Life does not differentiate between waking, dreaming, and past life memories. From its perspective these distinctions are all delusions, dreams, or illusions created by our senses, our mental structures, our feelings, and our social scripting. However, waking dreaming, and past life memories all possess important reality status and adaptive functions based on certain assumptions and contexts. Consequently, it is possible to interview a character or feeling from a past life memory just as you do a dream character or the personification of a life issue, and to achieve similar impressive results for healing, balancing, and transformation. Through deep listening you gain access to the core of the teaching of the past-life memory, a message that transcends time and space in a powerful and present way that helps you to recreate your life in a way that is authentic and true.
In explaining his past life memory, Frank said, “It came from a holotophic breathwork workshop with Stan Grof and Jack Kornfeld. I had been doing the breathing for about an hour. I was suddenly thrown into a Mesoamerican life in which I was doing an initiation to become a full priest. I had to spend time with a jaguar with the objective of making it a brother. We wrestled in a cage, fought, rolled over each other and exerted strength against each other as long as we could until we were both at the point of exhaustion. At that point we realized that we were brothers and that we would work together in our lives.”
“From there, that jaguar became me and I became a high priest. I killed it and wore its skin. As the priest I would take the prisoners who were caught in wars. I would sacrifice them to the jaguar. I would take the obsidian knife and cut their hearts out. I would take upon myself all of the psychic phenomena – the fears and hopes and concerns and desires of my people, all of the thoughts, feelings, and demons that would prey on them. It was a sacrifice to the jaguar. The prisoners were the vehicles by which the demons that possessed my people would go to the spirit world. The jaguar was my ability to transmute the suffering of my people and get rid of it. I had to merge with the jaguar in order to be able to do that.”
“Since I had that experience, years ago, it hasn’t had much effect on me because it’s so far out of the ordinary that I have never figured out how to use it. My X made a needlepoint of a jaguar for me. She still has it.”
Frank chose to interview the Jaguar. It said, “I am large, black, male jaguar. I have very sharp eyes and teeth. Lots of them and I’m very strong. I’m in Frank – in his muscles, heart, lungs, stomach…I feel so strong, supple, and able. We co-created each other. I represent the ability to transcend normal consciousness for healing or whatever else is required. Frank could make best use of me by calling me in when he meditates. He gets stuck thinking. I do not do that. I AM.”
When Frank became the Jaguar his posture shifted into an alert, focused stance. His fingers seemed longer and pointed; I kept on questioning why they seemed to be so and how it was that my mind was playing tricks on me, since they were still his hands and fingers. Emotionally, Frank seemed much stronger, steady, and solid. There was less mental confusion. We might equate such changes to the descent of a Greek daemon or muse or to a Shamanistic bonding with a totem animal. In any case, the purpose of IDL is not merely to access such unrecognized potentials, but to integrate them into our ongoing, waking consciousness in such a way that our sense of self grows to transcend and include more limited and hence pain-creating self-definitions.
The Jaguar continued, “On a scale of zero to ten, I am a ten in all six core qualities of enlightenment. I am compassionate toward Frank because I recognize that the deepest and darkest parts of him need compassion. That which is fearful within him and all humans needs compassion. That which is petty needs compassion. That which is angry needs compassion. That which is joyful needs compassion. All the things that humans push away need compassion and I can give it. I am strong enough to do it. I am a ten in wisdom because I see what Frank needs and doesn’t need much better than he can. I live in a calm, restful state of being. Completely at ease but ready to move at an instant.”
“If Frank scored like I do, that is, looked at the world and himself the way I look at myself and the world the transformations he is working his way through would go faster, easier, and occur more completely. He would be so present that he would not even be aware of some of the abilities he would gain as a result. All of the siddhis (psychic powers) come out of me. He doesn’t even know what he can do, how powerful I am.”
Are you at all concerned with Frank misusing your abilities, Jaguar, or not?
With great power comes great responsibility. And there’s always temptation. Frank is just becoming awake again after being asleep for thirty years. He’s had moments of wakefulness. He’s finding I’m still with him. All the stuff he was doing thirty years ago and put aside because he was told to – he slept through those years and learned through his misery. Now it’s awakening again because his body has been given a death sentence (a diagnosis of metastasized prostate cancer). But for me, the Jaguar, I say, “better late than never!”
“He has to heal his body in order to handle the energy that I am. He can become a little more tenacious toward healing by keeping focused. He’s learning. He’ll make it. He needs not to think that “his” thoughts are his. They are just thoughts. Like a car. It’s not his. It’s just a car. His thoughts are not him. They are just thoughts. Same thing with his feelings. He is well on the way to healing his soul. If I were him I would focus on working with the magic, the siddhis, and working with the dying. It would be beneficial if he were to become me when he needs strength and courage. If he becomes me he transforms; fears go away and the pain subsides. He understands. We have been together for several lifetimes. We’re brothers. We can’t be separated. Frank can wake up faster by remembering to ask if something is a dream. He can keep practicing lucidity and practicing awakening from the dream. He can ask, is this a dream? Is this a dream?”
“This past life memory is who he is. The people in the experience are now his thoughts. Sacrifice them! Let them go! Let them carry their emotions to me and they will be transformed.
When he experience the emotions he thinks of as suffering, he can practice remembering to see feel, and hear me. I will take those emotions from him whenever he wishes. I will be with him for many lifetimes to come.”
When Frank was asked what he heard the Jaguar say, he said, “That was a trance! It wasn’t like I was talking at all. This is in me and when I fall asleep I lose a very powerful and impressively powerful part of my existence. I’m not to do it. I can’t do what I’m doing without this jaguar. He’s part of so much of who I am and how I’ve been for lifetimes. I have to awaken to him every lifetime. I did thirty years ago when I had this experience. Since then, I haven’t been awake to him, but that’s changing.”
“I have a whole lot of ability to do a whole lot of different things. You better listen to the jaguar and listen to all the spirit world that you have contact with and succeed in working with them. They are there to transform you and everything else.”
The question of the reality of the past-life memory itself is never raised. Why? Because it is beside the point. If something is real but is unused or unhelpful, is it more valuable than something that is a delusion that is used and helpful? Life itself does not care. Why should we?
If you have had a past-life memory, why not pick a character from it and interview it? What do you discover from that experience that you can apply in your life today that you can use to heal, balance, and transform your life?
Here is the transcript of the original interview:
The past life memory came from a holotophic breathwork workshop with Stan Grof and Jack Kornfeld. I had been doing the breathing for about an hour. I was suddenly thrown into a Mesoamerican life in which I was doing an initiation to become a full priest. I had to spend time with a jaguar with the objective of making it a brother. We wrestled in a cage, fought, rolled over each other and exerted strength against each other as long as we could until we were both at the point of exhaustion. At that point we realized that we were brothers and that we would work together in our life.
From there, that jaguar became me and I became a high priest. I killed it and wore its skin. As the priest I would take the prisoners who were caught in wars. I would sacrifice them to the jaguar. I would take the obsidian knife and cut their hearts out. I would take upon myself all of the fears and hopes and concerns and desires of my people. All of the psychic phenomena – thoughts, feelings, and demons that would prey on them. It was a sacrifice to the jaguar. The prisoners were the vehicles by which the demons would go to the spirit world. The jaguar is my ability to transmute the suffering of my people and get rid of it. I had to merge with the jaguar in order to be able to do that.
Since I had that experience, years ago, it hasn’t had much effect on me because it’s so far out of the ordinary that I have never figured out how to use it. My X made a needlepoint of a jaguar for me. She still has it.
What are three fundamental life issues that you are dealing with now in your life?
1. Healing the body
2. Healing the mind
3. Healing the soul
Jaguar, would you please tell me about yourself and what you are doing.
I am large, black, male jaguar. I have very sharp eyes and teeth. Lots of them and I’m very strong. I’m in Frank – in his muscles, heart, lungs, stomach…
What do you like most about yourself? What are your strengths?
I feel so strong, supple, and able.
What do you dislike most about yourself? Do you have weaknesses? What are they?
No.
Jaguar, you are in this person’s life experience, correct? They created you, right?
We co-created each other, but yes.
Jaguar, what aspect of this person do you represent or most closely personify?
The ability to transcend normal consciousness. For healing, whatever.
Jaguar, if you could be anywhere you wanted to be and take any form you desired, would you change? If so, how?
No! Frank could make best use of me by calling me in during meditations. He gets stuck thinking. I do not do that. I AM.
(Continue, answering as the transformed object, if it chose to change.)
Jaguar, how would you score yourself 0-10, in confidence, compassion, wisdom, acceptance, peace of mind, and witnessing? Why?
Confidence: 10
Compassion: 10 I am compassionate toward Frank because I recognize that the deepest and darkest parts of him need compassion. That which is fearful needs compassion. That which is petty needs compassion. That which is angry needs compassion. That which is joyful needs compassion. All the things that he pushes away need compassion and I can give it. I am strong enough to do it.
Wisdom: 10 I see what Frank needs and doesn’t need much better than he can.
Acceptance: 10
Inner Peace: 10 It’s a calm, restful state of being. Completely at ease but ready to move at an instant.
Witnessing: 10
How would the life of the person who created you be different if he naturally scored high in all six of these qualities all the time?
The transformations he is working his way through would go faster, easier, and occur more completely. He would be so present that he’s not even aware of some of the abilities he would gain as a result. All of the siddhis (psychic powers) come out of me. He doesn’t even know what he can do, how powerful I am.
Are you at all concerned with Frank misusing your abilities, Jaguar, or not?
With great power comes great responsibility. And there’s always temptation.
If you could live the life of the person who created you for him, how would you live it differently?
He’s just becoming awake again after being asleep for thirty years. He’s had moments of wakefulness. He’s finding I’m still with him. All the stuff he was doing thirty years ago and put aside because he was told to – he slept through and learned through his misery. And now it’s awakening again because his body has been given a death sentence (a diagnosis of metastasized prostate cancer).
What do you think about that, Jaguar?
Better late than never!
If you could live this person’s waking life for him/her today, would you handle his/her three life issues differently? If so, how?
1. Healing the body: He has to heal it in order to handle the energy that I am. Become a little more tenacious toward healing. Keep focused. He’s learning. He’ll make it.
2. Healing the mind: He needs not to think that the thoughts are his. They are just thoughts. Like a car. It’s not his. It’s just a car. His thoughts are not him. They are just thoughts. Same thing with his feelings.
3. Healing the soul: He is well on the way to doing that.
What three life issues would you focus on if you were in charge of his life?
1. Work with the magic.
2. Work with the siddhis.
3. Work with dying.
In what life situations would it be most beneficial for this person to imagine that they are you and act as you would?
When he needs strength and courage. If he becomes me he transforms. Fears go away. The pain subsides. He understands.
Why do you think that you are in this person’s life?
We have been together for several lifetimes.
Why have you kept showing up for him?
We’re brothers. We can’t be separated.
How do you feel about Frank listening to you now?
It’s about time!
How is this person most likely to ignore what you are saying to them?
Falling asleep.
What would you recommend that they do about that?
Remember to ask if something is a dream. Keep practicing lucidity. Keep practicing awakening from the dream. Is this a dream? Is this a dream?
I think this person had this past life memory because
It’s who he is.
I think this dream event happened or (some character) was in the dream because…
The people are now thoughts. Sacrifice them! Let them go! Let them carry their emotions to me and they will be transformed.
How would he go about doing that, Jaguar?
When he experience the emotions he thinks of as suffering, see me. Feel me, hear me. And I will take them from him. Whenever he wishes. I will be with him for many lifetimes to come.
Do you have anything else you’d like to say to Frank right now?
Don’t forget. Remember.
What have you heard yourself say?
That was a trance! That was just a trance. It wasn’t like I was talking at all. This is in me and when I fall asleep I lose a very powerful and impressively powerful part of my existence. I’m not to do it. I can’t do what I’m doing without him. He’s part of so much of who I am and how I’ve been for lifetimes. I have to awaken to him every lifetime. I did thirty years ago. I haven’t been awake to him. But that’s changing.
If this experience were a wake-up call from your soul, what do you think it would be saying to you?
You have a whole lot of ability to do a whole lot of different things. You better listen to the jaguar and listen to all the spirit world that you have contact with and succeed in working with them. They are there to transform you and everything else.
