Life after Death – I am appending a small write up on “the journey of soul after death”, a subject that usually raises eyebrows and causes controversies. Personally, I have found this to be of great interest when I approach it with an open mind and by delinking it from our narrow and stringent religious beliefs (not the core ten…ets).
I am encouraged to do that because the findings of some eminent researchers listed below are backed by evidence in the realm of psychology – a science that has come to enjoy undoubted credibility today.
Many scientific discoveries have challenged religious beliefs (Galileo is a case in point) and will continue to do so. But we did not find the courage to revisit our beliefs handed down by ancestors who themselves were very rigid followers of sometimes extremely flimsy beliefs from ancient times when the horizons of human knowledge were very limited due to absence of scientific discoveries. Most unfortunately, even in this age we have hesitated to apply our mind to such matters, although Islam allows it, simply because we have shied away from a meaningful understanding of matters related to beliefs and our existence on more logical and scientific lines and challenging the uncompromising mullah who, among many things, still refuses to accept that computers can predict moon sightings for centuries ahead and insists that physical moon sighting is the only way to go as recommended by the ahadees.
When the Church of Rome was powerful it came down heavily on those who contested its beliefs and teachings. While the Western civilization rebelled against such rigidity and broke free, Muslim theocracy continues to grudgingly follow the same pattern, thereby limiting the technological advancement of the Muslim world, leaving all progress to Western civilization. No wonder then that Muslim scientists and scholars perform much better when they go to work in the West, while we still struggle to finding a response, for instance, to the theory of evolution because we do not know how to explain the biblical story of Adam & Eve. All we do is to express indignation at such scientific findings and advocate that these be thrown out of the window.
We look with scorn at everything that does not fit into our frame of thought and belief. We refuse to look outside the boundaries drawn around our belief system by orthodox, rigid and sometimes semi illiterate interpreters of religion because of the fear that we will get off the “sirat al mautaqeem”.
Similarly, the concept of reincarnation also came in conflict with our religious beliefs. We reject the concept due to its origins in Hinduism, a religion that we utterly hate but with which we co-existed for centuries and from which we have adopted numerous practices in the subcontinent. Incidentally, no one has conclusively been able to tell me if Islam expressly rejects reincarnation.
If we were to resort to “thinking out of the box” and look at the issue of “life after death’ in a scientific perspective, we may find a new insight into the meaning of our life in this world and beyond. I have tried to do this and find it very interesting. I was exposed to the subject during my stay in South Africa.
We are all afraid of death, because of the fear of the unknown, the stories of azaab-e-qabr and a great deal of other uncertainties associated with it. Whatever little I have studied about experiences of souls in the hereafter, it has given me a peace of mind. To an extent I think I know what to expect after the soul leaves the body. If one believes in the knowledge that this research offers, it enables one to make peace with death. As for me, I find I am not afraid of death anymore.
I have read Michael Newton’s book Journey of Souls, among other books by other authors. It is based on case histories and I found it to be very interesting. (Such and other books can be bought at very cheap prices at e-Bay, the buying and selling source on the internet in the US). Lot of information is also available on internet.
By sharing this, I am merely trying to introduce a subject that many people are engaged in and which concerns us the same way as it concerns others. You may disregard this if you find the subject is not for you.
Michael Newton, Ph.D.
Michael Newton, is the founder of The Michael Newton Institute for Life Between Lives Hypnotherapy, and served from 2002-2005 as the first President of the Society for Spiritual Regression. Dr. Newton continues to serve on the TNI Board. He holds a doctorate in Counseling Psychology, is a certified Master Hypnotherapist and is a member of the American Counseling Association. He has been on the faculty of higher educational institutions as a teacher and counselor while also active in private practice. In addition, Dr. Newton has been a corporate consultant and worked as a behavioral counselor and group therapy director for community mental health centers and spiritual renewal organizations in cooperation with hospital and social service agencies. He has been a hypnotherapist for over 45 years and a LBL therapist for over 30 years. He is considered a pioneer in uncovering the mysteries about life after death through the use of Spiritual Regression.
In 1998 Dr. Newton received the National Association of Transpersonal Hypnotherapists annual award of “Most Unique Contribution by a Hypnotherapist” for his years of soul memory research and mapping the cosmology of the afterlife. He is the author of three best selling books, Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives (1994), Destiny of Souls: New Case Studies of Life Between Lives (2000) and Life Between Lives (2004) published by Llewellyn. These books have been translated into over 25 languages. In 2001 his second book was awarded “Metaphysical Book of the Year” by the independent publishers association at their annual Book Exposition of America meeting.
Dr. Newton has appeared on numerous radio and television shows and is an active speaker on the lecture circuit explaining his discoveries and beliefs about our immortal life in the spirit world. He is now retired from active clinical practice and devotes his time to lecturing and training. Dr. Newton can be reached through his publisher c/o Llewellyn Worldwide, Inc. 2143 Wooddale Drive Woodbury, MN 55125-2989. For a response you must include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
A Journey Into the World of Spirit:
The Historical Precedents to
Life-Between-Lives Regression
For millennia mystics have accessed states of consciousness, spiritual understanding, and profound inner encounters with the Divine that were experienced or thought attainable by a rare few. For the majority, spirituality was consigned to prayer, reading from holy books, participation in religious services and ceremonies, and the hope that the afterlife would bring true and everlasting awakening. And yet, if we are all created in the same likeness, if we were apportioned a spark of divinity at the time of our creation, why is it that spiritual realization is assumed to be available only to a few, and not to the rest?
Perhaps 40 years ago it might have been difficult to find an acceptable answer to this question. But since that time much has changed. In 1977, Dr. Raymond Moody published the international best seller Life after Life which summarized his findings derived from hundreds of interviews with men and women who were revived following clinical death. His subjects repeatedly described experiences of being out-of-body, traveling through a dark tunnel to a place of great peace and tranquility, and an encounter with one or several brilliant beings of light whose very presence engendered feelings of indescribable love and comfort. Since then, largely due to advances in emergency medical intervention, tens of thousands of people have been pronounced clinically dead only to return to live and breathe again. Truly re-born, a significant percentage of these individuals retained conscious memory of their soul’s out-of-body experiences. Since Dr. Moody’s landmark findings other researchers such as Drs. Kenneth Ring, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, and Gary Schwartz have also made important contributions to further understand the Near-Death Experience (NDE).
Another approach to the study of our own multi-dimensional nature has been advanced through practitioners of Out-of-Body Exploration (OBE). Robert Monroe, in his first book (Journeys out of the Body, 1971) recorded his own OBEs over three decades, providing further details about the far reaches of human consciousness. He later founded The Monroe Institute which dedicated itself to education, exploration, and research into practical methods of expanding consciousness into realms beyond the physical creation. Others researchers such as William Buhlman, Robert Peterson, and Charles Tart have offered additional theory and methods of how practitioners can accomplish self-initiated OBEs.
Paralleling these developments are the contributions made by hypnotherapists who specialized in Past Life Regression (PLR) such as Drs. Dick Stephen, Hazel Denning, Winifred Lucas, Helen Wambach, Edith Fiore, Joel Whitton, and Roger Woolger. Perhaps the most well known of these pioneers is Dr. Brian Weiss who, in 1988, published Many Lives, Many Masters. The technique these hypnotherapists utilized, Hypnotic Regression, can be likened to a type of “psychological archaeology” that may be applied to cut vertically through time or horizontally through “layers” of consciousness” to promote within clients a deeper, more complete understanding of themselves as spiritual beings engaged in a physical experience. Hypnotic Regression permits access to memories that are not limited to the brief span of time that consciousness has occupied the present physical body. These include remembrance of past lives lived and of the experiences and lessons accrued in what has been termed “Between Life” states.
Regression to Life-Between-Lives (LBL) is a technique developed by Dr. Michael Newton and is described in his books, Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls. These books summarize Dr. Newton’s findings with clients who have been hypnotized into a super-conscious state where it is possible to “see” into the spirit world. Based upon his hypnotic regressions with over 7,000 LBL clients, Dr. Newton has described a realm of spirit which is consistent with, yet far more elaborated, than that found in the NDE and OBE literature. His writings are among the most significant, in terms of both the depth and inspiration, of any you will find in the metaphysical and spiritual literature regarding the Path of the Soul and life after death. Dr. Newton writes in the Conclusions to Journey of Souls, “To those readers who find the material offered in this book too unprecedented to accept, I would hope for one thing. If you carry away nothing except the idea you have a permanent identity worth finding, I will have accomplished a great deal.”
The Way of The Soul:
A Description Based Upon
Reports of LBL Clients
1. The soul cannot be defined because it has no limits that are perceived about its creation. The most consistent reports of its demonstrated essence are that the soul represents intelligent energy which is immortal and manifested by vibration waves of light and color.
2. All human beings have one soul that remains attached to its chosen physical body until death. Souls play a part in the selection of their next physical body during their reincarnation cycles. The soul typically joins its physical body after conception between the fourth month and birth.
3. Each soul has a unique immortal character. When joined with the human brain this character is melded with the emotional temperament, or human ego, of that brain to produce one personality for one lifetime.
4. Souls reincarnate with human beings for countless lifetimes to advance through levels of development by addressing karmic tasks from former lifetimes. Souls grow in knowledge and wisdom through this learning process while pondering their thoughts and deeds in past lives with peers under the direction of teachers.
5. At the moment of physical death the soul returns to the spirit world, the source of its creation. Since part of a soul’s energy essence has never left the spirit world during incarnation, the returning soul rejoins with that essence of itself. This, spiritual learning never ceases for the soul. The spirit world also offers souls the opportunity for rest and reflection between lives.
6. Souls appear to be members of specific spirit cluster groups to whom they have been assigned since their creation. The teachers of each group are the personal spirit guides of members of that group. Members of these groups reincarnate with the soul and assume meaningful roles during a soul’s life on earth.
7. Rather than being defined as a place of ultimate non-action, or Nirvana, the spirit world appears to be a space of soul transition into higher forms of energy with capabilities for creation with advancement. The spirit world has an area of influence which is undefined except that it includes our universe and nearby dimensions.
8. No earthly religious deities are seen in the spirit world by returning souls. A soul’s closest connection with the divine is with their personal spirit guide and members of a council of benevolent counselors who monitor the affairs of each soul. Souls from earth feel and sense the presence of a God-like Oversoul or Source emanating from above their counselors. The spirit world is composed of highly advanced non-reincarnating soul specialists who regulate the work of advancement for the souls in their care.
9. When incarnating souls develop to a high level of experience, performance and wisdom they will cease to incarnate and become advanced beings themselves who assist the still-incarnating souls.
10. The ultimate goal of all souls appears to be the desire to seek perfection and conjoin with the Source that created them.<
Experiencing Hypnotic Regression to the Life between Lives
Hypnotic Regression to Life-Between-Lives (LBL) requires deep trance work and sessions last 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Most individuals are fully capable of the necessary level of trance. You may be surprised how quickly your session is completed; when in trance, time becomes very elastic and non-linear. You may choose to read Dr. Newton’s books in advance of your session, but this is not required.
The length of an LBL session permits enough time for the collection of relevant background information and a discussion about the technique prior to induction into the trance state. Hypnosis is not something that another person does to you without your cooperation; it is a collaborative effort. Therefore, it is essential that your mind is satisfied concerning the safety of the procedure with no nagging, lingering unanswered questions remaining prior to beginning.
People who are already familiar with trance tend to enter into the hypnotic state more rapidly and with greater depth than those encountering this altered state of consciousness for the first time. For this reason, before attempting a LBL session, it is highly recommended that prospective clients first experience at least one session of hypnosis, preferably Past Life Regression (PLR), with a qualified hypnotherapist. For those that must travel some distance to work with a certified LBL therapist, it may be possible to schedule PLR session with that hypnosis practitioner the day prior to the LBL appointment.
Some have asked whether conscious entry into the spirit world through LBL can result in making our physical existence appear overly mundane and uninteresting. Without exception, our experience has been just the reverse. During the LBL session individuals derive an enhanced understanding of why they have taken birth, why they have had to face the challenges that have arisen during the course of life, and what needs of their soul are being fulfilled in passing through these experiences. Through an encounter with one’s “Council of Elders” and a visitation to what some have termed “The Place of Life Selection” it is understood (through experience, not blind belief) that our present human incarnation, like those which preceded it, is a precious opportunity for spiritual evolution. As a result, people return to wakeful consciousness with a deeper commitment to live out their “soul’s contract” or life’s purpose. The precious opportunity for spiritual evolution in our life can now be met with excitement and understanding.
Shahid Siddique