Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2004
Journal
Journal of Scientific Exploration
Volume
18
Issue
4
First Page
597
Last Page
608
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine whether past-life regression can lead to increased psychological well-being and changes in fundamental beliefs about consciousness and reality among those who are psychologically healthy. Twenty-four undergraduate students each participated in a single guided imagery session in which they were given either a past-life or open suggestion. Participants who were given the past-life suggestion had better scores on some measures of psychological well-being than those given the open suggestion, although post-hoc tests did not reveal any differences in psychological well-being or beliefs between those who actually experienced past-life imagery and those who did not. There was an overall shift for all participants toward more transcendent beliefs as a result of their involvement in the guided imagery sessions. The roles in past-life regression of depth of altered experience and belief in past lives were also examined.
Notes
This article was first published online at http://www.scientificexploration.org/journal-library