Archives: JRT Articles

Reframing: The Magic of Change – Tibor Magyar (Is.16)

Tibor Magyar, Ph.D.

(aka Russell C. Davis, Ph.D.)

Reframing is a simple but potent technique that may be used by a therapist to gain resolution to “unfinished” issues which continue to traumatize a client/patient. Although the term “reframing” came into the vocabulary of therapists through the work of Bandler and Grinder in the late 1970s and early 80s, the author points out that the technique itself actually was being used in some form or other much earlier. One example cited involved the use of reframing by a Veterans Administration therapist who was using this technique when working with Vietnam veterans who were hospitalized for PTSD.

The Magic of Words

Of all the words of tongue or pen,
none … Read the rest

1 December 1998

Past-Life and Interlife Reports of Phobic People: Patterns and Outcome -Thelma B. Freedman (Is.15)

Thelma B. Freedman, Ph.D. Saybrook Institute, 1997

In a study of 37 participants with 81 phobias between them, hypnotically-facilitated past-life and/or interlife reports of people with simple and social phobias and/or agoraphobia were examined when the participant’s “Upper Mind” in hypnosis said they were causal of the phobias. Also, earlier experiences in some participants’ (present) lives that they reported in hypnosis as causal of their phobias were examined. Three participants with 11 phobias between them were unable to reach the required levels of hypnosis, and received no deliberate treatment. Their phobias became an ad hoc control group for Research Question Two. Because many participants suffered from more than one phobia, sometimes of different types, for purposes of analysis the … Read the rest

1 December 1997

A Study of Spirit Releasement Therapy for Individuals Who Believe They are Involuntarily Possessed – Jacqueline Whitmore (Is.15)

Jacqueline Whitmore, Ph.D. Saybrook Institute, 1995

Although there have been many definitions and little agreement as to what constitutes “possession,” for the purposes of this study possession was defined as “a subjective belief in the involuntary, non-culturally and non-religiously sanctioned, undesirable influence by an outside entity such as a spirit, power, deity, or other person.” The participants were twenty-two healthy, basically well-functioning adults who had chosen to experience Spirit Releasement Therapy (SRT) because they had come to believe that they were possessed. The researcher was not the SRT therapist, but had the therapist’s full cooperation.

Before SRT, 24 hours after SRT, and one month or more after SRT, participants were interviewed and completed pre- and post-treatment measures: the Hardiness … Read the rest

1 January 1997

A Phenomenological Study of Post-Modern Transpersonal and Spiritual Experiences with Quantitative Survey and Case Study Interviews – Janet Cunningham (Is.15)

Janet Cunningham, Ph.D. Walden University, 1997

The phrase “transpersonal and spiritual experiences” refers to the sense of identity of the self extending beyond the personal to encompass wider aspects of humankind, life, psyche, or cosmos. Western scientific exploration of such experiences has been nearly nonexistent, due primarily to the currently accepted scientific paradigm. But a study of the psyche that fails to deal with the transpersonal and spiritual realms is, by definition, unscientific in that it fails to take into account, or even to report, a large body of phenomena.

All participants in this study were healthy, well-functioning adults. The study had two foci: first, to discover if people who claim to have had spontaneous transpersonal and/or spiritual experiences … Read the rest

1 December 1997

EXPERIENCES. What is the Nature of Parallel Lives? – Isa Gucciardi (Is.15)

In this article, Isa Gucciardi tells us of her strange personal encounter with what may have been a parallel universe.

Isa Gucciardi, M.A., C.Ht.

There has been much discussion of the possibility of parallel lives, but this concept appears to be poorly – and variously – understood by the different investigators who have looked into the matter. There are some past-life researchers who hold that “past” lives are really occurring in the present at different dimensions of reality. Quantum physics supports the idea that time as a linear concept is just a way of talking about reality and proposes that all time is present now. Some transpersonal psychologists venture so far as to say that multiple personality disorder-type manifestations … Read the rest

1 December 1993

EXPERIENCES. Past-Life Therapy: A Personal Perspective – Thomas G. Shafer (Is.15)

In this article, Thomas G. Shafer describes the confusing mixture of dreams, memory distortion, and past lives he encountered in his search for the truth.

Thomas G. Shafer, M.D.

I began individual therapy with Mrs. Peggy Moore-Osteen after the death of my father in early 1985. My initial complaints were depression, panic-like episodes, and nightmares. I had suffered from recurrent bouts of depression since my late teens; these had no clear precipitants and lasted a few weeks to about a month. I tolerated antidepressant medication poorly due to cardiac arrhythmias. This was felt by my internist to be related to mild Mitral Valve Prolapse. Additionally, I had suffered since my mid-teens from prolonged sieges of recurrent panic episodes characterized … Read the rest

1 December 1993

EXPERIENCES. Regression by Self-Hypnosis: A Warning – Luciane Lopes de Mello (Is.15)

This articles describes some personal experiences of the author. Luciane Lopes de Mello warns of some of the dangers for untrained people in using a self-hypnosis tape to access past lives.

I: Regression by Self-Hypnosis: A Warning

Luciane Lopes de Mello

I have been practicing different kinds of meditation for years, and I have never had problems or experienced resistance with it. Meditation has always been helpful to me, and I have gotten good results with it. So I decided to try regression with a self-hypnosis tape, which I myself had recorded. There was one particular problem I wanted to examine by regressing to my past lives: a troublesome relationship with a man, whom I shall call “M.”

  1. is a
… Read the rest
1 December 1997

Healing Through Time: Reconnecting with an Old Foe – Isa Gucciardi (Is.15)

Isa Gucciardi, M.A., C.Ht.

Isa Gucciardi describes combining hypnosis, past-life therapy, depossession/entity release, and soul retrieval in the treatment of a client. She suggests that combining these modalities as needed can get better results than using only one or two alone.

My work as a hypnotherapist takes me to many times and places in my clients’ psyches. I use many tools to help people discover the origin of the problems they come to me for help with. My work is inspired by some of the studies that Irene Hickman, Edith Fiore, William Baldwin and Michael Harner have presented on spirit depossession, past-life regressions and soul retrieval, but I have found that most sessions do not confine themselves into the … Read the rest

1 December 1997

A New Understanding of Reincarnation through Past-Life Recall – Rabia Lynn Clark (Is.15)

Rabia Lynn Clark, Ph.D.

Rabia Clark briefly discusses cultural and religious reincarnation beliefs and examines what past-life therapists say they have found in past-life therapy as well as what Stevenson has found in his researches into the spontaneous past-life memories of children.

Reincarnation is a belief found in many cultures and religions: Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Sufi, Huna, and others. But recent past-life memories have brought us to a new understanding about reincarnation. The work of Ian Stevenson, M.D., and the relatively new field of past-life therapy have both made contributions in confirming some old beliefs while adding new insights.

Concepts about an afterlife and reincarnation are very diverse in different religions and cultures. They offer models to deal … Read the rest

1 December 1997

Past-Life Therapy, Astrology, and the New Quantum and Space-Time Physics – Dianne Seaman (Is.15)

Dianne Seaman, B.S., C.P.L.T.

Dianne Seaman explores possible relationships between astrology, the new physics of quanta and space-time, past-life phenomena, and transpersonal experiences. As she notes in her article, her explorations raise more questions than can be answered, but her findings are provocative and she links these areas together thoughtfully.

Astrology, quantum physics and past-life phenomena are all complex subjects in and of themselves. Here I am attempting to show links among all three and how a more thorough understanding of each can be gained from exploring the other two – an even more complex undertaking. I am coming to realize that this is a lifelong project, and as I delve deeper into these matters, more questions are raised … Read the rest

1 December 1997