Past Life Regression

Past life regression or past life regression therapy is based on the ancient Hindu and Buddhist principle that advocates the duality of existence. The body as we know it, is divided into two components, the temporal body or the physical body, and the soul or the spiritual matter within the body. The former is driven by corporeal needs while the latter is driven by spiritual demands. The former remains in existence for a lifetime while the latter remains for the duration of all time or is eternal.

Past life regression therapy is based on the principle that once the physical body dies, the astral body or the soul migrates and occupies a new body and therefore it may retain memories from a past existence, and according to the theory any unexplained pains, niggles or illnesses that we suffer in the present life can be attributed to injuries that we’ve sustained or incurred in a past life and therefore by confronting those memories or by coming to terms with them we can do away with the pains, niggles and illnesses that we suffer from in the present life.

It is worth keeping in mind that an existing illness can exacerbate a new illness. Two illnesses can operate in tandem and a previous illness that is still operating can increase the severity of a new illness. Let’s look at an example. In the case of Heil v Rankin and another (2000) the plaintiff was a dog handler with the police force and in 1987 he was exposed to a serious crime that left him deeply scarred. In 1993, he was involved in another incident with the defendant that was minor compared to the incident that he was involved in previously, but the injury that he sustained as a result of the new incident was aggravated or exacerbated by the previous illness and as a result he was no longer able to continue with the police force.

While, in the above instance the previous illness occurred in the same lifetime, the illnesses and injuries that past life regression therapy aims to remedy are illnesses or injuries that occurred in a previous life. It is based on the notion that the soul once it migrates to a new body might retain the memories of its past illnesses or injuries and those memories manifest as pains and niggles in the present body.

According to the theory, in order for a person who suffers from a past life illness or injury to be cured of the illness or injury, the person has to remember the past incident that resulted in the illness or the injury, and if that is not possible, the person should be made to recollect the incident by taking a trip back in time.

The most common method of doing this is through hypnosis but hypnosis is not without its dangers. In Gates v Mckenna (1998) the defendant who was a hypnotist was conducting a show on stage and in order to exhibit his skills he asked for help from members of the audience. The plaintiff volunteered and as a result of being subjected or exposed to hypnosis became a schizophrenic.

The reason this happens is because no two people are alike and the moment a hypnotist starts navigating through a person’s memories there is no telling what he or she will uncover and there is no way to predict how the person will react. The impact of bringing to light past memories that have been repressed by the passage of time can be too much for the person to bear and as a result he or she may succumb to a psychological or psychosomatic illness.

It is also possible to regress too far back in time and the subject may take on a new personality, entirely separate and distinct from the person’s present personality like in the alternate personalities of Jensen Jacoby and Gretchen Gottlieb that suddenly appeared under hypnosis. Hence it is fair to surmise that past life regression therapy despite yielding some unexpected results is not without its dangers.

Copyright © 2019 by Dyarne Ward and Kathiresan Ramachanderam