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Here and Hereafter

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Ruth Montgomery (RM) wrote this book in 1968 after she became efficient in automatic writing which her Guides dictated. The Guides claimed to be from the other side. They helped her with the construction of this book which is written on the basis that we are the sum total of all our experiences including our past lives. The philosophy of reincarnation believes that with each thought, word and deed we are building the person we will be in future lifetimes.
The book is filled with skeptics and believers who relieved their past lives like Dr. Stanley Krippner, Dr. Kelsey and Joan Grant, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, David Hume, Henry Ford, Harry Houdini and a horde of other famous and not so famous individuals.
Hugh Lynn, the son of Edgar Cayce, recalls an experience he had during WWII when he moved through an Austrian village as a soldier. While he was drinking beer, he noticed a bridge and an old structure of a building that reminded him of the times during the crusades. He saw himself desert his wife and young child to follow the crusaders to liberate Jerusalem. Then forward a few hundred years when he was drafted and forced to leave his wife and young son with whom he longed to be. He drew the conclusion this might be a circle come full turn which settled a karmic debt. The reader will get the gist of this episode better when reading the whole book.
The Guides assured RM that servicemen who kill the enemy of their country in the name of man-made laws for which they have no lust or liking, are not responsible for their acts as long as they do not go beyond the call of their duty relishing the slaying. The intent breeds the sin not the act itself.
Bill & Judy Guggenheim wrote a book "Hello from heaven!" where the same rules shine through. At least that is the impression I got when reading the book. By the way RM and Bill Guggenheim both have Swiss roots.
Edgar Cayce, the famous Kentuckian psychic, has a prominent
place in this book. He gave hundreds of physical readings (diagnostic and healing) and life readings. He tapped two sources while half asleep. One was the subject's subconscious which remembers all acts. The other was the collective unconscious or akashic records on which are written all deeds and thoughts since the beginning of mankind. With some practice, apparently, everyone can tap these two reservoirs and view their past lives.
Edgar Cayce's remarks about group karma are also worth mentioning. This is the tendency for certain souls to be drawn closely together like a close-knit family where everyone knew each other in various relationships during several previous reincarnations. He stressed repeatedly unless we are willing to be linked in lifetime after lifetime with person(s) we dislike we should work ar solving the animosity which forges that bond.
If nothing else, reading this book might make you a better person. Who knows, maybe the principles explored by RM might have a basis of truth. Your guess is as good as mine.

I was already a high school drama teacher when the 70s began. I thought I knew myself and the world around me. Then I happened to hear about reincarnation and karma. When I asked a friend, he introduced me to Ruth Montgomery. "Here and Hereafter" was the first book I read on these subjects, but not the last. All these years later, it is a delight to return to this writer and her revelations. It is as meaningful now as it was over 30 years ago. I can only hope that someone will glance at this review and decide to give Ruth Montgomery an opportunity to introduce her or him to a deeper view of life.

So I guess Groundhog Day is really a documentary. The book provides compelling evidence to support reincarnation.

Ruth Montgomery takes you through actual past life regression hypnosis sessions and what the people said, readings from psychics on people's past lives, and the readings of Edgar Cayce in both medical diagnosis and past life analysis to explain the subject's relationships with others and why certain events happened in their lives.

The author also showed patterns, like people who died violently or suffered greatly had hurt people in previous lives.

Some interesting occurrences that arose out of the regressions were the extreme level of detail the subjects were able to remember and how intense their emotions were during the recall.

All the regressions were interesting, but the children who had total recall of previous lives which was verified beyond any doubt by trips to visit their prior life relations was the best.

An excellent, timeless book.

This is a great book that will get you thinking about how you live your life in the present time on earth and how it could affect how things go for you in the here after. Worth reading I could not put it down.

I have read several Ruth Montgomery's books. The other ones that I read were based on automatic writing from her guides. This one, written in 1968, is a collection of evidence of reincarnation.

The personal experience and third party accounts of memories of reincarnation Ruth provides a collection of accounts for your consideration. If you are interested in a more scientific view the papers and books by Ian Stevenson may be more up your line.

If you are interested in more of the personal stories, Children That Time Forgot, is a nice read with a British flavor.

This book is along those lines with a significant nod to Edgar Cayce and others. This book also should provide evidence to historians working on the evolution of the acceptance of reincarnation in western societies. I found it interesting, but have other favorites on this subject.

Enjoy the read.

The Time is Now Approaching

After reading Ruth Montgomery's book, I would say it is an excellent book. Here and Hereafter by Ruth Montgomery (Paperback - Mar 1, 1995). Ms Montgomery's evidence is very convincing. Plus, she supports her points adequately.
Her main purpose is to define a problem or identified a cause. She does argue a theory about a particular phenomenon.

Some people might be aware that the year 2012 is approaching us very soon. I have read that the earth will experience a polar shift.

This theory has been endorsed by Albert Einstein, in which the poles, aided by massive ice buildup, are eventually thrown by centrifugal force to the equator.

Read the book! Reviews of this book should evaluate what kind of evidence Ms Montgomery uses to support her scholarly claims. How valid the evidence seems. How expert Ms Montgomery's book contributes to the knowledge of December 21, 2012.

Dr Ponchita Lopez
Las Vegas, NV