Folk Healing Traditions and Past-Life Therapies – Stanley Krippner (Is.4)
by Stanley Krippner, Ph.D. The author describes four healing procedures that are shared by Western and native healing approaches: a world-view shared by practitioner and client, the personal qualities of the practitioner, client expectation, and variation in modalities of healing. He discusses the various sorts of karma associated with illness and the conviction of the folk-healer that body and mind are a unity and disease is a part of a larger energy field and cannot be treated in isolation. Western and native healing procedures appear to agree on four essential healing principles. First, therapeutic communication between the practitioner and client is facilitated by a shared world view. Second, healing is enhanced by the personal qualities of the practitioner. Third, positive client expectations expedite the healing process. And fourth, effective treatment procedures hasten the client’s recovery. Each of these principles can be illustrated in the folk healing traditions, which incorporate past-life
EXPERIENTIAL DATA. Creative Source Experience – Ginny Pryne (Is.4)
by Ginny Pryne I left my island with its fog and trees, which go right down to the waters of Puget Sound, to come south in September to the APRT Annual Conference in sun-filled Sacramento. In looking over the possible workshops one stood out for me because of its title, “Creative Source,” my favorite words! In a group of about twenty-five participants I was one of three who volunteered to be subjects. Dr. Schubot, the workshop leader, used all three of us to demonstrate how the body is tuned to a Creative Source which knows the answers to questions asked, answers which would lead to our highest good. Answers bypass the conscious mind and are evidenced from the unconscious by the resistance (a “yes” answer) or lack of it (a “no” answer) to pressure on one’s arm. When he asked each of us if the highest good would be served
EXPERIENTIAL DATA. Past-Life Recall While Running- Marshall Gilula (Is.4)
by Marshall F. Gilula, M.D. It is not necessary to have a formal hypnotic induction or sitting meditation for recall of past-life material. For me, my daily hour and a half running has proven an excellent time for recall of such material. One lifetime recovered while running related to a lifelong respiratory problem which began with severe childhood asthma and frequent pneumonia and caused me to seek an activity such as running in order to free myself from the problem. Several years of psychoanalysis during psychiatric training did not do away with this problem, nor did several other types of treatment and self-investigative techniques, including daily regular meditation. It was while meditating during the early Seventies with different types of meditative aids, including long, programmed sequences of music and other sounds that I discovered a tall, headless-appearing male spirit figure standing just to my right side, almost out of my
ONGOING RESEARCH. Healing Prenatal Memories – Clara Riley (Is.4)
by Clara Riley, Ph.D. It is important to develop new paradigms of healing through experiential learning and clinical research. Therapists have demonstrated that re-experiencing one’s birth in its physical manifestations can be useful in the relief of symptoms, including depression, panic attacks, and other difficulties. Currently we are exploring whether disturbances can be healed at an unconscious level by directed meditational imagery combined with relaxation and stretching. This study attempts to answer this question by comparing responses to a cassette tape for directed meditation as measured by changes in the Cornell Medical Index. Recording of demographic data and diagnosis will be followed by administration of the tape with the following instructions: “Many people have benefited from participation in relaxation and visualization as part of on-going therapy. Studies have shown that many of our current problems are related to our prenatal and birth experiences. Because these relationships are often at an
ONGOING RESEARCH. An Exploratory Study Using Regression Therapy with the Homeless – Carlos Gris (Is.4)
by Carlos Gris, M.A. In order to offer a model for regression research, the Journal is printing in full a proposal by Carlos Gris for exploring the potential of regression work with the homeless. His proposal has a theoretical grounding in the most innovative thinking of our time, out of which grow his hypotheses. A discussion of methods, measurement techniques, and population follows. The homeless are a difficult and sometimes almost intangible group, and many modifications may have to be made in the design, but it is a start. The findings may be negative—that is, psychodynamic techniques may work as well as regression therapy, or even better, but that, too, is a finding. Let us accompany Carlos sympathetically on his journey of exploration. It is certain that we will know more about regression research and also about the homeless when the investigation is complete. This research is focused on outcome,
Hypnosis and Healing – Irene Hickman (Is.3)
by Irene Hickman, D.0. Hypnosis is an effective tool for looking into the human mind, exploring its facets, and determining its potential. Its increased use will undoubtedly reveal the answers to the questions as to who, what, and why we are and how our minds function. That these answers can be found by using non-directive methods — using questions rather than just suggestions — is one of the things I have leaned from patients in my thirty-seven years of using hypnosis with them. I have constantly been reminded, as I have worked with people from all backgrounds, that they know far more about themselves than I could ever know and that they can be led gently toward ever greater freedom from conflict, increased self-awareness, and enhanced creativity. I am amazed at the ease and facility with which a hypnotized person is able to disclose facts that are totally unknown and
Two Different Uses of Past-Life Report Therapy: Synopsis of a Master’s Thesis – Thelma Freedman (Is.3)
by Thelma B. Freedman Two cases of past-life report therapy were closely examined in an attempt to test the hypothesis that this form of therapy can be effective with two very different types of presenting problems. The first was of a woman with a lifelong phobia for caterpillars; the second was of a dependent woman who suffered from severe attacks of anxiety and panic when confronted with a need to act independently. A number of sub-hypotheses were also tested. Based upon ten years of experience in past-life report therapy, I suspected that 1) no strong effect was necessary for successful outcome; 2) no therapist’s interpretation of reported events or themes was necessary as the reported events and themes would be non-symbolic and easily understood; 3) no lengthy preparation for therapy was necessary; and 4) no “protection” mechanism, such as visualized white light or spirit guardian, was necessary. Method Each client
ONGOING RESEARCH. Restoration of Health Through Hypnosis – Hazel Denning (Is.3)
by Hazel Denning In late summer of 1977 a concerned philanthropist determined to use some of his profits to mitigate the suffering he saw all around him in the lives of his friends and employees. He had been an avid student of hypnosis and was convinced that this could be used as a tool for therapy. He contacted the Parapsychology Association of Riverside and gave it over a quarter of a million dollar grant to design and administer a research project based on the hypothesis that the mind is capable of healing the body of illnesses. Two criteria were established. Every participant had to have a physical symptom, and hypnosis was to be used as the method for achieving results. He also stipulated that the number of sessions were to be held at a minimum. He first requested that they be limited to three or four, but this was challenged
Innovations in Theory and Treatment: The Analogue Regression Technique – Wayne Brown (Is.3)
The Analogue Regression Technique by M. Wayne Brown It is my belief that after an injury the body heals itself up to a certain point, but unless there is removal of the traumatic emotional factors, residual physical effects may remain. If the trauma can be completely removed and it makes no difference if it is fifteen minutes or fifteen years later—the healing process will complete itself, in some cases even restoring damaged structures. The problem is to find a procedure which will make this possible. I began my professional career as a psychologist, but after fifteen years of practicing conventional psychotherapy, I felt the need for a more complete armamentarium of holistic treatments, one that would take account of the patient’s physical condition. I returned to school and earned a D.C. degree, and in the 24 succeeding years I have moved increasingly into a holistic healing approach. One of my
Death Comes to Marie-France – Chet Snow (Is.3)
by Chet Snow, Ph.D. During the years I have been commuting between the United States and France I have made friends and lost track of many Parisians, but an exception was Marie-France, who remained a valued friend for over twenty years. As a well-known pianist she followed the vagaries of my changing career from graduate student at the Sorbonne, to researcher for the U.S. Air Force, to regression therapist and researcher into past-life experiences. Marie-France had undergone a lengthy psychoanalysis and from her long experience in introspection became interested in the idea of other lifetimes and the survival of the soul beyond physical death. This interest led her to do a session with me in which she discovered a recent past existence as a black New Orleans prostitute who had been a mistress to one of that city’s noted Dixieland musicians, a brief liaison which ended tragically when she, as
Healing the Effects of Negative Near-Death Experiences Through Progression Therapy -Joyce Strom Paikin (Is.3)
by Joyce Strom-Paikin, M.S., R.N.C. The Negative Near-Death Experience (NDE), as we classified such at the first International Association of Near-Death Studies (IANDS) conference in February 1984, is an experience where the person feels fear, loneliness, isolation, and separation. The negative NDErs do not see the tunnel, the light, feel or see the presence of others, and do not have a positive after-effect feeling of the experience. Rather, they fear death and its impact. We have been working with NDErs consistently since the IANDS conference. The percentage of negative experiences seems to equate to about two to five percent of all near-death experiences. Ring and Moody have also worked with the negative experiencers in attempting to research why some have such an experience while others seem to move farther beyond. At the IANDS conference, Raymond Moody and Ken Ring initiated discussion on both the negative NDErs along with the psychic
Exploring One’s Death – Ernest Pecci (Is.3)
by Ernest Pecci, M.D. It is important that we learn not to fear death. One way of accomplishing this is to explore the various realms of consciousness between the waking dream of earth-plane existence and consciousness after death. In recent years a number of books by Moody, Ring, and others regarding near-death experiences have helped to focus my interest on the possible reproduction of the death experience in a clinical setting by using direct suggestion. In dealing with past lives it is important to complete the lessons of given lifetimes by taking subjects through the death experience up to higher planes of learning where they can review those lifetimes and their lessons. They can then make more positive and constructive ego decisions regarding attitudes to bring with them into their next lifetime. This is one of the most important aspects of past-life work. It seemed to me that forward movement
Healing the Dying: Contributions to Thanatology – Franklin Loehr (Is. 3)
Death Preview: A New Direction in Psychography by Franklin Loehr, D.D. Psychography is that branch of psychology which attempts to map out the forces in the human personality and trace their sources. Since heredity and environment as sources of human personality forces have been comparatively well examined by conventional psychological research, psychography concentrates on the less explored areas of past lives, the push from the past, and, to a lesser extent on cosmic purpose, the pull from the future. It pays attention always to the crucial significance of the individual’s own decisions. The usefulness of past-life recall has already been strikingly demonstrated in the results of those counselors who have used it in their psychotherapy with clients. It is a technique that is growing rapidly, as the recognition spreads that this is a method for attaining vastly deeper and more life-transforming results in strikingly less time. On the other hand,
Comments On Healing – Norman Shealy (Is.3)
by C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D. Past-Life Therapy: A Tool for Releasing the Subconscious I began using past-life therapy in 1972 and consider it the single most important psychotherapeutic tool we have. Unfortunately, not every patient is open to considering it. After all, 35% of Americans are fundamentalists and reject everything, including themselves! Even those who are somewhat open to the possibility of past lives sometimes are hesitant to open what they consider a Pandora’s can of worms. Furthermore, it is somewhat time consuming but I believe that in general the benefits far outweigh the time involved and I know of no other tool that will yield such rapid progress. A single case report from my files may serve to illustrate these concepts. A 32-year old woman presented as her problem excruciating pain in her legs. She gave a history of having shot herself while cleaning her husband’s gun. The
Experiential Data: Karmic Case of Polio – Garrett Oppenheim (Is.3)
by Garrett Oppenheim, Ph.D. Late in 1986 I asked a colleague of mine to do a past-life regression with me to find out, if possible, why I was afflicted with polio. This conspicuous handicap has been with me since the age of 14 months—which is to say, longer than I can consciously remember. It affected both legs and the lower spine and entailed the use of two leg braces and two crutches to enable me to get around. As I look back on it from today, there is no doubt that it has had a profound effect on my life history.
The Psyche and the Body: Partners in Healing – Barbara Findeisen (Is.3)
by Barbara Findeisen, M.A., M.F.C.C. The mind-body dichotomy has been entrenched in Western thought for so long most medical doctors have felt little need to concern themselves with the psyches of their patients. Conversely, traditional psychotherapy has shown little concern with physical problems. Recently the popularity and effectiveness of body therapies have prompted the acceptance of a concept of partnership between body and mind and a realization that they are not separate entities. The majority of my clients enter therapy for psychological reasons, only to discover that change in the psyche affects the body, also. Conversely, colleagues who practice physical therapies frequently tell me that body work effects emotional breakthroughs and psychological insights. The two modalities are emerging as collaborators, avenues to the same goal of healing. In regression work there are many instances where healing of both mind and body takes place. An example is Jessica, who came for
Post-Accident Trauma Release: Release of Body Trauma From Current and Past-Life Traumas -Paul Hansen (Is.3)
by Paul Hansen, Ph.D. Patients occasionally appear in a psychotherapy practice who are suffering the residual effects of accidents or other body trauma that occurred in a previous period of their lives. According to medical feedback, the body has healed, or should have healed, but for some reason it has not yet released the memory of the event. Such patients typically have chronic pain or strange body reactions and are frequently referred for psychotherapy to deal with the somatic complaint. They “know” that there is something the matter with their bodies, even though most practitioners cannot find or treat the problem. It was in an effort to understand and treat this phenomenon that the technique of post-accident trauma release (ATR) was born. The ATR technique evolved three years ago after fourteen years of past-life experience. I was working with a woman under hypnosis who had been in an auto accident
Aspects of Past-Life Bodywork: Understanding Subtle Energy Fields Part I: Theory – Roger Woolger (Is.3)
by Roger J. Woolger Introduction A striking aspect of much past-life therapy, when seen for the first time by an observer, is the obvious physical involvement of the client in the story that is being relived. In many sessions the client doesn’t just sit or lie passively recounting an inner vision of a past life with his or her eyes closed. Instead he or she may be subject to the most dramatic convulsions, contortions, heavings, and thrashings imaginable. One client may clutch his chest in apparent pain as he recounts a sword wound, another may turn almost blue during a choking fit as she remembers a strangulation, while yet another may become rigidly fixed with arms above the head as he remembers being tied to a post during torture. To the inexperienced observer this may appear distressing, if not dangerous. Even trained therapists (more often those using Freudian, cognitive, or
Humanistic Considerations in Regression Therapy – Edward Reynolds (Is.2)
by Edward Reynolds The humanistic approach to therapy, as developed by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, shifted the focus in the therapeutic process from the patient as an object to be “fixed,” to the relationship between therapist and patient as a powerful agent in producing therapeutic results. Nearly half the research in psychotherapy and thirty-five years of observing and documenting the process, ground these humanist assumptions. In a new modality such as regression therapy where the dominant legacy comes from an authoritarian approach, namely, hypnotic induction, it is important that the gains in psychotherapy as a total field are not overlooked or lost. In every stage of regression work there is a choice between the non-authoritarian humanistic approach and authoritarian techniques. Even in the actual philosophical hypotheses and psychotherapeutic assumptions, before the patient ever enters the picture, the contrast between the two approaches is salient. It is difficult to be
Past-Life Therapy with Difficult Phobics – Johannes M. Cladder (Is.2)
by Johannes M. Cladder There are many books and articles dealing with regressions in trance to so-called past lives. Some include fascinating case histories using past-life therapy. Others attempt to establish the authenticity of reincarnation and the reality of past lives, though the question of whether reincarnation is or is not a possibility can best be determined by lines of investigation other than hypnotic regression, such as the work of Stevenson. Systematic research to determine the possible use of past-life regression with certain kinds of patients is just beginning. Experimenting with past-life regressions in the hypnotherapy of difficult phobics gives the impression that patients are flooded with traumatic material from the hypothesized past lives and cannot avoid experiencing strong anxiety in this one. Case histories suggest that remission in regression therapy can be explained in terms of known therapeutic principles like emotional catharsis, desensitization cognitive restructuring, and post-hypnotic suggestion. As