What to Do When Your Child Remembers a Past Life

Exploring Stories of Children Who Remember Past Lives and the Spiritual Lessons They Offer

If you’ve ever heard a young child say something that made you stop in your tracks—a vivid memory of a time or place they’ve never experienced, or a deep connection to a culture or talent that seems far beyond their years—you’re not alone. More and more parents are sharing stories about children who remember past lives.

And for those who are spiritually curious, stories like these aren’t just fascinating—they might even affirm something your heart already suspected: we are more than our bodies, we are Soul—an eternal, creative being.  Unlimited.  Divine.

Why Are Children More Likely to Remember Past Lives?

According to Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ, a spiritual path that explores Soul travel, dreams, and reincarnation, children are often more connected to their spiritual essence—Soul—and have not yet been fully conditioned by the material world. That purity makes it easier for them to access subtle memories from before this life.    

Take Crary and her son Cammann, guests on the Soul Adventure Podcast, who share their deeply personal experiences with this phenomenon.

A Preschooler Talks About Past Lives

Crary’s journey with past life awareness began early. At age four, she told her Sunday School teacher she remembered knowing her best friend from a past life—right down to what she used to look like. Her teacher told her to never speak of it again.

Crary was devastated. Even as a child, she knew the memory was real. That moment led her mother to seek a spiritual path that made space for these experiences—ultimately leading them to Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ.

When Children Remember Things They “Shouldn’t” Know

Years later, Crary’s own son began sharing similar stories. At just three years old, Cammann picked out a football player ornament at Christmas, insisting, “I like football. I’m really good at it.” The odd part? No one in their home watched football. They didn’t even allow screen time. Yet he spoke about the sport with conviction.

Later, he recalled having a “different mother and father” and even remembered riding in the front seat while his now-mother sat in the back—flipping the roles of parent and child. These recollections came with striking detail and no prior exposure.

One particularly chilling moment came when Cammann asked his mom, “What was your grandfather’s name?” When she told him, he responded, “That’s my name.” He had remembered being called that name. Crary’s grandfather had passed long before, but the connections continued to unfold.  This included vivid memories of events like a lightning strike to the grandfather’s house, which Cam had never been told about, but matched exactly with a family story that was later confirmed by Crary’s mother.

Could Your Child Be Remembering a Past Life?

Parents who are open-minded and spiritually curious can look for some of the same signs Crary experienced:

  • Sudden, unexplained knowledge or vocabulary
  • Vivid dreams or memories involving other families, places, or time periods
  • Unexpected talents or passions (playing musical instruments or speaking foreign languages)
  • Reflections on their existence, such as “I used to be big and you were little”

In Cam’s case, he also gravitated toward historical figures — and one day declared he had been one. While on vacation in Savannah, Georgia, he was drawn to a simple grave and insisted they take a picture. It turned out to be the grave of a close friend of that historical figure—a coincidence too aligned to ignore.

How to Respond as a Parent

So, what should you say if your child starts talking about a past life?

According to Crary, the best approach is to listen without judgment. Ask open-ended questions.  You can say, “Oh, tell me more about that.”  Let the child share their story.

These moments are sacred.  They’re windows into Soul’s journey and clues to who your child really is—not just in this life, but in the vast and beautiful story of eternity.

The Spiritual Value of Remembering

Cam’s memories—and his mother’s own past-life dream experiences—weren’t just mystical curiosities. They provided healing and insight into relationships in their current life.

In one powerful example, Crary had a falling out with a childhood friend. Before the friend’s wedding, she asked for spiritual insight and had a dream where she and her friend were married—in another lifetime. It helped her release emotional pain and rebuild a lasting friendship. Past life recall, she discovered, can be a profound tool for compassion and forgiveness.

Using Spiritual Tools Like HU and Dream Work

To support his spiritual journey (and even overcome nightmares), Cam learned to sing HU, a spiritual mantra used in Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ and other traditions. Singing HU before bed became a nightly practice—a way to invite protection and clarity in dreams.

He also created a spiritual exercise that involved traveling (in imagination) to a safe place guarded by ECK Masters, where only love was allowed. That visualization helped him face fears and sleep peacefully.

Even more recently, Cam used another Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ spiritual technique to visit the Causal Plane—a realm of memory and karma—and explore orbs of past-life memories. 

He would sing the word “mana,” visualize the Causal Plane, and visit a space where past memories were stored as orbs.  It’s become one of his favorite spiritual practices.

Children Who Remember Past Lives Are Here to Teach Us

You don’t have to believe in reincarnation to be moved by these stories. But if your child ever says something that makes you pause—a memory that doesn’t seem to fit, or a truth that feels bigger than this life—consider listening with an open heart.

As Cam, now a teen, puts it: “I recognized that I wasn’t just a physical being, that I was Soul.  And I had many past lives, and I’ll have future ones too.”

“I recognized that I wasn’t just a physical being, that I was Soul. 
And I had many past lives, and I’ll have future ones too.”

Resources for Further Exploration

If you are thinking Crary and Cam are the exception to the rule, check out the Washington Post article The children who remember their past lives. 

As host Doug Kunin noted, that article showed several examples of children sharing historical facts far remote from their current life experience. Of the stories shared in the article, Kunin commented:

“Those are the facts. We invite you to come to your own conclusions. This article opens up almost 4,000 comments from people all over. There are skeptics, agnostics, people who have had experiences. But mainly it opened up the door for people to say, ‘I’ve had some unexplained experiences in my life. How could that happen?’ ”   

To answer that question for yourself, check out these Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ resources:


Recurring Patterns and the Journey through Past Lives

Freedom from Recurring Karmic Patterns Relating to Past Life Experience

Many of us notice certain patterns in our lives—repeating challenges, emotional loops, or relationship dynamics that seem to come full circle again and again. Why does this happen?

Recurring experiences can be viewed through the lens of karma and reincarnation. We live many lives, and the lessons we haven’t yet learned tend to show up again—just in different forms.

A study of past lives can also help heal your pain points today, giving you freedom from old habits, fears, attitudes, even desires, which originate from the past but are limiting you today.

You can move beyond these limits into the most fulfilling life you could ever imagine. We’re going to tell you how.

Common Past Life Patterns People Experience

Many people unknowingly carry spiritual patterns from lifetime to lifetime.  Some recurring patterns are especially painful.  Loneliness is one of them.

Sri Harold Klemp, the spiritual leader of Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ explores this topic by responding to the following person’s concerns:

I am beset by a terrible loneliness at times but am at a loss to explain it. I am an isolated person—not that I want to be; it just seems to always work out that way. This has been with family, friends, and mates, as well as jobs and people connected to them. Everything is very short-lived, and it doesn’t seem normal. I do the best I can, but no matter what I do things are always interrupted and ending all the time.

As far back as I can remember, it has always been this way. Whatever is going on I know has to do with some past life I lived.

Response: Most of the karma we make is from this lifetime, although periodically there is a longstanding condition hanging on from another lifetime.

Imagine, if you will, the life of a leper in Palestine shortly before the Christian era. Anyone with a diagnosis of leprosy faced a life of separation from his family and friends. The repeated reactions of horror and disgust by citizens when coming across lepers would be enough to leave a deep scar for centuries.

Anyone who reincarnates into the present life from such an existence ought to look on the positive side. What a blessing to no longer be regarded as a scourge among people because of a disfiguring disease! Just this thought alone ought to make one appreciate a healthier body in this lifetime.

Do the Spiritual Exercises of ECK, and Divine Spirit will work with you.

How to Heal Recurring Patterns in My Life

Transformation can begin when we actively seek healing and guidance. One of the most powerful yet underused tools? Our dreams.

Sri Harold Klemp answers a seeker’s inquiry:

How can one heal oneself in the dream state?

Response: It is possible to get a healing for many conditions, like poor health, emotions, or mental stress. But not always. The study of dreams in ECKANKAR begins with the fact of past lives. All conditions are due to karma, and some will last a lifetime, such as the loss of a limb. A study of dreams can help people learn the spiritual reason their life is as it is, and what they can do to improve their lot.

A way to heal oneself begins with a spiritual exercise. At bedtime, sing the word HU. Softly sing this ancient name for God for five to ten minutes. Also create a mental picture of your problem. See it as a simple cartoon. Beside it, place another image of the condition as you feel it should be.

The second week, if you’ve had no luck seeing a past life, do this dream exercise for fifteen or twenty minutes. Take a rest the third week. Repeat this cycle until you succeed.

Keep a record of your dreams. Make a short note about every dream you recall upon awakening. Also be alert during the day for clues about your problem from other people. The Holy Spirit works through them too.

So be aware and listen.

DOWNLOAD free resources. Explore past lives to better understand your life today!

Further reading: The Washington Post article, The children who remember their past lives. Published May 2, 2024. Written by Caitlin Gibson.


Exploring Past Lives Through Dreams

Here is a question Sri Harold Klemp has been asked about understanding Spiritual Experiences.

Read on for clues that may help you.

Q&A: Learn about Past Lives Through Dreams

Q: I would like to see my past lives. How do I go about this?

A: It is easiest to trace past lives through a study of your dreams.

To awaken such past-life dreams, make a note of things you greatly like or dislike. Do that also with people. Then watch your dreams. Also note if a certain country or century attracts you. There is a reason.

When we practice the Spiritual Exercises of ECK faithfully, the Inner Master will open us up to those things that are important to see concerning past lives. Most of them need not concern us. No matter what we were in the past during any other life, we are spiritually greater today.

The wealth and position we enjoyed in past lives mean nothing unless we know how to lift ourselves from materialism into the higher worlds. This does not mean to shun the good things of this life—family, home, wealth. God loves the rich man as much as the poor. We get no special benefits if we fall for the negative tricks of asceticism or unusual austerities.

We live the spiritual life beginning where we are today. We look to see the hand of Divine Spirit guiding us toward the greater consciousness, which leads us to becoming a more direct vehicle for Spirit.

—A Modern Prophet Answers Your Key Questions about Life, Book 1

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The Gift of a Spiritual Dream

Dance of a Lifetime

By Sri Harold Klemp

“Rose,” a woman from Germany, had a dream where she was at a great dance, but everything looked like it was from the early 1950s. The clothes, the people, the music, the decorations, even the very structure of the room—it was all from the early 1950s. It occurred to Rose that that was when she was born.

In the dream, Rose looked around for a partner. She was going to dance with her aunt. But her aunt was dancing with someone else, and she looked happy. So Rose looked for another partner. But everybody was already dancing.

In this lifetime, Rose has had a very difficult time with her mother. It’s been a rough road. They haven’t always seen eye to eye. Her mother would give very definite rules, and Rose would have to follow them. Rose didn’t like it, and this caused hard feelings.

In her dream, Rose looked along the wall. There, sitting on a chair all by herself, was her mother.

“I’ll go dance with her,” Rose decided. “She looks unhappy.”

She went over to her mother and asked if she’d like to dance. The mother said she’d love to. So they started dancing and, true to form, her mother said, “Straighten your shoulders. Put that arm up higher.” And other rules that a German mama might have for her child.

But Rose noticed that they danced together extremely well. In fact, it was the best she had ever danced. Rose admitted to not being a very great dancer out here in the physical world. But there, even with her mother, it was just wonderful.

Rose thought to herself, No one’s ever led me through a dance like this before.

When Rose awoke, she knew the meaning of the dream. Between lives, before this one, Rose had chosen that particular Soul to be her mother. Rose had said, “This is a onetime deal only, OK?” Rose knew she needed certain spiritual disciplines so she could lead a safe and happy life and eventually find Eᴄᴋᴀɴᴋᴀʀ.

In a very special way, her mother led her to a very secure future and a good life. Rose is a happy woman now. She has a lot of zest for living. She accepts the blessings of the Holy Spirit with all her love and gratitude.

—Adapted from “Thanks for the Help and Love” in The Road to Spiritual Freedom

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Dreams & Medieval Past Lives

 

 

Understanding and Interpreting Dreams

Have you had a dream about a certain period of history? Could this be a memory of a past life?

Discover a deeper insight into your dreams in this answer from Sri Harold Klemp.

Dreaming about Medieval Times

Q: I haven’t been having any dreams that I can remember for the past month. This is unusual for me; I usually have dreams all the time. Is it karma? I would like to know, if possible, because I learn from my dreams.

Another thing I would like to know is, are there knights on the higher planes? I am attracted to medieval wars and battles.

A: In answer to your first question: By the time you read this, you will have started to dream again. There are times when Soul shifts gears; this is when we don’t always remember our dreams. But it is a passing thing.

About your attraction to knights and medieval wars and battles: Your interest in that period of history is due to your many past lives there.

It was a time of great adventure, chivalry, and heroics. The forces of darkness and light were in a hotly contested battle for centuries, and you played a part in those unsettled, but interesting, times.

History can teach us much about how mankind’s unlearned lessons repeat themselves. This allows us to use our knowledge to avoid unnecessary problems, because we can sidestep a lot of them.

People make history. You might enjoy the historical novels by Mary Stewart that bring to life the times of King Arthur at the beginning of the Middle Ages: The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, The Last Enchantment, and The Wicked Day.

You’ll find many spiritual insights in these books, for the author is adept at looking at past-life records on the Causal Plane.

—A Modern Prophet Answers Your Key Questions about Life, Book 1

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Why Do We Have Bad Dreams?

If you’ve been experiencing bad dreams, it’s not just by coincidence. Dreams often reveal traumas from past lives.

By understanding these lingering past-life memories, we can start to address our phobias, aversions, and unexplained fears. We can begin to acknowledge their origins and ultimately move ahead with confidence.

Gain further insights from Sri Harold Klemp about bad dreams:

“A good dream is one that helps you grow stronger, wiser, and more full of love.

So what are bad dreams for?

Children often have nightmares until the age of six or eight, and sometimes longer. Grown-ups do too, though not so often as a rule. But why scary dreams for good people?

A negative dream is generally a memory of a past life.

It may include experiences of mistreatment, suffering, and even death. Some of us even have dreams of being born, which can give a feeling of suffocation.

These experiences are part of everyone. Children still remember bits and pieces of past lives, and these bad dreams are a part of them.

Bad dreams are old fears.

Having a disturbing dream is like airing out a musty room in spring. You need to face that old fear until it loses its grip, for only then can you be free to live this life to its fullest.

So good and bad dreams both hold spiritual lessons.”

—From ECK Wisdom on Karma and Reincarnation

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