Past Life Regression - a personal experience...
Many years ago, when I was in my early 20s, I decided to have a past life regression. I didn't have a particular reason - other than the the fact that the whole idea absolutely fascinated me. So when I saw an advert in the local paper, by a hypnotherapist, I just couldn't resist it!
My (now ex) husband was not thrilled by my decision. He told me that I couldn't have it done in our home, so I arranged an appointment at a friend's house.
I was nervous and excited the night of the regression. I didn't know what to expect. My friend, Lucie, stayed in the room as an observer - which made me feel more comfortable.
I'd never been hypnotised before and was worried that I wouldn't be a suitable subject.
Luckily I soon relaxed and the hypnotist 'put me under'.
He took me back and back in time and then asked me to look around and tell him where I was. I was in a forest and I was a little girl. My name was Joanna Birchet or Birket.
The hypnotherapist asked me about what I was doing in the forest and I told him that I was playing with the animals and how much liked being with the animals.
(Later, my friend told me that I had spoken with the voice of about a 5 year old!).
He asked me to take him to where I lived and to describe it to him. I described a kind of log cabin which was in a clearing in the forest. I told him that my father was a 'woodsman' (although as I said it, I didn't know what I meant!)
I went into the cottage and my mother was cooking in a big pot over the fire, she kept coughing and looked very frail, but was very kind and loving.
All the time that I was hypnotised I was aware of what was going on around me.
I could hear the traffic in the street outside, I heard Lucie shifting position in her chair and thought to myself "Is this right? Am I really hypnotised?" and yet, when he asked me the questions everything was so vivid. I could see the colours, smell the odours and feel the textures.
The hypnotherapist then took me forward about two years.
By then I had a baby sister but my mother had died. I had to do everything. The cooking, the cleaning, look after the baby, etc. My father was a very strict man and often drunk - I was scared of him. It was a hard life.
A couple of years further on and it was market day.
I felt really excited because I was going to be able to buy some ribbon for my hair. The market was amazing. The sights, the smells... it was all so vivid!
I was asked near what town I lived and I said "Harrogate." (Later I looked at a map of the area, as I had never been anywhere there, and saw the 'Forest of Knaresborough' near Harrogate, it sounded so familiar.)
From my description of different details we assumed that the life I was recalling was during the 1700s.
The next episode in my life that I 'viewed', I was betrothed to a young man.
When I was asked his name I said "Thomas Gosling."
I couldn't understand where I'd got the name 'Gosling' from - I'd ever heard it before - but later found out that it is an old Yorkshire name so would not have been unusual in the Harrogate area.
(My father's name - in this life - is William but he has always been called Thomas since he was a baby.)
Anyway, we were soon to be married and my father-in-law was going to give us two pigs as a wedding present.
In this lifetime pigs are one of my favourite animals and over the years I have collected pig ornaments of all different shaped and sizes.
The hypnotherapist took me forward to my wedding day.
I described my calico dress and the wedding in a little wooden chapel in great detail.
We then skipped on a little way and I was pregnant. I had a baby son and we called him Thomas.
(A few years later, in this lifetime, my husband and I named our long-awaited son Thomas too - we'd had three beautiful daughters first!)
Another year or so later I was very heavily pregnant again.
I was expecting twins by the size of me. I felt extremely uncomfortable.
I was taken forward a few months and I was in labour! I was screaming out in agony and rolling around, quite distressed, so the hypnotherapist very hastily took me to the next day - where there was nothing...
I had died in childbirth...
The whole regression had been amazing.
It had felt to me as though hardly any time had passed, whereas I'd been 'under' for about two and a half hours.
I wasn't sure if I had really experienced the life of Joanna, or if I had made the whole thing up.
However, over the following few days I checked into as many of the details as I could and a lot of things that I had described seemed to be quite accurate (coinage, etc) I always hoped that I would go to Harrogate and try to check out the birth, marriage and death records, or look for a gravestone with my (other) name on it!
Unfortunately the opportunity has not arisen, as yet...
Do you belive in reincarnation?
I hope you have enjoyed reading about my experience? Have you ever been hypnotically regressed? Please feel free to leave a comment - or you could share your story too, here on Hubpages! Join up today, it's free, fun and you could earn yourself a little pocket money too!