WofS

Foreword

You will have already seen the Dedication and the beautiful words that echo the thoughts of all of us at the Newton Institute regarding Michael and his legacy for humanity.

It seems fitting that I would write these words on what would have been Michael’s eighty-seventh birthday. History records his passing in 2016, though we still feel him around, encouraging and supporting his life’s work as we continue what he started.

When Dr. Ann Clark first put forward the idea for Wisdom of Souls, it is like a path cleared for the idea to become a full-blown project in a time frame so rarely seen. The pace at which all of this happened showed us that there was an energy behind this book, greater than us.

What this book encapsulates is spiritual wisdom for the challenges we find in human form. This had always been Michael’s dream, that we could look at the problems of the world through the higher ideals that the spiritual realm offers us, to bring changed mindsets and spiritual knowing to life on earth. This book echoes what he wanted, and we believe it is a fitting tribute.

In Michael’s own words, articulated so beautifully to the members of our Institute in 2011:

For spiritual unity to take place we cannot depend on the methods of current religious practices on the one hand, or science on the other to bring answers to the great mystery of life. Our organization is pledged to offer a new way with enlightenment springing from the mind of each, regardless of their prior institutional belief system or lack of it. In the complex world of the twenty-first century, people need the conviction more than ever that a divine universal consciousness exists within a pure spiritual order.

They must discover this principle within their own minds for real conviction to take place. Eventually, if enough people come to this realization through our efforts, there will hopefully be a lessening of external conflict in our struggle for survival.

The ethical compass of humanity would have a stronger meaning since it would come from personal enlightenment.

We always saw Michael as a visionary, though we saw him also as humble and humorous. He had a wonderful smile and a booming laugh. He could have a class in hysterics with a funny story and move them to tears moments later. He was all this and more, though there is one powerful role he played more than anything else. He was an ambassador for the spiritual realm of the greatest possible magnitude, and he opened the door for us to commune with our own souls, to access our own immortal wisdom in human form, forged from our deepest and most profound authenticity.

Those of us who knew him will tell you the small things about him. We will tell you that he loved to walk in the mountains so he could be in nature. We will tell you that he had huge crystals the size of a man’s head in the garden of his house in California. We will tell you that integrity was everything for him and that he was an old-fashioned “man of his word.” We will tell you that he had a favourite pen that he signed books with. We will tell you that with all the correspondence he had received from readers over the years, he answered much of it personally and he kept a small folder at home with some of the letters that had moved him most, so on occasion he could read them and remember the importance of his work.

We will also tell you that after so many decades of marriage to his wonderful wife Peggy, when he spoke of her as his partner in life, his wise counselor and his rock, that his eyes would light up and his voice would fill with love.

Michael Newton is one of the most important spiritual researchers the world has ever known. He has touched the hearts and minds of millions of people who never had the chance to meet him. This book contains the echoes of what he started, and his contribution lives on in us.

We are his ripple effect, and we hope you enjoy Wisdom of Souls.

Peter Smith

Director, Michael Newton Legacy

Michael Newton Institute

December 9, 2018