First of all, I have to say that I was unsure about whether or not I could be hypnotized. We hear this all the time, that some people are "susceptible" and some just aren't. Was I one of those people? And if so, could the woman doing the talking plant all kinds of evil suggestions into my head - would I cluck like a chicken whenever someone said the word "cheese"?
The answer is a laughingly huge NO. It's not even close to that (and it's making me wonder about the people who DO cluck like chickens after the suggestion).
Being hypnotized is a lot like being in a deep state of meditation. The main difference I found, however, is that unlike meditation, where I often feel my body is frozen, immobile and heavy as lead - during hypnosis, I found that I was moving around quite a bit. I was gesturing with my hands, moving my head around, licking my lips and even shivering for a good portion of the hour.
I was aware of all of these things, but not aware of where I was - the room disappeared, as did the chair I was sitting on and the woman who spoke to me. Her voice was disjoint, and I forgot entirely about her, though I followed her instructions.
For me it was like I had been "beamed up" to outer space - a black void. And while I was there, I was also very much in my body. It's the closest I can explain to being in two places at once.
The first step was to go through a tunnel and "land" in your previous life's body. From there you focus on your shoes - and then the rest of the world forms around you.
While I remain skeptical about whether or not these were actual previous lives that I was visiting, it was a wonderfully creative and cathartic experience.
I first saw myself wearing hiking boots with blades on the bottom. As the details revealed themselves to me, my name was Ryan, I was a big burly man, part of an expedition somewhere up North. We were taking ice core samples and I was waiting with my team of two. I "remembered" that our base camp was about an hour's hike away and that we were going to be having steak for dinner.
As I fast forwarded - I saw the events preceding my death. A lecture at a university, I wasn't much older, and a heart attack on the lawn outside the class.
The following are the questions and answers that arose from this "experience" - the questions were being asked by the hypnotherapist.
From this higher perspective, what were the lessons you learned from this life?
• I learned about patience. To trust – to enjoy laughter.
What could you have done better?
• I was alone. I have regrets about not starting a family, not telling people I loved them.
What brought you the greatest happiness or fulfillment in the life?
• My work – making a difference in the world.
What did you earn or accomplish in that life that can help in your present life?
• To trust my instincts. Stop being a wuss….and go after what you want – suck it up.
Relay a message from your past-life self to your present-life self?
• You do get to love the way you want to love, just not in that life.
What task or activity could you perform in your current life that would help to heal and balance that memory?
• Get going..it all goes by too quickly.
The second part, or the second life that I experienced was that of a young girl named "Ayesha", roughly about seven years of age, living in a palace of sorts in India. My parents were important people, but not royalty. I was alone in a big ballroom, dancing and wishing I was outside in the market instead. The house and my family was stifling, my bedroom was bare, with not a toy in sight. I kept my only stuffed animal hidden under the bed "out of the way" and preferred spending my time helping in the kitchen, rather than with my stuffy parents.
I fast forwarded to another important event: my wedding. I was marrying an Indian man in a traditional sari - people were throwing flower petals at our rickshaw. My parents didn't approve the union - I had been promised to someone else. Fast forward again to my death, I was shot dead in a public square by military men.
What were the lessons you earned from this life?
• I learned to break free of what was expected of me. To understand that other people’s goals are not always what is right for me.
What message does your past-life self have to send to your present-life self?
• Happiness can’t be bought.
And so there it is... whatever it was, whether purely creative visualization or an actual "remembrance" - I think I provided me with some interesting insights and words of advice - and believe it or not, Ryan's advice to "stop being a wuss and go after what you want" was exactly the kick in the pants that I needed to make some decisions I had been humming and hawing over for over a year...
Apparently I only listen to myself if I'm saying things as my rugged Arctic explorer past self. Ha!
