The first past life Evans recalled was when she was Livonia, the wife of a man named Titus who lived in Eboracum (the present day English city of York) in the 3rd century. Her husband was a tutor to the youth who eventually grew up to become the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. Evans even 'recalled' an incident when the young Constantine was being trained in the use of weapons by one Marcus Favonius Facilis.

There were so many details in this one scene alone that were considered to be so historically accurate, the only way to account for this was to accept that Evans was either secretly an amateur historian who had spent years studying this era, or else she had recalled it from a past life.

The only problem with this explanation was that when a man named Melvin Harris set out to discover the true origin of this memory, he found all of these 'remarkable' historical details in a novel published in 1947 called The Living Wood by Louis de Wohl. This novel included a fictional character named Livonia and the scene involving the future Constantine the Great being trained in the use of weapons by another fictional character named Marcus Favonius Facilis.

Evans also 'remembered' being a Jewess named Rebecca who had lived in York in 1189. However, some of the 'remarkable' details of this 'past life' were subsequently found to have been broadcast in a radio play on the massacre of the Jews in York in 1190.

Evans also mentioned that she been forced to wear a round yellow badge in that life. However, researchers quickly realized that things did not quite add up, because Jews were not required to wear distinctive badges until 1218. And even when they were, these badges were not round and yellow, but white and elliptical.

Evans also 'remembered' being an Egyptian servant named Alison who worked in the household of a French moneyman named Jacques Coeur in 1450. Coeur was a real person who lived in Bourges at this time.

However, Evans 'recalled' that he was unmarried and childless, when in fact Coeur was not only married, but was also the father of five children. It turns out that many of the remarkable details of this 'past life' came directly from a novel about Coeur called The Moneyman that was published in 1948.

And what makes this even more revealing is that Thomas Costain, the author of this novel, deliberately left out the fact that Coeur was a married father in order to make the plot more compelling.

Occam's Razor

There is a principle used by scientists called Occam's Razor. Simply stated, it is when there are two possible explanations for something, the simplest one is most likely correct.

In this instance we have two competing explanations. Either hypnosis allows us to magically tap into those normally inaccessible memories we have from lives we lived in other times and as other people, or else hypnosis allows us to make-up these memories.

And not only is the second explanation the simplest, it is also that one that is supported by the evidence.

What if a Past Life Comes Up in a Session

If a past life comes up in a session, will we stop or ignore it.

No.

We believe in going with the flow and using whatever arises during a session because we trust the subconscious mind to reveal what needs to be revealed in order for deep healing to occur.

However, we will view it as a metaphor and not a reality.

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1. Spanos, Nicholas. "Past-life Hypnotic Regression: A Critical View," Skeptical Inquirer 12, no.2 (Winter 1987-88) 174-180.

2. Baker, Robert A. Hidden Memories: Voices and Visions From Within (Buffalo, N.Y. : Prometheus Books, 1992.)

3. Haaretz Magazine, Dan Evans (Haaretz Health Correspondent), July 24, 2009.