Reincarnation is not something I have thought about but when someone offers to hypnotise you into revealing who you were in a former life you really have to take the opportunity.

Nicolas Aujula, 31, is a past-life regression therapist, astrologer and relationship guru.

He claims he can put people into a trance-like state where they can visit and converse with their former selves.

The idea is your past lives affect who you are today and exploring these can make you “let go” and be a better present-day person by understanding why you are the way you are.

Surrey Comet:

Nicolas Aujula claims he can tell you who you were in a past life.

Mr Aujula tells me as a child he used to have a lot of throat problems and trouble expressing his opinions.

He said: “When I was about 17 I got into meditation. I went into a trace and remembered my own past lives. I dropped everything to study hypnotherapy.

“The more I explored regression I realised my former lives were the reason I found it so hard to speak my mind when I was younger.”

He was told many of his former selves had been persecuted for “speaking the truth”.

Mr Aujula claims to have lived as a temple dancer, an Egyptian high-priestess and a pagan Eastern European gypsy forced into war.

Many of his “lives” had ended in beheadings or hanging, which he says explains the modern-day throat problems he suffers from.

I was sceptical, but the idea I could blame my chronic lateness on being Italian royalty or a train franchise boss in a former life appealed.

Mr Aujula’s hypnotisation chamber is not exactly a temple adorned with mystic parapahalia.

It is a small, incense filled room in a New Malden terrace house.

There are a couple of paintings and some hypnotherapy certificates – and just enough room for two chairs and a CD player.

He starts by telling me that there is a chance the hypnosis might not reveal anything.

Some people are apparently just not open-minded enough or do not want to see their past lives.

Mr Aujula puts me in a recliner chair, started some soothing music and then begins the hypnotising.

This basically consisted of him speaking in a really slow, relaxing voice repeating words and asking me to focus only on him and the music.

My limbs started to feel heavy as he spoke. Eventually I could not move my arms, legs or body.

It is hard to explain what happened next, I felt conscious but not really myself.

He asks me to imagine a path and a gate and then some feet.

My dreams of being Italian royalty quickly disappear. All I can ‘see’ is a modest woman in late 19th century dress.

It quickly becomes clear that I am probably some sort of domestic servant.

Some of the “visions” I am seeing are very clear.

But I cannot not shake the feeling this is because I watched a repeat of Downton Abbey the night before.

Mr Aujula says the woman will “guide me” to significant moments in her life that will reveal something about my present-day personality.

I admit when he asks me what I am seeing and hearing, I embellish it a little bit: I feel like I am letting my regression therapist down by not being open minded enough.

Then I start getting a bit nervous that my past life is not interesting enough.

I can feel the hypnosis wearing off and my mind begin to wander...

After my experience I remain open-minded. Testimonials show how Mr Aujula has helped hundreds of people.

Patients have travelled from as far away as the US to visit his New Malden studio and he has even treated violent former prisoners who were left shaking after he revealed their past lives too them.

Maybe I just do not have the attention span for it.

For more information visit inspired-artisan.com.