A skeptical woman (Patti) asked me yesterday how I could prove to her that a hypnotic regression to any earlier time in life was not just a story that the mind manufactured. I asked if she had a particular story in mind that she was questioning, and she did. She had heard that a friend of a friend, had been hypnotically regressed, remembering things in her childhood, and then in a past life. Patti doesn’t believe in reincarnation, and isn’t sure she believes in hypnosis.
She said, “I’ve seen those shows where somebody is clucking like a chicken, and it just doesn’t look like that’s real.” I explained that “stage hypnosis” is for entertainment purposes. However, the subjects who are hypnotized often seek the therapeutic assistance of the hypnotist afterwards, having become “believers” as a consequence of the show.
Explaining that I had first-hand experience using hypnosis to work with and resolve phobic reactions got Patti’s attention. She hadn’t told me what she wanted help with, but I suspected the questions had a purpose—to let her believe this therapy may help her. Since she questioned whether hypnosis was even possible, we discussed the very basics of what hypnosis is and how it works, then I suggested that we first focus on present life experiences. I told her of the time my wife had been regressed to the age of five, and recalled the names of students seated around her in school, and what they were wearing that day. When my wife spoke, it was in the voice of a child. She was then asked to write her name, which she painstakingly did. It looked just like the printing you’d expect of a 5-year old child. She had returned to that time, and it was as real as the day she first lived it.
The question to ask is “Do the things a hypnosis subject sees, make sense to him?” If they add meaning or clarify the present life experience, they are most likely not products of the imagination. That is very useful regarding past-life regressions, where conflicts can “carry-over” into the present life.
Brian Weiss, M.D. is regarded as the authority on past life regression. Dr. Weiss has written many books, and has regressed many thousands of subjects in his career. He is a graduate of Columbia and Yale Medical, and is the Chairman Emeritus of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami. His story was the perfect match for Sandi’s questions. Dr. Weiss was astonished when a patient started recalling past-life traumas that seemed to be the basis of current anxiety attacks and nightmares. The doctor was skeptical when this began occurring because he was a man of science and tended to not believe what could not be scientifically proven. The experience ended up altering the course of his professional life, as he went from not believing in reincarnation, to finding undeniable proof. After Patti reads Many Lives, Many Masters we will begin her process of discovery … a journey into the subconscious mind, where all life experiences are recorded and available for recall with the guidance of a hypnotherapist who does not suggest, rather guides the subject to the information which is already there. There are many books and of course plenty to find on the internet. With a competent educated therapist—hypnosis works.
What life area needs a mind massage? How would your life look better if some lingering habits or manners of expression that you know limit you were cleaned up? Take a look at Relationships / Career / Finances / Surroundings / Spiritual Development / Health / Family / and even Fun.
Prior to calling a hypnotherapist, prepare your list of questions that will help you determine if that person can help you achieve your objectives. If that is a difficult process, you can recognize a good therapist by the questions they will ask you. Sometimes a subtle shift can be transformational. The event waiting to encourage that shift may be blocked in your subconscious mind. Let the therapist be your guide to greater wellness.