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Reviews
Memories of the Afterlife: Life-Between-Lives Stories of Personal Transformation by Michael Newton
vtlism's review against another edition
Terrible audio narration (super quiet to loud) and bad writing. Authors are pompous and manage to make the topic tedious immediately.
ganseyblu3's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
3.5
llynn66's review against another edition
2.0
I recently discovered that there was another, newer, book in existence based on Michael Newton's hypnosis/regression techniques and research into 'life between lives'. I was tremendously excited about this because I was so fascinated by Journey of Souls. Needing something spiritual at this particular point in my life, I raced to library in anticipation.
We all believe what we want to believe. Many people elect an organized religion (or are born into one and merely stick with it for convenience sake.) I have never been able to derive an ounce of comfort from the majority religions in my society. They tend to scare me and make me anxious and upset when they are not irritating me. Although they all have some beautiful teachings, these lessons are covered in a layer of smug 'in club-ism' that grates on me like a cosmic fingernail on a sacred tablet. Conversely, I am simply not 'rational' enough to find satisfaction in a pure science explanation of Life As We Know It. So what is a 21st century secular humanist type with right brain tendencies in search of meaning to do?
Well, turn to zen teachings about life and Michael Newton's teachings about death. Naturally.
Journey of Souls, for the uninitiated, is a collection of summaries about hypnosis sessions Dr. Newton performed on many clients over the years. These sessions triggered past life memories in his subjects and also took them into a different realm altogether -- a spiritual realm where souls meet to refresh and review life lessons after death. His presentation is straightforward and stripped of what I call the 'chakra and crystals' dynamic. While there is nothing inherently wrong with all the New Age trappings, I find them a distraction. I was mainly intrigued to read that a regular academic psychiatrist stumbled into these findings without looking for them, then replicated these results over and over again, and eventually wrote them up in a practical style. Newton's presentation seemed to be: Hey, this is what I found out. I couldn't believe it either. But isn't this an exciting possibility? He left out the TV Psychic mumbo jumbo and I appreciated that.
Memories of the Afterlife, on the other hand, just felt replete with the soft focus and pastel auras of your standard New Ager candle and incense shop. And why would I expect otherwise? I'm reading about reincarnation and soul groups and The Meaning of Life over here. What should I expect? A calculus book?
So perhaps I am being unfair to merely down-vote this one on its 'tone'. But I think this book lacks what I 'needed' from it because Newton did not write it. He is listed as the 'editor' and the various entries are actually written by practitioners who have studied his methods and now carry on his work. (Newton retired about 10 years ago.) These folks seem as enthusiastic about the topic as they ought to be. But their over the top writing styles (in some cases) left me feeling a bit self conscious. -- I just want it all. I want to read about the transmigration of souls in a way that doesn't make me feel embarrassed.
The idea that we have some influence over the sort of life we will lead, based upon lessons that our soul needs to learn in order to continue to grow in wisdom and enlightenment is deeply satisfying. The idea that we will be engaged with beloved others throughout the course of many lifetimes offers extreme comfort to us when we face loss. I believe that these ideas, alone, are amazing and that they speak well for themselves, minus the New Age presentation excess.
On the other hand, Journey of Souls was a book that really grabbed people and, I believe, changed lives. Devotees will not be able to resist learning a little more about people who have undergone regression. I imagine most readers who loved Journey of Souls will eventually locate this book and read it. I am just not as certain that it will give these readers the same level of credibility that Newton's original work provided.
We all believe what we want to believe. Many people elect an organized religion (or are born into one and merely stick with it for convenience sake.) I have never been able to derive an ounce of comfort from the majority religions in my society. They tend to scare me and make me anxious and upset when they are not irritating me. Although they all have some beautiful teachings, these lessons are covered in a layer of smug 'in club-ism' that grates on me like a cosmic fingernail on a sacred tablet. Conversely, I am simply not 'rational' enough to find satisfaction in a pure science explanation of Life As We Know It. So what is a 21st century secular humanist type with right brain tendencies in search of meaning to do?
Well, turn to zen teachings about life and Michael Newton's teachings about death. Naturally.
Journey of Souls, for the uninitiated, is a collection of summaries about hypnosis sessions Dr. Newton performed on many clients over the years. These sessions triggered past life memories in his subjects and also took them into a different realm altogether -- a spiritual realm where souls meet to refresh and review life lessons after death. His presentation is straightforward and stripped of what I call the 'chakra and crystals' dynamic. While there is nothing inherently wrong with all the New Age trappings, I find them a distraction. I was mainly intrigued to read that a regular academic psychiatrist stumbled into these findings without looking for them, then replicated these results over and over again, and eventually wrote them up in a practical style. Newton's presentation seemed to be: Hey, this is what I found out. I couldn't believe it either. But isn't this an exciting possibility? He left out the TV Psychic mumbo jumbo and I appreciated that.
Memories of the Afterlife, on the other hand, just felt replete with the soft focus and pastel auras of your standard New Ager candle and incense shop. And why would I expect otherwise? I'm reading about reincarnation and soul groups and The Meaning of Life over here. What should I expect? A calculus book?
So perhaps I am being unfair to merely down-vote this one on its 'tone'. But I think this book lacks what I 'needed' from it because Newton did not write it. He is listed as the 'editor' and the various entries are actually written by practitioners who have studied his methods and now carry on his work. (Newton retired about 10 years ago.) These folks seem as enthusiastic about the topic as they ought to be. But their over the top writing styles (in some cases) left me feeling a bit self conscious. -- I just want it all. I want to read about the transmigration of souls in a way that doesn't make me feel embarrassed.
The idea that we have some influence over the sort of life we will lead, based upon lessons that our soul needs to learn in order to continue to grow in wisdom and enlightenment is deeply satisfying. The idea that we will be engaged with beloved others throughout the course of many lifetimes offers extreme comfort to us when we face loss. I believe that these ideas, alone, are amazing and that they speak well for themselves, minus the New Age presentation excess.
On the other hand, Journey of Souls was a book that really grabbed people and, I believe, changed lives. Devotees will not be able to resist learning a little more about people who have undergone regression. I imagine most readers who loved Journey of Souls will eventually locate this book and read it. I am just not as certain that it will give these readers the same level of credibility that Newton's original work provided.
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