Hi Bets-

I notice that Friedrich von Amerling was a noted painter at the beginning of the 19th century. If it's a topic that interests you, I'd say that you could easily and safely regress to look at it. In all the regressions I've done, and all those done by others, we've never lost a patient yet. (Of course this is rather like your OBGYN telling you that they've never lost a father yet, while waiting for you to dilate beyond 3 cm for delivery.)

When you say your heart skipped a couple beats, I wonder if that was literally the physical heart, or the heart chakra at which we feel pulsations of prana which sometimes (as when smoking pot) can get out of synch, but harmlessly. The difference is often whether you're trying to recall a heart attack from the past or are just being excited in the present. The stress of regression is roughly equal to recalling the past, and can be somewhat stimulating.

I watched a person go through a full blown cardiac infarction and demise during a regression. She would pay attention to me as I told her that it was OK to watch from a distance, and then would say that she had to go through the whole thing, and then she'd return to cardiac mode and complain about pain in her left arm (a common symptom). After doing this for about half an hour she finally "died" and got out of her body and said that she felt ever so much better!

So, if you are dealing with something of that sort, my suggestion would be to start your regression with the thought that you can see all of this from a "third person" position, so you don't have to go through more intense recall. If you are working with a friend, it would be helpful to make notes of what you're interested in and any suggestions that are appropriate, like, "Look at the scene from the outside first - then you can either recall it from inside or outside, whichever is most convenient."

Enjoy!
dave