memories from a past life

[eon]

hi, sorry if this is the wrong place to ask but i need to ask somewhere.
sometimes i get these short "flashbacks" where I basically feel like a completely different person in another time and I can remember everything from that life. not that i can remember it now, just that i feel like i remember everything when i'm in that state of mind. this doesn't happen often, maybe once every month or so, and it only lasts a few seconds. i usually like when it happens but i've come out of it feeling really sad/depressed as well.
when it happens i feel like i'm going crazy. am i?
all i can remember is that it felt like the early-mid 60s and i saw a lot of thick grass everywhere. and i think there was a small faded pink house... is this sort of thing normal or should i go to a doctor?
if it is normal and these are possibly memories from a past life is there a way to make them happen more often/remember more? meditate?
i'm seriously hoping i'm not going crazy.

[rowyourboat]

Hi eon,

Sounds like you need to get yourself checked out by your family doctor/GP. Being sad/depressed is not a good foundation to start meditation on. It is best to sort yourself out emotionally before attempting serious meditation, because that requires a stable mind. Having said that the only 'meditation' I can recommend for a very scattered mind is walking meditation- just bringing in some gentle mindfulness to your feet as you are walking. However you will need to do this for 30 minutes or so to settle the mind to some degree. Aerobic exercise (running, swimming,cycling) is also helpful.

This whole path is about overcoming suffering- and we must go about it in a wise manner, however long or difficult it might be. Your first step in this Path would be to overcome your mental suffering/depression, using whatever resource is available to you right now.

With metta

Matheesha

[octathlon]

I would recommend that when it happens, stop and notice what just now happened that triggered the feeling/memory. There may be a pattern that will give you insight. Focus on the body or breath and neither repress nor attach to the feeling, just let it pass by. Sometimes events of childhood are flashed back to. Not saying this applies to you, but just in case: if there were traumatic childhood events one may feel disassociated from them as if it happened to someone else, and if the memories and feelings are problematic they may need to be dealt with with the help of a therapist (speaking from personal experience).

[Ben]

Hi eon,

if it is normal and these are possibly memories from a past life is there a way to make them happen more often/remember more? meditate?

Its unlikely that what you are experiencing are 'past life memories'. Its more likely mental fabrications that you are investing some meaning to. I second RYB's advice to get yourself checked out by your family doctor and discuss what you are experiencing with him or her. I think it would be a wise move.
kind regards

Ben

[Sherab]

I personally know a Buddhist nun who told me that she had flashes of her past life when she was a child. She is an Australian and often told her mother that she felt she was not who she is.
Anyway, I would suggest you accept your experiences as that, ie. just experiences and let it go. If it is really memories of past life, so be it. Let them remain where they belong, in the past.
It is the future that you should take care of.

[Guy]

if it is normal and these are possibly memories from a past life is there a way to make them happen more often/remember more? meditate?

Meditation is about stilling the mind. When the mind is still it can see things more deeply, including past life memories. Whether or not you are remembering an actual past life memory or not - I don't know. But to answer your question, yes, meditation can help to remember past lives.

i'm seriously hoping i'm not going crazy.

I doubt it, but maybe if you keep thinking that you are going crazy you will start to believe it and if you believe it it might become your reality...be careful what you think and what you believe.

[Nibbida]

if it is normal and these are possibly memories from a past life is there a way to make them happen more often/remember more? meditate?

Meditation is about stilling the mind. When the mind is still it can see things more deeply, including past life memories. Whether or not you are remembering an actual past life memory or not - I don't know. But to answer your question, yes, meditation can help to remember past lives.

i'm seriously hoping i'm not going crazy.

I doubt it, but maybe if you keep thinking that you are going crazy you will start to believe it and if you believe it it might become your reality...be careful what you think and what you believe.

Thinking a person is going crazy is not a cause of going crazy. It can cause unnecessary stress and worrying, which certainly won't help and will probably make things more intolerable.


Really, see a neurologist, pronto. You would want to rule out any number of neurological illnesses which can cause such experiences (e.g. seizures, etc.) If this persists and is distressing to you and you are having trouble functioning, it might not hurt to see a psychiatrist as well.

By all means,get treatment for the depression. CBT works rather well.

Robert Anton Wilson had experiences like this, and more, his whole life:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfrCLOIaro0

[Annapurna]

hi, sorry if this is the wrong place to ask but i need to ask somewhere.
sometimes i get these short "flashbacks" where I basically feel like a completely different person in another time and I can remember everything from that life. not that i can remember it now, just that i feel like i remember everything when i'm in that state of mind. this doesn't happen often, maybe once every month or so, and it only lasts a few seconds. i usually like when it happens but i've come out of it feeling really sad/depressed as well.
when it happens i feel like i'm going crazy. am i?
all i can remember is that it felt like the early-mid 60s and i saw a lot of thick grass everywhere. and i think there was a small faded pink house... is this sort of thing normal or should i go to a doctor?
if it is normal and these are possibly memories from a past life is there a way to make them happen more often/remember more? meditate?
i'm seriously hoping i'm not going crazy.

Hello, Eon,

my father, a doctor, internal specialist, used to tell us (family and friends) with a smile that those who think they are going crazy usually won't, but those who think they won't...

Eon,

psychic abilties, or the abilty to catch glimpes of past lives are a rare phenomenon.

A doctor can probably exclude psychotic phenomena, but will rarely be able to distinguish them from past life memories, lest he be a Buddhist and a very experienced one.

Very few Buddhists or people can remember past lives.

Rhe Buddha could.

Some pretty far developped people could.

But most can't.

And how can they give you answers on this then?

Eon, i would suggest that you do not take those experíences all too seriously.

Watch them arise and ebb away. Don't try to provoke them either.

If it troubles you, go to a good hypnose specialist who does reincarnation therapy.

I have heard that people got answers there.

If you feel very depressed and confused in a permanent way, and if you feel a sense of loss of reality, seek a doctor's advice.

Try to reduce stress, eat well and healthy, get plenty of sleep, supplement vitamins and minerals, and don't do drugs.

Hope this helps.

PS: I don't exclude that you see glimpses of past lives, but even if you did,-so what?

Think of it like a movie. They start, they end.