Author ’ s Corner
Ann Barham … Exploring Past Lives
Written By Jordan Rosenfeld
If you ’ ve ever been struck by a powerful feeling of déjà vu , you might believe that sensation comes from another life you lived before this one . Gilroy therapist and author Ann Barham believes there ’ s a good chance it does . Barham ’ s specialty is past life regression therapy , in which she guides her clients to connect with imagery and emotions that may stem from a past life in order to heal or overcome current obstacles .
This is the subject of her new book , “ The Past Life Perspective : Discovering your true nature across multiple lifetimes .”
While the idea of living a past life might seem foreign to us here in the west , she explains , “ In eastern traditions they accept reincarnation as a fact .” It was her goal in writing this book to “ introduce the concepts and make them accessible and not so ‘ woo-woo ’ out there ,” she said .
Barham got her masters degree in conventional therapy at Santa Clara University over twenty years ago , where she had her own profound past life experience . One of her instructors at the Jesuit university taught a class in guided imagery and was “ a closet past life person ,” she said .
She said he told them , “‘ In case you ’ re doing imagery with people and something shows up that looks like it was from a past life , I want to prepare you for how to work with it .’” He selected Barham as his test subject .
She had an ongoing problem with pain in her feet that surgery had not corrected .
“ He took me to the origin of the problem with my feet . It was a lifetime where I was a wealthy , young Asian girl and they were binding my feet .” During the regression “ my legs were shaking uncontrollably , like they were releasing all this energy .” The next day , she said her foot pain was gone .
That experience never left her as she practiced conventional therapy . And then , as she started to feel “ that something else was calling me ,” two past life therapists came to the Mt . Madonna Retreat Center in Watsonville with several months of each other . Barham trained with both of them and has been a past life therapist ever since .
Regression is a bit like guided meditation , she said . Over the course of several hours she uses a “ relaxation protocol ” and directs the client to the origin of the question they brought in . The client begins to verbalize what they see , feel and even hear .
“ They might say ‘ I ’ m wearing combat boots . I ’ m in the middle of a battle ’ and I maneuver them around that life , see where they live , the key events of their life and if something traumatic happened ,” she said .
Then , she invites in “ higher spiritual guidance ” which might include deceased family members , “ angelic figures ,” beautiful bright life or other possibilities and “ we communicate with that source and they often get advice or correction in their life .”
The stories that come out of these sessions have blown her mind many times over , and inspired the book . She cites one example where a woman described always living in fear of making a terrible , costly mistake . In the regression , Barham said , “ She went to a lifetime as a Native American boy who was forcibly removed from his home with his family and forced to march west .” The little boy was in charge of keeping his younger sister quiet . One day , in the woman ’ s regression memories , the sister wouldn ’ t stop crying and was shot by soldiers .
This story reminded Barham of the Trail of Tears , in which Native Americans in some southern states were forced by the federal government to march thousands of miles from their homes to new settlements . Many died .
When Barham mentioned this to her , the client had no knowledge of that piece of American history . “ It wasn ’ t as if she ’ d read about it ,” Barham said .
Whether or not you believe in past lives doesn ’ t matter much to Barham . You can still have a powerful result , she said . “ From my therapeutic standpoint I don ’ t really care if it ’ s a past life or a rich metaphor because it ’ s effective at making change and deepening that individual ’ s experience of who they are ,” she said .
She claimed to have had many skeptics and naysayers come to see her and leave with a changed opinion . “ You don ’ t have to be a believer . You just need to have an open mind .”
Ultimately , she sees it as “ a wonderful way to explore and discover more about yourself .”
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GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN APRIL / MAY 2018 gmhtoday . com