past lives: do you want to know or not?

It doesn't interest me because I don't feel I have been here before.
But I am always interested in other peoples stories.

Hi
This is an interesting one. Depends what you really want to get out of it. Entertainment, go for it! but if the intention is to heal, enlighten, know the truth etc digging into past , as if there is not enough going on now!

Mind has same problems then as it has now. Nothing changes. Trauma past or present happens in the mind. The SELF remains untouched by all good and bad. In the most traumatised individuals the and the most blissed out ones the SELF is exactly the same - pure awareness

Consciousness is here and now. What ever they recall in past life regression might quench the curiosity for a time but the itch starts again because answers is here and now. Looking in the right direction is the key.

I delved into Scientology in my 20's. One may keep cleaning or looking for insights in the past. What good can that bring? Working on a shadow... I soon realised that my awareness has to be like a candle- non directional and not like a torch sending a beam in a certain way past or present- both are fictional. Truth is here and now, ever fresh

thank you both.

I agree that there s enough in the present life to work on that makes past life exploration a bit of a waste of energy.

but still, Im excited by the idea that all of us were different people making me think of a theatre play where every actor and actresses could take on each role, each in turn. if you think about it, we re really all connected. all the same person. makes you think of a lot of things, including ego, vanity, revenge, and capital punishment.

and let s imagine a new religion or world culture where every human was regressed to explore all her/his past lives, now that would make a lot of sense. think Gaddhafi, think soldiers (not wanting to start a conflict of opinions here, I think of soldiers like what we see in Africa these days who are accused of mass rape and slavery) and fighting people who seek revenge or domination, aLL these people, every one of us would be shocked to experience at least one life of being a victim of ego/violence, or just experience being a girl/woman, or a poor worker, etc and that would put a lot of humility and wisdom in people's hearts. well, just my opinion.

Hi Fadette

Hope you are well.
I would love to know about my past lives, but I feel the reason for this has so many levels! Of course, there is curiousity, but its more than that. Sure, there is plenty going on in this life, but do you tell an adopted child who is curious about their origins and background 'why do you want to know, it won't change who you are and we still love you etc etc....' Probably not even if you are correct!
I think knowing about my past lives will give another perspective to this one. Are my instincts, passions, fears related to another chapter in my existence. Am I following it through. Or am I heading in the opposite direction. Is there a bigger theme. My mind would just love to play around with all these concepts. Ant then, of course, I would have a personal experience of past lives actually existing and it would be my truth, rather than just something I choose to believe.
That being said, knowledge of a past life does not take away our responsibility in the now, and I can see how this knowledge could be used as an excuse for doing or not doing in this life. All the same, it would be great to know and could potentially put a lot of attitudes in perspective.

Love
Crystal elf

Crystal Elf, I rejoice in everything you say.

Especially the "truth" aspect of it: it d be something I would have lived through, not something that sounds very attractive and Id want to believe in.

this reminds me my attunement in Reiki. Up to that day I had been a big mystical person who felt things but in actual fact "hoped" that there were those things out there, for sadly, Ive never had the sensational experience of: ghosts (well maybe thanks goodness for that, I am too much a scary cat and dont know if I could survive the terror of seeing a moving person in the middle of the night in my flat who then fades away !!), no strong vision like beings of lights, no UFO, no healing of people by just hugging them (:)) not even seeing auras or my energy come out of my fingers (I have friends who claim those things happened to them).

but as soon as the Reiki Master neared me (which I didnt know until I decided to open my eyes to check where she was because of the colours I saw) on the screen of my closed eyelids suddenly an amazing orange light came, nothing like what you see normally, it was amazing. she was attuning the student next to me. then as she came in front of me I had this not pleasant but powerful sensation in the forehead.
well sorry if I reveal things that shouldnt be, after it s my experience and I may well do.
so at that moment, I thought to myself "O my god!!!!! It IS TRUE THEN!!" I tried very hard not to jump up and shout out loud "it s not anymore something that I think or wish is true, it s just true!! there is energy out there!!" it was a revelation.

well, my next question is to people who ve been regressed:

do you like or regret having it done?

and are all hypnotherapists trained and willing to do it?

Hi All .

There Is a very popular mind set at present where many say " be happy In the now" .

Stop dwelling In the past etc, etc .

For many of us we are fragmented In such a way as In many do not know who they are and they do not know why they think and feel in a particular way .

Part of our past life experiences will have an Influence on the now so one must put to bed any unresolved Issues from the so called past .

During my self enquiry process I became aware of many past life Issues that needed healing / forgiving .

So In this respect a knowing of past lives can be most beneficial .

Yeah, to grow a flower you also need to understand the roots as well as the pretty petals.

I think there are times in life when it is enough...sometimes more than enough!... To focus on living in the present. At other times (when we don't have stressful busy jobs, young draining childten etc perhaps!) there can be an urge to understand the past (and future!) in order to make more sense of the moment, and all of everything too.

I do think we are probably re-incarnated in some way I dont understand..I dont think it is as direct as some do. I can't really pin down my feeling as it is just based on feeking! But there are many things I do have faith in and think about daily, which lead me to think it would be illogical if we only lived once...on the other hand, I don't think I am meant to know about those lives, if it is that simple, at this time.

I also think the mind is an amazing and tricky thing which can play tricks on us! Maybe memories of past lives are like dreams, important and yet not important to me.

I expect that makes no sense to anyone except me!

Yeah, to grow a flower you also need to understand the roots as well as the pretty petals.

But we don't need to understand the roots to enjoy the flower...maybe it depends what you want from the flower!

Do you need to grow the flower to enjoy it? Maybe I like some things to be mysterious?

Witnessing and experiencing past lives can be traumatic and there is often a lot of fear about what one may find, and fear to face what one does find if one tries it.

But when did avoiding fearful things by closing one's eyes and putting your hands over your ears ever really solve anything.

We are the product of our past, no matter that we exist in the present, we are still the product of our experiences and history and the journey that brought us to the present. There may be things we might not be proud of, there may be things we are amazed at, there may be things that make us feel sad, none of this can stop us accepting who we are or stop us from loving ourselves for who we are if we do it without fear.

It does change an adopted child who finds out who their biological parents are, it need not change their relationship with their adopted parents, but it will change what they know about themselves, and this knowledge changes their view of themselves. In the same way the view that we get from perceiving past lives changes how we think of ourselves.

Focussing only on this life, or on this moment in time is just plainly restrictive. I think that it is important that one understands all the local (to this life and this time) issues, and it is important that they are dealt with, but to limit ones knowledge about oneself in any way feels wrong to me.
Sometimes these limits are chosen from fear, for many think that if the past is irrelevant, or of no consequence, then the actions of the past carry no penalty - this is beguiling but flawed, for everything is connected both in time and space, and somewhere, somehow balance will be achieved. If the future is immaterial then we need not worry about it, but this too as a concept is flawed, for we steer our course in the now precisely so that we will be where we choose in the future when it becomes the now.

There is another reason though why the past in every way is important, and that is the connections we made with other people. These are a constant in our lives, we remain connected through the love we shared and the energy we shared. Those who we loved should not be discarded for the 'Now', for they are still important to us and we to them, severing the connection in some way is just insulting at best and injurious at worst. Those with whom we shared experiences, be they perceived as bad or good, also played a part in our journey, the connections remain, and with them valuable lessons about who we are and our place in this world, severing them is a form of death for in doing so we confirm to ourselves that we, the sum of our parts, are not good enough, we would rather be expunged and become some other person - and this is a form of suicide, of loss of our own individual identity, when in actual fact we should all be celebrating who we each are - for we are all special in our own way - and each of our journeys, through this life and past lives is part of what makes us unique. The death-wish of living in the now is an illusion, a wish to escape responsibility, to dodge the inevitable balance that will occur, and an avoidance tactic for those who are not able to reconcile who they are and rejoice in their lives and a way of denying the power of love and compassion.

When one feels ready to look at past lives, ready to accept them as they were and us as we were, to see them as part of who we are without fear, then they are a great educator, and an important part of our journey, they allow us to walk with grace in this world, without fear and with love in our hearts.
love
chris