Others' memories, or own lives?

[Lynnette]

Hi, I'm new here, and have never really discussed the whole past life/past memories thing with anyone before until very recently, when I brought it up with my mum as a sort of 'curiosiso/I wonder..' thing when I discovered a character I had dreamt about was actually a real person.

Sometimes, I have flashes 'on my minds eye', as it were, or when I go to bed while still awake, or sometimes in dreams, and I'm really not sure what to think.

For a long time I used to think, and was always told, I was using my imagination too much - I like to write books, so try to create adventures while lying awake at night - though often they take off and lead me and I just kind of follow. I have also had 'flashes of people', usually just the same couple of people. They never speak to me, or do anything in particular, I just see the image, or aura, or something, of them before me. But I feel love or care or support from them - I'm away at uni, and often feel lonely, or if I'm stressed out and worried. Sometimes, though, I wondered whether my 'adventures' and 'visions' meant something, and what exactly they were.

Then, on one of my 'story adventures', very oddly, I began following it over a succession of several nights, moving on in time, each night and one day just had this overwhelming desire to look the people up and SEE - i had been researching my family tree, so had access to census records. This dream/imagination was slightly different from my usual, involving the formation and growth of a relationship, and I said I would be happy to marry this man, but he had to tell me his real name. He said his first name was so and so, though everybody called him something else. But I was insistent - I wanted to know HIS REAL NAME. That was when I felt the need to look him up. So I did.

I typed the name people called him and the name I knew him by, into the general census search - and one single family came up, just once, from the entirity of the census records collection. I tried to trace the family and it turned out the name was a typo. His first/Christian name was correct. The name I had searched - that he had been called by, but wasn't his real name, really was just that - a name he had been called by, but that wasn't his real name. And I found him married to a woman by the name I had in the dream.

This was not the only dream/vision i checked out - in the process of following my 'fiancee', I stumbled upon another of my 'imaginings' in a record collection I never even knew existed - a name I had thought about for one of my characters, and which I often wondered about - as its long, in a different language, and I could never quite grasp exactly what it was - and so which I never could quite explain how, exactly, I had conjured it from my imagination. (The name of her daughter was also another of my 'strange conjured names') and finding them gave me an 'ahh' moment and excuse for the reason I was so interested in studying some old and no longer used languages - which very bizzarly, I excelled at, and felt drawn to learning more their particular peoples and cultures.

So I'm a little confused about what to think or believe. I have a very scientific background, and am a little religious, have had no one to discuss these things with and am also a little hesitant about mentioning it to anyone, since I am seen as very sensible and academic. So I'm torn between logic and reason, and curiosity and intuition.

My religious teachings and science, would tell me reincarnation does not exist, although jin, witchcraft, 'words', and 'tying of knots' are warned about in the religious books, hinting that there is obviously something in them. I also once heard mention of a particular day of the year when certain prayers and parts of the book should be read as protection, as that day, at a particular time of the night, the spirits are able to walk abroad. But the 'religious men' always seem to contradict the texts and say you should not believe or listen to such ideologies. And as for science, it says such things should not or do not exist.

I guess what I'm trying to fathom, is, am I experiencing visions of memories of people from times gone by, or may there perhaps be really something there, with the spirits of those past still able to hang around, such as the old man I see who gives me words of comfort, or are the people I see and the dreams/imaginings I have, really from somewhere within my own psyche or 'genetic memories' or pasts, or is it really just my overactive ijmagination, and the combination of too may books and readings?

 

[ChrisR]

Hi Lynnette, and welcome to the forum, you've come to the right place to discuss this


How interesting that it seems you've been experiencing some sense of past life recall without even realizing it. I think this happens to many people, but so often it is all dismissed as imagination, as in your case.


Have you ever tried meditation or regression? When you lay awake at night, creating 'adventures' in your mind for your book writing, you may or may not realize that when relaxed like this, your mind can often enter into an altered state, similar to daydreaming, and this is an ideal condition for remembering your past lives, and it sounds as if this could be what you have been experiencing. 'Asking' to be given a name, or a date, or a specific time period in this state can often bring a successful answer, as in your case again.


Of course, this all contradicts your religious teachings because all reference to reincarnation was deliberately erased from the Bible a long time ago, but if you dig a little deeper, you'll find that your religious knowledge and reincarnation go hand in hand. There are many religious members of this forum who believe and remember past lives, so there is nothing wrong in questioning what you've been taught.


The 'old man' that you see who gives you words of comfort sounds like he could be a spirit guide, can you tell us any more about him?

 

[Sunniva]

Hey Lynette and a warm welcome to the forum


Thanks for sharing - you've certainly come to the right place here. As you will find out this is a safe place to share, we are all friends and we all believe reincarnation is a fact of life. However, at the same time we are not afraid of sceptic questions and doubts. These things needs to be discussed in order to understand them.


I know your internal conflict between having a scientific background, basing all conclusions on empirical evidence, and realizing that there must be something about that reincarnation-thing. I think most people on this forum experience as you that there aren't many, if any, in the 'real world' to talk to about it. It's taboo in the same sense as saying that you believe in ghosts. However it is not the same. Reincarnation happens. This forum bears testimony to that and is full of empirical evidence to base it on. It's a hard concept to grasp though for a logically and rationally trained brain, because it opens up for other concepts that are even harder to grasp (such as the afterlife, souls, 'God', etc.). I'm still struggling with it


I find your validations astonishing! Most people can only hope to actually be able to validate who they were in a past life, so your case is a very interesting one. If you're interested in learning more about reincarnation my advice would be to write down all your discoveries, all the flashes, names, intuitive thoughts, dreams, etc. you have. Don't hesitate to ask questions, post in threads or start new ones.


I hope you will like this place and I look forward to seeing you around.

 

[Lynnette]

Hi. Thank you.


All these have been going on since I was quite younger, and a part of me always felt somehow that they were 'real', in a sense, and coming to my imagination so I could see and think about them, rather than as being a construct of mine. So that, in a way, actually discovering my characters in real life documents wasn't quite so 'oh my word', as one would have expected, since something inside me already knew I would find them - I think that's why I went and looked. Though for the life of me, I didn't know what I would think or do with whatever I should happen to find!


As for the old man, I am not entirely sure what a 'spirit guide' would look or feel like should one find one, but I have always called him Grandfather. I think he is Chinese or Mongolian, though I'm not sure, as I never see his features in high definition, as it were - only hazy or misty-like. Sometimes I don't see him at all, but just feel him telling me - most usually, to wait and be patient - except, it is never in words, or such - I just kind of feel it.


I did ask him once, who he was, and remember having a glimpse of him, sat on his knees on the ground, with a girl sat opposite him, likewise, and I knew I called him grandfather, both as a term of endearment and respect. I have never meditated before, but have seen pictures, and have an idea, and it sure looked like Grandfather and the girl were meditating, and he was teaching her. But this wasn't the only time I have seen him.


In the dream/imaginings I had, which I researched and found my 'fiancee', there was an old man looking after me then, and I knew somehow that it was him. Again, he was Chinese, I think, or from that part of the world, and I had the feeling he was officially a servant, or such like, but respected and placed as one of the family, and he was the only 'relative/guardian' I had, and although he was a 'servant', he was given a distance of authority and respect, and his words listened to by those in charge of the group we were travelling with.


Do you think, or is it possible that 'genetic memories' or whatever they're called are the reason behind these things, and that somewhere in time he was involved in a memory, and as such, since I am able to 'see' it, thus I am able to 'see' him? - I read a post somewhere on here about ripples, and I always kind of imagined it like that - as an echo from time that I am experiencing. I did think about doing past-life regression, which I only discovered fairly recently when I heard about it on TV, but am a little afraid of what I might find. Some of the dreams/images I have are quite upsetting and not very pleasant. (I sometimes wonder whether my 'seeing' it is somehow to let the spirit of the person doing the deeds know that the incident has not been forgotten/they haven't got away with it??) By opening this up/regresing, am I likely to stir up something that should perhaps be left at rest?


I found some videos on the internet for self-regression. Would this be something safe to do on my own, or am I best having other people around? Or is it best not to try anything like this at all, since, well, I have been having glimpses of things anyway? or if I SHOULD leave things be?

 

[ChrisR]

Hi Lynnette,


I know many of the members here have had encounters with their spirit guides, I've never met mine, or had any experience with one, as far as I'm concerned, I don't have one, so I'm in no position to tell you what the experience would be like, or what to expect.


However, I do know that spirit guides can be the souls of people who have been with you in past incarnations, but for some reason have decided to stay in the spirit world, or are not ready for another physical life yet. If these souls are part of your soul circle, then they can take on the role of a spirit guide. This could be why you see yours as the old Asian man. You could have shared a past life together in that part of the world, and that is how your subconscious prefers to 'remember' him.


You shouldn't be afraid of past life regression. It can be very liberating to allow those unpleasant memories to surface, and to release them. You're never in any danger while under regression, and your subconscious will only feed you memories that you are able to deal with. It can be unpleasant to relive any bad experiences again, but that unpleasantness is nearly always outweighed by the benefits.


A lot of people worry that having a past life regression can be dangerous, and that your past life 'self' can 'possess' your present self, but this is just a myth. All you are doing is relaxing and altering the state of your mind to receive subconscious memories. Those memories are already there within you, and have been for all of your life. The only external influence is the voice of the regressionist, and they are only there to guide you into your past lives. You are always in control, and you never lose touch with reality, and unlike hypnosis, no suggestions are ever 'planted' in your mind. It's almost like daydreaming really.

 

[wednesday]

Hello Lynnette and welcome to the forum. Do you have any memories from your childhood that don't really fit? The reason I'm asking is because maybe you had remembered something when you were younger but have forgotten since. A lot of my daydreams when I was younger could have been past life inspired at least, I never really made the connection though until I was a little older. I had remembered quite a few memories from when I was little but the ones that were mixed in with my 'imaginings' didn't resurface until later.


I can tell you from experience that if you have bad memories that are trying to get your attention, they won't quit until they do. I believe that if they are there prompting you then you're supposed to remember them for a reason. It could be to avoid a certain situation or even a certain person or type of person in the future. That kind of stuff can be well worth remembering, even if it does cause some stress in the beginning. I don't believe your mind will let you bring up too much of something though if your not ready for it.


If your nervous about past life regression on your own, but still that curious about it, a past life regressionist that may be the way to go, if for no other reason that they can be there to reassure you about whatever comes up. Self regression though, I believe can be just as affective if your up to it. My way of remembering is just finding things to do, listen to, or watch that I think would be likely to jog my memory. It works, probably not as well as regression but I forgot how to relax a few decades ago so regression doesn't work for me.

 

[Lynnette]

Hi


Well, I had a go at self-regression yesterday using the videos I found on the internet, and nothing particularly happened with it on the visualization side, though it did induce the same sort of state that I feel inside me when 'story-dreaming', except much heavier, which was really wierd. My mind was active, but my body just felt really heavy and numb.


Later on, I had a go at another, sans-audio technique I read about, which was more akin to my usual story searching state, and I did 'dream' or imagine, or whatever it is, someone else who has come up in my mind before.


However, I hadn't quite expected it to be quite so soporiphic. May be it was because I did it in the evening, shortly before going to bed, but I was so sleepy and drowsy the next morning I could scarcely wake myself up - I normally wake at 5-ish, but was still fighting it gone half past seven! Does it normally have such effects?


As for childhood memories that don't quite fit, well, that is a bit difficult to say. I remember having always been making or dreaming stories, which is how I got in to writing, but unfortunately, I don't actually remember very much from when I was younger, which I know sounds strange, but I really don't. Maybe it was a coping thing, as we moved an awful lot, and i was a very shy child, but I can only remember a very few, random images, and even then not neccesarily significant or what one would consider 'important' ones...?! In fact, I remember my stories more than my real life events!

 

[dking777]

Hi, I'm new here, and have never really discussed the whole past life/past memories thing with anyone before until very recently, when I brought it up with my mum as a sort of 'curiosiso/I wonder..' thing when I discovered a character I had dreamt about was actually a real person.

Hi Lynn and welcome to the forum. Your story reminded me of a slightly different angle but dealing with the same mystical theme of a deceased spirit. I thought I had dreamed up a character one night in a creative writing exercise and I was shocked to discover that the person I 'felt' I had dreamed up in my mind was actually real person who had an existence once in this life.


When I was 20 in 1980 - my girlfriend was shot and murdered. In dealing with the grief - I turned to the 'higher source' / Creator / God for directions and guidance. My life became something like the movie character in 'Ghost Town.' I was having direct contact with 'deceased spirits' and passing on messages to a family member left behind. As an example - I showed up at a funeral once and spoke to the widow. I told her that an 'invisible and silent' talking bird was sitting on my shoulder giving me messages. The message didn't mean anything to me - but I told her I thought it might mean something to her. It was from the spirit of the husband she had just buried. To me, in helping others - I was helping myself with my own grief. After a few years of this - I got over my grief and buried everything - including the 'spiritual mysteries' that I had been involved with. I was trying to forget and move on with my life. In 1999 - memories started coming back and I started recalling tons of those past experiences and I was amazed that I had buried and forgotten them. I started writing them down and at one point I got tired of writing 'true stories' and thought I would fictionalize one drawing on the past memories. I felt I was making this story up in my head. I created the scenes and played them out in my mind and witnessed it through my minds eye. It was about a young 15 year old who died and left behind a 'brother-in-law' who had been like a real brother to him. In my story - the 'brother-in-law' fell asleep at the wheel after driving home from a late night party. He was left with the guilt and grief to deal with on this side and the 'spirit' was trying to find a medium to break through from the other side. In my minds 'eye' after I felt I had wrote this story in my head and was waiting to put it to paper - I saw this vision in my mind of this '15 year old' spirit and it brought tears of joy to me. His spirit was so beautiful. I went to a social gathering and this young man made a confession. He had spent a year in country for vehicle manslaughter for the death of his 15 year old brother in law after driving home from a party.


It freaked me out - yet - I felt the 'muse of a spirit' that had inspired me to that story - was looking for someone to pass on a kind and gentle message in very subtle way. Ever mind is different when it comes to such topics and matters. I gathered that the brother in law was not the type of mind to believe in a direct approach. So - I used an indirect approach to pass on the message and I never told him anything directly about the 'vision' I had shared with his deceased 'brother.' I did tell him that I thought that 'spirits' could make contact with us in our dreams. His eyes lit up when I said that. He didn't have to tell me that he had been having dreams with the 'spirit' of his deceased family member coming to him with messages - because that was the problem outlined in the story. He was like so many of us who feel that 'dreams' are not real and only fantasy. The spirits work through a subconscious level and the best avenue for that is through our 'dreams' sometimes. For that reason - it is very hard to discuss on a conscious level with other people. I feel we have been 'conditioned' to ignore that side of us and pretend it 'isn't' real.


My experience with the two 'brother-in-laws' - one on this side of the veil and one on the other side of the veil reminded me of how subtle our spirit works within the subconscious hidden in the undertow of our conscious mind.


Now that I have memories of my childhood and 'recall' of past lives - it was through this same avenue of 'visionary' images coming through the 'mind's eye' sort of like a very 'vivid lucid' dream.


Once again - welcome to the forum. You are not alone.


DK