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Other lives, past selves [A Jungian Psychotherapist discovers Past Lives] – Dr Roger Woolger

As an example of how very unromantic certain past lives can be I will briefly mention the case of Alice.

In her regression Alice experienced herself as a young boy in nineteenth-century industrial England. The boy was a ragged street urchin of six or seven who slept in alleyways or under bridges, begged for or stole his food, was chased, beaten, and was ever on the move in an utterly miserable life of pure survival. As one wretched scene succeeded another, I waited for the event that would fortuitously change everything and bring him new hope or direction.

In the back of my mind, for sure, images from Oliver Twist and Les Miserables had already started to present themselves as I listened.

"So what happens next?" I asked, waiting for his wheel of fortune to turn a little more kindly (this time it was I who was the romantic, looking for compensation).

"It's blank, . . dark . nothing,"said Alice.

Many years of guiding regressions have taught me about the phenomenon of "overshoot" when moving forward in time in a past life. Darkness or lack of images is nearly always a sign that death has occurred, so I said to her: "Go back and see what happens before it goes dark.”

"I'm crossing a street. I'm tired and weak. It’s winter and I haven't had enough to eat. Not paying attention . Aah! I'm hit. It's a wagon. My head, my chest is crushed . . . It's all black. Suddenly I'm above my body.  It's all over. What a sad, pointless life."