How does recalling out past lives make a difference to our current life? Aren’t we supposed to live in the now?

Eckhart Tolle wrote his book, The Power of Now and suggested we live in the present. In fact, we are always in the present—even when our focus is on the past. We bring our memories of the past into our present awareness. Our point of power is always the present 

Most of us have past experiences that have not been resolved. The trauma lurks beneath the surface of our awareness, ready to be triggered into our present. When triggered, all the traumatic emotions associated with the past arise in our body. If we have forgotten what happened, those sudden emotions can be confusing.

Many times, earlier in my life, I felt extreme terror. This happened dozens of times before I remembered the original trauma. I was 41 when a memory from my early childhood surfaced.

In this memory, I was five and my father was sexually abusing me. Recalling it shocked me. I loved my father and didn’t want to believe it. I called my sister who lives in the USA. She confirmed the abuse. I was so disturbed, I had an emotional breakdown and couldn’t work for five months.

From surfacing my memories, my sister’s confirmation, and the strange response from my father and mother, I gradually realised the abuse had happened. This is an example of repressed memory. The abuse was so overwhelming, I had never integrated it into my normal consciousness. Instead, to stay sane, I had split off the abusive experiences and locked them away.

I took decades to come to terms with all aspects of the abuse experienced in my earlier life. Resolving it made a huge difference, greatly increasing my personal confidence, power and inner calm.

After I learned how to integrate trauma, I was more present and more at peace. Whenever I was triggered, I knew what to do. I needed to understand my current reaction as well as the nature of the original experience. Coming to terms with what had happened freed me.  

When our heart is pierced by betrayal, some belief we held explodes as well. I believed in the purity of fathers’ love for their children. My father’s past actions shattered that belief. To be free, I had to find a way to accept and understand the truth: Some fathers do abuse their children and there are reasons why they do so.

As a child, my understanding of my elders was limited. Over the years, I expanded my knowledge, remembered many earlier experiences and several past lives, and eventually got to a point of neutrality. Feeling neutral about a person or event is comforting. You love them, understand them, and accept their limitations. You no longer need to change them or obtain anything from them. Having that stance is peaceful and self-affirming.

Our memories are reconstructions, influenced by our current perspective. Even though facts remain the same, our feelings about those facts can be different. Changing perspectives can be powerful. The despair and judgment we feel at one time can shift to feeling peaceful and accepting. When that happens, we can be more like Eckhart. We are free to live in the “now” more often.

Some people forget that Eckhart wrote his book after a spontaneous, transformative experience. This changed him and enabled him to live in the present. Until we resolve our issues, our present will sometimes include our distressful reactions to past trauma.

The regressions I do are focused on gaining powerful shifts in perspective.

Until we unravel our past traumas, we are at their mercy. Neutralising past trauma is always worthwhile. When we successfully make the shift in perspective, our sense of the past is different too. Then we can live a joyful productive life in the present.

For further information, read Karen’s other blog: Calming Busy Minds