A unique approach to past life regression and LBL themes ...
586349
A unique approach to past life regression and LBL themes and practices; unlike any of the other books on the market right now on these topics.
4483002
This book was written to help us understand the value of past lives that we may have had.  and to understand the beauty of knowing.  Lu Bellamak
718548
What a unique book. I admit I am reading slightly outside my typical genres, but this book discusses both childhood and spirituality in ways that I am unused to seeing them.  It was compelling to see scientific analysis on something like spirituality, and found that fascinating. Those who dislike the merging of those halves of the human experience may find this book more challenging or frustrating, though perhaps it will be most useful to them.
4053003
Richard Morgan has written here a guidebook for telling one's story and connecting this story to God's story.  Morgan has published many books in the field of aging and is a national leader in the field of spiritual autobiographies.  He models the story telling in this book by sharing much of his own life and struggles.  In addition he provides innumerable, valuable prompts and examples of how to stimulate recollections and relate their significance to our religious roots and spiritual journey.

 Obviously drawing on the wealth of current literature on aging and spirituality, Morgan notes especially Hebrew and Christian traditions and wisdom writing as well as literature from psychology, gerontology literature and autobiographical writing.

 For those moved to share their spiritual story beyond family and friends, Morgan's handbook offers questions challenging them to give reasons for their beliefs rooted in a recollected and intentional life.  Honestly answering the questions can further deepen those beliefs or perhaps lead to revisiting them and reevaluating the type of living they have called us to.

  I believe that by so telling the story of our lives we will indeed see the positive results Jane Marie Thibault, quoted by Morgan, believes will accompany this exercise, namely that "It reminds us that we are still emerging, growing people.  It shows us how we have changed and how we have been transformed...[Life review] is ...a stabilization in the security of the past so that we can go beyond to embrace the future."

 I highly recommend this book for personal or group use.
128561
I found this book to be interesting, challenging and easy to read.  Part of the time it reads like a good novel, but each page is packed with jewels of information and ideas.  The ideas in this book are being discussed by professionals in long-term care and the book presents a challenge to the traditional theories of aging and reframes the human aging process as part of a larger process of human development.

In terms of human development, our cultural biases against older adults (elders) is pointed out and how our society wants to keep people locked into adulthood has been exposed.

Elderhood was an important part of human culture in pre-industrial societ and Dr. Thomas advocates for the role of elder to be rediscovered and brought back into theories of human development.

I especially liked Dr. Thomas's use of the five ages of the lifecycle and his discussion on DOING and BEING.  This was reminiscent in my mind of material I covered when taking pastoral counseling courses and how important it is to get people to feel comfortable just being human and being loved, cared for, and honored.  Our society does have a focus on DOING and Dr. Thomas does and excellent job of placing this cultural critique and mode of living under the microscope.  Rather than utilizing psychological terms, Thomas explains the importance of BEING in simple to understand and utilize terms.

The chapter that discussed the assault on childhood reminded me of Strauss and Howe's second book the 13th Generation, which pointed out the sociological trends that have impacted the lives of persons born from 1964 to 1980.  This generation was robbed of its childhood and is the first post Baby Boom generation.  Although Dr. Thomas gives no indication of having read Strauss and Howe, this chapter covers many of the same themes and makes many similar social critiques.

I was expecting more hard data and solid statistics in this book since Dr. Thomas indicated in the preface that it was written as a response to Dr. Robert Butler's Why Survive.  Unlike Dr. Butler's book, this book does not contain the same depth and breadth of statistics and policy analysis.

The new model for long-term care presented by Dr. Thomas is worthy of further study and this book does make a contribution to the field of gerontology in that the Green House model is innovative and worthy of putting into practice.  I look forward to reading the journal articles that grow from this work.

In terms of who would benefit from this book and its contribution to the field of gerontology, I believe that it should be read by professional in the field solely for the manner in which it exposes the insidious nature of ageism in our society.  Long-term care professionals will benefit from reading this book as would policy makers, politicians, and those seeking to improve the lives of human beings at every stage of human development.  I recommend this book.  I would enjoy hearing what others think about this book.

On a personal level, it has helped me identify some of my own biases and in that it has pointed me to areas where I need to work and grow on my human growth and transformation.  A good book should do that.
1827282
This unique book offers different perspectives related to death.  It uniquely explores the complexities inherent in relationships when we are trying to understand others grief which inevitably is skewed by our past and current experiences.
2459129
Beyond the Mask is an utterly unique distillation of wisdom for mid life changes. To bring alive the archetypal patterns inherent in mid-life, Kathleen Burt draws from decades of scholarly and experiential/practical emersion in esoteric astrology, psychology, mythology, biography and her 30-year practice as an astrologer. The resulting distillation takes the reader on the journey of the soul, as it calls to each of us midlife onward.

Kathleen illustrates how midlife urgings from within bring forward the death and rebirth cycles, that request that our identities and roles change, setting us outward and inward to discover a new path in life, -- to go beyond the old identity, the old mask.  And Kathleen Burt illustrates with remarkable clarity and specificity how these patterns unfold archetypally and individually.

What calls each of us at midlife when the old ways do not work any more, and the new ways are not yet known? How do new creative avenues, new mediums, and spiritual longings play a role in redirecting the personality? Kathleen Burt answers these questions and addresses specifically how each of the rising sign patterns discover new ways to fresh experience from the core of being so needed at mid-life onward. Her book is practical and remarkably specific as she pins down the incarnational patterns of change inherent in midlife with each rising sign.

 Kathleen's work looks through the astrological lens of the rising sign, through biography of creative writers and inspired people, through myth and archetype, through psychology, creativity and spirituality.  She takes us on the journey toward creative possibilities, renewed spiritual life inherent in us all.  And she does so with uncanny wit, humor, insight, and hermetical intelligence, opening doors in our worldview and in our individual consciousness as we read along.

Most of us know Kathleen Burt for her prior ground breaking work, as she is well known around the world for her book Archetypes of the Zodiac.  This current offering she has made with Beyond the Mask is a phenomenal distillation of her work and life since then. Myself and many other readers will find her practical insightful book life changing and a reference book for decades to come.  I believe this book will speak deeply to many --- to astrologers and lovers of astrology at every level, archetypally minded people, depth psychologists and seekers from many walks of life.

Monika Wikman Ph. D.
Jungian Analyst and author
of Pregnant Darkness: Alchemy and the Rebirth of Consciousness
1629717
Thought this book was so helpful for me as a Past Life Regressionis, and for all the parents out there who could use some insight and understanding to all aspects of their children, along with how their children can come into this life with unresolved emotions from experiences in a past life, that can easily be addressed with the right questions and understanding from their parents, and thereby reduce any anxiety or stress in their children by doing so.  Excellent book.
396650
Longitudinal studies have long been the bedrock of the human development research world.  In her new book, Barbara Rogoff has developed a creative and interesting variation of this approach in which the key players are the researcher and her subject and the time frame is 35 years. In very clear language, easily accessible to non-social scientists, Dr. Rogoff describes the interesting and important role played by a Mayan sacred midwife in her Guatemalan community, as well as the cultural changes that occur in this community over the course of decades. The influence of culture - in some instances centuries old - on human development is fascinating, as is the equally powerful transformation of cultural practice as the community increases its collective engagement with the modern world. A most enjoyable narrative illustrated with numerous photographs.

Michael F, EdD
4503170
I've never really explored past life regression, nor have I thought it applied to me. This book opened my eyes to possibilities I have been ignoring.

I've been trained as a holistic massage therapist, and our training included a class on transformational thinking. This follows along that path stating that humans are on the cusp of a major transformation once we step past "The Illusion" that we had to forget about our inner light (our uniqueness) to "make it" in the "real world".

In order to step up to the next level of human evolution, we have to break through "The Illusion".

If this concept confuses you, watch all of "The Matrix" movies. They sum it all up in a nutshell.

Super interesting book that leads you to pursue the subject further, which I plan to do.
3206015
Detective Robert L. Snow's irrefutable credentials and thorough use of police investigative techniques in his exploration of his past life as Carroll Beckwith, lend credibility to the validity of soul continuation, our ability to access past-life memories, and the value of regression  therapy.  I highly recommend this book to all those interested in past  lives.  It is not just an interesting story, it is an important  contribution to past life research and therapy.
2510290
If you ever wondered about reincarnation, this book may make a believer out of you.

This book explores Sylvia's experiences as a degreed hypnotherapist who has come across many supposedly "unsolvable" cases where past life regression revealed the link to some of the baffling ills suffered by clients in this lifetime.  There are many fascinating case studies, that have later been back researched and verified by historical census records and other historical public records.
2347348
As a practitioner myself of past-life/spiritual regression therapy who works in Miami and is acquainted with some of Weiss' clients and students, and also as a metaphysical author, I have learned much from Dr. Weiss's writings over the years.  In this book, Weiss delves into future life progression, which involves guiding a client to envision a potential future, which can help clarify things for the present.  I've personally experienced this type of exercise and find it useful, though I wouldn't presume that the perceived future is one that will necessarily transpire in our 3D timeline.  I found it interesting that Weiss's progression participants seemed to pick up on a mass shrinkage in the world population following some major changes/disasters on the planet within the next few hundred years.  There are many other sources that have tapped in to perceptions about the coming changes, and Weiss offers another view of this from people projecting into probable future existences.  Weiss has developed a readable style of presenting about his work and his findings, and he maintains an inspiring spiritual message that helps us appreciate the process of going through many lifetimes to learn spiritual lessons and become more loving beings.  Weiss comes across as genuine and is one of the best ambassadors of this type of spirituality, bringing his mainstream science/medicine credentials to bolster the recognition that what he does is very real and effective.  He'd have had no reason to embark on his mystical pursuits unless something very powerful and compelling had transpired, since he was a successful conventional psychiatrist when the transpersonal healing path opened up to him.
3460371
Dr. Weiss' book on reincarnation and past-lives regression is an interesting new approach to something people have always been afraid of dealing with, for fear of being accused of being a "wacko."
To the contrary, he touches upon the specifics of a patient who could in no way have fabricated the material, and --- as head os a respected psychiatric program in Miami --- his work and conclusions are as reliable as any around.
This book should be mandatory reading in Colleges everywhere, not just psychology programs.
2521217
I finished this book a month ago, but I still find myself thinking over much of the information I got from it, and to me, that's the sign of a good book. Its take on the relationship between the witch and the familiar is unique, in my experience. For instance, Wilby shows that familiars were by no means "fetches" for witches and did not act as slaves or pets. They were equals in the relationship and could even act to the detriment of the witch. For me, the concept of moral ambiguity that Wilby posits for the familiar shows the familiar's depth and independence, its realness. It also fits with the position of the witch or cunning folk in their community - they were depended upon for medical help, communicating with the dead, or help in finding things, but they were also feared for the trouble they could cause to someone if they were antagonized.

The treatment of the fairy folk is also unusual. These are not Victorian Tinkerbells flitting around the garden like a bunch of beneficent mosquitoes. These are a powerful people with their own agenda, recognizable to those who've read British folklore or even stories by Arthur Machen. Wilby makes a pretty convincing argument that the fairies served the same purpose for early modern witches that guiding spirits have done for shamans in traditional societies. Like those spirits, fairy familiars helped witches acquire practical knowledge, like where a stolen cloak might be or how to cure (or hex) someone, and they were often friends and companions as well. Witches generally first encountered a familiar while being under extreme stress - broke, family members sick, overworked, hungry, fearing the worst - and Wilby compares this to the sort of deliberate preparation to encounter a guiding spirit that shamans in traditional societies engage in - fasting, depriving themselves of sleep, and creating other physical extremes. This interesting parallel fits with assertions made by Carlo Ginzburg in his work on the Sabbat, Night Journies. Wilby also argues that the concept of traveling to a sabbat is basically the interrogators' interpretation of the witch accompanying a fairy to fairyland, where for instance they might learn how to use plants or feast and dance with the fairy folk.

I was surprised by some of the information given in simple asides, such as that people at this time kept toads for pets or the average number of cats per household in Britain at this time was five. Something that really stuck with me, though, was how often witches described their familiar as being like an animal but not of any recognizable type, such as "something like a rabbit" which appeared in a witch's bed at night and asked him to love it. Even the pictures of them were somewhat disturbing. Other familiars appeared as humans but often wore old fashioned clothing.

This isn't the most engaging book ever written - the writing is just serviceable, and the book feels like it began life as a dissertation. But it does present what in my experience is a unique perspective on familiars. And the information here also goes far to bust up preconceived crusty notions about the good, wise hedgewitch who wouldn't hurt a fly, the Burning Times, Disneyworld-style fairies, and so forth. It presents a world much more complicated than that. The footnotes and bibliography also provide a number of directions for further reading about cunning folk in other countries as well as some interesting books on fairy folk in Britain.
4341399
One of the useful ideas Edgar Cayce provided about the scientific process as a personal epistemology is to learn how to use comparisons as a means of investigation and knowledge production. Quite naturally, then, Dr. Mancini, being of the scientific cultural mindset, when he wanted to explore the value of past life awareness, that he chose to reach out and compare what experienced folks had to say about it, and to relate that to his own experiences. The result is a series of interviews, transcripts of a radio show, in which Joseph discusses various topics related to past lives, regression, alternate realities, etc. The experts cover a wide ranging diversity of orientations. It is one of the few places where Ive found the works of Edgar Cayce and the Seth material side by side. A good reference book, and great if you wanted to teach a class on the subject.
3547675
I have always loved the expression that "life is lived forward but understood backwards." As a senior citizen this is a theme that I have come to understand in my life and it is one of the themes of this finely crafted novel. Memories-good and bad, regrets, missed opportunities, guilt, the power of love....and the list goes on. As our two main characters look back all these come to the surface and they shape what goes forward. Yes, there is a plot and a few plot twists but if you are one who loved to focus on plot, this book may not be for you. Yet, if you love character development and various life themes then I strongly recommend that you treat yourself to a fine read. An added bonus to the story is how folks approach the topic of death. Some tend to tip toe around it, some face it head on. It also deals with the inherent value of what the hospice movement offers. It is one of those books which deals with a lot of realistic but dark themes, yet leaves you at the end with a spirit of cautious optimism and hope.