Past-Life Regression Therapy: Reflections in the Face of Time


by


Henry Leo Bolduc and Marjorie V. Reynolds




The word regression means to go back to or to return to something. If you are a student of statistics, you know that a regression equation shows the probability of the occurrence of a future event based upon past behavior. Reflection implies looking back upon or viewing a mirror image--essentially, seeing the pattern. Another similar word, retrospection, is a study of the past from the perspective of the present.

Past-Life Regression is a transdiciplinary field related to hypnosis but not dependent upon it. Regression work can be done through creative visualization, reverie, meditation, intuition during travel or arm-chair travel, and other methodologies. Actually, Past-Life Regression Therapy is the retrospection of the soul's journey. It is a reflection (or several reflections) on the past that can bring meaning to present life activities and can indicate a vision for the future.

The current popularity of Regression Therapy is a result of the work done through many decades of past-life exploration and research. (You know how many years people work to achieve what others perceive as overnight success!) Past-life explorers and researchers found that real and valuable benefits resulted from the individual sessions. They experimented with developing a therapeutic intent and the results were impressive. Help and healing came to many people in a wide range of situations: spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, and financial. Therapists realized that such inner, deep-level work tended to go beyond the superficial symptoms of the presenting problems; it probed the root causes.

Open-ended suggestions (sometimes called non-directed regression), which require clients to go as far back as necessary to locate the source of the problems, usually result in the processing of past lifetimes. The details, themes, and insights are identified by the clients as causal factors related to the present life situations.

Freud believed that behavior has a cause which usually is hidden from the conscious mind. He wrote, "Amnesia lies at the base of all neurotic symptoms. Our goal is to reveal the forgotten memories through yet to be learned methods." We are gratefull to Freud for attempting to set us on the path of exploring the unconscious mind even though we might disagree with some of his earlier teachings. Good research always leads to further questions; it pushes frontiers. One of Freuds yet to be learned" methods seems to be that of Regression Therapy. Over the years, it has followed the general procedure of experimentation which led to research which, in turn, led to application. Regression Therapy has become a therapeutic tool employed by many people to enhance the quality of life.

The therapist of today once was known as a priest or shaman. Perhaps, in the future, such healers will be known as "soul-doctors"--the term used by author, poet, and philosopher, Kahil Gibran, decades ago. Gibran had knowledge of several of his past lives.

"This country needs hundreds of soul-doctors. But they mustn't be theorists or nationalists or internationalists. They must have a universal consciousness and be able to help people look in a different direction. An idea that hurts or enchants us acts like a magnet. Presently it becomes our fixed way of thinking and feeling. Then we need something to make us turn a little and see another part of reality. When we find that one thing has aspects we hadn't thought of, it occurs to us sometimes that other things too may have more aspects than we can see." Kahil Gibran

The history of every soul is stored in the unconscious mind. Gaining access to that record, at least to the section related to the presenting situation, could prove to be quite significant in understanding the root cause of certain behavior. The recall of such events, along with insights from the current perspective, can have a direct and profound impact on the desire to improve one's well-being.

Mind, the pathway through time, is a vast storehouse to be explored to bring lessons from the past into present awareness. Some people, fearing the power of such a revelation, choose to dismiss the concept of past lives. Here on earth, just like the earth, people have faults, volcanic hot-spots which tend to explode, and internal stress. Those characteristics, when placed into perspective--when the pattern is viewed--lead to the application of corrective efforts and the result is gain. One can acquire more knowledge and wisdom by being challenged than through being pampered.

Regression sessions are timeless treasures retrieved from long-term memory banks. They bring forth stories--healing stories-- from one's deep memory. As we learn, we become aware of a common bond in humanity. We are familiar with the concept that, in helping others, we help to heal ourselves. Healing one soul is healing a section of humanity. At the personal level, therapists have found that, as they help clients to uncover soul lessons, involving struggles, shortcomings and strengths, they observe similar patterns within themselves. Therapist and client discover a unity within all humanity. The goal of each life is to strengthen that bond of spirituality. All souls are strengthened and all lives on the physical plane are enriched.

Past-Life Therapy is a power tool for accessing subconscious memory. Before beginning the journey, it is important to recognize the real need for the adventure. Remembering who you were, where you lived, or what you did for a living are of very minor significance. The important learning involves spiritual progress--whether there was gain or loss. The progress of the soul toward attunement with God is the measuring rod by which we evaluate a lifetime.

The art/science of accessing the inner mind is done by explorers called Regressionists. Those therapists, archaeologists of the soul, dig through the strata and substrata of the soul's memory. The mental/emotional potsherds are gathered, identified, and assembled into a mosaic by the client who, by recognizing similar events in the current life, begins to understand the rim of the wheel of lives. Clients who desire to get off the rim of the wheel and who choose to improve the pattern can be helped by a regressionist who will act as a guide.

Although the primary work of regressionists is that of guiding clients in recalling and processing the past, they also are pioneers in the frontiers of tomorrow. When appropriate, they are progressionists who help the clients to look ahead. (Similar to the movie "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.")

Regression Therapists recognize their roles as counselors, teachers, and spiritual mentors. They are privileged to observe the reflection of another person's soul and to help that person to bring light to shadows. They help the client to re-discover the soul's strengths, skills, and talents--as well as traumatic events. The sessions go far beyond the trance (in the spirit, meditation, visualization) work. The unconscious mind has had the information for years and, now, deep memories are ready to be processed at a conscious level.

The act of restoring forgotten events to the conscious mind is not an assurance that the processing of such events through to forgiveness will be automatic. The client has to make the choice to take deliberate action to make changes in life. A Regression Therapist, working at the soul level, usually prefers to have a thorough debriefing and allows the client to make suggestions for follow-up work. A commitment on the part of the client, knowing that there is support from another person, can help to ensure satisfactory life changes. The work utilizes both a healing of the past and the building of a better future.

Past-Life Therapy, together with its companion area of research, is a rapidly-evolving and dynamic field. This area embraces many disciplines, both traditional and non-traditional. Many hypnotists, psychologists, counselors, and holistic healers have added past-life therapy to their practices.

Two of the most important hallmarks of a true profession are the establishment of a set of ethical standards and the recognition of practitioners who have met those standards through an objective evaluation process. The field of Past-Life Therapy has reached a new level of recognition--Certification. International Certification, a mark of professionalism, is available in this therapeutic profession. The lnterational Board for Regression Therapy (IBRT) is an independent, non-profit accrediting Board of Examiners for the certification of professional past-life therapists and researchers. The Board sets standards and evaluates the qualifications of practitioners and the quality of training programs. To receive further information, you may contact the International Board for Regression Therapy, 9091 Beach Road, Canastota, N.Y. 13032, telephone 315-762-4453.

The field of Past-Life Therapy has entered the mainstream of the helping professions. It has become a legitimate therapeutic approach to various areas of life.


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Marjorie Reynolds' e-mail address is: reynolds72@juno.com