Past Life and Meet your Guides meditation - daydreaming?

I have a very strong doubt in my mind that the countless cd/tapes and book exercises you find on knowing your past life and meeting your guides are actually breeding delusions in people.

This is because they feed of your imagination and wishful thinking. Yesterday I was listening to a 30 min meet your angels guided meditation. I enjoyed it, but the images I was seeing were based on suggestions given by the voice, "You see a temple", "There is an angel there, go and talk to the angel, hear what they say?" So the voice gives the suggestion and my imagination creates the images. I still enjoyed the exercise as a creative exercise, but I can't help but be very aware that the author is actually claming that I have really met these angels now. Have I actually met these angels, or have I simply daydreamed a fantasy?

Similar guided medtiations exist for remembering past lifes. The voice says, "Now go back before you were born, what do you see?" Naturally, my imagination creates something. The author is actually claiming this is a past life memory. Is it a past life memory or is it a daydream?

What purpose do these guided meditations have beyond being creative exercises? Surely they do not really show you your guides/angels and past lives. Do people actually believe they do?

[edit on 5-1-2010 by Indigo_Child]

I am not sure if your fishing but I will bite.

Have you ever meditated? like I say to everyone who asks I can list 5 things that will happen when you start meditating and they will come true, how do I know?, well I am not a prophet thats for sure. Its all about becoming one with nature, understanding that the human race is not the be all and end all to this existence we call life far from it, when people meditate they become aware of another existence a higher state of existence its what I like to call 'beyond language'

I agree with you in regards to people making loads of money out of these tapes, I have just aquired HOLOSYNC and its ridiculously expensive.

Have you ever listened to binaural beats i.e listening to theta waves through headphones, IMHO its the closest anyone can come to forcing conscious meditation, its powerful indeed.

reply to post by franspeakfree


I am an experienced meditator. What does this fact have to do with the question in the OP?

People that do that sorta of stuff are suppose to take great care as to not suggest anything, if they are any good. The question your asking can not be proven or disproven.

I would agree that there is indeed conscious life beyond this life but we can not validate anyone's personal experience. We can only have the experience ourselves and determine what we believe for ourselves, or take a handful of unrelated patients that can tell the same story of life between lives and possibly hold on to that as truth but there are people that won't accept that either, so what do you want me to say? Decide for yourself.

Originally posted by franspeakfree
I am not sure if your fishing but I will bite.

Have you ever meditated? like I say to everyone who asks I can list 5 things that will happen when you start meditating and they will come true, how do I know?, well I am not a prophet thats for sure. Its all about becoming one with nature, understanding that the human race is not the be all and end all to this existence we call life far from it, when people meditate they become aware of another existence a higher state of existence its what I like to call 'beyond language'

I agree with you in regards to people making loads of money out of these tapes, I have just aquired HOLOSYNC and its ridiculously expensive.

Have you ever listened to binaural beats i.e listening to theta waves through headphones, IMHO its the closest anyone can come to forcing conscious meditation, its powerful indeed.

I've been experimenting with binaural beats. Some sorta weird stuff, but nothing overwhelming yet. What frequencies/ methods have you used that created powerful experiences?

What do you think of this?

www.netliberty.net...

Thanks.

SN

[edit on 1/5/2010 by skunknuts]

Originally posted by SeeingBlue
People that do that sorta of stuff are suppose to take great care as to not suggest anything, if they are any good. The question your asking can not be proven or disproven.

I would agree that there is indeed conscious life beyond this life but we can not validate anyone's personal experience. We can only have the experience ourselves and determine what we believe for ourselves, or take a handful of unrelated patients that can tell the same story of life between lives and possibly hold on to that as truth but there are people that won't accept that either, so what do you want me to say? Decide for yourself.

>>> To Indigo_Child

This is pretty much the same thing I told you in my 'Spontaneous Past-life Regression' thread earlier.

The bottom line is ... the choice is yours to make;

Either you believe that the concept of past lifetimes in an individual is possible ... or you don't !


If you decide it is possible the next choice would probably be;

Do you want to try and discover your own pastlives ... or not ?


Some people manage to link in to a pastlife via a meditation tape ... dream ... therapy ... oobe ... ap ... likewise some do not.


As I explained earlier in my own thread ... hypnosis can be detrimental insomuch that it leaves you vunerable to subliminal suggestion.

Other than that advise the decision as to whether you personally wish to pursue such knowledge is ultimately down to you and you alone.

If you asked a dozen different people what was their opinion of such ... you would get a dozen different answers ... and probably be more confused.

Maybe you should consider the fact that it's not time to know about you PLM's (yet).

Woody

It seems therefore from the replies so far that whether you accept the images you see in guided meditations is entirely subjective. If you want to believe in it, you can, and if you don't want to, you don't.

Sorry to say but this is bogus. This is like saying if you want to believe your dreams are real events happening in some parallell universe, you can, and if you don't, you dont.

If you are seriouly making grandiose claims to have met your spiritual guide, angels and have remembered your past lives based on your imaginging by listening to a 30 min cd such as "Meet your spirit guides by Slviya brown" Then you are reaching a level of gullibility bordering on stupidity.

Allow me to paraphrase:

Peson A: Hey, guess what I was cleopatra in my past life
Person B: Really? Wow. How did you learn about that?
Person A: I bought this CD called, "Know your past life in 30 min" and when I listened to it, I saw myself as Cleopatra
Person B: Wow, what a moron


[edit on 5-1-2010 by Indigo_Child]

reply to post by Indigo_Child


Well I think you might be missing the point a little ... the point I at least was trying to make (can't speak for the others), is that belief / disbelief is relative to the individual ... it only becomes more when at least some of the recalled data can be authenticated via records / locations / history etc ... only then can you be sure that the people / places / situations that you recalled have substance. And I would be very doubtful if you recalled being someone who was historically famous ... the more mundane the memories the more likely they are to be real.

And if you are serious about the subject then the tapes can be helpful to get you used to relaxng and or meditating (although Sylvia Browne is not a particularly good example) but certainly not to access your deepest, detailed memories.

Unless you are lucky enough to gain this information spontaneously then you can only access it properly with specialized guidance.

Not sure how much more clearly it can be explained.

Woody

reply to post by woodwytch


Hi Woodwytch ,

I do get your point, I got it the last time as well. I will reiterate my point, because I am not sure you have got it. My point was that ones raw imagination in guided meditations cannot be taken to correspond to something real, for example imagining you were cleopatra in a past life and imagining meeting Buddha. And I am afraid many of these meet your guides and remember your past life CD's do just that. They make you consider your imagination as actual real events, thereby breeding delusions in people.

I do differentiate between information that is suppoted by actual evidence and corroborating records and just raw imagination. I also differentiate between spontaneous and deliberately imagined information. And between vision like information with very strong emotional content as opposed to daydream like information.

To reiterate my point I am saying there should be a more critical criteria when assessing information you derive from these guided meditations in order to differentiate the content from a mere daydream.

reply to post by skunknuts


I listen to flac HOLOSYNC theta stage 2 through headphones, its clear and crisp and almost everytime I put them on I reach a higher state of awareness in around 5-10 mins. The Binaurals last for around 40 mins I have to set my alarm downstairs so I wake up, even though you are awake through the experience, you are *paralysed until the alarm goes off.

After this simple meditation its amazing to watch what plays out after a few mins.

I used to think meditation and higher states of awareness i.e seeing life outside of the confines that we have been taught, was available to everyone, alas though I have found out from being on this site its not the case.

Peace.

Edit:* Paralysed is not the right word, its like you are mesmorised and spellbounded by the experience you do not want to move.

[edit on 6-1-2010 by franspeakfree]

Originally posted by Indigo_Child
reply to post by franspeakfree

 

I am an experienced meditator. What does this fact have to do with the question in the OP?

From the words you have chosen to use I can only assume that you are not as 'experienced' as you think. If you were you would not be writing this thread.

Truth is people could say anything to you and you wouldn't accept a word of it. Therefore, the only way that you can ever find an answer to your questions is look within yourself. Sounds cliche but its true the real answers to all your questions lie within you.

Peace

Edit: Something is troubling me, so I must add, are you frustrated that your not reaching enlightenment/nirvana as quickly as you thought? something doesn't add up, your avatar suggests the complete opposite of this thread?

No such thing as coincedences in my book - take a look at your flag contribution level

[edit on 6-1-2010 by franspeakfree]

reply to post by franspeakfree


Frank, I think for the purpose of answering your question you posed originally, "Have you ever meditated" I have sufficient meditation experience to answer positively.

I honestly do not see the connection between starting this thread to deal with a genuine doubt and my level of advancement. The fact that you do not deal with this doubt, and actually consider it "unadvanced" to even pose the question, is more indicative of your level of advancement than mine.

You have either reached the level of Buddha and gone beyond all doubts or you are one of stupid gullible people I was talking about that accept fantasy for reality, and thus are feeling very threatened by my question, for it could pop your bubbe.

Of all the genuine spiritual masters I have so far encountered, asking questions, seeking answers, trying to find the truth of all things is actually a sign of a developed person, not an underdeveloped person. On the contrary somebody who claims to know anything absolutely, is usually the one who does not know, but is too arrogant to realise.

If you are really not asking yourself "Is this real" on the images you are getting when you listen to these guided meditations and just accept them uncritically then I don't think you are very advanced either intellectually or spiritually. There are several possibilities on what they are:

1. They could be 100% accurate
2. They could be 100% fantasy
3. They could be 50% accurate and 50% fantasy
4. They could be mostly fantasy, and only partially accurate
5. They could be mostly accurate, and only partially fantasy
6. They could be a mixture of genuine intuition, subconscious projections, memories and false memories

If you do not go through this process of discerning what they most likely are and want to consider them 100% accurate or mostly accurate, then it's just wishful thinking. You're out of touch with reality.

More likely than not, imagination generated content is symbolic and not literal. Dreams are rarely literal. To get to the truth of what your imagining really correspond to requires critical analysis.

[edit on 6-1-2010 by Indigo_Child]

Just to add to my last post. There is such thing as a close minded spiritual person, or at least somebody who claims to be spiritual, but actually is just as closeminded as the non-spiritual person they distinguish themselves from.

The type of thinking you exhibited, "If you were really experienced, you would not be asking this question" is the example of boxed thinking. Did you even stop to consider other possibilities for why I would be asking the question? Evidently not.

An open mind is one that can see something from multiple perspectives and can account for multiple possibilities. This is genuinely thinking outside of the box. One validly cannot accept one possibility as true, until they have eliminated all other possibilties.

reply to post by Indigo_Child


I absolutely agree unfortunately there are people out there who cannot differentiate ... and there are as many other people out there who are willing to make money out of misleading the first set of people who are genuinely looking to deepen their knowledge and understanding.

As I said before, the tapes have a use but not in a way where the person listening will have the full experience.

I have been asked many times if there is any way I could regress someone at a distance. And there are several possible ways but none of which I would be willing to use for the sake of making an extra fee.

The mind is an amazing thing and is not something that should be delved into at a distance. I like to guide my clients through and ease them through and beyond potential distressing memories ... you can't do that at a distance.

Sorry if I misunderstood your point ... I'm just very passionate about the subject and it only takes one mishap / misunderstanding to tarnish the whole thing.

Woody

reply to post by Indigo_Child


Sometimes its best not to ask so many questions

It was Vacchagotta the wanderer who asked questions from the Buddah. He asked twice and both times buddah was silent.
Buddah was not a person or a programmed machine that answers every question asked by every person. He was not interested in answering age old metaphysical questions either. He was never interested in showing off his knowledge and intelligence. He was only a practical teacher with wisdom and compassion. He takes into consideration of the state of mind of the person and his capacity to understand.
When the monk Ananda asked Buddah about an incident , Buddah has said " if i had answered that there is a self, then that would be contrary with my knowledge that all dhammas are without self.
if i answered there is no self , then it would be a greater confusion to the already confused man.

reply to post by franspeakfree


You are not Buddha.

You have to ask questions, because you have doubts. Buddha has no doubts because he is self-realized.

If you don't have doubts, then you know everything. Are you going to make that claim that you know everything?

reply to post by Indigo_Child

Originally posted by Indigo_Child
I have a very strong doubt in my mind that the countless cd/tapes and book exercises you find on knowing your past life and meeting your guides are actually breeding delusions in people.

Methinks they are all about the autohypnosis, as are prayers and all kind of mantra repeating activity.

-v

Indigo, the images you have seen through these guided meditations are not real. At least not from my perspective. First of all, it's not wise to declare anyone else 'gullible', when you are seeking answers by purchasing CD's that claim to provide them. The answers you seek can only be found within yourself, and you cannot be guided to them by anyone else. You must find your own way, and unlock the vault with your own key.

That said, it is my belief that if and when you do realize an authentic past life, or a true spirit guide, you will not have to ask yourself whether or not it is real. These realizations are so much more than images behind closed eyelids. When the channels between your conscience, sub-conscience, and super-conscience are truly opened, images comprise an infinitesimally small fraction of the experience. You will not question the emotions you experience when the flood gates open as you do the images. Nor should anyone accept images alone as reality. When you experience the true nature of your existence, you will not have to believe, you will know.

That said, I think you are on your way to discovering what you seek. In today's society, there is much irrelevant, even deceptive hogwash to wade through, and you are doing right by questioning the information you are presented. You will find however, once you reach your destination, that it's much more efficient to simply discard that which you do not know. Think of it like recognizing a loved one. Imagine a thousand people standing in a row, your task is to simply pick out your loved one. You could do this rather efficiently, because you'd know them when you saw them. You wouldn't have to stop and ask each person about their lives, studying them to determine whether or not they were who you were looking for. You'd simply glance at them, and move on to the next until you came upon the one you know to be the one you seek. What you have experienced, you question, therefore it's time to move on. When you find what you're looking for, you will not question, you will know.

Until then, keep looking, and I'll see you on the other side.

reply to post by Unit541


Your description of knowing the 'reality' of such things is breathtakingly accurate. Well explained, although I still believe from experience that some people do need gentle guidance.

There is a subtle yet distinct difference between being led and being guided.

Woody

reply to post by Unit541


Hehe, don't worry I have not paid for these guided meditations. I download them free from the internet


Regarding your point that when knowledge really comes I will know. I think this is a double edged sword. How do you know that you know? It could be self-evident, or you think it is self-evident. I know truth has a paritcular vibration, but discerning it is not as straight forward as you make out.

New ages generally rely on intuition arguments of the sort: I know, because I can sense the vibrations. Amusingly, they are often very very wrong.

So my point? I am not entirely sure if you are on the other side. I know I am not, but I am humble enough to admit it As I said before if there are other possibilities to explain something, then it is invalid to accept one possibility before eliminating the others.

Try not to fall into the "I know, because I know" intuition fallacy. When you really do know something, you will always be able to explain why as well. Until then its just a possibility.

[edit on 6-1-2010 by Indigo_Child]