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Lifecycles: Reincarnation and the Web of Life by Christopher M. Bache, Ph.D.

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Reviewed by Daniel Kealey, Ph.D.

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume VI, No. 1, Fall 1992)

BacheDr. Bache, a member of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Youngstown State University, has written a much needed book full of stimulating insights into the contemporary philosophical implications of reincarnation. He correctly states that the belief in the theory of reincarnation is no longer just a religious question, for the impressive accumulation of evidence that has become part of the contemporary intellectual environment makes it essentially an empirical question. Bache backs up this claim with an overview of the research, focusing primarily on the work of Stevenson and the findings of past-life regression. But this is not his main purpose. He notes that as a teacher he often finds that while students are impressed by the evidence for reincarnation on a case-by-case basis, they are unable to embrace the theory of reincarnation because they lack a comprehensive philosophy that can make sense of the data. It is when he begins to explore the larger philosophical aspects of reincarnation in the third chapter that readers of this journal will find themselves most engaged.

Past Lives, Present Decisions: A Pathway to Transformation by Helene Rothschild

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Reviewed by Marilyn J. Wulff, M.S.W.

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume VI, No. 1, Fall 1992)

plpHelene Rothschild’s book, Past Lives, Present Decisions, would be an excellent resource for beginning past-life therapists and I believe is designed to serve as a self-help guide to individuals who are ready to learn more about and experience their past lives, as a “pathway to transformation.”

Rothschild, who has a Master’s Degree in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling, and is in private practice in California, describes her approach as being based upon what she calls “Creative Therapy,” saying “…we all make decisions based on our experiences. These decisions or thoughts control our lives,” and adds that another principle of her therapy is “we are all totally responsible for our lives. There are no victims. There are only volunteers.”

Coming Back: A Psychiatrist Explores Past-Life Journeys by Raymond A. Moody, Jr., M.D., with Paul Perry

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Reviewed by Rabia Clark, M.A.

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume VI, No. 1, Fall 1992)

Moody3Past-life therapists often recommend books on PLT to their clients. I have been looking for a book which explains how past-life therapy is done in a simple and non-technical way. Dr. Raymond Moody’s book, Coming Back: A Psychiatrist Explores Past-Life Journeys is my current favorite.

Dr. Moody uses interesting and brief case histories as illustrations throughout the book which makes it very easy to read. Some of the case histories come from the APRT Journal of Regression Therapy, some come from his own past-life recollections, and others from his clients or other books. APRT members Dree Miller Dunlap, George Schwimmer, and Paul Hansen’s past-life recollections are mentioned, as is the history of the founding of APRT as told by Hazel Denning and Irene Hickman in the APRT Journal. Chet Snow’s rescripting case from the Spring 1988 Journal is also included.

Moody describes his own nine past lives briefly. He also has a short chapter on uses of PLT, including instances of healing. He outlines various theories about the truth of past lives, and contrasts reincarnation beliefs with those of hidden memories, metaphors for the present, and personal myths. He concludes with a chapter on exploring your own past lives and a script for self hypnosis. Moody gives advice to those seeking past-life regressionists: he says to avoid people who channel past lives for clients and suggests checking the credentials of past-life therapists.

Elvis After Life by Raymond Moody, Ph.D., M.D.

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Reviewed by Fleur Greene, M.A.

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume III, No. 2, Fall 1988)

ElvisElvis Presley was a phenomenon in his life. He may single-handedly have aroused the sleeping eroticism of the entire Western world. (He was known, you may recall, as Elvis the Pelvis). For good or ill, it is obvious that rock-and-roll has liberated us from our Victorian moorings forever!

A legend never dies. It only becomes more magnified with time. We humans love the very idea of one of us unbounded by conventions. And given to magnificence, the legend of Elvis will, without doubt, become more fantastic with time.

As that happens, accurate descriptions of events that took place at the time of his death will become more and more difficult to find. The legend, fulfilling a collective need, will become inflated with falsehood and imaginings. And here, then, is the value of Raymond Moody’s book.

Unconditional Love and Forgiveness by Edith Stauffer

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Reviewed by Errol Schubot, Ph.D.

 (as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume III, No. 2, Fall 1988)

“Unconditional love and forgiveness” is the central theme of Edith Stauffer’s approach to healing. She bases her principles and practices on Psychosynthesis and on the concepts of the Essenes, an ancient sect whose beliefs are recorded in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Their practices integrated spiritual principles into everyday living, creating an atmosphere of peace, cooperation, and harmony within the group. Psychosynthesis, developed by Dr. Roberto Assagioli, carries a similar goal of bringing transpersonal concepts and awareness into practical application.

Stauffer understands the original purpose of spirituality, which is to create experiences and guidelines to bring the highest qualities into every aspect of daily life. She teaches the Essene concept of Napsha, an Aramaic word for our connection with God. She considers this connection to be “with the Source of life, with that higher intelligence that directs the orderly flow of all life.” The goal is to reach Rukha, a place of “transpersonal energy beyond personal concerns.” Rukha is the universal home, a place to rest, relax, and rejuvenate the mind. The purpose is to receive the love, wisdom and healing energy of the Source.

The Journey Within: Past-Life Regression and Channeling by Henry Leo Bolduc

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Reviewed by Jon Klimo, Ph.D.

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume III, No. 2, Fall 1988)

bolduc2In The Journey Within, Henry Leo Bolduc provides some easy-to-read glimpses into his personal search for answers and, in particular, his exploration of the possibilities of hypnosis. Readers of The Journal of Regression Therapy should be able to identify with many of the experiences he presents in this informal, anecdotal odyssey. As Bolduc puts it, the first five chapters are “mainly about my years of research into past-life regression,” and chapters six and seven are about “what I have learned about hypnosis and past-life regression.” In the second half of the book, chapters eight through seventeen, Bolduc turns to focus on how some individuals, who have been hypnotized by him, became channels. As part of this, he includes generous samplings of their channeled material Some may find the shift from past-life to channeling phenomena a bit hard to follow, though Bolduc’s use of hypnosis in working with others seem to be the through-line.

Bolduc tells us that he first became interested in past-life work after reading The Search for Bridey Murphy. Shortly thereafter, in the early 1960’s, he began experimenting with friends. Becoming ever more committed to this work, he showed up on the doorstep of Edgar Cayce’s brother Hugh Lynn, in Virginia Beach, soon moving into the A.R.E. headquarters to live on a steady diet of Cayce Readings and related books.

The Children That Time Forgot By Peter and Mary Harrison

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Reviewed by Carol Bowman, B.A.

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume V, No. 1, Fall 1991)

harrisonThe Children That Time Forgot is one of the few collections of documented incidents of spontaneous past-life recall in children. Peter and Mary Harrison, of England, collected 29 cases of spontaneous past-life recall derived from interviews with the parents of British children. This book can be compared to the work of Dr. Ian Stevenson, who has done extensive research and writes about past-life memories in children. The Harrisons’ book is significant because the cases are exclusively from a Judeo-Christian culture where reincarnation is a less well accepted idea; Dr. Stevenson finds most of his cases in Eastern cultures where the concept of reincarnation is more prevalent.

At the time of their children’s recall, none of the parents interviewed by the Harrisons believed in reincarnation. In almost all cases, the parents were bewildered or amused when their barely verbal children began relating stories of their past lives, and dismissed their attempts at communication as babbling and fantasy. Yet, in every case, the children persisted in telling their stories and adhered to the same details. Their persistence and conviction caused their skeptical parents to listen.

Several of the young children claimed to be deceased relatives. They shocked their parents with details about these former lives, details that they could not possibly have learned in their present lives. They knew exact locations of streets and buildings that no longer existed, gave accounts of conversations and events from their former lifetimes that were later confirmed by surviving relatives, and exhibited mannerisms and behavior that matched those of the deceased relative. The evidence convinced the surviving relatives that these children could only be the reincarnation of the deceased relatives.

Children Who Remember Previous Lives: A Question of Reincarnation by Ian Stevenson, M.D.

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 Review by Jon Klimo, Ph.D.

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume V, No. 1, Fall 1991)

Ian2Readers of The Journal of Regression Therapy should consider Dr. Ian Stevenson’s book, Children Who Remember Previous Lives, from two perspectives. First, the book is a thoroughly professional, even-handed treatment of its subject, and the information it contains will be helpful to anyone seeking personal and professional support in the way of careful research evidence on behalf of reincarnation in general and on behalf of the reality of the previous lives of certain currently living people in particular. Second, and problematic for Journal readers, the book takes a decidedly negative tone with regard to the use of hypnosis in order to bring to light authentic past-life memories. I will briefly deal with each of these two perspectives in turn.

We are slowly building a body of conceptual coherence and empirical evidence on behalf of an ever more widespread acceptance of reincarnation and the fact that at least some currently living people are able to retrieve memories of their own previous lifetimes. Dr. Stevenson’s newest book is a rich and welcomed addition to this body of work, with its strong emphases on rigorous research methodology, precision of thought, and careful use of terminology.

The research represented in this book provides evidence that appears to make a convincing case for a traceable continuity between what Dr. Stevenson calls a previous personality and the personality of a currently living individual. “I use the phrase previous Personality,” he writes, “to designate some aspects of the deceased person of whom the child having memories of a previous life is presumed to be the reincarnation.” He then goes on to state “The cases I have investigated suggest that something of the person may have persisted after his death and later become associated with a new physical body.”

Exploring Reincarnation by Hans Ten Dam (Penguin Group, London, 1990)

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Reviewed by Rabia L. Clark, M.A.

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume V, No. 1, Fall 1991)

hans1Hans Ten Dam has written an exhaustive study about reincarnation, its history in various religions, Theosophical and Anthroposophical views, and karmic laws. There is quite a bit about both spontaneous and therapeutic recall of past lives, pre-birth memories and after death experiences. The last part of the book describes counseling techniques for past-life regressions, and effects and techniques of past-life therapy.

The author is honest about his biases, and he has a lot of them. He has read widely in the reincarnation literature, and attempts to present a broad scope of that material. There is a glossary of terms, an excellent and lengthy bibliography of books both in English and other languages on reincarnation (though arranged strangely, as if some parts were an afterthought), and a good index.

The book has been translated into English from the original Dutch, and I found no problems with that, unlike Ten Dam’s earlier book, Regression and Past-Life Therapy Without Hypnosis (self-published, 1989). The first book was very difficult to understand because of translation problems, and needs a revision of its glossary and index. That book did detail many unique and interesting techniques for past-life therapy, and includes a number of past-life therapy sessions verbatim, to illustrate techniques. (I believe it costs $30, from Hans Ten Dam, Ten Dam International B.V., Fransen van de Puttelaan 36, 3703 EH Zeist, Holland.)

Who Were You Before You Were You? The Casebook of a Past-Life Therapist by Garrett Oppenheim, Ph.D.

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Reviewed by Evelyn Fuqua, Ph.D.  M.F.C.C. and Hypnotherapist

(as included in the The Journal of Regression Therapy Volume IV, No. 2, Fall 1990)

img011Dr. Oppenheim’s book is short (162 pages), is written in an informal style and is easy reading—all of which, hopefully, will make it appeal to the general public. Its humorous title, Who Were You Before You Were You?, should attract not only those who are seriously curious about past-life therapy, but perhaps even the total skeptics, who may pick it up initially simply because it promises to be entertaining. It will give them much food for thought.

The book covers all of the important basic concepts of PLT. It also gives many of the author’s personal insights as a result of his own PLT experiences. Oppenheim is never dogmatic in his comments although he clearly states his own belief system.

The author’s first professional experience with PLT was the result of his leaving out the words “in your life” when asking a client to go back to the first time he had feelings of depression and defeat. Oppenheim listened in astonishment as his client began describing a battlefield with legions of men in armor fighting against each other He soon learned that his client was a Carthaginian commander under Hannibal. This commander had won many battles but was haunted by the depressing realization that the Romans were winning the war and there was really nothing he could do about it.