JRT Topic: Past-life Therapy

Spiritual Nomads: Research into Past Lives – Judy Bertrand/ Jim Charleston (Is.13)

by Judy Bertrand, M.S.W., and Jim Charleston, M.Div., M.S.W.

Editors’ Note: This research study was discovered by our Editor (and APRT’s Ambassador to Cyberspace), Russ Davis, through a chat group on America Online. Bertrand and Charleston had had no awareness of APRT before Russ found them but they had courageously pursued their research because they believed it was important (as it is). They are to be commended, and also, welcome to APRT to these two new members! They used past-life regression to examine connections between present life preferences and past-life experiences in other civilizations.

Introduction

Our desire to explore past-life therapy began when Ms. Bertrand was working at a county department of social services with physically and sexually abused … Read the rest

1 December 1995

Past-Life Therapy for Phobias: Patterns and Outcome – Thelma B. Freedman (Is.13)

by Thelma B. Freedman, M.A.

The following paper presents the results of a small research study that the author carried out in partial fulfillment of the requirements for her Ph.D. at Saybrook Institute. The author examined the past-life and interlife reports of phobic people, looking for any significant patterns and also for therapeutic outcome. Her results seem heartening to our field.

Introduction

I became interested in examining past-life therapy for phobias in part because I had seen its effectiveness in my own practice. Treatment of phobias is mentioned by almost all writers on past-life therapy methods, and Clark (1995) found, in her survey of therapists, that nearly all (93%) placed phobias high on their lists of successes.

However, this … Read the rest

1 December 1995

The Healing Qualities of Past-Life Integration – Sharon Barbell (Is.12)

by Sharon Barbell, B.A., M.M.

This article proposes the use of a technique called the “Integration Process” to help the client to become actively involved in his/her own resolution and healing. It is characterized as a method based upon traditional principles for use when a traditional regression does not completely resolve problems or remove negative barriers hindering one’s present-life situation. It provides interactive and immediate solutions, helping the client to feel independent and capable of reaching his/her goal(s). The process is described step-by-step, so that interested professionals could replicate it.

During my first several years of conducting past-life regressions, it seemed to me that something was lacking in the basic regression technique. While difficult to identify, it seemed to … Read the rest

1 December 1994

Soul Retrieval – Janet Cunningham (Is.12)

by Janet Cunningham, M.S.

Practitioners of past-life therapy and research often report a perceived empathic bond with their clients during their sessions. It is not all that unusual for a therapist to report knowing what a client was experiencing before s/he actually described it verbally. Nor is it unusual for a client to report feeling the presence of the therapist during the past-life experience. In this article, the author presents an interesting extension of this, in that she felt obliged to enter into the client’s experience. The description of what occurred leaves us with perhaps more questions than answers.

Past-life therapy has broadened over the years as a result of the pioneers (APRT members and researchers at the forefront … Read the rest

1 December 1994

The Spirit of Transformation in Past Lives – Marilyn Gordon (Is.12)

by Marilyn Gordon, C.C.Ht.

This article combines transformational healing with past-life therapy. It puts forward a three-step process for experiencing, releasing, and transforming the root causes of human predicaments, with particular application to the root causes found in past-lives. The author discusses the principles of this approach, highlights various techniques, and gives examples from cases.

I recently saw a film called “Baraka,” the Sufi word for “blessing”. In frame after frame, I saw images of the wonderful and terrible aspects of human existence, juxtaposed with the prayers of those who pray everywhere—the Sufi Dervishes, the Hebrews, Christians, the tribes of Africa and Native America.

I saw massive traffic jams and huge inhumane factories processing live chickens, as … Read the rest

1 December 1994

Past Lives Therapy as an Aspect of Shamanism – Brad Steiger (Is.12)

by Brad Steiger

Since childhood I have been challenged by the idea that we have lived before on this or other worlds. One of my early articles, “How Many People Are You?” (Exploring the Unknown, February, 1963) led to my first book-length exploration of past lives, The Enigma of Reincarnation (Ace, 1967).

By 1968 I was ready to begin personally exploring cases suggestive of reincarnation through individual regressions, but at that time my sole motivation was to prove that such phenomena existed. I sought to obtain solid documentation that would satisfy the most rigorous skeptic that the human soul might indeed express itself in more than one incarnation during the process of spiritual evolution.

But while extensive in-field research did … Read the rest

1 December 1994

Past-Life Therapy: Clinical or Spiritual? – Thelma B. Freedman (Is.12)

by Thelma B. Freedman, M.A.

The question has been asked, is past-life therapy primarily a clinical or a spiritual experience? Before this can be discussed, some definition of the word “spiritual” must be established. My Webster’s gives three relevant definitions: 1) of the spirit or soul; 2) of, or consisting of, spirit; not corporeal; and, 3) religious; sacred. As for the word “spirit” itself, one definition is “a supernatural being, as a ghost, angel, etc.” None of these definitions is very satisfactory, because there are words in them that could stand some defining, too; but I’ll use them as general guidelines. As for the word “clinical,” Webster’s is quite medical in its definition; I’ll use the broader and more … Read the rest

1 December 1994

PLT: A Multi-Modal Therapy – Paul Hansen (Is.12)

by Paul Hansen, B.A., M.Div., Ph.D.

 Over the years there has been much discussion about the basic philosophy of Past-life Therapy, what it is and what it should or can be. Is Past-life Therapy a therapeutic modality, a spiritual discipline, some combination of these or something else? Some of APRT’s senior members, Ron Jue, Roger Woolger, Hazel Denning, and Winafred Lucas have done much to help shape the philosophy of APRT and its members at this time.

Certainly, Dr. Lucas’ monumental work in her two volume Regression Therapy: A Handbook For Professionals will provide a substantial foundation for Past-life Therapy for many years to come. I wish to join the long line of those who congratulate her on her … Read the rest

1 December 1994

PLT: Illumination and Transformation – George Schwimmer (Is.12)

by George Schwimmer, Ph.D.

From my first knowledge of past-life therapy (PLT) it became clear to me that there were two basic approaches to PLT: the metaphysical (or “spiritual It) and the clinical. The metaphysical view of past lives has been around for thousands of years, of course, and in this country it predated the clinical view by at least forty years.

I have no idea who the first clinician to use past-life recall was. What I do know is that past lives were brought to public view in the U.S. first by Edgar Cayce, then by A. R. Martin, then by Morey Bernstein, then by Dick Sutphen, and a host of lay writers. Although a few past-life therapists … Read the rest

1 December 1993

Past-Life Therapy Research Project – Part II – Rabia Clark (Is.12)

by Rabia Clark, M.A.

This article is a continuation of an article on page 97 of the December 1993 issue of The Journal of Regression Therapy. It gives additional findings from Rabia Clark’s research project on past-life therapy as it is practiced today.

Just what is past-life therapy? Is it a legitimate therapeutic technique–or is it more allied to spiritual healing? And, if it is a part of the psychological therapies, how can it be integrated into the “mainstream?” How can the spiritual views of the field be integrated with the more traditional cathartic methods? How has past-life therapy been researched so far?

Early studies on past-life therapy (PLT) were focused on the idea of proving the validity of … Read the rest

1 December 1994