Gretchen Gottlieb

On May 10, 1970, a Methodist minister by the name of Caroll Jay conducted a hypnosis session with the objective of curing his wife’s, Delores’s, back pain.

When Caroll started asking his wife questions under hypnosis, she did reply, as per the norm, but oddly enough she replied in a language that was foreign to her i.e. a language that she had no prior knowledge of, and her answers were all in German.

This prompted Caroll to question his wife further and in so doing, he managed to establish the identity of the speaker. Her name was Gretchen Gottlieb and she was murdered when she was 16 years old by some men in a forest close to the town of Eberswalde, in the 1870’s, while she was waiting for her uncle. The information came to light after a series of sessions.

Gretchen lived in particularly difficult times, during a period known as Kulturkampf – which was in reference to a struggle between the Roman Catholic Church and the political powers that were trying to subject the church to a written constitution that in most instances will limit or place constrains on the powers of the church.

She also lived during the time of Martin Luther who was a German professor of theology, a priest, a monk, and a protestant reformist. Gretchen clearly indicated that she was a Roman Catholic and that she was uncomfortable with the changes that were taking place to the extent that she was intimidated by what was happening and transpiring around her.

She was the only daughter of Herman and Erika Gottlieb. Herman was the town burgomaster (mayor). Her mother Erika had passed away when she was 8 and she lived with her father Herman who she described as an elderly man with grey silvery hair. They were attended to by a cook, Frau Schilder or Schiller.

Frau Schilder would bring her own children while she was in Gretchen’s home and Gretchen would play with her 4 children. They resided on a street called Birkenstrasse and her father from all accounts appeared to be a man of at least moderate means.

Gretchen was a well behaved girl who replied quietly to the questions that were asked. She was averse to the changes that were taking place and resented the implications on her family. The struggle between the church and the reformists had led to the imprisonment of her father.

According to some sources she didn’t know how to read or write but the alternate personality of Delores Jay wrote up to 40 words in German in one session.

There is also some discrepancy surrounding her death. There are some sources that quote her as having died from a serious illness but all sources confirm that she died at the age of 16.

There are 3 possible explanations for what had happened. The first is that there is a genetic link i.e. a genetic component that stores the memories of earlier generations and hands it down to the next. These memories maybe repressed or suppressed memories and they may never come to light until and unless they are triggered by a specific event. In the case of Delores it was the act of subjecting her to hypnosis.

However, that would imply that there is a familial bond but according to the facts as they are, Gretchen was an only child and she died childless at a very young age.

The second possibility is that Caroll Jay whether intentionally or otherwise may have used a technique known as past life regression. It works on the principle that our mind is an unlimited storage facility and all things past, and present are stored in the mind’s memory banks or as some people like to call it the unconscious or the subconscious mind.

Past life regression is a process that unlocks the memories that are hidden in the endless vaults of our minds including those that belong to a past existence.

Therefore, what may have transpired during the numerous sessions is that the memories of Delores in her past life may have been brought to light through the process of hypnosis.

If the alternate personality that surfaced was indeed the result of past life regression therapy, we can conclude that Delores was in fact Gretchen in her previous life. During the hypnosis session, the hypnotist guides the subject back in time towards certain events in the past, and it is possible that Caroll Jay, the hypnotist, went too far back in time and uncovered memories that belonged to Delores when she was Gretchen.

The third and final possibility is that Delores without knowing it or realizing it was a medium and Gretchen used her to communicate with the hypnotist.

According to most sources mediums draw their energy from things around them and Gretchen’s spirit may somehow be attached to an object. Spirits especially of those who have died before their time tend to linger around the people or the objects that they value most. The object was most likely in the room at the time, and when Delores was put under hypnosis, the channels were opened i.e. Delores became the conduit through which Gretchen relayed her messages.

Copyright © 2019 Kathiresan Ramachanderam