Sunday, June 21, 2009

Guest Blogger: Marilynn Byerly

Marilynn's winner is: Ingrid Foster! Congrats, Ingrid. Send me your contact information and I'll pass it along to Marilynn. Thanks to everyone who participated.
Glenn Miller's song "Moonlight Serenade" makes me cry.

It always has, and I've never known why. I grew up during the heyday of Elvis and the Beatles, but my passion was Big Band music. Ancient Egypt and Rome enthralls me, and at ten I could understand Shakespeare's Elizabethan words.

Some things just come naturally to me, like I've done them before, and some historical places feel as comfortable as the town I grew up in.

If I have lived before, I can name some people, times, and places. A Big Band musician with classical training who died during World War II. An American intellectual during the Romantic movement. An Elizabethan. One of Chaucer's drinking buddies. A Roman. An Etruscan. An ancient Greek. An Egyptian peasant.

No, I can't remember any of these lives. Except for some intense dreams in my childhood, I've never remembered those other times. I've pieced them together from my natural interests, and my frisson of recognition at historical artifacts.

Every time I've attempted to delve into my past lives, my subconscious has told me "don't do this" in a very loud voice.

When I was researching my reincarnation romance, TIME AFTER TIME, I read a book on how to remember past lives. The author suggested that you ask your subconscious every night before bed to give you information on a past life.

The author told of how he'd done this to gain more information on his life as a military man in the late 1700s. He dreamed that he'd seen a night sky, and the stars had formed the name of the famous battle site where he'd died.

"Cool," I thought to myself. "Just think of all the book material I'd find from past lives." I began to ask my subconscious to give me information.

Finally, one night I dreamed I saw a night sky and letters began to form. My letters spelled out "buffoon."

My subconscious has a wicked sense of humor.

Wondering what it would be like to recall past lives, I came up with the premise for TIME AFTER TIME. My hero Justin Lord remembers all his lives and the one woman in each of them. When he meets Alexa West, he knows he's finally found this soul mate.

Determined to win her by making her remember, he romances Alexa by restaging and retelling their past lives and their loves. But he doesn't tell her she has rivals for his love, and she is all twelve.

Unless he can give up his obsession with those past loves, he will lose Alexa.

Remembering past lives proves to be as much a curse as a blessing for Justin, and his problems made me realize that maybe my subconscious isn't so wrong, after all, in telling me not to try to remember. One life is confusing enough.


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Marilyn will give away a copy of her book to one person who leaves a comment about her/his own past life exploration. Winner will be posted on Tuesday evening. Check back to see if you've won.

15 Comments:

Blogger Lynda Hilburn said...

Welcome to Paranormality, Marilynn! Thanks for guest blogging. The advice you got is the same guidance I give to my clients: as you drift off to sleep, ask your unconscious mind to take you to the lifetime you need to explore -- the one that can bring benefit to your current life. With some practice, it always works. I also have a line of guided hypnosis CDs people can use, including a Past Life Regression CD. Those can be seen on my non-writing website:
http://www.lyndahilburn.com/main.htm

7:11 PM  
Blogger Marilynn Byerly said...

Thanks, Lynda.

Your CD sounds wonderful for those without an obnoxious subconscious like mine.

My mom is ill today so I'm doing the doctor and dutiful daughter bit, but I'll be here on and off all day for anyone who has a question.

8:07 AM  
Blogger Patricia Altner said...

Hi Marilynn

My own experience with exploring my past life is minimal, but I do believe it is possible we have lived before.

I often wonder if my passion for certain periods of history might have a special meaning. From a young age I loved reading books or watching movies set in Medieval Europe, Moorish Spain and 19th century Russia. There is a special thrill I feel when touching on those eras.

Thanks for a wonderful post.

Lynda I will have to check out your CDs on Past Life Regression

8:13 AM  
Blogger Margay Leah Justice said...

I haven't actually explored any possible past lives, either, but I think that is the reason why we love certain things, era, etc. - because they're familiar. For instance, I love the Regency, Victorian (1890s) and Medieval eras and always have. I don't know why they appeal to me so strongly, but if I lived during them in a different life, that could be one explanation.

Margay

9:21 AM  
Blogger mary.anne.gruen@gmail.com said...

I really don't know if I've lived before. I seem to have a tie to Vaudeville, Ancient Egypt and Greece. With a touch of time in 1800's France and Britain. And I love that Big Band music too! Who knows? I've got to try asking my unconscious about it before sleeping.

http://www.StarlightBlog.com

11:33 AM  
Blogger Rashda Khan said...

What a coincidence, a man just walked into my office about 15 minutes ago and we had a most interesting conversation about reincarnation...now I find this blog.
Coincidence? Or is the universe trying to tell me something?

2:27 PM  
Blogger Cybercliper said...

Wow, Marilynn this story sounds really wonderful. I've always wanted to do past life regression but am a little afraid to be honest. They say that dreams are sometimes a glimpse of what once was and if so, then the reoccuring ones I've had, I don't know that I want to explore them - much.

3:25 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Wow! Sounds great! I love them all! Reincarnation sounds so interestng and past lives. Can't wait to try your book.

Dottie :)

8:52 PM  
Blogger Cecile Smutty Hussy said...

Wow, Ms Lynda, thanks for having Ms Marilynn over here!!!! I am sorry to say that I have not had an past life experiences...
But I would love to read the book!!!
I hope you all have a wonderful day and hope all is well on your side of the country Ms Lynda!
Hugz Cecile

12:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Marilynn

I am a firm believer in karma and past lives.

Ten years ago, embarking on my spiritual journey, I read a book entitled Many Lives, Many Masters written by Dr. Brian Weiss, renowned psychiatrist. This book is a case study describing one of Dr. Weiss’ patients whose mysterious ailments disappeared when, using hypnosis, he regressed her into the past lives where traumas had occurred. Intrigued, I started researching the notion of reincarnation, reading voraciously, talking to energy healers, and even doing a couple of regressions myself.

It seemed only right to incorporate reincarnation and the notion of both karmic and genetic memory in my first book, The Jaguar Legacy. Triggered by the energy of an archaeological dig, my heroine makes the unnerving discovery that in her past life, she had been an Olmec High Priestess, trained to kill at an early age, and thirsty for power.

Gradually, over several months, I realized the past life I described was one of my own. Certainly, it was the part of the book that flowed most easily, the only part that required little or no editing.

4:24 AM  
Anonymous Maureen Fisher said...

For some strange reason, my previous message got posted as 'Anonymous' even though I specified 'Name/URL'. I will try again.

Maureen Fisher

6:03 AM  
Blogger Frances Pauli said...

I've done a lot of work with past lives and past life recall and have been fascinated to obsessed with the concept of soul mates my entire life.
I wish you the best of luck in looking back, though, your subconscious seems to be firmly in touch with trickster energy (as is mine!) Maybe before it will let you sneak a peek, you should research Coyote for awhile, make friends, make nice, give him some cookies, then try again.
Best of luck with both, he's quite the rascal.
Frances

8:26 AM  
Blogger Marilynn Byerly said...

Thanks, everyone for your comments.

Reincarnation in fiction seems to be making a comeback, and the subject we all are interested in can only become more popular with MJ Rose's REINCARNATIONIST series starting in the fall.

2:05 PM  
Anonymous Ingrid Foster said...

Marilynn, I was thrilled to read your blog. I know my husband and I have been together in many past lives, though I do not believe always as lovers. In one in particular, we were pirates on the high seas. I can vividly picture us telling tall tales over mugs of ale.

I appreciate your insight on remembering past lives and would very much like to read your novel. How interesting that you chose that subject. Very cool.

Ingrid

5:52 PM  
Anonymous franquilts@yahoo.com said...

Hi Marilyn, I'm a faithful reader of yours! A fellow author over at Hardshell, as well.
Here's my experience. When I went to visit my daughter she told me she had a friend who did past life regressions and had made an appointment for us.
I didn't expect anything really, but loved the beautiful redwood studio with its piles of natural fiber pillows.
We made ourselves comfortable and she bagan... Somewhere in a semi-dream state, in my minds eye I could feel/see this brown skinned woman, clothed in turquoise veils, riding astride a fast running horse. They ran along the base of soaring sand dunes, a golden yellow with dark shadows highlighting the swooping hills and plunging valleys of a desert. I could feel a wide gold braclet bounding on an arm that had become mine. The foam from the laboring horses mouth flew back and landed on my arm. The image faded into a sort of high court where my daughter sat on a high throne-like chair. She wore a gold circlet on her blonde hair and seemed to soothe and comfort each individual that apporached her. I felt she was a healer.
Later when I mentioned what I'd seen to my daughter, she had seen the exact same thing where she was on the chair addressing people whe had come before her!
She did not see me/the woman on the horse who seemed to be trying to escape from someone or something.
Allene Frances

3:05 PM  

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