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mk6283

USA
272 Posts

Posted - 05/13/2008 :  16:17:21  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I saw a very interesting piece on Oprah this afternoon about Dr. Brian Weiss and his work with Regression Therapy. He uses hypnosis to explore unconscious thoughts that may be contributing to all sorts of issues in people's lives. If you think Dr. Sarno is out there (you shouldn't) when he says that events from our childhood can have an impact on the way we feel today, well then wait until you hear what this guy has to say. I won't spoil the surprise. Fascinating stuff.

www . brianweiss . com

Best,
MK

mala

Hong Kong
774 Posts

Posted - 05/13/2008 :  17:49:41  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Very interesting. I am a Hindu and all Hindus believe that the soul is immortal and never dies. It inhabits one body after another. According to such a belief, a new personality is developed during each life in the physical world, but some part of the old self remains constant throughout the successive lives. You could say that the old self is the unconscious. It is not uncommon for people to remember certain parts of their previous life and apparently regression can help them to remember even more. In fact with most Hindus when something either good or bad happens in this life they will tend to give credit or lay blame on something that they have done in another life.

I know many people who have delved into their past lives in order to try and solve issues in the present one. I know it sounds spooky and airy fairy but for some people it does work.

Who knows maybe one day I'll try it if I am ever brave enough to. I think I need to sort this life out first before I go and dig into my other ones.

I have to make sure I do enough good in this life (there speaks the goodist again) so that I don't come back as a cockroach in my next one.

Good Luck & Good Health
Mala
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positivevibes

204 Posts

Posted - 05/13/2008 :  23:56:56  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Wow, that is very "Shirley Maclaine."

I'm not entirely sure if I believe in past lives. But the concept of the soul is very confusing and there is no hard scientific evidence either way.

Personally I can't fathom "not existing" and I think that the life energy has to go SOMEWHERE.

My husband has seen ghosts twice. Really. He has.

I had a very strong out-of body experience once.

Maybe we're all aliens inhabiting these bodies, and in a Star-Trek-like manner we will just fly out of them in bits of light/energy to go to "the soul place" when the body dies, until we find another host body.

Or we're all part of some larger life force, and when we die we become part of the greater whole again -- or go back and forth.

Either that, or it's all just a big neruo-chemical trick played by our brains. Like the tunnel with the light the people have seen with near-death experiences. Is it really a tunnel, or is it just the brain's way of making death a more pleasant experience for the body?

What is consciousness, anyway? What is existence? Is the life force merely electrical energy, or is it more than that? And what about people who see spirits (I have known some -- they really saw things that "weren't there" and they were NOT crazy and they were NOT lying).

Well there are a lot of questions. But because we don't have any proof, I don't think we can rule it out. Are people really capable of having past lives? Are the past memories somehow planted by the therapist? Are they created by the brain as part of our imaginations? Or is it for real?

I've read stories about people who seem to know things (names, dates, etc) and when they look them up, they are shocked to learn that the names and places are real. That's very hard to explain.

Also, when you get into hard physics, there are theories of space/time that make you wonder about the possibility of time travel or even the truth about the passage of time (or the perception of time).

IMO, the jury is out on this one. Maybe if we're lucky one day we'll find out the truth -- if our brains/minds are capable of understanding it.
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stanfr

USA
268 Posts

Posted - 05/14/2008 :  16:21:47  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I just have to bite...

quote:
But the concept of the soul is very confusing and there is no hard scientific evidence either way.


Either way?? This seems to me to be the common misunderstanding that there has to be evidence of a 'negative'. Nonsense--the proponent always bears the burden of proof. And there is zero scientifically sustainable evidence of past lives that i know of!

quote:
Personally I can't fathom "not existing" and I think that the life energy has to go SOMEWHERE.


I can relate, but you have to define "life energy". A redistribution of matter doesnt have to include your thoughts or your 'soul' if you'd like. Certainly you have some lost memories that may be irretrievable, no? And why is it so "unfathomable". Certainly you can fathom not being alive before you were conceived, can't you? I guess some people can't...too scared of death i suspect.

quote:
My husband has seen ghosts twice. Really. He has.


So what, so have some of my relatives. So did i when i was a kid. Was it real or just the product of a hyperactive imagination? Since there's no objective evidence of the former, seems the latter is the more likely explanation. Ive seen people "believe" all sorts of things while under hypnosis: not surprising since many are highly susceptible to suggestion.

quote:
I had a very strong out-of body experience once.


So did my father once, when suffering from pneumonia and a 105 degree fever. Under any sort of stress, physical or emotional,
that's not so unusual and it doesnt have to be mystical.

quote:
I've read stories about people who seem to know things (names, dates, etc) and when they look them up, they are shocked to learn that the names and places are real. That's very hard to explain.


I disagree, i think it's extremely easy to explain, especially if you are familiar with how easily people are swayed by their own hardcore beliefs and perceptions. Witness how easily slimeballs like John Edward and Sylvia Browne take loads of $ from the gullible, thousands if not millions of otherwise intelligent people, using cold and hot-reading techniques that have been around for ages. People are extremely adept at making connections, especially after the fact People are very prone to remembering the 'hits' and forgetting the 'misses'. Selective memory is a very human characteristic.
There was a big study a few years back that essentially proved astrology was worthless. Think that is going to convince the believers otherwise? It's incredibly easy to believe something, especially when it brings you comfort or gain, much more difficult to challenge your own beliefs.

Most people are aware of how tricky or even dangerous memory can be--for example the false memory syndrome that has put people in jail for false accusations of abuse. Using hypnosis to retrieve memories is ripe with all sorts of problems. Personally, I have a few memories that i may never know whether they are completely real events from my past or just recreated images, or dreams that i remember as being in my 'waking' life. That's why cold hard facts and evidence are so important. If Weiss is delusional, i can't fault him for that, but i can fault him for making tons of money off the public for promoting an idea that hasn't been demonstrated in a controlled manner. Believe me, i've heard it all ("but if it helps people why shouldnt he profit off it...blah blah") So don't even bother responding. If Weiss and others were so interested in the truth, he'd find it soon enough!


Edited by - stanfr on 05/14/2008 16:30:25
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stanfr

USA
268 Posts

Posted - 05/14/2008 :  16:36:05  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
I have to make sure I do enough good in this life (there speaks the goodist again) so that I don't come back as a cockroach in my next one.



It's quite possible that, long after the human species has been erased from this planet, the hardy cockroach will live on.
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altherunner

Canada
511 Posts

Posted - 05/14/2008 :  18:42:05  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I have read Brian Weiss's books, and enjoyed them very much. He has a small book with a cd in the back"Mirrors of Time". He regresses you during the cd. I took it out from the library 3 times, and experienced 3 past lives. I would have bought it, but didn't want to be hooked on regression. Each regression was very real, and had a positive impact on my present life. Being able to quiet your mind chatter helps to go into the meditative state needed for self hypnosis. I told a few friends about it, and some tried it. About half had positive results. I believe the other half couldn't quiet their mind. Sarno talks about having a fear of death and aging, I believe the regressions helped reduce this. I know that death is really just of the ego and the physical form.
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positivevibes

204 Posts

Posted - 05/15/2008 :  00:04:34  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
You regressed three times and each time experienced a different past life? What was that like? I mean, was there any doubt in your mind that you actually experienced a past life, versus a scenario that your brain was creating?

I'm not disputing you, I'm just very curious.

Also, wouldn't it possibly be dangerous to do this by yourself? I mean, what if you experience some sort of very traumatic past event?

quote:
Originally posted by altherunner

I have read Brian Weiss's books, and enjoyed them very much. He has a small book with a cd in the back"Mirrors of Time". He regresses you during the cd. I took it out from the library 3 times, and experienced 3 past lives. I would have bought it, but didn't want to be hooked on regression. Each regression was very real, and had a positive impact on my present life. Being able to quiet your mind chatter helps to go into the meditative state needed for self hypnosis. I told a few friends about it, and some tried it. About half had positive results. I believe the other half couldn't quiet their mind. Sarno talks about having a fear of death and aging, I believe the regressions helped reduce this. I know that death is really just of the ego and the physical form.

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altherunner

Canada
511 Posts

Posted - 05/15/2008 :  06:51:38  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I have no doubt that each was one was real, and one was a very traumatic, short life ending in a violent death that did bother me a bit. The experience did have meaning in this life, and answered questions for me. There was no long term worry from it. This was my experience, and I don't try to get anyone else to use it. Reading Dr. Weiss's books, and others before you try it would be a good idea.
If you had any worries about it, I don't think you could go into the
hypnotic state, but I don't really know. The first one did help me with a slight phobia I had. They were all helpful in some way. Perhaps the unconscious answers questions this way, like in a dream.
This is a little off topic, so rather than post about them, if anyone is interested, they can email me at aljones43@hotmail.com
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