REGRESSION THERAPY: I do regression therapy. Many people don't even know what regression therapy is, and there are many different forms of it. For those of you who aren't familiar with regression therapy of any type, here is a brief description: Regression therapy is a technique where people are brought back to a previous time in an effort to resolve things that are holding them back. In its various forms it can also be called "hypnotherapy", "rebirthing" and "past life regression", among other things. Also, there are certain acupuncture techniques designed to release memories of previous existences.

I will explain some things briefly to catch everyone up to speed on regression therapy. Some of you may consider these overly simplistic terms, but please bear with - many readers will not be very familiar with such therapy if at all, and a short brief description is necessary in order to get the most out of this book.

The premise of regression therapy is that things happen to us throughout our existence that stick with us and affect us. There are different explanations for this, but that is the basic tenet. If you are a child and you have traumatic incident, certain things happen to you that can cause problems throughout your life. One of those is that phrases you hear during the trauma can act as 'post-hypnotic' suggestions. Another is that things you see or experience in the incident that don't seem to be of consequence can cause you, when you see or experience them later in life, to remember that incident subconsciously and relive the trauma. The problem is, when you are subconsciously connected to an incident, you can make decisions that are not appropriate for the present but rather are based on part of the past you aren't even aware of.

The point of regression therapy, for the most part, is to take a person who is being held back in some aspect of their lives and help them to look back in order to see the point at which that barrier was created - resolving or coming to terms with the past in an effort to succeed more effectively in the present.

An example of this would be a woman who is attracted to the "wrong" type of man, who continually gets into relationships with men who treat her badly, or abuse her. She might go into regression therapy and find out that some abuse as a child has "stuck" with her and compels her to continually "re-live" the experience. She actually created the experience over and over again in order to relive it.

By going back to the time where she was given the initial compulsion (similar to a post-hypnotic suggestion) she can release the initial decision or rationale to continue making these choices. Then she can gain control over her present. By looking at what caused the compulsion to begin with, she can re-decide how she is willing to live her life and go on from there.

This goes way beyond relationships. This can go into phobias, chronic health problems, obsessive behavior, and a multitude of other dysfunctions. In the 'Regression Session' you'll read after this chapter, you'll actually be able to read a session I personally did with a man who had hearing problems. In the session, he went back to the time when he was exposed to the phrase 'I can't hear' during a traumatic incident. By contacting that in session, the post-hypnotic suggestion was released, and his hearing actually improved.

Regression therapy is becoming more and more popular as a way of helping a person to look at their past in an effort to understand why they do what they do in the present, and to gain more control over it.

I have personally seen amazing results of regression therapy, although I need to say right now that I do not agree with everyone's techniques, and believe that it should be handled very carefully and given certain precautions.

Regression therapy does not always result in a "past life" experience. Many people who get regression therapy never experience "Reincarnation Phenomena", or what seems like a past life. But for those who do, it is a mind-boggling experience, as you will read in the sample sessions in this book.

Regression therapy is not the only venue to experiencing what seems like a past lifetime. Dreams and meditation also open one up to such experiences. Many people have unexpected spontaneous memories brought on by a place or event, when they were not purposely trying to have any type of recollective experience. No matter how the experience happens, those who experience what seems like a past life are changed forever, and if their belief system didn't support the belief before, it can cause serious questions to be raised about what is happening.

I have had people who do not believe in past lives come in and receive therapy, returning to what appears to be a past life. They handle it in different ways. Some begin believing in past lives. Some say that it must have been their mind making it up. Some remain undecided, but choose to simply take the experience, accept any healing that happens as a result, and just consider the implications.

Continue Reading: REGRESSION SESSION: I Can't Hear You