The
progression of the soul after death is a mystery that has been
contemplated since ancient times. In Destiny of Souls, Dr. Michael
Newton shares his work with and case studies of past life regressions
to reveal the spiritual realm beyond death.
Dr. Newton holds a doctorate in
Counseling Psychology, is a certified Master Hypnotherapist and is a
member of the American Counseling Association. He describes himself as
a traditional hypnotherapist who was initially skeptical about the use
of hypnosis for metaphysical regression. He subsequently stumbled upon
past life regressions in his practice and over the years embarked upon
a path of research which enabled him to construct a model of the spirit
world and its processes.
In this book Dr. Newton gives us
a view of the afterlife as an orderly and loving place of regeneration,
learning and progress in-between incarnations. His case studies review
the process the soul goes through after death beginning with some of
the therapeutic techniques recently departed souls use to aid the
grieving processes of the living left behind. He also explores the
concepts of Angels or Heavenly Hosts, Spirit Guides, ghosts, and nature
spirits as reported in his regression sessions with clients and their
relations to the myths and legends of Earth.
He goes on to explore and
describe the process souls go through to recover from their
incarnations before they are able to rejoin their collective soul
groups. His subjects describe the greater soul community extensively
as a loving and orderly place/existence where souls are guided to learn
from their past lives so that they may be enabled to move on to new
incarnations and so learn new lessons.
He gives in great detail
descriptions of the progression of levels souls go through on their way
towards growth and enlightenment, their access to their Akashic
records, aura color associations and much more. In like manner, Dr.
Newtons case studies also describe the evaluation process a soul
encounters, as well as the appearance and composition of the Elder
beings, which evaluate it. Some of his more interesting studies cover
the idea of soul-mates as well as groups of souls that incarnate
together over and over.
I found much of Dr. Newtons book
to be quite interesting, however, some of the case studies became
rather tedious, especially as similar information is often repeated.
Despite the many excerpts from his case studies, his overall message is
one of hope in that as we grow in awareness of the true meaning of
perfection, so too will the quality of existence expand to encompass
that awareness.
I would recommend this book
especially to the reader who is engaged in pursuing some of the more
contemplative questions of the meaning of life and death. Whether or
not you accept Dr. Newtons view of life after death, he does bring up
stimulating theological and ethical issues which engage the reader in
deeper thought.