It seems as though my sessions continually build upon the last, offering more profound or new experiences, and offering me more opportunities to learn and grow in my practice. Miranda gave me extra experience with exploring the mind to allow the session to move forward, and she was also my first client to visit a past life as an animal! This session explains her love for animals in this lifetime. Before the session she also said she has a fear of heights and was hoping to address that.
I had to help move things along at first for Miranda, by asking her if she notices if she has a body, to which she said yes, and then what she notices about her body. She said all she notices is stillness. I asked her to tune into any emotions she might have, and she said she didn’t notice anything, that it’s just dark. I asked her if she had an idea where this darkness is, and she said no. So I asked if she liked it, and after a pause she said, “Not really.”
J: What don’t you like about it?
M: I don’t know where I am.
J: What if you did know? Where do you think you’d be?
I often use this phrase to help my clients tune into their subconscious mind, because, deep down, I believe they do know the answer. This is their session, after all!
J: Allow that knowing to just take shape in any way that it can, as a vision, or an emotion, or just as a knowing. Maybe a sound, maybe another sense. Any answer is the right answer.
This may read quickly, but she spoke slowly with many thoughtful pauses.
M: I’m with the Universe.
J: What’s that like?
M: Peaceful.
J: What do you see?
M: I don’t see anything.
J: Is it just a knowing?
M: Yes.
J: Can you feel anything? Or do you sense that you have a body?
M: Yes.
J: What’s your body like?
M: I can only sense this body.
J: What do you notice about this body?
M: I can feel my heartbeat.
J: What does that mean to you?
M: That I’m alive.
J: Are you still in the Universe?
M: Yes.
J: Would you like to explore this more or would you like to travel somewhere else?
M: Travel.
I invited her to move to wherever she needed to move to, and allow images to take shape around her, and new feelings to emerge. I invited everything currently to fade away, and allow something new to form, from anywhere, anytime. I then invited her to let me know what she sees or feels as she begins to notice things.
M: I see an elephant.
J: Tell me more about this elephant.
M: It’s big. I’m close to him.
J: Where are you at?
M: A circus?
J: Are you working with this elephant?
M: Yes.
J: How does that feel?
M: I feel a connection to him.
J: And what’s happening in this moment?
M: We’re looking at each other.
J: What do you feel or sense while you look at him?
M: Friendship.
J: Is there anything else you notice about this elephant?
M: He has red on… hat (her voice was very low and quiet so I couldn’t quite catch this word, but I think that’s what she said) … and garments…
J: What are you wearing?
M: Red also.
J: Are you male or female?
M: Female.
J: What happens next?
M: I’m touching his trunk. And… I’m sad.
J: Why are you sad?
M: Because I know he should be free.
J: How long have you been working with this elephant?
M: Years.
J: And how do you feel, do you feel free?
M: No. I feel trapped too.
J: So you understand each other.
M: Yes.
J: Why are you trapped?
M: Because I won’t leave him.
J: Is there anything you can do to change this?
M: I don’t know… but I want to find out.
I invited her to find out what happens next by either condensing time to move to the next event, or to just arrive there.
M: (Sounding emotional) He passes away.
J: How are you feeling?
M: Sad. Guilty.
J: Why are you guilty?
M: Because I couldn’t free him.
J: Did you help give him a good life?
M: I think so.
J: Is he free now?
M: Yes.
J: Do you think you did the best you could?
M: I hope so.
J: Can that be enough?
M: Yes.
J: Do you still feel the guilt?
M: No.
J: Good. You did the best you could. And he was lucky to have you. Are you still feeling trapped?
M: No.
J: What are you doing now?
M: It’s time to move.
J: Where would you like to move to? You can go anywhere that you feel is appropriate.
After a pause, I checked in to see if she was noticing anything.
J: What are you feeling?
M: Stuck.
J: What’s making you feel stuck?
M: My conscious mind.
J: What’s your conscious mind have to say?
M: To go anywhere.
J: And what do you have to say? Or what does your subconscious have to say?
M: To let go.
J: Do you want to?
M: Yes.
J: Tell your conscious mind it’s safe to let go. And just let it take a backseat as you open yourself to anything that comes forward. Any new sensations. Any images. Any feelings. And just as that elephant emerged for you, allow something new to emerge for you. Let something new take shape, and just notice. Maybe it’s just a shape at first. Or a sensation. Allow yourself to just know, and to trust. (After a pause) Are you aware of anything?
M: It’s just dark again.
J: Do you want to go somewhere?
M: Yes.
J: Allow that desire to go somewhere to take you wherever you need to go.
It seemed her conscious mind was still causing her to be stuck, which is a common thing. Our conscious minds like to explain things away, or overanalyze, or try to tell us we’re making it all up. With that thought, I then had an idea… What if instead of fighting the conscious mind, we invited it in? What if I invited her to use her imagination deliberately? What would happen?
J: Or maybe allow your imagination to step in. If that happens, what comes up?
This seemed to work.
M: I’m on a beach.
J: Tell me more about the beach.
M: (in a dreamy voice) It’s warm. I can feel the sand. The sun. I’m happy here.
J: What are you doing here?
M: Standing. Watching the water.
J: Do you live here?
M: No… But I want to.
J: Are you just visiting?
M: Yes.
J: Where are you from?
M: Not near the ocean.
I was hoping that she’d entered into a past life by visiting this beach.
J: Do you want to see where your home is or do you want to stay here?
M: Stay here.
J: Is anybody else here with you?
M: No. I’m the only one.
J: What would you like to do now?
M: Go into the ocean.
J: How far would you like to go into the ocean?
M: Farther than I can touch the bottom. (Again, I think this is what she said, but her voice was low and mumbly, as often happens in hypnosis.)
J: Let me know when you’re there.
M: I’m in the water.
J: What’s happening in the water?
M: I’m at peace.
J: What would you like to do while you’re out here in the water?
M: Dive down to the bottom.
J: Go ahead and dive. And let me know what happens.
M: I can see other marine life. It’s beautiful.
J: What happens next?
M: I sense that I wanna stay here forever…
J: Can you do that?
M: Yes. I can.
J: What makes you want to stay here forever?
M: I feel… fully at peace. And happy.
J: Would you like to visit a time that you were here before?
M: Yes.
J: You can always come back to this water anytime you want, we’re just traveling. Go ahead and allow yourself to go back to when you were in the water before, knowing this familiar feeling, where this feeling comes from. Trace it all the way back. Let me know what you notice when you’ve arrived.
M: (after a pause, her voice sounding curious) I’m not a human anymore…
J: What are you?
M: A dolphin I think…
J: How does that feel?
M: I like it.
J: Is anything going on?
M: We’re swimming. With my family.
J: Where are you going?
M: Somewhere we’ve been before… It’s a knowing.
J: You know where you’re going?
M: Yes.
J: What do you know about where you’re going?
M: There’ll be others there.
J: More family?
M: Family and… more of us.
J: What happens when you get there?
M: (long pause) I don’t get there…
J: What happens?
M: (long pause) I get hit… by something hard… A boat?
J: If you need to remove yourself and hover above it, you can. And just observe from a safe place. (I always suggest this if the emotions in the experience could potentially be too intense to experience first-hand.) What happens when the boat hits you?
M: I sink down. To the bottom.
J: Are you still alive?
M: No.
J: Where are you? What are you noticing?
M: That was the end of that life.
J: How do you feel about that?
M: Sad.
J: And what are you feeling in this moment, knowing that life came to an end?
M: I’m knowing that… it’s not over…
J: Yeah. It’s not over. Does that mean you can go somewhere next?
M: Yes.
J: Would you like to see where that is?
M: Yes.
J: Allow yourself to go there. Into a new time and place. Allowing a new memory to surface. Feel into what’s happening. Have you arrived anywhere?
M: Not yet.
J: Are you noticing any feelings or sensations?
M: A vibration…?
J: What’s the vibration like?
M: It feels weird… Fuzzy almost…
J: Do you know what the vibration means?
M: Energy…
J: What’s the energy like?
M: It’s life-giving.
J: What can you do with this energy?
M: Heal.
J: What can you heal with it?
M: Anything.
J: What would you like to heal?
M: My soul.
J: Can you do that now? Let that energy heal your soul?
M: Yes.
J: Would you like to remain silent and feel into it or would you like to describe what you’re feeling?
M: (pause) I feel it through my entire body. It’s nothing I’ve ever felt before… (long pause)
J: Does it have a color?
This may seem like a strange question, but it’s often used in somatic therapy and can help solidify the experience in the physical body. Giving a feeling a color, shape, size, texture, or a location within the physical body can make it more tangible and real, allowing the one experiencing it to process it more fully.
M: No… I can’t see it, I can only feel it.
J: Invite it to heal any part of you that you want it to heal, restoring you to full strength and health.
Long pause
J: What are you noticing about this energy now?
M: It’s fading… It’s time to come back.
J: Okay. Is there anything else you need to know while you’re still here, before you come back?
M: No.
I counted up from 1 to 5 to bring her back to her physical body and conscious mind. Afterward we discussed the emotions she felt with the elephant, and I also shared with her my thought that perhaps the dolphin was related to her fear of heights. Even though she was in the ocean, she still fell after she got hit. We’re not sure if that’s what the connection was, but it was an interesting thought. She was amazed by the energy she felt, and of course I was too! It was yet another experience that I was honored to be in the presence of.