I do not encourage people to undergo past-life regression just to know who they were in the past. What good will it do to a person if he finds out he was a peasant, a criminal, or a king?

But if he has serious concern in the present which he cannot understand, or which bothers him a lot, and if this problem could have originated from a past-life action, then it may be worth taking a look.

For example, an unfounded fear or phobia of heights, bodies of water, or open spaces could be the result of a suppressed past-life memory. A feeling of great attraction or aversion toward another person could be karmic in origin.

Are the things that people see during regression true or real? Can the person just be making things up or imagining who he was in the past?

Yes, that’s possible, especially if he or she believes himself or herself to be Napoleon Bonaparte or Cleopatra. But if the person undergoing regression sees himself as an ordinary farmer, or as a witch or criminal, then it is more likely to be true. No one would want to think of oneself as such.

Before proceeding with regression, I first ask permission from that person’s subconscious mind to allow such a process. There is a way of talking to the person’s subconscious mind. If it says, “yes,” then I proceed to put the person in a deeper level of relaxation or meditation so he or she can see the past. If it says, “no,” then I stop, but this can be scheduled for a second try, if the client wants to.

Not everybody sees something clearly during a regression. Sometimes, he or she may see nothing, but there is always something good that comes out of a regression session despite this. The person usually gets an insight into his or her personality or problem.

I cannot guarantee that the person will see anything significant, because what a person experiences during a regression depends on his or her subconscious mind, not on me, and not even on his or her conscious mind.

Unable to wake up

Another reader was so bothered by what she experienced during sleep that she wrote to me about it. She wants to know what it was called.

Writing in straight Tagalog, Ms Armie said she was asleep one night and was dreaming. Her dream was not pleasant, so she wanted to wake up, but she could not wake herself up. She has experienced this many times.

“But last night’s dream was the longest and the worst. I made four attempts to wake up, but my body did not want to wake up. I know I was awake, but my physical body was not with me. It was lying in bed asleep!

“So, I would sleep again so that my dream could continue. Then I would wake up again without my physical body. I felt very light. I tried to move, but I could not move. I prayed very hard. On my fifth attempt to wake up, I finally succeeded. What do you think happened to me? What do you call this experience?”

Astral projection

What you experienced is a natural phenomenon called astral projection or out-of-body experience. It happens to almost everybody. There is nothing to be afraid of when this happens. Relax and you will go back to your physical body and wake up naturally. The more you struggle, the harder it will be for your astral body to reunite with your physical body.

It is not true that when this happens, the person will die. I have not come across any case in the literature of psychic phenomena and parapsychology where a person died during astral projection, or when one’s astral body failed to reunite with the physical body.
Read my book, “Exploring the Powers of Your Inner Mind.” I explain this phenomenon in more detail.

The next Basic ESP seminar is on Aug. 10 and 11, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tel. 0998-9886292