Month: Apr 2019

Past Lives – Evidence and Thoughts

Many believe in reincarnation and past lives, though reasons for which we come back may vary. Some say we come back until we learn all the necessary lessons, some say it’s until we fulfil our soul purpose, and some will say it’s until we are deemed worthy by the Divine. I’m sure there’s more and a mixture of these theories. I have started my own journey into past lives a year ago, and today I wanted to explore the idea of past lives and my own beliefs in this area in more detail.

At this point you may very well be thinking “Past lives? What a load of bull hockey!”. Let’s consider some evidence.

Some people report having memories from another life, often expressed as a repetitive dream or a nightmare, or a strong sensation of deja-vu in what was supposed to be a new place. A friend of my family told me she had repeated dreams as a child of a factory she worked in and died in, only to find the exact place years later and be told that everyone who worked there was slaughtered during World War II. There are also many documented cases, published in peer-reviewed journals, where the idea of past lives is explored. For example, Lucchetti at el. (2013) wrote about a patient who reported past life memories of death linked to his rare health conditions. He was initially admitted to hospital with chest pains and received heart surgery, following which he recalled a past life memory in which he was a priest, who ended his life with a crucifix. He was urgently admitted again a couple of months later with abdominal pains, which again matched the position of his crucifix from the memory, but turned out to be another rare medical condition. In the next regression session, patient recalled being killed with a medieval weapon, and a later routine GP consultation found an aortic abnormality in the same position as the recalled memory suggested, but with no visible skin marks to explain it.

The obvious criticism is that the patient could be reporting false memories, suggested intentionally or unintentionally by their therapist, and linked to the problem areas. Indeed, research has shown that it is relatively simple and easy to manipulate such memories in past life regression, resulting in rich emotional and historical backgrounds entirely made up by patients (Pyun, 2015). This, however, does not explain such memories occurring organically, without prompts from regression therapy.

Could it be that our past holds the key to our future?

Keil and Tucker (2005) describe the case of a six year old boy from Turkey who recalled clear memories of a previous life including names of his family members, his faith, home, and details of death. These were later confirmed by the researchers to match the life of a man from Istanbul, 850km away, who died 50 years before the child was born. They argued that this excluded any possibility of the child learning details of the life by accident and attributing it to himself. Researchers have studied over 2,500 similar cases, with many of them verified to a particular person from the past (Tucker, 2007). Moreover, some of these memories are believed to explain bodily malformations or birthmarks in current lives. It may therefore be reasonable to at least entertain the possibility of the existence of past lives.

“So what?”, you might ask. How does acknowledging this help you in any way in your current life? Well, apparently it can be helpful in a few different areas. One important aspect is any past life trauma that may have occurred and whether this has any impact on your current life. It may be the case that traumatic events or a traumatic death from a previous existence, leave some sort of a mark, or as some would call it, an energetic block. This may then lead to unexplained phobias, which Stevenson (1990) has shown may develop in children with past life memories without any indication they were learnt from another family member or a result of post-natal trauma. I also know past life therapists who have successfully treated phobias through past life therapy. It is therefore possible to gain a better understanding of ourselves, our fears and weaknesses through understanding what happened to us in previous lifetimes. It is also possible to heal these wounds and become stronger.

Past life exploration can be difficult, as it can often include revisiting traumatic events.

Since it is possible to explore the traumatic side of events, it may also be possible to explore the strengths acquired in our past lives. The aforementioned therapists also believe that we can re-gain these strengths through past life exploration, re-learning forgotten skills and gifts.

Personally, I am exploring the idea of both sides of the coin. I am trying to overcome some trauma from my most recent life, though I have been told that it is important for my “soul purpose” in this existence. We shall see how this works out. On the other hand, I was also told of a more prominent, older past life, which can allow me to draw strength and confidence from it to help me on my journey. I am finding it more difficult to acknowledge the life of a more prominent historical figure, since everyone always wants to be someone significant in history and that’s just not possible. I am, however, choosing to trust the guidance, seeing as it comes from a more experienced source than myself. I am also hoping to take part in a past life course soon, which would help me understand the theory better and allow me to explore it all in more detail. This may be something I will revisit in future posts to write a little about my experiences.

What’s your belief and experience of past lives? Do you have any memories or recurrent dreams that seem out of place? I’ curious to hear about other people’s experiences in this area.

References:
Keil, H. J., & Tucker, J. B. (2005). Children who claim to remember previous lives: Cases with written records made before the previous personality was identified. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 19(1), 91-101.
Lucchetti, G., dos Santos Camargo, L., Lucchetti, A. L., Schwartz, G. E., & Nasri, F. (2013). Rare medical conditions and suggestive past-life memories: A case report and literature review. EXPLORE, 9(6), 372-376.
Pyun, Y. D. (2015). Creating Past-Life Identity in Hypnotic Regression. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 63(3), 365-372.
Stevenson, I. (1990). Phobias in children who claim to remember previous lives. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 4(2), 243-254.
Tucker, J. B. (2007). Children who claim to remember previous lives: Past, present, and future research. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 21(3), 543-552.

Plant Spirits and Allies

Animism is the belief that all things have a spirit. This can include spirits of places, such as meadows or forests, spirits of natural features, such as stones or plants, spirits of everyday objects, such as lamps or your house, etc. There can, of course, be some debate as to where one spirit ends and another begins. Is is that every room, or every wall, or every brick in every wall has its own spirit, or is it all of the above? If a plant reproduces to make more versions of itself, are those still the same spirit or are they new ones? Do they develop their individuality over time? Whatever your specific views may be, many agree that such spirits can make powerful allies if we build relationships with them.

In Shamanism, relationships with plant spirits are particularly important. They can provide valuable information and support when it is needed. The plant can reveal information on its healing properties, and the spirit itself an greatly aid the healing process. Some argue that experiences generated by certain natural psychedelic substances taken to aid shamanic journeys, are in fact messages from the plant spirits conveyed in the form of visions (Baghramian, 2015).

In order to learn from a plant spirit, one should find a plant they feel called to, observe it for a while, and begin talking to its spirit. Permission should be sought to take a part of the plant away, and this should be done in a respectful way which will not harm the plant. One can then journey to meet the plant spirit in non-ordinary reality and converse with it (Baghramina, 2015). Another method is to find a plant one is attracted to while holding their intention or question clear in their mind . An offering can be made to the plant, though it is important that it is suitable and does not harm the plant or wildlife around it. While sitting in a meditative state with the plant, attention should be paid to any messages that are received. These messages can be visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, or cognitive, and as such present themselves as seeing, hearing, feeling or knowing (Farmer, 2009).

Violas in my garden.

With time and patience, plant spirits can become allies who are willing to aid us in our endeavours. However, as with any relationship, there has to be some give and take, some reciprocity, and efforts should be made to maintain the relationship. With time, you may even be able to ask your plant spirit ally to perform certain tasks for you, such as warding your home for example (Sebastiani, 2017).

There are many ways to deepen our relationship with spirits and allies. So, in the spirit of making these alliances (terrible pun intended), why not challenge yourself to explore something different. May marks the beginning of the 30 Day Plant Spirit Ally Challenge, organised by Hagstone Publishing. I’m excited to try it!

References:
Baghramian, A. (2015). The Magic of Shamanism. Barcelona: Guid Publicaciones.
Farmer, S. D. (2009). Earth Magic: Ancient Shamanic Wisdom for Healing Yourself, Others and the Planet. London: Hay House UK Ltd.
Sebastiani, A. (2017). By Rust of Nail & Prick of Thorn: The Theory and Practice of Effective Home Warding. Smashwords Edition.