Interview given to Dimitra Kallinikou for the magazine Unlocking the Truth
interview
Thank you, in turn, for the privilege of being here. We should clarify something first, so as to avoid any misunderstandings later on. Hypnosis is a natural state of the mind that most of us experience at times. Hypnotic regression is a process during which we induce a state of hypnosis in our client, with the purpose of bringing about a cure. Hypnotherapy contributes decisively for someone to reach the depths of their subconscious and solve chronic and serious problems. For me however, hypnotic regression is the main way and an active process through which a client finds the root of their problem. This way one can in a relatively short period of time face problems like phobias, fixations and obsessive-compulsive behaviors, because it becomes possible to locate where those problems originate.
Even traditional psychotherapy has its limits. When it can't provide the desired solutions, then the client might resort to a more drastic approach, like hypnotic regression.
Mr. Komianos, thank you for the honor of having you here for our magazine. You are a person who has been distinguished in your field, having even international accolades. Hypnotic regression constitutes your main therapeutic technique. What exactly is achieved therapeutically through it, whom does it appeal to, and why would someone choose it over traditional psychotherapy?
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Incubation is the closest thing we have to the state of hypnosis. Both incubation and hypnosis are in essence modified states of consciousness and I would even say, enriched. This means that from a physiological standpoint they differ from sleep and wakefulness. Their characteristics allow us to say that:
a) A deep sleep-like corporeal relaxation is caused, almost motionlessness, that resembles but is not sleep.
b) A temporary suspension of critical and logical processes of the brain occurs.
c) Images begin to surface on conscious thought that were previously suppressed or inaccessible and even images that have nothing to do with our current life cycle.
In my opinion, dreams during incubation have nothing to do with the dreams we experience during normal sleep, which Artemidorus called "enypnia". This is because incubation was the final stage in a time consuming preparation and initiation, someone had to undergo to reach the cure of their ailment. The vivid divine dreams in the depths of the Asclepieia functioned as a spiritual vision and catharsis. Only in exceptional circumstances was the interpretation by the healers necessary, when the patients were unable to understand by themselves the significance of their dreams.
Hypnosis is reminiscent of the process of incubation in the ancient Asclepieia where the interpretation of the patient's dreams was critical for his cure. Could you explain to us what is hypnosis exactly? Is it a dreamlike state? And what's the difference from the state of sleep?
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If today you are doing well in life, like walking in a "path strewn with roses" as the expression goes, then there is no reason to revisit any past life. When players are on the field, does it make sense for them to dwell on where they transferred from, where they'll end up, or even when they'll retire? Of course not. What's important is to perform well until the final whistle is blown.
I don't encourage anyone to revisit a past life just for the sake of revisiting. I've had many clients that came with this expectation and nothing came of it. On the other hand, others that came not believing in the existence of past lives and they experienced it all.
When a past life is recalled, it has a serious impact for those that live through it, because this way they realize that Elytis the poet was wrong when he wrote "There is no second time". On the contrary, there are many times and with this realization the fear and anxiety of death recede significantly.
Hypnosis, at least for most people, has been closely associated with revisiting past lives. Meaning memories of images and information from past incarnations. To what extent do people that come to you have this particular expectation? Is the recollection of a past life crucial for the course of a person’s later life? And how does one handle such information in the here and now?
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The answer to the last question is an emphatic “Yes”. With each incarnation the soul is carved and matures with the hope that some day it might reach one of the higher levels of consciousness. I would even go so far as to say that so much evidence has been accumulated, that it could easily overwhelm like a tidal wave, both the religious and scientific establishments. But instead of this happening, those with authority flagrantly ignore examining the evidence and the signs, unwilling and unable to tread in unfamiliar territory. The reason being that they'd have to radically revise their fundamental principles. There is no better example for this than birthmarks. Modern biology can't explain the existence of congenital nevi (as birthmarks are called in medicine) for 60% of the cases. A pioneering professor of psychiatry in the University of Virginia, Ian Stevenson gave the answer twenty years ago with a seminal work. It explained the reason and the manner in which birthmarks are formed. In short, it illustrated to the scientific community that these marks correspond to wounds inflicted from previous incarnations. He also reported to his academic peers 225 incidents where the information given by young children regarding their past incarnations was cross-checked. In 18 of those cases, a cross-reference of available autopsies, showed matches between the congenital nevi and fatal injuries sustained by the individuals of the previous incarnations. For this contribution Professor Stevenson ended up being labeled by some of his peers as the “Galileo of the 20th century”. A title that in my opinion is not entirely undeserved. Unfortunately, however, he was not awarded a Nobel prize, though he surely merited one.
All over the world, there have been cases of people who "recalled" specific details from past lives, for example names and addresses that were confirmed. Did you have such cases in your career so far, that provided notable signs for the existence of reincarnation? Are birthmarks such signs? Does the soul go through a never-ending cycle of reincarnation from one life to the next?
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The features we see in regressions don't resemble those of NDEs. This means that those undergoing regression don't seem to recall any tunnel with a light, they don't see their life in retrospect, nor do they see any dead loved ones. Still, regressions have by themselves some common elements. Most involve reliving past lives, while only a few concern the between lives domain the space between death and rebirth.
For example a regression to a previous life usually mirrors today's state. In other words: the conflicts, dilemmas and worries we have today correspond to previous similar situations.
Another aspect is that the soul does not prioritize chronologically but according to the weight of an experience. During regressions, it's always the more traumatic experiences that overshadow human behavior, always looming under the surface. When we bring those experiences back to light, this can correct many of the ills in our daily life.
Finally, unlike dreams, most regressions show internal continuity a beginning, middle, and end in line with the space-time context of the incarnation.
In near death experiences (NDE) the majority of people see themselves go out of their body and later find themselves in a tunnel with a light at the end. Are there similar common motifs for the majority of people when going through the process of hypnosis to revisit a past life? Are these scattered like bits and pieces or do they all have something in common, like recalling the cause of death in a past life?
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That is quite a strong claim. You are referring to the concept of cryptomnesia. To deny the truth of everything we claim, skeptics attribute the recalling of those memories to information stored in the human subconscious, which comes back to the surface during the process of hypnosis. This way, the subconscious can create a story that we once read about in a book or saw in a movie. Believe me when I say that, if that has ever happened, it accounts for less than 1% of cases.
Hypnosis has been disputed and its reliability doubted. Two arguments against it are that, either the questions themselves might guide the subject, or that the subconscious is in any case a reservoir of unfulfilled desires. One may argue that a person in a state of hypnosis, could simply be expressing suppressed desires and inner conflicts. This could go as far as adopting a different identity. What is your opinion on this?
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"Beyond the Abaton" was a diligent effort to draw on both international research and my own clinical experience, in order to argue for the existence of the human soul. This challenged the currently established materialist perception, which reduces everything to mere brain functions. The dominant understanding cannot answer fundamental questions of philosophy like where does consciousness arise, or how human will is explained. Materialist monism leaves no room for such explanations.
I'm not planning at present to write a new book, even though I have a lot of ideas in mind. Right now I prefer to wait until I’ve gained even more experience and matured further before doing that.
In 2014 you published your book titled Beyond the Abaton which deals with the issue of life after death. What was your motivation for authoring this book. Is something new in the works?
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Many factors contributed for me to follow this path. I think that the catalyst was the death of my father, 25 years ago. Not only did he foretell his own death to me, but my attempts to communicate with him afterward convinced me that biological death is not the end.
What was it that motivated you initially to follow the road of regression therapy? How is the work of a hypnotherapist in today's Greek society? According to your experience, are Greeks in comparison with other peoples more inclined or less so to visit a hypnotherapist?
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For something like that to be done properly, it would be best for those interested to have basic training in the social sciences. Even better if they had already completed studies in psychology or mental health and wish to deepen their study of the human psyche. There is no organized school in our country that teaches in depth the various aspects and applications of hypnosis. I would say that in this field, the pioneers are the English. Now when it comes to regression therapy, this is even more challenging, as very few hypnotherapists explore it deeply enough to reach its true potential. In Greece we have one such school, which teaches the basics of regression therapy, and it is under the supervision of the Earth Association Regression Therapy. This is where I, along with several world renowned colleagues from abroad, teach classes.
Suppose someone is interested in pursuing a career in hypnotic regression therapy. How would that person start undergoing training as a hypnotherapist in our country and what would be the requirements?
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