Past Life Regresssion through the ages

The belief of Reincarnation and Past Life has existed for centuries in various civilizations and faiths .Oral traditions and written legends around the world make it evident that reincarnation has been an integral part of human worldviews from the early days of civilization. 

Carl Gustav Jung (1875 – 1961) wrote ‘My life often seemed to me like a story that has no beginning and no end.  I had the feeling that I was a historical fragment, an excerpt for which the preceding and succeeding text was missing.  I could well imagine that I might have lived in former centuries and there encountered questions I was not yet able to answer; that I had been born again because I had not fulfilled the task given to me.’

In Tibetan Buddhism’s Bardo Thodol or Book of the Dead which was said to have been  written  by Padma-Sambhava, an Indian mystic who introduced Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century, it is stated that a soul passes through many nonphysical worlds before reincarnation on earth.

The main difference between Hinduism and Buddhism is that Buddhism feels there is no permanent soul, just a pulsating subconscious that goes from life to life learning lessons until enlightenment is reached. In Buddhism, there exist three fires of craving, ill will, and ignorance which cause rebirth. To achieve nirvana these fires must be extinguished. Hinduism on the other hand believes in a permanent soul.

Spain was a great center of philosophy, and Solomon ibn Gabirol  שלמה בן יהודה אבן גבירול or Avicebron(1021 – 1058), a Spanish Jew, brought Plato's teachings (who believed in a soul) to the European thought.

 In Egypt, transmigration was the accepted mechanism of reincarnation. After a person died, he or she would reincarnate as an animal for as long as 3000 years until purified. Only then, would he or she return to the human form. The Books of Hermes states "From one soul of the Universe are all souls derived. The soul passes from form to form".

Elsewhere, in ancient Greece, Orpheus (Ὀρφεύς) the founder of Greek theology was used by both  Pythagoras and Plato as a source for their own philosophies. Pythagoras (582-507BC) stated and recalled many memories of his soul's incarnations (in Troy etc.). Plato (427-347 BC) stated every soul is immortal. In every succession of life & death you will do and suffer what like fitly may suffer at the hands of like.

The Roman poet Ennius introduced Karma to the Romans. In his "Annals", he tells how Homer appeared to him in a dream and told him their two bodies had the same soul. Virgil (70-19 BC) in the Aeneid says, "All souls return again into living bodies".

According to these teachings all human souls have a common origin from Adam Kadmon. Adam's original sin brought higher and lower souls into confusion. As a result every soul passes through a series of incarnations before returning to God. Ancient Jews believed that Moses was the reincarnation of Abel, the Son of Adam. The Messiah was the reincarnation of Adam himself, who had already come a second time as David.

 

Past Life Regression and Bhagavad Gita

Past Life Regression Therapy is based on the principles of cause and effect also known as the law of Reincarnation / Karma. An action that has been set in motion at a specific time in the past resulting in a corresponding effect on a person’s present emotional, physical, mental or spiritual well being, at this moment. This cause may be a past desire, past promise, past talent, past thought, past feeling, past vow, past emotion, past decision, past evasion or past traumatic experience.

As very appropriately quoted in the Gita, the soul of a person is immortal and through the process of Past Life Regression one can tap into these memories of his/her soul’s experience in different lives before the present. As the present is the sum total of the past, the Law of Karma or Reincarnation allows you to re-live and release the issues by awareness and realization with the help of Past Life Regression.

Past live regression therapy also incorporates Age Regression which is a time travel technique that makes one travel backwards in time in the present lifetime to unravel hidden powers and uncover and release blockages created to embrace a fulfilling and beautiful life ahead.

In the Bhagavad Gita 4:5, Lord Krishna told Arjun “Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!”

This life is a University where we come to learn our lessons & evolve spiritually. Until and unless we evolve spiritually we can neither be happy nor can we transcend the cycle of birth & death.

The soul has lived many lives. This life is one page or one life of the endless life’s our soul has lived. Our real self is ‘Atman’, the supreme consciousness. Only when we know our true self, can we be free from this vicious circle of birth & death.

Each soul, by his own choice, passes through many earthly sojourns and is given a chance to develop spiritually. In the process, mistakes may also be made, and actions may be taken that move us farther away from God; but in each lifetime we are also free to act so as to make up for those errors.

It is through our actions that we create many of our own rewards and punishments. Of course, it is up to us to alter or redirect our lives at any time. It is through various experiences that we grow and develop. All experiences are for our good and sometimes it takes what we would consider a negative experience to help develop our spirits. We chose many of our weaknesses and difficult situations in our lives so that we could grow. We were very willing, even anxious, as spirits to accept all of our ailments, illness, and accidents on earth, to help better ourselves spiritually. Our most sever challenges will one day reveal themselves to be our greatest teachers. Grief is growth. Soul cleansing can come through illness. We should not consider ourselves to be the unfortunate victims of the circumstances we are in. Some of us have come to earth to unite in a cause to change certain things, some to strengthen a course already set and to pave the way for those who may follow. Some come to earth for a short time, living only hours or days after birth.

Each lifetime is another opportunity to move the transmigration of our soul forward through the accumulation of positive Karma. We must strive over onward through many cycles until we achieve sufficient perfection to rejoin God. It is the law, for no imperfect thing will ever have the opportunity to become a part of Godhead.

According to the Bhagavad-Gita, Lord Krishna said man's real self or soul is immortal and independent of the body, it neither kills nor is killed. It is indestructible, imperishable and inaccessible to the sufferings, which afflict the body. Eternal, omnipresent, fixed, immovable, everlasting is the human soul. “He is not slain when the body is slain”. Bhagavad Gita (2:20)

As laying aside worn-out garments, a man takes on other new ones, so laying aside worn out bodies, the embodied (soul) enters into other new ones. Rebirth is under the control of karma or "actions" and salvation is through ultimate release from the round of rebirths. All creatures are composed of two distinct elements, namely soul and body. The body including what are called "psychic" elements, is material; is subject to evolution, devolution and changes of all sorts; and consists of a blend of various elements or qualities. The material body, upon other material bodies or substances performs all action. The soul neither acts nor is affected by action. It has only contemplative powers.

Any action, good or bad, must normally have its effect in continued existence for the doer. According to the Bhagavad Gita, this is due not to the action as such, but due to desire underlying the action.

 

 

Journey of the soul to Moksha

Past life regression has its foundations in the belief of reincarnation, and consequently in the 'Law of Karma'. This is a theory which states that a soul is on a journey to merge with what is termed as  'Universal Consciousness' or 'Supreme Power'. On this journey, the soul takes on a physical form in a body, so that it can learn certain lessons along the way, and naturally, meets and encounters other souls on different stages of their cosmic journey. It interacts with these souls to create 'Karma'. This journey entangles the soul into the consequences of the actions and keeps bringing it back to interact with the same and different souls, again and again. Naturally, this means that the soul has to take on a physical form, again. Thus begins an unending cycle. The soul has to eventually understand that this cycle is endless, unless it breaks away totally and  merges into the Universe, never to be caught up in this cycle again. When this happens, the soul can then say to have attained 'Moksha' or 'Becomes Enlightened'. This theory also states that there are those evolved souls who choose once again to come back in a physical body so that they may guide others towards this knowledge. These bodies are termed as 'Enlightened Leaders' or 'Bodhisattvas'.

Past Life Regression and Dreams

The question often asked  is, are Past Life Dreams just dreams or are they memories of past life experiences that are buried deep within the recesses of our mind?

Originally the dream was held to be the voice of God. Most indigenous cultures hold that the dream is sent by the Great Spirit and serves to offer advice and instruction. This idea of the divinity of the dream can also to be found in the ancient Egyptian and Greek cultures. There existed temples where one would go to dream and receive healing or instruction from the gods. Homer's Iliad (8th century BC) tells the story of Agamemnon who receives instruction from Zeus through a dream. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, used dreams as a diagnostic aid.

In the Middle East the dream was considered to be a source of divine inspiration. Mohammed, the founding Prophet of Islam, is said to have received much of what is written in the Koran through his dreams.

We all dream. Every night – as we dim the light of consciousness – we enter the realm of the dream. In this dream state our imagination runs free with little or no interference from our conscious mind. In the morning, when we wake and return to consciousness, we may bring with us a recollection of the wanderings of our imagination – we remember the dream.

To dream is natural, it is a universal experience. All people of all cultures enter into this dream state when they sleep. As sleep research has shown even animals dream. How we regard the dream, however, varies from culture to culture and from person to person.

Unfortunately most of us remain unaware of our dreams. We fail to remember them. Even if we do remember a dream it is typically dismissed as meaningless and unimportant. For those of us who do place an importance on the dream it still remains a mystery. 

The dream world is a world which has found fascination with many people, as dreams can tell us so much. There are many different types of dreams, and many different reasons for them. It is actually amazing how many people remember aspects of their past lives through dreams. What is also fascinating, is how often they start to have the recurring past lives dreams just as they have met someone or as someone has become a part of their lives here and now that is somehow connected to that past time. Often past life dreams show more and more as time passes, and as the current life relationship that has brought them grows. Although, it is important to note, past life dreams do not always coincide with the entrance of others connected in that time period. They may also coincide with life situations that parallel.

When you find yourself dreaming about historical people, places, and things that is the surest sign you are in the process of tapping into your past lives. You may see yourself as other than we are during our waking hours. Meaning that in dreams we see someone who we know to be ourselves, but maybe a different gender or race.

In Past Life Dreams, we are not able to change the sequences of events no matter how hard we try. Just as the events in the past life cannot be changed, neither can the replay of those events in your dream be changed. Our minds do register the logical sequence of events in our dreams but are unable to alter them because they are replays of past.

Our past life dream may display talents, skills, and abilities that we have not acquired in our present life. We might have the ability to speak and understand a foreign language. 

One of the tragedies of modern life is that sleep is often regarded as unproductive down time… an annoying habit that cannot be broken. Since sleep cannot be avoided, it is often minimized, to "get it over with" and to get on with life. And yet, from a spiritual standpoint, sleep is incredibly productive. 

For while our body sleeps and our mind rests, they and "we" are put in touch with the healing and regulating currents of the universe. It is the longest part of the day that we - all of us - spend in touch with the inner worlds of God. 

If you think nothing happens while we are sleeping, why is it that we can go to sleep upset about a problem and wake up feeling better about it? Nothing in our situation has changed… so if nothing had gone on while sleeping, how could this happen? Yet, it is dreams that are the real evidence "something is going on" while we sleep. And part of what dreams are used for is to work through past life karma.

Millions of people have reported past life memories, many of these in Past Life Dream or Karmic Dream.

At the edge of dreams, at the fringe of memory, where body, mind, and spirit become one, there lies a bridge across time. It is a bridge which connects who you were with who you are with who you will be. It is a bridge as close to you as your breath and as far away from you as it must be to keep you safe and sane. It is a bridge that at some point in our lifetimes we all must cross.

The dream serves as a bridge between the conscious and unconscious mind. For the dream belongs to the twilight zone of consciousness – where the ego and the unconscious meet.

The conscious element of the dream lies in its remembrance, the unconscious element lies in its mystery and perplexity. Half conscious, half unconscious, the dream unites the known and the unknown.

To listen to the dream is to listen to the unconscious. Through doing so one relieves the need for the unconscious to force itself.

Karma cont...

Karma does not necessarily mean past actions. It embraces both past and present deeds. Hence in one sense, we are the result of what we were; we will be the result of what we are. In another sense, it should be added, we are not totally the result of what we were; we will not absolutely be the result of what we are. The present is no doubt the offspring of the past and is the present of the future, but the present is not always a true index of either the past or the future; so complex is the working of Karma.

Just as every object is accompanied by a shadow, even so every volitional activity is inevitably accompanied by its due effect. As we sow, we reap somewhere and sometime, in this life or in a future birth. What we reap today is what we have sown either in the present or in the past. Karma is a law in itself, which operates in its own field without the intervention of any external, independent ruling agency.

Thus on the one hand, one could infer that if the present life is totally conditioned or wholly controlled by our past actions, then it could be said that Karma is tantamount to fatalism or determinism or predestination. If this were true, free will would be an absurdity. Life would be purely mechanistic, not much different from a machine. Being created by an Almighty God who controls our destinies and predetermines our future, or being produced by an irresistible Karma that completely determines our fate and controls our life’s course, independent of any free action on our part, is essentially the same. The only difference lies in the two words God and Karma. One could easily be substituted for the other, because the ultimate operation of both forces would be identical.

However, from a Buddhist point of view, our present mental, moral intellectual and temperamental differences are, for the most part, due to our own actions and tendencies, both past and present. Although Buddhism attributes this variation to Karma, as being the chief cause among a variety, it does not, however, assert that everything is due to Karma. The law of Karma, important as it is, is only one of the twenty-four conditions described in Buddhist Philosophy. Thus refuting the view that "whatsoever fortune or misfortune experienced is all due to some previous action".

Every mainstream religion teaches us about the consequences of our actions. The explanations may differ, but does it really matter in the end whether the law of karma causes us trouble or God himself in his final judgement?

When we meet with big problems; disease, loss of family or friends, getting trapped in a war or natural disaster. At those times, we suddenly wonder: "Why me?" The law of karma does not look for a reason outside ourselves for our good or bad fortune, it simply explains our own suffering as a result of our negative deeds towards others, and our happiness as a result of our actions to help others.

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.

Karma cont....

When people are happy and contented, they tend to take life for granted. It is when they suffer, when they find life difficult, that they begin to search for a reason and a way out of their difficulty. They may ask why some are born in poverty and suffering, while others are born in fortunate circumstances. Some people believe that it is due to fate, chance, or an invisible power beyond their control - Karma. In this world nothing happens to a person that he does not for some reason or other deserve. Usually, men of ordinary intellect cannot comprehend the actual reason or reasons. The definite invisible cause or causes of the visible effect is not necessarily confined to the present life, they may be traced to a proximate or remote past birth.

The Pali term Karma literally means action or doing. Any kind of intentional action whether mental, verbal, or physical, is regarded as Karma. It covers all that is included in the phrase "thought, word and deed". Buddhism teaches that one's present condition, whether of happiness or suffering, is the result of the accumulated force of all past actions or karma.

Karma is the law of moral causation. It is action and reaction in the ethical realm. It is natural law that every action produces a certain effect. So if one performs wholesome actions such as donating money to charitable organizations, happiness will ensue. On the other hand, if one performs unwholesome actions, such as killing a living being, the result will be suffering. This is the law of cause and effect at work. In this way, the effect of past karma determines the nature of one's present situation in life.

It is a concept in Hinduism which explains causality through a system where beneficial effects are derived from past beneficial actions and harmful effects from past harmful actions, creating a system of actions and reactions throughout a soul's reincarnated lives forming a cycle of rebirth. The causality is said to be applicable not only to the material world but also to our thoughts, words, actions and actions that others do under our instructions. When the cycle of rebirth comes to an end, a person is said to have attained moksha, or salvation.

 

The theory of karma harps on the Newtonian principle that every action produces an equal and opposite reaction. Every time we think or do something, we create a cause, which in time will bear its corresponding effects. And this cyclical cause and effect generates the concepts of samsara, birth and reincarnation. It is the personality of a human being - with its positive and negative actions - that causes karma.

According to Buddhism, rebirth takes place at the end of this life. Rebirth is regarded as a fact. There is evidence that each person has lived many lives in the past and will continue to live more in the future. Rebirth therefore for the Buddhist is a reality although one may not be aware of it. Those who have developed their minds through meditation have confirmed the existence of past lives. Meditators who have attained powers of concentration have been able to recall their previous lives in great detail. In the same trend, Buddhism teaches that birth, death and rebirth are part of the continuing process of change. This is similar to the continuous process of growth, decay and replacement of cells in one's body. According to medical experts, every seven years, all body cells are replaced.

At the moment of death, when this life is over, and the body can no longer survive, the mind is separated from the body. At that time, the craving for life causes one to seek a new existence, and the previous karma determines the place of one's rebirth.

Every person is responsible for his or her acts and thoughts, so each person's karma is entirely his or her own. Occidentals see the operation of karma as fatalistic. But that is far from true since it is in the hands of an individual to shape his own future by schooling his present. Hindu philosophy, which believes in the doctrine that if the life after death, holds karma of an individual is good enough, the next birth will be rewarding, and if not, the person may actually devolve and degenerate into a lower life form. Therefore in order to achieve good karma it is important to live life according to dharma or what is right.

We create our own Heaven. We create our own Hell. We are the architects of our own fate.

PLR and Karma cont.

There are many bodies that a soul can take after death, and the astral body is one such form. This is also referred to in the Hindu puranas as Sukshma sarira - the link between the nervous system and the cosmic reservoir, which is invisible to human eyes, but  can be sensed by animals. That’s why dogs bark sometimes without any reason 

However, the Bhagavad Gita says that the soul doesn’t carry any karma or doesn’t attach itself to anything. Then how is human karma carried from one life to other?

 During death, the mind merges all the sense into itself, storing all memories of that particular body, and gets itself attached to the soul, thus making it an aspect of the soul, in the sense of being both divine and immortal, linking human thinking with the un-changing ordering principle of the cosmos itself.

 The soul however, doesn’t want this burden with it and it tries to get rid of this karma carrying mind, and so looks for suitable conditions where it can reincarnate itself into a body where that existing karma can be balanced.

 It is these past life memories in the reincarnated body that Past Life Regression helps in unraveling to help solve current day issues.