YOUR PAST LIVES - A Reincarnation Handbook

162 Pages·1987·13.55 MB·English

by  Michael Talbot

Your Past
Lives

A REINCARNATION
HANDBOOK

Michael Talbot
Copyright £1997 by Michel Talbot

Al cights cescreed. Ne: part of this book may bs reprcaesd oe wansmitred in any forma oF
by amy manos. electronic or mechanical, inctudine photocopying, recording. or by any
information storage and roltioval eystom, withow permission in wriligg Lom tho
blister

Publishod by Harmony Books, a division of Crowa Publishers, Inc, 225 Park Avenue
South, New Vork, New York 10908 ann repratenist i Curmabs hy dhe Caeadin +e
Group

HARMIDNY ang oslophon ae tendemarks of Ceonen Punishes. [ne
Manufactured in the Unitad Scares of America

Library of Congrsss Cataloging-in-P ublisation Dela
Talbot, Michel
“Your past ives.

1 Reincumtion, 1. Til

DESISVSS 1987 SAUNA

ISIN 151 T-SHA0-

lo 9x7654921
First Edition
For Carol Diyer, to whom {awe mare than words can express
Table of Contents

Acknowedements
Preface,
Introduction

Part One: Exploring Alone
Preparing

The Resonance Method.
Dreaming Techuique

“Meditation Teelmiques

ap eee

Self TIypmosis Technique

Pare Two: Exploring for Two
6. Guided Medi

ions,
7. The Active Imagination Foehniqu.

Part Three: Eaploring with Profexsional Guidance
8. Uxploring with a Professional Past-Lite Therapist

9, Lsploring with a Poychics and Other Metaphysical Sources
10. The Dangers of Pust-Lile Dxploration

Part Four: Closing Words
Bibliography.

Credits.
Acknowledgments

It 1s difficult to acknowledge all of the people who (im one way of
another) contributed to the writing of this book, but a few who deserve
special mention include: Carol Dryer. Gregory Paxson, Barbara Hand
Clow, Carl Llewellyn Weschcke. Dr. Emest Pecci. Roger Woolger
Jennifer Woolger, Dr, Mazel Denning, Dr Jeffrey Mishlove, Dr Tred
Alan Woll, Judith Woll) Dr, Stanley R Dean, Jim Gordon, Mary
Palermo, ‘Carn Mossman (and, of course, James). 1 wauld also like ta
thank Marcia Richards and Martha Visser for ther diligent work in
helping me rescarch the book; Michacl Picisch amd Liz Soncborn at
Harmony Books for their careful editing; and, of course. Luey Kroll, my
agent and dear friend Tor being as wonderful as she is
Preface

Jn 1981 a Gallup poll revealed that 38 milion Americans now believe
they've had pasl lives about one fourth of our adull population. More
amd more intelligent. successful people from all walks of life are
seriously beginning to consider Une possibility (hal they have lived
belore, And this growing interest in reincarnation is not limited to the
general public. Increasing numbers of psychologists, medical doctors,
and therapists are using past-life regression techniqnes to help people
overcome emotional and physical health problems and tap into skills and
talents that gome believe were first learned in previous incarnations

As increasing atlention is Focused on past lives, more people are
becoming interested in exploring the issue for themselves. in finding gut
how to unlock their own past-life memories, as well as in learning what
benefits to their relationships, outlooks. and professional lives might
come from wiearthing these memories.

Thus book will satisfy these interests. In it you will find step-

step

exercises and techniques for all of the best- known methods for det:

into your past lives. ‘These include meditation methods, ways for you to
inspire and remember drcams about your past lives, simple sell-hypnosis
techniques. and guided imagery exercises for two or more people.
Included among these is a technique that I have developed myself called
the Resonance Method, which is a very simple way of determining
immedulely and withoul medilation various possible past-life dramas,
geographic locations, and time periods hidden in your unconscious. as
well as numerous other pieces of information which may represent your
own past-life memories

Because some of the methods of pastlife recall now available can
onl be done safely by trained professiouals, the book also ineludes
advice on how to find a pastlife therapist. what sort of taining and

ii
YOUR PAST LIVES,

credentials 19 look for, and what sort of regression techniques are
available for you to choose fram

Whatever your reasons for wanling lo explore your previous liv
and whether you believe in reincarnation or nol, you will find that the
methods given in this book work, With them you will be able lo unlock a
stream of reutarkable stories which now lic hidden in your unconscious
inind, Whether you believe these stories are lamasics of actual past-life
memories is up to you. It is my hope only that you lear from them and
‘expand vour horizons.

iit
Introduction

J belicye in remearnation. | akyays have.

The reasons for my consiction are simple. For as long ag | can
remember Lhaye always had memories of former existences. When L was
a stuall child, this resulted in my refusing to call my parents “mother”
and "father" until | was five years old, when they gently persuaded me to
stop calling them by their firs! names because I was embarassing them
in front of their fiends. My refusal was not due (© any absence of
allection on my part, I did no have a mature intcTigctual understanding
of what the acts of strange memories ingide my head meant, but was
vividly aware that | possessed a continuity, a history beyond the child's
body in which | found myself, So it did nat make sense to me to call the
two kind people who wore taking care of me my parcnts

Thus was not the only precocity that my parents were forced to
contend with. ‘They rapidly discovered that they had a child on their
hands who insisicd wpon drinking scveral cups of strong black (ca every
day, who preferred silting cross-lceged on the Hloor to silting in chai,
and who was fanatically drawn to things Asian I also recall asking my
mother about several ways that [ remembered having died before
Fortunately there was no longer any trauma attached to these memories,
and my mother was able to distuss them

It wasn't until I grew older that | began to understand the import of
this strange farrago of memontes. By the time | was an adolescent, |
realized that | had clear but fragmented recollections of what appeared to
be over a dozen different past lives. In a fow instances I even
remembered names and other obscure but specific details about certain
geographic locations Although it is difficult for me ta prove that these
spontancons recollections ate actual evidence of past lives, in a few
YOUR PAST LIVES,

instances the information thar came bubbling out of me seemed
otherwise of mexplicable origin. As a very small child, after | finished
the traditional "Now | lay me down to sleep” prayer taught to me by my
parcnts, I automatically followed it with a reques! to God "to release the
sulfering of all conscious beings ..." Ik was only Luter that I discovered
that the ending [ had given the prayer was of Buddhist origin, Similarly

aS a young adult, although I had had only two months of piano lessons as
a child, I discovered that with just a few months of practice | was able to
play difficult pieces by Chopitt and Rachmaninaf?.

But to me the most persnasive evidence that my fragmented
ramnants of pasl-life cxpericce comes nol from the
place names, the historical facts, or mystcrious pieces of information that
T remember, but from the fact that when | look back on this succession of”
memories, T seem (a see the germs af many of the elements thal make up
my current personality. Sketchy though it is, | see an epic story that tells
me where many of my faults and positive attributes, my habits, belief
systems, and my various strengths and weaknesses began, Just as most
people ean look back on their childhoods and see events that helped
sculpt their current identity, I see a similar progression of sclf-
development aver the lifetimes 1 remember.

I would Tike to say at this point that | do not have any memories of
haying beon a famous historical personage, nor do I have any tales to
relate about having been a pharaoh or even a lesser pope. Indeed, most of
the pust lives thal T remember are relatively undistinguished and have
lite about them of interest save for the personal significance they hald
for me, However, here and there dhroughout the book | will offer further
experiences of my own when [ feel that they communicate larger paints.
‘or complement the findings and discoveries of other researchers,

‘My uiain reason for deciding 10 write a book on past lives and my
personal experiences with reinearnation is the fact hat public autitudes
about reincarnation are changing. My first inkling of this came in 19%2,
shortly after 1 published a novel about the vampire, entitled the Delicate
Dependency, Twas drawn lo the subject because I was disappointed that
no vampire story I had encountered satisfactorily explored what I
considered (o be the most imeiguing aspect af’ vampires — their
immorality, In spite of the fact that mast vampires are portrayed as

memories are aclu
Introduction

centuries old. they seemed (o me very much like ordinary human beings,
excep! for their penchant for drinking blood. T reasoned uhat if an
individual had tculy lived for comuties, his psyche. his perceptions. and
even his thinking processes would be cadically dilfereat, 1 believed this
because | knew how much 1 hac been affected even by my fragmented
memories of having lived before.

After the publication of the novel, | was asked to speak to a group of
about forty people. During the course of the talk someone asked the
mnevnable question; "What inspired you to write a novel about
vampires?" I Gidgeted, Although reincarmation and my own pastlife
memories had becn my inspiration. [had not mentioncd any of this in the
novel and harbored the fear tha I might be viewed as a little odd if T
admiuied this scoret

Nonetheless, | took a deep breath and answered, For a momen the
audience was silent, Falicring, | explained (hat I fel that | had lived
before [then asked if anyone in the audience felt the same way To my
surprise, after a moment or two virtually every hand went up, as first one
person and then another confessed that they, too. possessed fragments of
what dicy belicved 10 be past-life memorics. A middle-aged clemcnlary
schooltcachcr admilicd thal she svemed lo have a vague recollection of
silting an the porch of a plantation and gazing out over the fields. A
young teal estate agent confessed thal he had always had a sense thal he
had been a soldier during World War JI. What impressed me most of all
was the growing level of excitement in the room as person after person
serambled Lor the opportunity (o oxpress thoughts and {eclings they had
previously kept to themselves. I realized that Thad unwittingly opened a
floadgate

Another reason Lor writing a book about reincarnation is that I have
spout my Life exploring differant ways of understanding both past Lives
and the spiritual workings of the universe. This exploration has included
the reading of countless books, conversations with thinkers in scientific
and mystical fields, and my own experiences and observations. Tn
addition to assisting me in writing my novels, my research gave hirth to
vo carlict nonfiction books on mystical subjects. Msticiwn and the New
Piysies and Beyond the Quermen, During the course of my research | hase
talked with numerous. past-life therapists, and ywith each stop I've found,