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History

Religion

In the 2nd century BC, the Hindu scholar Patañjali, in his Yoga Sutras, discussed the idea of the soul becoming burdened with an accumulation of impressions as part of the karma from previous lives. Patañjali called the process of past-life regression prati-prasava (literally "reverse birthing"), and saw it as addressing current problems through memories of past lives. Some types of yoga continue to use prati-prasav as a practice.

In the religious mythology of China the deity Meng Po, also known as the "Lady of Forgetfullness", prevents souls from remembering their past lives: she gives them a bittersweet drink that erases all memories before they climb the wheel of reincarnation.

Past life regression can be found in Jainism. The seven truths of Jainism deal with the soul and its attachment to karma. The fourth truth, Bandha, tells us that karma can stick to your soul. However, the seventh truth, Moksha, tells us that in order to be freed from the cycle of rebirth and death, one must separate karma from the soul. In order to find out what karma is attached to your soul, you can participate in “Jati-Smaran.” Jati-Smaran is remembering past lives

Modern era

The nineteenth century saw the rise of Spiritualism, involving séances and other techniques for contacting departed spirits. Allan Kardec (1804–1869) sought to codify the lessons thus obtained in a set of five books, the Spiritist Codification (theSpiritist Pentateuch, 1857–1868), including The Spirits Book (1857) and Heaven and Hell (1865) ; these books introduce concepts of how spirits evolve through a series of incarnations. Madame Blavatsky (1831–1891), co-founder of the Theosophical Society, introduced the Sanskrit term Akasha, beginning in Isis Unveiled (1877) as a vague life force that was continuously redefined, always vaguely, in subsequent publications; separately, but also in Isis Unveiled, she referred to "indestructible tablets of the astral light" recording both the past and future of human thought and action. These concepts were combined into a single idea: the Akashic records, espoused by Alfred Percy Sinnett in his book Esoteric Buddhism (1883). The idea that the "Akashic records" held past life data set the stage, whereby Western practitioners of the paranormal could sidestep the notion of forgetfulness that, in traditional teachings about reincarnation, had prevented memories of former lives from being accessed.

An early report for a human accessing past life information during a trance state comes from 1923, when Edgar Cayce, while answering questions posed by Arthur Lammers (publisher) in a trance state, spoke of Lammers' past lives and of reincarnation. The use of hypnosis for past life regressions is said to have been developed by A. R. (Asa Roy) Martin of Sharon, Pennsylvania, who published Researches in Reincarnation and Beyond in 1942.

In 1952 the Bridey Murphy case, in which housewife Virginia Tighe of Pueblo, Colorado, under hypnosis, was reported by the hypnotist to have recounted memories of a 19th-century Irish woman ("Bridey Murphy").

Past life regression is widely rejected as a psychiatric treatment by clinical psychiatrists and psychologists. A 2006 survey found that a majority of a sample of doctoral level mental health professionals rated "Past Lives" therapy as "certainly discredited" as a treatment for mental or behavioral disorders.

Technique

In the West, past-life regression practitioners use hypnosis and suggestion to promote recall in their patients, using a series of questions designed to elicit statements and memories about the past life's history and identity. Some practitioners also use bridging techniques from a client's current-life problem to bring "past-life stories" to conscious awareness. Practitioners believe that unresolved issues from alleged past lives may be the cause of their patients' problems. One technique for accessing memories from a past life is detailed in a study by Nicholas P. Spanos from Carleton University, Ontario, Canada. Subjects of a study were at first told that they would be undergoing a hypnosis, and afterwards told, “You are now in a different life, living in another life that you have lived before in another time. You are now reliving that other life that you lived once before in a different time.” Next, after the administer asks “What name can I call you by? I want you to look down and tell me what you are wearing. Describe everything you are wearing in detail. Where are you?” Afterwards, the subjects were to chronicle the information that they could remember after regression in a past life. Past life regression can be achieved in as little as 15 minutes, but to recall past a point of death, and into "soul memories", it takes upwards of 45 minutes of trance induction. However, with psychotherapy clients who believe in past lives, irrespective of whether or not past lives exist, the use of past lives as a tool has been suggested.

are less so.

Studies

Studies suggest that past lives are likely false memories, implanted through the susceptibility of the hypnotic method. A 1976 study found that 40% of hypnotizable subjects described new identities and used different names when given a suggestion to regress past their birth. In the 1990s, a series of experiments undertaken by Nicholas Spanos examined the nature of past life memories. Descriptions of alleged past lives were found to be extremely elaborate, with vivid, detailed descriptions. This, however, is not indicative of the validity of this therapeutic method. Subjects who reported memories of past lives exhibited high hypnotizability, and patients demonstrated that the expectations conveyed by the experimenter were most important in determining the characteristics of the reported memories. The degree to which the memories were considered credible by the experimental subjects was correlated most significantly to the subjects' beliefs about reincarnation and their expectation to remember a past life rather than hypnotizability. Spanos' research leads him to the conclusion that past lives are not memories, but actually social constructions based on patients acting "as if" they were someone else, but with significant flaws that would not be expected of actual memories. To create these memories, Spanos' subjects drew upon the expectations established by authority figures and information outside of the experiment such as television, novels, life experiences and their own desires. In sum, it is therefore suggested that past lives are likely false memories, implanted through the susceptibility of the hypnotic method.

See also

• Age regression in therapy
• Destiny of Souls
• Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka
• Reincarnation research
• Repressed memory
• Avatar: The Last Airbender
• Avatar: The Legend of Korra

References

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2. Osho (n.d.). "Prati-Prasav: the primal of the ancients". The Alchemy of Yoga: Commentaries on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Diamond Pocket Books Ltd. pp. 129–152. ISBN 978-81-288-0669-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
3. Kumar R (2000). "Posthumous Personality, Reincarnation and Liberation for Beginners". Kundalini for Beginners: The Shortest Path to Self-Realization (For Beginners). Llewellyn Publications. pp. 115–13. ISBN 978-1-56718-435-8.
4. McClelland N (2010). Encyclopedia of Reincarnation and Karma. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-7864-4851-7.
5. Cotigo. (2019, August 1) What Is Jainism? Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkwmYlgkOhU
6. A. R. R. R.. (2017, June 4). Past Life Regression Therapy. Retrieved from https://www.arrrglobal.org/past-life-regression-therapy
7. Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna (1972) . Isis Unveiled'. Vol. I. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972). p. 178.
8. Sugrue, Thomas (2003) . There Is a River. Virginia Beach, VA: Association for Research and Enlightenment Press. p. 238. ISBN 9780876044483.
9. Schwimmer, George (2013). A. R. Martin: Pioneer In Past-Life Regression. Phoenix 11 Productions.; the author of this 32-page booklet is a member of the Association for Past Life Research and Therapies (APRT).
10. ^ Carroll RT (2003). The Skeptic's Dictionary: a collection of strange beliefs, amusing deceptions, and dangerous delusions. New York: Wiley. pp. 276–7. ISBN 978-0-471-27242-7.
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16. Tomlinson, Andy (2006). "Beyond past lives and into the soul memories between lives: Applications of hypnosis". European Journal of Clinical Hypnosis. 7 (2): 18–25.
17. Simoes M (2002). "Altered States of Consciousness and Psychotherapy". The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies. 21: 150. doi:10.24972/ijts.2002.21.1.145.
18. Peres JF (February 2012). "Should psychotherapy consider reincarnation?". The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 200 (2): 174–9. doi:10.1097/NMD.0b013e3182439836. PMID 22297317. S2CID 9909884.
19. Sumner D (2003). Just Smoke and Mirrors: Religion, Fear and Superstition in Our Modern World. San Jose, : Writers Club Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-595-26523-7.
20. ^ Spanos NP (1996). Multiple Identities & False Memories: A Sociocognitive Perspective. American Psychological Association (APA). pp. 135–40. ISBN 978-1-55798-340-4.

• Hypnosis
• Reincarnation
• Parapsychology
• Reincarnation research