Can you find answers to your problems by remembering a previous existence? Are past life memories real? I am the living proof that you can change your life by remembering a past one. As to whether they are real, I believe they are, but everyone is entitled to make up their own mind about that.

The strange events that led up to my undergoing regression therapy are chronicled in my book, 'Ripples' but, in a nutshell, the memories that surfaced in my case changed me from a severely depressed, overweight housewife, who saw no future for herself, into a successful songwriter and author, who loves life and has a definite sense of purpose. Regression is not as scary as you might imagine, so long as an experienced therapist who puts in the correct safeguards carries it out. All hypnosis really does is to bring you to a point of mental stillness, so that your conscious mind allows access to your subconscious mind, which stores every memory you ever had. Normally you can't get at this part of your mind very easily as it's drowned out by the constant chattering of the everyday part which worries, 'Am I going to be late? Did I let the cat out, etc?' You don't go to sleep, and remain aware of everything around you. You just don't become involved with it. Your physical body might have an itch for instance, but it doesn't bother you, as you are centred totally in your mind, and the material world is irrelevant to you.

Some people say that they are afraid to go for regression lest they re-live something bad like a traumatic death. Well so long as your therapist is experienced, they will not allow that to happen. If you do encounter a bad memory, they will make sure that you view it 'from a distance' as a third party, so that you do not feel the pain. Some people think that they have enough problems in this life, without raking up old ones - but I believe that in many instances our problems in this life were created long ago, and healing them under hypnosis can also resolve current problems.

'Ripples' tells of three whole years in the life of Madeleine De Porte (my past life persona), her love for a young man called Ryan Fitzgerald, and the tragedy than followed. Today Ryan Fitzgerald is American singing star, Garth Brooks whom I eventually managed to meet in Nashville, (thus closing the circle), and thereby healing the past. Maybe, like me, you might remember dates and places that can be checked. I was taken to the house were I lived, in the 17th century, as Madeleine, by the Channel 5 programme, 'It Happened To Me', and was able to tell the people in the house of a secret room, which they had not been able to find. I also recognised the 'Green Man' coaching inn in the village, although today it has been converted into an ordinary house. Before the regression, I wasn't a confident person, and yet since then I have appeared on 20 UK, Irish, and American TV shows to talk about my experiences, and I am currently doing interviews on radio stations right across the USA. So my life has certainly been totally revamped. My belief in the continuing circle of multiple lives, has also taken away my fear of death, because I know for sure that we do go on. I believe in 'Karma' - and if only the whole world believed in importance of the 'spiritual balance' that we are here to achieve, then surely we would finally see an end to the terrible acts of violence that too often appear on the News, and we might finally learn to break down walls between cultures and religions, instead of building them. So, regression is a fascinating therapy. At best it has life changing ramifications, as in my case, and anyway it can be a source of great personal insight.

If you would like to read the entire story, 'Ripples' is priced at ?.99 ($9.95) and is available from Barnes and Noble and all good book stores or on the internet. I can be contacted through my website on http://www.ripplesbooks.freeserve.co.uk

Author's Bio: