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Does consciousness go to what it is familiar with?

deborah

deborah

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I have noticed over the years -and so has another person who is very close to me, that when it comes to spiritual information - consciousness seems to go to that which it is familiar with. For example - when doing a meditation with a friend a few years ago I experienced a memory from this life of being with my grandmother who was killed in a car accident when I was five. My friend said he kept hearing the name "Jerome" during the meditation. I laughed and said - my grandmother's name was Verone. My friend had never heard the name Verone before, so his consciousness went to what he was familiar with.

Another individual experienced a vision of a little girl and a lot of information about her. She kept getting the following: "Like Lisa but not Lisa." There is a long story about this particular little girl, but to cut to the chase, the next day she met "Leia." Leia is now her step-granddaughter. This woman had never before heard the name Leia.

These are just two examples of many. I often wonder how many times this scenario would apply to past life memories regarding names and places and that is why it is so difficult to get specifics.

I also wonder if this applies to some (not all) famous past life "memories." No, I don't want to start the famous past lives debate. But if great importance was placed on those famous individuals during a souls past life, and they identified with them deeply, perhaps the "memory" is more about what the soul held deep within their heart and what they were familiar with for that time period.

I am most interested in IF our consciousness goes to that which it is familiar with. In the deepest of altered states the language/name barrier would not apply since the same woman named above has spoken in ancient Indian and Sumerian and it was verified by language experts at a University: but the depth of her altered states are extraordinary. She never had past a high school education and was never trained or introduced to these languages. Most of us don't go that deep.

What are your thoughts on this? Have you had similar experiences?
 
I fully agree that people will put their own interpretation on names they have heard. Here is my story of this.
After doing some past-life regressions with a particular person in Canada, I found in an ad of a psychic in California who would, for a few dollars, give a past life reading. I submitted the person's name, birth date and the money and asked for a reading for her.

Here is a comparison from the two sources - regression, vs. psychic reading. I received the name Mary Jane Pennington, born in 1840 and died in 1894. The psychic's impression were of a person named Mary Ann Simmington, born in 1827 and died 1899. The names are really close but the dates are off a bit. Mary Jane Pennington lived in England, Mary Ann Simmington lived in New England (Boston). They both joined a convent. Mary Jane's was a cloistered convent, while Mary Ann's was a teaching convent.

They both had boyfriends that they wanted to marry but did not. An interesting revelation revealed itself at this point. The psychic announced that I, in my past life, was Mary Ann's boyfriend in New England. I discovered that I was Mary Jane's boyfriend in England. I thought that was rather startling information coming from the psychic. She knew my name because I had sent the money, but no other information was given.

I would say that many psychic readings come from impressions that the psychic pick up and she then interprets her impressions into words for the client. They may, as in my case, not be accurate, but they are a best guess.
Majic
 
Yes, I believe this is true too. And even though I think a soul is often willing to be born to a familiar cultur area, I guess this could also be the reason, why so many of us seem to remember only/mostly past lives that are culturally and/or geographically close to our present life.

I believe my name was George Alexander 100 years ago. When I was a toddler in my current life, I had a phase when I insisted my name was Aleksi. I don't know if these things are related, but we don't have an equivalent in Finnish for George. Well, actually we do (Yrjö), but it sounds so different, there is no way anybody - especially a child - could figure it out without knowing the name's etymology. So maybe I went for the second option - the middle name I could recognize also in this life.

Majic, your story is very interesting. And I agree with your thoughts on psychics.

Karoliina
 
I, too, agree that consciousness goes with what we are most familiar with. It's human nature, imo. :)

I also think that is why it can be so difficult to get factual information, or confirm some otherwise accurate memories. For example, someone with memories of living at the turn of the century in what they think is New England, could just as easily be remembering parts of Canada or vice versa, depending on which the person is more familiar with.

I also agree that is why psychics are sometimes off. They are interpretting their impressions through their own experiences and world views and that is going to lead to misinterpretations sometimes.

The different levels of consciousness and how it affects us is a fascinating topic. It seems as we get deeper, imagination plays less and less of a role in our remembering. Or perhaps it is that our thoughts and memories are not being filtered as much by current logic and reason. Lots to speculate. :)
 
when it comes to spiritual information - consciousness seems to go to that which it is familiar with.
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First thing I thought of when reading this, were some of the biblical prophesies, like in Revelations, and Ezekiel I think. The prophets had future visions, but could describe it only by comparing it with things their consciousness could understand at that time.

And I think Nostradamus also can be an example : didn't he use 'Hister' for 'Hitler' if I am correct?


Eevee
 
I definitely agree that consciousness tends to go towards that which is familiar.

There's a great comfort in the things that are familiar to us.

Many people may hear a certain word or name -- and think "what???" because they've never heard it before -- so they automatically try to associate it with something they know.

This can definitely hinder accuracy with memories, but I think if we "listen" and "trust" enough, we eventually get the answers we are seeking. ;)


Ailish :)
 
Does anyone have a story to share that is another example of the topic?

I also still feel strongly about the following and think it applies in many cases:

I also wonder if this applies to some (not all) famous past life "memories." No, I don't want to start the famous past lives debate. But if great importance was placed on those famous individuals during a souls past life, and they identified with them deeply, perhaps the "memory" is more about what the soul held deep within their heart and what they were familiar with in that time period.
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With television, movies and the Internet - I also wonder about the future. What some may call memories in the year 2090 - may in fact be more along the lines of an obsession with idols or famous individuals.
 
Eevee said:
First thing I thought of when reading this, were some of the biblical prophesies, like in Revelations, and Ezekiel I think. The prophets had future visions, but could describe it only by comparing it with things their consciousness could understand at that time.

And I think Nostradamus also can be an example : didn't he use 'Hister' for 'Hitler' if I am correct?
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No, but that's actually an excellent example of going with what you are familiar with.

Nostradamus scholars note that Hister was a word used to mean "Lower Danube River". Not only is this a verifiable historical term in use at the time, but Nostradamus didn't make mistakes with personal names when he gave them.

This is simply an example of people taking data and making it fit a theory by shoehorning it in and ignoring the inconsistencies.

Sort of like the false quatrains about 9/11 that were going around the Internet on 9/12.

Phoenix
 
Thank you,Phoenix, for clearing that up ! (I learn something new every day ;) ).

Deborah,


Another twist on this might be....(but this is maybe a topic for a new thread), that like Ailish said : there is comfort in things that are familiar to us ...... people don't like change. I guess I got that from some psychological essay I read recently. And it said that is the reason why (in the present life) people who are in a 'victim' situation, often attract situations over and over where they are the victim, unless they make a conscious shift in their minds to step out of that role. Applied to past life memories that might mean that souls are sort of drawn to similar lives, even if those lives are lived in difficult situations....because that is what those souls are familiar with. Only when they are ready - in their mind/consciousness - to make a change, they can break the circle. Maybe that is one of the greatest challenges in the circle of lives - realizing that one can choose for positive change, instead of clinging to the familiar.

I also agree with you that there could be a 'danger' for people in the future to identify with famous persons, because nowadays more and more people seem to get some kind of fame, and the fame spreads fast worldwide because of the media. I think that the next generations of people who remember PL's, will need to investigate their memories much more carefully for not identifying too much with familiar famous persons, and come to the conclusion that the personal feelings and emotions obout trivial things in everyday life will qualify best to confirm the reality of their memories.
And IMO we should apply this - in the present generation - already as kind of a rule to validate our memories.

(PS 'rule' is not the exact word I had in mind but I can't express it better in english, so please everybody, don't pinpoint on that word :eek: ).


Eevee
 
What is being discussed here only seems logical. I remember when I was reading Freud's complete works in my free time and he talked a lot about how we make associations with things we are familiar with in order to remember/recall things we are unfamiliar with. Familiarity is safety and our minds always struggle to find that place where they are safe and not drowning (a little lifeguard philosophy for you). I think the examples of this are great and I wish I had some of my own.
 
I wonder - what an impact the following will have on past life "memories" in the future. Any new thoughts?

With television, movies and the Internet - I also wonder about the future. What some may call memories in the year 2090 - may in fact be more along the lines of an obsession with idols or famous individuals.
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Interesting Hey_Jude. Thanks for sharing. :)

....how we make associations with things we are familiar with in order to remember/recall things we are unfamiliar with.
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Deborah said:
With television, movies and the Internet - I also wonder about the future. What some may call memories in the year 2090 - may in fact be more along the lines of an obsession with idols or famous individuals.
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Interesting thought... people might have "memories" that turn out to be TV shows, movies, or video games.
 
Does conscious go to what it's familiar with?


My question is if this is also true in a geographical context? Most members here, myself included, post about lives lived in the US and/or Europe - familiar places, climate-wise and mentality-wise. Does the strangeness, the extremity of the weather, the different mentality and way of interacting in Africa or the Arctic regions make it difficult to 'comprehend' memories from there and thus it's channelled into something more familiar?


:)
 
Deborah said:
With television, movies and the Internet - I also wonder about the future. What some may call memories in the year 2090 - may in fact be more along the lines of an obsession with idols or famous individuals.
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I had the one experience where I was mistaken about my memory due to the familiarity with a circumstance. It was nearer the beginning of doing self regressions. I have a recurring issue around my head.. I had feelings of post traumatic stress around it.. When in meditation and I thought of relaxing my neck muscles and moving my head I would freeze and could not relax.


I had a memory around Anne Boleyn and related strongly to her drama of losing her head in the court of King Henry Xlll .. I was reasonably sure I could have been her. I empathised with her predicament and it fit in with my fear of powerful men.


I was not good at remembering details and it was not until a year later I revisited this memory to learn more about it. It turned out I was a young girl who lived in that time and whose family was involved with King Henry's court... It was because I had had a pattern of fear of men throughout my several lives as a woman ,and had been so afraid as that young girl that I associated strongly with Anne Boleyn


Soulfreindly
 
I think more often than not - that this is the case.

I also wonder if this applies to some (not all) famous past life "memories." No, I don't want to start the famous past lives debate. But if great importance was placed on those famous individuals during a souls past life, and they identified with them deeply, perhaps the "memory" is more about what the soul held deep within their heart and what they were familiar with for that time period.
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Hi Marie,

My question is if this is also true in a geographical context? Most members here, myself included, post about lives lived in the US and/or Europe - familiar places, climate-wise and mentality-wise. Does the strangeness, the extremity of the weather, the different mentality and way of interacting in Africa or the Arctic regions make it difficult to 'comprehend' memories from there and thus it's channeled into something more familiar?
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It's hard to answer - because I truly believe that each individual is unique. For example, I cannot relate to living in the jungles of Africa. But I do remember vividly Egypt. Well - that's in Africa! I remember Wales, China, England, Italy and various PL's in America. I have often wondered if curiosity also leads us to our next life experience. I mean the differences between China, Italy and Egypt - are extreme.


Anyone else have thoughts about Marie's question?
 
Deborah said:
Hi Marie,
It's hard to answer - because I truly believe that each individual is unique. For example, I cannot relate to living in the jungles of Africa. But I do remember vividly Egypt. Well - that's in Africa! I remember Wales, China, England, Italy and various PL's in America. I have often wondered if curiosity also leads us to our next life experience. I mean the differences between China, Italy and Egypt - are extreme.


Anyone else have thoughts about Marie's question?
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I wonder if there is more of an energetic or emotional charge to U.S. and European history and that is why those memories are more predominant? Maybe also because there are more triggers in our environment and media for such memories - paintings, writings, etc. Maybe too, many people with memories of similar place and time frame are gravitating toward this website, providing a certain validation of these experiences. I wonder also, if certain times in history are dormant or inactive, because there are other times that are more to the forefront, more relevant to the current time.
 
Perhaps souls from western cultures tend to keep reincarnating in western countries because it is what they are familiar with. They stick to their comfort zone. On the flip side, soul from eastern cultures would do the same. I believe this makes a good case for the argument that we are able to chose when and where we return, because we seem to keep coming back to what we are familiar with.


I know when I go to a restaurant I tend to order the same thing all the time. Or I have two or three things I rotate depending on my mood. I stick to what I know I like. If I get something radically different, I might not like it. :eek: I'm sure I'm not alone in this mentality. It is our nature to want stay close to what we are familiar with. Why would we be any different when it comes to chosing lifetimes. ;)


It seems that most of us here are from western cultures where reincarnation is not a widely accepted because we seek answers and a safe place to discuss. If it is accepted as the norm in eastern cultures, there is no need to search for a safe haven online.
 
Good thoughts, IsabellaLuna and Truthseeker. I also think it would be difficult to jump suddenly to the other side of the globe, because we tend to "hang around" in soul groups, of which parts will probably always be incarnate. Therefore, it would be hard to move the whole group suddenly somewhere else.


Of course it's not this black and white, and like Deborah suggested, I also think there aren't any set rules. But as we often want to return to those we've loved, I think we then have no other option than to return to a familiar area and culture, as well.


I have PL memories from, for example, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. But so far they all seem to be from centuries, if not millennia ago. Or then I have been a white colonialist just living in those places.


Karoliina
 
Truthseeker said:
Perhaps souls from western cultures tend to keep reincarnating in western countries because it is what they are familiar with. They stick to their comfort zone. On the flip side, soul from eastern cultures would do the same. I believe this makes a good case for the argument that we are able to chose when and where we return, because we seem to keep coming back to what we are familiar with.


I know when I go to a restaurant I tend to order the same thing all the time. Or I have two or three things I rotate depending on my mood. I stick to what I know I like. If I get something radically different, I might not like it. :eek: I'm sure I'm not alone in this mentality. It is our nature to want stay close to what we are familiar with. Why would we be any different when it comes to chosing lifetimes. ;)


It seems that most of us here are from western cultures where reincarnation is not a widely accepted because we seek answers and a safe place to discuss. If it is accepted as the norm in eastern cultures, there is no need to search for a safe haven online.
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I've had past lives in many different countries and cultures that are far different from my own so this time around my soul did not go with familiarity but has a habit of choosing very different cultures and countries lifetime after lifetime after lifetime. I feel strange about my present life ancestry because to me it goes so far back and I feel like I'd never fit in with people of those countries in this one.
 
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