Customer Reviews

Past Lives Therapy

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"Almost every therapy assumes that traumas from the past are influential in the present. This book reveals that Past Lives Therapy differs from traditional therapies because of how far back it goes. Without the use of hypnosis, and without requiring the patient's belief in reincarnation, Dr. Netherton probes the unconscious mind and unleashes a flood of traumatic events that go back beyond childhood, beyond the prenatal and birth periods, and into a past life." -- from the dustjacket

Most past lives therapists and other past lives researchers rely on hypnosis. Morris Netherton doesn't, and AFAIK he doesn't particularly approve of the use of hypnosis in past lives therapy. His book remains my favorite, but it is not in print. Any used book search engine will turn up multiple copies of the book however. That said, some of the books are not about past life recall per se.

In 1984 I spoke with Netherton in person regarding his book, and at that time he'd indicated that second book was in the offing. This second title never materialized. I have a feeling that despite its journey from hardcover (that's the ISBN given above, I no longer have my paperback version) to paperback, the first book wasn't that great a seller, and his publisher decided it would lose money in an environment where a dozen or more titles on the same subject were available or soon to be.

The AAPL, an organization founded by Dr. Netherton, has a website that indicates the impending publication of a series of four new books, possibly more suitable for therapists.

Regardless, this book is highly recommended, and there should be little trouble finding a used copy.

Recently I've been reading every book on past lives that I can get my hands on and this one, which I checked out from the library since it was published in 1978, is one of the best. It shows, very graphically and explicitly, how a past life trauma can be triggered in the early stages of the present life and how this can affect the patient adversely. Each chapter in the book is devoted to a symptom, e.g. alcoholism, impotence. Dr. Netherton states that the past lives reported on in the book are negative since the patients who came to him had serious problems and had been triggered by traumatic events, vs. happy people who would most likely have positive and happy past lives. I found this book to be amazing in how precisely he isolated the specific past lives that were causing the problems then was able to pinpoint the moment of the trigger, usually caused in birth, like some oddly distressing condition in the birth, an odd event, which the patient was able to recall vividly. His method for releasing the pattern is to have the patient repeat the troubling phrases over and over again, until they lose their significance.

Facinating book, definitely in the top 5 of the dozens that I've read.

I came upon this book just by chance, or maybe not? The case studies are fascinating. What amazes me is that all this can be done without being hypnotized, that all this information is at our fingertips. I would highly recommend this book to anyone searching for answers to ailments or problems that seem to come from nowhere.

Dr. Netherton has taken a different approach to past lives therapy than most therapists, in that he does not use ordinary hypnosis in working with patients, but rather uses a combination of relaxation and relaying what comes to mind. It appears, from his book and other sources, to be extremely effective. It is also apparent that some of his patients achieve a hypnotic state during the therapy session. The very reading of this book becomes a good tutorial in his technique. The only reservation is his segment on the period between lives. This period is evidentally not clearly accessed with his technique, and he has, to a large degree, shunned such explorations. Since his aim is to help the individual with his/her problems, this is understandable. Also, his book was written in 1978, much earlier than many works on the subject. I am left considering that there are pros and cons for both the Netherton technique and the more common hyponotic technique(s). Incidentally, if one is interested in inter-life research, I heartly recommend Dr. Newton's works: "Journey of Souls" and "Destiny of Souls". These treat with material which clearly requires a deep level of hypnosis to access and for which the Netherton technique is not designed. On the whole, I strongly recommnd Dr. Netherton's work to anyone interested in past life therapy or planning to provide this type of therapy.

Morris Netherton, MD, is a pioneer in the relatively new profession of medical practitioners who have learned the value of taking their patients/clients into the realm of the "unconscious" when the painful symptoms they have been suffering from - sometimes throughout their lives - refuse to abate as a result of more conventional therapies.
Netherton's book is so clearly and simply written that it leaves no doubt in the reader's mind that he has been able to make the break-throughs he describes through varying levels of regression work. It is to be hoped that his valuable book will soon see the light of day once more by being newly re-edited by some enterprising publisher!

This book was written back in 1978 so it was hard to find. I was thrilled to find a good condition used copy here on Amazon and am very happy with the service and book received.