Interesting case for reincarnation
341654
Kind of heavy on phenomena such as near death experiences and brain physiology and light on Zen and Physics.  Still, a very readable book, given complicated concepts discussed and certainly interesting. The author makes a good case for reincarnation without heavy religious overtones.  Worth reading.
2926941
Mr. Mailer has a powerful belief in God and also in the forces of evil (the devil). As to the destiny of the individual soul, he leans towards reincarnation. The major religions of the west do not believe in reincarnation. Some splinter groups do, but essentially the west believes in soul survival in heaven or hell, with perhaps purgatory. The religions of India, China and Japan believe in reincarnation. If Mr. Mailer's leaning is correct, the east is smarter than the west. But that's a big "if". All in all, the book deserves five stars for its depth of thought.
2990610
Wow, this is quite interesting. I don't know much about reincarnation but I'm still reading to find out as much as I can.  If these stories about Jesus prior incarnations are true (I truly believe they are) then he has come here to earth many times. Not the one time as Jesus we have been lead to believe.
1833931
Excellently and convincingly told. Reincarnation should become an accepted and familiar idea. This book is a step forward.
1155349
A new approach to an old subject. The author views life and death from a scientific approach to the question of life after death and the possibility versus probability of it.
4216651
The book has a very interesting premise. It's like a living breathing obituary of our lives and asks the question - what would our 'finished life' look like? What do we WANT it to look like? The Christian overtones may be a bit off putting for those of another faith, or indeed, if you are an atheist. But it gives scope for even those of a scientific persuasion. In the end, there are some things that cannot be explained and it is this sort of thing that perhaps gives purpose to what we do. There are so many nuggets of wisdom in this book, that if you put even one of them into practise, your life, I am sure, will be part of that 'finished life' that this book so cleverly espouses.
2891726
Written in mystery style,but isn't too long in expressing the authors point of view regarding life.  The right to end life and the chances of reincarnation.
1758288
I found that this book is really a continuation of _Many Lives, Many Masters_. However, instead of focusing upon a single case study, this time the author covers many cases of hypnotic regression. There are several reasons for these regressions arranged by section: healing physical problems, healing relationships, healing the inner and abused child, correcting obesity and eating disorders, correcting substance abuse, achieving mystical or spiritual insights, and regression simply to enrich one's overall experience of the wonder of life. The cases examined tend to be brief but to the point.
The last chapter covers the technique of hypnotic regression (both conventional and past-life) in more detail. Additional techniques of past-life exploration are also examined such as dream analysis, meditation and visualization, self-awareness techniques, and "play" techniques. It is significant that the author emphasizes that regression can usually be safely achieved by self-hypnosis without benefit of an "expert." In fact, the appendix contains the transcript for a self-hypnosis tape (do NOT listen to it in the car!)
There are also some more extensive historical and philosophical insights in this book. this includes the fact that reincarnation was initially accepted by the Christian faith until it became the state religion of Rome. Both the Emperor Constantine, as well as the later church hierarchy, rejected the doctrine for political and control reasons. It is also pointed out that an underground of mystical movements such as the Gnostics, Cathars, Sufis, and Kabbalists have always accepted reincarnation as a core spiritual belief (indeed, life hardly makes sense with out it.)
One additional note: Dr. Weiss actually found out who the "Robert Jarrod" was that needed his help from his previous experience with Catherine.
All in all, I found this book to be even more interesting and informative than Many Lives, Many Masters.
4369591
As some reviewers already write, this book (initially published in 1992) is a very much academic one; it starts from the ancient Greek philosopher Plato (428-348 BCE) up to modern Prof. Ian Stevenson (1918-2007 AD), the champion of academic "Reincarnation" study. I like Stevenson's idea based on his lifelong work on the subject; hence what I write below may be a little biased. In chap. 33, Paul Edwards (editor of this book) referred to a BBC program (in 1976), in which Stevenson was "interrogated" by two professors, John Taylor, professor of mathematics at London University, and John Cohen, professor of psychology at Manchester. Let me quote some of the interrogation:

Taylor: Professor Stevenson, do you have any evidence, other than these reincarnation cases, that memories can survive the destruction of physical tissue?
Stevenson: No. I think the best evidence comes from the reincarnation cases.
---
Taylor: But are you suggesting, in fact, that memories themselves are in some way nonphysically bound up, and can be stored in a nonphysical manner?
Stevenson: Yes, I'm suggesting that there might be a nonphysical process of storage.
Taylor: What does that mean? Nonphysical storage of what?
Stevenson: The potentiality for the reproduction of an image memory.
Taylor: But information itself involves energy. Is there such a thing as nonphysical energy?
Stevenson: I think there may be, yes.
Taylor: How can you define it? Nonphysical energy, to me, is a complete contradiction in terms. I can't conceive how on earth you could ever conceive of such a quantity...
Stevenson: Well, it might be in some dimension of which we are just beginning to form crude ideas, through the study of what we parapsychologists call paranormal phenomena. We are making an assumption of some kind of process that is not, and maybe cannot be, understood in terms of current physical concepts. That is a jump, a gap, I freely admit.

Edwards quoted Stevenson's answer once again in the final part of the essay: "the dimension which cannot be understood in terms of current physical concepts," and said: It must surely be dismissed as nothing but a vague picture which is of no scientific value whatsoever.
Any reader sees Stevenson's position being very much jeopardized in this interrogation.
The author died in 2004 at the age of 81. Obviously, he was an unbeliever of afterlife, as he wrote in the book. I recently read a book by Stafford Betty, "The Afterlife Unveiled (2011)." Stafford Betty is a Professor of Religion at CA State University in Bakersfield (according to the book's back cover). In chap. 5 Betty presents the case of Catholic priest Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914), the author of "The Necromancers (1909)," in which he ridiculed spirit communication as `dealing with the devil,' and who allegedly tried from the other side to correct his mistake made in the book. Paul Edwards, if he still is on the other side, knows whether or not afterlife is a reality, and I wonder if he is trying to write some posthumous afterword from the other side. I recently posted my review for Betty's book, closing it with the following:

Finally let me refer to a scientific paper recently published in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, 2010 Spring Issue, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 5-39: Rebuttal to Claimed Refutations of Duncan MacDougall's Experiment on Human Weight Change at the Moment of Death. (This volume is available from amazon.com.) Scientifically speaking, whether or not the missing 21 g (i.e., unaccountable energy balance) is the weight of a soul is quite problematic, but if the missing weight is verified authentic, the materialistic monism will be scientifically undermined.

Where did the 21 g go? Maybe it's gone to a nonphysical dimension, which cannot be understood in terms of current physical concepts, as Prof. Stevenson speculated.
4793395
Suspense and reincarnation to book gets you thinking about the afterlife in ways that you may not have done before
792157
Testimony of Light by Helen Greaves is a book about communication she received from her good friend, Francis Banks, formerly known as Sister Frances Mary of the Community of the Resurrection. When Frances died, she promised to communicate, telepathically, from the other side of the "veil." In Helen's book, she describes a message from Frances that death is not to be feared, for it is not the end. "Death of the body is but a gentle passing to a much freer life." Our soul is then gently, "cleansed, healed and released," as we continue through various stages of transition toward "The Light."  She explains that our earthly bodies and personality continue to transform thru many levels or planes of light, which she describes as having different vibrational frequencies, until we are eventually one with "The Light." She then goes on to use this reasoning for such statements as Christ's words, 'I am the Light of the World," for he projects pure light and as people transform, they "Let their light shine."
These words are very comforting for people who continue to ask if there is an afterlife. However, her description of the afterlife broken up into various groups who are set to perform various jobs, etc are a bit difficult to conceptualize.  Certainly, this view of the afterlife differs from what we are taught and led to believe in various churches or religions. Testimony of Light is an interesting concept of the afterlife and touches on the possibility of reincarnation and the reasons why some may have that experience.
The book and the message it puts forth will certainly test your faith and ideas of the afterlife. Some parts of her theory are difficult to understand. The book should be read slowly and perhaps a second time before forming an opinion.
2736858
This is an intriguing book. Dr Eben Alexander III, a Harvard neurosurgeon, who had been skeptical of life after death becomes a convert to the cause in 2008 after having had his own near-death experience caused by a bout of severe bacterial meningitis and lapsing into a seven day coma.

Dr Alexander who had been a man of logic and firm believer in the scientific method had not believed the spiritual accounts of near-death experiences  that some of his patients described finds himself writing a book in which in his own near death experience he sees "a  beautiful blue-eyed woman in a place of clouds, big fluffy pink-white ones and shimmering beings."

He is told, "you are not here to stay. We will teach you many things but you will be going back." As to the content, I do not want to say more and give away the story!

The book is important not only because of the content but also because of the credentials of the author.  Dr Alexander is a scion of a family of scholars that spans several generations. His grandfather was a surgeon, his father a prominent academic neurosurgeon, the long-time head of the Department of Neurosurgery at Winston Salem, N.C., and former editor of a prominent medical journal, Surgical Neurology.

Dr Alexander III, the author himself has had a distinguished career in clinical and academic neurosurgery at prestigious institutions, so the out of body experience that transformed him from a dismissive skeptic to a firm believer who now asserts that heaven exists-can not be dismissed outright.

I recommend that the seminal work of Psychiatrist Raymond A. Moody Jr., M.D., i.e.,  "Life After Life & Reflections on Life After Life" (1975) or his subsequent work be perused before one reads this book; it would serve as an essential introduction to and a useful reference for the initiate.

For workers in this field-i.e., scientists,  theologians, physicians, and psychologist- the book is a most. For those who have enjoyed pondering this topic, aficionados of the great work of Dr. Raymond Moody, and readers with an open mind on the subject I recommend this book. For those who can neither fathom the reality of near death experiences nor have an interest in the spiritual or scientific basis for such phenomena, the book may still be interesting. MAF
2924826
Many people blame others for their maladies, mishaps, and miseries.  Sometimes they blame God.  But the students of reincarnation and karma come to realize that we, in our pre-birth soul condition, often plan our own misfortunes as a means of evolving spiritually from lifetime to lifetime in our march toward the Godhead.  "The soul is drawn intentionally to a family who can meet the necessary conditions for that soul to free itself from karmic bonds incurred in a past life," author Miriam Bostwick writes, adding that a person may choose to incarnate even as mentally challenged or physically deformed.

Bostwick, a trance medium, collected stories from some 90 spirit healers and teachers, most of them telling about how various afflictions, including a number of dreaded physical and mental disorders, during their most recent life times helped them work out their karma and progress in their spiritual journeys.  After dying, they did not find themselves in the humdrum heaven or horrific hell of orthodox religion, but rather they found themselves reviewing their earthly lives, continuing to learn on the Other Side, and sometimes preparing for a return trip. From their stories, we learn that the more spiritually-challenged often take their problems with them and must undergo a healing process (a change in attitude) in spirit before they can progress spiritually. Those who pursue a spiritual path in the material world can undergo the healing here, and not only be perfectly united with the etheric body upon transition, but will merit going to higher realms of light.  That's the crux of this intriguing book.

Besides reincarnation and karma, Bostwick discusses the etheric body, the chakras, the soul contract, transition, and attitudinal healing in the afterlife in Part One of the three-part book.  She points out that some people take the memory of their physical disabilities with them into the afterlife and are slow to awaken to the fact that the physical body has been shed and that they are now in a spiritual body which is perfect.

In Part Two, Bostwick discusses various diseases and afflictions of the physical body and how they may relate to the past lives.  For example, sometimes high blood pressure may result from having mistreated others in a past life, while a type of high blood cholesterol known as hypercholesterolemia can stem from a lack of being loving in a past life.  A Dr. Wren communicated that he came back as a dwarf in this life because of extreme vanity in several prior lifetimes. Much of the work of the angelic healers is in helping others to review their earthly lives and to gain an understanding and acceptance of the role karma played in bringing about the problems and disorders these individuals suffered while on earth. These healers lament the fact they were not aware, while on earth, that karma was the missing link to the effective treatment of a variety of problems.

Part Three deals with the karmic aspects of various mental disorders, such as Alzheimer's, autism, schizophrenia, and multiple personalities. One master teacher communicated that multiple personality disorder is often a result of the person trying to live in a fantasy world and thereby attracting spirits from the lower realms.  "The spirits do not get complete possession," he states.  "They are only in maybe for a few minutes, and others will stay for years."

Bostwick frequently calls upon Scripture to support the assertions regarding reincarnation, karma, and healing, pointing out that reincarnation  was accepted as dogma by early Christian leaders until Emperor Justinian banned the teaching in 553 A.D.

This book gives real meaning to life's many adversities and challenges.  It is interesting, informative, intriguing, and inspirational.
572536
It seems as though believing in the soul is out of fashion now a days, even among evangelicals. But J.P. Moreland, an evangelical philosopher, has stood up to defend the traditional Christian belief in the soul in his new book The Soul: How We Know It's Real and Why it Matters.

According to Moreland, there are four reasons why its worth spending time thinking about the existence of the soul:

1 - The Bible seems to teach that consciousness and the soul are immaterial and we need to regard this teaching as genuine knowledge and not as faith commitments that we merely hope are true. (12)
2 - The reality of the soul is important to various ethical issues that crucially involve an understanding of human persons. (15)
3 - The loss of belief in life after death is related to a commitment to the authority of science above theology. But belief in the soul is being scientifically discredited. (17)
4 - Understanding the immaterial nature of the human spirit is crucial to grasping the essence of spiritual growth. (17)

Building upon these convictions J.P. Moreland attempts to make a case for the immaterial nature of consciousness and the soul without using the Bible, instead he makes a case for the soul through philosophical arguments.

Summary

The book is broken up into five chapters. In the first chapter, Moreland lays some philosophical foundations for discussing the soul. For instance he introduces Leibniz's law of the indiscernability of identicals, and he introduces the reader into discussions about neuroscience and philosophy. In chapter two, he summarizes what he takes to be key Old and New Testament passages that illustrate the mind/body dualism taught in scripture. This chapter doesn't exactly argue for substance dualism, but it does argue that this is the biblical position. Chapter three makes a case for property dualism, while defending the position against several objections including the problem of other minds and the problems brought about by a Darwinistic conception of evolution. Moreland also devotes some space to arguing against physicalist accounts of property dualism. Chapter four is the core of the book. In this chapter he makes a case for substance dualism and the immaterial nature of the self. Moreland offers five arguments for the belief in substance dualism. Having established that substance dualism is the correct position regarding the existence of the soul, he makes some philosophical observations regarding what the nature of the soul might be like. He concludes the book with some philosophical thoughts on what the future of human beings might look like if they are in fact souls.

Conclusion

Should you read this book? Yes. If you are looking for some basic arguments for why it is rational to belief in the soul then this book is for you. The book essentially shows that belief in the soul is not irrational and he gives you some good reasons why this is so. However if you are looking for a book that makes a very strong philosophical case for the existence of the soul, then I would look elsewhere. There is quite a difference between arguing that a belief is rational and arguing that a belief is rational and correct. This book does the former. So if you are okay with that then pick up this book.

(Note: I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an impartial review.)
4121950
Bob Park has done a great service in this book about current superstitions in mentioning the "superstitious nonsense" known as vitalism, the foundation of many 'alternative medicines,' including naturopathy [which ludicrously claims such survives scientific scrutiny!].  Here's a sample, and I quote:

"at the beginning of the twentieth century, the existence of a 'vital life force' or 'divine spark' still seemed necessary to some scientists [...] this is the ancient concept of vitalism, which long ago lost any meaning in science. The chemistry and physics that animates matter has ceased to be a mystery.  Certainly since Watson and Crick resolved the mystery of DNA, there is no longer a need for a 'divine spark' [p. 081...and] Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection in particular gave rise to naturalism [...which] left no room for vitalism or other spiritual explanations. The germ theory of disease, emerging from the work of Pasteur and Koch after the death of Darwin, would prove to be the death of such superstitious nonsense as vitalism [p. 151]."

I recommend all of Dr. Park's books -- including this excellent one -- and his "What's New" weekly online UM column.

-r.c.
1651861
This book enlightened me.  I have always believed in reincarnation.  I did not know that my roots did too.
This is a very well written book with lots of examples of people in our time having previous life examples.  Things have a way of coming up in this life time that was left over from a previous life time.  As an example some health issues occur in this life time because of problems in a previous life time.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that has doubts about reincarnation.
1215103
The subject matter of this book, to me, is fascinating.  It is the remarkable subject of reincarnation. Could the previous lives cross or intersect? Could previous lives be remembered?
It hit all the right notes for a beach read.  The story is absorbing enough but isn't deep enough to postpone an afternoon nap. I liked it, writing was good enough. Not memorable but quite enjoyable.