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Summary: I'm glad I didn't start with this one but ...
Review: ... it has been interesting. I've been voraciously reading about reincartnation. As with many people I was told about a book called "Many Lives, Many Masters" which started me down this path. I've read all of Brian Weiss's works on past-lives and have now started reading Michael Newton's books but it's going to take a bit longer. The biggest word to describe this is "CLINICAL"! The author writes as though he is presenting his work to a room full of collegues rather than the average reader. Having said this, I have found his case studies extremely interesting as they serve to augment (for me) Brian Weiss's works. Brian focuses on the actual past life experience while this book focuses on the time inbetween to bring us a more complete image of our exsistance. I look foward to reading "Destiny of Souls".
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Summary: An Eye-Opening Book
Review: Destiny of Souls awakened in me both an interest with and fascination for reincarnation. The book consists of stories gathered from Newton's years as a therapist and paints a hopeful, balanced picture of the time between lives and the interconnectedness of the soul to all creation.Throughout my reading of this book, my innate skepticism was rarely triggered. It "felt" right, even though some of the specifics (like the emphasis on classrooms) seemed a bit hokey. If you are interested in the study of life between lives and reincarnation, "Journey of Souls" should be first on your list.
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Summary: Disappointing
Review: I bought this book several months ago after seeing all the positive online reviews. I am *still* trying to finish it. It starts out promising, but quickly became not only disturbing and depressing, but a rather boring read. Buy at your own risk.
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Summary: Fascinating and Life Changing Information
Review: I am a clinical therapist and started exploring this subject after reading Brian Weiss's "Many Lives, Many Masters." I have since had my own past life regressions, and now I am trained by Dr. Weiss to do regressions myself. The information in this book is not made up by Newton. I can tell you that his clients provided him with the information because I know personally the experience of regression and of regressing others. Each individual has a fascinating story to tell about past lives. I couldn't possibly come up with the tales I hear, nor could the clients. They are not inventing these experiences. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to explore what happens after death.
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Summary: Report on my own hypnotic regression w/ Dr. Newton
Review: I'd been to psychics, and found comfort, direction, and encouragement there. But there was always that element of uncertainty -- where does all their 'information' come from? Is it just their own imagination? Are they really pulling all those images and stories from my own psyche? Even if they are, does that mean it's all literally true? Maybe just metaphorically true? That's one reason I got excited when I read this book. According to Newton, it's his patients that do the seeing, remembering, and talking. Plus, he lived just a four hour drive from me and was still in active practice. The waiting list was a year long. No problem. Eventually, the time neared. I was ready for anything, a little nervous -- what would happen? Would I really have an experience like the ones he wrote about? Well, as it turned out, I failed to go into hypnosis at all. So, what did I learn from that? Theoretically, not much. He explained that a small (how small?) percentage of the population doesn't respond to hypnosis techniques. He suggested I take up meditation. Duh. I've been meditating daily for twenty years. Anyway, this book is quite unique in the literature, and anyone with a serious interest in reincarnation and the spirit world should read it. With a critical mind. Unfortunately, as far as I'm concerned, it's still just hearsay. One valuable point I got from the book was some perspective on the question of 'old souls.' I think everyone who believes in this stuff likes to think of himself as an old soul. Newton suggests some criteria (I don't mean the stuff about color of your aura, but more about what kind of character you have, what kind of challenges you take on, what kind of purposes you hold, how you affect other people) that make a lot of sense. I would LOVE to hear from anyone else who had a hypnosis session with Dr. Newton. bertport@jps.net
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Summary: great book
Review: This is the one book that will make you wonder even more who you really are, why you are here and where you really came from. The spiritual insights provided here if truly incorporated and reflected upon, I personally believe, could open doors to the real self that is always at home. The truth in this book if fully embraced could end all wars and most importantly put an end to all the religious intolerance that has plagued humanity for thousands of years. If nothing - after reading this book, you have a sense of who you really are, WHY YOU ARE HERE and where you came from - could change your life. I recommend this book to every single person I know, whether I think they wonder about it or not.
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Summary: Take This Book With a Large Grain of Salt
Review: Perhaps Dr. Newton's research and past-life regressions are legitimate, but they do not closely follow any pattern established by other researchers on past-life and near-death experiences (Moody, Fiore, and Whitton, for instance), nor do they agree with Tibetan or other highly esteemed sources on the experience after death. To me, the entire volume has the flavor of being created mostly from the imagination of Dr. Newton as a way of supporting his far-flung theories. If these indeed are regressions reported by his subjects, I would guess that they have been influenced by the hypnotist himself. This is not to say that some of these theories may not coincide with other reports, but overall they do not have the ring of truth. Readers interested in reincarnation and the after-death experience might look at Vickie Mackenzie's wonderful book on Lama Yeshe, or Joel Whitton's Life Between Life, or psychiatrist Brian Weiss' thoughtful books. These researchers and reporters do not always agree, for this is wide-open, new territory, but there are enough commonalities among them to be extremely intriguing and informative. Death and its aftermath is a very important subject, for many traditions believe that the time of death and beyond is a great opportunity for liberation and enlightenment of the soul. Books such as The Grace in Dying and Facing Death and Finding Hope elegantly address the path of the soul in the dying experience and the after-death realms. I hope that seekers after knowledge in this fascinating arena explore other, better written and better documented sources. Unless you enjoy science fiction, spend your money wisely, and elsewhere.
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Summary: A book for the new mellenium
Review: Growing up in a Catholic family, I was never personally or particularly enlightened by that faith, or by any other for that matter. And for years past I have been an atheist because I have not been able to find an intelligent explanation for the meaning of life that combines both bonafide science and spirituality. Michael Newton's book did this for me. It's pages changed my life and gave me a new reason for living, helping me to see my role in life and my relationships with others in a completely meaningful, and non-dogmatic way. This book confirmed what I had known subconsciously all my life. A must read.
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Summary: A life changing read!
Review: I have read many books searching for answers to my questions on souls and the spirit. I have finally read a book that answered every question I had. This book has changed my life and my belief system. It has helped me more than any other book I have ever read, and I have read just about all of them!
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Summary: Absolutely Amazing...The door will finally open for you too!
Review: This book is an amazing way to solve all the questions that have never been answered. If everyone could read this book, the world would be a much different place. There are so many people alive today that have so many questions, if only one of them find this book in their lifetime, I bet you they would be just that much happier. When I read this book I half expected it to try and snow me with opinions, cloud my judgement, and confuse me until I wasn't sure what I was reading. Much to my amazement, that was completely the opposite. I was so into this book, I just couldn't put it down. He offers you the facts, nothing more, nothing less; and lets you make whatever decision you want to about it. It's almost as if he says, "Hey look, this is what I did, this is what they say, you make the decision." This book did more than fill my time, it filled a part of my life. It sounds goofy I know, but it's true. I know what I believe. I don't pretend to defend it to anyone else, and honestly there are some things that I don't know why I believe them, but that they are right to me. This book filled in those gaps. It gave a reason to my rhyme, and I'm very greatful for it.
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