Heal The Past......Heal The Present

Part II What Can Past Life Regression Do for Us?

The emotional reactions associated with past life events which are most often seen in therapy, involve emotional residues of the fear based emotions such as anger, resentment, revenge, fear, guilt, remorse; and distortions of love manifesting as jealousy, possessiveness, even violence.

The emotions may seem to have no basis in the present life, yet they are carried into many situations and projected onto other people involved in contemporary events. Phobias, existential fear and anger, intractable guilt, even depression and suicidal urges may fall into this category. Such emotional residues retained from traumatic past life events therefore unnecessarily, and inappropriately, contaminate the resulting emotional responses to present time events.

Projection is the process of casting onto another person the ideas or impulses which belong to oneself. It means giving objective reality to a subjective experience. A person who blames someone else for his own mistakes or feelings is scapegoating or using the psychological defense mechanism of projection. The process begins with denial of the aspect in self then projection of the unacknowledged aspect onto an unsuspecting person. Denial of the shadow self leads further away from the authentic wholly integrated individuated self that is the basic goal of all mankind.

Physical reactions can be any symptom of illness, allergy, pain or discomfort and behaviors such as addiction, violence, obsessive-compulsive habits, or other unwanted conditions or behaviors. Such signs and symptoms and can indicate a reaction- repeated action-to a present life situation which is reminiscent of a trauma in a prior lifetime.

During the exploration of memories, through emotional channels rather than ideas and mental processes, the client accesses the subconscious mind or so-called right brain material. Physical and emotional feelings and sensations associated with past incidents are felt, not thought. [In order to prevent retraumatization and re-imprinting, the suggestion is made to leave the emotions on a shelf outside the person before the session is started. I have found that the lessons to be learned from the event and the forgiveness and releasement can take place efficiently through the Releasement Process without the client incurring the drama and trauma of reliving the event repeatedly.

The left-brain function, the judgmental ego may attempt to block or interfere with the uncovered memory or even accessing that memory of an experience and its associated pain. Survival and blocking of pain are part of the function of the ego mind. The conscious mind often judges the subconscious material as unbelievable and censors the narrative. This interferes with the therapeutic process. The effectiveness of being in a light trance state, the alpha state, is important here in setting aside the cognitive mind that is concerned about safety and appropriateness.

Forgiveness, even the willingness to forgive, signals the end of the unfinished business of the past. Denial, rationalization, and excuses are used by the ego partly to disavow responsibility. Blaming the other is false and misleading to the consciousness. Each being is responsible for his or her own life and their feelings, words and actions. Anger and blame are always false projections; no one can do it to you, there is no they out there separate from self. Forgiveness releases the other person from the focus of the painful anti-life emotion. Forgiveness also releases the angry person from the chains of anger and blame.

When forgiveness is fully experienced, and realized, it becomes clear to a person that there really never was anything to forgive. The misperceptions and misinterpretations of the behavior of the partner is what caused the pain. It is not the partner who brings the feelings of disappointment, but rather the impossible expectations which lead to disappointment.

The ego mind does not easily accept anything other than the consensus reality, which does not include the spiritual realm. [contrary to the usual ego blocks,] when one takes responsibility for one's own part in any situation, blaming ceases, anger and resentment disappear, guilt and remorse are relieved. Forgiveness and love are the result.

Self forgiveness can free the person from the chains of self imposed guilt, remorse, regret, self blame, [and self sabotage. It is primary to the accomplishment of future real time success in the present life.] The final forgiveness is self-forgiveness. The client must be willing to forgive himself for their part in the traumatic event of the past. It is the unresolved guilt and remorse which so often holds an emotional pattern in place through lifetimes. The result is continued self punishment in the attempt to atone for the perceived wrongs. These emotions are always false; therefore this considerable suffering is unnecessary.

The act of forgiveness is extremely effective. The word forgive means to give away, [loosen the bounds, release,] without any residual burden of guilt or blame. After processing to resolution the conflicts with other persons in a past life event, whatever residue remains maybe released by forgiving, or at least being willing to forgive, the other person for their motivations, intentions and behaviors. It is not the ego but the higher power who forgives through a person. Willingness to forgive opens the door for this gift.

Healing the residue in the setting in which it first developed is a major aspect of past life therapy. This healing often manifests immediately in the present life circumstances. Another result of this therapy is the effect on people other than the client. Often, the conflict in a past life involves the same dynamic that exists within the present life conflicts and the characters in the past life situation are identifiable as persons involved in the present life situations. Their present conflicts and interpersonal tensions are frequently recognized and interpreted as issuing directly from the destructive patterns in earlier lifetimes.

Resolution of the conflicts in the past lifetime brings astonishing results in the form of change within the other person, the identified protagonist in the earlier lifetime, who might be hundreds of miles away at the time. [Rupert Sheldrake's morphic field theory comes to mind.]

Almost any problem or conflict in the present life can be traced to a past life trauma. The therapist guides the exploration from the initial opening experience into an expansion of the awareness of the event, finally to a logical closure. The object is to eliminate the residues of the past, which interfere with the present life situation. The emotions of anger, fear, and sadness seem to leave the greatest residue. Working through these fear-based emotions to the point of complete forgiveness can open the path to the full expression and experience of love, which is the final healing.

Resolution of the past life trauma and its residue can ease or eliminate the present life conflict. The objective of past life therapy is to eliminate the residue, or psychic energy patterns, retained from prior lifetime experience. This opens the way for a fuller experience of the present moment, the current lifetime.

Soul Talk: Rescripting Karmic Contracts, 2008, Adele Tartaglia
Transform Your Life Instantly: Mental Erasers Make Your Mind Work for You Instead of Against You © 2005, Adele Tartaglia
Life Is What You Make It, What You Make It...Is What You Are....And What You Are Is What You Believe You Are, © 1998, Adele Tartaglia