Past-Life Regression Hypnosis

[the_red_jester]

has anyone undergone past-life regression hypnosis to help with understanding oneself completely? or is this just a product of all the new age hype? I am a bit skeptical although I firmly believe in reincarnation and thus could see a benefit from exploring my past-lives. Any thoughts...?

 

[anart]

Hi, have you taken the time to actually read the material available on this forum and its associated web sites - as has been recommended twice now?

 

[agni]

Hi the_red_jester, what benefit do you see in it ? How would it help you with work ?

 

[the_red_jester]

I feel that it might give me a better understanding of myself, maybe see if any distinct patterns emerge with types of work undertaken. Or memory recall of past events which now seem to be blocked (like that of my childhood before the age of 12)

 

[Jacques]

I feel that it might give me a better understanding of myself, maybe see if any distinct patterns emerge with types of work undertaken. Or memory recall of past events which now seem to be blocked (like that of my childhood before the age of 12)

Past-life is a hypothesis. What is real and you can be sure at 100% is our actual life.

A lot easier to begin to work on this one, to try to understand this one. And the psychological recommended books will help you to do that. Moreover, it might help you quite a lot to unlock your memory before the age of 12. And understanding the way that you have been raised, will help you to solve some issues.

 

[Hildegarda]

While one cannot always assume that one has a past life, one can safely assume that if there were one, it was spent doing exactly the same or similar things as one is doing now.

This is why IMO past life regression will not help you "understand yourself completely", but working on yourself may. That is done in the present, and your current life probably provides plenty to work with.

In this context, wondering about past life regression IMO is a cop-out. Especially since it seems that it's your memories before age 12 that really interest you. Memory recall of past events in the present life doesn't need past life regression. But, there are other ways to access that -- plain old therapy is one; reading books on dissociation, while connecting things and analyzing your experiences, the other.

good luck with whatever you decide,

 

[PepperFritz]

...to help with understanding oneself completely?

In my opinion and experience, the best way to "understand oneself completely" is to undertake "the Work" as outlined in Gurdjieff's 4th Way teaching. The core practice of the Work -- the daily objective observation one's own Machine and Programs -- is the most effective way I know of identifying the emotions/issues/mechanical behaviour that stand in the way of personal growth.

Most of the members of this forum are in some stage of the Work, and many extremely helpful discussions of their experiences can be found in the section titled (appropriately enough) "The Work". Reading the threads in that section will give you a very good sense of how people can and do apply the practice of self-observation in their daily lives.

In another thread you mentioned that an impediment to your getting up to speed on the reading materials recommended to you is that you "find it hard to read reams of webpages". Unfortunately, this is a website where "reams of webpages" of important knowledge and information are posted online, and the reading of such is quite necessary to active and meaningful participation in forum discussions and networking....

 

[cholas]

While one cannot always assume that one has a past life, one can safely assume that if there were one, it was spent doing exactly the same or similar things as one is doing now.

Really? I don't 'safely assume' that. Wouldn't the possibility of growth come into play here? Lessons learned as it were?

In this context, wondering about past life regression IMO is a cop-out.

From what I understand, the 'context' you are referring to is that doing the Work is paramount to interests in 'past-life' regression, which is most likely very true. But a cop-out? Possible, but couldn't it also be beneficial in a way you haven't really thought about? Baby/bathwater?

Here is an example of a possible benefit of knowing a bit about our 'past' lives. Of course Cayce's work could be another.

Q: (L) Why did my son's leg suddenly start giving him
problems at about the age of three?
A: Reflection of past life. Leg was torn off at death. SAM
missile shot by North Vietnamese Army. He was flying a jet.
This was 1969. Name was George Raymond. Shot down
over Phan bien.
Q: (L) Is there anything that can be done to help him release
this problem?
A: Will be difficult.
Q: (L) Is his past life very strong for him?
A: Yes.
Q: (L) Is it stronger than in the other children?
A: Yes.
Q: (L) Will hypnosis help him to release this?
A: Yes.

 

[Laura]

In another thread you mentioned that an impediment to your getting up to speed on the reading materials recommended to you is that you "find it hard to read reams of webpages". Unfortunately, this is a website where "reams of webpages" of important knowledge and information are posted online, and the reading of such is quite necessary to active and meaningful participation in forum discussions and networking....

Keep in mind that the "reams of webpages" condense for you entire libraries of material that you would find it almost impossible to wade through on your own. We have made it as easy as we can, but you still must pay with your own effort. No cheating.

You get out of life exactly what you put in and there is no free lunch. If you think there is, go ahead and try it and you'll discover that YOU are lunch!

 

[Mountain Crown]

Forgive me for not quoting the relevant passages, but didn't the Ra material state that past life amnesia was required for lessons to be learned in this life?

Much of one's interest in recalling past lives is veiled conceit, and potentially dangerous.

I remember reading somewhere that since the present incarnation is largely shaped by karma then studying one's disposition reveals the past, and one's actions determines the future.

FWIW- when I tire of reading from my monitor, I print the material.

 

[Ruth]

Much of one's interest in recalling past lives is veiled conceit, and potentially dangerous.

I for one, would find it very usefull to know if there was a reason for problems that I have experienced in this life, especially if they were caused by an experience or attachment of some sort, to an experience in a past life. I find it very frustrating not to know the 'whole picture'. Occassionally some aspects of a past life have been revealed to me 'spontaneously' which has helped to explain some of the difficulties I face now. Difficulties with anger and relationships, but in no way is this the 'whole picture'. I disagree with the assertion that this is veiled conceit and potentially dangerous, as I am more interested in investigating my failures/problems than any so called 'successes' (that weren't really 'successes'), in a 'past life'.

I am not into hypnosis personally, as I find it difficult trusting and giving up control to another in this STS world we live in. Perhaps there are other ways of accessing these memories that a person can use, if they can't use hypnosis.

 

[Anulios]

Forgive me for not quoting the relevant passages, but didn't the Ra material state that past life amnesia was required for lessons to be learned in this life?

This may be it:  (i have always kind of liked this analogy)
_://www.lawofone.info/results.php?search_string=poker+&search_type=all&ss=0&sc=1
50.12 Questioner: Can you expand on the concept which is that it is necessary for an entity, during incarnation in the physical as we know it, to become polarized or interact properly with other entities and why this isn’t possible in between incarnations when the entity is aware of what he wants to do. Why must he come into an incarnation and lose conscious memory of what he wants to do and then act in a way in which he hopes to act?

Ra: I am Ra. Let us give the example of the man who sees all the poker hands. He then knows the game. It is but child’s play to gamble, for it is no risk. The other hands are known. The possibilities are known and the hand will be played correctly but with no interest.

In time/space and in the true color green density, the hands of all are open to the eye. The thoughts, the feelings, the troubles, all these may be seen. There is no deception and no desire for deception. Thus much may be accomplished in harmony but the mind/body/spirit gains little polarity from this interaction.

Let us re-examine this metaphor and multiply it into the longest poker game you can imagine, a lifetime. The cards are love, dislike, limitation, unhappiness, pleasure, etc. They are dealt and re-dealt and re-dealt continuously. You may, during this incarnation begin—and we stress begin—to know your own cards. You may begin to find the love within you. You may begin to balance your pleasure, your limitations, etc. However, your only indication of other-selves’ cards is to look into the eyes.

You cannot remember your hand, their hands, perhaps even the rules of this game. This game can only be won by those who lose their cards in the melting influence of love, can only be won by those who lay their pleasures, their limitations, their all upon the table face up and say inwardly: “All, all of you players, each other-self, whatever your hand, I love you.” This is the game: to know, to accept, to forgive, to balance, and to open the self in love. This cannot be done without the forgetting, for it would carry no weight in the life of the mind/body/spirit being-ness totality.

Much of one's interest in recalling past lives is veiled conceit, and potentially dangerous.

I agree.....everyone is has been Cleopatra in a past life but no one has ever scooped the horseshit out of her stables.

best
Anulios

 

[agni]

Occassionally some aspects of a past life have been revealed to me 'spontaneously' which has helped to explain some of the difficulties I face now.

Hi Ruth, how objective these revelations are ? Are you sure you are not just looking for something to blame/excuse ?

 

[Mountain Crown]

The Fourth Way challenges us to fully remember ourselves one day ago, even one hour ago.

It also teaches that our fragmented selves are a result of being raised in our "civilized" environment:

[From The Prospectus for The Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man]

"Owing to the conditions of modern life, man has departed from his original type, that is to say from the type he should have become by virtue of his surroundings: place, society and culture in which he was born and nurtured.

By their very nature, these conditions marked out for man the paths of development and the final normal type to which he should have attained. The civilisations of our time, with its unlimited means for extending its influence, has wrenched man from the normal conditions in which he should be living. It is true that civilisation has opened up for man new paths in the domains of knowledge, science and economic life, and thereby enlarged his world perception. But, instead of raising him to a higher all-round level of development, civilisation has developed only certain sides of his nature to the detriment of other faculties, some of which it has destroyed altogether. Civilisation has robbed man of the natural advantages of his type, without at the same time providing him with what was needed for the harmonious development of a new type. And from an individually finished man, normally adapted to the nature and the environment in which he was placed and which created him, civilisation has produced a being, torn from his element, unfitted for life, and a complete stranger to all the conditions of his present mode of existence."

Consider that a past-life environment produced a set of little "I's" different than the ones now trying to recall the previous set! There is more opportunity for buffers, dissociations, or for as Gurdjieff used to say ,"dogs to make us weak" to enter in. To this is what I referred as "potentially dangerous."

I find it very frustrating not to know the 'whole picture'.

With all due respect Ruth, to assume the ability to do this requires a profound development in awareness, otherwise it suggests wishful thinking. However, please note that I posted that "much of one's interest in recalling past lives is veiled conceit." I did not want to preclude any possible benefits such as you described.

 

[Ruth]

Much of one's interest in recalling past lives is veiled conceit, and potentially dangerous.

I agree.....everyone is has been Cleopatra in a past life but no one has ever scooped the horseshit out of her stables.

I'm not sure about most people's wishful thinking or need for validation, but when I talk about my feelings for past lives I actually LIKED my life as a swine herd in a previous life. As a comparison, the company of pigs was infinately more preferable to being hacked to death by people who took exception to my bloodline in a completely different lifetime. The first lifetime may have been more muddy than bloody, but it was definately a lot more peaceful and, I think in the long run caused less problems. I now have a lot of time for animals, where as, I am carrying that difficult feeling of hatred towards those who deliberately disempower people through violence. It causes a fair bit of psychic stress.