This is not for the faint of heart.

Nor is this something I recommend doing at a party or in place of fooling around with Ouija boards. If that’s where you live please stop reading. It is a deeply personal and Spiritual experience and not to be treated like some game or frivolity. I regret having shared it with my sister, and my niece both of whom are lovely people but weren’t ready to address looking into the face of their own past lives. They weren’t ready and it freaked them out.  Actually to qualify the phrase ‘past lives’,  I don’t really believe that there is a past, present, future for the soul (just the body) so it bugs me to use the term ‘past’ life when ‘alternate’ lives seems to be more appropriate.  For the sake of using a well coined term that everybody gets, I’ll try not to be controversial and for the remainder of this post simply say ‘past life’.

There is a simple exercise called the ‘Candle-Mirror Mediation’ which yielded a very strange and wondrous revelation for me.  I was able to connect with myself in such a way as to see the faces I have worn in ‘previous’ lives. (gritting of the teeth here)  I have been told on numerous occasions that I am a very Old Soul and my game plan in this lifetime is merely to sew up that last 5% of human experience before I move on.  I’ve often joked that I must be a ridiculously slow learner if I have been around since before humans had language, and every generation of man there after, and still haven’t nailed down whatever it is I need to know.  Is there dyslexia for life?

N ‘way the meditation takes place in a medium dark room.  You sit on the floor in a comfortable cross legged poise and there is a candle to the right of you and a full length mirror before you. It is important to ground yourself and connect to your higher power to set your intention and the tone for the room.  Only ‘those of Light’ are invited to the party people, no gate crashers!  The idea is to breath deeply and slowly while looking into the flame of the candle until all else but the flame dissolves from your vision.  When you have narrowed down your focus in this way you are to turn your eyes, and your attention to face yourself in the mirror.  As you stare into your own eyes, unblinking, unwavering you continue to breath deeply as you wait for the room to collapse from your view, and all else dissolves but your own eyes.

Then magic begins.

I can’t predict what you will see.  All I can share with you is what I saw.  The faces of both men and women from all times in history, of all backgrounds began to turn as though thumbing through a thick worn leather book.  Then the faces came at me faster, and faster and faster still as both human and non human faces looked back.  I was taken aback for a moment when I realized the Alien visages were still me in another format, but the shock subdued quickly and I eased into the parade of thousands.  Finally, one last image presented itself.  Half my face shimmered as half feline and half human stared back.  Then the other half of my face shimmered and I sat there staring into the calm, collected eyes and face of a tan coloured lioness.  I have no idea what this means, but it would explain the affinity I have always had for cats, and they for me. And the tree climbing.  It also explains the tree climbing (only kidding).

What you will see I can’t say.  How you interpret it will depend upon your current set of beliefs.  For my part I believe in Reincarnation and the many faces we have worn in our attempt to make known the unknown.  I mean we’re eternal.  What the hell else do we have to do except keep pushing the envelope to discover aspects of ourselves and to continue expanding,  to make known the unknown.  Kinda sounds a little like Star Trek exploring the universe ‘going where no one has gone before’ but in this case the universe is internal.  Kinda like the macro is the micro. Ever see fractals?  Same Same.  Now I’m getting philosophical and this was supposed to be about the Candle-Mirror Meditation. Ok that’s enough outta me.

If you should decide to give this a try I’d love to hear back from you and whatever you’d care to share about your experience.  Remember to follow the tenant of the Hitch Hiker’s guide to the Galaxy when you go off exploring and Don’t Panic!