Rating: 
Summary: An interesting read, but...
Review: Knowing my interest in past-life regressions, by hypnotherapist suggested I read this book. She thought I'd find it fascinating, and she was right... the story of the woman who is the main subject of this book just resonates with you -- but only if you're not a skeptic (if you are, don't even bother buying this book). The more you read, the more you wonder about your own past lives and the more you want to find out about regression therapy. The problem? Once you put the book down, you snap out of the haze it induces and then forget about most of everything you've read. It's almost as if the book iteslef was written with a mind to hypnotize readers.
Rating: 
Summary: True or false?
Review: The book is very well written...But are the contents true??? Doubts remain....
Rating: 
Summary: Experience Accepted -- Interpretation Questionable
Review: First of all, I want to say how easy this book is to read. With all of the dialog it flows well, and reads almost like fiction. Weiss is certainly a polished writer and does a good job of adding interesting details. However, with that said, I was disappointed with the book. Here is why...I don't question Dr. Weiss or Catherine's experiences. I don't think either one made any of it up. What I do take exception with is Weiss's interpretation of the accounts. He believes that Catherine was not only recounting 'past lives', but that she was being spoken to by 'spirit masters'. Instead of building a strong case for why he believes this to be true, he seems to accept this as a brute fact and never questions his interpretation. Even if he is correct, his conclusion (that we should believe their messages) doesn't necessarily follow. Weiss claims that the messages are coming from 'highly evolved spirit entities'. While the book portrays them as being intelligent, this does not mean their messages are true or good. I know plenty of intelligent people who I don't trust and whose messages would be dangerous to follow. The world we live in contains both good and evil people. How do we know for certain that this is not the case for the spirit world? I mean, is it possible that the spirit masters are not telling the truth? Here's the thing that concerns me. Catherine was experiencing panic attacks, anxiety, and fears prior to meeting with Weiss. Were these emotional states caused by the spirit masters? Where they 'haunting' her and tormenting her? If so, why should they be trusted? Weiss said he believes the messages by way of 'intuition' and he goes on to state the he 'just knew it in his bones'. Then he closes the final chapter by saying he believes the spirit masters are still influencing his intuition. So, the spirit masters influenced his intuition, but he knew they were right by way of his intuition? This is circular. Amazingly the spirit masters promote classic new age teaching such as........ we are not to judge others, we are beyond space and time, we can become god-like, we will gradually merge with God... etc. I wonder if Weiss had been an orthodox Jew if the masters would have declared classic Jewish doctrine?
Rating: 
Summary: Many Lives, Many Masters
Review: Very good book. Easy to read. An enlightning look at a very old question of life after death.
Rating:
Summary: For those new to reincarnation
Review: Brian Weiss MD makes it very clear at the beginning of the book of his strictly scientific background and his need of scientific proof before accepting new concepts in the medical field. So it was undoubtedly a surprise for him in the course of hypnotherapy on one client to find the client regressing to previous lives, and further to hear voices of "masters" from the spiritual realm giving information on the lessons of one's lives on earth. This kind of experience must have been fascinating and his account of it is wonderful - as is the amazing progress his client makes through a number of regression sessions. Since I am already a believer in reincarnation I did not get as much out of this book as "Only Love is Real". However, for people who are new to the concept of reincarnation or are a little doubtful of it, this book offers a lot.
Rating:
Summary: must read
Review: This book was lent to me by a friend who insisted I read it. She had borrowed it from her roommate. After I was done with it I was allowed to lend it to another friend. This book is getting passed from one friend to another on the basic factor that it is unbelievable. I only read it a week and a half ago and now I am on my third Brian Weiss book. My whole outlook on life has change in a period of less than two weeks. Now any book that can do that is a must read!
Rating: 
Summary: Should all spirit masters be trusted?
Review: First of all, I'd like to say how easy this book is to read. With all of the dialog it flows well, and reads almost like fiction. Weiss is certainly a polished writer and does a good job at adding interesting details. However, with that said, I was disappointed with the book. Here is why... I do not question Dr. Weiss or Catherine's experience. I don't think she was making any of it up. What I do take exception with is Weiss's interpretation of the accounts. He believes that Catherine was not only recounting past lives, but that she was being spoken to by 'spirit masters'. Instead of building a strong case for why he believes this to be true, he seems to just accept is as a brute fact and does not question his interpretation. Even if he is correct, his conclusion (that we should believe their messages) doesn't necessarily follow. Weiss claims that the messages are coming from highly evolved spirit entities. While the book portrays them as being intelligent, this does not mean their messages are true. I know plenty of intelligent people who I would never trust and whose messages would be dangerous to follow. The world we live in contains both good and evil people. How do we know for certain that this is not the case for the spirit world? I mean, is it possible that the spirit masters are not telling the truth? Here's the thing that concerns me. Catherine was experiencing panic attacks, anxiety, and fears prior to meeting with Weiss. Were these emotional states caused by the spirit masters? Where they 'haunting' her and tormenting her? If so, why should they be trusted? Weiss said that he believed the messages by way of 'intuition' and he goes on to stat the he 'just knew it in his bones'. Then he closes the final chapter by saying that he thinks the spirit masters are still influencing his intuition. So, the spirit masters influenced his intuition, but he knew they were right by way of his intuition? This is a case of pure circular reasoning. Amazingly the spirit masters promote classic new age teaching - we are not to judge others, we are beyond space and time, we can become god-like, we will gradual merge with God... etc. I wonder if Weiss had been an orthodox Jew if the masters would have declared classic Jewish doctrine?
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read. Marginal information for the skeptic.
Review: I read this book about 6 months ago. It came highly recommended by a friend when I was looking for advice on how to deal with the various challenges I was being faced with at the time in my life. The book deals with reincarnation. I do believe in reincarnation, but my belief has no real scientific backup. I started reading the book with an open mind to see if it would provide the kind of scientific evidence that I was looking for. Dr. Weiss provides a description of his first encouter with a past life experience that he stumbled upon accidentally when regressing one of his patients who was suffering from anxiety and phobias. He goes on to describe several past lives of the same patient and explains that the lives are just "schools" where the souls learn their lessons. One of the questions that remained unanswered was "Where does the learning process begin?", or altenatively, "How does a soul get its first life?" The book reads very very well. It's hard to put it down. Even if you don't believe in reincarnation, this is a fun book to read. Don't expect to find any scientifically verifiable evidence on past lives, or you will be disappointed. Read it with an open mind for fun and/or inspiration.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read. Marginal information for the skeptic.
Review: I read this book about 6 months ago. It was recommended to me by a friend when I was looking for advice on how to deal with various challenges I was being faced with at the time in my life. I must admit that I found the book quite inspiring. The book deals with reincarnation. I started reading the book to see if it would provide the kind of scientific evidence that I was looking for. In this book, Dr. Weiss provides the descriptions of past lives that he stumbled upon accidently from one of his patients, who was suffering from anxiety and phobias, that he regressed. He goes on to explain that the lives are "schools" where the souls learn their lessons. One of the questions that remained unanswered was "where does the learning process begin?", or "how does a soul get its first life?". The book reads very very well. It's hard to put it down. Even if you don't believe in reincarnation, this is a fun book to read. The only evidence of past lives, though, is the accounts that Dr. Weiss provides of his patients regressions. Don't expect to find any scientifically verifiable evidence on past lives, or you will be disappointed. Read it with an open mind for fun and inspiration.
Rating:
Summary: Drivel
Review: This book wouldn't even make a good novel. I was disappointed because I wanted to be convinced of reincarnation. I wouldn't waste a nickel on it. I can't get rid of it and I've tried to give it away!
| 
