Have you ever looked for something and could not find it? You searched and searched. You even looked in places you had already looked, all to no avail. Going on to other things and, quite suddenly, you discovered the very thing you were seeking earlier. Memories are sometimes like that; you cannot force your memory; you just allow it to happen. Perhaps you have found that if you give your mind a break, your relaxation will do the work for you.

Childhood Memories
Do you remember playing as a child and making up things? If you think back, you might realize that some of those made-up playtimes seemed as real as the life you were living every day. Were you "imagining things", or reliving memories? Where do such memories come from?

Children's play is a type of trance state. As you played and acted your parts, alone or with other children, who were you? What were you doing? Were you cooking a meal or rocking a child? Were you a queen on a throne or a cowboy on a horse? Did you live in a castle, in a cabin, or in a thatched hut? Were you young or old? Was your skin dark or fair? Were you happy or sad? Perhaps, sometimes, you might have acted the part of a boy or a man; at other times, you might have played the role of a girl or a woman. It is common for children to switch roles as they play. It seemed real, didn't it? Perhaps it once was.

Children, particularly those under five years of age, are able to recall past lives easily. Many people have dreams and flashes of memory about other times and other places. Such activity is normal and can be very helpful. If you are recalling a past life, you can learn from it. The experience you had at that time can teach you a lesson now, if you will let it happen.

Learning from Memories
If you accept the idea that you might have had past lives, then it makes sense that those lives, the life you are living now, and future lives are all one very long life. You awake (are born), sleep (die), and awake again to learn and to grow. All of your lifetimes are connected as part of a greater life.

If you allow yourself to remember those past lives or segments of the whole journey, and if you take from them the lessons, skills, talents, and gifts which they contain, each separate life will be enriched  and your current life will be more fulfilling and rewarding to yourself and to those around you. Past, present, and future are all interconnected. They are ONE. If you choose not to learn your lessons, you might have to face them over and over again--in this life and in others--until you learn. Life seems to be about learning, changing, and growing.

Using Two Types of Memory
Since, as a child, you might have been remembering and re-enacting past lives during play, you might begin to think that memory is strong. There are two kinds of memory. Your short-term memory tells you what is happening to you in your current life and moment by moment, this is the type of memory you use. (Over the long journey of the soul, a single lifetime can be called short-term memory).

Long-term memory reminds you about things you learned long ago--even thousands of years ago. From short-term (current life) memory, you can learn lessons now. Long-term memory reminds you of events and feelings from the past and you can grow through learning the lessons.
From an exploration of the past, you can find talents and special skills which you can bring forward to use now. It is like being an explorer. You are exploring one or more of your lives as an adventure in time! When you explore past lives, you can use a professional guide to help you to find your way and to help you to appreciate what you find.

There are two ways to use what you find in past-life exploration. One way is to take what you see and to use it as a form of spiritual discovery for personal development or personal exploration. You might find special knowledge or talents that you can use now to help you to become a better person and to add more joy to your life. People around you might benefit from your personal exploration because what you learned from the past allows you to discover new ways of expression. You influence friends, family, and acquaintances because you become a happier, healthier, more successful individual. Your prosperity increases and your relationships blossom because you are able to bring forward beneficial aspects of yourself which may have been hidden in the past.

A second way to use what you find in your long-term memory is to look deeply for healing lessons. Time is a great teacher and a great healer. Everything you have learned is stored and waiting to be rediscovered. The answers to problems you are experiencing now might be found by exploring your past-life memories for the wisdom you once had in consciousness but, now, it is stored, seemingly forgotten. Painful issues, anxiety, and confusion--lack of harmony--in the present life can be readjusted or eliminated by remembering a lesson from a past life. The way you handle things now will depend upon how much you are willing to learn from the past and how deeply you are willing to go to discover those answers.