Past Life Tourism
Gateway to Bridging your Past and Future
Barbara Ford-Hammond
Published by Smashwords
Copyright 2009 Barbara Ford-Hammond
Cover design Martyn Ford
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Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1. I wasn’t Cleopatra
Chapter 2. Lives Lies or Metaphor
Chapter 3. The Regressions
Kayt and Penny
Lizzie, Andrea , Kristian and Marusja
Chapter 4. Memories R Us
Chapter 5. Research pointers
Chapter 6. Be your own Regressionist
Chapter 7. Future Lives
Chapter 8. Scripts
Chapter 9. Bits and Bobs
Chapter 10. Final Thoughts …Maybe
Chapter 11. Journey Past
Chapter 12. The Quiz
Chapter 13. Research Sites
Acknowledgments
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Introduction
I’m in a saloon. There are cowboys sitting about drinking and playing cards. It is noisy and the warm air smells of beer, horses and sweat. There is a mirror across the wall, behind the shot bottles, and spittoons are in the corners. To the right of the bar is a wooden staircase leading up to the bedrooms. No secrets here.
I am thinking of the word ‘doxy’ although I’m not sure what that means (I do now!).
As my story unfolds it becomes clear that I am a working girl and these men are my customers.
This was my first experience of being regressed to a past-life and certainly not something I expected. My fellow student therapist, RS, was the book editor for a well-known Sunday tabloid; I was his first ‘client’ when I found myself recalling a past life as a prostitute in Louisville, Kentucky.
No matter how hard I tried, the ground refused to open up and engulf me, but when he realised what was happening he whipped out his pen and notepad and proceeded to interview me in true journalistic style. Equally fascinating was his own experience of being a soldier in WWI.
Nearly one hundred and fifty years have passed since my time in Louisville but it seems like only yesterday. We are all the sum total of our experiences and lessons in life regardless of whether they are from this one, the last or the next – as you will discover, if you haven’t already.
That first regression opened up a whole other world for me that I have since been able to share with many clients over the years for their healing or for pleasure. The lessons I have received from my clients cannot go unmentioned; the most valuable of which is to never assume anything.
I have learnt how we just ‘have knowledge’ without learning it from early childhood. Some people are able to speak a different language in their mother tongue or understand another without ever having taken a class. Others can compose brilliant music or have creativity that can never be taught. It is ‘in’ them waiting for the catalyst to trigger their moment of glory.
You can probably recall times in your childhood: happy thoughts of a birthday party, falling over and grazing your knee, getting into trouble, having a crush on someone totally inappropriate and many other moments. Sometimes you get a snapshot of a memory and at other times something may set you off on a trip down memory lane and you lose yourself in a daydream of reminiscence. All of these memories belong to you and are yours to retrieve and ponder on.
Finding out about our past lives is a very attractive thought. Many people visit psychics to be told whom they were or what might happen, when actually it is very possible to retrieve our own memories and I believe that the answer is for everyone with an interest or reason to learn the techniques to regress themselves easily and safely. The interest in past life regression has surged over recent years with more enquiries than ever before.
My own experiences started me thinking about sharing my knowledge in a book several years ago – maybe even in another life, but I didn’t pay attention to the signs. As the seed began to germinate in my mind it took on a life of its own and the title Past Life Tourism burst forth. As with most brilliant moments it was that feeling of ‘knowing’.
I wondered, though, if it said enough. We can just travel and explore anywhere that we choose for no other reason than we want to, but the title alone doesn’t let you know that you can also go forward. Hence the subtitle, Gateway to Bridging Your Past and Future, which I believe says it all.
In this book you will discover the facts about past life regression and future life progression: by the end of which you will be able to self-regress and, if you wish, research your findings. You may use any of the techniques in this book alone or with a friend or get together with a group of travelling companions.
I have not written this book in an attempt to prove or disprove the reality of past life memories: I am sharing my stories, findings, methods and the amazing accounts that those included have been generous enough to share.
Are you living your best life? Can you imagine it? Would you know if you were?
If you are struggling or suffering, the solutions to heal are within you and with guidance from this book many answers can be found. Another rather cool thing is that you don’t need to have a problem or any issues to be able to retrieve your memories from the past or to explore your possible futures. Desire is more than enough of a reason.
However, things can change; your wellbeing, aspirations and general outlook on life can be altered, quite dramatically, after a regression and often issues are resolved before you even know you have them.
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Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards
Soren Kierkegaard (1813 - 1855)
1. I wasn’t Cleopatra
Let’s set the scene. It was the first evening at the beginning of the course. The teachers were going to show me the ways of becoming a hypnotherapist by being completely submerged in all things hypnotic.
I’ll quickly share with you why I was there as it all connects very neatly together. In 1985 I severely hurt my back in an accident at work, which led to some major surgery to prop my spine with screws and bolts, followed by several hospital stays. For anyone interested, I started with a laminectomy and spinal fusion, which didn’t quite do the job. I was then unravelled and redone with a transpedicular fixation of the spine.
During this time I studied all sorts of subjects, mainly psychology and counselling, but none of these really tickled my fancy. My interest was and still is in being able to help people to help themselves by supplying them with tools and resources. I hate the thought of anyone being dependent on another person for weeks/months or even years of therapy or talking about their problems. As this wasn’t for me, I found myself learning about hypnosis. I truly believe that if we work in the ‘now’ we can release debris from our past and create the futures we desire. We really can coach ourselves to freedom and success.
All these years later after taking classes, testing out and learning many ideas from my ever-obliging clients, I know it was right for me. Without self-hypnosis I am not sure how I would have coped with the years of back pain. OK, violins away because now it is time for your journey of discovery to begin while you make use of the techniques and tools that have been developed just for you.
Returning to that first night of my training course. We had all popped out for a ‘get to know each other’ drink and had just ordered. Valerie, who is now a good friend and work colleague, asked for a sparkling water. When a large bottle arrived she giggled and said, ‘I can’t drink all that or I’ll be on the floor’.
‘Madam,’ replied the hotel owner somewhat bemused, perhaps thinking she was drunk already or a little unhinged, ‘it is only water.’
‘Yes,’ said Valerie patiently, ‘but it has the same effect on me as champagne.’ And, do you know what? It did, but she stopped drinking before slipping under the table.
Sparkling water caused that reaction in her because of a hypnotic suggestion given to her when she had decided she wanted to experience the effects of booze without actually drinking alcohol. It made me think I was either about to learn about the most marvellous secret, or I was being set up and a secret film crew would appear any minute and say something like, ‘You’ve Been Framed’.
This was the first but not the last time that I wondered if I should just make my excuses and return home. Luckily I decided to stay, and turned from a bewildered sceptic into a hypnotic diva.
The lessons we studied ranged from how to help people stop smoking to releasing phobias, eating problems to insomnia. My own phobia of flying was sorted, which I must stress was so severe that I would hurt all over just being in an airport. Each time I flew it was a white knuckle ride because I had to hold the plane up and level, which is no mean task, and resulted in me being a stressed out hysterical wreck and not the best of travelling companions. My smoking habit also disappeared in a puff of smoke.
We were then introduced to the fascinating phenomenon of past lives. This introduction into Past Life regression training was included to prepare us for clients who requested it and for those moments when clients spontaneously regressed to what they believed to be a past life.
At that time I ‘knew’ it would never happen. Good job then that I knew what to do when I had a client do just that in a smoking cessation session. He had continued smoking and in his follow-up session told me he felt afraid to stop. I regressed him back to the time when his smoking habit had importance; unlike the usual reports of wanting to look older, peer group pressure or rebelling against parents, he told me he was a soldier on guard duty and was so tired that the only way to stay awake was to smoke. Needless to say, he’d never been a soldier in this life and when he released the connection he stopped smoking immediately.
As with all good lessons, in order to get the most from them it is best to experience them firsthand. So, I watched somewhat nervously as a couple of other students and guests were regressed and, without any shadow of doubt, I knew my first regression would reveal that I was Boudica or Cleopatra or another powerful woman of note. Can you therefore imagine my astonishment at discovering I was working as a prostitute in a Texan bar?
I could see in my mind’s eye the layout of the bar and knew it was in Louisville. Under the instructor’s guidance, RS questioned me excitedly while I talked about the cowboys, who it seemed I did not like at all, sitting around being raucous, spitting chewed tobacco and drinking. I was in the business to support my little sister as we had no parents and although I didn’t know what happened to them it wasn’t an issue. To my horror I discovered I was pregnant. Not good when you have to make your money with your body.
RS took me forward to the time of the birth and asked me who was president. Fool, I thought!
My reply was, ‘I’m about to give birth to a bastard child and you’re asking me that!’ As I gave birth, I told him the president was Lincoln.
It was quite upsetting to the ‘me’ in the now that anyone, let alone myself, would call a baby something so awful. This was a powerful indication to me about how different we can be in other lives.
I recalled that the baby turned out to be a girl, who I loved immediately, and soon after I was living happily with a wonderful man, my daughter and my sister.
At the time I was pretty sure that none of that would have been in my life script, but after I’d recovered it made complete sense. It was like a little bit of my own life’s jigsaw had slipped into place. I’m whispering this bit - deep down I’ve always thought I’d make a rather good Madam!
Since then I have been regressed and recalled a couple of other lives that answered questions I didn’t even know I had.
When I completed the hypnotherapy training, another thing I ‘knew’ was how to get clients swarming to me. We had been taught that adverts alone tend not to be cost effective. Mine would be. Into the local paper it went. My perfectly worded advert informed people how fabulous hypnotherapy was and that I was the one they should visit. I was pretty much the only one back in those days so I was even more convinced I would be swamped with enquiries.
In four days I had four calls. Three were from other newspapers offering to sell me advertising. The last one was a man who wanted to know if I provided extras with the massage?! I never really worked out how he got that from a hypnosis advert: maybe he picked up on something other than his own wishful thinking. Perhaps he knew about my previous life’s work? I should have asked if he wore checked shirts and chaps over his trousers. Amusing really, so many threads that continue and, as you will discover when finding out about regression work, coincidences abound.
Theory
After my experience with the advert fiasco, I called a more upmarket newspaper and they sent a journalist and photographer. Philip was a charming man who wrote a lovely feature on me that really started my career rolling. He mentioned his fascination with past lives and, although very sceptical and convinced that nothing would happen, he wanted to be regressed.
During his session he slipped beautifully into another life and described being an army officer in India at the time of the Raj. He was staying in a beautiful hotel preparing for something important to do with Queen Victoria. He was so engrossed with his plans that he couldn’t really be bothered with my questions. When he did deign to respond, he seemed to grow taller as he spoke. He was a small built man but in his past life he had an important role and was tall in stature. I asked his name but he wasn’t sure. I asked what those around called him. His reply was, ‘They call me Sir.’
He spoke in a somewhat condescending way, as if I was silly to be asking so many questions of someone so important. I had thought he wasn’t able to get much information, but actually it was because he really couldn’t be bothered with me; he even yawned at one or two of my questions, while I resisted the urge to slap him.
Afterwards, Philip felt invigorated and proud. He was also shocked at his ease in being rude and how normal that felt. The remainder of the session was spent with him apologising.
I immediately had a theory. Philip’s past life experience was the complete opposite of what was happening in this life. That was what karma was all about. I had everything sussed. Why hadn’t anyone else thought of it?
To confirm my rather brilliant hypothesis, my next regressee was Stella. Stella was very calm and feminine, but also doubtful about whether she could or would be regressed. The sceptics do make it more fun.
She immediately began to describe a boating accident and talked of the greyness washing over her as she sank under the water, far from a rowing boat. Stella went on to talk about drowning. She had gone straight to the end of the life, as the impact had been so powerful. I took her back to an earlier stage in the life. With a little investigation it became apparent that it wasn’t an accident at all. It was a suicide, planned in such a way that it looked accidental in order to protect the family name. In her mind a suicide would be the same as a confession of guilt.
Stella sighed deeply throughout the regression with her legs flopped open in a very ungainly manner while scratching and rubbing her chin. She described her life as an MP and her partner who had talked her into a fraudulent episode. I wracked my brain, trying to remember when women were first allowed to stand for parliament, but was distracted because the further she went into the regression the more she seemed to change. Her mannerisms, her voice and even her looks subtly altered.
I wondered whether the partner was her husband, but when I asked I got an emphatic, ‘No!’
Taking her back even earlier in the life, she described school. I thought it strange that, for a girl, she knew far too much about Winchester Boys School. I slipped into a slow motion world: you know that pause, moments before a realisation when you get ‘it’. She was a man in her past life. It was so obvious! Legs apart, scratching at whisker growth on her/his chin - lots of very masculine behaviour.
This was all brilliant. It meant that my theory stood: a gentle woman regressing to a brusque man.
Jean was a client struggling through life as a single parent. I visited her at home to help with her confidence, which had diminished after a troubled relationship. At the end of the treatment she asked if we could do a past life regression.
The previous life that we then visited was practically the same as her present one. Life for her was hard. She talked about a relationship gone bad and being so hungry that while walking through a market she stole fruit for her and her daughter. Although she got away with it, she was wracked with guilt and worried about getting caught and separated from her child.
Afterwards, she admitted to me that she had considered stealing a couple of times when the pennies were very low, but her morals meant she couldn’t and wouldn’t. Her regression shocked her into changing things so there was no chance of repeating the ‘same old’.
However, my theory was dashed and has continued to be so over the years. There isn’t necessarily any obvious correlation between this life and others. They can be the same, opposite, similar, merging, bits that match, bits that clash. You can change sex, colour and belief, or not. One thing that does seem to be apparent is that unfinished business does need to be sorted. That might mean releasing, forgiving, accepting or just noticing. Remembering allows us to have closure and from that we can be free and move on.
Anyway, there I was doing my best to help people heal themselves, change habits or release something negative, when along came Jill and Sam.
Sam asked for a regression to a particular time and, much to my surprise, I discovered this was possible. She had a reoccurring dream and felt it was past life debris intruding on her life now. She was right.
Jill was an even bigger surprise. About to buy a bar in Spain, she wanted to go forwards in time to check its success before uprooting her family. I suggested a psychic might be best to advise her of a future event.
‘Well’, she replied. ‘I figured if you can go back in time, why can’t you go forward?’
Why not indeed? So we did. It all looked very good in her future and happened exactly as she predicted, or saw, depending on your perspective. I did wonder whether she had ordered it with the clarity of her thoughts and intentions, but when you are looking at something that has already happened, even though it is in your future (has your brain burnt out yet?) it feels different, as you will discover.
I’m not quite sure what I would have done at that time if her future had looked awful without the knowledge I have today. I now know that with our free will we can change and steer our lives. I am sharing all this to demonstrate that moving through, in and out of time can be done with ease.
Think how easy it is to transport yourself back to childhood if your nose hairs detect the briefest whiff of school dinners. Or, remember a time from years ago: a party, a holiday or trip or perhaps a visit from a nice friend or relative. Are you remembering extra bits? Perhaps conversations, news, or receiving a present?
Have you ever spent time looking through old photos and immediately felt you were elsewhere?
Perhaps you can play the memory game with someone else and compare your thoughts. You might discover that even though you were in the same place at the same time, your stories will be different.
We remember and store everything that we see, feel or sense, but it is our own version of events that could possibly be very different from someone else’s memory. Put yourself at King Arthur’s Round Table with eleven others. On it is a huge globe of the world. It is so big that you can only see the people on either side, not those opposite.
As you look at the globe someone describes it. ‘It is mostly water.’
Another joins in, ‘It is mostly desert.’
Another, ‘It is water and islands.’
Another, ‘It is mountainous.’
What do you see on your bit? You see the bit only you can see. And it is the same in every situation. Nice as your bit of the globe is, it might be beneficial for you to walk around the table and look at another’s viewpoint.
It is good to hear stories that others have and are willing to share from their experiences in this and previous lifetimes. Sometimes it helps us to learn and other times it is just fun. Often we discover things we hadn’t even considered.
Peeping into other people’s memories can in itself be the beginning of one’s own journey, and is as intriguing in a similar way to reality TV shows. We all like to see what might be over the hill.
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If you live to be one hundred, you’ve got it made. Very few people die past that age
George Burns (1896 - 1996)
2. Lives Lies or Metaphor
Phobias
When I’m working with clients who have a phobia it is often necessary to return to the cause of the problem for them to be able to release it. Phobic reactions seem to fall into various categories: someone else’s, late onset, developed in childhood or no apparent cause.
Someone else’s fear - of spiders, for example, usually forms in childhood from seeing another person, most often a parent, screaming or reacting in terror when an eight-legged beastie is in the vicinity. I’ve never met anyone who has been assaulted by a spider but the fear that spider phobics have can be very debilitating, and over the years can spread to other bugs and things that fly or creep. I can remember my mother standing on a chair, armed with a broom, because she thought she saw a mouse. Luckily, I thought that was very cool and secretly wished that I could catch one and keep it for a pet. That was probably one of my first delusions.
Another example of someone else’s fear is thinking about how awful a reaction is in a particular situation and then replicating it. Some years ago, I worked with two male students. They were unrelated but their problems were identical.
One day, John was in a class preparing to give a talk to his fellow students. Everyone was nervous and rehearsing inwardly while trying to appear interested in all the others. One of the girls was so worried she had trouble breathing and had a full on panic attack. John felt sorry for her and imagined how awful it was. He stood to give his talk, still thinking about her, and had an attack himself. It was the first time in his life that anything like that had happened, but each time he tried to speak in class to the group he felt it coming on.
Peter’s scenario was the same. He watched someone else hyperventilating and worried that it might happen to him - it did. Our imaginations are so powerful we must be aware of what we create.
Late onset is the sudden development of a fear: like flying. I have worked with people who travel constantly, yet seemingly without warning they get frightened. I say seemingly, but it is usually that there has been an incident or a particularly bumpy flight while they have been emotionally charged. Emotions get fired up when we are very stressed or tired, so what under normal circumstances wouldn’t have any effect, at these times it can become too much to cope with. The mind then does a fine job of trying to prevent us from repeating the experience and the best way it can do this is to make us so anxious and worried that we don’t do what the mind perceives as dangerous.
Developed in childhood is pretty much what it says on the tin. When I was about seven my parents took me and a friend swimming. I thought I’d look rather marvellous if I did the best dive in the world. In I went without checking the depth and smacked my head on the bottom. Seeing stars and the sun filtering through water when you can’t work out which way up you are meant to be is rather scary: particularly when no one had noticed. That was that for me for many years. I forgot how to dive and worried for anyone else I saw planning a head first entry.
The thing with fear is that it feeds on itself. Instead of it just being about me and the actual depth of water, I was convinced that anyone diving anywhere would not only hit the bottom allowing their brains to spill, but also they might easily catch a body part on the side of the pool or the board. I had also grown a fear of flying when I was about two. I saw a boy fall from a rope attached to a log and, although he didn’t fall far, he was covered in mud. My inner filing system decided to associate that with everything above the ground. I had no recall of the incident consciously and actually thought I’d made it up until my father verified that it had really happened.
The no apparent cause category is interesting. Early in my career I would come across people who had fears and phobias without a cause. Sometimes this wouldn’t and doesn’t matter, as the mind will make a change and heal. Other times, however, that wouldn’t or doesn’t happen and in these cases past life regression is the answer to completely sort out their difficulties.
When I work with clients I don't start in the past in order to heal or change behaviour. I begin in the now and go to where the subconscious mind of the client takes us. A few times when their mind couldn’t or wouldn’t make a change in the ‘now’, I regressed them and they would slip back into the memory of a past life and describe the birth of a trauma that led to the phobia. Sometimes this would be a death scene. If your mind holds on to something potentially traumatic it will take you to the cause when it is time to heal or release. Even if a death wasn’t trauma filled, the time just before and after the moment of passing may have been charged with emotions - yours or others.
Déjà vu
Jim came to see me after his holiday to Devon. He described fun and pleasure with his family as they relaxed, played and saw many different places. Although he had never been there before there was an air of familiarity - so much that he had commented on it to his wife. Jim had even contacted his mother to ask if they had visited the place on holiday when he was a child. They hadn’t.
All was well until they stopped for a pub lunch, when he had what he believed to be a panic attack; he referred to it as an ‘episode’. However, the ‘attack’ went as soon as he left the pub, but returned as he re-entered. He had decided to test it because of the very strange feelings he experienced and as far as he was concerned everything had a rational explanation. For several days afterwards he dreamt he was hiding in a cellar feeling terrified and would wake up sweating with his heart racing and a powerful need to check that his family were all ok.
There wasn’t any content to the dream that he could grab hold of or recall and he began to worry before he fell asleep. His wife suggested that perhaps it was a past life issue and, although that notion seemed ridiculous, he gave it some thought.
Eventually, for a quiet life he decided to explore the possibility. I’m not sure which of us was more surprised as he described in detail an experience surrounding an incident prior to the repeal of the Corn Laws. As the regression continued, he developed a deep West Country accent. He was hiding in a cellar from soldiers and, although he wasn’t found, there was an accident that killed him. The trauma of leaving his wife widowed with two small children was awoken by the visit to the pub.
Does this suggest a place or building might hold on to energies or memories, or do particular combinations set off memories? Like, for example, the smell of school dinners or particular perfumes?
Often people have told me that they ‘knew’ the layout of towns or buildings even though they had never been there before, and had no prior knowledge. It tends to happen when they arrive at a place and they think they are having a déjà vu moment, but then it develops into knowledge. Sometimes they share with others what is happening, but their accounts are usually dismissed as perhaps something they had read previously or seen pictures.
Can you remember having a déjà vu about a place? Think about what was happening, if you can. Take your mind back to the place and notice what happens now. Think also about places you would like to visit and why you think you might. What do you feel when you think about various locations? Excitement? Fear? Other people?
I have an obsession with Greece and everything Greek. The first time I travelled there it was as if I’d gone home. It is very hard to explain as I have a lovely home already and I have no desire to leave. The feeling in Greece was way down deep in my soul and I would have happily just stayed there. It was not the same as that romantic feeling we often have when we want a holiday to last forever so we don’t have to return to normality - this almost hurt.
Children
What then of children? They are particularly good at describing places they haven’t visited. You may have heard stories of children describing previous lives that have been researched and shown to hold up to the investigation. They begin by recognising someone and often talk about another family or how they ‘died’. This can be very disconcerting for the parents and many stories are dismissed as child fantasy.
Jane remembered a time when her daughter was poorly and she said, ‘It’ll be OK, the last time I died it wasn’t too bad at all.’ She recovered and didn’t remember the conversation. Jane put it down to a delusion from a high temperature, but decided to try out a regression for herself and recognised her daughter in another life.
Whatever anyone does or doesn’t believe, hearing a child say such a thing would probably make you think for a while.
How often do we hear the term, ‘He/she is an old soul’, sometimes even after a person has gazed into the eyes of a newborn baby? It is as if their soul gazes back out in a way that shows they are not first-timers. These children often demonstrate amazing talents from a very young age.
My youngest son said to me, just before he was three, ‘You’re not the mummy who threw me off the cliff are you?’ Not a lot I could say to that except, ‘No.’ Even after a little questioning, it was clear that he hadn’t had a dream or heard a story, and there seemed to be no other obvious reason for asking the question. He just wondered and thought he’d ask.
Past Life researchers tend to agree that children’s memories of past lives are present while they are young but diminish as they get older. They are still there but get buried under the life clutter until a trigger awakens them or they grow up and read this… Do you have thoughts about other lives from when you were a child?
Beliefs
Reincarnation for many is completely normal because it is as it is according to their religious belief. I don’t think that those who believe are more likely to remember their other lives. I think it is because they are happy to discuss the subject and have been brought up to have an open attitude about the whole thing.
A fantastic example is Buddhism. Upon the death of each Dalai Lama, the monks search for the next reincarnation. When the child is found, he is taken away, to be trained in his role as Spiritual Leader. There’s no debate - it just is.
Depending on the type of people you mix with and know, there are probably many things you would or wouldn’t want to talk about. Past life information is the same. It’s unlikely that you’d say to a stranger at the bus stop, ‘I used to be a Pharaoh you know’. Unless, of course, you recognise the person as one of your eunuchs!
Talking of Pharaohs, according to a psychic, Tina Turner was Hatschepsut in a past life, and if you had to place her anywhere in history that would make sense, wouldn’t it?
The Ancient Greeks and Egyptians embraced completely the notion of living several lives and the Greeks spent a great deal of time obtaining information on their past and future from the Oracle. Pythagoras claimed to have memories of his previous lives and Plato, who was a student of Socrates, believed we choose our incarnations in order to learn and progress toward perfection. Towards the end of his life, Socrates said, ‘I am confident that there truly is such a thing as living again and that the living spring from the dead.’
The Egyptians believed that souls migrated and the preservation of bodies through mummification allowed the journey to the next life.
Soul Mates
Have you ever met someone who you felt you already knew? Or had an immense attraction to another person in an almost obsessive way after a brief meeting? Have you ever had a friend or partner where shifts or changes occurred in the dynamics of the relationship that seemed strangely familiar? You were probably unable to put your finger on what was happening but you knew there was a connection between you both.
Some people think that when you meet your soul mate he or she is the ‘one’. Meaning the one and only. From my research it seems that soul mates come and go in our lives. Sometimes they stay a while and you have a good time. Other times might not be so good. In fact, they can verge on being hideously destructive and take much healing in order to recover. Some of my clients and friends have been in and out of relationships that follow a specific pattern of devastation and they know that each subsequent experience will be the same. They even say, ‘I only ever attract bad men/women,’ or ‘All my relationships end badly,’ or ‘Everyone I have ever been out with has been unfaithful!’
It does seem as if we have to keep repeating a lesson or life experience until we ‘get it’. Whatever the ‘it’ might be. Perhaps to learn not to be a victim or to grow more confident. Maybe to be ourselves and not the person someone else would like us to be.
Life lessons
We learn through experience. On a simple level, we can break that down to the practice it takes to drive, or how to cook. Having many lives gives us the opportunity to learn several lessons: poor to rich, happy to sad, success to failure and anything in-between.
Being reborn or having several lives is often bandied about in a very light-hearted way, usually referring to karma. We have all heard or said comments such as, ‘I/He/She must have been good/bad in a past life.’
One of my clients said, ‘At least next time round I’ll know what to expect!’ I expect he will. But I also expect he’ll forget.
The solution to everything we ever want to know is generally right in front of us, if only we notice the clues. We do, however, like to be in a comfort zone. Many of us are, or have friends who are, stuck at a point in their lives but are complacent, believing they can’t change things so therefore have to put up with them. Many suffer from lack of money, love, freedom or choice, but then something happens or they get a metaphoric kick up the backside and their lives change.
This frequently happens when exploring past and future lives. There is no need to keep on repeating the same old patterns - whether that is by the day or life and realising we can easily swap from same old different day to same old different life really does bring it home. How many times should we hit our head on the wall? Answers, please, on a postcard.
Coincidence, synchronicity or self-fulfilling prophecy?
Valerie was preparing to visit Langkawi in the early Nineties and carried out a therapy session swap with a newly qualified hypnotherapist, Elizabeth. Valerie wanted her session to be on feeling comfortable near dragonflies and Elizabeth wanted some help with a weight problem, which she thought might be a past life issue.
In Elizabeth’s regression she described a very traumatic scene of being led to her execution. She was very thin from being imprisoned and was to be killed for what seemed like infidelity. She was totally enraged and professed her innocence and unfairness regarding the whole situation. Also, she was distressed, as it seemed her father was in agreement. Her final statement was, ‘People will always remember this wrongness,’ referring to the unjust way in which she had been treated.
Everything was sorted out beautifully, and the association of being very skinny just before dying was released. Her safety net was to seek comfort and she got a feeling of security by carrying extra weight.
Valerie then left for Langkawi with a girlfriend. They happened to go before the islands became the thriving tourist venues they are now and there wasn’t much to do. On this particular day they went to the tomb of Mahsuri Binti Pandak Mayah. Her story goes something like this: Mahsuri was married to Wan Darus, whose father was the Chief of the island. When her husband was at war fighting the invading Siamese army she was accused of adultery. As it happened her husband had probably snuck home for some loving but that definitely wasn't allowed so she couldn’t tell anyone.
Her father-in-law ordered her to be sentenced to death, and as she was led to be executed she repeatedly proclaimed her innocence and laid a curse on the island, ‘There shall be no peace and prosperity on this island for a period of seven generations.’ This was in 1819.
On her way to the tomb Valerie calmly walked through a cloud of dragonflies. There were so many similarities to Elizabeth’s story it was almost laughable. As for Valerie, she felt completely at home with the island and had fabulous business opportunities given to her. She believed that if the island likes you then good luck happens. Woe betide if it doesn’t!
Now for one of my own stories. About 10 years ago I was invited to talk to the ladies at a very exclusive golf club. I parked my car and while I was walking to the venue I saw many women that I would later talk to. My stomach lurched so much I felt sick, and for a brief moment thought I might pass out. To say I felt terror would be an understatement. I couldn’t work out what was happening. Each time I’d thought about this opportunity, which without a doubt it was, it had been exciting. But, here I was sweating, feeling faint, convinced they would think I was a fraud who knew nothing and with many other unpleasant doubts trundling through my mind. As it happens, public speaking is the number one fear, beating even death! Except I didn’t have that fear, or at least I didn’t think I had.
What could I do? Turn and go home and make up a tale of woe? Perhaps I could swoon, pass out in a drama queen way and get saved by the medics? The time taken to moot these solutions took the same amount of time as walking to the door, and the organiser spotted me. I then heard my inner voice saying, ‘Just do it. What’s the worse that can happen?’
In I went, gripped the microphone so tightly I thought my arm might fall off. I had an absolute ball. It was brilliant. I loved it. Phew, all was well. They quite liked it too as I was invited back to talk to another group.
At this point I must emphasis the importance of being careful what you wish for! The Universe will, without fail, deliver your desires.
In the very late Nineties I was featured in the Sunday Times’ Style magazine, in which I talked about breast enhancement with hypnosis (not now but maybe another book!). All hell or heaven, depending which way up you are, broke loose. I was flavour of the month with radio, newspaper and magazine interviews. Two TV offers floated my way after I agreed to the first.
It was an invitation to Nottingham to film at the Carlton Studios in a programme that was about Liz Earle. What a lucky bunny. Off I went to Nottingham and ensconced myself in the rather splendid hotel that Carlton had paid for. A delicious supper was delivered to my room and I lolled on the bed watching TV. All I could think was ‘this is the life’
It then all went pear-shaped. I tripped over an imaginary step on my way into the bathroom and felt a twinge in my back. I laughed and thought ‘That was lucky, I might have hurt myself.’ About an hour later I tried to get up from the bed and found I couldn’t move. My whole lower back was in spasm and the pain was excruciating.
Oh, not good. I lay there in tears, hours from home, all alone in a miserable hotel room that up until then had been bliss.
Being a hypnotist meant I could reduce the pain but I think we shouldn’t remove all symptoms in case we cause more damage. As for the spasm, it was there to stay. I had the most miserable night and at about 6 in the morning I could bear it no more. Have you guessed the ending? I was carted off in an ambulance to be put into the care of the Nottingham General. It may well have taken a few years but I got my wish from those thoughts at the golf club!
After all these dramatics, I then developed an intermittent stage fright. Intermittent I hear you cry? Yes. A ‘now and then’ type fear. It was more stressful than having a full-on phobia. I didn’t think that experience had given me the problem, it just reminded me it was in my psyche somewhere.
I tried various things on myself when, in a flash of inspiration, wondered if it was a past life issue intruding. I used the process that you will learn about a little later and recalled a memory of being a dancer. They weren’t any specific dates but I could smell sweat and makeup. I had David Bowie’s ‘Diamond Dogs’ playing in my head, and as I’m writing this it has just come on in iTunes. It all seemed overtly sexual and I could sense lots of red velvet, and I knew I was wearing frilly knickers. My name was Rose and the name Charles Sidle (or similar) was in my mind.
In my memory I was given the chance to be a front performer, but stumbled and severely hurt my back. Useless, then, as a dancer. I was back selling my body; same old me again! I know now the name I was sensing was Zidler and it was the Moulin Rouge. The music playing was a clue from this life - presented to me as a metaphor.
Diamond Dogs was the name given to the prostitutes. And, after all, diamonds are a girl’s best friend – it’s not a dog, touch éclat or GHDs. Imagine if David Bowie was one of my customers in a past life. Excuse me a minute while I have a quick fantasy.
Who knows whether all of this was my creative imagination or I really did Can Can and land in the splits with my drawers on show. All I can say is that now I help people get over their stage fright and occasionally have the urge to lift up the front of my skirt.
The latest ‘coincidence’ in this story, which I had to be reminded of by my husband, is that we have just set up a new company to produce and sell self-help products and we’ve called it Lomburlesque. I had to get a bit of sensual glamour in somewhere.
****
The soul of man is immortal and imperishable.
Plato (427 BC - 347 BC)
3. The Regressions
Kayt and Penny
Those included here kindly agreed to be ‘done’ purely for you, the reader.
These regressions were carried out by me using hypnotic meditation. The regressee is in a cosy, relaxed state to allow the subconscious mind to be accessible in order for the memories to be retrieved. It is like being in a gently guided daydream.
As you will see, I have mixed and matched in that some have all my questions included and some are a précis of the experience.
This will help you decide which way works best for you: if you are looking for answers to particular questions or if you prefer to go with the flow and allow whatever will be to be. It will also depend on whether you are seeking answers or healing, closure or release. I did ask the regressees if they had anything in particular they wanted to find out before their journeys began.
I have used the same induction throughout to allow for continuity. The exact scripts are included later in the book. The recordings begin just over the bridge of time as they have ‘arrived’ in one of their memories.
Some of the regressees shared their thoughts afterwards. For all the grammarians reading this, it is written in the way they spoke.
Kayt
Let me introduce Kayt. A ‘K’ precedes her responses.
My bit begins, ‘You are over the bridge now, and as you step off the bridge you step directly now into a memory of a past life, and just stand a moment, just wait a moment... just be... and as that mist clears you begin to get a sense of Self, a sense of your bearings. In a moment I am going to ask you to speak, and when you speak the sound of your own voice will help you to relax even more deeply’ (you won’t necessarily have the last instruction - that will depend on your preferred way of memory retrieval).
B: Are you indoors or outdoors?
K: Outside.
B: Are you on your own or are there other people around?
K: On my own.
B: And how are you feeling?
K: Calm.
B: If you look around what do you see, what do you sense or feel?
K: Just in an open space, with trees all around me and in front of me there is a big open space that I can walk through, it’s just like walking through a forest, but I am not actually in the forest it is either side of me.
B: And do you get a sense of where you are going or where you have been?
K: I’ve just come off of a bridge and I don’t know where I am going.
B: Look down at your feet, get a sense of what you are wearing, describe what you are wearing.
K: Brown pointed shoes.
B: Do you have a rough idea of your age?
K: No.
B: Just go forwards a little in time, forwards a little in this life so we can see what is happening. What’s happening now?
K: Nothing.
B: Are you still alone?
K: I don’t know.
B: Can you hear anything or see anyone?
K: No.
B: Do you still get the sense of being outdoors or has that changed?
K: I am not in the same place.
B: OK, where do you think you are now?
K: It’s night time.
B: Are you in or outside?
K: Outside.
B: Can you see a building?
K: I think there is one behind me.
B: Can you have a look?
K: I think it’s a castle.
B: Which castle is it?
K: I don’t know.
B: Can you explore the castle? Is it all closed?
K: It’s night time there is no one there, there are lights all over it.
B: Do you know where the castle is?
K: Near a river.
B: Do you know the name of the river?
K: No, but there are trees either side of it, and stars in the sky.
B: Have you been in the castle?
K: I know it, but I don’t know if I have been in it.
B: Do you live near the castle?
K: No, I don’t think I know where I am.
B: Do you know your name?
K: No.
B: Go forwards in time now to an event, drift forwards in time now, and again get a sense of Yourself, a sense of You bearings and just describe to me what’s happening now.
K: I think it’s festival, it’s like, it could be in the castle, it’s like outside, but it’s also like one of these films where you can see the castle walls and stuff. There are lots of market stalls.
B: So you are inside the castle grounds?
K: If it’s the same castle.
B: What are you doing there?
K: Standing there in the crowd.
B: Do you know anybody there?
K: No.
B: Are you selling or buying anything or just being there?
K: Just being there. I think I have a purpose, like not meant to be there, like no one knows me. I am not friends with anyone. I am on the other side; I have just got in there.
B: What do you think you might be doing?
K: Gathering information, I think there is a king, and we want to get rid of him.
B: Do you know the name of the king?
K: No, it might be...no, I don’t know.
B: OK don’t worry, you will probably know later - remember later. Do you know who you work with then?
K: I might be with a couple of people in there as well, but at the moment I am just in there on my own. I am just on the other side. I am not with any of the other people I am in there with the people that don’t like these people, but they’re not all there with me. I am just collecting information finding out where everything is.
B: Do the other people there have a name? Are they English, French, do you know who they are?
K: They might be English, I can’t hear anything.
B: Do you know who you are trying to get information from? Or are you trying to get into the castle?
K: I am just walking around the festival to know where the king is, but we don’t, I think we want to kill him, so we are just walking around and maybe something is going to happen during it, but there is a lady with pink, you know those people with a scarf and she is waving it around, and there are lots of people. We are just working out where everything is, so we know how to, so we can do something later.
B: Do you know what your role is, are you going to be responsible for killing the king, or are you part of a team?
K: I don’t know whether I have got to do it, I am just with them, I have just got to help them.
B: OK, let’s just go forwards in time. Just drift forwards in time until this happening, just gather some more information. What is happening now?
K: Sitting by a river, I think, I don't think there are any buildings around, but it’s the same scene, and there is a bridge and there are trees on the other side. I don’t think I am alone, if there are people they are behind me.
B: Do you know if you got the information?
K: I don't know, it might be happening now. But I have gone away from all the noise, and I am not in the centre of it, I don't want to be involved I just want to get away once I get the information.
B: So you have passed the information to others so they can get on with it?
K: Yes.
B: And do you know the name of the king now?
K: Arthur.
B: OK, do you know your name?
K: No, I don’t need a name.
B: So where do you think you are going now, are you heading home?
K: I don’t know, I think I have a family, but I don’t want to go back to them. I just need to go on my own.
B: Are you in hiding?
K: No, I don’t feel scared, people are not going to find me, it doesn’t matter where I go I don’t care, I just need to go away, people won’t know who I am.
B: Go forwards in time now, until you have gone somewhere else and got away. There is some distance from that event. Where are you, what’s happening?
K: I think I am in another country now, there are lots of different gold and yellow colours, I have got more money, I could be like a king, I have a lady, and she does things for me, but she is not my family from my other place because we don’t have any money. So, I could be somewhere else, because I don’t miss my family. I look the way I thought the king might look in the other one, but he had more reds and purples and I have yellows and golds. I have a wife, my wife does everything for me, I just tell her what to do and I don’t really care, I don’t feel for her, I just know that she belongs to me and she will do it. So I am separated from her emotionally. I cared for my other family but I had to go away from them, I had to get away from everything. The colours are different from the other place. I have got curly shoes on, and they are pointy at the end, and a hat with fluff on it, kind of purple, with kind of sheepy froth round the edges, and a gold stick, and grey curly hair and a beard. And a big bed.
B: Are you happy here with your wife?
K: I don’t care, I have just got it all, it doesn't matter; I am not sad, or happy, I have just got it all.
B: And the woman who does everything does she have a name?
K: Marie or Maria, I think it’s Marie, she has long black hair, she has tanned skin, and she wears plain simple clothing, and she reminds me of the woman with the pink scarf at the festival.
B: What does she call you?
K: She doesn’t call me anything.
B: Does she talk to you?
K: She talks but we don’t have conversations.
B: And do you have an idea, or a sensation or thought of where you live?
K: I think it’s, not in a rich country, but there are lots of rich people and I am high up in my room and I can look out and see all my grounds, and I don't know what’s beyond that.
B: OK. Go forwards in time, go towards the end of that life, near the end of that life and describe what is happening.
K: I am in bed and there’s a light beside me and there’s a man that sits by my bed.
B: Who is the man?
K: Someone who is loyal to me, but, I don’t think it’s my son. I think my son and my wife have gone away and this man is the only person who always stayed with me. He has stayed with me because I can’t get up again, I just stay in bed, he gives me drinks from a gold cup, he talks to me and holds my hand.
B: Are you ill or just old, what’s happening to you?
K: I am just dying.
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