What makes our present self and character structure?

Past-Life activities
Habits
Patterns
Traumatic experiences
Emotionally charged events from past-lives
And many more past-life experiences
Personalities

Why Do We Re-incarnate?

To learn lessons: Consider the whole earth as one training school. We cannot complete our training unless we study and graduate from one level, move on to the next level and continue this process till we attain mastery. This is the fundamental and most important reason for reincarnation. Most of the other reasons are offshoots of this reason. Take the example of a school. If we fail in one grade, we have to repeat the grade till we pass it. So is it with our lives on earth. If we do not learn our lessons properly, we keep returning till we learn all the lessons. Learning the lessons well is the key to our spiritual growth and eventual freedom from the cycle of birth and death. Our spiritual growth depends on how well we learn our lessons.
To have fun: We incarnate to have fun. We incarnate to experience the beauty of creation, and that is fun. We incarnate to express our creativity, and that, too, is fun. There is no limit to the beauty of creation. Even our creative abilities are limitless. There are infinite ways of experiencing the beauty of creatiosn. There are also infinite ways of expressing our creativity. Therefore, the experiences possible are far too many to go through in one incarnation and hence the longing for the soul to reincarnate again and again. Though the experiences of the soul are equally valid whether we are in incarnation or not, the joy of creation can be experienced only when we are on this physical plane of existence.

To teach: After the soul has learnt all the lessons required to be learnt, it does not have to reincarnate. However, such a soul may choose to reincarnate to help in the evolution of the other souls who are still caught in the cycle of birth and death, by teaching them. They work for creating a shift in the consciousness of the people on earth.

Re-incarnation and the Law of Karma

As we are spiritual beings having a human experience, the dynamics of karma help us to keep learning and progressing through the actions done by us in each life time. Before we reincarnate we choose the circumstances, parents, social conditions, personality, etc. One of the reasons for our reincarnating is to learn lessons.

Karma is the most misunderstood concept. In Sanskrit, the word Karma means Action. The law of Karma states ‘As you sow, so shall you reap.’ Karma is the process of cause and effect which is associated with our thoughts emotions and behaviors. Every cause has an effect. Every action has a reaction. Understanding karma is a major step in our Spiritual Evolution. Karma is neither good nor bad. Karma is neither a reward nor a punishment system. Karma is not something over which we have no control. Karma plays an important role in our spiritual growth and overall evolution of the soul. Karma operates on the universal law of total justice. Karma makes us realize that we are one. It teaches us to take self responsibility.
During our incarnations we interact with many Souls and form karmic connections. Our spiritual progress depends on our ability to come out of these karmic cycles. This can happen through learning and understanding the lessons in each karmic cycle. We keep coming back till we have completed all our karmic cycles. The more the spiritual growth, the more we see oneness in the Universe and the less we indentify with our individual self. Hence, Spiritual growth is, getting closer to the real self.

By being aware that all the conditions and situations we encounter in our lives have been set up by ourselves, we learn to take complete responsibility of our lives.
“Karma gets burnt and destroyed in the fire of Wisdom.” Bhagwad Geeta – Sri Krishna
Karma is not Punishment: It is very important for us to understand that Karma is not a system of punishment put in place by a higher authority. The common misconception is that the laws of Karma operate in such a manner as to punish us for our so-called 'wrong doings'. The punishment is always self-inflicted from the karmic point of view. Strong Identification with patterns of guilt leads to a need to punish oneself, and therefore the punishment is invariably self-inflicted punishment.

‘We are responsible for ourselves and we create ourselves.’
Different types of Karma:
SANCHITA KARMA: This is the sum total of the Karma accumulated from all the lifetimes.
PRARABDHA KARMA: This is the Karma that is ripened. The effects of this type of Karma will be felt in this lifetime and in current situations.
AGAMI KARMA or KRIYAMANA KARMA: This is the recently added Karma resulting from present actions. This kind of Karma, which is added recently, affects the future.

Evolution of the Soul

The souls are evolving all the time. This evolution depends on how fast a soul learns the lessons and

goes to higher and higher planes. It may sometimes take several life-times to learn one lesson. As the soul moves to higher and

higher planes, it evolves and reaches the Transcendental Soul Stage, where it need not take birth again. It may then choose to re-incarnate to teach others. Such a soul may choose to re-incarnate to help in the evolution of the other souls who are still caught in the cycle of birth and death. The main work done by such souls when they re-incarnate is teaching. They work for creating a shift in the consciousness of the people on earth.

The seven stages of the soul are as follows.

Infant Soul

As soon as the soul is cast out and begins its physical existence on earth, it lacks experience. For this inexperienced soul, physical existence on the unfamiliar ‘earth plane’ itself represents a major struggle for survival. Hence, survival is the primary issue when the soul is in this infant soul stage. This stage is characterized by many fears and they can be easily spotted in a crowd by the frightened animal-like look in their eyes. The basic approach towards the infant is that of avoidance of venturing into the unknown. They are usually born in primitive conditions and are usually found very close to nature, like forest, mountains, etc and their environment helps them to sharpen their survival skills.

Baby Soul

After several incarnations as an infant soul, having dealt with the survival issues and after most of their fears have been overcome, the soul now moves to the next stage called the baby soul age. Now the individual wants a more structured and civilized life and would like to prove that he or she can do it right. The structure makes them feel at ease with the world and their approach to life is that one should do anything right or not do it at all. This makes them seek out higher authorities who make the rules, which the baby souls follow. For example, soldiers, followers of cult, grass root level workers in political parties.

Young Soul

After mastering issues related to survival, structure, discipline and civilized living the individual wants to see how powerful it can become in this world. The driving force for the young soul is independence and the ability to get what one wants from life. Domination is the goal of the young soul and it constantly survives to attain positions of power, wealth, and prominence. The approach of the young soul towards life is always that others should do things their way. For example political leaders, dictators, military leaders, business tycoons, religious leaders, cult leaders, etc.

Mature Soul

By the time the soul approaches the young soul stage, there is uneasiness and a feeling that something is missing. Fame, wealth and power lose their appeal. This signals the beginning of the mature soul stage. The mature soul seeks to know its true identity in relationship to the universe and brings the search. It frequently asks questions like “who am I” and “why am I here.” Mature souls see others as mirrors of themselves and they can, therefore, see others point of view. They become deeply immersed in relationship issues wherein emotions open up and boundaries between people breakdown. Due to this the mature soul stage is the most emotionally intense and trying of all soul stages. The approach of the mature soul stage is to attempt to be unaffected by the action of others. People with complex relationship issues are examples of this type.

Old soul

By the time the soul reaches the old soul stage it begins to realize that we are all parts of one great whole and that we are all interrelated. An old soul perceives the ‘oneness’ in the universe. Old souls have respect for all forms of life and they do not harm others. They are also non-judgmental and attempt to maintain personal integrity in all their dealings with others. The old soul has an approach of ‘you do your thing and let me do my thing’. They do not force their point of view on others. They detach from the emotional intensities of the mature soul stage and are more objective about the ups and downs of life.

Transcendental Soul

Souls are cast out in social groups or entities. When an individual soul completes all its incarnations, it combines with the entity of which it is a part. By the end of the old soul stage, the soul would have completed all the incarnations that are required for its evolution. It then rejoins the entity or soul group. After all the souls complete their incarnations and rejoin the entity, it is called a fully recombined entity. A member soul of this fully recombined entity may choose to come to earth and help humanity in their process of evolution. Such a soul is called transcendental soul. Transcendental souls, when they manifest on earth, usually bring about great social changes and help people to understand that they are parts of the universal whole.

Infinite SoulInfinite souls are the manifestations of the ‘Divine Source’ or ‘Tao’ or ‘All That Is’. They are the co-creators in the creative process of the Universe. For example: Krishna, Buddha, Jesus.

What is Past-Life Regression

“If you don’t believe in karma, or reincarnation, don’t worry; probably you will, in your next life.”
Dr. Bruce Goldberg

We are the sum total of all that we have been in our past lives. Past-Life-Regression is a holistic healing technique because it works on the body, mind, emotions and spirit. It transports the subject back and retrieves memories of the past-lives. These memories are not accessible during normal waking consciousness. ‘Re-living is relieving.’

Past-life-regression helps us to explore past-lives and retrieve the energies of those lives.
Past-life-regression brings a person in touch with his larger reality and helps to achieve a clear understanding of why situations in this life are the way they are.
Past-life-regression goes to the root cause of a problem and enables us to eliminate the source of the problem.
Root cause of a problem lies in the Past and its effect is felt in the Present.
By exploring our past-lives, we can find solutions for the problems that we face in the present life.
Thoughts, words, feelings and actions that have been set in motion in the past continue to affect us at all levels of our being (body, mind, emotions, spirit) in the present moment.

What we did yesterday, made our today, and what we do today, makes our tomorrow.

Techniques of Past-life Regression

Hypnosis
Non-hypnotic techniques
Bridge techniques
Affect bridge technique
Somatic bridge technique
Linguistic bridge technique
Visual bridge technique
Spontaneous recall
Dreams
Meditation

Benefits of Past-Life Regression

Past-life-regression is capable of healing a person’s emotional, mental and physical problems.

In the upper realms, our past, present and future occur simultaneously. Hence, our subconscious mind can access our past-lives and transform the energy of the past-lives, so that it does not have a negative impact on our present lives.
This transformation during Past-Life-Regression brings about healing.

Past-life regression

Overcomes problems related to:
Emotions
Health
Finance

Heals chronic diseases
Helps overcome fears and phobias
Improves inter-personal relationships
Retrieves talents and abilities of the past
Resolves jinxes and hard luck patterns
Frees us from the fear of death
Connects us to our masters and guides
Connects us with loved ones who have left the body
Helps to find our purpose of life
Helps to design our future

‘We are spiritual beings having a human experience and not human beings having a spiritual experience.’

Evidence of Past-Life

Déjà vu feelings
‘I feel I have been here before.’
‘I must have done something in my past life to suffer like this.’
‘I am sure you were my mother-in-law in my past life.’
‘I don’t understand why I weep during war movies.’

Love or hate at first sight

‘It feels as if we have always known each other.’
‘I felt drawn to him instantly.’
‘It is difficult to be in her company.’

Obsessions and compulsions

People who act compulsively, for example: wash hands frequently, bathe for hours, cannot complete jobs for long hours, repeat actions unnecessarily, etc. are strong indications of past-life memories.

Children with adult memories
Children often relate to memories of their previous life times.

Child prodigies

Child prodigies exhibit talents and abilities that cannot be explained by the circumstances and family background of their current life. The phenomenon of child prodigy can be explained by reincarnation. Child prodigies bring with them talents and abilities from several past life times.
Jinxes and hard luck cases

These occur because of past-life patterns, which are carried forward by the individuals to the present life.

Birth defects and birthmarks

The experiences associated with extreme physical suffering in past-lives are reflected in the form of cellular memories of the body, which incarnates with defects or birthmarks.

Unearthing buried treasures

Xenoglossy

It is the ability to speak languages to which a person is not exposed during this life time

Multiple personalities and schizophrenics

Unresolved traumas during past-lives, can cause an imbalance in the personality, which cannot be explained in relation to material life.

Strong emotional charge

Emotions like love, grief, laughter, joy, anger, hatred, jealousy, sorrow and pain are experienced during past-life recall.

History

Reincarnation and Past-Life-Regression are not modern concepts. People have believed in reincarnation since ancient times. Since prehistoric times, there have been numerous techniques used to explore past lives. Every religion has an 'inner teaching', and within that inner teaching, reincarnation and its evolutionary implications have been accepted as the universal truth. There is sufficient evidence to show that the Hindus, Ancient Celts, the Egyptians, the Tibetans, and the Hebrew Cabalists etc. used Past-Life Remembrance.
Sri Krishna and the Bhagawad Gita: Sri Krishna said in 'The Bhagawad Gita', "As a man, casting off worn-out garments, takes new ones, so the dweller in the body, casting off worn-out bodies, enters into others that are new". He has also said "The misdeeds of our past lives torment us in the form of illnesses or ailments". From this we understand how all our ailments have their root cause in past-life actions. This is the fundamental principle on which the entire concept of Past-Life-Regression is based. 'Past-Life-Regression' is based on the universal law of cause and effect, which is also known as the ‘Law of Karma’. A person's past actions affect his or her present conditions. The effect could be on physical health, emotional condition, mental state or spiritual well-being. A few examples of root causes are: unfulfilled desires, thoughts, feelings, emotions, vows, promises, decisions, evasions or traumatic experiences. The root causes are invariably in the past.
Patanjali Maharishi: The ancient Indian sage Patanjali Maharshi, has done extensive work on Past-Life-Regression. In his yoga sutras Patanjali Maharishi called this process of Past-Life-Regression as 'Prati-Prasav'. It is the process of re-absorbing back to the cause. This means bringing effect back to the cause or the process of involution. When a child is born it is Prasav. Prati-Prasav means you are born again in the memory; you go back to the very birth, the trauma when you were born, and you live it again. If there is some trouble or problem, we go back to the original source from where it started. Unless we go to the roots, it cannot be solved. Effects cannot be solved unless they are forced back to the cause. For example, if there is an unwanted weed and we go on cutting the branches and the leaves in an attempt to remove the weed, we find that more and more branches and leaves take the place of the ones we cut off. To remove the weed once and for all, we have to actually remove the weed from the roots.
Buddha: Buddha is said to have recounted thousands of his past-lives, of which around 550 have been narrated in the 'Jataka' Tales. Buddha asked his disciples to explore their own past lives to gain a complete understanding of the cycle of birth and death. According to the teachings of Buddha, one attains 'Nirvana' or Salvation when one becomes free from the cycle of birth and death.
Mahavira: Mahavira called 'Remembering past-lives' as 'Jati-Smaran'. Remembering of past lives is an integral part of ancient Jain Practices. Jain teachings call the attaining of freedom from rebirth as 'Kaivalya'.
Tibetan wisdom: Early Tibetan history contains a wealth of literature on the subject of reincarnation and after-life states. One of the most important sources of ancient Tibetan wisdom about reincarnation and the after-life states is the 'Tibetan Book of The Dead'. This book was read to those who were dying when their souls were about to vacate their bodies. Also read during funeral ceremonies, the wisdom imparted was supposed to prepare the dying person to make the transition from life to the after life state in a smooth manner. It also taught the near and dear of the deceased person that they should not hold back the dying person by mourning, but that they should graciously send them on their journey with positive thoughts and emotions. Compiled in the eighth century A.D., this book is a masterpiece that contains the wisdom gathered over a period spanning many centuries from different Tibetan Masters.
A lot of cases of Near Death Experiences are reported even in modern times where people are found to return to life after being pronounced dead. These experiences are very similar to early stages of death as described by the Tibetan sages. As the spirits move toward a realm of light, they slough off emotional attachments to their earlier earthly existence. In the process, they may face spiritual beings who guide them, and who present them with a kind of mirror reflecting their life and actions. Filled at last with peace and contentment, the deceased prepare either to abandon the world altogether or to re-enter the cycle of birth and death with higher awareness of the illusory nature of life.
Christian Mystics: Many Christian mystics have stated that after death, the soul separates from the body and leaves. There are instances of people with Christian upbringing who had 'near death experiences'. They tell us that their spirits entered a 'realm of light' where they were received by 'beings of light'. They were then shown a complete review (somewhat like a movie except that it took no time) of their all the events of their life and their actions were weighed. This description is very similar to the description given by the Tibetans.
Egyptian Civilization: Ancient Egyptians believed in reincarnation. They believed that it took 3000 years to complete all lives that one had to live. All this goes to prove that the ancient Egyptians strongly believed in life after death and reincarnation.
Ancient Greeks: Reincarnation was not an unknown concept to the ancient Greeks. Noted Greek philosophers like Pythagoras and Plato believed in reincarnation and they have also explained about it in their teachings. Pythagoras is believed to have remembered and described many of his past lives. Some of the lives that he recounted were as: a Trojan warrior, a prophet, a peasant, a prostitute, and a shopkeeper.
Evidence from pre-historic times: Though reincarnation has been studied scientifically only during recent times, the possibility that we live many lives has been accepted on faith since ancient times. If one studies the ancient indigenous cultures of Africa, Asia, North America, South America and Australia, one would find ample evidence that reincarnation was one of their core beliefs. It can be seen that evidence of the belief in reincarnation can be found in people of diverse cultures, from different parts of the world and even people from vastly different time periods (modern, medieval, ancient, pre-historic etc.). 

There has been an enormous amount of research done during recent times in the field of Past-Life-Regression. Modern Medical Science has documented it meticulously and the in-depth studies have shown that 90% of illnesses, diseases and ailments that we suffer from, have past life connections. The therapeutic benefits of Past-Life-Regression can therefore be accepted as a universal fact. Let us take a look at some of the important researchers in this field.

Dr Newton and Dr Lakshmi
Dr. K. Newton, MBBS, MD, is a Metaphysical Teacher, a Spiritual Scientist, and an investigator of E.S.P. phenomena. He regularly conducts workshops and seminars in this field. Since the beginning of his medical career in 1987, he has assisted thousands of people in discovering their past lives and attaining self mastery. Till date he has conducted more than 10,000 past life regressions and progressions (in both group and individual sessions).His books “Past Life Regression” and “Conscious heals” have become popular in no time and are excellent as reference books.
Dr. G.V. Lakshmi is a medical doctor who has specialized in Past Life Regression Therapy and Holistic Therapy. Through past-life-regression, she helps people overcome their problems that have their roots in past lives. She has also founded "Angels on the Earth", an organization that promotes Animal Welfare & Vegetarianism and works towards achieving a better environment on the earth. She is a co-presenter with Dr. Newton in his workshops and seminars. They travel extensively all over India and around the world teaching Meditation and Spiritual Science. 
Dr. Newton along with his wife Dr. Lakshmi founded the Life Research Academy, in the year 2000 at Hyderabad, India. Out of the multifarious activities of the Life Research Academy, the core activities are past-life regression, breath work, spreading the messages of all Self-Realized Spiritual Masters, spreading awareness about vegetarianism and teaching meditation. The Life Research Academy conducts free meditation classes in schools, colleges and other organizations. Dr. Newton and Dr.Lakshmi tour extensively and present seminars and lectures overseas and conduct workshops in India. Their workshops that give PLR Therapist Trainings and Breath Work Therapists trainings are second to none in the world!

Dr. Brian Weiss, M.D.: The contribution of Dr. Brian Weiss to the field of Past-Life-Regression is unparalleled in modern times and he can rightly be called as the 'Father of Modern Past-Life-Regression'. A Columbia and Yale trained M.D. Psychiatrist Dr. Weiss, proved re-incarnation with his excellent research on past-life regressions. In the process of treating one of his patients named Catherine using conventional psychotherapy, Dr. Weiss rediscovered past-life-regression. Though he was initially skeptical, he continued to use past-life-regression in her treatment and the results were miraculous. During one of the sessions, his patient reached a ‘between lives’ state and communicated with the departed souls of Weiss's father and son and relayed secret information about Weiss's family. As a result, his skepticism turned into solid belief.

He published his experiences in great detail in his first and epoch making book 'Many Lives, Many Masters'. After the stupendous success of his first book, he wrote some more masterpieces like 'Messages from Masters', 'Through Time into Healing, 'Only Love is Real' and 'Same Soul, Many Bodies'.

Dr. Ian Stevenson, M.D.: Dr. Ian Stevenson, M.D., is one of the foremost researchers in the field of reincarnation research. Dr. Stevenson wrote several books on the subject, including 'Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation', 'Cases of the Reincarnation Type' (four volumes), 'Xenoglossy, and Telepathic Impressions - A Review and Report of Thirty-Five New Cases'. A professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia, his outstanding contribution to reincarnation research is his meticulous documentation of over 2,000 case histories of children with past-life memories.

Dr. Michael Newton: Dr. Michael Newton has done excellent work on the in-between-lives state. His books include ‘Journey of Souls’, ‘Destiny of Souls’ and 'Life-Between- Lives: Hypnotherapy for Spiritual Regression'.

Carol Bowman: Carol Bowman has done some wonderful work on the past life memories of children which is represented in her work 'Children's Past Lives: How Past Life Memories Affect Your Child' and 'Return From Heaven: Beloved Relatives Reincarnated Within Your Family'.

Dr. Bruce Goldberg: Another stalwart in the field of past-life regression, Dr. Goldberg's books include 'Past Lives and Future Lives' and 'Dream Your Problems Away'.

Roger J. Woolger, PhD: Roger Woolger, a psycho-analyst in the Jungian Tradition, has done a lot of research in past-life-regression and his works include 'Other Lives Other Selves' and 'Healing your Past Lives'.

Morris Netherton, PhD: One of the pioneers of past-life-regression, his book 'Past Lives Therapy' is one of the earliest books on the subject.

Edgar Cayce: Edgar Cayce was one of the best-known psychics of the twentieth century. He was one of the first to explore other dimensions of reality. From 1925 through 1944, he conducted some 2500 readings. He would go into a hypnotic trance state and describe the past lives of individuals as casually as if everybody understood and accepted that re-incarnation was a fact. Mr. Cayce was brought up in a fundamentalist Christian family and initially, he himself had a hard time accepting what he was saying during these trance states. Later, as he came to trust in the accuracy of the readings, he gradually understood the basis of re-incarnation and karma and how they help us comprehend the seemingly incomprehensible aspects of human life. The essence of this understanding gained by him can be found in his work entitled 'Scars of the Soul'. In 'Born Again and Again' Cayce deals with topics such as deep-seated fears, physical ailments, mental blocks, vocational talents, innate urges and abilities, marriage difficulties, child training, etc. These were examined in the light of what Cayce called the "karmic patterns" resulting from previous incarnations that an individual has had on the earth plane.

There are many other researchers/therapists in the field of Past-Life-Regression like Dick Sutphen, Hans Tendam etc. to name a few. There are innumerable documented cases of past life regressions and the experiences of those undergoing the regressions. The basis of these regressions and the validity of reincarnation have been viewed by many with skepticism and hence many people have tried to prove or disprove the validity of these experiences. The biggest doubt expressed by skeptics was whether the information was really coming from the past-life experiences of the individuals or from their present knowledge. They also felt that that there is every possibility of the person imagining or making it all up.

As far as we are concerned, these are immaterial concerns. What is important is that these regressions are capable of healing ones' emotional, mental and physical problems. In addition to this, the regressions bring about profound spiritual transformation in the individuals and improve the overall quality of their lives. We therefore make no judgments about the process of past life regression and we do not attempt to prove the accuracy or reality of these past life recollections. It is enough for us to know that this is a good, effective and extremely safe way to help and heal anyone.
The results of Past Life Regression speak for themselves!

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