Reincarnation: Reaching Out to Your Previous Family

 

I love those thought-provoking, sometimes controversial, paranormal-related questions that really require you to think deeply about your own beliefs in this field, and how those beliefs can be applied to hypothetical real-world situations. I especially love those questions that tend to slant towards the ethical concerns of paranormal research and investigation. 

I recently ran across an awesome question that I think is a good example of such. New Jersey Paranormal Investigations posted the following question on their Facebook page on Sunday, April 10, 2022: If you were reincarnated, and remembered your previous life, would you try to contact family members from that life? 

It was a popular post! As of this writing, there were 313 LIKES, 21 SHARES, and 97 people weighed in with their opinion...including me. And, it was kind of a tough question for me to answer. As with so many of these 'what would you do' questions, a lot depends on the circumstances surrounding the issue, and unless I know more about these variables, I'm not entirely sure how I would react.

On one hand, I'm pretty sure I would absolutely try to reach out. If I strongly suspected that I had been reincarnated, and that I remembered my family (and had the knowledge and resources to track them down) I think I'd feel pretty compelled. I would want to seek out my own validation for the strange phenomenon I was experiencing. How many of the details recover could be confirmed by the family? What was my life like back then, and is there anything from that life that has either bled over and influenced by current life? Is there anything that I need to examine from that past life and make right in this one?

As a paranormal researcher, I'd also feel compelled to reach out, not only for my own validation...but for the greater good. If I truly felt that I had been reincarnated, and had either hardcore proof, or at least enough data to suggest a real phenomenon, I'd want to share that with the scientific community. I would WANT my case studied by the best and brightest in the parapsychology field, and hopefully contribute to the body of knowledge in this controversial subject. 

Going back to a more personal direction, if I truly remembered my previous family, there's a good possibility that I'd be longing for an emotional connection. No matter how deeply my love for my current family runs, if I remember my previous loved ones, I think I would still feel that attachment, even if it's just on a subconscious level. In order to feel 'whole' I may feel that I need to stay connected to the past.  And that's where things start getting really messy.

In practical terms, the vast majority of westerners in this day and age would probably react rather...skeptically...to put it nicely, if they were contacted by someone claiming to be the reincarnation of their deceased loved one. I know that if I had someone reach out to me with such a claim, I'd assume they were trying to scam me out of my life savings, or otherwise just trying to troll me and hurt me. I'm honestly not sure how much 'proof' I'd need to even entertain the idea, and I'd probably end up blocking them from further contact before they could even attempt to provide that proof.

But let's say that my previous family is totally open to the idea. I'd like to think that it would be a beautiful thing to reunite with them, and almost pick up where we left off. It would be a sweet confirmation that our loved ones are never really gone. There's that side of me, though, that can't help thinking how psychologically damaging this could potentially be for everyone involved. I wouldn't want to hurt my present family and loved ones by seeking out another family---I don't want them to think they aren't enough. I also wouldn't want to risk hurting those I was reaching out to. Even if they are open to reincarnation, that's got to be quite a shock to receive a communication from someone known to be dead. And just how does one interact with and integrate the new with the old? I can't really romantically show love to my past life husband with his new wife and my current husband there! On a side note, that example is probably a lil' weird anyway, since theoretically, my old husband would now be at least old enough to be my father's age. But yeah...do you keep a friendly, but distant relationship with your old family, or do you treat them with the same love and affection as the old you? 

Is it better to just let your old family move on without throwing that natural grief process for a loop? Are YOU able to move on and learn what you need to learn from this life if you get too stuck with a previous one? And what happens when all these little evidences of a past life turn out to be nothing more than coincidence?

So yeah. In conclusion, there is no conclusion. I have no idea what I would do in this situation. I just know that should I find myself remembering clear and vivid details, including names of previous family members, I would just tread very, very lightly. I would try to gather as much proof as I can before even attempting to find these people, and then approach with caution. I'd love to know what YOU'D do, though! Let me know down in the comments, or find me on Theresa's Haunted History Facebook to discuss this further. Also, don't forget to check out the links below for more info on the topic of reincarnation. Stay spooky! 

Want MORE Articles on Reincarnation from Theresa's Haunted History?

Morphic Resonance

Cryptomnesia

Past-Life Regression Seminar

Past Life Regression Workshop

On Wednesday, January 10th, my mother and I took part in a past life regression workshop at the Crystal Lotus Shoppe, located in St. Albans, WV!  And, it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who knows me, but apparently I was a patient in an insane asylum sometime during the 1940s. But, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself...

The workshop of about 9-10 students was led by Arken Skywalker. Arken works at the Crystal Lotus doing massages, readings, and offering various other services and handmade products. While the participants passed around a bay leaf, giving over any negativity we carried to it, Arken prepared the room with a smudging. The bay leaf, containing any unwanted thoughts and baggage of the room, was then burned. We were ready to start the process.

We got comfortable in our chairs. The room was lit only with a single candle and the sounds of binaural beats provided the background noise. Arken then verbally led us through a 45-minute guided meditation, deep into our subconscious, where we would hopefully be able to catch a glimpse of a former life. After the exercise, we wrote down everything we remembered and then had a brief discussion about what we experienced and past-life regression in general.

I don't want to give too much information about what I experienced, because it is somewhat personal. However, I DID experience something. We were led through the meditation to walk down a hallway and to choose a door to enter. My door was a large, heavy wooden door with a Victorian flair and a rounded top. However, as soon as I reached to open it, that door literally fizzled away and in its place was a fairly modern metal hospital door.

As I stepped through that door, I stepped through time and found myself as a 16 year old girl. I was barefoot, standing on dirty, dingy, yellowish tiles. I was wearing a hospital gown. My nails were bitten down to the point where they were bloody. My long brown hair was disheveled, and I kept hearing someone in authority telling me to do something, but I either couldn't hear them or didn't care. I felt both anxiety and an overwhelming sense of sadness, to the point where my physical body actually teared up a bit.

I was released about a year later, and I remember getting on a train with a man who was slightly older than me. I was wearing a burgundy skirt suit and matching hat. My once-disheveled hair was pinned up in a classic 1940s style, and I was carrying a small brown suitcase. We were then taken further into the future, and I saw myself as in my 30s, looking at a photograph of a man in an army uniform, as I sat in front of the fire. I had three children, a boy and two girls, yet I felt something was missing from my life. I was not happy. As we progressed further, I saw myself in my 40s, lying in a hospital bed, dying.

From what I could gather of my visions, I was someone suffering from severe depression. I was first hospitalized at what I think may have been Weston State Hospital (better known as Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum) while in my teens. Over the years, I would go be admitted several more times, and received electro-shock therapy at least once.

I don't think that life was productive to my soul's spiritual journey---as we were led out of the room we had entered and back into the hallway, I saw my reiki guide standing there. There was a man, who I couldn't really see, but understood to be more powerful and 'higher up' spiritually than my reiki guide, there as well. My reiki guide looked at my sympathetically and patted me gently saying "We'll try again next time." We were then led back out of the meditation and invited to start writing our impressions.

I filled a whole page and was still writing long after everyone else seemed to have stopped, lol.

During the discussion following the guided meditation, I learned that what they show in the movies isn't necessarily true---when you go through a past life regression, you don't automatically start at the life previous to your current incarnation. You can end up anywhere, especially if there is something going on in your current life that could benefit from the wisdom gleaned from a past life experience.  I also learned that the actual meditation may not be the end to this particular experience, and that dreams and 'flashbacks' sparked by the regression could occur following. As of this writing, I haven't fallen asleep yet, so I can't vouch for the dreams...but almost immediately I started to have flashes of more information.  What's even weirder is that I think the universe (or at least, my guides) were preparing me for the information to come. I weirdly had a few things happen today that make a LOT of sense now, such as a phantom smell I experienced, an odd pain that popped up out of nowhere, and some other things that are personal.

I am so glad I took this workshop. Before we were guided out of the meditation, we made a plea to leave behind any hang-ups from that life that are affecting our current one. I am hoping that the path I'm taking now (which is eerily mimicking the one I saw during the meditation) will be changed for the better. It was a really interesting experience, and I would recommend it to anyone, at least once!  If you're close to the St. Albans area, make sure you follow the Crystal Lotus Shoppe on Facebook for updates. There will be another past life regression workshop later in the year, but the shop offers plenty of classes, workshops, and other events in addition to their regular services, such as massage, reiki, yoga, and psychic readings.

Kids Say the Darnedest Things

I'm sure a lot of you have seen those websites that list really creepy things that little kids have said to their parents, babysitters, and other adults.  Some of the disturbing statements seem to suggest an imaginary friend that might not be so imaginary...and some of the statements seem to suggest evidence of the child remembering a past life.

My own son, Luke, is almost 5 years old.  Since he learned to talk, he's definitely said some strange things...but things that seem to suggest that perhaps he could see ghosts.  Not once did he ever say anything that was exceptionally creepy, and he certainly didn't say anything that would make me think he was reincarnated. That changed a few days ago!

Luke and I were driving home one evening, and like most kids his age, he LOVES to talk and discuss anything and everything he can think of.  We were almost home when he started talking about being a big boy.  Being a "big boy" has been a big deal for Luke lately.  He just started wearing underwear FULL TIME (no more pull-ups!) and will be starting preschool soon. He was chatting away about things he could do now that he couldn't do when he was a little baby when he asked me very bluntly if he was old enough to drive yet.

I laughed and told him that no, he had a few years to wait before he'd be old enough to drive.  In his sweet little voice he then asked me if I would teach him to drive.  (This might have been brought on by the fact that his older cousin just got his driver's license.)  I replied that of course I'd teach him to drive, and that I would teach him many things over the next few years.  He seemed content with that answer, but a few seconds later is when the conversation turned weird.

From the backseat came a tentative, soft little, "Mom?"

Me: "Yes, babe?"

Luke:  "Remember a long time ago when I was big enough to drive and I drived your car? I drived fast!"

Me: "You drove mommy's car?! No way!"

Luke: "Yeah! You got mad, but I drived it and then car crash.  BOOM! Big crash.  Mommy, you cried and cried.  I crash and was dead."

By this time we were pulling into the driveway and good thing, because I was shaking like a leaf.  I firmly told him that he hadn't died; he was right here in the car with me and we were both fine.  He hasn't mentioned it again, and neither have I.  I know its probably nothing significant; just the ramblings of a 4 year old boy with a very active imagination who watches a lot of stuff on television that he probably shouldn't, but it really shook me up.  From now on, I'll be paying especially close attention anything out of the ordinary he says...

Cryptomnesia

The term "cryptomnesia" literally means hidden or forgotten memory, but a more scholarly definition would be:  "the retention of unconscious memory of information learned through normal channels."  The term was first coined by a psychology professor by the name of Theodore Flournoy, and studied at length by psychologist Carl Jung.  Jung believed that cryptomnesia was a necessary function of the human mind in which information learned is subsequently forgotten in order to prevent an information overload in the brain.  When subjected to certain triggers, or accessed through hypnosis, this information can be recovered.

Cryptomnesia is often a skeptical explanation given to cases of suspected reincarnation, but it plays several roles in the paranormal field, including alleged cases of psychic mediums.  In fact, the first recorderd case of cryptomnesia occurred in 1874 when an English medium by the name of William Stanton Moses seemingly channeled the spirits of two Indian brothers who had recently passed away.  When investigators researched the case, it was discovered that an obituary recently ran for the two brothers.  Everything that was said in the seance was in the obituary, with no additional information.

Another case where cryptomnesia turned out to be a likely cause for suspected paranormal phenomena was in 1977, when a woman named Jan underwent a past life regression hypnosis session.  While discussing details of her past life, Jan discussed an accused witch by the name of Joan Waterhouse.  The witch was tried and set free in the year 1566.  However, Jan gave the erroneous date of this event as 1556.  As it turns out, 1556 was a misprint found in a Victorian reprint of the event, and a copy of such is on display at the British museum.

Cryptomnesia doesn't necessarily have to manifest as a false paranormal phenomenon, however.  Many cases of plagiarism have also been attributed to cryptomnesia.  Helen Keller's The Frost King is believed to be the product of cryptomnesia stemming from Margaret Canby's The Frost Fairies.

More Information
Skeptic's Dictionary
The Mystica