by Michael Talbot

Occupations

Past-life occupations also appear to leave a powerful imprint on people. Frequently, after I have taught people the Resonance Method and raised the subject of occupations, they can immediately recall two or three jobs they have done in former lives. You may find that the idea of life in a convent or life tilling the land has always evoked a certain strange nostalgia in you. Or you may realize that you have a real feel for medicine, the military, for making things with your hands, for fishing, hunting, teaching, writing, carpentry, building clocks, helping others, acting, weaving, public speaking, electronics, or astronomy.

Once you have come up with a list of occupations for which you have resonance, go back over your life and see if this sheds any light on other aspects of your personality. For example, after I discovered that I had resonance for having been a jeweler, I suddenly realized this aptitude had manifested itself frequently throughout my life without my having been aware of it. I realized that I had always possessed a natural tendency to tinker with watches and other small objects. Although I had never cultivated such a reputation, friends and family frequently brought me their broken chain clasps and other jewelry to be fixed. I even remember that as a small boy, I once saw a book on a famous jeweler in a bookstore, and I paused and gazed at it for a second or two as if the information the book contained were calling to me—but then I moved on and had completely forgotten the incident until I had my flash of insight about having been a jeweler.

Once you have accumulated a list of occupations and other items for which you have resonance, look back on your life and see if any of your discoveries cause similar streams of disparate facts about your personality to suddenly come together. When this happens, it is further evidence that you have uncovered a possible past-life fact about yourself.

Languages

Affinities for certain languages are another frequently reported holdover from past lives, and resonance for a particular language may manifest in a number of ways. Occasionally, some individuals actually remember certain words from a past-life tongue. If as a child you came up with curious sounding terms that no one had ever heard of, or if you sometimes hear strange words in your mind, you might try doing a little investigating to see if they are actually meaningful terms from some other language.

However, even if you have not had this experience, by going through a list of languages, you can still readily determine which ones you have resonance for. Perhaps you have already found that there are certain languages that you were able to pick up almost as if they were second nature. Or perhaps you have never learned a particular language, but find that you have always been drawn to it, or able to pronounce what few words you know from it as effortlessly as a native speaker. Conversely, you may find that you have always had an inexplicable and intense dislike for a certain language, and this may indicate that you have had some unpleasant past-life association with that tongue.

Foods

Predilections for certain foods also appear to exert a powerful influence from one life to the next. Stevenson has reported numerous cases of past-life preferences (and aversions) manifesting in the children he has studied. These include not only broad tendencies, such as taste for very spicy food, an inclination toward vegetarianism, and preference for the particular cuisine of a previous incarnation, but also very specific predilections such as a love of pears, biscuits, a particular kind of dessert, or a favorite dish.

As a child I also had quite a number of very powerful food memories from previous incarnations, including a marked tendency toward vegetarianism, a taste for Eastern food centering around rice dishes, and an addiction to strong black tea. I even remembered and yearned for several foods before I had ever encountered them in this life. For years I longed for a hot beverage that I knew I had enjoyed a great deal in a former life, but because I did not remember its name, I was unable to ask for it. It wasn’t until I was in my early twenties that I stumbled across a type of Japanese tea made from the twigs of the kukicha tree and was thrilled to discover that it was the taste I had searched for so long.

As an adult, sensing resonance for certain foods is a little more difficult than when one is a child, because adults have a tendency to like so many different foods anyway. But if you pay close attention to your inner voice, you will still be able to detect a few possible past-life affinities. Go over all of your favorite foods, and see if there are any that have always had a special tug for you. Perhaps you are especially drawn to the cuisine of a particular culture, or maybe the taste of a good red wine or a dark stout has always activated a special warmth and sense of appreciation within you.

Religions

Because of the intensity of feeling that usually accompanies spiritual beliefs, most people can readily identify gods and religions they were drawn to in previous lives. You may even find that you have an icon or two from a past-life religion as a knickknack or art object in your house or apartment. Have you always had a special affinity for Buddhism, Christianity, Egyptian gods, witchcraft, Druidism, statues of Shiva, Taoism, or the writings of the Sufis?

In addition to checking various religions for resonance, look at your innate attitudes about religion. Are you more naturally drawn to worshiping in groups or to private worship in your home? Such proclivities may indicate past-life habits of worship. Similarly, look at those religions that inspire an inexplicable aversion in you. Have you always had a mysterious dislike for a certain sect or for religion in general? Such feelings may be the result of past-life persecutions.

Animals

Evidence suggests that a close affinity for a particular type of animal may indicate a past-life association. If you have always had a special attraction for horses, you have probably been around horses in a previous life. If your love of cats borders on an obsession, you may have loved cats in a previous incarnation, or even worshiped them. Try looking through bestiaries or natural history books to find resonances for animals that might give you clues to previous lives.

Climate

One of the more interesting past-life resonances that seems to stay with us is our ability to tolerate a particular climate. Stevenson has found that Asian children who remember past lives as Europeans or Americans are far more likely to complain about the heat in the tropical climates in which they have been reborn than Asian children who remember past lives as Asians. Look for your own resonances in this area. Have you always felt that you belonged in a climate different from the one in which you grew up?

Body Karmas

Research has shown that sometimes injuries suffered during a previous incarnation can still affect the body in this life. Because of this, you can also check for various body karmas or resonances. To do this, think of the various portions of your body, paying particular attention to parts that have given you repeated problems. See if you sense any past-life resonance for those areas.

Unusual sensitivities about certain parts of your body can also indicate body karmas. An aversion to having things pointed at your eyes or head may indicate a latent past-life memory of a head injury. If you are especially sensitive about wearing scarves or items of clothing which fit snugly around your neck, you may have suffered a neck injury in a previous life. Even something as simple as a slight nervousness or over-protectiveness about a certain part of your body may be a clue that will allow you to unlock a past-life memory.

For example, one day I discovered that whenever I got nervous, I had a curious habit of feeling my neck, almost as if I were checking to make sure that it was all right. It suddenly occurred to me that I had performed this strange gesture hundreds and even thousands of times throughout my life but had never been conscious of what I was doing. However, as soon as awareness of the mannerism crept above my threshold of consciousness, in a flash I realized that my throat had been injured in a previous life, and on a subliminal level I was still reliving that trauma.

Phobias and fears can also be the product of past-life traumas. Examine any fears you have, such as a mysterious fear of water, heights, guns, or fire, and try to determine whether these have any past-life resonance for you.

Physical Traits

There is evidence that physical traits, such as skin tone and hair color, may carry over from one life to the next. Stevenson reports that in Burma he discovered a number of children who remember past lives as British or American pilots who died when they were shot down over that country during World War II, and all of them have fairer hair and complexions than their Burmese countrymen. Stevenson even cites instances in which children still possess many of the facial features of their previous incarnations.

Although scientific evidence of this is sparse, a number of gifted spiritual individuals and great mystics of the past have also asserted that our physical characteristics do not always change much from one life to the next. For example, Paramahansa Yogananda said that just as we can still see traces in adults’ faces of the children they once were, we also retain similar traces of facial features from our previous incarnations. However, Yogananda said that we have one feature which changes very little from one life to the next:

“The eyes especially will be like they were before. Eyes hardly change because they are the windows of the soul. Those whose eyes reflect anger or fear or wickedness should try to change, to remove unlovely qualities that hide and hinder the expression of the beauty of the soul. Owing to the change of environment and company, your mind and body change somewhat. But the eyes yes change little. You are reborn with the same expression in them.”

To find resonances in your physical characteristics, try looking into a mirror and meditating on your features, specifically your eyes, for a few moments to see what echoes and ancient familiarities are there.

Personality Traits

Look at all those personality traits that you seem to have been born with. Have you always been peaceful, nervous, drivingly ambitious, haunted by a fear of failure or self-pity? Do you have a tendency toward violent temper? Have you always been religious, or filled with a feeling that you were in this life to help others or to accomplish some important task or purpose?

Examine social issues and see whether you have resonance for any of them. If you find that you have never been directly hurt by racism, but it still makes you fighting angry, perhaps you have been a victim of racism in a previous life. Or if you find that your heart has always gone out to orphans, to the poor, to rape victims, or war refugees, perhaps you have experienced that kind of social injustice before.

Look at how you feel about the opposite sex and at how much of the opposite sex you see in yourself. If you are a man, but have always had a more sensitive or feminine side, you have probably been a woman in a recent past life. If you are a woman, but have always had a more aggressive or masculine side than most women, you are probably being influenced a little by one of your male past lives. Remember, seeing a bit of the opposite sex in yourself is not something to be ashamed of. If reincarnation is a fact, its purpose appears to be to allow each of us to see life from every angle, and to grow into beings far richer and more multifaceted than the narrow boundaries cultural convention sometimes places upon us. To perceive both male and female aspects in your personality may therefore be a sign of growth, an indication that you have broken out of a constriction and have drawn on many sources to become who and what you are in this life.

As you look at yourself and search for further resonances, consider also the major life issues that seem to be facing you in this life. After a little thought, most people find that in spite of the complexity of their existence, their lives still seem to have one or more basic and overriding themes. You may find that your major theme in life is to be loved or have a family. Or it may be to develop yourself as an artist, a healer, a business person, a world leader, to amass great wealth, or to constantly confront situations that force you to deal with jealousy, persecution, or power. If you are very honest with yourself, you may find that your theme has always been to control or manipulate others, to accomplish impressive feats in order to compensate for a bad inner self-image, to suffer, or even to hurt or be hurt by individuals you love. Examine these areas for resonance, for they, too, may be the result of a saga that has been going on for many lifetimes.

Finally, after you have compiled a list of your major personality traits, goals, issues you feel strongly about, and so on, look at the antithesis of each of these things and check that for resonance also. For example, you may find that you have an urge to be a healer in this life to make up for the fact that you were once a warrior and were responsible for the death or injury of many people in a previous incarnation. Or you may find that you are devoted to teaching or the dissemination of information in this life because you have resonance for the fact that you once lived a life in which you were responsible for the censoring of information.

People You Might Have Known Before

If you are like most people, you have probably already sensed resonance for certain individuals without knowing precisely what you were sensing. Just about everyone has had the experience of meeting someone and immediately feeling a deep and mysterious familiarity. Sometimes the familiarity manifests as an instant feeling of kinship or friendship. Sometimes it manifests as an immediate dislike, but whatever the case, it is often an indication of past-life association.

Once you know what you are looking for, it is relatively easy to sense whether you have resonance for any of your current family members, friends, and acquaintances. When you do this, it is sometimes helpful to try to forget the visual image and relationship you have with the individual in this life. Also put aside their gender, and try not to view them as confined to being either a man or a woman or even any particular sexual orientation. Then close your eyes and see whether you sense any resonance for who and what you feel the person is on the inside, for their essence. Not only should you find the answer to your question waiting in the background resonance of your thoughts, but you may suddenly see an image of what the person looked like when you knew him or her before.

Excerpt from Your Past Lives

See Part I here.