of us have had many past lives and that life and death are a part of a constant cycle. According to the believers of past life regression therapy a lot of our present problems may result from the cellular memories of our past lives. For instance a phobia of water could be the result of death by drowning in a past life. PLR therapists claim that unexplained pains and aches in the body, a variety of psychological problems, negative relationships and sometimes even some diseases could be the result of painful or troubled past life memories.

How does PLR therapy work?

Past life regression therapists use clinical hypnosis to delve into their client’s subconscious. According to believers of PLR, the memories of all our past lives are buried somewhere in our subconscious, we may believe that some of our actions and thoughts are our natural instincts but they are actually directed by our subconscious. For instance an instinctive dislike towards someone could be the result of a negative relationship shared with them in a past life.

The therapist starts a PLR session by inducing a trance like state in the client, then with the help of visual imagery one is supposedly transported to a past life. The client sees images and scenes of a past life (which may be affecting his/her present life) replayed in front of his/her eyes like a movie, some may see it as flashes and to others the images appear as they do in the mind’s eye. The therapist takes the client through the important years of the life they are seeing and finally moves towards the time of the client’s death in the previous life. The client sees himself/herself dying, feels like he/she is floating towards the sky, with the help of suggestions from the therapist the client is able to see his/her angels. Most people report receiving messages at this stage about the purpose of their previous life and sometimes even about the purpose and problems in their present life; with this the session is concluded and the therapist brings the client out of their trance (hypnosis). People who have undergone this therapy claim that seeing a past life is like standing at a distance and watching yourself, you feel real emotions, yet you know you are only a silent by-stander watching images of a life you have already lived.

It is believed that once you realize that your present problems are the result of painful memories from your past life, you will able to overcome them.

Does it have scientific validity?

The scientific and the medical world do not endorse and strongly disagree with claims of past life regression therapists. They attribute any positive effects of past life therapy to the placebo effect, which means that people believe they are getting better because, they are told that the therapy would help them. Moreover, non-believers also suggest that what people call an “image/scene of a past life” is actually just their imagination and the suggestions from therapists make them feel that their imagination is real. According to psychiatrists sometimes we confuse a lucid dream or vividly imagined experience with an actual memory(these are called false memories). We recall the imagined or dreamt experience as real, even though the event or incident never happened in real life. Past life memories according to many psychiatrists and doctors is exactly that, our imagination which seems real.

So should one believe in it?

Though there is no proven research which suggests that we actually have multiple lives or that our past lives have any affect on our present lives, a lot of people not only believe in this therapy but claim that they have benefitted from it. In fact a famous psychiatrist Dr. Brian Weiss is one of the most talked about and prominent advocates of this therapy. Yet, if one listens to the voice of so called “rationality” doubts are bound to arise. Moreover all religions do not agree with the concept of re-incarnation either, therefore to believe or not to believe becomes a matter of faith and choice.

Past life regression therapy or PLR is based on the principle of re-incarnation. It means that all of us have had many past lives and that life and death are a part of a constant cycle. According to the believers of past life regression therapy a lot of our present problems may result from the cellular memories of our past lives. For instance a phobia of water could be the result of death by drowning in a past life. PLR therapists claim that unexplained pains and aches in the body, a variety of psychological problems, negative relationships and sometimes even some diseases could be the result of painful or troubled past life memories.

How does PLR therapy work?

Past life regression therapists use clinical hypnosis to delve into their client’s subconscious. According to believers of PLR, the memories of all our past lives are buried somewhere in our subconscious, we may believe that some of our actions and thoughts are our natural instincts but they are actually directed by our subconscious. For instance an instinctive dislike towards someone could be the result of a negative relationship shared with them in a past life.

The therapist starts a PLR session by inducing a trance like state in the client, then with the help of visual imagery one is supposedly transported to a past life. The client sees images and scenes of a past life (which may be affecting his/her present life) replayed in front of his/her eyes like a movie, some may see it as flashes and to others the images appear as they do in the mind’s eye. The therapist takes the client through the important years of the life they are seeing and finally moves towards the time of the client’s death in the previous life. The client sees himself/herself dying, feels like he/she is floating towards the sky, with the help of suggestions from the therapist the client is able to see his/her angels. Most people report receiving messages at this stage about the purpose of their previous life and sometimes even about the purpose and problems in their present life; with this the session is concluded and the therapist brings the client out of their trance (hypnosis). People who have undergone this therapy claim that seeing a past life is like standing at a distance and watching yourself, you feel real emotions, yet you know you are only a silent by-stander watching images of a life you have already lived.

It is believed that once you realize that your present problems are the result of painful memories from your past life, you will able to overcome them.

Does it have scientific validity?

The scientific and the medical world do not endorse and strongly disagree with claims of past life regression therapists. They attribute any positive effects of past life therapy to the placebo effect, which means that people believe they are getting better because, they are told that the therapy would help them. Moreover, non-believers also suggest that what people call an “image/scene of a past life” is actually just their imagination and the suggestions from therapists make them feel that their imagination is real. According to psychiatrists sometimes we confuse a lucid dream or vividly imagined experience with an actual memory(these are called false memories). We recall the imagined or dreamt experience as real, even though the event or incident never happened in real life. Past life memories according to many psychiatrists and doctors is exactly that, our imagination which seems real.

So should one believe in it?

Though there is no proven research which suggests that we actually have multiple lives or that our past lives have any affect on our present lives, a lot of people not only believe in this therapy but claim that they have benefited from it. In fact a famous psychiatrist Dr. Brian Weiss is one of the most talked about and prominent advocates of this therapy. Yet, if one listens to the voice of so called “rationality” doubts are bound to arise. Moreover all religions do not agree with the concept of re-incarnation either, therefore to believe or not to believe becomes a matter of faith and choice.

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