Has anybody done this? If so, did you walk away feeling like it was genuine or fake? I’m currently embroiled in a philosphical debate with my mother about what constitutes a healthy amount of skepticism. Any help anyone can give me, pro or con, would be gratly appreciated.
I’ve never done it, but I’m inclined to believe it’s baloney.
Past life regression is usually done by a psychic using hypnosis.
I have had about 15 years experience with psychics and I can give you my observations.
There are very few really good psychics, a greater number of somewhat talented psychics, and a big bunch of wannabe psychics.
Caution is in order. A past life regression psychic needs to be one of the really good kind in order to produce accurate data.
In most cases this is the area of greatest fraud. After all, the psychic could tell/lead you into thinking almost anything and you wouldn’t know the difference.
I will list some things to look for:
Con: they bring fear into their readings or something about spells, black magic, curses, etc., they are sure frauds.
Con: they ask you for money more than once, all money if any, should be agreed upon up front.
Con: they act for you, like pretending to be worn out, reaching for something, or otherwise changing their voice or appearance.
Pro: they have an interest in you and your situation.
Pro: they show patience, kindness and concern toward you.
Pro: they are honest in their actions and emotions, if they don’t get anything they will tell you so.
I would ask for a reading first, and see how that goes.
I would try to find out more about them and what other psychics think of their ability.
If they are not psychic, and claim no psychic ability, I would expect them to have a degree, diploma, etc., in hypnosis as well as experience before I would allow them to do anything.
I know a few of my past lives, and while they are interesting, knowing them does not help you much with this life. So my main suggestions is don’t worry about them, they can’t help you now.
I learned about my past lives through inner contact with myself. It takes a while, or something like a near death experience, to open up the communication.
Love
Leroy
Here’s how you can tell if a psychic is phoney:
if he claims to be a psychic, he’s a phoney.
I had a vision you were going to say that.
Did I mispell “phony” in your vision?
According to the Magic 8 ball:
outlook not so good
but I did see you misspelling misspell.
:eek:
Not that any of you give a damn, but reincarnation is the best documented part of spiritual events.
Even Carl Sagan did not try to refute it, he still didn’t believe it.
OK, I had my say, you can go back to being jerks.
Documented to what side? By whom? Cites?
Since Carl Sagan’s forte’s not reincarnation, his opinion is just that, an opinion, not an authority.
Signed,
El Jerko
I showed Cecil’s column to my mother. Like pouring gasoline on a fire, if you’ll pardon the cliche. She now says that anyone who makes an attempt to debunk past life regression is wrong, because she’s done it, and it’s impossible that she’d give a false positive. I offered to do it myself, but it costs $100, and I’m not willing to spend that kind of money on something that questionable. I also have a feeling that if I walked out saying it was bunk, she’d simply accuse me of going in without an open mind. It’s impossible to talk to that woman sometimes.
FWIW, I believe in reincarnation. However, I’m also distrustful of the claim that a person can make you remember your past life. If past lives show themselves in the here and now, they show themselves through quirks and mannerisms, not memories.
If you believe in reincarnation, you should understand something about those Eastern traditions from which the idea originated. Buddhists and Hindus do not believe that past-life memories are accessible to the vast majority of people. In fact, the ability to remember past lives is one of the defining characteristics of enlightenment. Buddhas can do it, and that’s about it. So, unless your hypnotist or your “psychic” or whatever quack that’s selling this therapy has the ability to actually produce a state of Nirvana in others, they do not have the ability to induce memories of past lives-- at least not according to the precepts of the philosophies that they are attempting to exploit.
Stentor said:
You have just hit on the most difficult thing that skeptics face – personal testimony. This happens in pretty much all areas, from psychics to recovered memories to past lives, etc.
“I had a Tarot reading once and it was dead-on! So I know it’s true!”
“I used a Ouija board once and it answered right! So I know it’s true!”
“I recovered memories of being on an alien spacecraft and I know that my own memories wouldn’t like. So I know it’s true!”
“I recovered memories of a past life and I know that my own memories wouldn’t like. So I know it’s true!”
“I recovered memories of being being abused by my father and I know that my own memories wouldn’t like. So I know it’s true!”
Sadly, memory is not like a VCR, but people often think it is. They think with hypnosis you can hit the Rewind button and then Play. they don’t realize that what you’re actually doing is Recording a new set of implanted memories, whether it’s alien abduction, child abuse, or past lives.
Ask your mother if she believes people have been abducted by aliens. If she does, well, give it up. If she doesn’t, ask her why not since those “memories” were “recovered” the same way hers were. Point out to her that the ONLY difference is that those people went to an alien adbuction specialist instead of a past life specialist. Oh, and those who went to a specialist who believes aliens are bad have memories about bad aliens. Those who go to one who believes aliens are good have memories about good aliens. Quite a coincidence, eh?
Well, what they did in Bridey Murphy’s case was ask about details, and then attempt to verify. Ask her about specifics, and then do some research.
Another option is to watch one of these sessions, and look for leading questions and such. The person who’s doing the session may be subtly (or not-so-subtly) steering the session to a specific past life.
Of course, none of this may help 
Hey, El Jerko, how come everyone else has an opinion while you have the absolute truth. Are you God.
Love
Leroy
No, I’m an atheist, so I wouldn’t believe in myself and get stuck in a paradox. I never said I had the absolute truth, I was just asking for proof of your claims. Obviously you’d rather attack the person than the issue.
I wouldn’t spend the money either, as I said before, it will not help you in this life.
The rebuttle of Bridy reminds me of the rebuttle of the crop circles. They come up with two guys in a bar who say they did them. Now, let’s see, there were approx. 1100 crop circles that appeared all over the world. I would say they were very busy drunks.
Bridy was debunked by a troup of scientists? Several years later the real truth came out about the debunking and evidence presented, I believe the book was called “Return to Bridy Murphy”.
I know reincarnation is true. The best documented case is a boy in India, the story has appeared in many reincarnation books.
I read the story many years ago, but I will try to outline it here.
The boy was playing on his porch when a salesman came up. The boy jumped up and confronted the salesman by name, telling him that he owed him money. The boy claimed to be the salesman’s uncle – “John”. The salesman admitted that he did owe his uncle John some money, but the uncle had died 20 years ago. The whole village became involved, and the investigations started. The boy had never left the village he was born in. The salesman had never before visited the boy’s village. So the boy was taken to the village of the salesman (70 miles away). When the boy entered the village he seemed to know everything about it. He went straight to the salesman’s house, formerly his, and named everone there except those born after his death. Then he went into the back yard and started digging under a tree, soon he uncovered a container of coins he say he buried there in his last life time.
There were over 100 people who witnessed this occurence, some of them Americans. If you don’t believe it, like Carl, fine, I don’t care.
The University of Virginia is researching children who say they remember living before this lifetime. At least some science group is beginning to look spiritual phenomenon over. I think they will find some very interesting truth.
Love
Leroy
Not believing in yourself, I can’t believe you said that. Who do you believe in, not God, then what, surely not science, the thinking of others? That would be no different that blind faith in the Bible that religious people have.
I believe in what I experience, and I believe in myself, having the intelligence to figure things out. I know God exists, but blind faith is not for me, logic has to be there also.
As for attacking, remember it was you that hurled the first spear.
Love
Leroy
[Moderator Hat: ON]
lekatt said:
And you can be reminded that insults are not allowed in this forum.
David B, SDMB Great Debates Moderator
[Moderator Hat: OFF]
lekatt said:
What an utterly ridiculous reply. Did anybody ever claim these two guys did all of them? No. What you just did, lekatt, was set up a straw man. And why do people set up straw men? Because that’s the only way they can “win” a debate. At least they “think” that. Other people see it for what it is.
But I am particularly amused by these tidbits. First you said:
Then, just a couple messages later, you state:
So I guess then that you are God. Or a hypocrite…