There’s something really tantalizing about the idea of having lived before. I’m not talking about that life before entering the Witness Protection Program — I mean the ones that had you riding alongside Charlemagne, or hanging on a barge with Cleopatra. [Funny, you never want to think about the one you had as a chimney sweep in 18th century London…]
The Past Life Club essentially argues that we have lived multiple times, and that each of those lives were essentially one more “class” in the school of existence. We had experiences, dealt with other humans, learned lessons. You die, spend some time assessing it all, then come back for another go. When you finally get it right, you get to hang out indefinitely in the heavenly stratosphere getting your feet rubbed while the rest of us slobs return to deal once again with human stuff like difficult relationships, making a living and acid reflux.
Like vacations, some past lives will be more memorable than others. Hint: if you are interested in any particular time period in history, that’s a pretty good indicator you lived back then. For me, I’ve been obsessed with this guy:
…and his daughter….
Ever since I was a kid, anything about Tudor England has fascinated me — and I never knew why. Then a psychic told me that I had been a court jester — specifically, a FEMALE court jester — during that era. And a little research revealed that female jesters were relatively rare, and indeed, Elizabeth DID have one. So that explains two things:
1) my interest in the time period and
2) my inherent wise-assiness
On two separate occasions, I was told that I’d had lives in medieval France, as a nun…
Again, doesn’t explain my lousy command of the French language. DOES explain my currently-dismal dating life.
Decoding past lives is one way to shed some light on patterns we’ve carried over into this one. Again, it’s one way (therapy is another). But for some, the idea of past lives can become addictive. I’ve encountered more than a few people who routinely blame whatever’s going on right now on a “past life.” One client of mine refused to actively engage in the life he had going on right here, right now, because he was waiting to be “reunited” with someone from a past life. Another spends all his time seeking out hypnotherapists who will help him explore yet another existence….and another…and another (yawn). Personally, I think it’s ’cause he’s bored with his present situation.
The purpose of examining a past life lies in what it can teach you about THIS one. If you can spot a pattern, find a lesson, learn something, then it becomes more than just New Age wallpaper. The key is to discover it, use it — then move forward. Your task is to make the most out of the life you’ve been given NOW. Because if you spend all your time looking backwards, you’re gonna get run over by the Express Bus to the future. And skid marks on the face are not a good look on anyone.
I agree with present odd attractions, hobbies, fascinations are having to do with past lives. I also agree that minimal time should be spent looking back and more energy with a clearer focus moving forward.
Just for good measure, I am going to make the next entry in my journal be a list of things I believe to be true regarding some of my past lives, just to document it and leave it in the past. A few times I’ve asked psychics about past lives, even attempted to do a hypnotic regression… the journey gets shut down. Another sign the past is the past and the future needs to be an improvement from that life.