Exploring Past Life Readings and Therapies: Including the Benefits and Pitfalls

Written By Emily O'Neal

Ever wondered about past lives and reincarnation? Questions around these topics come up a lot, so I thought I’d do some exploring and share some of my personal experiences when it comes to past life regression therapy.

If you’ve spent any time on social media lately, you’ve probably seen people offering Akashic Records readings or talking about past life regression. Maybe you’ve heard of Dr. Brian Weiss and his book “Many Lives, Many Masters,” or you’ve been curious about exploring your own past lives. These ideas are everywhere right now, but where did they come from? And more importantly, how can we approach them thoughtfully?

What People Are Experiencing Today

Past life readings and therapies are based on the belief that our souls live multiple lifetimes, and those lifetimes can influence our current life. Practitioners report that these experiences offer a sense of purpose, connection to a larger narrative, and insights into present circumstances. Scroll through Instagram or TikTok and you’ll find countless people offering to read your Akashic Records, guide you through past life regression, or help you understand patterns from previous lifetimes.

Those who engage in this work describe how it has helped them understand phobias, relationship patterns, or chronic physical issues. Others find comfort in the idea that consciousness continues beyond death. I don’t want to dismiss these experiences. If past life work has helped you, that’s valid and important.

What I want to explore is where these modern practices came from, how they relate to ancient religious traditions, and how to approach them with both openness and discernment.

The Brian Weiss Phenomenon

Most people interested in past lives have heard of Dr. Brian Weiss. In 1988, he published “Many Lives, Many Masters,” which became and remains hugely popular. I remember seeing him on the Oprah Winfrey show in the 1990s as a younger person and being fascinated with his work.

Weiss is a psychiatrist who believes it’s possible to access memories of past lives through hypnosis, and that these memories can provide insights into current life challenges and facilitate healing. His book recounts his experiences with a patient named Catherine who, under hypnosis, began to recall details of past lives.

What made Weiss’s work so influential was his credibility as a psychiatrist. He brought medical authority to past life regression, helping it gain acceptance as a therapeutic tool. He believes that addressing unresolved emotional issues from past lives can lead to healing and personal growth in the present, and that spiritual beings or guides can offer wisdom during these sessions.

Following the success of his book, the 1990s and 2000s saw an expansion of training programs in past life regression therapy. This democratized the practice but also meant varying levels of training and ethical standards among practitioners.

It’s important to note that while Weiss’s work has been influential and many people report benefits, there is no scientific consensus on the existence of past lives or the mechanism by which past life regression therapy works. The healing people experience may come from the therapeutic process itself, regardless of whether the memories are literally true.

The Akashic Records

If you’re on social media, you’ve definitely seen people offering Akashic Records readings. The term “Akashic Records” comes from the Sanskrit word “Akasa” meaning sky or space. It refers to a hypothetical universal energy field believed to contain information about all past, present, and future events, kind of like a cosmic library of every soul’s journey.

The concept has roots in ancient Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, but the term itself was popularized by the Theosophical Society in the late 19th century, particularly through the writings of Helena Blavatsky.

Edgar Cayce (1877-1945), often called the “Sleeping Prophet,” brought this concept into American popular consciousness during the early 20th century. He channeled information about past lives while in deep trance states and frequently referred to the Akashic Records. My mother had books about Edgar Cayce that as a child I loved to read. The idea of past lives and psychic communication has always fascinated me.

Cayce provided thousands of readings where he described people’s past lives, often including mundane details about their work, relationships, and challenges. While some of his readings described dramatic lives, many were quite ordinary—peasants, craftspeople, homemakers. He believed understanding these past experiences could provide insights into current challenges and offer guidance for healing.

There are claims that some of Cayce’s historical details have been corroborated by researchers at the Association for Research and Enlightenment (the organization founded to study his work), though skeptics argue the similarities could be coincidental or influenced by his knowledge of history. There’s no scientific evidence for the existence of Akashic Records, but many people find the framework helpful for self-reflection and personal growth.

Ancient Religious Roots

To really understand past life work, we need to look at where reincarnation comes from as a religious and philosophical concept.

In Hinduism, reincarnation is absolutely central. The Upanishads, ancient Sanskrit texts written between 800 and 400 BCE, contain detailed discussions of reincarnation and karma. Hindus believe the soul is reborn into another body after death, cycling through samsara (the wheel of birth, death, and rebirth) based on karma until achieving moksha, or liberation.

Buddhism also embraces reincarnation, though with some differences from Hindu concepts. The Dalai Lama, for instance, is believed to be the reincarnation of a high-ranking Buddhist monk. Tsongkhapa, who founded the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism in the 14th century, established the lineage that would eventually include the Dalai Lama tradition. Each Dalai Lama is recognized through specific tests and signs as a young child.

Here’s something worth noting that often surprises people: reincarnation wasn’t exclusively Eastern. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato discussed the transmigration of souls in the 4th century BCE in works like “The Republic” and “Phaedo.” Early Christianity had discussions about reincarnation too. A theologian named Origen in the 3rd century CE wrote about the pre-existence of souls, but these ideas were deemed heretical at the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 CE and effectively suppressed.

So Western culture once had reincarnation concepts that were actively pushed out of mainstream religious teaching. This context is important because it shows that the 19th century Western “rediscovery” of reincarnation was more complex than simply borrowing from the East.

How Ancient Beliefs Became Modern Therapy

So how did sacred religious concepts become weekend workshops and Instagram services? The bridge happened primarily through a few key movements.

In 1848, sisters Kate and Margaret Fox claimed to communicate with spirits through mysterious rapping sounds in their New York home. This launched the American Spiritualist movement, which spread rapidly. (Notably, the sisters later confessed to fraud in 1888, though they subsequently recanted their confession.) Initially focused on communicating with the dead, by the 1870s some mediums began channeling what they claimed were ancient spirits and discussing past lives. This created a cultural appetite for esoteric spiritual knowledge.

Around the same time in France, a man named Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail, writing under the pen name Allan Kardec, published “The Spirits’ Book” in 1857. This systematized Spiritist philosophy, including reincarnation as a progressive journey toward moral perfection. While hugely influential in Brazil and Latin America, where Spiritism remains a major religious movement with millions of followers, it’s often overlooked in English-speaking contexts.

Then in 1875, Helena Blavatsky and Henry Olcott founded the Theosophical Society, which really launched modern Western interest in reincarnation. Blavatsky published “The Secret Doctrine” in 1888, claiming to reveal ancient wisdom from secret Tibetan masters. In reality, she was synthesizing Hindu, Buddhist, and Egyptian concepts through a Western occult lens, creating something new from these ancient traditions.

Theosophy teaches that all beings are part of a universal soul that reincarnates into various forms. Each incarnation is determined by karma, with the goal being spiritual evolution leading to reunion with the universal soul. The Theosophical Society is still active today, with lodges worldwide, and maintains a mission of encouraging open-minded exploration of philosophy, science, arts, and world religions.

I find the idea of a universal soul appealing. However, it’s important to note that Theosophy also promoted ideas of “root races” and spiritual hierarchy that were explicitly racist. In “The Secret Doctrine,” Blavatsky outlined a theory of seven “root races” with different levels of spiritual evolution, placing white Europeans at a higher evolutionary stage than other races. This created assumptions that still linger in some past life work, where certain civilizations or identities are implicitly viewed as more spiritually advanced.

This is worth thinking about: does the past life framework you’re using carry implicit hierarchies? Does it suggest that hardship today is deserved because of past life actions? These beliefs can perpetuate inequality rather than challenge it.

From Religious Belief to Therapeutic Tool

What’s particularly noteworthy is how reincarnation shifted from a core religious doctrine to a therapeutic modality. In Hinduism and Buddhism, reincarnation isn’t optional entertainment—it’s the fundamental structure of existence. The goal is liberation from the cycle, not exploring it for personal insight.

But in the West, particularly through Theosophy and then figures like Cayce and Weiss, reincarnation became separated from its religious context and reframed as a tool for healing, self-understanding, and personal growth. This is both the appeal and the complication.

The therapeutic use of past life regression doesn’t require you to believe in literal reincarnation to potentially find value. Some therapists view it as a way to access symbolic or metaphorical content from the unconscious mind. Whether the “memories” are literally true or creatively generated by your psyche, the therapeutic process of exploring them might still offer insights.

When It’s Helpful and When It’s Problematic

Those who work with past life modalities report positive experiences including relief from anxiety or trauma, understanding of current behavioral patterns, a sense of connection to something larger, and enhanced self-awareness and personal growth. These benefits are real for those who experience them, and I don’t want to dismiss that.

However, there are some pitfalls to be aware of. Some practitioners make exaggerated claims that past life therapy can cure all ailments or provide definitive answers to life’s questions. This can lead people to become overly reliant on past life work while neglecting other important healing modalities or professional mental health support.

Hypnosis can sometimes lead to the creation of false memories. Our brains are remarkably poor at distinguishing between real memories, things we’ve read, movies we’ve watched, and imagination. Research by psychologist Elizabeth Loftus and her colleagues has demonstrated that memories are not fixed recordings—they’re reconstructive and easily influenced by suggestion. In her famous “Lost in the Mall” study and subsequent research on false memory implantation, Loftus showed how easily people can come to remember events that never happened, especially under conditions involving authority figures and suggestive questioning. Under hypnosis, when critical thinking is relaxed, we’re especially vulnerable to creating memories that feel completely real but may not be historically accurate.

This doesn’t mean past life memories are worthless, but it does mean we should hold them lightly rather than treating them as literal historical fact.

The Cultural Appropriation Question

Here’s where I need to be direct about something that concerns me. I’ve heard many people claim they were from another culture in a past life, then use that to justify claiming connection to that culture now.

The most common example is people claiming to have been Native American in a past life, then using that to justify participating in Indigenous practices. When this happens with marginalized cultures, especially by people from privileged backgrounds, it can trivialize the ongoing experiences of oppression that these communities face.

If you’ve experienced a past life from another culture, that’s worth exploring personally. But you’re living in your current body, in current times, within your current cultural context. A past life experience doesn’t grant you access to practices, ceremonies, or identities from cultures where you don’t belong.

I ask people to consider: if that past life was so impactful, what are you doing today to support people from that community in respectful, appropriate ways? Are you learning about their contemporary struggles? Are you supporting Indigenous sovereignty, for example, rather than just wanting access to their spiritual practices?

What About Your Actual Ancestors?

Consider this alternative: what about your own ancestral lineage?

Your great-great-grandmother’s life, whether ordinary or extraordinary—washing clothes, raising children, surviving hardship—that’s the legacy running through your veins. That’s a connection that’s verifiable and doesn’t require appropriating anyone else’s culture. Some of her DNA is in your body right now. That’s not metaphor, it’s biology.

When I work with clients on ancestral connection, we focus on their actual lineage. We work to heal intergenerational wounds, to honor the resilience of those who came before, to understand how trauma and strength both get passed down. This work is grounded, specific, and honors real people whose lives made yours possible.

This doesn’t mean you can’t explore past lives. But don’t let that exploration replace the profound work of connecting with your actual ancestors.

My Personal Experiences

I’ve had two past life readings, each using a different technique. My first was probably four years ago, an Akashic Records reading. The intuitive described a life where as a little girl I was running through the woods being tormented by older boys. She mentioned a life where I was hung at a young age, and another where I worked as a housemaid for a wealthy family.

As she described each scenario I did feel emotional resonance. I’ve been bullied in this life and could relate to the past life where I was harassed. The life of a housemaid resonated too, as I’m often in caretaker roles and actually find housework calming.

Did this provide healing or increased self-awareness? Not particularly. It was compelling, but it didn’t offer insights I couldn’t have arrived at through other forms of self-reflection.

My second experience involved hypnosis. The practitioner guided me into two “past lives.” In the first, I was a man living in cliff dwellings like those in the American Southwest, a craftsperson specializing in bright blue beads. I lived largely alone but traded with the community. When the community had to leave and I was too old to travel, I died on the journey, telling others it was okay to leave me behind.

The second experience was quite different. I was a mute woman living alone on the outskirts of a village. Others brought me food and water, and I seemed to have healing abilities. A snake eventually bit me and I died, welcoming it without fear.

The practitioner noted that in both lives I seemed to embrace death rather than fight it. That observation struck me. But here’s what I think was really happening: my subconscious was creating narratives reflecting themes already present in my current life. I do feel like an outsider sometimes. I value solitary work. I’m not afraid of death. None of this required a past life to explain.

These stories my brain created were drawing from who I already am. Whether they were literal past lives or symbolic explorations of my psyche, they were compelling experiences. Just not necessarily what they claimed to be.

Moving Forward Thoughtfully

So what are your thoughts on past lives? Here’s what I encourage:

If past life work helps you, that’s wonderful. Just approach it thoughtfully. Ask yourself: is this helping me understand myself better, or is it helping me avoid dealing with current life issues? Am I using this work to claim identities or access to cultures that aren’t mine? Am I treating the practitioner’s interpretations as absolute truth, or holding them lightly as one possible perspective?

If you’re considering past life therapy, research practitioners carefully. Look for someone with proper therapeutic training, not just a weekend certification. Consult with a mental health professional about whether this approach is right for you, especially if you’re dealing with trauma.

Remember that therapeutic benefit doesn’t prove literal truth. The healing might come from the process of exploration, from feeling heard, from creating meaning, regardless of whether the memories are historically accurate.

And please, honor the religious traditions where reincarnation originated. If you’re drawn to these concepts, learn about Hinduism and Buddhism with respect and depth, not just taking what’s convenient and discarding the rest.

What other New Age spirituality topics interest you? Do share, you know I love to hear from you. Let’s keep exploring these ideas together with both open hearts and critical minds.

Sources & Further Reading

Books Referenced:

  • Weiss, Brian. Many Lives, Many Masters (1988)

  • Kardec, Allan. The Spirits’ Book (1857)

  • Blavatsky, Helena. The Secret Doctrine (1888)

On False Memory Research:

On Theosophy and “Root Races”:

  • Washington, Peter. Madame Blavatsky’s Baboon: A History of the Mystics, Mediums, and Misfits Who Brought Spiritualism to America (1995)

  • Godwin, Joscelyn. The Theosophical Enlightenment (1994)

  • Theosophical Society Official Website

On Spiritualism:

  • Weisberg, Barbara. Talking to the Dead: Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism (2004)

  • Braude, Ann. Radical Spirits: Spiritualism and Women’s Rights in Nineteenth-Century America (1989)

On Cultural Appropriation in New Age Spirituality:

  • Aldred, Lisa. “Plastic Shamans and Astroturf Sun Dances: New Age Commercialization of Native American Spirituality.” American Indian Quarterly 24.3 (2000): 329-352.

On Reincarnation in Religious Traditions:

  • Obeyesekere, Gananath. Imagining Karma: Ethical Transformation in Amerindian, Buddhist, and Greek Rebirth (2002)

  • Stevenson, Ian. Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation (1966) - Note: Stevenson’s work on children’s past life memories, while cited by believers, remains controversial in the scientific community

Edgar Cayce Resources:

Emily O'Neal
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On Spirit Guides: Tracing the Cultural Roots of a Modern Spiritual Concept