Past Life Therapy
I believe that "past life therapy" is based on a simple but critical set of assumptions:
I began exploring the clinical implications of reincarnation in 1987 as one of many different approaches for helping people resolve their presenting problems - especially when traditional psychotherapy strategies were unsuccessful. Because the assumptions on which this form of therapy is based sometimes challenge an individual's strongly held religious beliefs about life and life after death, I found it very important to be able to explain why therapy of the "past life" type often seems helpful even if the assumptions on which it is based happen to be invalid. My thinking on the subject, which has continued to evolve over a number of years, took the form of a lengthy article published in the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis in 1999. (This article is available for reading and down loading from the Articles page. Look for The Benefits of Working with a "Dead" Patient: Hypnotically Facilitated Pseudo Near-Death Experiences. You may also wish to read another article that explores a theoretical basis for past life therapy: Family/Systems Therapy in the Fourth Dimension: A Theoretical Model for Past Life Therapy. The article is available in two forms. The first uses clinical vignettes from my own practice. (This version was published in the Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis in 2009, 37(2), 192-217.) The second uses Dr. Brian Weiss' case study of Catherine from his book, Many Lives, Many Masters. In 2006, Crown House Publishing released my second book, The Hypnotic Use of Waking Dreams: Exploring Near-Death Experiences Without the Flatlines. The book uses a case studies approach to elaborate on the concepts presented in the article. You may order the book from me, from Amazon, or any book outlet.
What if the assumptions which underlie past life therapy are wrong? In clinical practice I find that the question, "Are these images real or fictional?" is a moot point. Here's why I believe this is so. Let us assume for a moment that the imagery which the person experiences is purely fictional. I refer to this kind of imagery as a "waking dream." For more than a century many well-known therapists, such as Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Fritz Perls, have worked with dream material. One difficulty with dream interpretation is the simple reality that many people have trouble remembering the content of their dreams in detail after they awaken. This problem is eliminated by having the client "dream" during the therapy session, thus the term "waking" dream). Further, by working with the dream content in real time it is much easier to explore its embedded significance. Dream interpretation and waking dreams Therapy which utilizes the interpretation of dreams also has its core assumptions:
Psychotherapy using waking dreams parallels past life therapy with one critical distinction. The imagery is arbitrarily deemed fictional. The dream is experienced as an internally generated movie, typically multi-sensory and often quite vivid. One intriguing difference from night time dreams is that the individual is always someone else in a waking dream. This phenomenon allows the waking dream to include many of the components of a true near-death experience (NDE), but without the flat line; i.e., without any cardiovascular distress. The research on NDEs consistently points to the transformative potential of such experiences. The problem with NDEs, of course, is that most of the people who have them do not live to tell about them! Towards the end of a waking dream I typically invite the individual to move to the end of the dream character's life. Without any further suggestion on my part, most clients spontaneously move through the death of the dream character. This transition initiates many of the characteristics of a near-death experience beginning with the sense of floating out of the body of the dream character. As is the case with a true NDE, the life review process which follows affords an excellent opportunity for resolving such issues as guilt or shame, identifying and correcting faulty beliefs or assumptions, and formulating new strategies or solutions. I invite you to read the full article for a more detailed discussion of the ways in which waking dreams can be useful, including some case study examples.
Some writers in the field believe there are ways to tell the difference. I discourage my clients from getting caught up in the fascination of trying to prove one vs. the other. The following anecdote may be helpful. In an earlier session, one client had met a "spirit guide" named Thomas who had a wonderful sense of humor. Through the client, I asked "Thomas" if there was a way to tell the difference between real past life imagery and imagery which is just metaphorical. The client reported the following response from Thomas:
The remainder of the session contained a "past life" type experience which the client reported was just as vivid and just as clinically useful in addressing his presenting issues as had been his previous experiences. Since the client believed in reincarnation when he initially came for therapy, the suggestion is that "Thomas" did not want the client to miss the therapeutic potential of the symbolic imagery by dismissing it as not real. Note, however, that if the client's unconscious created Thomas as well as the imagery, it also did a nice job of staying "meta-" to the question we had posed by reminding him to focus on the relevancy of the imagery about to be presented! Thomas' use of "we" also suggested the client had more than one guide assisting him! There is a growing body of excellent research done by investigators who examine claims of memories from other lifetimes. I would refer the reader to the numerous books and articles by Ian Stevenson, MD, a psychiatrist at the University of Virginia who researched the evidence for reincarnation from the 1970's until his death just a few years ago. Many of his books are listed in the bibliography elsewhere on this web site. For a detailed discussion of the criteria which might "prove" the case for reincarnation, I would refer the reader to two books written by Robert Almeder, Ph.D., whom I had the pleasure to know while he was on faculty in the Department of Philosophy at Georgia State University. Dr. Almeder is now on the faculty of Hamilton College in New York. Both of his books are listed in the bibliography.
What kinds of problems lend themselves to having origins in a different lifetime? One of the most common problems which emerges in the past life therapy literature is that of the simple phobia. Phobias are typically seen as irrational fears for which there is no historical basis. One example would be a person with a fear of drowning who has never had a scary experience involving water. In everyday psychotherapy, the treatment of choice for dealing with phobias is called "systematic desensitization", derived from the same concept which is used to help people overcome allergies. Past life therapy explores the possibility that the individual really did have a traumatic experience involving water - in another lifetime. Brian Weiss, MD reported such a case in his well-known book, Many Lives, Many Masters. His client, Catherine, had several intense phobias which had not resolved despite some 18 months of intensive psychotherapy. Yet they resolved quickly and durably in a few past life therapy sessions. Her fear of drowning resolved after she recalled a lifetime in which she drowned in a tidal wave that wiped out her village. This vignette is described in an unpublished article I wrote about Weiss' work with Catherine. Neither Weiss nor Catherine had previously broached the topic of past life therapy or reincarnation. His instruction to her at the start of the session in which this imagery emerged was simply, "Go back to the time from which your symptoms arise." The imagery she began to describe next caught him "totally unprepared." Excerpting from what followed, Catherine related this information:
Weiss reported that the following week, "She happily announced that her lifelong fear of drowning had disappeared. Her fears of choking were somewhat diminished. Her sleep was no longer interrupted by the nightmare of a collapsing bridge" (p. 35). It is clear that however the imagery is best interpreted, there was a strong correlation between the imagery and symptom reduction. The improvements she reported remained intact on follow up four years later. More than 30 years ago, Dr. Stevenson outlined a variety of conditions/circumstances for which reincarnation may better account for the evidence than other hypotheses. In his 1977 article (The explanatory value of the idea of reincarnation. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 164(5), 305-326.) he offered case studies of previous lives which could be categorized along several factors:
In my own clinical experience, the most common conditions I encounter with clients are phobias, intense reactions to a specific person (pleasant or unpleasant), and strong emotional issues such as guilt/shame, feeling unloved or unworthy, and other long-standing beliefs which hamper the client's well-being.
How does past life therapy begin? One of the first steps in most forms of therapy is the taking of a careful personal/family history and a discussion of the client's goals for therapy. The same is true for past life therapy. In addition to this I ask my clients to complete a few self-report questionnaires. This information helps me quickly screen a number of areas in the person's life that may be worthy of a more detailed look. Ultimately, which combination of several different therapeutic strategies I use with any given client is a decision I make in real time as the work progresses. I like to schedule a 90 minute first session for clients who request past life therapy. I use the first half to get background information and a sense of the person's treatment goals. Many come just to take their curiosity about reincarnation a step farther. Having read some books on the topic, they are ready to experience past life phenomena first-hand. The second half of the session is used for an initial exploration of past life imagery. Most of the time, new clients are able to experience imagery of the past life type during this first session. Those who need additional time to begin experiencing this type of imagery seem to cluster in two groups: (a) those who can be described as "too eager" and have trouble relaxing, and (b) those with personal histories of what I call "trust abuse." This group takes longer to feel safe with the illusion that hypnosis means surrendering control to the therapist (which it doesn't).
What is the role of hypnosis in past life therapy? Hypnosis and trance, synonymous in many ways, involve selective, focused attention. Almost everyone goes into trance a number of times throughout the day. Ever look at the face of a child (or a spouse) who has been watching TV for awhile? That glazed look is characteristic of a mild trance. When we daydream we are in trance. Long distance truck drivers know the risks of "highway hypnosis." As my clients get involved in the internal imagery, they naturally become more focused and relaxed, two common characteristics of trance. A deep hypnotic state is not needed for past life therapy or waking dreams. Clients typically have as much recall at the end of a past life session as they do when I am using other forms of therapy. I always give clients the option to record their sessions, though, in case they want to be sure they will have recall for everything they say. In the previous section I mentioned the illusion that hypnosis means surrendering control. It doesn't. However, some people need to prove that for themselves (as I did in my early training!) Without getting too technical, some writers refer to command hypnosis vs. permissive hypnosis. An example of the former would be, "Your left hand is getting lighter and lighter." An example of the latter would be, "I wonder if one of your hands will become lighter or heavier, or warmer or cooler, or some other change in sensation." Command hypnotic language tells the client what to experience. Permissive hypnotic language permits/allows the client to let an image or experience emerge. Each has its applications, but I strongly prefer permissive language when I am doing past life therapy. Note that even with command language, if the client doesn't want to let his or her hand get lighter, he/she doesn't have to. Permissive language helps keep the experience of control more clearly with the client.
The spiritual, metaphysical side of past life therapy Past life therapy is some of the most profound work that I have seen clients do in the three decades I have been in clinical practice. Connecting with experiences from other lifetimes is fascinating, but it pales with the intensely spiritual aspects of what often happens in this kind of work. I routinely take clients through the death of the person (never the person's own death in this lifetime). Following the death of the physical body of the person from the other lifetime, clients almost always report phenomena which are consistent with the near-death experience (NDE) literature. (For a much more detailed discussion of this, please see the article:  The Benefits of Working With a “Dead” Patient: Hypnotically Facilitated Pseudo Near-death Experiences) In the NDE-like experience, which happens without any of the physiological distress to the body, clients often report meeting spirit guides or other entities who help with a non-judgmental life review. This part of the therapy experience often serves to release guilt or shame, to discover and correct faulty assumptions, and to experience unconditional love, acceptance and support. The guides that clients often meet during this process have usually been working with them for their entire lifetime, and remain available to them in the future. Clients meet their guides in many ways, not just at the end of a past lifetime. Some meet them while imagining walking on a beach or along a path in the woods. I find guides are quick to answer questions when asked, and never impose their point of view on the client. They offer guidance, but never insist on a particular course of action. Most clients report that by the time I run through my standard series of questions with a newly encountered guide, the guide is chuckling (e.g., "Are you available 24 - 7, or do you keep office hours?") Not all guides take on physical form. Some present as birds, animals, dolphins or sparkling lights. Some have been with the client for multiple lifetimes, some for just a brief period. One client met a new male guide shortly before she went through surgery. He arrived about a week before and told her he would remain with her during her recovery process. She was aware of his presence on a number of occasions over the next six weeks. About five weeks after her surgery, and well into her recovery, he presented to her one day and told her his work with her was complete. After some parting comments and assurances that her healing would continue, he bid her goodbye and left. Remember, while I have talked in this section about these guides as being real, I am first and foremost a pragmatic clinician. If these experiences are purely fictional creations of the client's unconscious mind rather than real metaphysical encounters, the very positive therapeutic benefits that result are just as real. I leave my clients free to decide for themselves, including leaving the question unanswered and focusing on the results.
A borrowed metaphor for the skeptic When new clients call to request past life therapy, I am clear with them that it is very unlikely that we will be able to scientifically prove whether the imagery they experience in therapy is really from another lifetime or just metaphorical fiction (a waking dream). As I have discussed earlier, I find the use of imagery to be a powerful tool in therapy, independent of this distinction. For those whose model of life precludes the possibility of multiple lifetimes for the soul, I offer an excerpt from one of my favorite books. It was first introduced to me by one of my high school math teachers with whom I later spent nearly an hour playing a single game of four-dimensional tic-tac-toe. (You are welcome to e-mail me if you would like to know how to set up the 4-D game.) In the late 19th century, a Shakespearean scholar wrote a social parable titled Flatland: A Parable of Spiritual Dimensions (Abbott, 1884). The allegorical tale is narrated by a square, an inhabitant of a two dimensional world known as Flatland. Social standing in Flatland is determined by the number of sides one has, with circles holding the highest status. As a new millennium arrives, the square is visited by a sphere from Spaceland. The sphere’s ability to seemingly change size (as a function of its intersection with the plane of Flatland), and even to disappear and reappear at will, frightens the square. The sphere struggles at length to explain the concept of the third dimension, having initially expected it to be easy: "Just look up," the sphere suggested. "But where is up?" asks the square. The sphere tries a mathematical proof of the existence of the third dimension:
Eventually, the sphere lifts the square out of its world. The square is suddenly able to see every side of a square at once, where it had never been able to see more than two sides from a two dimensional perspective. Even more shocking to the square, it is able to look inside all the two dimensional objects in its world. The square quickly comprehends the implications of this new perspective. Turning to the sphere it entreats him to show it what the three dimensions of Spaceland look like from the perspective of the fourth dimension. The sphere confidently answers, "There is no such land. The very idea of it is utterly inconceivable."
It is in this context that I developed a four dimensional model for psychotherapy. In this model, classical psychoanalysis is an example of the first dimension, relying on intra-psychic content. Couples therapy adds the interpersonal component as a second dimension. Family therapy or systems therapy adds a third dimension, looking at the individual in the context of the larger family/workplace system. Past life therapy adds the fourth dimension, in which the soul's experiences can be viewed in the context of multiple lifetimes. For the complete discussion of this model, see the article published in 2009 in the Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. |