“You know, Scott, I can tell you are not that happy,” said Steve. “I think it’s affecting your productivity here at work. I care about you, both as an employee and as a friend, so I have decided to offer you some help.”
He was right of course. I was in the midst of the darkest chapter of my life. I lived alone, was in between relationships, and commuted for hours each day. When I arrived home after work I indulged in junk food, alcohol, and drugs in an unsuccessful attempt to numb myself from the unsatisfactory life I had somehow created for myself.
“Okay, “ I said with some trepidation. “What did you have in mind?”
“I’d like you to go see my hypnotherapist Anah. She’s an amazing healer and has helped me tremendously. I’ll pay for your initial consultation with her if you are willing to go.”
“Wow, I don’t know what to say. Thank you, Steve. This is a very generous offer. I accept.”
“I’m thinking of this as an investment in your future productivity as much as a gift to you personally for all you have done for me over the past five years.”
The day of my introductory session arrived. After work, I drove from Novato to Fairfax where Anahaar’s office was located.
I quickly discovered that Anah is a gifted healer and despite the fact that she had never previously met me, she was able to read things about me that I knew deep down were true. Things that I had not previously considered but which now having been exposed by an outsider, seemed obvious.
This led to feeling compelled to keep working with her. I realized that she was someone who could help me untangle myself at this time. So, at the end of the session, I committed to a doing series of sessions with her.
Ultimately, I ended up doing one hypnotherapy session per week with her for 13 weeks total. With each session, I was able to get deeper and deeper into the obstacles that seemed to be preventing me from experiencing happiness.
Anah is in herself quite an intriguing character. In her practice, she applies conventional psychotherapy and hypnotherapy assisted by her “spirit guides,” with whom she would come in contact and receive guidance during sessions with her clients. I found her to be a remarkably perceptive and intuitive practitioner.
I was able to make progress all along. I was propelled forward by my willingness to delve deeply into myself to arrive at the crux of the matter. I was ripe for this experience and found that I was transforming in the process.
Anah noticed my capability and taught me her technique as a form of self-hypnosis. She encouraged me to use it at home to further our work together.
On the evening before the seventh visit with her, I decided to apply this self-hypnosis technique that I had learned. I was at home, in my bedroom, and started to do the technique. I easily and quickly relaxed into a vivid vision.
I was suddenly looking through the eyes of someone else. It was a man who had lived at some time in the past. The man was piling loose raw herbs on squares of white paper. When he looked backward, I could see that he was in a Chinese herbal pharmacy. The wall behind the counter contained hundreds of small drawers containing individual dried herbs.
I witnessed him making an herbal formula for someone. He finished placing the herbs on the paper and then picked up the papers, one at a time, folding them masterfully into a compact package. He then folded the other two and handed all three packages to a Chinese woman standing at the counter.
The vision ended almost as quickly as it came and I was left utterly fascinated. What did it mean? I had some vague sense that I was possibly viewing what I had heard described as a past life. I couldn’t wait to see Anahaar the next day. Perhaps she could shed some light on the significance of this vision.
I went to work the next day and afterward, drove to Fairfax for my hypnotherapy session. I excitedly relayed my previous night’s vision to her.
“What was that?” I asked. “Was it a past-life experience?”
“I don’t know,” she said calmly. “Let’s go in and see.”
What happened next is the singularly most pivotal moment of my life.