by Denise Linn

Relationships

Perhaps more than any other clue, the dynamics of your relationships can offer powerful insights into who you were. We tend to subconsciously and symbolically recreate events from our far past, especially from those experiences that were never resolved. Every reenactment is a way to heal those unsettled situations. For example, when Moses and John were growing up, they were next-door neighbors. They were friends but Moses always tended to resent John, and for some reason John put up with it. One summer the two teens decided to go on a canoe trip together. As they paddled, their canoe overturned and Moses was caught in the current. John, at great effort – and almost at the expense of his own life – was able to rescue Moses.

From that point on their relationship almost magically transformed, and Moses no longer resented his friend. John later discovered that in a past life, they’d both been native South Americans. On a canoe trip during that lifetime, Moses had fallen out of the boat but John didn’t try to save him. Moses had drowned, which caused the lingering resentment in the present time. Reliving the original event shifted the dynamics between them. (Remember, it can be a symbolic or an actual reenactment of the situation. For example, if Moses felt that he was drowning financially and John had saved him, that also might have balanced the original karma.)

Often the way you feel about someone is a reflection of a past connection. For instance, whenever Jill talked about her friend Sandy, she called her “my sister.” And if Sandy had a problem, Jill used to say – without knowing why – “Hey, Sandy, I’m your older sister; I’ll take care of it for you!”

Jill discovered that in a previous life, Sandy had been her younger sister. This explained why she felt the need to protect and support Sandy in her current life.

When you instantly like someone, or immediately dislike the individual, this is usually because of a past life connection. Sometimes roles will reverse, creating new challenges. In a past incarnation, Ron was the father of his current dad. So in his present-day life, he resented his dad telling him what to do. Subconsciously he thought, Hey, wait a minute! I’m the father; I should be the one passing out orders here.

Also, just because someone seems to be your enemy in this life, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s a negative past life. In some cases, a very loving soul mate will incarnate at your request to be your worthy opponent; as a result, you are able to gain strength, clarity, and wisdom as you overcome your adversary. In other words, this individual came in order to help you grow. By carefully examining all your relationships, and especially the recurring patterns, you can begin to understand the dynamics of your past.

Causes You’re Passionate About

Think about the causes you’ve contributed to over the years – whether financially or with your time and energy. Usually there’s a connection between a past life and a movement or principle that’s truly meaningful to you. Devi was a devout advocate of saving old-growth forests. At one point, she’d even considered tying herself to a tree to protest the destruction of an ancient forest. She traced this activism to a peaceful and wonderful past life in which she’d lived alone in the Bavarian woods. During that time, she loved trees and used to talk to them; they were her friends. So in this life, she took it upon herself to try to help her friends.

Another woman, who had been tortured because of her political beliefs in a past life, is a strong supporter of Amnesty International in her current life and passionately fights to end the inhumane treatment of political prisoners.

Traumatic Events

As I mentioned earlier, the distressing events in your life are usually symbolic reenactments of past life traumas that haven’t healed. Again it’s important to remember the following: It isn’t the actual ordeal creating a blockage that’s carried forward into your current life; it’s the limiting decisions and judgments that you made at the time of the incident that carry forward. For example, let’s say that two women each lost a child in a previous life. One woman had decided that she never wants to become pregnant again because she’s afraid that she might lose another child, but the second woman had chosen instead to cherish every relationship because she’ll never know how long it will last.

The devastating events are identical, but how each person reacted at the time is very different. The first woman, in her current life, might notice that she’s afraid to get close to anyone or she may have trouble getting pregnant; and the second woman might notice that she passionately embraces every single one of her relationships. It’s the same situation but with two different meanings.

Fears and Phobias

Many people can’t explain the fears and phobias they have, even after years of traditional therapy. Sometimes it’s only by working through traumas experienced during past lives that these problems can be unraveled. For example, a middle-aged woman had an extreme fear of snakes, which prevented her from doing the things she’d otherwise very much enjoy. She was extremely afraid to walk anywhere outside, even in relatively safe areas, for fear of coming into contact with a snake. Nightmares about these reptiles kept her awake for weeks at a time. Finally, through past life regression, she discovered that she was once lowered into a snake pit as punishment for a petty crime she’d committed in an ancient and barbarous culture she’d lived in. The subconscious fear that this could happen to her again for some small thing that she might unwittingly do haunted her for years, until she became aware of the original source of her terror and healed it.

Examination of our most persistent fears and phobias, especially those that seem unrelated to our present existence, can be a useful tool for deciphering clues to earlier incarnations. Many people choose to do past life work because frightening experiences in previous lives often recur in the present. You’ll find that whatever you fear will return again and again until you overcome it – this is a cosmic law. So examine what makes you afraid. You could even imagine possible past life scenarios to accompany your phobias in order to gain further insight about who you were.

Words and Phrases You Use

As you uncover who you were, it’s valuable to begin to carefully listen to the phrases that you use regularly and to specific words that you employ to describe something or someone. Arnold was upset with a co-worker, and he repeatedly told me that he felt like he’d been “stabbed in the back” by this person. During a past life regression, he relived an experience in Macedonia in which his present-day colleague had stabbed him in the back.

Another man always used the expression “jumping through hoops.” For example, he’d say “Boy, my boss sure had me jumping through hoops today!” Or if the roadways were hectic during his commute, he’d remark, “That traffic jam had me jumping through hoops.” It turned out that in his past life as a gypsy, he developed a special kind of dance in which he jumped through hoops.

Bud used to repeatedly say, “Let’s call in the troops!” or “The troops have arrived!” or “Don’t let the troops down!” When he uncovered a past life in the United States cavalry of the old West, he understood why he used that expression.

Danielle would always complain, “That drives me crazy!” She probably said it 50 times a day. In her regression, she discovered a previous life spent in the area that’s now Estonia; and during that time, she suffered from severe mental problems.

Sometimes we’re not aware of the expressions we say because we blurt them out unconsciously. Consider asking some friends whether they’ve noticed if you’ve continually used certain phrases or words.

Body Type

Although we have different body types in our various lives, sometimes there are aspects that carry over from a previous lifetime. Usually this only occurs if there’s a blockage or emotional response that wasn’t cleared from an earlier life, but sometimes it happens because we strongly identify with a characteristic.

Ronald was born with one arm slightly deformed. Because of it, he always thought that he was beneath others and convinced himself that people didn’t respect him. Surprisingly, when I asked him how it made him feel, he said that he felt like a coward. When I regressed him back in time, he relived a life as a Japanese warrior. He had seriously injured his arm (not in battle) and consequently wasn’t allowed to fight. Being disposed of by his commanders made him feel inferior and even weak for not fighting alongside his compatriots. Healing that lifetime didn’t change the status of his arm, but he no longer felt subservient nor did he view himself as a coward.

Sometimes body types can reverse throughout lifetimes as a kind of karmic balance. For instance, Helen had a past life as a large, overbearing man who considered himself superior to others because of his size and shape. But in her current life, Helen is very petite and constantly experiences people looming over her. Remember, this body-type reversal isn’t a punishment; it just allows us to develop compassion and understanding for others.

Health Issues

Oftentimes, health challenges carry forward from earlier lives. An incident that’s similar to a previous life event can activate an unaccounted pain or injury that originated in the far past. For example, in Amy’s past life she was banished from her tribe for adulterous activity. (She was a man in that lifetime.) She was so distraught that she threw herself off a cliff and died from a head injury. In her present life, every time she had a single thought of having an affair, she was overcome with a debilitating migraine headache. She had subconsciously equated adultery with dying of a head injury; so in her present life, even the thought of an affair would activate severe pain in her head.

Additionally, a disease or illness that you had at a particular age in your past life can emerge at the same age in your present life. This will only happen if there are unresolved emotional issues that accompanied this event. Dakota developed a terrible rash that covered her body when she was 25 years old. The onset was sudden and dramatic and even erupted into severe blisters. In a regression, she saw a past life in which she’d been 25 years old and had been burned at the stake for being a witch.

There can also be residual memories of health issues that will filter into the present and manifest in your current body. Heart problems (or a broken heart) in a past life can resurface as heart disease in a current life. Body weight insecurities in an earlier incarnation could recur in a present life. However, health problems will only be repeated if there were unresolved issues of this kind during the past life experience.

Some present-day health concerns are symbolic manifestations of a past life trauma. For example, throat problems can come from an incarnation in which you were hanged, strangled, or killed for speaking your truth. Chest pain may arise from drowning, suffocating, or being crushed. Severe headaches could be due to massive head wounds or battle injuries; and even stomach illnesses could result from poisoning, malnutrition, starving, or being stabbed in the gut.

Scars, Birthmarks, and Tattoos

There’s a definite correlation between scars, birthmarks, and tattoos that you may have in this life and what has occurred in your past lives. In a regression, a woman vividly remembered having been shot in the forehead in another life. Interestingly enough, this woman found an unusual, small indentation beneath her hairline that looked as if a small bullet had penetrated there. Another woman realized that a scar she’d had from an appendix operation was in the exact same place as a sword wound she’d received in a battle in ancient Persia.

Even birthmarks can carry clues to past lives. I suggest that you examine your birthmarks and ask yourself what might have made those specific kinds of marks; then pay attention to any images or feelings that well up from within you. (Your emotional responses often contain clues to your past lives.) For example, George had a birthmark that looked as if half of his face had been badly burned. He visited a previous life and discovered that he’d righteously punished others by scalding them with hot oil as penance for crimes they’d committed. (Once again, please note that his birthmark was not karmic retribution from an avenging god; instead, it was a way that George’s spirit had chosen to develop more compassion for himself and others.)

Tattoos can also give past life hints. Over a number of years, Marie had Celtic symbols tattooed on various parts of her body and was comforted when she discovered a previous life in Ireland as a blacksmith. Ted experienced similar feelings regarding a powerful past life in China that correlated with the Chinese characters that he’d tattooed on his body.

Injuries, Diseases, and Surgeries

Not only are the injuries and diseases that you’ve endured often indicative of past life experiences, but the emotions that have accompanied them are also very telling. Sue-Ann used to become unusually despondent and even fatalistic every time she caught a cold. She’d think of her life as if it were over and would dwell on her seemingly impending death. She couldn’t figure out why even the most non-threatening illnesses would invite these feelings – until she experienced a past life in Portugal in which a summer cold had quickly led to pneumonia and then to her death.

Repeat accidents are almost always an indication of an unresolved past life trauma. As a child, Jonathan fell in his family’s barn and one of the prongs of a pitchfork pierced his right thigh. As an adult, he was doing some work outside and fell off a ladder and the iron stake in his fence punctured his right thigh in exactly the same place. In a past life regression, he relived an event where, as an Australian aborigine, he’d been speared through his right thigh as punishment for breaking a taboo.

To delve even deeper into your previous lives, whenever you’re hurt, imagine that you’re actually becoming very tiny and traveling into the injury or wound. Then allow images and memories to rise to the surface. The closer to the time of the injury, the easier it is to discover the source: past life experience.

Dreams

A powerful way to gain understanding of past lives without experiencing a regression is by examining your dreams. Many dreams contain secret messages regarding not only your current life and relationships, but also those in your far past . . . and even in your future lives.

Excerpt from Past Lives, Present Miracles

See Part III here.