Past Life Regression: Dr Brian Weiss MD
A graduate of Columbia University and Yale Medical School, Brian L. Weiss M.D. is Chairman Emeritus of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami.
In a series of bestselling books, Dr. Weiss has recommended hypnosis for patients, in order to overcome phobias. These phobias, Dr. Weiss believes, go back to experiences from previous lives. By going back to those experiences through hypnosis, the patient confronts his/her fears, and ultimately, becomes desensitized to his/her original fears.
Weiss says that 33% of patients recall past life experiences the first time under hypnosis, the number climbs to 80% after several sessions.
Past-life therapy "gives us a more expanded concept of ourselves," says Weiss, "for what we really are, not these bodies, which are vehicles to carry us around, but are they really us? So, when you can do that, you can begin to get rid of anger and fear and negative emotions and feel very peaceful on the inside."
Though Weiss is a member in good standing, the APA's official statement regarding his
controversial therapy is a withering condemnation:
"The American Psychiatric Association believes that past life regression therapy is pure quackery. As in other areas of medicine, psychiatric diagnosis and treatment today is based on objective scientific evidence. There is no accepted scientific evidence to support the existence of past lives let alone the validity of past life regression therapy."
His first book Many Lives Many Masters was an overwhelming success. Eight more books have followed. Workshops, speaking engagements and other commercial endeavors have Catapulted PLR into the mainstream.
Dr. Alan Stevenson’s work on Reincarnation met the highest standards of research, whereas Dr. Brian Weiss work has met the highest standards of commercialism.
I do not state this as a criticism, rather as a different approach.
The Concept of Past Life Regression
Past life regression is a technique that uses hypnosis to recover what practitioners believe are memories of past lives or incarnations. Proponents claim that these experiences can help individuals understand current psychological issues by uncovering unresolved traumas from previous existences.
Methodology
In practice, past life regression involves inducing a state of deep relaxation or hypnosis, where the subject is guided to recall experiences from purported past lives. This process is believed to facilitate healing by addressing subconscious fears or phobias rooted in these memories.
Dr. Weiss's Contributions
Dr. Weiss popularized past life regression through his seminal book Many Lives, Many Masters. In this work, he recounts his experiences with a patient named Catherine, who under hypnosis recalled vivid details of past lives that seemed to correlate with her present-day anxieties and phobias.
Key Publications
Many Lives, Many Masters (Book)
Through Time Into Healing (Book)
These publications have been instrumental in bringing the concept of past life regression into mainstream consciousness, offering anecdotal evidence supporting its therapeutic potential.
Scientific Perspective on Past Life Regression
The scientific community remains divided on the validity and efficacy of past life regression therapy. Critics argue that there is insufficient empirical evidence to support claims of reincarnation or the retrieval of genuine past-life memories.
Psychological Explanations
Some psychologists suggest that what subjects experience during regression sessions may be attributed to cryptomnesia—a phenomenon where forgotten information is recalled without conscious awareness—or confabulation, where false memories are constructed unconsciously.
Neuroscientific Insights
From a neuroscientific standpoint, hypnosis can alter brain activity patterns, potentially leading to vivid imaginings mistaken for actual memories. Studies using functional MRI have shown changes in brain regions associated with memory and imagination during hypnotic states (Journal Article).
Conclusion: Bridging Belief and Science
While Dr. Brian Weiss's work has garnered significant attention and has been embraced by many as a legitimate therapeutic approach, it remains controversial within scientific circles due to the lack of rigorous empirical validation. Nonetheless, his contributions continue to inspire debate about consciousness, memory, and the nature of human existence.