12 Aug What Your Imagination and Images Can Uncover
by Ruth Schimel PhD, Career and Life Management Consultant, Author
© 6.2024. www.ruthschimel.com, ruth@ruthschimel.com 202.659.1772
Not for commercial use or sharing without Ruth’s permission.
Adventure begins with your curiosity
Have you wondered what happens to us when we’re no longer present physically? Where do our experience and insight go?
Some have the comforting faith that the soul ascends to heaven. Others eschew any form of life after death; they think that believing that the here and now is all there is makes current life more precious. To me, this belief puts the gifts of responsibility and opportunity in our hands for action now.
Not knowing what lies ahead, I’ve long been intrigued by the idea of reincarnation that I learned about from my father. A logical engineer and teacher, he did not believe formal religion was necessary to be a good, caring, contributing person on a daily basis.
When we were quietly sitting alone one day I asked him: “Since you don’t believe in an afterlife, Pop, how come you do believe in reincarnation?” With a twinkle in his eye, he said, “I can’t believe I learned all this for nothing.” To my mind, I sense his afterlife resides in the guidance and support he gave our family of three and his students. He also generously helped others over the eight decades of his life.
My experience with past life regression
My own curiosity about reincarnation continues. Decades ago, a colleague organized an informal study group among us diplomats to look into ideas and beliefs beyond the conventional. One of the experiences we shared was a past life regression.
Using guided imagery, a psychologist encouraged us to imagine ourselves in varied situations. Going back in time, she stopped at each century, giving us prompts to activate images and scenarios in our minds.
As I remember it, my first encounter was as a 22-year-old ward of a rich family in 18th century London. Preparing for an important party, we were shopping at a textile store to buy fabric for a special dress. I was excited by the textures and colors, fingering the quality among the array, as I would today. But I died of cholera before I could go to the party. As an observer of that past life movie in my mind, I did not suffer.
The second visualization occurred in 19th century Montana during a conflict between Indians and Whites. In my vision, I was a 41-year-old White man married to an Indian woman; we had a son of ten. Crossing a field between the warring groups to mediate, someone shot me in the side with an arrow that killed me.
Interpretations and learning
What did I conclude from these movies in my mind? From the young ward’s death, I surmised you never know when you’ll be taken, so enjoy seemingly ordinary experiences such as fingering fabrics.
From the mediator visualization, I learned that well-meaning actions such as peacemaking will not always be appreciated nor joined. Dangers lurk, often activated by vested interests who don’t want peace. I also concluded “doing good” benefits from learning about others’ motivations and interests and how that suggests I should protect myself (without being paranoid!)
Modern children’s experiences of reincarnation
And just today, an exploration of a reincarnation experience appeared in The Washington Post. It asked: what happens when your toddler is haunted by memories that aren’t hers? https://wapo.st/4a38vkW
Such recollections of previous lives across the world have been documented. Since the 1960s, the Division of Perceptual Studies, Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Studies at the University of Virginia School of Medicine has considered the stories of more than 2,200 children. About two thirds of the studies have enough specificity to make a match with a deceased person. Though intriguing, there is no scientific means to prove or disprove how these children could recall living a past life.
The memories can be disturbing as well as engaging for the child who usually outgrows them once involved with school activities. So, this is an experience occurring usually between the ages of 2 and 6. “They may suddenly describe places they have never been, sometimes using words and phrases that seem beyond their vocabulary.”
Explore your own images and imagination
If you want to explore specific examples in addition to the Post article linked above, read former Washington Post editor and author Tom Shroder’s Old Souls: Compelling Evidence From Children Who Remember Past Lives.” To encounter one of your own past lives through a past life regression, consider the following:
- https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/672/
- https://wendyhill.com/life-regression/ – How to do you own past life regression.
As with many explorations within yourself, go with the flow, trusting what emerges in your visualizations. As I found, you may notice some themes with direct relevance to your life now. If you prefer, explore with a professional in a group for facilitating discussion, as did. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5797677/ (Notice professional issues covered in this link.)
Of course, there are often themes in your dreams. To capture them, write down whatever you remember as soon as you wake up. Google stands in for Freud if you explore further by typing in something such as “how to interpret dreams.” Notice recurring as well as intriguing themes that prompt your associations and insights. Maybe discuss them with trusted friends and family for further insights. The conversations alone may encourage new views.
The following article can spark some other intriguing associations with charming examples of boundary crossing that combines children’s dreams, photography and drawings: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/bela-borsodis-luminous-images-of-children-and-their-drawings
And if you want to create conversations about art, explore this website that my colleague and friend Shari and I are developing. https://artingconversations.com One assumption of the site is that being an art expert is not a pre-requisite for satisfying, inspiring and stimulating appreciation of art. Following your curiosity, noticing, and participating in open conversation, as with much of life, are valuable for exploring and enjoyment. The process brings imagination and images together for varied views and insights.
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