Mary was an attractive twenty-something woman trapped in an abusive marriage. We worked together for two years and, thankfully, resolved her issues. She’d left her abusive husband and was living a more contented–and certainly less fearful– life. During treatment, I used hypnosis to help her remember past memories that led directly to the marriage. She was an excellent subject , She was able to recall how, at the wedding, she believed it was wrong and wanted to cancel it. Her parents pressured her to continue. With the memory resurfacing, she knew she had the chance to assert herself. A simple “no” could have saved her pain, grief, and shame.

Sometime later, when I was exploring hypnosis and alleged reincarnation, I asked Mary if she would like to participate. I was delighted when she agreed: she was capable of reaching deep levels of hypnosis.

This is Mary’s story…and how we aimed to explore past lives only to end up unexpectedly in the future. This is not the story of a multiple personality (or DID), but a sane, sound woman–a nurse–who never had the least interest in past lives–until she ran headlong into them.

In the next installment, I’ll begin with her first stories of possible past lives and how she “went too far around the circle, into the future.

For readers interested in a serious study of the subject, read Ian Stevenson’s Twenty Cases Suggestive of Past Lives.