So you want to remember a past life, do you? Well, the first step to self-regression and discovering your past lives doesn't have anything to do with memory or hypnosis. You need a place to start your exploration. You'll want an idea of where to look when first you begin your regression. Where do you find this jumping-off point? No, I'm not going to give you a past-life quiz. Instead, I encourage you to think about yourself. Consider all the subjects that interest you, all the strange things that repulse you. For instance, maybe you've always wanted to go to Italy. Perhaps you love movies about knights in armor. Maybe you have an inexplicable fear of crows, or hate wearing jewelry around your neck. You might have a gift for painting, or a deep love for all things equestrian. Or just maybe you're like my mom; she's always been fond of saying she was a rice farmer in China in a previous life.

Whatever it is, this talent or fear or interest of yours might originate in a past life. Listen to it. Embrace it. Come to terms with it.

For some folks, the connection to one particular life is very strong. For instance, it's probably safe to say that people who participate in reenactments of the American Civil War most likely lived through that conflict first hand. For me, the pull of eighteenth-century England is the most powerful influence, due to the lessons learned in that life carrying over into this one. For most people, though, there usually isn't anything that clear-cut to focus upon, and past-life patterns aren't readily apparent. You might have normal, modern interests like movies or shopping or spending time with your friends and family, and far away lands have never "called" to you. That's fine. But if you look closely enough, you might find those modern activities actually have past-life origins. To give you an example from my own experiences: I like movies. This seems completely unrelated to any of my past lives. But I've uncovered past-life patterns over the years that I've since learned are connected to my eighteenth-century life as Mary Carter.

For instance, my favorite movies fall into three categories: movies involving England or starring British actors, movies starring certain actors I've been infatuated with, and movies that are extremely well written and well made. Now, everyone likes Oscar-nominated films