Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I have considered and enquired into many of the popular religions of today. In addition, I come from 30 years of Fundamentalist teaching. I have read the book three times now and each time I become more convinced of it's authenticity. Suddenly, dejavu makes sense. My life has also become peaceful and tranquil as I realise that there are no "mistakes". Relationships, whether close or otherwise, are all important to me. I look at some folks and realize that we have seen previous lives together. I am no longer devastated by misfortune and tradegy but look on them as part of my growing exercise. My realationship with my Creator has taken on a new meaning and I think that perhaps I understand just a little more of the true meaning of life and it's consequences. Many parts of the great jigsaw puzzle have suddenly fallen into place. I highly recommend that you read the book thoughtfully and with great care and watch the light start to dawn on your soul. Michael, thank you for sharing it with us!

Rating:
Summary: Well-written, but...
Review:
I must be the black sheep here. I found this book to be well-written, and I found myself relating to much of it, but...

Aye, there's the rub! The 'but'...

I have had some personal experience in this area, and the things I relate to include a strong belief (based on experience) that we do, indeed, have numerous successive existences, and that we do, indeed, live them often alongside other kindred souls with whom we have spent other lifetimes. There is indeed a carryover from other lives, even though amnesia reigns.

In other words, we are eternal "souls" if you will. We have existed forever, in the past, and we will continue to exist, in the future, forever. Eternity is thus made acceptable by breaking it up into finite bites; but there is no "goal." This is where I depart from the esteemed doctor Newton. He has new souls being created, and goals whereby each soul "grows up" through learning via life challenges. In the eternal past which we have lived through already, if there were ever a goal, we would have accomplished it long ago.

The reason for life is simply to have as many experiences as possible, including not only happiness, but pain as well. For God to have company, and view Himself through all possible viewpoints. A God that invented time and space, as well as the Earth. It is how the universal mind manages eternal life--by living and seeing itself through the eyes of individuals--animals as well as people. As the Advaita Vedanta says, "There is only One." There is but one soul in existence, and it views itself through the eyes of all the individuals in creation. God, if you wish, is at the center of each individual. So, how can there be old souls and new souls? All are the same age, aspects of the same one: eternal. To have company, God must make it from himself: there is no "other" from which life can be created. The Universal Mind alone decides what life it will be "next" (not necessarily linearly--in fact they can be, and are, often simultaneous) without coaching from any "Teacher."

One proof is in the definition of "nothing." Existence requires a witness, and you are that witness. The definition of "nothing" is NO YOU. You are the only witness ever available to you that anything exists.

Dr. Newton has it all down pat: a super huge corporation, with a heirarchy of teachers, guides, judges, and of course, at the bottom, the "whites," us ordinary types. Quite a bit like the various belts of the martial arts specialties. Everyone has their very own, individual "soul." They even have soul nicknames, according to the Newton system. A bit too pat.

Nearly every reviewer is ascribing 5 stars to this book, which is why I bought it--hoping to find, through his hypnosis clients, answers to some of my remaining questions. (I accept that hypnosis is a valid system for investigating a person's past). Instead, what I found is what I am persuaded is his personal invention: a human version of heaven. I have read Moody's book, and others along the same line, which I found very interesting and highly believable. I thought them honest investigators. I gave this one 4 stars because it was well-written and edited, and shows a great deal of persuasive imagination. It is an "interesting read," as so many have said.

But, on a scale of one to ten for plausibility, I think it probably ranks only two or at the most three, depending upon the gullibility of the reader. And I realize that I am in a very small minority.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of The Road to Damascus: Our Journey Through Eternity
and other books
...

Rating:
Summary: Exploring the Spiritual World
Review: It took many years after leaving the monastery for me firmly to decide that the Catholic Church was just another corporation driven by power and money. I threw out the baby with the bath water.

Many years later I read Dr. Raymond Moody's "Life After Life" which introduced me to a spiritual world I might be able to understand and rationalize rather than just believe. Dr. Moody interviewed over 100 people who were declared clinically (brain and heart) dead, and later revived. He tells their stories. Dr. Newton's "Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives" picked up where "Life After Life" left off, and takes a giant leap toward understanding the life of the immortal soul.

I'd like to live my life looking toward that "last judgment" I learned about in school. Dr. Moody tells how a "being of light" asks a non-verbal question which none of his subjects is able to reproduce precisely in words. This early discovery of Dr. Moody was published in 1975. Dr. Newton's 1994 "Journey of Souls" explains the process more thoroughly. Dr. Newton hypnotizes people, and helps them explore their past lives and their spiritual existence between lives while under hypnosis. The non-verbal question is far more complex than "What have you learned?", "How have you loved and been loved?", or "Was it worth it?" -- the approximations interpreted by Moody's subjects.

Dr. Newton, through summaries and transcripts of his hypnotherapy sessions, helps us learn about spirit guides, (guardian angels), our welcoming into the spiritual world after death (judgment), and the maturation of the souls (karma/nirvana/the beatific vision).

I've looked for this kind of guidance for years in the monastery, in Europe, in Asia, in the Middle East, in scriptures, books, fellowships, churches, temples and synagogues. Life After Life and "The Journey of Souls" and has caused changes in the very foundations of my beliefs, and helps unite the concepts of Christianity, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, and other religions. For my own journey toward an understanding of the meaning of life and death, Dr. Newton has offered sign posts in poorly charted territory.

If you are interested in spiritual life beyond the doctrines of the organized religions that are based on power and money, "The Journey of Souls" is a must read.

Rating:
Summary: Resonance with Truth...
Review: As someone who no longer needs to be convinced as to the reality of reincarnation, it's unusual to find a book on the subject that interests me anymore. However, I was fascinated by this book, and I understand why Journey of Souls captivated me so: Because the world of spirit described in the book (by Michael Newton's regressed subjects) resonates, on the deepest level, with what I remember to be the truth of that world. An excellent read, highly recommended to anyone who is seeking to lift the cloud of amnesia that most of us have about life before birth. As well, Journey of Souls beautifully serves as a clear reminder that a soul incarnates with loving purpose and by choice. I await more from this author; he has written an exceptional book on the relatively unexplored subject of life between lives.

Rating:
Summary: This book will soothe the believers. Others will scoff.
Review: This is the first book I've read that purports to give the reader a glimpse of what we experience after/between lives in detail. Dr. Newton makes a creditable case for people who are already inclined to believe in life after life and reincarnation. I am such a believer. With this in mind, I have many questions for Dr. Newton that I feel will never be answered. His theories also fly in the face of Neil Donald Walsch's "Conversations With God". While I can see many of the areas of agreement by these two authors, there are definitely areas of clear disagreement. I would love to hear a discussion between them! I recommend this book to the curious but it shouldn't be the first book on the afterlife you read. Start with any of the books by Dr. Raymond Moody, Dr. Weiss's "Many Masters, Many Lives", Dr. Edith Fiore's "You Have Been Here Before", and/or Helen Wambach's "Life before Life". This book is bound to raise the level's of debate in the reincarnation chat rooms. Draw your own conclusions and know that they are, in some ways, correct also!

Rating:
Summary: A Good Place To Start, But There Are Deeper Books
Review: Journey of Souls is spiritual food for thought. After reading this book I found myself genuinely looking at myself, how I got here, and what reasons lie behind my life. This is definitely a book to be read with an open mind, and whether in the end you believe the premise or not, it will still provoke a more expansive view of your own spirituality. Much like another book I just finished reading called The Book of Thomas by Daniel Aber and Gabreael. However their book goes much deeper than Journey of Souls. In their book not only is reincarnation covered in detail, but so is the charting process (our souls path), soul mates (no fluffy crap like I exspected on soul mates, it actually made sense), spiritual DNA, and much more. If you liked Journey of Souls you will love The Book of Thomas by Daniel Aber and Gabreael.

Rating:
Summary: Well-written, but...
Review:

This is my opinion of this book. It is only my opinion. It may not be yours. Please do not take offense. You may express your own opinion as well, if it is in conflict with mine.

I must be the black sheep here. I found this book to be well-written, and I found myself relating to much of it, but...

Aye, there's the rub! The 'but'...

I have had some personal experience in this area, and the things I relate to include a strong belief (based on experience) that we do, indeed, have numerous successive existences, and that we do, indeed, live them often alongside other kindred souls with whom we have spent other lifetimes. There is indeed a carryover from other lives, even though amnesia reigns.

In other words, we are eternal "souls" if you will. We have existed forever, in the past, and we will continue to exist, in the future, forever. Eternity is thus made acceptable by breaking it up into finite bites; but there is no "goal." This is where I depart from the esteemed doctor Newton. He has new souls being created, and goals whereby each soul "grows up" through learning via life challenges. In the eternal past which we have lived through already, if there were ever a goal, we would have accomplished it long ago.

The reason for life is simply to have as many experiences as possible, including not only happiness, but pain as well. For God to have company, and view Himself through all possible viewpoints. A God that invented time and space, as well as the Earth. It is how the universal mind manages eternal life--by living and seeing itself through the eyes of individuals--animals as well as people. As the Advaita Vedanta says, "There is only One." There is but one soul in existence, and it views itself through the eyes of all the individuals in creation. God, if you wish, is at the center of each individual. So, how can there be old souls and new souls? All are the same age, aspects of the same one: eternal. To have company, God must make it from himself: there is no "other" from which life can be created. The Universal Mind alone decides what life it will be "next" (not necessarily linearly--in fact they can be, and are, often simultaneous) without coaching from any "Teacher."

One proof is in the definition of "nothing." Existence requires a witness, and you are that witness. The definition of "nothing" is NO YOU. You are the only witness ever available to you that anything exists.

Dr. Newton has it all down pat: a super huge corporation, with a heirarchy of teachers, guides, judges, and of course, at the bottom, the "whites," us ordinary types. Quite a bit like the various belts of the martial arts specialties. Everyone has their very own, individual "soul." They even have soul nicknames, according to the Newton system. A bit too pat.

Nearly every reviewer is ascribing 5 stars to this book, which is why I bought it--hoping to find, through his hypnosis clients, answers to some of my remaining questions. (I accept that hypnosis is a valid system for investigating a person's past). Instead, what I found is what I am persuaded is his personal invention: a human version of heaven. I have read Moody's book, and others along the same line, which I found very interesting and highly believable. I thought them honest investigators. I gave this one 4 stars because it was well-written and edited, and shows a great deal of persuasive imagination. It is an "interesting read," as so many have said.

But, on a scale of one to ten for plausibility, I think it probably ranks only two or at the most three, depending upon the gullibility of the reader. And I realize that I am in a very small minority.(...)

Rating:
Summary: A skeptic at heart
Review: I was raised a Catholic all my life and to be honest i really never could get into that religion. It just didn't seem true.

Then I stumbled upon this book, and I firly believe it was my spirit guide who made me look at it in Barnes and Nobles. This book was amazing, when I read it a chord was struck within me. I have compared this book to others I have read by James Van Praagh and other authors and the details atch up EXACTLY.

It has inspired me so that I am going to be getting an LBL (life between life) regression in the near future. Dr. Newton has been teaching his process at various seminars to different hypnotists and has a website www.spiritualregression.org/ if you want to find a regressionist near you. Or you can just look via google like I did.

Dr. Newton has also recieved many awards for his work on LBL to the hypnotherapy occupation. So it is legit.

Read it and be amazed, I now have no fear of death and am sort of looking forward to it.

Rating:
Summary: Might make sense even to skeptics
Review: At a particular point in time, I was brought up as a Protestant Christian, and even then their idea of Heaven and the hereafter seemed greatly simplified, and plain non-sensical. I could never buy their concept of eternal damnation for arbitrary sins, their concept of a God was just strange, etc.

Over the course of many years, I built up my own thoughts on what should "logically" be present in an afterlife, trying to keep my leaps of faith limited only to the first assumption that there is an afterlife at all. What I had wasn't a religion at all, just a series of loosely-knit ideas on how things should work, but without anyone else coming to these conclusions it was possibly just a fine work of fiction (and so didn't lend too entirely much comfort).

Then I find this book, read it, and all of my assumptions, beliefs, etc are there, being mentioned by patients in deep hypnosis, only the ideas are greatly expanded apon, polished, and fit together coherently in a way I was never able manage on my own.

My younger brothers, my friends, everyone I care about is getting this book when they're of a proper age to understand it. The concepts presented simply "make sense" to me, despite my usual skepticism, and it's less like learning information and more like remembering long-blocked information.

(now quit reading this review, and go stick the book in your cart!)

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating study
Review: Twenty-nine subjects were regressed to their between-life experiences. They all described these, each validating the others' recounts, and giving Dr. Newton enough information to piece together a sketch of what we can expect when we die.

Essentially, in the context of "eternity", our lives on earth are mere spit seconds. Dr. Newton (and others who are exploring this) relay a common theme that we experience life here much like students enter classrooms in order to learn. He takes this a step further by detailing his subjects' descriptions of how those lessons continue in the afterlife, what we are like when we are "beginners" to the life experience, and how we evolve by learning from each lifetime. Beginners are those who need to conform ("herd" mentality), are inflexible and self-absorbed, and who seek power and money as a gauge of success and happiness. They lack some of the higher qualities, such as patience and tolerance, because they haven't learned them - or earned them - yet. As we progress over a number of lifetimes, we earn credits in the various virtues, learn to think independently, come to understand that the intangible things are the only ones that have value, and spend more of our energy and effort in service to others. Eventually, we "graduate" from the life experience and have no further need to reincarnate.

You will gain something from reading Journey of Souls, if only to have your personal pain and disappointments, shortcomings and frustrations revealed to you as simple "classroom courses" that are pushing you closer to perfection, which is evidently the state in which we will all end up.

What struck me as I was reading the book was the author's meticulous effort to apply scientific methodology when he evaluated paranormal experiences. There were no leading questions under hypnosis, and the tone of the book is very level-headed and reassuring.

Since we go "somewhere" when we die, we should make an attempt to identify where that is and what happens when we get there for the same reasons we explore outer space (It's even more compelling than space exploration when you consider that all of us will personally experience death). This author is on the cutting edge of the effort to do that, and while we cannot prove or disprove the experiences his subjects apparently had, we have to applaud him for compiling these experiences and presenting them to us as food for thought, and as a spring board for further exploration. I would personally applaud him for dealing with the issue using methods that give the data apparent credibility, omitting all flakiness from his tone and leaving his ego at the door.

I would highly recommend this to anyone curious about the afterlife, or who is interested in spiritual growth.