memories from a past life

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eon
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Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2011 12:17 pm

memories from a past life

Post by 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.:spy:
:namaste:
rowyourboat
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Re: memories from a past life

Post by 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
With Metta

Karuna
Mudita
& Upekkha
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octathlon
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Re: memories from a past life

Post by 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).
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Ben
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Re: memories from a past life

Post by Ben »

Hi eon,
eon wrote: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
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Sherab
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Re: memories from a past life

Post by 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.
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Guy
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Re: memories from a past life

Post by Guy »

eon wrote: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.:spy:
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.
Four types of letting go:

1) Giving; expecting nothing back in return
2) Throwing things away
3) Contentment; wanting to be here, not wanting to be anywhere else
4) "Teflon Mind"; having a mind which doesn't accumulate things

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Nibbida
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Re: memories from a past life

Post by Nibbida »

Guy wrote:
eon wrote: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.:spy:
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" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Annapurna
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Re: memories from a past life

Post by Annapurna »

eon wrote: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.:spy:
:namaste:
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. :smile:


:anjali:
JasonBrody
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Re: memories from a past life

Post by JasonBrody »

Yes, I have those same experiences. I am now searching the Internet for an explanation of them. While a psychological aberration or ailment is a possibility, it is only one of many possibilities. The Indigo Society has an interesting article on them and there is a woman who discusses them in her website on Akashic readings. I have them at about the same rate or even more frequently than you do. They can be as vivid as any other memory. I believe it is quite possible that they can be flashes from previous lives, though it is not impossible that they could be from future lives or from lives of other people (past, present, or future). My advice is to do the same as I am now, which is to start researching the topic thoroughly and impartially, trying as best you can not to let your own experiences influence you. Post a lot of questions like this across as many websites as you can and get as many opinions as you can and find the one that makes the most sense to you. I never get to know a subject so well as when I write a paper on it, so maybe that is what you need to do: write a magazine article or even a book. For me, these flashes seem to come more and more frequently as I get older so that I am now in the conceptual stage of writing a novel on these experiences, because they are arousing my curiosity more and more. I don't think you are going mad. What may be madness to others, may just be a rare insight. After all, how many brilliant writers, artists, and scientists have been described as mad at one time or the other? Best of luck to you with your research.
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