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Mandrake wrote:'Scuse my lack of knowledge here, but is there any actual evidence of a subject genuinely regressing to their past life or is something which just has to be taken on trust?

Mandrake as a Christian I would expect more...

Mandrake wrote:'Scuse my lack of knowledge here, but is there any actual evidence of a subject genuinely regressing to their past life or is something which just has to be taken on trust?

The people hunting for the "evidence" are happy to pay money in the pursuit of it; the people that know there isn't any are happy to take it.
Win Win.

SpareJoker wrote:
With all due respect, their minds are already being messed with, if people are being encouraged to believe in the veracity of PLR.

There is no significant body of evidence that supports any of the theories or explanations of PLR. How does one accredit a process which is demonstrably false?

The point I was trying to make is that "how" it works isn't important to its use as a therapy. It doesn't need to be "true" to be a valid therapeutic technique. I make it clear to clients that I have no particular beliefs - I work with whatever beliefs they choose to bring to me.

The best book on this subject is by the most wondrous Richard Webster. It is called "Cashing in on Past Lives". It was originally written for magicians and mentalists but it sold poorly to them. However it became a very good seller among hypnotherapists to Richard's surprise.

I haven't done one of these for years and years. I should really start it up again.

I have found no evidence that the subjects were experiencing real past lives. But I also found no evidence that they weren't. I did find evidence that the money they paid me was quite real and that was the most satisfactory part of the whole exercise.

And to answer a previous question although some people were quite important in their past life a lot of people weren't particularly.

The theory of the thing is that there is a thereapeutic aspect to this. The idea is that things that you did in your past life account for your problems in the present life. Some people find this helpful whether there is such a thing as a past life or not. However, I wasn't trying to do therapy. Their problems were none of my business.

I really had no concern whether the clients were really experiencing a past life or not except from a curiosity or intellectual point of view. I expect they weren't but I can't 100 percent say for sure. All I did was hypnotise them and let them tell me what they wanted to tell me. I would tape the session and let them take the recording home with them.

Before this should be discounted it should be remembered that 75% of the world's religions believe in reincarnation. The most convincing book is that written by Morey Bernstein which was a best seller in its day. It was called the "The Search for Bridey Murphy" and is still available I think. I found it very convincing. The book was debunked by various people but there is now a chapter in the book debunking the debunkers.

I recommend the book. It is a good read whether you believe in past lives or not. On balance I think it is a load of old cobblers but who the hell knows? Of course I believe that hypnosis is bunk too so perhaps that clouds the way I look on these things. And of course if hypnosis is bunk then getting people to recount their past lives in this way must be bunk too.

magicofthemind wrote:The point I was trying to make is that "how" it works isn't important to its use as a therapy. It doesn't need to be "true" to be a valid therapeutic technique. I make it clear to clients that I have no particular beliefs - I work with whatever beliefs they choose to bring to me.

Fiar 'nuff, but if you do not know or understand the mechanisms by which the therpay works, how do you know it's the therapy that provides the results? (as opposed to 'just talking')?

Out of interest, what kind of problems is the therapy used for (e.g. depression, insomnia, stress, etc.)?

A_n_t wrote: Mandrake as a Christian I would expect more...

Indeed !

Ironically, there is a great amount of "anecdotal" evidence that supports reincarnation... it would be quite difficult to prove it such things out based on the skeptical views of western science however. What we do know is that there are thousands of accounts that support past-life memory... especially young people that have vivid recollection of events and situations that happened well before they were old enough to have inadvertently learned of such things and too, we are speaking of children who had no previous influence or suggestion tied to said memories. I'd suggest checking out ENLIGHTENMENT Magazine Issue 32 (March-May 2006)

Sadly, there is another side to the SCAM that would be Past Life Regression; the fact that certain hypnotists, especially those hosting a more biased bend away from belief in Reincarnation, literally plant ideas and lead the subject along a path of his/her choosing. This is frequently done as a kind of cruelty by the hypnotist, who sees such games as a way of teaching their "client" a lesson about being so gullible and star sighted. Frankly, those that play such games need to be shot in my book, in that they are wrongly manipulating the subject; frequently a person that has a justified reason for validating past life suspicions.

For a person curious about this kind of thing my first suggestion is to study all you can both, pro & con around the topic itself but to likewise keep a notebook concerning your own thoughts and why you feel you are being drawn to a specific incarnate period. The truth being that most of us have lessons (karma) that needs to be addressed that comes from that era. There can likewise be the issue of fulfilling a sense of obligation that stems from that point in time... this can include the classic "Soul Mate" sort of thing, but that's a big can of worms to deal with as well... just because someone is your "soul mate" does not mean you are dedicated in some kind of eternal love... that's Hollywood's pitch on such things, not the metaphysical facts. Soul Mates can be anyone we had special contact with in a previous life time... including those that killed us (what could be more intimate?) but in this life time, we have the opportunity to "heal" said karma.

It's a long and meandering topic but before you start trying to have Past Life sessions, look at things on your own; the various coincidences, how you are pulled to a given time and place... try to resolve the puzzle without having an outside influence serve as part of the processes. You don't want the will of the hypnotist (in this case) to supersede your own understanding and quest. Whenever a hypnotist deliberately guides you to scenario, such as being a victim of the Boston Strangler... he is in the wrong and screwing with your own psyche... don't allow that to be!

In closing, I'll suggest one last resource; Richard Webster's "CASHING IN ON PAST LIVES". Richard offers some solid insight as well as resources for you to work with in addition to how to conduct a group Past Life type session.

Craig Browning wrote:Ironically, there is a great amount of "anecdotal" evidence that supports reincarnation... it would be quite difficult to prove it such things out based on the skeptical views of western science however.

Sorry, I don't see how this is 'ironic'. Anecdotal evidence can be found for pretty much anything you care to think of. I have anecdotal evidence that smoking is not harmful, in that I have never directly seen anyone die from purely smoking-related issues. Moreover, I have strong anecdotal evidence that seatbelts do not save lives, as I have never directly witnessed them doing so.

If, however, I base my views on the available evidence, then quite a different picture emerges.

So, it doesn't matter how much anecdotal evidence there is for PLR, an anecdote still remains an anecdote.

Craig Browning wrote:What we do know is that there are thousands of accounts that support past-life memory...

Ok, this would count as a body of evidence. When you say the accounts support past-life memory, do you mean that the accounts have been corroborated historically? I would be interested in perusing such a source. Do you have a link pls?

Craig Browning wrote: What we do know is that there are thousands of accounts that support past-life memory... especially young people that have vivid recollection of events and situations that happened well before they were old enough to have inadvertently learned of such things and too, we are speaking of children who had no previous influence or suggestion tied to said memories. I'd suggest checking out ENLIGHTENMENT Magazine Issue 32 (March-May 2006)

I'd suggest checking out the following study from the American Psychological Assoc (http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3psygs/05 ... whurst.pdf)

ABSTRACT—Memory illusions in children of three age groups (5-, 8-, and 11-year-olds) were investigated using a modified version of the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) procedure.

Children from each age group falsely recalled nonpresented items related to the study lists. However, the nature of the intrusions varied across the different groups. The 5-year-olds were more likely to falsely recall words that rhymed with the studied items than to recall unrelated items, whereas the 11-year-olds were more likely to falsely recall words that were semantically related to the list theme than to produce either rhyming or unrelated intrusions. Intrusions made by the 8- year-olds were equally likely to be semantic, rhyming, or unrelated to study items.

The results are consistent with the notion of a developmental shift from phonological to semantic associations, leading to qualitatively different memory distortions in children of different ages.

What exactley is wrong with anecdotal evidence that doesn't apply to all forms of empirical evidence on a grander scale?

SamGurney wrote:What exactley is wrong with anecdotal evidence that doesn't apply to all forms of empirical evidence on a grander scale?

Anecdotal evidence can't be checked.

A bit like the Bible I suppose.

Nice sidestep.
Rugby player by any chance?

This is close to what I was asking earlier - is there any way to check and verify that a subject has truly regressed to a past life or do we have to take it on faith. I suspect the answer is that there's no way of verifying as any historical evidence discovered could also have been read by the subject thus giving them all the data to consciously or subconsciously appear to be genuine.

When doing these regressions, how many times does the subject go back to a very uninteresting life – born, didn’t do much, died early from syphilis– and how many did something wonderfully interesting?

Mandrake wrote: died early from syphilis

Chance would be a fine thing.

Sophie wrote:Has anyone on here had past life regression? And do you think it would be good for me?
I guess in a way im trying to find out who I am, and why im like this.

not meant in a mean way, but look at what you've written...

you are asking strangers what would be good for your life, not knowing what kinds of people we are...

do YOU think it would be good for you?

you want to find out who you are and why you are like "this"...so on some level, by finding out what kind of person you were before now, you may feel you will get a clue as to who you are now...

so really, you do not understand yourself currently, nor why you are going through the same old problems time and time again...

i don't think what kind of therapy you choose to go for is important right now, but taking that first step to seek out a therapist and discuss things is only a good, positive thing for who you are right now, in reality...

so go and do it...speak to someone...why shouldnt you feel happy and settled? if you feel you don't deserve that - then again, that too points to you seeking out therapy...