Rockport, Texas - Those who believe in reincarnation claim we have all lived before. But do our past lives have an influence on the kind of person we are today?

A friend once told me of recurring dreams of being a Roman legionnaire. He described, in vivid detail, a life of marching, fighting, and dedication to the emperor Julius Caesar. The dreams had such a profound impact, my friend spent years of study and research to obtain a degree in ancient Roman history, and later worked as technical adviser on a number of major motion pictures which depicted life in that ancient era.

There was a study done, in the mid 80s, where under hypnosis, the past lives of more than 20,000 volunteers were examined. Results of that study seem to indicate that we are now what we were before.

Like echoes from the past, our personalities, our likes and dislikes, our desires, fears and phobias seem tied to experiences from a past life.

Even special talents and unusual physical ailments may be the result of lives we lived hundreds of years ago.

Speaking in children’s voices, using expressions no longer heard, and clearly describing the most insignificant details of events from long ago, thousands of people have regressed to past lives and uncovered the personality and character of the people they are today.

Is everything we’ve ever experienced still lurking somewhere in the dark recesses of our subconscious? The people we were in past lives, the good, the bad and the ugly, do they remain a part of us when we come back?

We inherit the color of our skin, our hair, our height - but do we inherit memories?

“Deep in your subconscious are the stored memories from thousands of past lives,” says Dr. Brian Gavin, a professor of sociology who lives in Orlando, Florida. He claims, “The details of past lives which people recall under hypnosis are clear, and the memories are very vivid.”

After decades of past-life research, Dr. Gavin says, “You cannot come away from hundreds of sessions without being convinced we are controlled by composites of characters from the past. And it’s the strongest personality traits, and the most dramatic experiences from past lives, that carry over into the present.”

In his book, Confessions Of A Soul Man, author Denny Childress tells of a woman who had a terrible allergy to mold and mildew. She agreed to undergo past-life regression therapy and was surprised to discover she had once lived as a man who was confined to the dungeon of a prison ship on it’s way to the penal colonies of New Guinea.

Childress wrote, “The dankness of the nightmarish hell hole had been so horrifying that the experience was being re-lived in the form of allergies, which strangely disappeared after she traced their roots.”

Dr. Gavin recounts a dramatic case of working with a woman who suffered from a speech impediment, afflicted with stuttering since she was a child, and who also had an intense fear of anything touching her throat.

When the woman was regressed to a past life, she was a shabbily dressed young man living on a farm in the 1600s. During the course of the sessions, it was learned that the young man had died after being attacked by a large farm dog - which tore at his throat.

There are many people in today’s world who suffer from headaches, terrible migraines for which medical experts can find no cause. In cases of past-life regression, where headache complaints have been studied, an amazing number have been linked to accidents which occurred in the past.

In one case, a woman who suffered from constant migraines was regressed and re-lived her death. In a previous life, as a boy of 12 who lived some 800 years ago, she was trampled by a frightened horse and died after being kicked in the head.

Dr. Gavin has regressed over 5,000 people, including singer Kenny Rogers, actress Shannen Doherty and many other celebrities. He says, “We aren’t just one person, we’re who we are today, plus all the people we were before.”

He described to me what he called the clearest case of talent he had ever worked with. The case involved a man who had a strong desire to find a vocation which involved working with horses. The man’s life was in deep conflict because his father, a well-respected physician, wanted him to pursue a career as a doctor.

When the man took up riding, he quickly displayed the skills of an expert horseman. He won numerous competitions, and all his teachers described him as a gifted equestrian.

Under hypnosis, the man recalled a past life in which he served as a horse trainer for a Japanese war-lord. In this former life, the man’s job had been to train hoses to rear up at the right time to ward off attackers.

Researchers in the field of past-life regression say that alcoholics, and people to whom alcohol is so distasteful they can’t bear to keep liquor in the house, have told of unpleasant experiences while under hypnosis. Speaking with the voices of children, many recalled terrible beatings at the hands of alcoholic parents.

“Reincarnation can explain the infant prodigy, and the very common experience of deja vu, the feeling you have been somewhere before,” says Dr. Gavin. “Almost everyone has come across a scene, a face, or a piece of writing which is familiar - yet we know we have never seen them before.”

According to those involved in past-life regression research, there are very real possibilities our lives are guided by haunting memories - distant echoes of another life buried deep in the past. - Dean Terry