by Denise Linn

Music

A song or musical score has the ability to transport us back to the time when we first heard it. A forgotten memory can be conjured simply by listening to a piece that was being played during the event. Just as the music can help us evoke memories from this life, it can also spur remembrances of past lives.

Matt used to always hum the fiddle song “Turkey in the Straw” to himself. He never knew where he’d heard it, where it was from, or why he even liked it until he was at a gold-rush museum and realized that the same song was playing in the background. As he listened, he had spontaneous – and emotional – memories of panning for gold during the California gold rush in the mid-1800s.

Carly was visiting New Zealand when she heard the music of the native Maori people. She said that tears streamed down her face because the songs evoked such powerful emotions in her. She later participated in a past-life regression and remembered being a member of a Maori tribe.

Scents, Aromas, and Smells

Although we ascribe great importance to the way something looks or sounds, the way in which it smells can have an even more powerful effect on our emotions than any of our other senses. Research has shown that when we first meet someone, we’ll like or dislike the person based more on the way he or she smells than on the way they look or sound . . . even though we’re not consciously aware of that individual’s odor!

A scent can instantly transport you to another time in history. Sally used to have a strong positive emotional response every time she smelled campfires despite the fact that her family had never gone camping – and she didn’t ever remember being around a campfire as a child. It was only when she regressed and witnessed her previous life as a Native American in the area that’s now New Mexico that she realized where her profound love of the smell of campfires came from.

Kyle always felt at home whenever he picked up the scent of pine forests. He said that the aroma made him feel safe; and during a regression, he recalled a wonderful lifetime in Norway where he lived in a rich pine forest.

Although most people like the smell of meat cooking over an open fire, Hans hated it with a passion. When he discovered his difficult past life where he was in charge of human cremations that were conducted upon outdoor fires, he finally understood his strong distaste for the odor.

Déjà Vu Experiences

If you’ve ever been to a place for the first time yet felt that you’d been there before, write down your recollections. Also note occasions when you’ve met someone but felt that you already knew him or her. Psychologists say that Déjà vu occurs when the scene that you’re observing becomes available to your conscious mind a split second before you’re consciously aware of it. You sense that you’ve seen it or been there before because you have – a fraction of a second earlier. However, I’ve found a direct correlation between Déjà vu and past lives and believe that these events are very important in exploring reincarnation. Be sure to carefully record all of your Déjà vu experiences.

One of the most emotional Déjà vu episodes that I’ve ever encountered occurred while I was in Japan in the beautiful town of Kamakura. Standing in this city, resplendent with ancient temples, it’s hard to imagine that Tokyo is only a short train ride away. A deep sense of the past is evident in every crevice of the numerous shrines and religious buildings there. When I walked into the Engakuji Temple, which was built in 1282 and dedicated to the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, the familiarity of having stood there before was overwhelming. I knew that I’d been there before. As soon as I entered the grounds, the transformation within me was palpable. It was like being at a very noisy, busy airport; and then suddenly there is no sound. The feeling of Déjà vu was profound! Everything about me changed – the way I walked, my mannerisms, my breathing pattern, and even my eyesight . . . I was able to see better. It was as if a past incarnation had partially overlapped my present life.

Talents and Abilities

Many of the abilities that come to you spontaneously and easily can be attributed to past lives. Perhaps child prodigies – such as Mozart, who was a virtuoso at the harpsichord from an early age – acquire their abilities from previous lives. Examining your natural talents might offer additional clues as to who you once were.

One Saturday morning my daughter, Meadow, announced that she wanted to go ice skating. She’d been watching a skating competition on television the evening before and had been enthralled by the beauty and grace that the skaters displayed. My husband, David, is usually very slow to move in the morning, so I was astounded when he immediately agreed to her request – especially since he’d never skated in his life.

Our experience at the rink surprised me. My daughter had roller-skated before but had never ice skated, and quickly her ankles began to wobble as she plopped down onto the ice. I’d skated a lot as a child, but I was rusty and shaky. While I helped Meadow, we looked for David, the non-skater. Just at that moment, he sailed past us with the most smooth, graceful movements. He glided around us in circles. He skated backward. He skated fast and slow. He completed wondrous spins and turns. Astonishing!

After several minutes of pirouetting around the rink, David’s feet suddenly flew out from under him and he pulled a muscle in his knee. It was as though something inside him knew exactly how to skate, but his muscles weren’t prepared to move in those directions. Previously he’d recalled a life as a city official in Holland, and he had often skated on frozen canals and ponds. I believe that those distant memories of Holland had filtered through from his past.

Occupations and Hobbies

The occupations we’re drawn to are usually the same as, or have similar features to, the ones we undertook in past lives. This seems to be especially true of vocations in early life. For example, one man whom I regressed had been a piano maker in Germany. In his current life, he learned to play that instrument as he was growing up, and in his 20s he became a carpenter. Both of these skills were connected to his previous life. Now he is neither a pianist nor a carpenter – he’s an artist. I believe that he’d completed the karma from his prior German life, so he’s no longer involved in the same occupations or hobbies.

Heritage and Ancestry

There’s often a correlation between a person’s cultural and/or racial heritage and the types of past lives he or she has experienced. This link isn’t always evident, and to date there’s been very little research into this phenomenon. You may find that you’ve shared a life with one or more of your ancestors. For instance, a man – whose great-grandfather had come from Spain – discovered that he was a woman in that incarnation and was married to his great-grandfather in that lifetime.

Sometimes you may even find that you actually have been one of your own ancestors. Deborah was surprised when, during a regression, she realized that she’d been her great aunt Esther. Upon further research, she was even more astounded to discover an incredible number of similarities in their lives. For example, each year on her birthday, Deborah always performed a secret ceremony early in the morning. One by one, she’d remove 12 stones out of a small purse that she kept for the occasion (a stone for each month of the coming year) and as she did this she’d say out loud, “January is great! February is great!” and so on. Later in her life, Deborah was given Esther’s diary and read her great aunt’s entries that recounted doing the exact same thing!

It’s also common to have a number of past lives in the same heritage. So if you’re of Scottish ancestry, you might have had a number of Scottish lifetimes; if you’re of African descent, you might have had a number of African lifetimes. (I’m not sure if we actually have more lives in a particular heritage or if they’re just easier to “remember” because they’re somehow familiar to us.)

If others constantly assume that you’re a different heritage than what you think you are, this can also be a past life clue. For example, people continually asked Sandra if her family members had descended from Turkey, which she found strange since her ancestors were mostly from Belgium. Eventually this made sense when in a regression she uncovered a past life in Turkey.

Your Name

The name that you currently possess isn’t an accident. In addition to providing you with the vibration and energy that you need for your current life, there are often past life correlations with it. Explore possible past life roots for your name by researching its origin and meaning. From what country does your name originate?

Dominique always wondered why his mother – whose parents were from Guatemala – gave him a French name. All of his brothers and sisters had Hispanic names except for him. However, when he discovered a lifetime in a French monastery and his name was also Dominique, he understood why he’d been given that name.

Sometimes the meaning of a name is a past life clue. Devin read that his name was a Gaelic word for “poet” or “bard.” He found this very interesting because in past life regressions, he discovered numerous lifetimes in which he’d been a poet.

In addition, pay particular attention if your name was suddenly changed or came as a surprise to your parents at the time of your birth. For example, Jacob’s mother and father had planned to call him Roger. But when his mother – who had just given birth to him moments before – was asked the name of her newborn son, she shocked herself by replying without hesitation, “His name is Jacob.”

As an adult, Jacob experienced an incarnation in which he’d been an active member of the Jacobite rebellion in the British Isles during the 1700s. His fervent affiliation with the uprising created a powerful alignment with the name Jacob.

If you’ve been named after a family member, there’s almost always a karmic connection with that individual. Rose had been named after her great-grandmother. Although she’d never met her, when she researched their family tree, she found remarkable similarities between the two of them. The similarities were so strong that the younger Rose became convinced that she’d been her great-grandmother in her former life.

John-George was named after his dad, and even though their relationship was always strained and competitive, the son discovered a significant past life. They’d experienced an earlier life together in Crete as brothers who were very competitive with each other.

Be sure not to overlook the nicknames that either you take on yourself or that others give you. A woman named Merry was called “Medici” for her entire life, for no obvious reason that anyone could remember. However, during a regression she uncovered a life in Italy as part of the powerful Medici family.

Books and Films

Searching for clues to your past lives can be as easy as reading travel guides, watching films situated in other countries or time periods, or flipping through National Geographic magazines to observe your reactions to various scenes and images. Read about different cultures in an encyclopedia (or online) and note which ones you find most interesting. Look at picture books of various environments and notice how they affect you. For example, check out some photographs of desert settings and see if you experience any emotional reactions to them. If you do feel a response, use your imagination to put yourself in the picture, and imagine what you might have looked like or what kind of life you’d be leading if you were really there.

What types of books have you been attracted to throughout your life? As a child, I read everything that I could find about the Amazon. Those steamy jungle scenes – and especially stories about anacondas – fascinated me. I also loved going to the zoo to look at these creatures up close and persuaded my parents to introduce me to a snake expert. Holding an anaconda was one of the thrills of my childhood, and eventually I even raised and bred snakes. But there was nothing in my upbringing that foreshadowed this passion of mine; however, in my past life exploration, I uncovered a life as an early Spanish explorer in which I was spellbound by the incredible wildlife and natural wonders of this mighty river.

Examining the types of books, movies, and magazines that you’re drawn to is valuable as you research past lives. Jot down a list of the images and scenes from your favorite novels and films that have particularly impressed you. In addition, pay attention to specific themes that are enthralling or appeal to you – or even repel you. For instance, I can’t watch scenes where someone is treated unfairly. I can account for this because I’ve experienced unjust treatment in my life, and I’ve also traced it back to previous lifetimes.

Animals and Pets

Do you feel a kinship with certain kinds of animals? When you’re around these beings, do you feel that you’re able to communicate with them? This type of experience may be related to a past life in which you had extensive contact with a particular kind of animal. Perhaps you were a horse trainer or a farmer. Or maybe at some point, your only friend was a pet. The emotional solace provided by that relationship might have been the one thing that kept you going through an incredibly difficult situation. There are accounts of prisoners who formed bonds with rats in their cells and even save portions of their meager rations to feed their little friends. These acts of kindness, along with gratitude for the animals, kept these individuals from going insane.

To the ancient Egyptians, cats represented gods. Relics of that time are filled with regal pictures of cats acting out the civilization’s most important myths. In fact, cats were so honored that many of them were embalmed along with their owners when they died. If you’ve had a lifelong affinity for cats, to the point of nearly worshiping them, you might have had a life in ancient Egypt.

Sometimes an animal that unreasonably frightens you can be an important sign. For example, Donald was terrified of alligators. He was so frightened that he refused to swim in his pool at night because of his intense fear – even though there were no alligators in New Mexico where he lived.

Donald told me that although he knew that he truly wasn’t in danger, he couldn’t seem to overcome his irrational fear. It was only when he healed a past life – in which he’d been dragged into the water and mauled by a crocodile – that he could finally enjoy nighttime swims in his pool without fear.

Personality Traits, Mannerisms, and Habitual Behaviors

More details about your past lives can be found by studying the mannerisms, personality quirks, and behaviors that make you unique. Of course many of these characteristics can be traced to events and influences in your present life, but the traits that are completely out of keeping with your upbringing can be explained by exploring past lives. People often exhibit behavior that, on the surface, makes no sense in terms of their personal history. For example, a very mild-mannered man, who came from a gracious and kind family, noticed that when ever he witnessed cruelty to children, he felt sudden violent anger and often had to be restrained to prevent him from hurting someone. The man said that at times he’d even wanted to kill individuals just for yelling at their kids. He was shocked by his own behavior. However, he began to understand where this trait came from when he delved into his past lives.

In a previous incarnation, this man discovered that as a child he’d lived in an orphanage where children were abused. During that lifetime, he wished he could kill the cruel supervising officials. He balanced the distress of that situation by incarnating into a peaceful, loving family; however, he still carried the residue of abhorrence that had filtered into his current life regarding kids being ill-treated.

Carefully examine any unusual qualities that you may possess. For example, some people, despite having grown up in poverty, have refined mannerisms and behave as if they were royalty. Even as children, they loved luxurious things and acted as though they’d had them in spite of their destitute living conditions. It’s likely that such individuals experienced lives of privilege in previous lifetimes.

Sometimes habitual behaviors can be explained in terms of reincarnation. Every night before going to sleep, Jeremy always had to look under the bed, to the chagrin of his long-patient wife. When he reexperienced a past life in China – in which an assassin had lain in waiting beneath his bed and then killed him – he realized why he was obsessed with checking under the bed every night.

Fran had a peculiar trait of bowing to everyone she met. Although this isn’t unusual behavior for someone who had a previous life in Asia, it was considered strange in her present life.

Excerpt from Past Lives, Present Miracles

See Part II here.

See Part IV here.