Lessons For Life (Sylvia Browne)

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Lessons for LifeBy Sylvia BrowneHow to Unlock the Memories of Past Lives and Utilize Them to Make YouSpiritually WellThere are many phobias, everyday fears, and incessant worries that don'trelate to this lifetime. Many times I've worked with people who werebaffled by anxieties that seemed to have no basis-in other words, theycouldn't be tracked through therapy or by their own investigationinto their past. In these types of situations, we've had to go back evenfurther and do what I call a "deep search" into a person's overallchart, because the cause of the uneasiness resides somewhere in thecells of his or her mind and body.Uncovering Past-Life TraumasI once had a client who drove under the same overpass every day fortwenty years on her way to work. One day as she

was approaching theoverpass, she broke out in a sweat and felt as if she couldn'tbreathe-she was sure that she was having a heart attack. She turnedaround and headed for the emergency room, where she was told she was"just having an anxiety attack." (Those words, "just . . . an anxietyattack," just make me crazy. If you've ever had one-and very few peoplehaven't had a form of this at one time or another-then you know that itcan be the most frightening and debilitating experience you'll ever gothrough. Usually it comes out of the blue, unbidden and without warning.You can't "cause" one, it just happens. But back to my client ... )When this woman came to see me, I directed her in a meditation to returnto another time. When she did, she remembered being trapped under an oldbridge in Pennsylvania back in the early 1800s. She was buried underheavy beams and rubble, and she died there. The

amazingthing was that in her previous life, she passed away at the same ageshe'd now reached in this life-which explained why the phobia hit whenit did. After we did the guided meditation, she lost her fear and couldgo under the overpass again.Another time, I got a visit from the frantic mother of a three-year-old.She came to see me because every time she turned on the shower, herlittle daughter would scream, "No, Mama! Don't!" The mother resorted totaking baths, but still needed help because whenever anyone else in thefamily took a shower, or her daughter even heard a shower, the youngchild would panic. Through my psychic sense, I immediately knew what theproblem was, without even questioning the little girl: She'd been inNazi Germany, and had been one of the women who was killed after beingherded into what seemed like a shower, but was really a gas chamber. Iinstructed the mom to go into the

girl's room after the child went tosleep and tell her that the time of being afraid of showers was over,and that whatever she remembered happened in a past time, and that shewas safe now. Within a week, the daughter was free of her fear ofshowers.Life is like a record with different grooves, and sometimes the needleslips. What we have to do to keep the soul safe from a negative fearthat's no longer relevant is release it. This is called "pulling theplug" on a negative past-life implant. When my own children had nightterrors, I didthe same thing I instructed the woman with the three-year-old to do: Ijust went in and told them that they were in this time, and what theywere afraid of was in the past, long ago. When you do this, it isn'tnecessary to go through gruesome details. The soul mind knows exactlywhat you're talking about, and it will surrender the offending fear thatblocks it from

being free.This was the case with a four-year-old boy I worked with who was justfine until the day his dad bought a telescope and set it up in theliving room of the house. The little boy wandered into the room, saw thetelescope, fell to the floor, and had some kind of seizure. Of coursehismother and father took him to countless doctors, none of whom could findanything physically wrong with the child. Finally, they visited one ofthe M.D.'s I happen to work with, and he told the mother to take her sonto see me. She apprehensively made an appointment, and as soon as Isaw her son, I psychically realized that he'd experienced a recentdeath. He'd been in a submarine, and when a torpedo hit, he'd beenpinned beneath a periscope (which looked a lot like a telescope to thelittle boy).I put the child in a relaxed state and told him not to be afraid. Ireassured him that whatever he was afraid of

had happened before, andthat now he was in this time, where nothing would harm him. This was theend of the seizures for the little boy-he's never had another.Releasing the Past, Healing the PresentYou can and should explore your memories-both from this life and anypast lives-and be investigative enough to see what you learn from them.But analyzing isn't enough-you also have to neutralize any challenge byasking for release. By doing so, you may even discover how you can turnnegative events into opportunities for positive growth. (Let me also sayhere that I'm the first one to recommend that you seek therapy ifneeded.)Let's say that you're dealing with physical or mental abuse. In fact,I'll use my own life as an example. It's no secret that my mother was amaster at insidious emotional battery. I had a choice: I could haveadopted her behavior, but instead I went 180 degrees so I'd be

differentfrom her. I often thank her-and I even did so when she was alive-becausewithout this negative example, I might have not been the caring mother Iam today. I never told my mother why I was thankful for her, because itwas enough that God and I knew.The hurts we carry in life can't be covered up with Band-Aids. Likephysical wounds, these sore spots can only heal when the air hits them.Yet while it's important to acknowledge and let out the pain so that itdoesn't fester, it's equally imperative that we adjust our behavior torelease the past and move on.I had a friend who talked incessantly about abandonment issues. Inalmost every experience she had, she felt left behind. The irony is thatby obsessively discussing this matter, she seemed to draw more of it toher, and after hearing her go on about it so much, I also wanted to runaway! Her story really reinforces the age-old truth that

thoughts andwords become realities. We can all definitely set ourselves up tofulfill our own prophecies.I see this all the time with my clients. The very thing that haunts themfrom this life (as well as in their past lives) is what they continue torun right into time and again. Don't feel bad if this happens to you,because we get stuck in this rut from time to time, but to keepembracing itdoes stop the soul from growing. For example, a male friend of minewhose wife left him was determined to hang on to the relationship-eventhough she went back and forth from her lover to him. His excuse for notgetting on with his life was, in his own words, "The fear of rejection."What he didn't realize was that he was already living a life of totalrejection, and he was the one keeping himself in that place.I recently heard a comforting story about a woman who had a very realnear-death experience.

She went through a beautiful bright light andfelt completely elated, and then she was met by a gorgeous, radiantbeing. She exclaimed, "I don't know if I'm good enough to be here!" Thebeing responded, "We expect you to spill the milk, but it's really howyou clean it up that matters." How simple, yet how true. That statementreally brings home the words of Jesus, that if we become more likelittle children, the kingdom of heaven will be ours.Don't get me wrong-there isn't anything easy about mulling over thepainful parts of your life, but you have to ask yourself: Do you want tobe enslaved by your memories, or do you want to simply see them asepisodes that, painful as they are, helped you gain strength and becomewho you are today? If you do the latter, you'll be able to gaze into themirror and know that you've survived the good and the bad, and you'll befreer and even stronger for it.Creating

Joyful MemoriesWe've spent a lot of time discussing negative memories, so how abouttaking some time to address all the good memories we have? For me, thoseare the times I've shared with my psychic grandmother, my friends, mychildren, my teachers, and my clients. Even holding mygrandchildren's hands-these are life's precious moments. When we makelove happen, we allow our soul to grow beyond all the weeds of badmemories.Unlike replacing harmful habits with healthy patterns, you can't justswap a hurtful memory with a pleasant one. But when you take a balancedlook at the positive and the negative in your life, then you can takepride in not only what you've overcome, but what you've become becauseof the sum of all your experiences. Learn, for example, to say, "I'vebeen abused, but there was a time when life was happy. I can and willrecapture that feeling without remorse or pain. I refuse to

substitute afalse sense of security for happiness, and I won't be afraid to bealone, because I know that I'm always surrounded by God, my guide, theangels, and all my loved ones who have passed over to the Other Side. Iwill replace any negativity that's attached to bad memories, and realizeand repeat to myself: It was only a learning process. I have been lovedand I can love."ExerciseDivide a sheet of paper in two. Put all your "Painful Memories" on theleft side of the page and all your "Positive Memories" on the right.This time, at the bottom of the page on the left side, drawconclusions-in other words, what did you learn from these experiences?Don't worry if ananswer doesn't come right away; it will if you're persistent. It doesn'tmatter how many pages you use, just ask your soul and God to give youinsight into why you suffered. You'll get the answers. Here's

anexample:Painful Memories:When my third grade a teacher called me stupidThe time I felt everyone was talking about me at the officeMy parents' divorceI learned that adults don't always have the right answers, and that Ineed to base my self-worth on what I think of me, not what others say.Positive Memories:When I got an A on a term paperLast week when a stranger smiled at me at the grocery storeMy last family vacationAffirmationEach day, say to yourself: "When life gives me pits, I'll plant them andgrow cherry trees."MeditationLie or sit in a comfortable position and surround yourself with a goldenlight. Again, start relaxing your body, beginning with your feet andgoing all the way up your legs, trunk, shoulders, arms, neck, and head.Keep breathing in and out. Now say: "I am unstressing every part of mybody. I can address every cell and

tell each of them to work inharmony." You are the guardian of your own mind, body, and soul, and youcan instruct your mind to release any and all negativity attached to ahorrifying or unpleasant memory-whether it's from this life or any pasttime. Let yourself relax even more deeply so that you feel as if you arefloating.All of a sudden, you are aware that you are floating through a beautifulwhite tunnel. You feel no pain, only a sense of peace and well-being.All your worries and hurtful memories evaporate now, like smoke. As youprogress through this tunnel, you feel an even stronger connection toyour real soul than ever before, and you realize that you are the sumtotal of all your experiences. The layers of self-doubt, envy,inadequacy, worry, depression, and vengeance all become nothing morethan a part of a play you saw, but left behind.As you reach the end of the tunnel, you are bathed in

a purple light ofspirituality. Now you find yourself facing a beautiful Romanesquebuilding with marble pillars and stairs going up. You ascend these stepsand go through the marble archway. Everything is gleaming and white, andin the middle of a room at the top of the stairs, there is a beautifulorblike glass. You approach it and look into it. At first it seemsopaque, but then images begin to take shape, and you realize that youare scanning your life. You see how you chose your chart and whatlessons youwanted to learn. Then more images come very quickly, but sequentially.... your birth, your early childhood, your puberty. Stop at any placeyou wish to linger. See the painful as well as the joyful.When you reach a sad or very upsetting period, realize that it was alearning process. You can even refer to your chart, and you'll besurprised by how much you decided to learn. Notice that as you

watch,you feel disconnected. It is you, but you are past that now. Even if youcry at the sad times, this is a release.You can even look into this glass orb to view past lives, and let go ofany phobias or illness that you might have brought over. Stay as long asyou want-believe me, it will go faster than you imagine. Hold on to thepleasant memories you view, for they make you smile. When you havehad enough of the scanning, you can always go back through the archway,the steps, and even the tunnel, but with the realization that you havepulled out the negative memories that were stalling your soul, andbrought forth joyful recollections into your reality.Bring yourself back, all the way back, feeling free, released, and infull control of your true self. You are on track and very loved by God.Excerpted from the new book, Sylvia Browne's Lessons for Life, by SylviaBrowne. It is published by

Hay House and available at all bookstores oronline at: www.hayhouse.com.