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Invisible Roots: How Healing Past Life Trauma Can Liberate Your Present by Barbara Stone

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(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume ΧIX,  Fall 2009)

StoneAt 326 pages, Invisible Roots is loaded with tons of information on healing our lives both at the soul energy level and the physical. Throughout the book, Dr. Stone provides valuable and useful information on multiple healing levels and approaches. This book will appeal to both the lay person, who may be a beginner in learning of the real energetic nature of the human body, and the clinician looking for more ways to improve and complement their skill set.

This book is a delightful and interesting read starting with the stories of Dr. Bernie Siegel, whose foreword piece sets the stage for the rest of the book. His stories involve angels, near death experiences, spiritual healing, spirit guides, messages from the other side, synchronistic events, and past-life memory. What a great introduction for Dr. Stone’s work.

In the introduction to Invisible Roots, Dr. Stone provides her background, how she was led, kicking and screaming like so many others such as Dr. Brian Weiss and Dr. Michael Newton, into this new realm of thought, belief, and healing. Dr. Stone coined the phrase Soul Detective, which is a very apt name to the type of work she does and addresses here in Invisible Roots. Her protocols remind me of a keen detective at work, asking simple yet highly methodical questions to zero in on the root cause of her clients’ issues.

The Big Book of the Soul: Our Many Lives as Holographic Aspects of the Source by Ian Lawton

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Reviewed by Thelma Freedman, Ph.D.

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume ΧIX,  Fall 2009)

lawton3This is a book focused on reincarnation itself rather than past-life therapy. Let me say at the outset that it is an excellent history of reincarnation beliefs as they emerge from a wide assortment of channelers, meditators, past-life therapists, and past-life “subjects” (Lawton’s word); some going back centuries. It should be a required text in any training program for past life therapists. It contains an excellent bibliography and reference list, and a thorough index. It also contains the best analysis of the work of Ian Stevenson that I have ever read, as well as examinations of the work of other “pioneers,” as Lawton rightly calls our founders.

But of course I have a complaint. Chapter 4 is titled “Past-Life Therapy: Background, research studies, emotional dynamics.” This has a good ring to it but as it turns out, the “research studies” are the stories told by various people reporting past lives or the stories told by channelers or other psychics. There is little real “research” in this book, unless you accept the past life stories told by clients or channelers or psychics as research. I find this a serious omission, as there has been a considerable amount of objective research done. For example: Lucas, who used an early brain scanner (the Mind Mirror) and found that the person reporting a past life was in an alpha state (as some of the therapist guides were, too); Cunningham, on people who have experienced an OBE (out-of-body experience); James, on the link between healthy adults and the ability to report a past life; Cladder, on incorporating past life reports into a larger and more conventional treatment for phobias; van der Maesen’s two studies, one on Tourette’s Syndrome and the other on hallucinated voices (Lawton does mention van der Maesen); or Freedman, on past-life reports and phobias. These studies were all true research – complete with a guiding hypothesis, a way of measuring results, and standards for selecting the participants (not “subjects” anymore, thanks to the APA and the US Government Standards for Research with Human Participants).

Exploring The Eternal Soul by Andy Tomlinson

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Reviewed by Virginia Waldron

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume ΧVIII,  Spring 2008)

Andy2In this book Andy Tomlinson examines and discusses journeys into the interim state of existence for 15 clients to further explore our experiences when we are not incarnated in a physical body. Michael Newton’s previous work clearly set the ground stage for further study in Spiritual Regression, also known as Life Between Lives or as Andy calls it, interlife regression. In this book Andy builds on the shoulders of other authors and researchers in the field thus providing a stronger research foundation for the book case studies. Andy also brings his own style, his own insight and wisdom into this work and it is a very informative, intelligent, and highly readable piece of research. Exploring the Eternal Soul was written as Andy’s report or summary of the combined research project by himself and Ian Lawton. After the initial research project was completed, both authors wrote a book based on their own primary field of research and study. Ian Lawton’s book is The Wisdom of The Soul.

I think the format of this book is arranged very well. Each of the chapters and the information presented in each section is clear and concise. In the beginning he moves through the general information of what the interim life experience is, the healing process that occurs, and the different areas explored. Then he moves into more detailed material about the soul’s growth and how we progress through our own challenges and choices. Throughout he illustrates his ideas with quotes and commentaries from the subjects with whom he worked. His commentaries are quite insightful and articulate. I would suggest, however, that perhaps there could have been more information and material shared in the chapters, especially at the beginning. Maybe more explanations of the different areas that were explored and how they were encountered by each of the individual subjects. There were also times when I was a bit confused when he went back and forth between the different subjects and what they were saying. The flow from one subject to the next was at times awkward and a bit incomplete. But, these are minor points compared to the wonderful experience of just what this book teaches us about our souls!

Queen’s Gold, by Melissa Bowersock

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Reviewed by Thelma Freedman, Ph.D.

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume ΧVIII,  Spring 2008)

BowersockMelissa Bowersock, a certified hypnotherapist and Jungian past-life therapist for 13 years, has gifted all of us with a gripping novel driven by an unexpected past-life recall. Her widowed reluctant hero, ordinary skeptical guy Hal Thompson, submits to his daughter’s request that he experience a past-life recall. Convinced at first that he is just “making it all up,” Hal regresses to a lifetime that starts in Spain and moves on to Hispaniola and from there into Cortez’s army and finally the Aztec lands.

It is here that Hal first encounters the Queen’s Gold with its history of murder and treachery – and its hiding place. Later, when his family is threatened, Hal reluctantly agrees to take the trip from New Mexico across the border into the old Aztec territory to find the Queen’s Gold that disappeared some 500 years ago. This not to “prove” the past-life’s reality or to enrich himself, but only to secure the safety of his family.

This is a tale of love, murder, revenge, treachery, and greed across five centuries, and it moves along at a fast pace that never fails to hold the attention of the reader. Bowersock brings her characters to life – they are very believable, warts and all, and her descriptions of the spectacular terrain of the Aztecs put the reader right there along with the characters. (In fact, I wondered if she herself had experienced a past life in this wild and untamed time and territory).

The Past Lives – Embracing the Wisdom and Healing Power of Your Soul by Jean Rita Linder

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Reviewed by Dorothy Neddermeyer, Ph.D.

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume ΧVIII,  Spring 2008)

Linder“The Past Lives” by Jean Rita Linder is a pleasant surprise. The surprise for me was the author’s ability to draw the reader deeper into the message regarding past-life recall. Having conducted past-life regressions with hundreds of clients for over twelve years and attending numerous past-life regression workshops and talking with colleagues, I thought I would be bored after the second paragraph. However, since I had committed to writing this review, I knew I needed to read the book. After reading the second paragraph, it was obvious that Jean Linder had something to offer everyone, including an experienced past-life regression practitioner.

Linder reveals in great detail the miracle of healing throughout the interwoven sands of time. This book, whose time has come, is without question a must read for anyone—professional or layperson!

Another endearing and pleasant surprise is Linder’s ability to share her spiritual journey beginning in her teen years until later adulthood that intrigued and riveted my interest to know more.

Linder chose the title, The Past Lives, as a symbolic play on words. Linder explained, because of the quirkiness of the English language, the word “lives” can be pronounced two ways. It can rhyme with both “hives” and “gives.” “Hives” is a noun and “gives,” is a verb. This double usage subtly changes the meaning, “the past lives of Jean Linder,” (noun) versus “the past lives in the now moment” (verb). Linder embraces both meanings in her book.

Healing Research Vol. II: How Can I Heal What Hurts? by Daniel J. Benor, M.D.

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Reviewed by the Editor

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume ΧVII,  Spring 2007)

BenorDr. Benor offers a four volume series on Healing Research. While this particular volume is not focused on regression research or therapies the focus is on our energetic nature and the many varied approaches to self healing. As such the material contained in this volume is related to our work as energy therapists of sorts.

This volume is loaded with lots of research information supporting the theory and belief of the subtle energies of our bodies and the many varied therapies available today to facilitate healing. Dr. Benor casts a wide net covering healing practices from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Astrology and Dowsing.

He discusses the influence environmental energies exert on our personal energy fields and suggests ways to personally explore, understand, and heal our physical problems that result from the disturbance of our subtle and spiritual energies.

The book is divided up into 5 chapters: Self-Healing, Wholistic Energy Medicine, The Human Energy Field, Geobiological Effects, and Self-Healing Approaches and Exercises. Chapter one, Self-Healing, covers such topics as Personality and Normality, Psychosomatic Disorders, Psychotherapy and Physical Symptoms, Body-Mind Therapies and Spiritual Healing, Biofeedback, Hypnosis, Self-Healing Programs and Spontaneous Healing.. He also includes a preview of an Energy Healing Model.

The Wisdom of the Soul by Ian Lawton

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Reviewed by the Editor

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume ΧVII,  Spring 2007)

Lawton2This is the second book written by the author; his previous work was reviewed in the last issue of the Journal. This new work is a collaborative one in which he was assisted by the very able Andy Tomlinson, whose book Healing the Eternal Soul is also reviewed in this issue.

Ian’s background in research is paired with Andy’s skill as a trained and very experienced Past Life and In Between Life Therapist. Together they submitted questions to a carefully picked group of subjects who, as Ian states: “would be chosen by Andy, and would not claim to have any special gifts or access to special channels of higher wisdom—they would be ordinary people with no pretensions, who happened to be best suited to enter the deeper states of trance required for this kind of work.” And also “we would be obtaining information from multiple subjects and comparing them for consistency, not relying on one particular source of channeled material which cold, even if broadly genuine, be highly subjectively influenced.”

Healing the Eternal Soul: Insights From Past Life and Spiritual Regression by Andy Tomlinson

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reviewed by the Editor

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume ΧVII,  Spring 2007)

Andy1Whether you are teaching others the skill of PLRT or want to expand your skill base and knowledge in your own practice, this new book by Andy Tomlinson is a great teaching and learning tool.

Andy does a great job of covering the whole spectrum of soul healing through both past life regression and in-between life regression. Unlike some books on the subject that restrict their approach to healing only the energetic or spiritual bodies, Andy also addresses the physical body and its role in releasing and healing both current and past lifetime physical trauma.

He builds a case of validity of these healing techniques through a step by step approach. He begins by presenting the current scientific knowledge concerning evidence of past lives, near death experiences (NDE), and subtle energy fields. From there he explores the current theory concerning regression, both past-life and spiritual, how subtle energy fields hold memories of these past lives, the recurrence of past life patterns and complexes, and of karma and reincarnation.

Now that we have the theory and building blocks in place to support the work Andy proceeds to outline in a very clear and understandable way how a typical past life session or in-between life session would flow, incorporating many of the basic pieces and parts of the process such as how to guide the client to embody the past life body and character, building the initial scene and all of its dimensions, how to move successfully through time, catharsis and what/how to do it, the various types of death and how to deal with it. In an easy progression we go to the spiritual realms where we meet spiritual guides, work to forgiveness of antagonists from the just lived lifetime, and how to get past being stuck in the earth plane after death.

Passport to Past Lives: The Evidence. Robert T. James

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Reviewed by Thelma B. Freedman, Ph.D.

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume ΧVI,  Fall 2005)

passportRobert James has written a fascinating account of his extensive research projects and the findings from them. He first presented two brief overviews of his work in the pages of the Journal, V. VII (1993) and V. IX (1995), and spoke about it at the APRT Spring Conference of 1995 in Washington, DC, which focused on research. This book expands on his previous work and provides rich detail about his results.

Dr. James’ first research project was designed to test many of the claims that critics raise about past life regressions and therapy. Noting that some critics claim that most published regressions come from people in therapy for emotional problems, he asked whether or not normal, mentally healthy people would report past lives as well.

He also wondered if age, education, or religious belief would have an effect on the ability to report a past life, a claim sometimes made by critics. Other frequent assertions of critics is that only those who have a belief in reincarnation will report past lives, or that a hypnotherapist who has such a belief will either deliberately or inadvertently structure the session in such a way that the person will report a past life. Dr. James wanted to test these claims also.

Dr. James’ second research project was designed to answer questions arising from his first project, such as how past lives might fit into our evolutionary past. He also tried to get material that was verifiable from public records. For these reasons he asked the participants to regress to 1) the first lifetime they had lived on Earth and 2) their most recent lifetime.

The Book of the Soul: Rational Spirituality for the 21st Century by Ian Lawton

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Reviewed by Louis Siron, C.Ht.

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume ΧVI,  Fall 2005)

lawtonI had the pleasure recently of reading “The Book of the Soul: Rational Spirituality for the 21st Century” by Ian Lawton.

You might wonder at the term “rational spirituality.” What does this mean? How can spirituality be rational? I had the impression of a subject that is typically faith based being defined in a logical factual way. As it turns out, that impression was not far off the mark.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, 1) rational: able to reason, not foolish or silly, sensible; synonym reasonable and 2) spirituality: spiritual nature, character, or quality.

Here we have a very unusual book; a book that fills a void in the literature concerning spirituality. There are so many books written concerning spirituality. Most are based on different aspects of the subject that we all have a soul, we incarnate to learn lessons, evolve and gain wisdom, our spiritual baggage can affect our current life both physically and emotionally/mentally, etc. To support their viewpoints, the various authors use such things as “enlightened teachings/ancient wisdom,” sessions/interviews with clients/experiencers, channeled information, etc.