Hi Rae
Glad you found the stuff helpful…journals to me personally are priceless – especially when they can be delved into in years to come by parent or child and used to reflect parts of yourself you simply forgot about or was not completely aware of.
If the hypnotherapist is able to take Ryan through a past life regression, will he be able to understand that what he was seeing was in the past, and that now he is safe and secure with a loving family? Would he even be able to articulate what he see's so that we can help him work through it? Should I wait for a couple of years and let him suffer through the nights? Or should I take the chance that a regression could help him?
Personally in my opinion, if this hypnotherapist is qualified and efficient at dealing with children, then they will be able to help Ryan make the distinction between past and present (otherwise they would simply be a hypnotist, not a therapist in this field)…maybe through this, he will be able to better distinct between his dreams and such thereafter. This conditioning of the mind during hypnosis is a vital part of the actual therapy…but unfortunately, hypnotherapy doesn’t demand for countless qualifications and such, as does other professions, so be sure to look fully into this therapists background….see if they have foundations in psychology, counselling, etc…and maybe most importantly…see what their rapport with children (particularly Ryan) is like.
In an altered state Ryan, may be able to articulate himself way beyond his years….his knowledge in the waking state, is probably only heeded by his vocabulary…in altered states, this knowledge widens somewhat and it is quite normal for a child to express the views and opinions of an adult (especially if they are viewing from certain times/eras/ages, etc), although of course, they will still be limited slightly in their own understanding of the language and may use much simpler phrases and visuals to explain their environment and thoughts.
All in all….I would say look to your heart for all the answers to your questions above….if you truly believe that Ryan NEEDS this help and could gain valuable support and understanding in this field, that could shed him of his night terrors, then by all means, search, search, search….there are many people out there, so look around, and only consider someone, you have met, spoken to or researched….see how YOU feel about them, then maybe arrange a meeting with Ryan just to see how he feels around this person…he may even open up to association type questioning that would mean that hypnosis may not even be necessary!!! There are many paths to his answers….go with what you feel is best for him presently.
As for the whole shoe thing that you and Ryan share…I would definitely suspect that a quirk like that is past life related….maybe even a life you shared together (*hence the carryover in both of you), although it could simply be that Ryan is sensitive to your own feelings on the whole shoe thing and so follows the same actions and thoughts as you.
Lots of Love
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Kelly