A client lies on a reclining chair, eyes closed, breathing even. The practitioner says, “Go back to the time when this issue began.” In a room across town, another client hears a different instruction: “Step aside and let the Subconscious speak.” Both are in hypnosis. Both will describe scenes that feel like past lives. But the rules of the game have changed.
Past Life Regression (PLR) and Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique (QHHT) are two distinct hypnotic methods for accessing past life memories, differing in philosophy, the role of the practitioner, and what they claim to contact — the past life self versus a universal Subconscious intelligence.
Where Did Each Method Come From?
The story of past life regression in the West begins in the 1950s, when a hypnotherapist named Morey Bernstein regressed a housewife named Virginia Tighe under hypnosis. She spoke in a thick Irish accent, recalled a life as “Bridey Murphy” in 19th-century Cork, and produced details that seemed to match historical records. The case was published as The Search for Bridey Murphy (1956) and sparked a craze. Skeptics later argued the details were plausible from available sources, but the cultural door had opened.
Over the next decades, practitioners like Dr. Brian Weiss (a psychiatrist who stumbled into past life therapy after a patient regressed to a past life without prompting) and Dr. Michael Newton (who developed Life Between Lives regression) refined the method. Weiss’s Many Lives, Many Masters (1988) became a bestseller, and his protocol — induce a trance, guide the client to a “past life scene,” then work through the trauma — became the standard template for PLR.
QHHT emerged from the work of Dolores Cannon, a past life regression therapist who began experimenting in the late 1970s. By the 1990s, she noticed that some clients, when deeply hypnotized, would speak not as a past life self but as a “Subconscious” voice that claimed to be a non-physical intelligence with access to all knowledge. Cannon developed a formal protocol around this phenomenon: first, regress the client to a past life to lower their critical factor; then, contact the Subconscious directly for healing and answers. She published Between Death and Life (1993) and The Convoluted Universe series, and QHHT (she later added “Quantum” to the name) grew into a global training organization after her death in 2014.
What Each Method Actually Believes It Contacts
In standard PLR, the practitioner and client assume that the memories accessed belong to a previous incarnation of the individual soul. The past life self is an earlier version of “you.” The goal is to find the root of a current issue, a phobia, a chronic pain, a relationship pattern, in a specific past life event and resolve it through emotional release and reframing. The timeline is linear: cause in one life, effect in the present.
QHHT disagrees at a fundamental level. The Subconscious, as Cannon defined it, is not the client’s unconscious mind in the psychological sense. It is a vast, impersonal intelligence that created the body, knows its design, and can alter it on the cellular level. It also knows the client’s soul plan, past lives, parallel lives, and future lives simultaneously. The “past life” part of the session is merely a stepping stone to reach this Subconscious. The real work happens in the second half, when the practitioner asks the Subconscious direct questions about health, relationships, and life purpose, and the Subconscious often performs “healing” by sending light or energy to the client’s body.
The difference is not academic. A PLR practitioner may ask, “What is happening in that scene?” A QHHT practitioner asks, “Subconscious, why did you show this scene to the client?” One assumes the client is the remembering subject; the other assumes the client is an observer being shown a film.
How a Session Actually Runs
A standard PLR session lasts 60 to 90 minutes. The practitioner uses a progressive relaxation induction, then a deepening technique (counting backwards, descending stairs). Then a “bridge” phrase: “Go back to the time when this problem began.” The client describes what they see, hear, and feel. The practitioner asks open-ended questions to flesh out the scene. Emotional catharsis is common. The session ends with a return to the present and a discussion of insights.
A QHHT session is longer, typically three to four hours. The first half is a detailed interview about the client’s life and health. The second half is the hypnotic process. The induction is similar to PLR, but the practitioner guides the client to a “past life” only briefly, then says, “Now step aside and let the Subconscious step forward.” The Subconscious voice may speak in a different tone, rhythm, or vocabulary. The practitioner then asks a list of prepared questions, often covering physical ailments, emotional blocks, and the client’s life purpose. The Subconscious may give instructions for healing, sometimes describing a “light” that enters the client’s body. The session ends with the Subconscious withdrawing and the client returning to normal awareness.
The tactile reality: in a PLR, the client’s body often stirs with emotion, tears, twitching, a clenched jaw. In a QHHT, the body often remains utterly still, as if the person is elsewhere, while the voice continues. The practitioner’s role shifts from guide to scribe.
Key Differences at a Glance
| Aspect | Past Life Regression (PLR) | QHHT |
|---|---|---|
| Source of authority | Past life self | Subconscious (universal intelligence) |
| Timeline | Linear, cause-effect | Non-linear, simultaneous lives |
| Practitioner role | Guide, interpret images | Facilitator, ask questions, do not interpret |
| Session length | 60–90 minutes | 3–4 hours |
| Healing mechanism | Emotional release, reframing | Direct cellular healing by Subconscious |
| Notable figures | Brian Weiss, Michael Newton, Roger Woolger | Dolores Cannon (founder), Julia Cannon |
| Published origin | Many Lives, Many Masters (1988) | Between Death and Life (1993) |
The Adjacent Traditions
PLR and QHHT are not the only methods. Michael Newton’s Life Between Lives (LBL) regression, developed in the 1990s, focuses on the soul’s experiences between incarnations, the council of elders, the soul group, the selection of the next life. Newton trained practitioners through the Newton Institute. LBL shares the idea of a higher self (the “superconscious”) but does not use Cannon’s Subconscious protocol.
Another related method is spiritual regression, a term used by practitioners like Dr. Roger Woolger, who combined past life regression with Jungian psychology and bodywork. Woolger’s Other Lives, Other Selves (1987) treats past life memories as archetypal patterns held in the body.
For those who prefer a non-hypnotic approach, past life meditation (guided visualizations, often in group settings) may produce similar imagery without the formal trance state. The difference is depth: meditation tends to produce less vivid, more symbolic memories, while hypnosis often yields sensory-rich, emotionally charged scenes.
What People Get Wrong
Misconception 1: QHHT is just a rebranded past life regression.
No. The philosophy of the Subconscious as a separate, omniscient entity is a radical departure. A PLR practitioner would never ask the Subconscious to heal a broken bone. A QHHT practitioner would not typically spend a session exploring the emotional details of a past life scene.
Misconception 2: Past life regression is dangerous.
Any regression can trigger strong emotions. Practitioners are trained to handle abreactions. The risk is low when the practitioner is competent and the client is psychologically stable. The same applies to QHHT.
Misconception 3: The Subconscious in QHHT is the same as the unconscious in psychology.
It is not. Freud’s unconscious is a repository of repressed memories and drives. Cannon’s Subconscious is a non-physical intelligence that can read the client’s soul record, knows the future, and can manipulate matter. The two concepts are incompatible.
Misconception 4: You must believe in reincarnation for either to work.
Neither method requires belief. The client may experience scenes that feel like past lives regardless of personal belief. Skeptics often report meaningful sessions. The interpretation is separate from the experience.
FAQ
Can anyone be regressed?
Most people can enter a light to medium trance state. About 10-15% of the population may not produce vivid imagery under hypnosis. This is not a failure; the session can still be conducted using somatic or emotional cues.
How do I choose between PLR and QHHT?
If you want to explore a specific past life trauma or emotional pattern, PLR is more direct. If you have a physical health issue or want answers about your life purpose from a higher source, QHHT may be more appropriate.
Are the memories real or imagined?
There is no scientific consensus. Some recalled details have been verified against historical records, others have not. The therapeutic value does not depend on historical accuracy. Both methods treat the memories as psychologically real, if not factually real.
How many sessions are needed?
A single PLR session can resolve a phobia. Complex issues may require several. QHHT is usually done as a single long session, though some clients return for additional work.
Closing
The difference between PLR and QHHT is not merely a question of technique. It is a divergence in cosmology: one sees the soul moving through time, the other sees a single intelligence that spans all time. Both offer tools for exploring the past, but they ask different questions. If you are curious about your own past life threads, start with our guide to past life regression. For a deeper understanding of the soul’s journey between lives, explore the karma and reincarnation hub. And for a glossary of terms like “Subconscious” and “QHHT,” visit our glossary.