what is usefulness of past life memories? (spiritual, difference, recall)

[Tzaphkiel]

When you have recall or memories of a past life, how do you use that? How does it serve you, help you? How do you make the most of it, without just getting distracted or bogged down in lurid details?

My general understanding is that these details only appear in my awareness when there is some usefulness for me in my current life. I also know it's easy for me to get distracted by the fascination of the details, and that can be a pitfall. How do you work with past life memories?

(Note: This is not a thread whether or not past lives exist, so please keep posts to topic, thank you!)

[ptsum]

I will make an attempt to try to answer your question, to me, speaking from personal experiences, past lives is an accumulation of knowledge from previous lives that is in our subconscious and can be called forward in times of need, so that we can learn from the past, as to when that need is, only your mind and subconscious knows that. As for the detail, that just means that you are more in tune with your past lives.

[ontheroad]

I did have some strange flash-backs that were religious in content and locale. I followed whatever historical data I could find, discovered the possible root of the flash-backs and applied whatever information I obtained to better understand my then relationship(s).

It cleared up some potential spiritual concerns I had with one or more important people in my immediate life; it also provided me with a very fascinating research project and a trip to France.

[Tzaphkiel]

Originally Posted by ontheroad

It cleared up some potential spiritual concerns I had with one or more important people in my immediate life;

lucky you on the trip to France!
if it's me and my experiences, like working many lifetimes in similar work it makes sense to me how I then seem to "know something" without ever having been taught or learning it this lifetime, so it feels like "remembering" rather than learning from scratch.

But you bring up the interesting point of other people, I can get really thrown for a loop on that one, like a guy I was dating for a while I had specific memories from when we were together off in Siberia wearing animal skins skimming along the snow and ice on a sled pulled by animals...There were so many strong feelings carried over from that, it made it me wonder what our path was together this lifetime. Jury's still out on that one!

[Tzaphkiel]

also....if past lives are actually running "concurrently" the same time as this life, as in the only point of presence is NOW, time is not linear but actually only NOW in this present moment, then changes I make in my current now lifetime can actually change the "outcome" of my past lives. I've heard that put forth, and it's starting to make sense.

your thoughts and input are welcome!

[ontheroad]

DimSumRaja (is this a name change?),

I'm not certain where these memories come from, but I am certain we aren't necessarily intended to have access to fully formed knowledge and translate the memories into any given present outcome.

In the case I mentioned, the message was repeated so often, and over so many years (1971-1986) that I was compelled to acknowledge it, and attempt to research it. Researching it alone provided the healing process, not any action on my part.

Often people have what they consider "past life" memories but they are probably something else--what that something else is...too early in brain function study to name.

[MorningGlory]

I think that, for the most part, past lives are blocked from our consciousness because it would be little more than baggage. Why would you need to know that the person handing you your fries cheated on you in 1456 BC? Just too distracting. However, I think that strong emotions carry-over, and you end up attracted to and near the same people you have gravitated towards in the past.

From a karmic stand-point, if you remembered every past life consciously, then every time you saw anyone from one of those lives you would remember only the circumstances you knew them in before. You would be bogged down in what happened 3 thousand years ago.

I think the good these remembrances do comes when a person has unexplained occurrences, phobias, or aversions to other people. As an example, my mother had excrutiating headaches until I was about 10. I remember her, every afternoon, taking a nap just to escape from the headaches. Finally, after doing some spiritual research through reading books and networking, she decided to have a past-life regression done. Her first regression was of her growing up in early-pioneer days in the US, on the plains, riding a horse as an adolescent girl. Something spooked her horse, she fell off, and got kicked in the head as she fell. This killed her in that lifetime. Once she remembered it, though, the headaches stopped completely in THIS lifetime. That was 25 years ago, still no headaches.

I suspect that most people with phobias (heights, snakes, water and drowning) could trace this phobia back to a previous death or bad experience.

[Tricky D]

What is the difference between being inspired and a past life memory?
I have a very creative mind and can jump from point a to j simply because I allow myself to be inspired by outside knowledge (though not experience, because I only trust my own experiences).

[Tzaphkiel]

Originally Posted by MorningGlory

I think the good these remembrances do comes when a person has unexplained occurrences, phobias, or aversions to other people. I suspect that most people with phobias (heights, snakes, water and drowning) could trace this phobia back to a previous death or bad experience.

I totally agree with this and this has been my experience also with a family member. Even as an infant one of my 3 sons was absolutely terrified of dogs, even if a dog was 3 houses away and barely visible, my son would go into fits of terror (bear in mind this is an infant in my arms!) and this went on for years every time he saw a dog. It was like some primal terror response. The only thing that made sense to me, as he was totally at ease with all other critters and not a fearful person by nature or temperament, was that in a past life he had some tragic experience with dogs.

Originally Posted by MorningGlory

Why would you need to know that the person handing you your fries cheated on you in 1456 BC?

LOL love this scenario!

[Tzaphkiel]

Originally Posted by MorningGlory

From a karmic stand-point, if you remembered every past life consciously, then every time you saw anyone from one of those lives you would remember only the circumstances you knew them in before. You would be bogged down in what happened 3 thousand years ago.

This is totally on the mark. I was even told this at one point, when I went through a period trying to seek out information, because I knew people who had such vivid recall and access. I was told that for me it would be a major distraction and pull me off my own path of growth and healing. So I made peace with that. It seems now when something specific comes up (I can't "make" it happen, it comes forth on its own) therefore that it is helpful information asking me to look at what is going on here and now and apply it in some way.