I've been fortunate to work with numerous clients who were interested in exploring the possibility of previous lives. In each case, these people had tried for years to break deeply seated emotional patterns and limiting beliefs about themselves. While they had achieved some level of success, they still felt as though something was holding them back from fully experiencing and enjoying their accomplishments.

One client in particular was very memorable. As we discussed PLR as an option, he seemed somewhat spooked by the thought. Interestingly, when I said the word “reincarnation” he perked up. That was the touchstone that resonated for him.

This person is an author who was having difficulty promoting his books and believing in himself as an achiever.

As our session evolved, this client visited a past life that took place in the 1920s where he experienced a domineering mother, passive father and a family who did not appreciate his mental/emotional depth. In this life, his lessons were to keep quiet to maintain the peace and put his desires second to those of others. In short, he didn't matter.

One of the fascinating things to watch when a client is in aPLR is their body movement. In the hypnotic state, clients' body language can be significant abreactions. In this case, my client curled up in my recliner, as though he was recoiling from the world that was hurting him in this previous life.

We visited the end of this past life; seeing the death scene was freeing to him as he floated up toward space.

We talked about the lessons that he learned in this life: being alone, being second, being unappreciated. I asked him if he needed to carry the baggage of these lessons forward into his current life.

He replied, “No.”

As I guided him through releasing these faulty beliefs, he sat taller in the chair as each emotional weight was removed.

When he woke from the regression a few minutes later, his face was noticeably less strained, he was smiling and energetic. The experience had been profound for him and she took the lessons of the session with him.

Does this one illustration create a scientific case for PLR? No, it honestly does not.

However, it does have some very interesting commonalities with other past life experiences documented by therapists who have studied the phenomenon.

Dr. Michael Newton, author of Journey of Souls, has documented an outline of ten experiences that are common to those who are the subject of a past life regression. These stages are described perfectly in this article: Did Science Just Prove Reincarnation? A Look At The Soul’s Journey After “Death”

Contrary to the title, the process of PLR has not been proven scientifically.

Sadly, much research into the phenomenon has been sloppy. The work of Ian Stevenson is described here.

In any scientific process, it is important that the researcher be willing to allow his/her hypothesis to be disproved by the evidence resulting from data collection and experiments. It seems that Stevenson accepted surface observations as deeper proof in his desire to prove the hypothesis to which he dedicated his life.

At the University of Virginia, psychiatrist Jim Tucker is taking a more scientific approach. Tucker believes that there is something deeper to the human experience of reincarnation and is working with in the framework of science and quantum physics to discover explanations.

It is improbable that current scientific tools will reveal significant leaps into the realm of past life regression. The experience is more an expression of faith than it is one of science.

As the field of quantum physics progresses, we may find stronger links to the powers of mind over matter and the possibility of the ongoing existence of our souls/consciousness.

Even without hard scientific proof to back it up, the protocol of PLR is a proven tool in healing clients' issues in this current life.