How to Recognize Signs of Past Life: Things To Look For 

It’s a typical day like any other but something feels intensely different. You feel like you’ve experienced this moment before. One possible explanation is that you have been to the same place or experienced the same event at another point in time. Know as déjà vu, this is one of many signs that you may have lived another life.

Whether you believe it or not, many people think our souls have been on Earth for centuries, taking on a new body every time we pass. The soul finds a new body or vessel to begin life again, with many who have a near-death experience saying they felt their previous selves talking to them.

Also known as rebirth, reincarnation proposes that the soul is immortal and transmigrated to a new infant upon the death of the biological body. In this new body, the soul continues in life. In some circles, reincarnation is a philosophy, while in countries like India, it’s often part of religious beliefs. For those wondering if they lived a past life, read on and discover some of the signs that indicate if your soul has lived on Earth once before. 

1. Déjà Vu

RabbProductions/Shutterstock

Have you ever had that strange feeling that you have been somewhere before, even though you haven’t? Perhaps you even said something you felt you said before, but you know you didn’t. It’s an eerie and unsettling feeling. There’s a good chance you’re experiencing déjà vu.

Déjà vu is a clear sign of remembering a moment or memory from a past lifetime. A person experiencing déjà vu might be connecting to a past life. Their soul might have unfinished business or something they must deal with in their current incarnation. 

2. Recurring Dreams

OWL_VISION_STUDIO/Shutterstock

Recurring dreams often give us a glimpse into our past lives with clues about who we were. They usually involve the same historical time and cast of characters. The person dreaming sees the world from a familiar but different point of view. For example, psychiatry professor Jim Tucker discussed the fascinating case of 2-year-old James Leininger in Return to Life: Extraordinary Cases of Children Who Remember Past Lives.

Leininger had intense nightmares of being in a World War II fighter plane, crashing, and dying a fiery death. He loved toy planes and detailedly described his death to his father. After some research, his father discovered a World War II pilot, Jack Huston, who died exactly as he described, right down to the plane’s name. Tucker suggests Leininger was remembering Huston’s memories and death.

3. Reconnecting With Someone From a Past Life

simona pilolla 2/Shutterstock

There are times when we feel an instant connection with someone. They might be a stranger or an acquaintance. There’s immediate chemistry and a vibe that feels familiar. It’s as if you’ve known this person your whole life. Well, maybe you have, but not in this life.

It’s not some fluke coincidence, as there’s a good chance you might have met this person in a past life. They might even be your soul mate, although these connections and feelings are rare. The universe may be allowing you to reconnect with someone for a reason. 

4. Past Life Fears

Suzanne Tucker/Shutterstock

Clinical hypnotherapist Dr. John McGrail works closely with patients who suffer from severe phobias. In most cases, these patients suddenly feel these fears as opposed to something triggering the phobia. Most have never experienced the fear before either.

One of McGrail’s patients developed an irrational fear of the sky. McGrail employed the past life regression technique to uncover the last moments of the woman’s past life. She recalled receiving a death-by-hanging sentence after being falsely accused of murder. The sky was the last thing she saw before putting the hood over her head. The discovery allowed the woman to return to a normal and happy life knowing that her phobia was related to her past life.

5. Unexplained Skills

Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock

Once in a while, a child comes along with an incredible ability or talent. They might be geniuses at science, a piano prodigy, or speak another language before they turn six. These are skills they weren’t taught but were born with. 

Hypnotherapists believe these are skills and talents they learned in their previous life. These abilities carry over with their soul, giving the children an inherent ability to perform these tasks masterfully.  

6. Psychic Abilities

Alena Ivochkina/Shutterstock

Sometimes, following your gut feeling is best because it might be more than instinct. That strong intuition could be psychic abilities, indicating past lives. The belief proposes that the soul amasses knowledge throughout its many lives and can access them in the present life. It’s also common to feel sensitive to other people’s energy and feelings. 

7. Persistent Memories

zef art/Shutterstock

Some people feel a strong connection to a different era or decade. They connect with music, fashion, and the lifestyle of a certain era so much so that they wish they could live in that time. Dr. John McGrail believes this is evidence that they have connected to a previous life.

Listening to music from that particular generation may trigger the memories of a past incarnation. These persistent memories of being a different person in another place and time are from a past life. McGrail describes it as a “physical manifestation like a birthmark.”

8. Deep Connection To a Particular Place

Olya Oborina/Shutterstock

Like déjà vu, an individual can sometimes feel a strong and eerie connection to a particular place, like a building or location. The link is so intense that it’s hard for them to shake. People sometimes feel overwhelmed by this feeling, especially if they have never been to that place before, at least not in this lifetime. Those who believe in past lives think it’s possible if you have this type of connection to a location it may have played a significant part in your death during a former life. 

9. Past Life Physical Pain

Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

It’s uncommon for people to wake up with sudden pain they have never experienced before. If this happens and doctors can’t explain why, it could be linked to a past life. Hypnotherapists suggest that random pain doesn’t come from this life. It can be an issue a person has dealt with most of their life or a sudden problem.

Whatever the pain, if there’s no origin point as a cause for it, then it could be linked to an injury from a past life. Pain and fears from past lifetimes often manifest in the present life for many reasons and can serve as a warning for future issues.

10. On a Mission

24Novembers/Shutterstock

It takes some people years to figure out what they want to do with their lives. They might feel they don’t have a purpose in life. In contrast, some people are on a mission from the day they’re born. They know precisely what they need to do and are intent on accomplishing that goal. They feel a sense of purpose and have goals they want to achieve since they were born.

Hypnotherapists suggest that a strong sense of purpose comes from a past life. They say that a person’s soul has already been on Earth and is essentially picking up where it left off. 

11. Attachment To Another Culture

Anna Jurkovska/Shutterstock

There are theories that if you are attracted to another culture that is opposite to the one you grow up in, you may have been part of that culture in another life. For example, if you grew up in an Italian household in Syracuse, New York but develop a strong connection to the Indian and Bollywood culture, falling in love with the food, music, fashion, and lifestyle, you might have lived in India in a past life. 

Similar to the feeling of déjà vu, if you have an unexplainable deep connection to another culture, there are those who believe that’s linked to your past life. Visiting the country would likely trigger more memories and dreams, providing a deeper insight into your past life.

12. Not Afraid To Die

Annette Shaff/Shutterstock

Some people live their whole life like they will die tomorrow. They have no fear of death and laugh in the face of danger. There’s no risk they won’t take. That’s probably because their soul has experienced death many times before. They know life in this body might end, but it will continue in a new vessel. They don’t live recklessly but are not afraid of death when their life ends.

13. Speaking a Language They Never Learned

Undrey/Shutterstock

Learning a new language is difficult and can take several months, depending on the language. If you suddenly wake up one morning with the ability to speak a new language, not only will you be shocked, but that could be the language you spoke in a past lifetime.

For instance, a woman suddenly started speaking German one day even though she never learned the language. Experts propose that these people spoke this language in a previous life. The woman could say more than 200 words in German despite having no connection to the culture. 

14. Birthmarks Are Past Life Trauma

Victor Mulero/Shutterstock

Most people are born with birthmarks that seem harmless. In some cases, a birthmark might just be a birthmark, but it could also be a knife wound, a snake bite, or a gunshot from a previous life. Hypnotherapist suspect birthmarks could be like a memento that the soul holds onto and carries into the next life. 

15. Soul Mates

JennyandCasey/Shutterstock

As noted, some people feel strongly connected to someone when they first meet. Some people think that the reason could be the person is a past lover from another lifetime. For example, some couples meet, feel an instant connection, and quickly get married. They feel an intense rush of emotions as if they’ve always known each other. At the same time, soul mates could be friends from different lifetimes who always manage to find each other.