by Nancy C. Pohle & Ellen L. Selover

Enhancing Sensitivity to Past Life Influences

Answering the following questions can prompt an enhanced awareness of past life influences:

• To which countries and cultures do you feel an attraction or repulsion? What styles of furniture, architecture, clothing, and so on do you like? If the furnishing and accessories in your home or workplace reflect an interest in particular cultures, it is likely they are pertinent to a previous incarnation and are having an impact on your present circumstances.
• Do any nationalities or cultures come to mind when you meet a new person? If so, you both may be influenced by shared experiences from a previous lifetime. The dominant characteristics of that culture might give you clues about relating to that individual, based on remembered patterns and tendencies.
• What types of music, art, literature, and food do you most enjoy? Pursuing artistic endeavors is an excellent way to evoke past life talents and memories.
• What patterns do you see in the hobbies and activities you choose? Are there pastimes you share with others? This is a good way to determine the nature of any past life connections you may share.

In addition to reflecting on the above questions, if possible take some time to travel to locations that fascinate you or where you suspect you may have lived before. If you are unable to go there “literally,” indulge in a bit of “virtual” travel by reading historical books or browsing the World Wide Web for sites pertaining to the countries that interest you. Also read everything you can find about a particular person, place, or event that you have found to be intriguing.

Ways of Working With Past Life Recall

Like many of the personal examples mentioned, we sometimes find ourselves in situations where our responses to people, situations, or even inanimate objects are confusing. It feels as though there is something significant going on, but we just can’t put our finger on what. Rather than shrugging off such hunches, it can be helpful to seek further guidance and insight.

There are many avenues through which we can experience past life recall. Some memories seem to come to us spontaneously. At other times, we can become aware of them by focusing on a particular puzzle and asking for insight from our higher selves.

It can become very tempting to get caught up in the mystery and challenge of delving into past lives, sometimes to the detriment of the current life experience. That is why we keep coming back to ideals, inner contemplation, and connection. What we are really suggesting is putting your spiritual life first and seeking insights that will be safe and practical. How you apply those insights in your daily experience will affect your spiritual growth.

Rob Grant shared an interesting bit of insight that he received firsthand from Hugh Lynn Cayce regarding recognizing past life memories:

“When we spoke about past life memories, Hugh Lynn suggested that I think back to my senior year in high school to a random event. He then told me to close my eyes and remember it. When I did, he asked, ‘Do you see some scene? I responded yes, that I was seeing a class picnic. ‘OK, that’s exactly the way past life memories come back, the same way you remember this life,’ he said, ‘You sort of see it, but not completely. That’s the way past life images come to you.’”

Meditative States

Often, spiritually devoted individuals will experience spontaneous past life recall while in a meditative state. One way of facilitating that type of recall is to hold in your mind as you enter into meditation a particular person or situation for which you have concern and ask for understanding.

One such flash happened to Giselle, a longtime mediator. She had been having some difficulties with a friend and co-worker, Alice, whose recent behavior she couldn’t understand. They worked for a company whose employees frequently made presentations at large conferences. Giselle enjoyed this aspect of her work and was an excellent and well-respected speaker. Alice, who was in charge of organizing these functions, frequently overlooked Giselle when scheduling presenters. This exclusion from the roster seemed quite blatant, even coming to the attention of other employees. When Giselle broached the subject with Alice, she was given evasive answers. To Giselle, it seemed that Alice was holding something back, acting as though it were just an oversight. But, the “oversights” continued.

It was while contending with yet another omission that Giselle experienced her flash vision. As she was coming out of a deep meditative state, Giselle suddenly saw herself and Alice very vividly in a French theater setting during the late nineteenth century. She knew that they were both young ballerinas in that life as well as good friends. There was one major problem between them, however, Giselle was the better dancer of the two and was regularly given the lead roles; Alice was jealous of her friend’s preferential position and talent. When Alice suddenly died in the prime of her dancing career, she still harbored that resentment and jealousy. She also felt guilt for having those feelings, as Giselle had always been a loyal friend.

Giselle immediately understood the conflict with Alice, whose feelings remained unresolved. In her current position, Alice held some authority over Giselle and allowed those unconscious emotions to dominate. Her behavior prevented Giselle from successfully expressing her talents this time around. Having this memory flash did not make Giselle angry or resentful. Instead, because she truly loved her friend (in both lifetimes), she was able to be compassionate about the pain and anguish Alice still experienced in response to Giselle’s success. She saw her friend as a vulnerable, hurt ballerina who was never able to openly process all of her emotions.

Giselle decided to deal with the issue in a more loving way by making an effort to sincerely compliment Alice for her work. The results of this approach were amazingly positive. Without another word about the issue, Alice began scheduling Giselle on the presentation roster. Their relationship improved dramatically after that experience.

Dreams

Dreams can provide spectacular glimpses of past lives, offering insights relevant to our current circumstances and relationships. Sometimes these dreams come as a result of a concern, or in response to a question posed in a meditative state. Because dreams are one of the most direct ways that our higher selves communicate with our conscious minds, we can ask for dreams that will help in understanding any aspect of our lives.

Rob shared a technique that he and a friend used to incubate a dream about their friendship. “One of my closest friends in the navy was my roommate, Chet. We both joined a study group and began working regularly with our dreams. We kept daily dream journals and were following the guidance of a mentor, who suggested a technique for remembering past lives. He suggested we write down the words, ‘Please show me in my dreams who I was in a past life, for my better unfoldment.’ Chet and I agreed to do this for thirty days, because we knew there was a deep connection between us and were curious to find out why. After the thirty days, we shared our journals and found two almost identical dreams of a lifetime in Greece. We had the dreams within a day or two of each other and were quite astonished . . . The dreams seemed to resonate with our friendship, and the Greek setting struck a chord for us both. Writing the phrase ‘Please show me in my dreams . . .’ gave it focus. It is like writing a letter to your subconscious mind—to your higher self. You can get information on anything in that manner; it’s very effective.”

Vanessa recounted a series of more than six dreams in which she saw herself with a man whom she had just met while on a trip to Egypt. She had not been consciously thinking about starting a new relationship with anyone, but the spontaneity and intensity with which these dreams occurred compelled her to consider them meaningful and worthy of exploration.

The content of these vivid dreams included detailed settings and clothing from distinct eras in Palestine, Egypt, France, and Africa. In them she was clearly shown that she and her new friend shared a special bond and that they had been involved in a variety of spiritual practices and forms of healing in many prior lifetimes. As a result of sharing and examining Vanessa’s dreams together, their current relationship blossomed. They share a commitment to express creatively the spiritual insights and intuitive abilities garnered from those previous lifetimes as well as to develop and apply their present talents in service to others.

Body Work

There are many methods of applying touch to the body for the purpose of maintaining or promoting health. These techniques may facilitate physical and mental relaxation, increase blood flow, stimulate lymph circulation, or balance energy. It is possible, in the process of receiving these treatments, to gain insights into past life experiences. Perhaps our higher selves are slipping them in when our minds and bodies are relaxed and open to guidance from within.

Justin became aware of a sudden past life image while receiving a deep massage/shiatsu treatment. It was a very quick insight that was difficult for him to articulate, but evoked feelings that helped him understand the root of a long-term personality clash with his brother, Tom. He knew intuitively from the memory that he had left this younger brother behind during the big move west in early America, promising to send for him later. Unfortunately, he never succeeded financially and didn’t have either means to bring Tom out to meet him.

Justin recognized the truth to this memory and finally understood why his brother responded to him with resentment and distrust. Because Tom was open to the concept of reincarnation, Justin shared the experience. The memory hit home with Tom as well and resulted in a dialogue between the two that brought about healing for them both.

Flashes of Knowing

Past life memories can also come to us as flashes of understanding while in a conscious state of mind. At times, they come as instant familiarity with a person we just met or with someone we’ve known for years.

In an earlier example, Carol Ann shared her instant recall of a life on the prairie where her husband was kill accidentally. Carol Ann’s memories were quite detailed and consistent with her husband’s current personality traits as well as their shared lifestyle. The memories enabled her to gain a new perspective on her anxiety about William’s business trips. Many times, just viewing the circumstances from another lifetime is enough to trigger positive changes, as resulted in Carol’s case.

Sometimes, repetitious patterns or juxtapositions of people, objects, or events can trigger past life memory recall. Doris experienced such a recall while she shared a pleasant summer day with friends. There had always been an affinity within this group of seven, but for some reason their most enjoyable times together were in the hot summer months. Entire winters and springs could go by when they wouldn’t see one another; but once summer hit, they were inseparable.

Doris had her flash just after a wonderful cookout and walk on the beach. The group was sitting in a circle outdoors with a candle glowing in the warmth of the sunset. As they listened to music, laughed, and simply enjoyed one another’s company, Doris suddenly saw them all sitting around a campfire on a beach that she “knew” was in Polynesia in the distant past. The men wore only loin cloth-type clothing, and the women little more than that. It was such a shocking experience that the others in the group asked Doris if she had just seen a ghost.

Doris tried to explain to the group what she had seen, much to their enjoyment. In retrospect, she felt that the flash of insight was a blessed gift—a beautiful, affirming memory come to life. They had all been drawn back together again in a spirit of love, camaraderie, and appreciation of life that transcended the boundaries of time.

Past Life Regression

Past life regression is a technique in which a trained practitioner uses hypnosis to gently guide the seeker to recall experiences from a previous incarnation. Carolyn Gelone uses past life regressions in her work as a spiritual counselor. She explained the process as “an awareness technique that can help people deal with today’s circumstances. It is a highly personal experience to be used when the person is truly ready to change something in his or her life.”

The following example illustrates how we can gain a broader perspective on life and a greater understanding of our emotions and interpersonal dynamics through a past life regression. This experience happened to Patricia, who had come to Carolyn for assistance. Patricia is a well established doctor in a large city, the mother of five children, and was married to a man who is also a doctor. After many years of marriage, she realized the love had gone out of their relationship and that they were both frustrated and dissatisfied. In spite of that, Pat couldn’t bring herself to suggest a divorce. She feared that if she left her husband she would be unable to survive, even though she was independently successful in her own medical practice. She decided a regression would help her understand the origin of her overwhelming fear of even discussing the issue with her husband.

In the session, Patricia saw herself in a lifetime in France as a beautiful, light-hearted, Parisian girl who married a much older, wealthy gentleman—her husband in this lifetime. After their marriage, he took her to live on his country estate where he would frequently leave her alone, isolated from the company and activity she was used to in Paris. Lonely and despondent, she begged him to move back to Paris. He refused to comply with her request and would not discuss it further.

As time passed, the vibrant young girl became a depressed, frustrated woman with no outlets for her energy, intelligence, or outgoing personality. In desperation, she ran away to Paris, hoping to start over in the city she loved. Tragically, her husband became outraged at her departure, discovered her whereabouts, and killed her.

When this memory surfaced, Pat understood her inordinate fear of addressing the issue with her husband and her anxiety about surviving financially on her own. She worked through her fears, and everyone gained from the situation.

Travel

Hugh Lynn Cayce frequently advised people about the various ways they could develop their intuitive faculties and gain insights from certain activities. He suggested traveling as a method for increasing awareness of previous lifetimes. The break from the routine was invaluable in allowing prior memories to surface and for random insights to occur.

He emphasized that this was particularly meaningful when traveling to destinations with which you feel a particular resonance. In fact, Hugh Lynn’s theory of triggering past life understanding through travel was a primary reason for starting A.R.E.’s international tour program. These tours take participants to many of the locations described in the Cayce’s readings. They are well-balanced and spiritually focused, providing a holistic and intellectually challenging experience.

Marcus shared his amazement at the results of his first group regression with hypnotist Henry Bolduc. Marcus clearly saw himself in an ancient Grecian theater and could literally feel himself being there. He knew without a doubt that he was involved with the theater, music, and the arts, and that his occupation back then was connected with the government. All of those areas are of great interest to him in his current lifetime; in fact, he works for the government!

Several months after that regression, Marcus had the opportunity to visit Greece. He found the experience reaffirming on all levels and enjoyed the chance to reconnect with those strong past life memories. The emotional impact of that visit solidified his belief in reincarnation. It also demonstrated to him that we retain former talents and interests that we can continue to enhance and develop.

Excerpt from Awakening The Real You

See Part I here. See Part III here.