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Past lives and foreign languages (merged)

niamh

Senior Registered
I have a question for those of you who can remember lifetimes in which you spoke another language. Do you actually, literally remember speaking in that other language? What I mean is, do you have a memory where you and another person are talking in what you can identify as a language you don’t speak today? And if so, how can you understand what you were saying?
 
That's an interesting question, niamh! I'd also love to hear how it is for other people! Normally I don't hear anyone speaking in another language in a memory, I just know what they're saying without actually hearing the words. It's hard to explain, but it's like when you're thinking. Or am I the only person in the world who doesn't usually think in words? ;)
I have, however, heard past-life selves or other people in my memories, speak in a language I don't speak, but it's only happened three times. The first two times I heard Jan van Leyden, a person I knew in my Münster Anabaptist life, speak in Dutch, and the other was when I heard a a past-life self of mine almost a century later, who was Dutch, speak. He only said two words, though, namely "Witte Leeuw" ("White Lion"). I posted about it when it happened, no need to repeat it all here ;)
I had no trouble understanding them, but that's probably no wonder, since German is my native language and Dutch and German are very close. I also understand Dutch in this life, but I still need to work a lot at being able to speak it :eek:

But these three incidents were the only ones so far. Has it ever happened to you, niamh?
 
Cool, Reynardine. I do remember your White Lion post, although I had forgotten about it until you mentioned it.

No, it never has happened to me, and that's why I was interested in hearing other people's experiences. Karoliina and I have been working on my memories from Lena's life, trying to figure out what countries Lena and her friend Eva were from. I can only recall us speaking English. At first, I thought we were either from two different foreign countries and didn't speak each other's languages, or that we just prefered to talk in English.

Then I got to thinking along the lines that you mentioned, about knowing what was said without hearing the exact words. I've had memories like that, too. I'm wondering if the tricks of memory and language can go a step further than that . . . maybe in my memories, we were really speaking Hungarian or Polish or whatever, but I hear it now as English because that's my native language this time around.

Do y'all think something like that is possible?
 
When I had my first past life memories I had no idea what nationality I had.
I've been thinking that I've been English for a while, because the architecture of my memories looked English and Victorian.
Until my boyfriend said (I was 19 at the time): do you know that you talk German when you're asleep?
I didn't know.
I didn't even like the language.
But it inspired me to research some of my memories from a German point of view.
It changed the whole perspective of my memories.
Especially when I read some famous German poems I never read before,
but I already "knew" them somehow.
I still have an amazing source of German poetry somewhere inside.
I also can quote out of the blue ;)
I can't really tell if I were good at German when I started to remember my past life.
But there was this knowing: been there, done that.
And there's one city I like to go back to, just to see if I really know my way around there.

I think it's more fun to remember a language you don't know anything about,
and when you look it up it all seems to fit.
German is too familiar here to say that this is past life evidence.
And I'm so used to German, I use it frequently, also on my job, so reading or hearing German
doesn't ring always past life bells.
Just sometimes, when I'm not thinking about my past life at all.
Then I all of a sudden think: I can't stand Bavarians!
But I don't have any trouble with Bavarians at all.
At least not in this life :)

Curious Girl.
 
Niamh-san!

I was Japanese in a previous life. However, learning the Japanese language in this life is one of the most difficult things I have ever done. (I guess it has to do with the fact that these brain cells are new to this incarnation.)

Now, when I speak Japanese with a Japanese person for the first time, they are often surprised how well I speak it, even though I almost never use it. A psychic told me it is because I am remembering Japanese from that previous life.
 
I don't speak in my PL dreams...but I do hear other people speaking sometimes. I studied French for many years in this life, and was basically fluent; I'm out of practice now, but I used to even think in French.

Anyway, I can understand what's being said in the dreams, but after I wake up I never remember anything said. Well, one thing yelled, but it's not appropriate for delicate ears. :)

As to your last question, that's difficult to explain. The easiest way to, I suppose, is to compare it with how we understand our native language in this present life. In the PL-dreams, the language I spoke felt as natural to me as speaking English does now. It really is being another person...
 
Yes. When I was a little girl I had a recurring dream of being a small child in a dessert/dirt field.

I was poor and had on a tattered dress. I was upset and looking down a dirt road. I kept saying something over and over that ended with the word "camino"

I didn't know what it meant, but I spent an entire day saying the phrase over and over and asking everyone what it meant. My mother thought it was Spanish. I thought so too. Come to find out, camino can mean "way" or "road" in Spanish.

I knew what it meant in the dream, but not after I woke up. And, I speak Spanish now fluently. ;)
 
When my past life dreams returned on the penultimate day of 1994, I experienced xenoglossy. I was speaking and listening to fluent German without missing a beat, though in this lifetime I only know a little German. A little later on I also began having some dreams in Polish, the language I learnt when we were hiding in the Hotel Polski. Over time, it became so natural that I was no longer aware I was dreaming in a "foreign" language.
 
Pastlives and foreign languages

I often speak Hebrew, Hindi & Greek in my dreams. At times I've often spoken a mixture of all 3 languages at once. That's why it's taken awhile to verify. At an earlier age I thought it was some silly gibberish. Since them I've been able to translate some of the words and sentences I've remembered upon awakening.



When I do this it's often comes in a form either of pray/incantations or I'm singing. When I'm singing it's usually in a female voice. Ocassionally it'll be both male/female voices at once accompanied by the most beautiful music of Indian or Hebrew/Middle Eastern style I've ever heard and I find it very uplifting once I've awakened. The Pray/incantations are either with a male or a female voice.

I have been drawn to Indian, Hebrew/Middle Eastern and Greek singing/music in this lifetime. Also it has given me further confirmation Of having past lives in India, the Middle East and Greece.



Regards,
Marian Patricia New Zealand
 
Hebrew

To Marian Patricia and everybody else,
I speak fluent Hebrew and understand bible Hebrew as well. If you remember any words/songs I would love to help you or any body else that have such memories. Hebrew wasn’t spoken in the Holly Land for the past almost 2000 years up to this past century. Jewish people around the world spoke it (more in religious connection) for those 2000 years so it is possible that somebody that have Hebrew language memory spoke it in another country as well.
 
It's strange, because when I remember in dreams, I hear and speak a different language, yet I understand as if it were in English. It's not really the words that are the focus, but the emotion and meaning behind the words. In a sense, though I am physically speaking, I communicate on a higher, spiritual level. I hear the words, then they are translated into a form that I can understand.
Later, when I wake up, I remember the words in English (though it is usually a rough translation, so though it makes sense to me, it doesn't make sense to others), despite hearing them in the original language. I never can remember the original language after I wake up, just what it conveyed.
 
When I was about 4, I remember hearing voices whispering in a foreign language - I could not tell what they were talking about but I remember that I disliked this accent very much, it sounded frightening to my ear.
Also, at about the same age I used to play with my native tongue and created many different words that sounded absolute nonsense. My words tended to be very long and each was given its meaning. I wish any of them had been written down...
Lastly, I remember seeing strange words in my dreams that I could not properly remember after sleep.
So I assume that my PL selves spoke different languages.:rolleyes:
 
I find that I do dream in other languages -- and understand what is being said in the dream.

Often, I will wake with a word, or a phrase in my mind -- and with some effort and help from friends, I have been able to find the word origins and a translation. It's a great validation when that happens :D


Ailish
 
I've been learning Japanese for years, and I've had many dreams in Japanese--always spoken more fluently than I could speak it. The more Japanese I learn, the more I can understand in those dreams.

I've been studying Roman history, and I recently had a dream in what I think is Latin, but I can't be sure because I don't know any Latin other than stuff like "Te amo" and "Et tu, Brute?", and no one knows the correct pronunciation. All I know is that I was someone else in a Roman city.
 
Hey everyone :)
I am new to the idea of reincarnation. I am sure I have a lot to learn...anyway....

First off, I have to say I don't know anything about Asian cultures, languages or history -probably because I have always feared it.

When I was really young I recall having dreams (nightmares) that took place in what now reminds me of what a Asian marketplace would look like....
I just had my first PL dream as an adult last week, which took place in a home somewhere in Asia I think?!

In my dreams I hardly ever speak...but I do remember calling the man in the house "Otoosan". I did a little online research today and was astonished to find that it is Japanese for "Father"!! :eek:

Also, my mom has told me that when I was little and first learning to speak I told all the people I met my name was "Saishu"/"Sashou"? (pronounced "Saw-Shoo").

Does anyone know anything about Japanese names? :confused: I would like to know if this is a real name...
 
Hi Sarah T.,

Welcome to the forum :D

I'd recommend reading through the FAQ Section -- there are some wonderful threads and great information there.

I'm sorry I can't help you with the Japanese name, but we have several members who have past life memories in Japan and they may be able to verify the name for you. ;)

Good luck with your search & keep us posted!

Ailish
 
Hello Sarah T., and welcome! :)

To me it sounds like you very well could've had a past life in Japan. Childhood dreams are a good sign, and now you even got your first validation by finding out the word you used is Japanese and fit the situation in your dream. :thumbsup:

I don't know much about Japan or Japanese, but I figured the name could be spelled as "Soshu", did some googling, and it really IS a Japanese first name! It's a boy's name, though. Do you feel you could've been a boy in that life?

Karoliina
 
Sarah-san!

Otoosan indeed means Father in Japanese. I do not recognize Saishu or Sashou as Japanese names, although Japanese given names went through a lot of changes after the war.

See if you can pick up some fragments of Japanese sentences. That would help a lot as to identifying the situation.
 
Foreign language in sleep


Hi,


I am a 52 years old man with no memories of rebirth after my age of 7. Anyway my wife woke me up one night from my sleep very much alarmed and frightened because she said that I was talking in a very different language in my sleep. She told me to wake up since I was speaking a strange language, kind of European. She said she was very frightened and told me not to go back to sleep for a while. This had never happened before or ever again. Has anyone of you had this kind of experience? I do not know any foreign language besides English.
 
Hello Shankara and welcome to the forum. :)


What you experienced is called xenoglossy (see definition here) and it happens to some people in altered states, when they are remembering past lives.


Please tell your wife it's nothing to worry about. :) If it happens again, it would be useful if she could write down some of it, what the words sound like to her.


What kind of past life memories did you have as a child?


Best wishes,


Karoliina
 
Welcome to the forum Shankara,


As the others have stated - this is perfectly natural. There is absolutely nothing to be worried about. It happens to me frequently and has since I was a small child. I've been able to write down the words phonetically and actually have them translated by others - some of the languages were Polish, German, Italian and Latin. It's a really exciting thing when you are able to validate not only the words - but the fact that the context within which they were spoken was absolutely correct. Personally - I consider these to be strong validations. ;)


Have you only experienced this the one time that you know of?


You may want to keep a pencil and paper next to your bed - so if you happen to wake up with any of the words still fresh in your mind - you can record them and perhaps be able to find a translation/root language.


Are you interested in learning more about it - or about your past lives?


Ailish
 
Thank You


Thank You Karoliina, Kay and Ailish for reading and replying my post.


I used to remember a lot about my past life ( vaguely though) until I was about 7 to 9. It only happened when I slept at night. I was terribily afraid of the dark and the devil and ghosts at that time. I am 52 now so you can understand my loss of memory of my boyhood because of the years I have spent in this life. My father was a very strict man and was not at all interested in my dreams and fears. He would not listen to them, period. My mother thought I was lying for attention. I used to sleep walk a lot till I was 12. I have never walked in my sleep after those early years. I did not remember anything about my previous life when I was fully concsious.


I used to have the same dream, that I was an old man and being operated in the brain and I was going to die. Then I would start crying out of extreme fear of death and my parents would wake me up. I used to get this dream a lot in my sleep and so my father took me to a specialist and they gave me have a lot of injections if I can remember correctly. I was very frightened as a young boy. One instance of sleep walking I still remember. My mother and brother were talking in the kitchen and I had walked in my sleep as usual and I remember they both were talking about my sleep walking in a sort of mocking way. This all happened in India between 1962 and 1966. I was born in March 1956. Anyway I can't remember the other things now.


But I knew I had died as an older man before during a brain operation. It was most always the same recurring dream. Like I said my family including my parents and brothers and sisters thought I was lying to get attention. I was the last and 8th child. This is all kind of strange because Indians in general do believe in rebirth. But I guess they had their own problems of this present life to handle. My father took to a specialist and I remember getting a lot of injections in my arm and hand. But after the age of 12, I started to outgrow the dreams and fears.


The only thing that happens to me now in my sleep every now and then is that since I suffer from sleep apnea I am aware I am unable to breathe but I am not able to wake up from my sleep. After a few seconds I feel that I am going to die (that I am going to disappear into the void and become nothing) so I desperately try and shake my head and somehow manage to wake up. Before that I try to scream so my wife can wake me up but I am unable to scream.


Also sometimes I have this tremendous fear which I am unable to describe, it is the fear of the devil itself. It is just pure evil and I don't like it at all. It is kind of primal fear and when I try to open my eyes in sleep I can see something black above my eyes. It is an evil presence. I also feel that there are lot of evil black creatures ready to take me away. Believe you me this is real. This is all happening during the few seconds I am unable to breathe and trying desperately to wake up. Sometimes I can feel the presence of this terrible evil presence in my sleep but before I can wake myself up, it is no use, it has already had me in its grip and I have to really struggle to wake up. Sometimes I try to call out the names of the Gods, but it is of no use. I can't scream. I am held by the evil force right at my throat. Sometimes i feel so sleepy I don't want to wake up but then I know that I am not breathing and I struggle once again and I wake up. This all happens with the evil being inside of me. I believe I have spent time in hell before and I will go there once again after I die before I am reborn on earth.


As for the foreign language I spoke in my sleep my wife said I spoke but I don't remember that at all. My wife said i was speaking one of the European languages and she was afraid.


Otherwise I am just and average and normal person. :laugh:
 
Shankara,


That's interesting that you remembered your earlier death as a child, and I'm sorry your family didn't believe you. I'm sure this has happened to many people.


About the latter part of the post: Don't be afraid of any evil forces - your description of what happens or what you feel like happens to you at night is a classical description of the symptoms of sleep paralysis. You can read a Wikipedia article about it here - see, already the painting on that site looks very much like what you describe. It has also been discussed on this forum earlier, as many other members have been worried about it, too.


I hope this will give you comfort and you can forget your fears of an evil presence. I assure you, it's nothing like that!


All the best,


Karoliina
 
This is a fascinating thread. Do new members have experiences to share?


As far as I know I've never experienced this, although I wish I would LOL....I do remember having dreams where I'm singing and perhaps even talking in another language, and I'm laughing SO hard, but as soon as I wake up I instantly forget everything about the dream, including what was soooo funny. I think I was a little child, but that's all I get. It hasn't happened in a very long time.
 
That's funny... I just realized that most of my "inner life" is in english... do you guys know what I mean? I have had dreams in portuguese (of course, LOL), in english mostly, and lately some in welsh (I mean in the last 2/3 years).


I went to look for meditation CD's and found myself asking what language they were in - I didn't want portuguese!:eek:


As for Welsh, I have come to realise that my whole life I have heard them inside my mind - words like "annwyl" (meaning dear) or "calon" (heart), and a funny one I used to think was a baby word for "horse" in portuguese (cavalo) - in welsh, "ceffyl" (which sounds something like "kefall", with the e as in heritage.".


Those words and many more are a part of my dreams now - some due to PL memories, other to the fact that I love the language and have learned it quite well.


I have been thoroughly fluent in French, but it never "meant" anything to me...


I speak a wee little German, and sometimes I think that has to be PL related because I don't really know how I learned it :confused:


Anyway, great topic!


If anyone ever needs help with pronouciation of latin based languages (portuguese, spanish, Italian and latin in itself), please ring my bell - I'd love to help! :)


Love,
 
That's funny... I just realized that most of my "inner life" is in english...
Same here :) I speak to myself in English and have done it as long as I remember. My past life journal is in English and so are all my diaries from my teenage years - it just feels more comfortable for me to communicate and write in English.


I have a clear memory from my childhood where I was around 4 or 5 perhaps and I would speak English to myself. That is, I *thought* it was English, but it was ofcourse gibberish since I hadn't learnt a word being so young. But I would copy the sounds and produce something that sounded like English. I have no idea why I did this though.


Something quite similar happened with German when I was the same age. My family and I were on summerholiday and the cottage next to us was rented out to a German family. The daughters were the same age as my brother and they could communicate with each other in English (my brother being quite older than me). However, I refused to let my brother translate me, because I felt I could talk to them in German. And so I would again produce something that I *felt* was German, the sounds were right, the stressing, but it was gibberish since I didn't have a vocabulary. :rolleyes: :D
 
Learning to read/foreign language facility


I'm curious to know what others' experiences about whether or not being literate in a PL might contribute to the speed one learns to read as a child. Or if remembering a past life speaking a certain foreign language is in any way connected with easily picking up that language in this life. I learned to read pretty quickly as a child and I wonder if that has anything to do with being able to read in English in previous lives. I'm pretty good at learning foreign languages, too, and it seems to me that all the past lives I can "remember" I've had to learn more than one language.


(I've also wondered if little kids who have trouble saying their R's just came from a life where the language didn't include that sound ... :) )
 
I think past lives speaking different languages help us in learning them in the subsequent lifetimes, but on the other hand I believe we've all had past lives in practically all the language regions, so there must be also other reasons to why some people learn more easily than others.


I believe that a fascination towards a language is often a good "PL sign".


I learn foreign languages quite easily, and learned how to read on my own when I was 3, but I don't remember any Finnish speaking PL's before this one. One was in Finland, but I spoke Swedish in that life.


I believe that if a child's most recent past life has been in the same language region than the current one, s/he might be able to learn how to speak earlier, because often the "latest" memories are still fresh in a child's mind when s/he's in that stage, when they learn how to speak.


Karoliina
 
I agree with Karoliina :)


My most recent life was in England and I am certain that is why English has always come easily to me. I remember in the English classes at school how I never found grammar or spelling hard and always finished an assignment first. I have a memory from when I was a small child (6 or 7) of talking gibberish, but telling myself I was speaking English and that was the only language I spoke to my dolls.


:)
 
I think it has more to do with general intelligence and ability for understanding and applying grammatics, which might be transmitted from one life to another. However, a specific language is a great motivator from previous lives, as well as culture, but it is relatively independent from the ability.


Sunniva, it is highly possible, that the language you spoke to your dolls was really English, and I also think, that this phenomenon is closely related to the one, that one can remember past lives at an early age (which ability is usually gone afterwards).


Karoliina, I agree, that it is the fascination is a good key to past lives, a better one, than the ability in itself. In the most cases we also have to take older languages/dialects into consideration, so what we call English now is totally different from English a few hundred years ago. It is also possible, that people who spoke English some decades/centuries ago, and they have memories from that time, are more likely to be attracted to archaic expressions and Latin words and structures.


I wonder, whether you have either personal recollections or other credible data in this subject. A research with the proper methodology would provide us with proof on the above mentioned hypotheses.


Skarphedinn
 
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