Stumbling Upon a Past-Life Memory

We may not live in the past but the past lives in us. (Woodcut by author)

In my early twenties I went through a painful breakup. My first great love left me and my world crumbled. I was overcome with depression and sought help through therapy where I was encouraged to drudge up difficult childhood memories. I recalled parental fights and my mom’s affairs. I re-experienced emotions I hadn’t felt in years. They felt like lead anchors pulling me into the abyss. I tried sitting with the feelings but they were overwhelming.

I took up meditation. I learned breathing exercises and visualization techniques to mitigate my feelings and let them go. Given my OCD, this was difficult. I replayed distressing thoughts and emotions and obsessed on associative memories. I was trapped in a repetitive feedback loop, unable to break the visceral chain.

My meditation teacher George asked if I’d be willing to try an emotional regression technique. He explained further.

“We attract people in our life who remind us of unresolved relationships. When we have a painful emotion, we link our current situation to an old relationship that caused pain. This is done unconsciously. For example, you might try to heal a rift with your mother through your girlfriend. At the same time, your girlfriend is trying to heal her father issues through you. Unless these connections are brought into the light, we become prisoners of our childhood…