Psychological Perspectives

So far, our understand of past life regression as an abstract concept, as well as the explanation of the phenomenon as it is experienced by people who have had the experience, as depended on the belief in the soul and the metaphysical.

This can be difficult for many people to accept, since it does not fit into their world view. We shall now explore some of the psychological explanations of the phenomena.

From a psychological perspective, many past life experiences can be understood as an elaborate creation of the subconscious mind. Similar to the way in which the subconscious mind uses dreams to process experiences, to make associations, and to attribute meaning to different events, the visions conjured during a past life regression can be understood as a mechanism that helps us make sense of our world.

This explanation fits well with the phenomenon of seeing other people from your current life in your past life visions – applying your life experiences to an abstract and fantastic new setting gives your mind more freedom to express what it really feels towards people. Seeing your father as a cold and distant older brother might tell you more about your current relationship dynamic – a painful association than your conscious mind would ever been willing to admit. My recent experience of being stabbed and then pulling out the sword and walking away was certainly a personal metaphor and not an actual memory.

The challenge with this explanation is when anecdotes get too specific, showing details that are difficult to explain away. The story of James the child, which corresponded with the details of an event that happened many years before he was born, is very difficult to explain as just an expression of the subconscious.

There are many other stories of people citing specific details from their regressions that they should not have known about. I personally spoke with a woman who knew details about ancient Jewish burial customs which she observed during a regression. These customs which are no longer practiced and there was no reason for her to know about them.

Another fascinating – and controversial phenomenon of past life regression is xenoglossia. This is the ability to speak a language that one does not normally know how to speak, supposedly as a result of becoming a different person with a different language set. Critics of this phenomenon reject with the claim that there are few documented incidents of these events occurring, and that when they do, they are inconclusive and can be explained in other ways (such as the subject having studied a related language in the past).

This is also the common approach taken to explain even the more unusual cases of detailed past-life experiences. The ABC segment that profiles James’ story interviews a psychologist who explains that children are very impressable, and can hear a fact and mention it months later. Furthermore, the process of extracting information from a subject can often be impacted by the questioner – an example of “leading the witness”, where the questioner unwittingly shares information they know, or pushes for a specific answer they prefer to get from the subject.

These explanations can certainly explain some situations – a person might have heard a fact or a historical anecdote and not even realized it. But it is my opinion that some of these cases are very difficult to explain away. Although many of these cases are anecdotal, and can’t be used to make sweeping generalizations, dismissing them with an improbable theory is also unfair[5].

The Jungian Answer

There is one more psychological answer that can help explain past life regression, an answer that lies halfway between the religious, metaphysical approach and the scientific, psychological one. It is this conclusion that Dr. Moody eventually cites to explain the more unusual and historically accurate incidents of past-life regression.

This theory is based on the ideas espoused by Carl Jung, considered at once to be one of the founding figures of psychology, and at the same time an eclectic figure with a more unorthodox and spiritual perspectives towards the human psyche.

In his writings, Jung developed a term called the “collective unconscious.” To him, this represented a sort of broader psychological reality that unites all of humanity. That fact that humans all around the world react the same way to a smile, share many of the same values (even if they express them in contradictory ways), and share legends that have the same morals, were interpreted by Jung as a sign that people all over the world share a sort of meta-consciousness.

Applying this idea to the field of past-life regression, we could explain that a person who experiences a specific historical memory is “tapping in” to the collective human memory of this incident. It’s as though each human experience is sent to a central server; regression is a person accessing a snippet of information from this server.

Based on this theory, certain peoples and tribes might have their own, smaller, collective unconscious. The African American community shares a common history of African heritage, slavery, and emancipation. I read the writings of a feminist psychologist who claimed that women share a collective unconscious of being treated as inferior by a misogynist or patriarchal society. A person who bears a piece of this collective unconscious will find themselves automatically contending with the behaviors and mindsets that are a part of that world view.

This idea might also help explain why so many Jews experience the holocaust in their regressions. The holocaust is a very painful and fresh memory in the minds of the collective Jewish people. It could be theorized that a person would experience an actual memory (again, we are trying to explain phenomena that have been historically corroborated) from the thousands that are stored in the “collective unconscious”, regardless of whether they personally experienced it.

Your interpretation

Personally, I gravitate towards the spiritual explanations, because I believe in God and a human soul; I tried to present as balanced a perspective as possible, but I am almost certainly biased towards one side, at least subconsciously.

Ultimately, it is up to you to interpret past-life regression in a way that fits our world view. This includes your perspectives towards the universe, a creator, the existence of souls, and the meaning of life; at the same time, you must take into account the anecdotal evidence – and your own experience – when arriving at an explanation that makes sense to you.

One thing is certain, and that is that humans are a highly complex beings, our minds are largely unexplored, and there are many aspects of our reality that we are unable to explain.

Ultimately, though, it’s important to remember that the explanation of what is going on is secondary to the actual experience that you have and the interpretation you attribute to the vision itself.

Next steps

Past life regression is a fascinating phenomenon. After reading this much about it, you may be inspired to explore it further on your, which would probably include one or more actual regressions.

Here are a few parting thoughts to guide you on your journey:

• My personal perspective is that there should be some form of therapeutic motivation behind these regressions – a desire to for personal growth or increased self-awareness, and not just pure curiosity. My reasoning is that many past life regressions are intense, emotionally charged experiences, and that these experiences should have some form of psychological justification.
• With this in mind, I recommend working on your current life issues first. Practice regressing to your childhood, which will simultaneously help identify what core topics you would like to explore and teach you to relax and trust your subconscious mind. The process is extremely similar – you discuss what you would like to work on, close your eyes and relax in a comfortable chair, and then explore your experiences with the guidance of a facilitator[6].
• When searching for a practitioner, make sure they are someone you trust. To me, past life regression is a form of therapy, and you should select a facilitator who is experienced, confidential and whom you connect with personally. This is particularly important, because the nature of these experiences is to be “colored” by your worldviews and past experiences – and those of your facilitator. Their religious beliefs and psychological worldviews can have an impact on the type of themes you end up exploring and the type of experience you end up having.

Ready to experience the transformative power and tremendous insight that can be gleaned by regressing into your past?

If my particular approach appeals to you, I welcome you to explore your past with me. I live in Israel, but work with people all over the world with the help of modern technology. Being able to speak and see people through a video call means that you can have an experience that is almost identical to sitting in the room with me. To ask questions or book a session, don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected]