Past Life Regression Explained: What Really Happens in a Session, with Trish McQueen
Have you ever walked into a place for the first time and felt you had been there before? Or met a complete stranger and felt an instant connection, or an instant dislike, that you could not explain? For some people, those moments are where an interest in past life regression begins.
We get a lot of questions about past life regression at Newcastle Hypnotherapy, so for this episode of our Every Mind Matters podcast, Mark Morley sat down again with Trish McQueen. Trish is a Reiki healer and trainer who also specialises in past life regression, and she leads this side of our work. If you want an overview of how we offer past life regression sessions, start with our main guide to past life regression hypnotherapy in Newcastle.
Watch the episode
What we cover in this episode
What past life regression is, and how it differs from the age regression used in everyday hypnotherapy
What happens in a session, from the first consultation to stepping through a door into another life
Whether you need to believe in past lives for a session to be useful
How a skilled therapist avoids leading questions and protects clients from false memories
How Trish keeps difficult experiences safe by having clients watch events like a film, rather than relive them
Key points from the conversation
Past life regression vs age regression
In ordinary hypnotherapy, a therapist might ask, "When was the first time you felt like this?" Sometimes the answer comes from a time before this life, and the session becomes a past life regression without anyone planning it. Trish explains how a dedicated past life session explores that journey on purpose, going back as far as the client needs to go.
What a session involves
Every session starts with a consultation: why the client wants to explore this, whether they understand hypnotherapy, and how they would prefer to travel back. Some walk down a corridor of doors, some step through a mirror, others simply drop into a scene. Trish describes the experience as being like watching a film of your own life.
Avoiding false memories
The client does the work. A good practitioner guides without suggesting anything, never asks leading questions, and simply listens. Trish explains why a single careless question can pull images from a film, a book or the news into a session.
Keeping difficult moments safe
Past lives can include frightening events. Trish uses a technique called double dissociation, so the client observes what happened rather than reliving it. As Mark points out, this is one reason choosing a properly trained hypnotherapist matters.
Real stories
Trish shares examples from her work, including a client whose lifelong fear of water was traced to a shipwreck and who later started swimming lessons, and her own discovery of where her procrastination came from. Mark also talks openly about his own surprising regression.
Thinking about a past life regression session?
Every past life regression with Trish starts with a short call to talk through what you are hoping to explore and whether it is right for you. Sessions run for one hour, two hours or longer. Find out more about past life regression sessions or visit Newcastle Hypnotherapy.
Full episode transcript
Lightly edited for readability. Filler words and false starts have been removed.
Mark (00:00): So hello. And yes, here we are again. Just over a year ago Trish and I had a little conversation about her work as a Reiki healer and a Reiki trainer, and today we're gonna talk about something else different that she does. Today we're talking about past life regression. So thanks for coming back, Trish.
Trish (00:17): Thank you for inviting me, Mark.
Mark (00:18): So I'm gonna ask Trish some questions, 'cause a lot of people are very curious about past life regression. We get a lot of requests on the site for information, and we've brought in Trish to handle just that side of things as it's very specialised. So first of all, Trish, how would you explain past life regression to someone who's hearing about it for the first time?
Trish (00:40): Have you ever been anywhere and it's a sense of déjà vu? Have you met somebody, a complete stranger, and you feel an instant connection? Have you met somebody and feel an instant dislike? Have you wondered if you've been here before? All these questions can relate to past life. Have you got an eating disorder that you can't think about, that you don't know where it came from? I have a friend, when we explored her past life regression, she's addicted to bread and butter and she doesn't know why. And it turns out she was starved to death and they threw, it was in France, threw down bread to the people who were there that was, it was dreadful for her. And that's where that addiction came from.
Mark (01:29): Interesting.
Trish (01:29): So by exploring that, she was able to realise that she wasn't hungry, and with a little bit of EFT, she dropped a couple of stone because she stopped eating bread and butter. And it was a, a craving she just didn't know where it came from.
Mark (01:43): Interesting. Interesting.
Trish (01:44): Fascinating.
Mark (01:46): So how is past life regression different from ordinary age regression in hypnotherapy?
Trish (01:52): Past life regression explores the journey that your soul has been on. We're all a little soul, and we come to this life in a meat suit, and we choose how we're gonna be, and it's just like buying a new car, it's a vehicle to move along with, but the soul is the same soul from many, many lives. In this time there seems to be a lot of people who are exploring past life regression who are spiritual and who are questioning because they're old souls. You've, you've looked at children, and you look in their eyes and you can see that they're, they're wise, they are an old soul. And there's a lot of us coming back now, and a lot of it is curiosity. Want to find out who we were in a past life. A lot of it is you want to know why you do things. But the scope of past life regression is going back in time, going back and back and back, and you can ask somebody in hypnotherapy in an ordinary session, "When's the first time that you felt like this?" And they can turn round and say it was 1843, and then you're immediately in a past life regression.
Mark (03:05): Hmm. Interesting. Interesting.
Trish (03:06): It's fascinating.
Mark (03:07): It is. It is. Now, does the client need to believe in past life regression for this to help for it to work?
Trish (03:15): No, they don't have to believe in it, but it is easier, because when people are hypnotized you are talking to the subconscious mind, so the subconscious mind will take that person back to where they need to be. The conscious mind, you know, the little sort of, "You can't do this, you can't do that," that is the barrier. Get past that and you can take the soul and the subconscious mind back to the beginning. So, no, they don't need to believe.
Mark (03:41): Good. Good. And what do you personally believe is happening when we take somebody back?
Trish (03:46): They are going back to a previous life. They're experiencing the same thing, people they were with, places they've been to. It can also be sort of like the reason why they're, they're drawn to this or that. You've got soul connections. You can go back and in past life regression you can take somebody and yous can either dip into lots and lots of different past lives, or you can take them into one life that they want to explore, and you can take them to the moment of death, to where their family are around them. I've had this done personally, and when I was lying on my death bed my husband was a best friend in this life, 'cause you can come back as a different sex. And the children I had, I recognized them from people in this life that I have a really close connection to. That was amazing. And then, of course, from there you can go to life between lives, which is the place where the soul hangs out, really, for want of a better word, till it decides to reincarnate, and you can learn a lot about yourself in there. You can find out what lesson you learnt in that life, why you need to come back, what lessons you're gonna do in this life. That is awesome. That's the only word I can think of.
Mark (05:03): Awesome. I like that. So walk us through a session from when somebody initially contacts us about past life regression. Tell us what happens.
Trish (05:11): Well, you do your consultation, naturally, because it's a hypnotherapy session. And then you want to know why. Why do they want to do this? Are they just curious? Is there a deeper meaning? Have they had past life regression before? Do they know what hypnotherapy is? That's the biggest thing. You know, they, they hear about past life regression and sort of like it can be a bit of a trend, let's go down that route, but do they know what, what's gonna happen in a hypnotherapy session? So then you explain to them that they will go back to a past life that is meaningful. And there's lots of ways of getting people there. They can either walk down a, a hotel corridor, and there's a few doors on either side. Or like mine, it just looks like it goes on forever. They can just drop into one. You can ask them, you know, what you're looking at, where is what you're standing on, are your feet male or female, child, adult? You can do it that way. You can take them through the mirror. And then they walk into another world, another life. Lots of different ways. That all has to be done in the consultation. How would they prefer to go into their past life? Which helps them, 'cause then they realize that they're gonna be walking down a hotel corridor or through a mirror or... And you might find somebody that has a phobia about mirrors and doesn't want to walk through one. You might have someone who's terrified of, like, standing on sand or grass or whatever. So you need to work all that consultation out, and then you explain that it will be as real as if it's now. And we can usually get a date. And if it's not too long ago, you can usually validate it by using the internet today and find out who that name was. Like, and that is the most amazing thing. Somebody that I know went to Egypt, they got a name, and they were able to research it and find out their Egyptian name because they found out who their father was, which came through in the past life regression.
Mark (07:04): Mm. It's amazing when that happens.
Trish (07:06): Oh, fascinating.
Mark (07:07): Yeah. So as we go through this process, what would somebody typically experience?
Trish (07:12): It's a bit like watching a video, but it's you in the video, and sometimes a female can be a male and a male can be a female. You can be rich, you can be poor, you can be the king, you can be the pauper. And you watch this past life, and then you meet people and you can think, "Oh, that's such and such," or, "That's so-and-so in this life." And it's like just watching a Netflix movie. But it's you, it's your life.
Mark (07:37): Interesting. Interesting. And what do you do if you work with somebody and nothing comes up at all?
Trish (07:44): Then they're not ready. Their subconscious has stopped it because they're not ready to find out what has happened. You would try a few times, try a few different ways, but if the subconscious is blocking it, as you know, your subconscious is there to keep you safe, you would just end the session. If nothing else, the client will feel relaxed.
Mark (08:02): Good. And how do you make sure that you're not leading the client?
Trish (08:07): The client does the work. We just guide them. Guide them through the, the door, through whatever. Ask them to tell you what's going on, and say nothing. Just make sure that they're, they're comfortable and they're having a nice experience. So you don't say, you know, "Is there someone there with blue shoes?" Or you just don't ask any leading questions. You, you just listen to what the client has to say. They do the work.
Mark (08:32): Good. Good. And why do people usually look to do past life regression? What is it they're looking for?
Trish (08:39): Well, if you'd never, ever tasted a bar of chocolate, would you be interested in trying chocolate? No. If you have an inkling about past life regression, it's because something's come to you. Through a memory or a curiosity. So this is when people start to explore. Who was I in a past life? Why do I have this? Why have I a love of crystals? Why this, why that? And that's when they start to explore, and they will only explore when they're ready. The subconscious will lead them to the right person.
Mark (09:10): Yeah. And can you share a session where something from the past has helped somebody?
Trish (09:17): Definitely, yes. I've got a few. Fear of heights, that came through. A karma relationship, there was that one. Somebody was terrified of water, absolutely to the point that, you know, it was even hard getting into the bath. And with that past life regression, it turns out they were with their brother and they were both teenagers on a ship like the Spanish Armada but more of the size of the Cutty Sark. And because there was bad blood between them they didn't get on. Neither would help each other put the sails up, and they both drowned. And it was horrific. And once that happened and they realised where that fear of water came from, they actually started going for swimming lessons after that.
Mark (10:04): Interesting. Interesting. And what would you say is the most memorable or favourite session you've ever, you've done with somebody?
Trish (10:12): A friend of mine who told me about every time they went into a certain place that their leg hurt and that they stumbled. And of course, with that past life regression, it turns out they'd been a soldier, and their leg had been chopped off at that point. And every time they'd gone there, their leg had given way. So after knowing that, they went and everything was fine because they knew what had happened. That was amazing.
Mark (10:37): Amazing. Amazing. Now, what do you say to people who think these memories are built from imagination, from films, from books?
Trish (10:46): Well, your subconscious wouldn't allow that. But I would just say it's a story that's been given to you. It, your, your mind giving you your scenario, and it's up to you to now go home, journal on it, reflect on it, and see what you can find out or the relevance of it being with your life today.
Mark (11:09): And how do you protect clients from false memories?
Trish (11:13): You don't guide them. You don't say anything. You don't ask them... Biggest thing is, have you been assaulted in this past life? And all of a sudden, that film or the book or the news report will come into this past life and they will be assaulted. So you don't say anything like that. You don't lead them at all.
Mark (11:35): And what about if a client has a distressing experience? You know, quite often they're gonna experience death or other things that have gone in their life. How do you stop that from becoming a problem?
Trish (11:48): I use double dissociation, where it is like sitting watching a movie. You are there, you see it, but you don't feel anything. If somebody drops you straight into a past life, you could be getting run through with a sword or anything or blown up with a cannonball. That would cause massive distress. And of course, in the physical you would have problems today. So the way I do it is called double dissociation, where the person is watching what's going on rather than being in it.
Mark (12:16): That's good. That's good. 'Cause yes, we've had a few clients over the years where they've been to somebody else for past life regression, and experienced something quite nasty. And then they've got some trauma because that therapist didn't know how to deal with that. And it is interesting, a lot of people go and learn something cheap.
Trish (12:32): Oh, yes, you can go and get a 10 pound online course and come out with a certificate, but actually is that real?
Mark (12:40): Well, that's it. It's, that's one of the benefits about picking the right hypnotherapist is we know how to deal with problems, but they do often come up, that's one of the things we see is that past life can trigger that. Now, it is interesting that in the hypnotherapy world, there's always lots and lots of different views on this. I know when I passed my hypnotherapy training, we were told just leave past life therapy alone. It's a load of mumbo jumbo. And of course, the first thing we did, we all got together and, and did a past life session. The, one of the arguments I keep seeing is, as it's rubbish, as it doesn't exist, it's not something to mess with. But I keep seeing people who tell me they've had a therapeutic benefit from that. What are your views on that?
Trish (13:24): Well, for past life regression, you need to have someone who's also qualified in spiritual hypnotherapy. Because without that, you can then open up a huge can of worms if you don't know what you're looking at and what to deal with. So because of that, if people believe, they don't need any proof. And if people don't believe, all the proof in the world, they still won't believe. So why waste your energy? So there's, it's two schools of thought. It's the same as going to a, a, a medium or a clairvoyant for a reading or not. Some people believe, some don't. And because of that, if you've had somebody who has had a bad experience of past life regression, they'll then become frightened of it and say, "Don't do it. It's dangerous." But the benefits, you can find out your soul family, your soul connections, as I say, you can go on life between lives. But that all is towards the spiritual hypnotherapy rather than the clinical.
Mark (14:23): It is interesting actually, 'cause I know when I, when I qualified, my view was a lot of hypnotherapists didn't believe in any woo woo type stuff. And slowly over the past decade or so, we're seeing more and more hypnotherapists getting into this now or changing their views. And it's just interesting why that's changing.
Trish (14:43): Usually because somebody is there with trauma. So you take them back along the timeline, and you take them back possibly to just when they were a two-month-old baby, and possibly the thing is still there. So you know, take me back to the first time it happened, and then you've gone into a past life. And then it's like, oh, right, now what do I do? And then of course, from there, when they've described what's happened, then of course you end up where you have to go down the training because it's opened a new door for you. Procrastination is the biggest thing. I used to suffer with procrastination, and when I was gonna do something, I would clean the windows or I'd do housework, rather than sit down and do the task at hand. So, I had past life regression to find out where this had come from. And it turns out it was about the 1700s, and I was a small child, and I knew where I was going. I was going over there to get some water out of the, the water thing. And I was just about to step out and I got pulled back and I saw the nut and I saw the wheel and the horses. I would've been actually squashed. So of course every time I went to do something, I ended up being pulled back and did everything else apart from. So then it was a case of sorting that out with hypnotherapy. And so, we ended up along many routes, but we ended up with parts therapy and sorted that past life regression out with parts therapy, 'cause that part of me was still with me in this life. Gave it a new job to do. Fabulous.
Mark (16:16): Good. Good. So, that was the next question: have you explored your own past life, and what has surprised you?
Trish (16:24): Many. My relationship with different members of the family. Finding out things about myself, like the procrastination. Finding out where my love of crystals came from, which was way, way back in Egypt, and I've had many lives there. And finding out that I've had more past lives as a male than a female. And all I can think of is in this life, I need the male strength to keep me going with a lot of personal issues, so that's where that's come from. And I used to be the most amazing archer. On the top of a, a castle in Kent. Getting them all. Bing. And it's something I've never even explored in this life. Never even thought about. But yeah.
Mark (17:09): That's an interesting one. Yeah. And what have been the experiences of people who've gone through this? Have there been anything weird and wonderful?
Trish (17:16): No, not so much weird and wonderful, but I always suggest that after a past life regression, because of course with hypnotherapy, you know, you come round and it's like, it's, it's all there running round in your head. Go home and write notes, do a journal, and more will come to you. And then of course once you've gone to bed, you can dream and everything like that. But people have got in touch with me later and said, "I also saw this," and, "I also saw that," because the subconscious is releasing all of this in the dream state, where they're finding out more of the past lives that we've explored.
Mark (17:46): Interesting.
Trish (17:47): Which is lovely for them.
Mark (17:48): It is. It is. I used to go to a, a regular meditation class. It was the same six of us for years, and quite often when I got deep, this face used to just suddenly come up, this black face would come right up here, and it'd do it again and again and again. And I never understood what that was until we tried past life regression. And it was I was a Black slave in America, and I was hung. And it was really weird as I went in, 'cause I could smell the dirt and the hay and the animals and the fire. And I came out of it and thought, "If that was my imagination, it's really clever." But the amount of information that came through so quickly absolutely shocked me.
Trish (18:28): Yeah. That is what happens. Which is why when you're doing the session, if somebody wants to explore one past life, it can take a little while. But normally when people have done that one, they want to go on, and on, and on, and on. And you, you sometimes need two to three hours by the time that they want to... You know, 'cause I usually say, "Is there another life that you would like to visit?" And it's up to them. They either yes or no. And if it's yes, I'll say, "Continue on. Walk down the corridor," or whatever. However they want to go down into hypnotherapy, and then they explore another past life. Because it's just, you know, the subconscious will only release the past lives where you need to know.
Mark (19:10): That's interesting. Yeah. One thing that did shock me was I recently qualified as a timeline therapist which I found really interesting. And in the start of that, as we get people into that little hypnotic trance, we ask people where that problem came from. Was it before, during, or after birth? And the group that we were working together with suddenly pulled on that question and said, "What do you mean, was it before birth?" And it's quite a validated therapy now. In that there do seem to be things that happen while we're in the womb or before. Which messes up an awful lot of things we got taught earlier on.
Trish (19:48): Yeah. And of course it's the other thing, when you're in the womb, it's the music. Whatever your mum was listening to. I know somebody whose child absolutely just chilled out at Emmerdale Farm sort of music. Because when the mother went to sit and watch Emmerdale Farm, she was relaxed. She had a cup of tea, and was looking forward to watching the program, and that music soothed this child.
Mark (20:12): That's interesting.
Trish (20:13): Which I found was absolutely fascinating.
Mark (20:14): Yeah. Actually one of mine, whenever we played Nik Kershaw in the car, the movement became crazy. Sort of kicking against it, which is quite good. So this has been absolutely fascinating. So if anybody wants to get in touch with Trish and book a session, first thing we start with is a call just to see what you're after, to see if it's suitable. And you can do that. I'll put a link below on the page, and you can click through and read a bit more about what we do. And we can do it as a short one-hour session, or even better, we can do it as a two-hour session because we get much more done, or we could look at longer sessions as well there. So thanks very much for that, Trish. If you've got any questions, you can leave them below and we'll see if we can get those answered for you as well. So thanks for watching, and see you all soon.
Trish (20:57): Thank you.
Learn more about Past Life Regression Hypnotherapy at Newcastle Hypnotherapy here:
https://www.newcastle-hypnotherapy.com/past-life-regression-newcastle
Visit: The Newcastle Hypnotherapy Mental Health Blog
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