How do we learn and grow from difficulties in our lives instead of just suffering through them? Life can be hard, presenting us with a host of problems and unpleasant occurrences. However, if we remember that we are souls who have come to earth for specific reasons, we can see these challenges in a different light.
As souls, our true home is in the spirit world, a space of universal harmony, love, compassion, forgiveness, and peace. We can experience these things on earth as well, but in contrast, on earth there is also disharmony, conflict, strong emotions, injustice, and pain. Earth is a place where we have free will and the ability to create our own circumstances.
We incarnate on earth in a human body to learn and evolve spiritually, but a portion of our soul energy always remains in the spirit world. Through the self-improvement process of reincarnation, we can return to earth repeatedly to learn additional lessons on a journey to eventual enlightenment as souls.
Reincarnation means the soul returns to earth in a new body after death. It’s as if we are playing a different role in a new play. After our death in this new life, we return home to the spirit world to reflect on the life just lived, integrate the learning achieved, and in time, plan our next life on earth.
We can think of coming to live on earth as going away to school. Each of our lives are planned by us with supportive guidance from wise and kind beings who love us and want to help us. We do this while we are still at home in the spiritual realm, just as we would plan a class schedule. But the memory of what we wanted to learn, how we planned to do it, and why we planned to do so fades quickly once we have incarnated. We then come to identify strongly with our human body and believe our current life situation is all there is.
When we incarnate on earth, we bring with us all the experiences of our past lives and our spiritual experiences between lives. Any unresolved fear, sense of guilt, or physical affliction from a past life can be carried into a future life. Our souls retain all former karmic influences, and these forces impact our feelings and behaviors in our new lives. Karma is not meant to be punitive, but rather to balance the sum of our deeds in past lives to help us evolve spiritually. We can even carry past physical injuries into a new life as an unexplained pain, scar, or physical deformity.
As we live our lives on earth as incarnated souls, the experiences we planned for learning purposes unfold. The experiences may not occur exactly as planned. On earth, we have free will. We may not stick to the plan, and other incarnated souls whom we have recruited to play supporting roles in our lives might not either. Our memory of arranging events to help us evolve fades and we now see these occurrences as challenges, difficulties, or road blocks. The issues these experiences create can seem unfair and very troublesome.
We don’t come to earth alone. Each of us has kind, loving guidance from our spirit guides, angels, departed loved ones, and wise elders in the spirit world. We are also able to connect with our higher self, the portion of our soul energy that is always connected to our immortal self. Yet we may be unaware of all this potential assistance because we have amnesia. We agreed to forget so that we could fully engage in life on earth.
Life Between Lives Hypnotherapy
So, how do we access this hidden wisdom? While there are multiple methods to accomplish this, Life Between Lives hypnotherapy provides particularly insightful personal guidance for the individuals who experience it. This is because, during a Life Between Lives session, you are guided into a deep hypnotic trance, in which you experience yourself as an immortal soul, visiting the spirit world. You learn about your plan for your current incarnated life on earth, meet your spirit guide and teachers, reunite with your soul family and, possibly, with your departed loved ones.
Although you are in an altered state, you are fully aware. You can ask questions, as you have access to the wisdom of the spiritual realm. You might ask:
• What is behind the emotional or physical suffering I’m experiencing?
• How can I break the patterns in my life that don’t serve me?
• What are these difficult relationships trying to teach me?
• What happens after we die?
Answers will come to you during the session and, upon later reflection, you may become aware of even more helpful information. A Life Between Lives session generally lasts four to six hours and is a profound, life-changing experience.
Insights gained through a Life Between Lives session have a far-reaching effect on your life, allowing you to gain new perspectives on issues that may have been plaguing you for multiple lifetimes. This fresh perspective allows you to become “unstuck” and experience substantial spiritual growth.
Before scheduling a Life Between Lives session, you must experience a past-life regression. A past-life regression uses hypnotherapy to take you back in time to previous incarnations by accessing memories and experiences that are usually not available to you. By reexperiencing past incarnations, you can determine ways that your past is influencing your current life. Previous lives can leave imprints of emotional or physical wounds that can be healed during a regression. Experiencing past lives can also remind you of useful skills, special talents, knowledge, and character strengths that you possess. And a past-life regression can reveal information about soul contracts you have made with other souls, which can assist you in better understanding relationships in your current life.
The Life Between Lives process begins with preparation by you and the practitioner. The practitioner will get to know you and evaluate your readiness for the experience. You will also be asked to make a list of questions to which you would like to receive answers.
The Life Between Lives session will begin with a long, slow hypnotic induction that guides you to the brain wave pattern necessary to access the superconscious mind where soul memories are stored. Your physical body becomes so relaxed that it is almost suspended in time. Initially you will recall some pleasant childhood memories, as you experience yourself becoming younger and younger until you reach the womb of your mother. There you will have an opportunity to review your thoughts about the life to come and assess your mother’s feelings about your birth. At this point you are beginning to awaken to your soul identity.
As you travel back in time, you will visit a past life that is relevant to what you are seeking from the Life Between Lives experience. After discovering who you were, characteristics of your personality, and the circumstances and significant events of that life, you will be guided to the last day of that life. Then you will move through your death in that past life to allow you as a soul to transition naturally back to the spirit world. You will have an awareness of being dead and will likely see your body from above before leaving the earth realm.
As the practitioner guides you to move on, you will experience a sense of timelessness and a sense of gently being pulled or moving upward or into a tunnel. You may see a white light, or experience vivid colors, sounds, or visions. You will probably encounter and be able to communicate telepathically with beings of light. Often you are met by your primary spirit guide. These experiences are accompanied by feelings of unconditional love, peace, and joy.
It’s typical after passing through the gateway into the spiritual realm that you will spend time with your guide, receiving an orientation to the spiritual realm and discussing the life that you just lived. You will meet with your soul group and learn who in your current life is part of this group. This will be a joyous homecoming.
Your soul invests a variable amount of energy into each incarnation, and some of your soul energy remains in the spirit world. This means you can connect with members of your group even if they are incarnated.
Your guide may answer some of your questions and address some of the issues on your mind. You can also obtain further information by visiting the “library,” where you can review your life book. The life book is a record of all your soul’s incarnations. You can review experiences and challenges in past lives and perhaps even see small glimpses of the future. Further information about your current life and how you are progressing will be available during a visit to the council of wise elders. While you are with the council, you may also receive answers to some of the questions you prepared.
If you have not already received the answers you were seeking, you may visit the place of life selection. Here you can learn about your purpose and plans you made for your current lifetime. You can review your choices about where you will incarnate, the body you select, who you will be, and what other souls you will incarnate with—parents, siblings, mates, and others who are significant in your life.
Other experiences you may have during a Life Between Lives session include visiting learning centers and classrooms, as well as areas of rest and healing in the spirit world. You might also learn about activities and specializations you are engaged in during your life in the spirit world. Perhaps you will join in recreation or even travel with your soul group. You may be able to reunite with lost loved ones. Possibly you will reunite with a soul who has hurt you, presenting you with an opportunity for healing. Often you are given assistance with forming a closer connection with your higher self and communicating with your guides.
Reports reveal that individuals who experience a Life Between Lives session receive many benefits and often encounter profound healing. Some things you may experience include the following:
• elimination of your fear of death
• a new perspective on your life’s challenges
• new insights into your current relationships
• a changed view of the nature of reality
• transformation of your beliefs and values
• healing of your interpersonal wounds
These results are often life-changing. When we strive to understand and cope more successfully with difficult situations in our lives, we not only accelerate our spiritual growth, but can make our life on earth easier and more joyful.
The Newton Institute
The method used in the Life Between Lives sessions in this book was developed by Dr. Michael Newton through his thousands of regressions during twenty-five years in practice. During this time, Dr. Newton mapped out the spiritual realm and developed a method to allow clients to access it. In 2000, Dr. Newton began training other therapists to conduct these sessions and formed a small society to support the work. As the work expanded, this early organization became the Newton Institute in 2005. The organization now includes over 200 members worldwide. As of 2018, it is estimated that over 50,000 Life Between Lives sessions have been conducted by members in forty different countries, in fourteen different languages.
If you are unfamiliar with life between lives, you may wish to read Llewellyn’s Little Book of Life Between Lives (2018), by the authors of this book. This is a concise, updated description of the process, with new case studies. You may also wish to refer to an earlier Newton Institute book, edited by Dr. Newton, with case studies from Newton Institute members, Memories of the Afterlife (2010). Dr. Newton’s other three books were Journey of Souls (1994), Destiny of Souls (2001), and Life Between Lives Hypnotherapy (2004). You may also be interested in subscribing to the Newton Institute’s online journal, Stories of the Afterlife, to explore new cases and learn more about research into the afterlife.
Life Between Lives is a term originated by Dr. Newton and copyrighted by the Newton Institute. A Newton Institute member is a well-trained, certified Life Between Lives practitioner who follows a strict code of ethics. You can locate a Life Between Lives practitioner by checking the listing at http://www.newtoninstitute.org.
What Is Included in This Book
Although the advice given during a Life Between Lives session is personal, it commonly involves situations that we all experience in our lives. Thus, the insights and wisdom received during a session can often help many of us through life challenges. This book presents a compilation of wise advice received by clients of Newton Institute practitioners, all of whom lovingly agreed to share their experiences to assist others facing similar life challenges. You might find that some of the cases and experiences of others resonate with you and allow you to view your own situation differently.
In chapter One you will meet individuals who have serious health problems. Caring for and maintaining the health of a human body is an experience that is unique to an earth incarnation. Health problems provide multiple opportunities for growth. The cases included do not provide medical advice, but rather guidance to help us advance spiritually. Another unique aspect of life on earth is coping with conflict, fear, and strong emotions. Souls acclimated to the unconditional love, forgiveness, and harmony of the spirit world may find adjusting to earth life difficult. In chapter Two, cases of depression and anxiety are covered.
Healing from loss is presented in chapter Three. Surviving the loss of a loved one is one of life’s hardest ordeals. For those who view death as the end, despair and hopelessness can set in. Here you will find wise advice for mourning.
On earth, the relationships we have with others offer many opportunities for evolving spiritually. We can give and receive love. Romantic relationships can bring happiness, but also can be very vexing. Chapters Four and Five present cases involving difficulties with romantic relationships.
Cases involving family conflict are covered in chapter Six. Such conflicts can be very painful and affect us for long periods of time. Wisdom on nurturing relationships is included in the cases in chapter Seven. Through relationships, we learn to help others and to forgive. Relationships bring us joy and fulfillment and can also offer us some of our most valuable lessons.
When, as souls, we incarnate on earth, we are faced with the responsibility of finding a way to support ourselves and our families. Facing work difficulties or a lack of money can produce powerful learning. Advice given on work, money, and balancing career and financial responsibilities with family responsibilities is included the cases in chapter Eight.
In chapter Nine, cases involving harmful habits and addictions are presented. Addictive behaviors have become a major issue in our time. While the results of this behavior can be quite destructive, we learn that wisdom and spiritual assistance is available to help us move beyond the addiction and evolve spiritually.
Experiencing a situation in which you come very close to death can trigger powerful transformation and healing. In chapter Ten, cases of violent encounters and some examples of near-death experiences are explored. Situations in which individuals are coping with aging and impending death are covered in chapter Eleven. Youth is highly valued in many parts of the world, and large numbers of us are not adequately prepared for the challenges that growing older will bring. This time in our lives offers us an opportunity to reflect and integrate the experiences of our life, consolidating our learning. The cases presented are not meant to comprehensively cover the issues addressed, but rather to provide examples of healing spiritual guidance.
Every life adds to our collective store of soul wisdom. Between incarnations, our guides and the wise beings that we encounter help us make sense of life’s greatest challenges. They show us how to navigate our relationships with friends, family, and lovers, how to overcome illness, financial problems, and addictions. Most importantly, they draw aside the veil and reveal the most powerful secret of all: that death is not the end, but simply another step in the great dance of the soul. Thanks to the generosity of our clients and the talent of our practitioners, we share this emerging wisdom with you. On every page, you will find the courage and the insights you need to guide you on your soul’s journey.