For certain kinds of situations, usually in the treatment of various mental or emotional disorders, it may be necessary or desirable to have the subject experience the pain, torment, fright, or whatever. This is strictly the domain of a trained psychiatrist, psychologist, or medical doctor. If you are not one of these three disciplines, stay 100 percent away from using regression in this manner.
This chapter deals with regression in a safe way for your subject. (Self-regression, which is handled a bit differently, is covered in complete detail in chapter 8.)
I only regress persons who have been previously hypnotized either by me or someone else. I want my regression subject to be already familiar with hypnosis. (This is just my personal modus operandi; I don't know that it is necessary. As you have probably guessed by now, I am a "play it safe" hypnotist. I do not take any chances or risks with my subjects. I recommend you do likewise. I have had to correct problems created by inept hypnotists, and it angers me that some operators are so careless and insensitive. This is part of the reason for my writing this book: to teach how hypnosis can, and should, be done in a caring, safe, helpful, and professional way.)
REGRESSION CASE EXAMPLES
What are the uses of regression? Following are two examples of how I used regression.
Case 1
A thirty-five-year-old man came to me with chronic back pain. He had had this pain for as long as he could recall, and it was with him all of the time. Fortunately, he had an innate high tolerance for pain, but it still was a source of discomfort and irritability for him. He had no history of injury or illness. He had been to a number of physicians who all told him the same thing: "There is no physical cause for your pain." They implied that he was imagining it, but he felt pain; it was real.
I regressed the man back to the time when he first experienced the pain. He was sixteen years old and was preparing to try out for the high school basketball team. The pain was so severe that he was unable to try out. His days as an athlete were finished.
Continued investigation under hypnotic regression revealed that he had been the basketball star in a small midwestern school. He was a local hero. Everyone knew him. Girls vied for his attention. Then his father's employment caused the family to move to Chicago. He enrolled in a huge high school full of topquality athletes. Competition was fierce. His high school class alone had more students than the entire twelve grades of his previous school. Being a basketball hero in the small school carried no weight in this new school.
When tryout time came, he was fearful of failure against the formidable competition. His fear was compounded because he had done considerable bragging about his previous basketball glories.
Guess what happened? He suddenly developed a severe back pain that prevented him from competing. Now he had a reason that everyone would understand and sympathize with; one that kept him from being on the team. He now could be a knowledgeable spectator, second-guessing the coaches and players from the spectator seats, and revel in his past athletic achievements.
While still under hypnosis, I led him to understand the nature of his problem. Then I told him that his back pain belonged to a previous era and that it (the pain) was not needed in his current life experience. I told him his back pain was frozen in 1964 and that it could not leave that period. Then I slowly brought him forward in time to the present. When he opened his eyes, he was totally free of pain for the first time in his recollection. He remains free of pain today. The total time of this regression session was about one hour.
Of course, it is possible that he could create another pain (or other symptom) if he again encounters a situation that he doesn't believe he can cope with. I doubt he will, though, because he learned about the games people can play with themselves. I also spent some time counseling him about how to cope and solve problems.
Case 2
A sixteen-year-old girl was my client for weight/diet control. She was a compulsive eater but the real problem was a poor self-image. I had her on the six-session diet control program described in Part I. I saw her once a week, and my main thrust was self-image improvement. She was a superb hypnosis subject, and after just five sessions, she had lost an acceptable, healthy amount of weight, had stopped her compulsive eating, and most importantly had altered her self-image. She really liked and respected herself.
I felt that she didn't really need to return for the sixth session, and started to write her a refund check for the last session (her mother had prepaid for all six sessions). She asked me to allow her to return for the last session. Instead of the diet program, she asked if I would do past life regression on her for that final session. I agreed.
I took her through one death cycle and one birth cycle. In my regression instructions to her I also told her to go back to a previous life experience, if any, that had a direct and important relationship to her current life. She experienced episodes in several lifetimes, including the death of her husband to whom she was deeply devoted. In all of the experiences, she loved and was loved. She experienced hard work and learned the importance and satisfaction of hard work. She experienced being needed and doing a competent job.
The regression turned out to be a beautiful experience for her, and she received two unexpected bonuses. First, she came out of the regression with an even greater feeling of self-worth and a great love of life. She developed a deep understanding in those few minutes that transformed her whole perspective about life. Everything reinforced the self-image work we had achieved in the previous five sessions. Second, and here is a real kicker, she recognized the husband who had died as being the same boy to whom she was currently engaged. Although they did not look the same and had entirely different names and nationalities, her acute awareness under deep hypnosis brought her this knowledge.
THE REGRESSION ROUTINE
Getting Ready
First, use a series of deep relaxation and visualization techniques to achieve hypnosis exactly as detailed in Part I.The specific routines and sequence are your choice, based on your own experience and preference. One example is to use routines A, B, C, D, E, F, I, G, H.
When you finish directing routine H, start into the regression routine detailed in the next section. This regression routine is a general approach; improvise your own wording to fit your needs. To direct a person to a current life regression, you will use different words than to direct to a past life regression. When you question the subject under hypnosis and carry on a dialogue, you will need to question or say whatever is appropriate. In large measure, what you ask or direct are dependent on the answers you receive from the subject.
The Routine
Now I am going to count backward from 10 to 1. Each number I say will take you to an even deeper state of relaxation. When I reach 1, you will find yourself standing on a white sand beach facing a beautiful, deep blue ocean. 10...9...8...7... 6...5...4...3...2...1. You are now standing on a white sand beach facing a beautiful, deep blue ocean. The ocean is the ocean of life, and it stretches endlessly before you, and to the left, and to the right. You are standing on the sands of time. The sands of time stretch endlessly to your left and to your right. Now turn your head and look to your left. The sands of time are stretching endlessly into the future. Notice a fog bank on the beach that prevents you from currently seeing beyond it. Now turn your head and look to your right. The sands of time are stretching endlessly into the past. Notice a fog bank on the beach that prevents you from currently seeing beyond it.
In a few moments, we are going to walk down the beach to the right, into the fog bank that is currently clouding the past. You will always be able to hear my voice and follow my instructions. When I ask you questions, you will be able to answer me verbally out loud.
Now I want you to turn to your right and walk down the sands of time into the past. Into the fog bank. The fog bank now surrounds you completely. It is cool, refreshing, and comfortable. You may stop walking now. Just stand in the fog bank. In a few moments, I will count backward from 10 to
1, and each number I say will take you further and further back in time as the fog bank begins to dissolve. When I reach 1, the fog bank will be completely dissolved and you will find yourself in a previous life experience, if there were any, that had a direct and important relationship to your current life. Any experiences you may have you will view as though you are watching a movie. You will have complete awareness of all detail, of your thoughts and emotions, of who you are, where you are, what you are doing. Just as in a movie, you will be aware of joy or pain, sorrow or love, awareness of all feeling and emotion, but you will not physically experience it. You will be able to observe it and tell me about it. Anytime I say the word "RELAX," whatever experience you are having at the time will immediately disappear and you will take a deep breath and settle into peaceful relaxation while listening to the sound of my voice and following my directions.
I am now going to count from 10 down to 1, and you will go progressively back in time with each count down. At the count of 1, the fog bank will be entirely dissolved and you will find yourself in a previous life experience.
10...9...8...7...6...5... 4...3...2...1. You are now in a previous life experience. Look around you. What do you see?
(Wait for response.)
Who are you?
(Wait for response.)
NOTE: At this point your dialog must be improvised. If the subject should encounter an experience that is undesirable and causes anxiety, just say "RELAX." The experience will disappear and you can direct her to another experience by saying the following: I am now going to count from 1 to 3 and snap my fingers. At that time you will find yourself
(Fill in your own words for whatever is appropriate such as "in another past life experience," "one year later," or "a day earlier.")
1...2...3.
(Snap fingers.)
You are now
(Fill in your own words for whatever is appropriate.) When you are ready to bring the subject back to the current time and awaken her, say the following:
Relax and go deeper. In a few moments I am going to count from 1 up to 10. When I reach 10 you will be back to
(Say the current time, date, and year; for example, 5 P.M., July 4, 1997.)
and you will be aware of sitting comfortably in a chair with your eyes still closed. 1...2...3...4...5... 6...7...8...9...10. It is now
(Repeat the time, date, and year.)
and you are relaxing comfortably in a chair with your eyes still closed. I am now going to count from 1 to 5 and snap my fingers. At that time you will open your eyes and be wide awake and feeling fine. You will have complete recall of everything you have just experienced. 1.. .2.. .you are coming up slowly now. ..3.. .at the count of five you will open your eyes and be wide awake and feeling fine. ..4. ..5
(Snap fingers.)
Open eyes! Wide awake and feeling fine!
Analysis
With your subject, discuss as much or as little about the regression session as either of you care to. The discussion provides a great learning tool for both of you.
The wording in the regression procedure is very important. Do not be tempted to take short cuts. Notice the symbology and visualization I use in the beginning: sands of time, ocean of life, and fog bank. Notice I said we are going to walk down the beach; I didn't say you-I want the subject to know she is not alone on this trip; it keeps me in her acute awareness no matter where she goes. That way I am always present to help her and converse with her.
Notice I emphasize that she will always be able to hear my voice and follow my instructions and converse with me. I am her security blanket.
Notice how I handled the situation so she will not feel trauma but will still be aware of it by employing the movie screen as a mechanism. I built in the key word "relax" as a device to leave an experience. This is both a safety tool and a transition tool.
To go deeper, I count down. For coming out, I count up. Notice that I first tell the subject what I am going to do: "In a moment I will count... and you will be aware...." Then I say, "I am now going to count ...and you are aware...." A subtle, but important change of wording.
I tell the subject that she will have total recall when she awakens. Strictly speaking, this is not necessary because the subject always has recall after hypnosis unless the operator tells her that she won't. I feel recall is the whole advantage of regression, so I throw that statement in just as a reinforcement. Leave that sentence out of the procedure if you wish.
Regression requires much preparation on the part of the operator. You need to think through the purpose of the regression in advance. Have the general direction of your questions clearly in mind. And be prepared to improvise on the spot for whatever direction the events take.
Do not put words in the subject's mouth or suggest to the subject what she might expect to experience. Notice that in the procedure I do not say she will go to a past life experience. I say,".. .previous life experience, if there were any...." Under hypnosis, the subject will always try to please the operator. If you say to a man, "Go to a previous life experience where you were a woman," he will create such a life even if there really wasn't one. When he creates it, he will be aware that he is making it up, but he doesn't care because that is what you asked for.
Choose your words very carefully or you will likely not have a valid regression session. Do not impose your own ideas or concepts on the subject.
One final note about excursions in time. In my procedure, I said the future is to the left, and it is. Is it possible to progress in time as well as regress? Yes. I do not, however, cover this subject in this book. You probably should not fool around with progression until you are very, very experienced in all other phases of hypnosis. The mechanism, however, is there to do so.
Many other regression techniques exist that work fine. The routine outlined in this chapter is my technique. Use it, develop your own, or use some other routine that you discover in talking with other hypnotists.
This chapter provides a word-for-word procedure for using self-hypnosis to experience past life regression. The information is intended for your personal use on yourself. It is not intended for any therapeutic use, and should not be used as such. Therapeutic uses of hypnosis should always be under the guidance of a licensed medical practitioner in concert with a certified hypnotherapist.
Use of this procedure can provide many hours of enjoyment. As with all hypnosis procedures, however, there are no guarantees as to each person's success. Everyone is unique, and not everyone can be successfully self-regressed. The depth of experience you may obtain from using the information depends entirely on you. It depends on how diligent and persistent you are in your practice of self-regression, how well you respond to self-hypnosis direction, and how willing you are to allow yourself to relax and let go.
About 90 percent of the people who read this book can successfully hypnotize themselves to some extent, and 90 percent of those will have some rewarding past life experiences. The odds are that if you perform the self-regression as directed in this chapter, you will have some satisfying results.
To use hypnosis to experience past-life regression, you will record a series of four scripts. These scripts provide the procedure and instructions for creating self-regression tapes that will guide you into an altered state of consciousness that is deeply relaxing and peaceful. These tapes can enable you to successfully practice self-regression. Before we enter into an actual altered state experience of regression, however, following is information about the regression tapes and the regression experience itself.
Regression means to go back. In the case of these tapes, it means to go back in time to an earlier experience either in this current lifetime or a previous lifetime experience when you were someone else.
The reason it is possible for you to go back to previous lifetimes is because you have always existed as an intelligent energy. You always will continue to exist as an intelligent energy. Currently, you temporarily inhabit a container that you call your body. In
the past you have temporarily inhabited other containers.
All experiences that ever were are now recorded indestructibly in the energies of time. And all time exists concurrently with all other time. It is only our human perception of time that makes it seem as though the past is gone. In reality the past is not gone, and it can be reached if you know how.
These tapes teach you how.
After you record the four scripts, all you need to do is to play them back, following the instructions, and enjoy the results.
ABOUT THE TAPES
Tape One guides you into a deep, peaceful, altered state of consciousness experience that prepares you for your journeys into the past. Tape One does not take you into a past experience, but prepares you for Tape Two, which takes you into a past experience. Do not use any of the other tapes until you have first finished Tape One completely-it is vitally important that you use these tapes in sequence: first Tape One, then Tape Two, then Tape Three, and finally Tape Four.
Tape Two takes you into a number of regressions to past experiences in your current lifetime. It also guides you through the experience of directing yourself into a current life regression.
Tape Three takes you into a number of regressions into past life experiences. It also shows you how to direct yourself into a past life regression.
Tape Four takes you deep into an altered state of consciousness and brings you to the point of departing into the past. At that point the tape stops, and you direct yourself into whatever past experiences you choose.
After completing Tape Four, you will only need to use Tape Four in all future regressions. If you wish to refresh yourself by using the other tapes, you may do so.
The tapes have all the safeguards, guides, and protections programmed into them so you will be able to have successful, enjoyable, and educational trips into your past lives. Built in are several methods you can use to leave a particular regression whenever you want to. At no time will you ever be in a situation that you cannot handle.
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