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By Editor Team

31 Dec: Can We Establish An Ethical and Scientific Basis for Regression Work? – Jan Erik Sigdell (Is.23)

Abstract

In a European group much controversy recently arose about questions of ethical and scientific aspects of regression and even “elitist” claims in that respect. The discussion about this concerns everyone everywhere who works with regressions and needs to be taken to a public level in the professional community. I herewith wish to give answers to criticism and outline a basis for our work.

What are souls?

One point of criticism is that everyone speaks about souls and even soul fractions and yet no one seems to be able to define them. If there is no self that survives the death of the body, there is no reincarnation and past-life regression is nonsense. The only valid … Read the rest

By Editor Team

01 Dec: My Thoughts on Rescripting – Thomas G. Shafer (Is.17)

by Thomas G. Shafer, M.D.

Dr. Cunningham has given us an excellent clinical example illustrating the problems with rescripting and some excellent arguments.

I have ethical concerns here. There is a vast power differential between the therapist and the client as an innate part of the process. Allowing therapists to rewrite history and change the fabric of time itself raises their power to the point of being God-like. I think God has enough trouble being God without humans, even those with a Masters, a Ph.D., or a M.D. taking over some of the job.

Another objection is the complete removal of causality. If I can go back and change time because everything is truly simultaneous, the cause and effect … Read the rest

By Editor Team

01 Dec: The False “False Memory Syndrome” Syndrome – Hans TenDam (Is.17)

by Hans TenDam

Dr. Hans TenDam shares his thoughts and experiences about the so-called “false memory syndrome,” something of concern to all past-life therapists and, in fact, to all who use altered states in their work. Dr. TenDam grounds his theories in what he has actually seen with clients.

The False Memory Syndrome is a bogeyman hindering the acceptance of our profession. It has been discovered that clients who graphically “relived” sexual abuse by a parent when they were very young, had often “remembered” something that did not happen. It has led to court cases and negative publicity. It sometimes leads also to extra work for us as therapists. I have had several clients utterly shaken because of the false … Read the rest

By Editor Team

01 Dec: What’s in a Word? – Henry Leo Bolduc (Is.16)

Henry Leo Bolduc

Henry Leo Bolduc returns to the Journal’s pages with some wise advice about the uses of language in hypnosis. Although he focuses his remarks on hypnosis, his special field, all that he says can be applied to working with any altered state of consciousness, no matter what it may be called.

We, as hypnotherapists, are involved in a unique profession with vast opportunities. However, some of the terms used in the field of hypnosis itself might be misinterpreted by the public. How do we maximize our field’s therapeutic strengths while minimizing memories of the vaudeville era?

Our professional language is in dire need of renovation. Many words and phrases employed by hypnotists in past decades are now … Read the rest

By Editor Team

01 Dec: Where Hard and Soft Sciences Meet: The Meeting of Science and Metaphysics – Paul James (Is.15)

Paul James

This author examines, from an essentialist perspective, what must be involved if we are to have a “theory of everything.” This would include a meeting of the hard and soft sciences, or as Willis Harman put it, “the meeting of science and metaphysics.” James quotes Jared Diamond: “As to the relative importance of hard and soft science for humanity’s future, there can be no comparison…Our survival depends on whether we progress with understanding how people behave” (Diamond, 1987).

This article is dedicated to the late Willis Harman for his outstanding contributions and incomparable leadership during his 19 years as President of The Institute of Noetic Sciences.

“A theory of everything”! No theory could strike a more all-inclusive arc. … Read the rest

By Editor Team

01 Dec: The Client, the Therapist, and the Ethical Use of Language – Tibor Magyar (Is.15)

Tibor Magyar, Ph.D.

In this article, the author calls to the therapist/reader’s attention the importance of language in the therapeutic process and presents the reader with a series of timely suggestions, caveats and admonishments for the practice of past-life therapy.

There is a magic in words. Language has power. Every word has at least three meanings: connotative, denotative, and stipulative. Beyond the dictionary definition, each word is also defined by current usage and the experience/value system/understanding of the user and the receiver. To add further complexity, it is not only what is said, but how it is said. Ultimately, it is also what has not been said. According to Davis (1994) these are the three vital dimensions of any … Read the rest

By Editor Team

01 Dec: The Influence of the Therapist in Past-life Therapy – Rabia Lynn Clark (Is.14)

by Rabia Lynn Clark, Ph.D.

Rabia Clark recommends that past-life therapists question some of their fondest assumptions about past-life therapy. Like David Ritchey in this issue of the Journal, she discusses the “false memory syndrome” controversy as it may relate to our methods of practice. Clark suggests self-examination and a further dialogue on the subject.

The “false memory syndrome” is a controversial issue right now, and one very relevant to us, as past-life therapists may encounter serious repercussions if they create false memories in their clients. Perhaps they should re-examine their techniques to avoid being thought unethical.

A Doonesbury cartoon puts the issue in a nutshell. A therapist is interviewing Mark on the radio. The therapist says:

“It’s … Read the rest