Chapter 19

AN EXERCISE FOR GROUP HYPNOSIS REGRESSION
My doctrine is: Live so that thou mayest desire to live again - that is thy duty - for in any case thou wilt live again! Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Eternal Recurrence

Now that you have read the stories of some past lives and delved into the wisdom of The Eternals and Pretty Flower, perhaps you are inspired to try your own hand at soul exploration. When I give lectures on hypnosis, audiences always ask me to talk about time travel. People want to know how hypnosis assists in accessing subconscious and past life information. I rarely give demonstrations of individual hypnosis or time travel at public lectures. I do guide group exercises; these and small, private group sessions are helpful in introducing people to time travel. They are also useful in my own research because people willingly share their experiences afterwards. In a group session, it is not possible for a dialogue to take place between the guide and any individual. Nor are group sessions a substitute for professional regression work on a one to one basis. A group excursion is like a field trip into the mind - an experience in which the students try to confirm laboratory data and/or explore new learning. As such, group sessions are good preparation for individual sessions at a later time and a good introduction to the field of recall and accessing stored memory.
What follows is a how-to section for those who wish to try guiding a regression session. The procedure can be used for a group, with a single individual, or as a self-help tape. It is particularly suitable for a group.

The exercise begins, as I always begin, with the preliminary foundation steps. The process is a very gentle, slow and careful exploration, looking only for pleasant and comfortable experiences that can be easily understood. It is looking for impressions in a waking dream experience. This is a guided reverie rather than a deep, involved regression.

Qualifications of a Past Life Facilitator

This reverie is very good for a beginning facilitator. But any work you do - for instance, guiding meditation or yoga sessions - before you guide a regression will be helpful. You may wish to apprentice with a regressologist or take classes in psychic development before you launch yourself as a guide. If you do not have access to such resources, take your time, carefully study the procedures in this and other books, and practice. A little common sense goes a long way. Start by working with your own tape, build slowly to working with small groups, then to individuals and larger groups. You will gradually develop the experience and knowledge of the levels of the mind you need. It is always wise for the facilitator to monitor the entire group, especially if there are many first timers.

I usually guide beginner groups so as to look for pleasant experiences and times. Sometimes a participant will cry, loudly and openly; no intervention is necessary.(1)

Equipment and Desirable Conditions for the Session

I record the session on a good tape recorder. Although I encourage people to make their own tapes, turning the cassette can distracting, so I offer copies of the master tape afterwards. The session should be as free from distractions as possible: no phone calls, doorbells, or visitors. It is helpful to ask one person to deal with these distractions if they occur (you can head off many of them).
A darkened room is not necessary, but enhances the quiet atmosphere. Set up enough chairs for the session; some people will prefer to sit on the floor on rugs or pillows. Sometimes during a session an individual may start to cough and clear his or her throat. In the past this behavior was thought to show resistance to the process. Now we have found that the person is so very relaxed that the nasal passages drip a little; it is a sign that the session is going well for that person. The behavior is likely to stop shortly; if it does not, the individual may wish to leave the group until the coughing stops.

Preliminaries
When working with a group, whether it is large or small, I first answer questions. There are always good questions - not usually about the technical aspects of the process, but rather about general concerns. "How do we know if this information is real?" is typical. I suggest participants concentrate on the experience and evaluate the information and feelings later. Almost everyone in a group will participate freely. If someone decides not to, I ask that he remain quiet so as not to distract the others. Those who watch (often other professionals who wish to see how I work) are often as interested as those who take part. Afterwards after the session I give people plenty of time to reorient themselves. This time can be likened to awakening in the morning; folks need a few minutes to gather themselves together. After that I give people a chance to share their experiences. No one ever seems to want to start, but once one person opens up the rest quickly follow.
Time limits usually allow only a few people to share, but I encourage everyone to write down or tape record their experiences. Many people find writing or taping their memories, feelings, and impressions brings forward more information and greater clarity of recollection. The sooner notes are written or recorded the better, as some memories fade quickly.

Outcomes of the Sessions
People tell me they get a lot from group work. Certainly most seem to enjoy themselves. Only rarely does a participant fail to experience something. Once, for example, I asked the audience, "Look down at your feet and see what you are wearing." One man did so - literally. He opened his eyes to look and became so disoriented he could not continue the session. I suggested he work with tape recordings of the session to see if he could recapture other memories. (I now word the suggestion, "Mentally, look down at your feet....") Using the Regression Exercise You may simply read the material below out loud, or you may tape it for yourself or for a group. If you want to record it, use a 90-minute tape so you will not have to stop in mid-session to turn the cassette (the material takes about 45 minutes). Read slowly and clearly. You may wish to practice first, perfecting your timing and the modulation and pitch of your voice.

ACCESSING YOUR SOUL'S MEMORY

Start reading or recording here:

I'm going to count downward from ten to one, and with every descending number, if you will slowly blink your eyes. Just look forward or upward. Slowly blink your eyes, in slow motion, with every number. [Slowly.] Ten - nine - eight - seven - six - five - four - three - two - and one.
And now you can just close your eyes, and you can just keep them closed. And I will explain what that was for. That was just to relax your eyelids. And right now, in your eyelids, there is probably a feeling of relaxation, perhaps a comfortable tired feeling, or a pleasant heavy sensation. Whatever the feeling is, right now, in your eyelids, just allow that feeling to multiply, to magnify, and to become greater.

Allow your eyelids now to become totally and pleasantly relaxed. Now, this is something that you do. Nobody else can do this for you. You're the one who does it. So just take your time and completely, and pleasantly, relax your eyelids now. And as you relax your eyelids, you can allow that feeling of relaxation, that is now in your eyelids, to flow outward, in all directions, as in imaginary waves, or ripples.
Allow a feeling of relaxation to go outward to the entire face area. Just think about relaxing the face. Enjoy the relaxation going outward to the entire head area, relaxing the head. Feel the relaxation going to the neck and to the shoulders, down the arms and into the hands. Welcome a wonderful feeling of relaxation going down the entire body, to the legs, the feet, all the way out to the toes. Your body may feel heavy, or it may feel light. It may be perfectly still, or you may notice subtle movement.
As you completely and pleasantly relax  your entire body, you can just slow down a little bit. Just allow yourself to slow down a little bit. And later, as we go along, you can slow down a little bit more and a little bit more. And, in a moment, I am going to count downward once again from ten to one. And this time, with every descending number, just allow yourself to slow down a little bit more with every number. And at the number one, you can enter your own natural level of relaxation. I will count very rapidly now: Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. You are now at your own natural level of relaxation. And from this level, you may move to any other level, with complete awareness, and function at will. You are completely aware at every level of your mind. You are in complete control at every level of your mind. You can accept, or reject, anything which is given here today. You are in complete control.

This is something that you want. It is here, and it is now. Eager to learn. Eager to explore. And let us begin now, by comparing your mind to the surface of a quiet pond. On the surface, everything looks peaceful and still. But below the surface, there is great depth and much happening. My voice can be as a breeze, whispering in the trees along the shore. Everyone does not realize his or her full capacities, and you have to discover these capacities in whatever way you wish. And, one of the things I would like you to discover is that your own subconsicous mind can listen to me and also deal with something else at the same time.

Perhaps you remember doing this as a child, gazing out the window while the teacher was talking. Or talking with a friend, and talking with that friend at the same time. Two separate things, yet happening at the same time. You don't have to think or move about, or make any sort of effort. You don`t even have to bother trying to listen to me, because your subconscious is here and can hear every word. It's okay to let go. You are in a place where you can safely let go and just relax now. You can take a deep breath, and you will note that a drifting can occur. That there is less and less importance to be attached to my voice.
In due time, your own time, a minute, an hour, a week, a month, some time, your subconscious will reveal its gifts to you, in a dream, or in a daydream, when you're not especially thinking about it, memories of other times and other places, memories you only thought you had misplaced. Experiences you only thought you had mislaid. And with this new insight, comes new growth and new understanding.
And stored deep in your subconscious are wonderful memories. Your subconscious can call upon and access these memories and bring them back with you later. So, looking deeper into the recesses of your own mind - applying this knowledge to understand yourself and your world. And, in a moment, we will begin a series of exercises into memory and into recall.

Can you remember a time in your life when you really felt safe and comfortable? [Pause.]

And you may begin now going back to about the time you were 18 years old. Choosing a pleasant, happy memory of about the time that you were 18 years old. You will find that it is very easy for you to do this. Choosing one specific memory or one specific event, and just simply focusing on it, looking at the people around you, then looking at yourself, or looking at the event. I will be quiet and give you ample time to simply enjoy this event.
You may hear voices, you may see or feel the people. For some, it may be in vivid color, as in a cinema movie. For others, the images may simply be black and white. For some, there may be vague outlines. Some people may hear memories whispered in their inner ear. Some only sense the memory. Sometimes a certain smell triggers the memory. It really doesn't matter how you perceive your memory, about 18 years old now. What is happening? [Long pause.]

Now you may continue back, going back now to about the time that you were 5 or 6 years old. Again, choosing a pleasant, happy memory. An impression, an episode, an experience, of about the time you were 5 or 6. Focus on this memory, look at it clearly. See what you were wearing, sense or feel the people around you, if there were other people in this memory imprint. Look and listen to the information. Reach down deep and feel it, and I will be quiet. [Long pause.]

Now continue back, going back now to about the time when you were 4, then 3, then 2, and now 1. And going now to the time of your birth. And going beyond this even. Going to that very warm, very safe, and very secure place, where nothing can harm you. Where you feel loved, and surrounded by warmth, and you recall this time as being a time of forming, a time of growing. A time of movement, and really a time of preparation. And this is a good time, and you can go beyond this even. Going now into the Blue Mist.

And the Blue Mist protects you. And you are very safe and comfortable here. The Blue Mist is a time of inner peace, of quiet movement, of gentle sounds, and easy rhythm. The Blue Mist is really the avenue of the heart to the infinite. And you like it very much here. People always say they like the Blue Mist because they experience real peace, total peace, and quiet. And you are very comfortable here, and yet a part of you longs for something more. At first, only a small part of you longs for life and longs for movement. And this longing grows within you, and it becomes a strong desire. And this desire leads you to look outward, and you look out toward the horizon, and you see a light as if you were looking through a long tunnel. And you realize that the light is good. So you begin moving toward the light.
Flowing, growing, going toward the light. And the light is very good. The light heals you. The light protects you. And the light surrounds you, as you feel the life energies flowing throughout your being. And as you look down at your feet, mentally look down at your feet, and see what you were wearing on your feet. Without analyzing, just look at your feet and mentally record what you sense. You might wish to say this to yourself internally, quietly to yourself, or simply make a visual recording of it. [Pause.]

And now continue looking up the body, at what you have on the bottom half of your body. Some people can feel the texture, if there is fabric or material. Others can see the colors. Continue looking up the body now, and look what you have on the top half, if it's cloth or leather or material. What's it made of? What colors are they? Now look at the entire body and I will be quiet for a moment. [Pause.]

Look if there is any jewelry, anything on the head or anything holding in the hands. Focus on a good, sharp, clear image. Process this material and make a record of it. Look at the entire body, and I will be quiet for a moment to give you a chance to do this. [Pause.]

Now, in your mind's eye, slowly look around at the place and the setting and make a mental note of what you see. Are there trees or sand, buildings, lakes or streams, the ocean? Look around and record what you perceive. And again, I will be quiet, that you may make a full turn, looking in all directions about you, making note of important things that you see. Encode the message and put it in a language your conscious mind will later understand. Record it to bring back later. [Pause.]

Some people may even wish to look into the sky or look down at the ground. You may look in any direction you like. [Pause.]
And now, you may look for other people. You may look to a time when you may see yourself near or with other people. And make a note of these people, encode these impressions and feelings. Perhaps there is someone special. Someone with whom you have a close bond, an affinity, or a strong vibration. Look around, perhaps a child, an adult, someone special, someone who has great meaning to you, and record this feeling and impression. If you listen quietly, you may even hear their name being spoken. Record the name. [Pause.]

And now you may look at a vehicle of transportation, something that you might have ridden on or in, something that feels comfortable when you sit on it, or in it. Or something that someone else is using for transportation. Make a note of the methods of transportation. [Pause.]
And at this time, you may also wish to make a note of something that you are eating. What is it that you eat? Can you smell the food cooking? Are you able to taste it? Make a note and record this information. [Pause.]
And now, if you listen quietly, you may hear your own name being spoken by a friend or someone calling out to you. What do they call you? What are you doing? What is your work or profession? What are you learning? [Pause.]
And as you look for clues can you tell where this land is? What would you put as a name, what was the land then called? What is the name of this place? Perhaps, you can perceive what century or what year this is. Record this information. Process it, make a note. [Pause.]

And now, in a detached way, look at the time of your death. What events led to your death? How did you die? What do you do after you die? Look at the death experience and assimilate its lessons and its message. [Pause.]
What is the reason or purpose for this life? What are the soul lessons? How did you grow in this time and place? And how did you lose? Was anything left uncompleted? What made you the happiest in this life? [Pause.]
And now that you have this information, bring it together into a vivid symbol or word picture, or an image, wrap it in something that you are familiar with that you may bring it back with you in a little while. Bring it into a symbol, into a word, into a clear vision, and encode it in your mind. Most important of all, now, is to look into your own eyes, and the eyes of the people that you have seen, those that you have loved, that person who was special to you. Look into the eyes of everyone you saw and send love from your eyes into their eyes. And as you do this important step, as you bless them and send them your love, they begin to fade. And as they begin to fade, let them go. Release them, and let them go now. Let the veil slowly drop. Allow the curtain to slowly close.

And as you slowly begin coming back, traveling back through time, you can bring back with you all that was positive, and bright, and interesting, and important. Other information you may release now. Simply release and close the door on information that is not necessary for your soul growth at this time. You will retain in your conscious mind only that which is important, helpful, and beneficial for you to retain at this time. Now coming back through the years, through the Blue Mist, once again, coming through the avenue of the heart, where all things are revealed unto you. Through that warm and safe place where nothing can harm you. Returning to the level of the mind, to the deep recesses, to the clear recall of your own mind, and bringing back the information that you have recorded. Bringing that back with you that it may help you to grow and understand yourself even better.

Slowly now, slowly coming back through the years of this present life to _______ (date), _______ (state, city, or town). And in a little while, when you awaken, you will feel just wonderful. You will feel better than before. You will be wide awake, clear headed, refreshed, and happy. Have you brought back something that is important, something helpful, something vital? Or have you allowed the door to close and the curtain to fall. It really doesn't matter. Your subconscious mind always protects you and knows what is best for you.
I will count from one to 10. At the count of 10, you can open your eyes, be wide awake, clear headed, feeling fine. I will count now. One - coming back very slowly. Two - coming out very slowly now. Three - coming up. Four - feel the life energies returning throughout your being. Five - feel total normalization and perfect equalibrium. Six - re-energized. Seven - coming up to your full potential. Eight - reoriented into the present. Nine - revitalized. And ten. Open your eyes, wide awake...
 
 

Notes to Chapter 19
(1) I have never had (nor heard of) a reaction more distressing than tears. If one should occur - if, for instance, a participant became hysterical - the guide would go directly to that individual and give a personal and direct command: "I am going to put my hand on your right (or left) shoulder. You can hear my voice. You will release the information and experience that you are processing." Personal wake-up and return suggestions would then be given that individual. The other people in the group would be given a suggestion such as, "Continue processing the information and experience at your own level while I work personally with one individual present."