Life Between Lives Exploration
As a Metaphor for Healing and Growth

By Judi Merritt

About ten years ago, I regressed to the womb to meet my twin sister - my mother had delivered a second placenta about 3 weeks after I was born - and wept more deeply than I had ever done before. I was training in advanced techniques in hypnotherapy at the time, and when I came home, I doubted the entire experience. In fact, I almost did not return to complete the required two years. However after several weeks of doubting the reality of the experience, what I couldn’t doubt were my tears and the emotion that cleansed me and left me feeling lighter than I had in many years. I completed the training.

About four years ago, I was certified in Past Life Regression (PLR). While training, my Western trained mind again wanted to doubt the experience of past lives. “How do I know it’s real? I’m probably making it up. What if there is nothing after my body dies?” The sense of calm and acceptance of my life, and the joy I’ve been feeling since the training, however, are all undeniable. I’ve experienced so many wonderful benefits, including spiritual growth, a sense of purpose, healing of old, very old, hurts, and a deep sense of knowing about the eternal nature of the soul. Some can prove that what they have experienced in PLR does, in fact, exist. They do so by researching and actually finding the people and or places they met in their past life session. I’ve never tried to verify my experiences because what I’ve gained from regressions is valuable enough.

Fast forward to the present. When I had the opportunity to take training in Life Between Lives Exploration (LBL), I jumped at the chance. I recently completed the training, and once again my little monkey mind wants to chatter and chatter about how unreal it is. “It is too regimented. What people experience is directly related to culture, so how can the after life be an external reality? What is reality anyway?” Then I have to ask, “What am I looking for?” As a psychotherapist, I’m primarily looking for healing and growth for myself and for others whose lives I’m given the honor of touching.

So how can this Life Between Lives Exploration heal and promote growth? Metaphor. That has been the answer for me. The process of LBL takes about 3 to 5 hours and involves relaxation to deeper levels of trance. Although some may stay in alpha (light trance) while others go to theta (deep trance), all can benefit. Next is retrieval of a couple of memories from the current life. The client is then guided by the facilitator to go to the past life immediately prior to the current life and retrieve a few memories there. He or she is then guided to witness or experience, without pain or discomfort, the death scene in that life.

Next it’s off to the state of existence of the soul between that past life and the current life - Life Between Lives. Here, they meet their spirit guide and their soul group, and go before a wise benevolent council of beings who help them (in soul state) to know exactly what they need to learn about, so they can practice this in their next incarnation (their current life). Some must learn about compassion, some about love, some about balance etc. After the council, they go to a place of learning, a library, perhaps, to absorb what they need to learn, or perhaps to Venus, for example, to learn about love, etc. After this they may go to rest or to play, or to meet again with their soul group. At some point they are guided to go to the body selection area. Here they will choose a body, a family, and a place, for the birth to begin their current life. Then they return to the present, and in beta state (fully conscious), we process what they have experienced.

So did they really meet guides, angels, higher beings, Jesus, their soul group, etc., or did they make it all up? What I have come to believe, once again, is that it does not matter. We all have an unconscious, a conscious, and a supraconscious mind. It is in the supraconscious state where we are in touch with our higher wiser selves, uncontaminated by our ego censor (conscious mind) and can have access to important wisdom for our life’s journey. The wisdom of the spirit guide and of the council is a metaphor for the wisdom our own higher consciousness or supraconscious.

How may clients benefit from Life Between Lives Exploration? It may bring amazing new knowledge about living life with a greater sense of love and ease, or give validation that the right life path has been chosen. It may bring a new or renewed sense purpose or bring to light special gifts one possesses. These are just a few examples.

The feedback I have received from clients is that this experience is life affirming and extremely valuable; that it gives them a sense of being so completely and unconditionally loved. Isn’t that what we all want?

The material and training were based on the works of Dr. Michael Newton, PhD.

Judi Merritt, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and National Board Clinical Hypnotherapist who is certified in Past Life Regression and Life Between Lives Exploration (LBL). She is owner of Embracing Life Counseling and Hypnotherapy in Pinnacle and Winston-Salem, NC, where she practices both traditional counseling and alternative healing methods. Judi has witnessed miraculous changes and growth using these techniques in her own life and in the lives of her clients. She is passionate about sharing her skills for transformation with others. Judi can be reached at 336 351-5301.