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How do you guys tell fakers from real?

TheCuriousOne

TheCuriousOne

Always Searching...
I know this sounds very similar to another question I asked when I first joined but this is more about other people. Someone with VERY good writing skills and HOURS of historical research, especially if they are able to attach an actual person's name (like from Find a Grave) to their claim, they could pose a very convincing (yet fake) past life memory. So what I'm asking is, how do you moderators tell these fakers apart from those of us who have real past life memories.

And don't worry, I try to make sure my memory feels real before I post it, which is why I try to rely on dreams rather than regressions. (Yes I know I posted this at 3:26 AM, but I do sometimes take morning and afternoon naps).
 
When I said historical research, I mean they do it in order to fool people, not because they have an actual interest in that time period.
 
Since I have a famous past life (two actually) and I've trod that path and I'm wondering if that's what you're asking about in a roundabout way, let me say a few things. :D


The burden of proof is higher, especially if it's a documented past life. Meaning that that there are ample photos, documents and information about this person and their family that are available to anyone.


Yes, that makes it easier for fakers to pose as them, but! It also makes it easier for you to prove your past life to us, or to yourself, as you also have plenty of documents available about you and your family.


As an example, I share the same birth date with both of my past lives and I've posted my DOB from my driver's license here as well as facial comparisons to both of my past lives. You can see and read about it in the link in my signature.


In doing that, I wanted to maintain 100% transparency and I also wanted to document it for myself. I believe the facts will show the truth and that's what I was interested in finding. If it turned out I was a Mongolian garbage man in my past life, so be it if that's what the facts told me.


The second thing is what are most interested in about this past life? For me, when it really sunk in, I felt bad and guilty. I didn't know why I knew what I did and I didn't think it was fair that I was special in anyway. Learning what I have has helped me tremendously as far as my life and understanding my family goes. But I still don't know why I've been given what I have.


I believe that if we are genuinely guided to a past life, it's to resolve an issue of one sort or another and that will quickly take over the focus of your research.


In contrast, if you're finding that you're giddy with glee saying "I knew it! I just knew I lived in a big castle because all I ever did was draw castles as a kid!" you could most likely be making the facts fit your fantasy.


For most of us, when we have a genuine discovery, we start feeling sick, dizzy even and are often stricken with a gut wrenching grief. When we connect with a past life and we realize the things and people we've lost, it's not an easy process to go through.


Long story short, if you were this person, you should be able to prove it to a convincing degree and you should also be interested in something other than the life itself. As in, how does this being revealed to you help your current life?


But speaking as a representative of the forum, I will tell you that no one is forced to prove or reveal anything. We don't expect it and we don't ask and that's because we respect everyone's comfort levels.


If you're not sure of your past life and you're not sure if we'll believe you or not, the best thing to do (in my opinion) is not to mention it. And instead, focus on the aspects of your research we can help you with. Also feel free to use the Private Message function to ask any of us for help with your research.


But really, the defining thing here is your intent; do you want attention or help? We are here to help and actions tend to speak louder than words, so what you reap you will sow etc etc. :D


Don't take any of this too much to heart. :D Just start off slow by maybe starting your own thread and documenting your research and telling us your story. You don't even have to mention the name.
 
ZeonChar said:
What makes you think that dreams are more accurate than regressions?
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Because I have a lot of trouble "going under" during a regression and in a dream I'll at least know that my subconscious is front and center, as it usually is in a dream state.
 
Of course anything PL related I get from dreams is few and far between, but at least I'll know I'm not making it up. (I had a dream where I saw the name "Abydos". I had never heard of Abydos before that. Compare that to my PL regressions where I can't think of a name or even a date. Whenever the guy in the video asks "What is your name?" or "What year is it?" I draw up blanks or I waste time changing names and dates because I feel my first choice is too artificial)
 
TheCuriousOne said:
Whenever the guy in the video asks "What is your name?" or "What year is it?" I draw up blanks or I waste time changing names and dates because I feel my first choice is too artificial)
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This is your rational mind kicking in. "That can't be right because .....". Learn to just go with the first thing that pops into your head.
 
Hi CuriousOne


I don't know why anyone would be bothered to make up an elaborate story about a past life, do the research, etc. just to trick us? I suppose it could happen, but I don't know who would bother? Most people are very genuine about their experiences.


We have had people in the forum who have been suffering some forms of self delusion. They're pretty easy to spot. It's often that they've been told something by a psychic. Others are sometimes fantasising. Again, it's fairly easy to spot. Genuine experiences tend to be highly emotional for the individual, usually just a flash, but very detailed and kind of 'ordinary' little life moments, most of the time.
 
If you have trouble receiving information in regressions it could be that you are not ready for it. Getting information about past lives is a lot of hard work and takes a long time and a lot of patience. Don't feel that you can't do it just because of some bad experiences. If you keep yourself open to the information then it will come in time.


It took me over 10 years to get a full name and other identifying information about myself. Although I always wanted the info, I was definitely in a better place to handle it later in life. So just keep at it and if it is important to you, it will come.
 
Personally, there are quite a few things that go into my 'judgement' but typically, I dont spend too much time on that. Speaking as a moderator, whether someone's story or experiences are real or fake tends to matter less than whether the user is honoring the Forum Mission we all agreed to when we signed up. It's not necessarily my place or even something I would be comfortable doing, reading around and choosing whose pl experience thread is 'valid' or not. Whether a person is looking for help/looking to connect compared to those who are looking for attention or may be mentally unstable... That is far more clear and comes under the heading of what would receive moderator attention. If someone is crying for help, this comes through and yes, we notice.


Whether someone makes a big, famous/infamous past life claim or even one unverifed, unnamed pl memory thread, that doesnt matter to me as much as their attitude doing it does. I like validations and memories that can be matched with historical record, I think it's good for the reincarnation community when things that can be backed up like that are shared. But just as a mod, my interest is making sure the forum is going smooth and clear of troublemakers and trolls. It's not my place to go around picking out who I 'dont believe'.


Speaking wholly from a personal perspective, of course those with past lives that share an era with my own past lives are of interest to me and so naturally so is finding validations for those past lives. If I think someone's claim is shaky, well, perhaps they wont get a PM from me and we won't be pals, but I make no judgement with regards to moderation on that alone. But if they post around picking fights, dragging other threads off topic, or otherwise disrupting the community and not following guidelines... then I'm quite interested.


Everyone has their own criteria for what's believable to them or not, even for their own selves. I'm sure there are some things I am skeptical of that others sign on to, and vice versa.
 
I've been on the Internet long enough to know that there are people who'll completely fabricate stories - convincingly - about some very odd things. In one case I remember someone posted a lot about the disadvantaged children she'd adopted. It was very credible and there was no reason to suspect any of it was false. But somehow, eventually, she just went too far and got her stories mixed up, gave conflicting anecdotes about what she'd done on certain dates, and little Indigo who was a boy the last time she mentioned him now seemed to be a girl... Someone had her name and checked on her at her place of work, apparently she had no children, but did have a history as a compulsive liar. It seemed pointless to me because there was no benefit to her, but I guess it didn't have to have a purpose in order for her to get her jollies from it.


Anyway, it's certainly possible for someone to fake memories of a past life, but I think it's just a risk we take and we have to decide for ourselves how much of it we want to believe. I don't see too much harm in it, does it matter if y'all believe I was Cleopatra (I wasn't, just so we're all clear on that) since I'm not getting anything from it, except a possible few moments of glee at the gullible, I guess. As I read the threads, some sound plausible, some not, some are so overwrought and filled with pathos that it's difficult to take any of it seriously, some are credible but so detailed that it arouses my suspicions. I'm on the fence about reincarnation anyway - I want to be convinced, but mostly I just read and withhold judgment. Usually it's small details that will be the most convincing for me as opposed to a fully developed life story. But that's just me. :confused:
 
Totoro said:
In contrast, if you're finding that you're giddy with glee saying "I knew it! I just knew I lived in a big castle because all I ever did was draw castles as a kid!" you could most likely be making the facts fit your fantasy.


For most of us, when we have a genuine discovery, we start feeling sick, dizzy even and are often stricken with a gut wrenching grief. When we connect with a past life and we realize the things and people we've lost, it's not an easy process to go through.
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I don't really agree with this at all. People have a range of emotions when it comes to past life validations and to say that if someone is excited over confirming something then it must be just fantasy is just way off the mark. Dizzy and sick with grief? Yes, this is one of the responses that can happen, usually when you confirm something major and you realize the implications of having a certain past life. I don't think it's wrong to say though that once you've hit that stage, processed it, and have tried to move on from it that further small validations can bring some relief or joy.


What makes certain reactions towards PL stuff more "real" than others? People handle this type of thing in different ways. There are stages and levels that run a gamut of emotions and they can change on the fly depending what the PL stimulus is. I would never say someone is prone to fantasy just because PL triggers excite them or make them "giddy." In fact, hypnotherapists have often said that imagination is one of the most important things to open up in regards to remembering Past Lives. If anything, someone who is prone to fantasy is more likely to remember past lives than someone who is stuck on being grounded.
 
I oversimplified what I was stating. There are a whole range of emotions you go through when finding validations; that's true and I've been through the range of them myself.


What I meant was is that it's tempting to be swayed by the easy answer that conforms to our fantasies and desires without looking for deeper validations.


And I've found, from my experience and through conversations with others, that genuine validations and memories tend to be unpleasant at first until the person having them is more comfortable with them and can process their emotions.


Maybe I didn't answer the question too well and I was referring to a "type" of person that comes to mind when I think of someone that is "faking".


Over the years there's been people that wander into the forum and say things very similar to what I suggested. They base their conclusion on that they must have been a princess simply because they liked playing as one as a child. When pressed for details of other thoughts, memories, research and things, they can't give any or avoid the questions. They just simply like to revel in the fact that they "just know" they were a princess in a past life.


Are they faking? I don't know. I just know they are difficult to converse with and they eventually get bored and leave the forum. As for the other type, they seem to want to explore, root out and fix this feeling they have.


So maybe to me it wasn't a question of faking it or not, as I'm open to help anyone that wants it; but rather, it's a question of sincerity.


Above all and everything else, we're here to treat everyone the same and help them out. But in answering the original question, I suppose I oversimplified stating that I'm more apt to help people that show a willingness to help themselves.


There are many different types of people that visit here and that was more of a stereotype that came to mind when I thought over the original query. But in general it just means that it takes time to get to know people and that their overall level of sincerity plays a part in how smoothly that goes.
 
Totoro, thank you for clarifying and I agree with what you are saying. Some small validations just scratch the surface and it's important that people dig deeper (if they are comfortable to do so at the time), rather than just going off of something small and running with that. I think we all started at a place where we had "strong feelings" that led to "small coincidences" that led to "small memories" and these all add up over time to form the big picture. I think people are remiss if they just stop at the first couple of steps without exploring further and surely someone who seeks attention based on just a feeling and a small coincidence is probably just seeking attention.


For many of us reincarnation is a deeply personal journey that is hard to share with others. Even giving up a PL identity can be hard because it feels so personal and is something that is uniquely you. So I do get rather leery when I see people with the attitude of, "Look at me! Look who I was!" I can't speak for everyone here and maybe I am wrong but that always rings a few bells for me.


Anyway, I am glad you replied to me as I thought your answer was more concise and well thought out and I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head.
 
I guess my criteria would be something like this:


_ When someone remembers EVERYTHING, it raises a red flag. Especially if it's from an ancient life.


_ When none of their memories can be validated. No matter what life you remember, there will always be chances of validating something.


_ Gut feeling, when something smells fishy, it's usually fishy.


_ They try to convince you that they are right no matter what.


_ They seem obsessed about their life/ their topic and they don't talk about anything else.


Would it be possible for someone to just "make up a past life"? Yes, they don't even need good writing skills, they would just need some experience in how past lives usually are presented to people. However, I guess that in these cases, time will tell if they are faking it or not.
 
First we need to define what "fakers" mean, I assume those are people who sit down and fabricate a character, and then go somewhere to find out how many people they can fool. Then of course there are people who had a dream or so, which they are trying to verify, and the amount of information might not be enough to give a definite conclusion or identification of their past life. They might even be in doubt themselves - and even if they are, I do not consider them as fakers, because obviously it came to them on its own, no matter the amount of detail they are acting in good faith. I do not see myself in a position to being able to judge who is who - nor am I really able to, I just think if someone is faking at some point they will get tired of the game.
 
tanguerra said:
Genuine experiences tend to be highly emotional for the individual, usually just a flash, but very detailed and kind of 'ordinary' little life moments, most of the time.
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Oddly enough, this morning I had something like that. I was washing my face, with an Amazon Radio station playing that played showtunes. 'Tomorrow' from Annie came on and for some reason, I had a very emotional response, crying uncontrollably. It had nothing to do with Annie. I'd heard the song a million times in my lifetime. It was a sudden sense of extreme sadness and loss, and maybe that to some, perhaps a past life me, the sun DIDN'T come out tomorrow. I don't know. But this is very rare for me. I wonder if it's not opening up some things that I've kept buried, since I'm talking more about my experiences. Who knows???
 
Susan said:
It was a sudden sense of extreme sadness and loss, and maybe that to some, perhaps a past life me, the sun DIDN'T come out tomorrow. I don't know. But this is very rare for me. I wonder if it's not opening up some things that I've kept buried, since I'm talking more about my experiences. Who knows???
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Yes. It's possible. Once you start poking around in past lives, it can stir up a whole lot of stuff that has lain dormant, just below the surface. It often relates to the present life as well as a past life. The same themes can carry through after all.


If you haven't already done so, it's very wise to start keeping a journal. Get yourself a special book and just write down your impressions as they come to you. You might get a lot in one day. You might get nothing for months. That's all OK.


Sometimes it's just a word or two and sometimes it's a whole story. After some time you might find that things start to form themselves into some kind of coherent picture that makes complete sense.
 
Technoligical means of analyzing PL FORUM content?


Hello,


By any chance, has the 'Past Life Forum' applied technology to conduct an analysis of Forum Content?


With progress on applying artificial intelligence TECH. to semantic/linguistic content, it becomes increasingly possible (along with the human contributions) that technology can determine the authenticity (or lack thereof) of content.


TECH. may also yield forgotten AND/OR overlooked content on reincarnation perspectives that deserve serious consideration.


It would be interesting to see results of how TECH. interprets PL Forum content!


Marc
 
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sometimes our memories are fabrications themselves but we believe them to be real...


could this be a defense mechanism put up long ago by the individual or is it a longing to experience something so deeply that fact and ideas comingle creating "memory"
 
Marc Ross said:
Hello,
By any chance, has the 'Past Life Forum' applied technology to conduct an analysis of Forum Content?


With progress on applying artificial intelligence TECH. to semantic/linguistic content, it becomes increasingly possible (along with the human contributions) that technology can determine the authenticity (or lack thereof) of content.


TECH. may also yield forgotten AND/OR overlooked content on reincarnation perspectives that deserve serious consideration.


It would be interesting to see results of how TECH. interprets PL Forum content!


Marc
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Well put 'Cloud Potato!'


I'm interested in feedback from 'PL Forum' administrators regarding how semantic/linguistic TECH. analysis may contribute to the 'PL Forum.'
 
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