What do you think of the process of hypnotizing people and taking them back in time to previous lives?

Kevin S asked:


Do you think that’s what’s really happening?

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35 comments to What do you think of the process of hypnotizing people and taking them back in time to previous lives?

  • No Chance Without Jesus

    For 150.00 bucks, I can take you back to your previous lives…..

    There’s a sucker born every minute

  • yesmar

    Well, since you asked, I think it is nonsense. Thanks for asking neighbor.

  • ci50158

    I think its bullshit.

  • birdsflies

    Hogwash because there is no previous life.

  • Ferd

    yes. this should only be attempted by a highly trained professional. It works well, but can be dangerous. If it is not done correctly a person can be stuck several lives in the past.

  • iThink

    It is a very effective demonstration of the power of suggestion.

  • Filida

    People under hypnosis are very suggestible, obviously, so I think a lot would depend on the person performing the past-life regression. Most such experiences have been debunked, but there are some that can’t be explained away.

  • True Objective Realism

    Ask the people who have tried it what they think, rather than the ignorant speculators here (I.e. the Christian and atheist regulars) who’s opinions about it are worth less than nothing.

    The present Dalai Lama, as a child, recalled where the old Dalai Lama had secretly hidden his most prized possessions before he died with 100% accuracy (they were found thanks to him), thus he proved himself as the true reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.

    There are many other cases like this which cannot simply be explained away, where people have recalled later verified facts precisely, which could have only been known by the historical individuals in question.

  • john w

    Simple answer: self-delusion.

    But I agree that some of the case histories are quite interesting, if they are to be believed.

  • satan.is.lord

    yes it does happen and it has helped out a lot of people

  • BibleChooser

    Hypnotic suggestion. They proved that was what was happening with the so-called hypnotic recollections of alien abduction. Hypnotists would ask intentionally leading questions that the hypnotized person would understand as a suggestion and respond in the manner desired rather than with the truth. One such researcher viewed what he knew was a commercial jet prior to visiting such a hypnotist. Under hypnosis, he claimed that event (witnessing a jet at night) was an alien craft and that he had been abducted by it.

    Jim,

  • johnno

    No . . they are being deceived – implanted memories

    These are the antics of deceiving spirits familiar spirits – the demons that Atheists are hoping don’t exist.

  • It's That Guy

    I think it’s a fraud. It’s not that I don’t believe in reincarnation, I keep an open mind on that issue. But people being ‘regressed’ through past lives have never provided information the person in this life wouldn’t know. If I was able to talk to someone who was regressed to a life 100 years ago, I’d want to ask him stuff like ‘How much is a pound of butter in your time?’ or ‘Who is the mayor of your town?’ From what I’ve seen, they never ask them stuff like this. In fact the hypnotist seems to guide them and they just go along.

  • Dark_king_johnny_gray

    well taking people back to the past where they can remember stuff they’ve forgotten is real… but past life is fake… o.O

  • jethom33545

    I think the hypnotist has a good con going.

    The second time this week I’ve had to agree with no chance.

  • Shaman Val

    There are a few cases of past life regression that makes you wonder. They have unexplainable knowledge. Quite often though its just a load of hogwash. Either prompted by the hypnotist, deliberately or inadvertently. Or its the person being hypnotized’s imagination.

    It has its role to play in helping people to come to terms with things that have happened to them, sometimes they are so bad they are seen as not belonging to them, they externalize it.

    The god phenomena is not that different, something is experienced and because they have been brought up with a particular belief about it, they externalize it and called it god.

    Practicing Shaman…. quantum physics rocks

  • choko_canyon

    I find it intriguing that in every case where such a previous life is reported, it’s always a particularly interesting or dramatic life. Everyone seems to have been a soldier, or member of the nobility, or a seamstress for a princess in a far-away land. You never hear about a previous life that was just the life of some poor, dumb hinge salesman who got run over by a manure wagon at age 41.

    Also, you have to wonder, if we all had previous lives and everyone who dies is reincarnated, why does the population keep increasing? Where do all those extra people come from?

  • Sara

    I do think it is a bad thing to go over the past lives, for fear that the accumulated weight of all those errors and sorrows would poison this life.
    God wipes these memories away for a reason. It’s the clean slate approach. He knows you will repeat the lessons anyway, why have the added guilt of a sad memory on top of that?

  • Coop 366

    As a Christian, I don’t believe it reincarnation but something happens and only God can explain it. When I get to Heaven I will have to ask?

  • PlusSize Fruitcake: Unpolluted

    No, I think their minds are making tricks to these people.
    Atheist.

  • God's servant

    no

    we do not have past lives

    they lead people to make and create these lives by asking leading questions and the brain fills in the information.

    some have a spirit that causes them to see things and makes them think they lived in a past life.
    Act 16:16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
    Act 16:17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
    Act 16:18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

  • Matt

    I think it’s worthy of more study. I’m personally undecided on it though.

  • That Damned Heathen

    Life regression. Most of it is BS… even though I do believe in a form of reincarnation myself. The problem with the vast majority of these is the fact that most people claim to be famous people of the past. Even some claims that are outrageous… like one man I had met swore he was King Arthur in a past life… yet King Arthur is most likely a story about several different kings as there is no evidence of a King Arthur.

    I doubt they are actually going back in time. Or even recalling memories of such things. And I would question the person hypnotizing them to begin with. Hypnosis works on some people and it is waaaay too easy to influence a person who is easily hypnotized.

  • LJR

    Past life regression is bull. Any memories retrieved under hypnosis are highly suspect. Even people who are not under hypnosis confess to crimes they have not committed when subjected to pressure. How much more suspect is a memory of a previous life retrieved under hypnosis where there there is already a willingness to believe. Nobody has ever come back from death no matter how much you prefer to believe that you live forever in some fashion. There has never been any scientific verification of past life memories. Memories are stored in the brain. When the brain dies the memories die with them.

  • Jesus Chrysler

    Well, I think I have a pretty good perspective on it as I had it done about 15 years ago. It’s pretty convincing and feels real when you’re going through it. It’s kind of like watching video clips filmed in POV perspective. Is it really glimpses into a past life? I don’t know. It absolutely could have been images from my subconscious guided by the suggestions of the hypnotist. Or it could have actually been memories from a past life. Either way, it was a fascinating experience and it left me open to the idea of reincarnation.

  • Upasakha Jason

    I’m amenable to rebirth/reincarnation. However, I don’t think that what’s happening in hypnosis is valid or even useful, and you’ve had some wonderful reasons here for why it’s not valid or useful. There’s nothing I can add to it. A researcher by the name of Elizabeth Loftus did a lot of research on creating false memories. Her research is most famous for discrediting the use of memories recovered under hypnosis as evidence against defendants accused of sexual abuse. I suspect that is what is going on under past life regression: the creation of false memories.

    However, there does appear to be phenomenon that needs explaining, and I don’t think that hypnotic suggestion or fraud is the best explanation for the entire phenomenon. Dr. Ian Stevenson wrote about rebirth/reincarnation during the 1960′s and 1970′s. His research appeared to be sound, and this point seems to be agreed upon by skeptics of the time and proponents. However, his work was poorly received. It seems that even Carl Sagan and Arthur C.Clarke admitted that while they thought that reincarnation/rebirth to be unlikely, that there are cases that are hard to explain and that something might be going on. It appeared that their objections centered around a lack of mechanism for rebirth/reincarnation.

    Sam Harris said that Stevenson’s work is a really elaborate fraud, or there is something interesting going on.

  • Jonathan

    I’d have to try it for myself. It could be fake but it’d still be fun.

  • Rev. Michael S. Margolin

    Most are lead on a fantasy and false memories implanted by the person inducing hypnosis.
    This does not negate a few possible real cases.
    So in laymen terms, BULL PUCKY!

  • Herodotus

    I had it done in my impressionable youth. It surprises me to think about what I once believed.

  • Hugh G. Rection

    Since there is no evidence to show it as a true phenomenon I would have to call this a con job.

  • MACer

    A satanic action.. driven by lucifer lots of curses be on him

  • Maria S.

    Hypnotism is something where people say what the hypnotist wants them to.

  • Kryten

    No. That would only work if people had had past lives. And they haven’t.

  • Michael A

    I’ve heard of it happening spontaneously, without the direct order of the hypnotist. I tend to accept it as being valid.

    Honestly, reincarnation has been one of the more mind-bending ideas for me to think about, since it is not a concept in mainstream Christianity.

    But I’ve met a fair amount of people who have past life memories, and I don’t discount their experience.

    I suppose it’s possible that it’s some huge deception, but I don’t think so. The Hasidic Jews fully accept rebirth (gilgul) — that God sometimes sends us on return missions to spread his love or to grow in grace.

    I accept that, if true, our experiences in various lives finally culminate in a resurrection. But more and more, it makes a lot of sense to me that we learn and grow over many different lives. To me, it shows the patience and compassion of God and the universe. It also strikes me as being a helpful way of dealing with the issue of physical suffering — after all, if we are re-born, we likely *agree* to come back, knowing the dangers and the opportunities of earthly life.

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