Is this a memory or my imagination?

I have never been 100% convinced regarding past lives but I am pretty open minded.
A few years ago when I was 15 ish I was taking a bath and I had this sudden 'window' open in my mind and I could see a person on a really old looking ship climbing up what looked like a rope-ladder up a long pole type thing. It was really stormy and the ship was being thrown about a lot and the person climbing the rope ladder was really struggling. As though by instinct, I knew that this person was me, even though the person I had seen was male and I'm female. I found it really bizarre at the time and a few other things have happened since then, but I'm not sure if it's my memory or just my mind playing tricks on me? If anybody could input on this, that would be great!

Thanks,

Robyn.

Hi Robyn, welcome to the forum


It looks like you may have had a past life flashback, especially as you saw yourself as the opposite gender, which is always a good indicator, and not uncommon either. The 'pole' and 'rope ladder' you described sounds like it could be the mast and rigging of an old wooden sail ship, which sailors often had to climb in stormy weather.


Some of the signs to look for when trying to discern a past life memory: the dreams or visions, whichever way you experience them are extremely vivid, you feel as if you are transported back to the moment you are remembering with all the sights, sounds and smells affecting your senses. A past life memory will most often be a very emotional experience which can leave a long lasting impression on you for several days, weeks, years, even a lifetime. You'll often see things that you have had no experience of in your present life, and sometimes you can validate those things through research. Other signs to look for are fascinations or obsessions for a certain place or a certain time period, historical figure etc., sometimes you'll see yourself as the opposite gender. We've all lived before, but the majority of people who experience some or all of these signs, just dismiss it all without question.


Have you ever considered a regression or meditation? It shouldn't be too difficult for you if you are already remembering things spontaneously. There are a number of ways you can do this, and we can certainly point you in the right direction. I'd be interested to hear about the other things you experienced, if you don't mind sharing that is, there may be some more clues there.

dobsd said:

...I'm not sure if it's my memory or just my mind playing tricks on me? If anybody could input on this, that would be great!

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Hi Robyn!


Aarrgh, matey! So, you know how to get up your "rat lines" and "yard arms" to "reef" the sail, now? It sounds like it could be a memory of sorts. You can get further into validating such a memory, if you can focus on how you feel when you're on the water. Do you have any current life experience on boats of any kind? If so, it would be interesting to reflect on whether you feel at home in rough seas, or swinging about on ropes and rails. Imagine yourself at sea, and describe how you feel. Try expanding your imagination and see what you come up with.

Welcome Robyn.


You are not alone. Most wonder if what they've seen is real or imaginary. What you've described does sound like it could be a memory. Especially if what you saw is outside of what your current life experiences are. Dreams come and go and are usually long forgetten. Memeories tend to stick with us. It is interesting that this happened many years ago and yet it seems to have vividly stuck with you. You said other things have happened since then. I would be interested in hearing about them if you are comfortable sharing them.

Hi, Robyn, and welcome to the forum. IMO, it sounds like you really did have some sort of "past-life flashback." When I was around 12 or 13 I started having memories like this, including one where I was a ship's captain during the late 18th century (I am female in this lifetime). I wonder if you, like me, ever had an affinity for climbing and swinging on the monkey bars as a child? :laugh: Though somehow I doubt it ... since your memory was of stormy seas, and you were in the tub. You're not afraid of water, by any chance...?

Thanks for all of your replies!


ChrisR: I have only ever had that one 'flashback', anything else that I think could be vaguely related has been dreams. Though I'm not sure if that counts?!


Nightrain1: I love being on the sea, I've mainly been on ferries accross the Channel, but even so, I really enjoy it. I've taken up diving too because I just love being near the sea so much! Though I'm not so sure about the rat lines and whatnot! lol...


I remember once when I was around 12, my parents took me and my sister to see this old Galleon that was docked up somewhere in Bristol (I think) and I was just so enthralled by it and I wanted to stay there, my mum had do drag me off it in the end!


Jody: No, I'm not afraid of water, quite the opposite. I do have an affinity for climbing etc. There is a place near where I live called 'Go Ape', which is basically ropes and ladders in trees and you can climb them and stuff, it's pretty cool. Used to love climbing trees etc as a kid too.


In answer to ChrisR & Nightrain1's inquiry about other things that have happened, there are quite a few. One dream I had when I was 15 (and I don't know if this is relevant at all) really kind of made me wonder about things. First off, I've always had this sense and feeling that I don't quite belong in this era, even when I was a kid I felt out of place. So - the dream:


I was in a very long corridor. The floor, walls & ceiling were all made out of solid wood. No joins, windows, doors - nothing. This woman who I felt I should know but couldn't quite place was leading me down the corridor telling me that my Grandad wanted to see me, so I followed her. I glanced to my left and a door had come out of nowhere in the woodwork and opened and there was a really bright light (cliched, I know) and my Grandad (who passed away 2 years earlier) was stood in the light. The woman I was with told me "You have to go to your Grandad, he needs to tell you something". She was really persistant that I should go and talk to him and my Grandad was stood there waving me over with a big smile on his face. I suddenly got this feeling of dread and in my head was thinking "the last time this happened, I died. I should not, under any circumstances go and talk to him". So I told the woman that I did not want to go and she said "ok". With that, some weird tornado thing lifted me up and my body kind of became the tornado, but then it dropped me and for a split second, I looked around and my surroundings were a circular courtyard with a huge tree in the centre. Then I woke up!!


So, I don't know if this is relevant at all or if it was just a crazy dream, but that's one incident. There are a few more but I'll tell you those if people ask for more info, as this is getting a little long-winded!


Thanks,


Robyn.

Hi Robyn,


I can highly recommend a trip to see HMS Victory in Portsmouth if you haven't been already. That ship always had a profound affect on me ever since I was little, and it was only recently that I began remembering a past life as a sailor onboard a similar ship of that era of sail.


Dreams certainly can often be a good source for remembering past lives, and you can find out some of the characteristics of a past life dream here: Past Life Dreams - Common Characteristics


I don't know what to make of your experience with your Grandad. It is possible that he was trying to communicate with you, but strange that you felt as if you would die if you went to meet him. Have you had any other experiences like that involving your Grandad?


Please don't worry about being long-winded, or posting too much, it's always fascinating to read other peoples' experiences, and let's face it, this isn't the kind of topic that you go around telling all and sundry about is it? At least you know this is a safe place to talk about this kind of stuff, so please post away

Dobsd, Thanks for sharing and welcome to the forum! Am enjoying hearing of your experiences. And no you are not being too long winded. Please share more at least with what you are comfortable in sharing. Please know that this is a safe place to share this type of thing and that we all here have had some unusual experiences.


Another way that sometimes works for me, is what comes to you when you are deep in your meditations. As with dreams, do you ever keep a dream journal? Just mentioning this for if not, this could help also. Keeping a dream journal always seems to help me in remembering my dreams which otherwise I tend to forget.


Again Thanks for sharing and Wishing You the Best!

A merger of sorts...


You have already received a lot of good perspectives here, but there are few points I would add.


1. ChrisR mentions that flashbacks are sensory and emotional. This certainly can often be true, but sometimes they are quick passing thoughts that just come "out of nowhere".


2. Dreams are a valid and frequent way of having past-life memories.


3. There is no universal way to know what is a memory and what is imagination, but in general you will learn to tell. Memories are more real than surreal. They consist of real things that happen sequentially in ways that make sense. Memories also frequently include some knowledge of "background" information that is not mentioned. (e.g.: Someone who remembers working on a farm with primitive tools and horse-drawn ploughs may just KNOW it was in Oklahoma in the 1820's, even though much of the world lived that way for a few hundred years.)


4. Once your consciousness in this life has accessed some of your past life or interim memories, but whatever means this occurs, they can be some of the basis for imaginary stories just like present-life events can, or may be combined with them. Your dream seems to have elements of soul-based knowledge, but also the typical surreal symbolism of a dream. The ability to access more of your soul's experience has given you more fodder for imagination, as well as more actual information!


...Rod

ChrisR: I would love so much to go see HMS Victory. My Uncle (who is a Navy Officer) has been to see it a few times and he said it's amazing.


I do have a lot of very vivid dreams, one in particular that I have had many times where I'm in this huge, elegant house with a split staircase in the hallway. In the dream, I'm pretty certain that I live there and I always feel really elated to be in the house. I've had this dream a lot. The straige thing is, when I started college I was getting the bus from home to college and one of the towns I went through had small country roads, one day I just happened to see this old, dilapidated house in one of the fields and in my head I was thinking "Oh my god, that is the house!!". After that, every time I went past it on the bus it gave me butterflies and made me feel very happy, yet slightly sad at the same time to see it in such a state of disrepair.


I've had a few other strange dreams involving my Grandad - One of which, he & I were sat in Subway and I had a cookie that I was just amazed with because it was so huge. He was sat across from me and his mouth was moving as though he was talking but there was no sound coming out. He got really angry at me because I wouldn't listen to him and wouldn't put down the cookie and started banging his fists on the table and shouting (though no sound came out still). That was an odd one.... And this is going to sound even odder, but the next day I was in college and my Mum called to tell me my Grandma had had a heart attack! Nothing to do with past lives, I know, but this is one of the stranger experiences with Grandad dreams.


kmatjhwy: I do keep a dream journal. I've always had very vivid dreams, so I don't have much problem remembering them, but like to write them down anyway. I have a couple of reoccurring dreams. One of which is mentioned above and the other one is a plane crash. In the dream, I'm always on the plane when it crashes, but then suddenly I'm watching it from above and (this part is pretty disturbing) there are loads of body parts and blood everywhere. This is also the only dream I have where I can smell things. It's a pretty nasty smell, too! I have recently had hypnotherapy sessions to overcome a delbilitating phobia of not just flying, but planes in general too.


Rod: The one 'flashback' type thing that I did have, although it came and went pretty quickly, it did feel very real and even now when I think about it, I feel quite emotional.


Thanks again all for getting back to me,


Robyn.

I'd just like to add - Since I had the weird 'flashback', somewhere in the back of my head, something has been telling me it was something to do with the Napoleonic Wars. I disregarded this as I also have a very strong feeling that the ship I was on was British and I thought the Napoleonic Wars were French. I'm not very good with history and it has never occurred to me to check out who the Napoleonic Wars were fought against. I was just browsing a few threads on here and came accross one where the poster says:


"I did live in England before 1800 a few times. Once during the Napoleonic wars in the 18th century. My father and I were in the British Army. He was a Dragoon (Calvary) and I was a British Regular (foot solider)."


Reading this made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and made me shiver!


Though I don't know if the clothing I was wearing would be of that era.

Thanks again for sharing Robyn :thumbsup:


I'm particularly interested in your memories of the Napoleonic War, because I also believe that I was around during that time, and inadvertently became involved in the conflict, which I believe was at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. You can read about that in my thread: A memory of the British Navy in the 1800's?


It was a turbulent time between the French and the British in the late 1700's/early 1800's, especially on the waves. Try Googling 'Nelson's Navy' to give yourself an impression of what life was like onboard the old wooden sailing ships, and also the battles of the Nile, Copenhagen, Cape St. Vincent and Trafalgar. It's best not to research too much if you're thinking of trying to find out more information through regression .... do that first and research after

Robyn, think that is really interesting as concerning your dream of the plane crash along with your phobia of flying and planes. This could be a real indication of another past life in my opinion. For how often can one's phobias in this life stem from something that happened in a past life it seems.


And Chris, read thru your thread on your memories from being in the British Navy. Wow! What Memories!

ChrisR: I don't really have memories, so to speak, more just feelings about it. Quite strong, unexplainable feelings. I think I'm definately going to try regression.


kmatjhwy: How can a phobia come from events in a past life? I find this an interesting theory. I have had hypnotherapy for the phobia, which has helped somewhat, but I still flinch slightly when a plane flies over (which is pretty constant here as I live near an airport!) and I occasionally still have the odd plane crash dream, so it's evident to me that I'm not completely over the phobia :-/


Thanks guys,


Robyn

dobsd said:

How can a phobia come from events in a past life? I find this an interesting theory.

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Often negative experiences lead to phobias. For example, if someone fell in a swimming pool when they were a kid, they might be afraid of water. However, some phobias cannot be traced to current life experiences. Past life regressionists have found that these phobias can carry over from past lives - often a negative emotion attached to the way they died. Someone afraid of water may have never had a negative experience with water in their current life, but a regression reveals that they drowned in a past life. What is interesting is that there have been cases in which remembering the past life event resulted in the phobia going away.

Truthseeker said:

Often negative experiences lead to phobias. For example, if someone fell in a swimming pool when they were a kid, they might be afraid of water. However, some phobias cannot be traced to current life experiences. Past life regressionists have found that these phobias can carry over from past lives - often a negative emotion attached to the way they died. Someone afraid of water may have never had a negative experience with water in their current life, but a regression reveals that they drowned in a past life. What is interesting is that there have been cases in which remembering the past life event resulted in the phobia going away.

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That's very interesting. I've never had a bad experience whilst flying or anything of the kind. When I was doing the hypnotherapy she found it odd that there wasn't a negative experience I'd had with planes. Maybe that's why she couldn't cure me 100% like she had with other patients.


Somehow, I'm finding it quite comforting to think that it is a possiblity that I could've died in a plane accident in a past life. Kind of makes me think that if I've already done it once, I could do it again and it wouldn't be so bad as I could come back again!

Another addition that I think may be interesting:


Although I have this fear of flying/planes - I am also massively interested in them. What I don't know about planes isn't worth knowing! I'm interested mainly in the engineering aspect of aviation, so much so that I'm enrolling on an aircraft engineering course next year. I love going to the airport near my house as they have an 'aviation viewing park' and watching the planes land and take off (my Dad & boyfriend like to tease me saying I'm a plane spotter, but I'm not! :laugh


So yeah, I have this massive interest in planes but I'm still scared of them. It's a love/hate relationship......

Robyn, think that Truthseeker stated it in a very good and concise way. Yes one phobia's might stem from how someone died in a previous life.


Also I see you having an interest in planes as being really interesting also. For in my life personally, I have had an deep interest in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 for years. And then in some past life reading, it was mentioned that I died in this same San Francisco earthquake and fire. And in the fall of last year I passed by the area while on Amtrak and had a sort of a Deja Vu experience as I looked out across the bay. It was like how much I knew the area even though how much has changed since then. And I hardly ever have been in the state of California in this present life. I found it all interesting. Just my two cents worth. Wishing You the Best!

kmatjhwy said:

Robyn, think that Truthseeker stated it in a very good and concise way. Yes one phobia's might stem from how someone died in a previous life.
Also I see you having an interest in planes as being really interesting also. For in my life personally, I have had an deep interest in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 for years. And then in some past life reading, it was mentioned that I died in this same San Francisco earthquake and fire. And in the fall of last year I passed by the area while on Amtrak and had a sort of a Deja Vu experience as I looked out across the bay. It was like how much I knew the area even though how much has changed since then. And I hardly ever have been in the state of California in this present life. I found it all interesting. Just my two cents worth. Wishing You the Best!

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Wow, that's pretty cool! I guess it makes sense too. I can't think of any other reason that I'd be terrified yet intensely interested in planes. Definately worth looking into! :thumbsup:


You mentioned Deja Vu.... I was thinking about this the other day. Has it got any connection at all the past lives? Or is it just a 'here and now' type phenomenon?


Thanks,


Robyn.

Robyn, guess some would use the phrase 'Deja Vu' in a variety of ways. As for myself personally and in this instance am using it to what happened to myself in this experience. Here I was in the Greater San Francisco area where in this life I have hardly ever been and felt such a deep sense of familiarity. And have heard in other peoples experiences how this happens when related to someones past lives. They go to somewhere in which they have never been in their present lives and have such a deep sense of familiarity and everything.


Now in my personal thoughts, who we were in a past life and who we are in this present life, are we so much the same person inwardly except it is just the body that changes. How many of those things that make up of who we are are related to our past lives is right under the surface so to speak. Again just my two cents worth. Wishing You the Best!

kmatjhwy said:

Robyn, guess some would use the phrase 'Deja Vu' in a variety of ways. As for myself personally and in this instance am using it to what happened to myself in this experience. Here I was in the Greater San Francisco area where in this life I have hardly ever been and felt such a deep sense of familiarity. And have heard in other peoples experiences how this happens when related to someones past lives. They go to somewhere in which they have never been in their present lives and have such a deep sense of familiarity and everything.
Now in my personal thoughts, who we were in a past life and who we are in this present life, are we so much the same person inwardly except it is just the body that changes. How many of those things that make up of who we are are related to our past lives is right under the surface so to speak. Again just my two cents worth. Wishing You the Best!

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Ahh I see. I don't think I've ever had that feeling of familiarity with a foreign place, though it sounds interesting and I hope it happens to me some day!


I had another bizarre dream last night where everything was very intense and vivid and seemed so real. I think since I've been on this forum and reading about these things, maybe it's opened my mind a little because I keep having these strange little occurrences!