Customer Reviews

Regression: Past-life Therapy for Here and Now Freedom

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an excellent book mainly because it offers a real structure to help with understanding the sometimes confusing crisis-oriented experiences that are revealed as the result of past-life regression.

To begin with, the book presents a more-or-less standard account of the overall pattern and structure of the multi-life experiences of the personal self. It differs in the provision of a structural analysis that can be applied to situations faced by many "ordinary" people when first becoming aware of the phenomenon and mystery of "past-lives". "Samskara" is an important Sanskrit term in Hindu philosophy. Samscaras are the result of large emotional and ethical checks received by individuals in the course of their lives. As such they represent deep emotional scars of such intensity that they generate commanding surface "desires" in the "normal" everyday waking personality. These desires in turn become the basis for the elaboration of choices, choices which affect current lives. When such choices fail to yield personal satisfaction, the resulting yearning and sorrow may drive selection of a future life. In aggregate, samskaras may be thought of as an endless progression of waves(of all sizes)moving across an infinite sea representing the personal self, the ego.

Here is an example of a samskara, from my own experience (in this life): when I was four my father invited me to launch myself across a deep pool in a small stream to where he was standing on the other side. I could not swim at that stage and I was afraid but my father insisted that he would catch me, before I sank, in the event that I might fail to make it to his side. With this assurance, I launched out but sadly floundered. It seemed to me that I nearly drowned, seeing the small bubbles above my face, before my father pulled me out of the water. My mother remonstrated with him but my father said I was in no danger and in retrospect obviously I wasn't. My father taught me to swim thereafter but for many years I had a huge problem with trust - I felt I had failed myself by extending trust so I did not easily do it again. I happily dissolved the scar representing this samskara (actually a little ripple)before my father died but it did affect my relationships for a long time before I removed it.

Almost any life, past or present, will yield such scars. Some huge and deep waves stir and batter the soul to its depths and other little ones barely ruffle the surface. Regression to a past-life will usually face turbulance from the wave most closely associated with a "current-life" concern. The Isis technique advocated in this book allows this conjunction to be directly experienced.

The waves are infinite in number and one often wonders what can be done to calm this endless sea. This book provides a technique that actually works very effectivly in the identification of such spiritual traumas and helps with "rooting-out" the cause. Following removal of the 6-10 most significant samscaras the way will be opened for persons to directly experience the higher self. A most useful book, highly recommended 10 stars!The Journey To Enlightenment

Wow! This book really takes Regression to another level...

The Regression work itself is a vehicle for an energy to work with you so that deeply embedded psychological imprints and patterns can be discharged at the very source of when they began. The result is de-conditioning bad habits, behavioural patterns and reactions.

The case studies outlined in the book illustrate clearly what the process of ISIS - Inner Space Interactive Sourcing, can reveal to people.

I have worked with the ISIS technique that is outlined in the book with the professionals from the Clairvision School, and it is definitely the most powerful work on self-development that I have ever done. I have seen in myself emotional patterns that have been nagging at me for my whole life as well as physical health problems, just fade away.

A must read for those doing serious meditation or self-development work...

This is a thin book, fast read, but one that you may end up rereading simply to help absorb all that is there. Other books by Sagan outline processes and techniques to try for yourself, but Regression is more about tying together loose theories about samskaras. Although clearly written, the book speaks more to an audience that has some knowledge or experience with ISIS or other form of regression, without which, the reader is just intrigued but not awe-struck. I feel it's a great book, one that has helped connect a few dots after traversing different meditation styles which left gaping holes in the manas/mind discussion.

First, Dr. Sagan's approach to past life problems is doubtless very effective. He places a metaphysical twist on it by using names from Hindu teaching and mysticism, some of which I see as potentially useful in clarifying concepts. He spends an inordinate time digressing into the effect of "samskaras" upon meditation, helpful if your suffering client is involved with extensive hours of meditation, but otherwise simply a time-consuming digression.

One of my concerns is that Dr. Sagan seems to believe that (1) most people experiencing regression (other than with him or his students) come away believing they are some king or princess; and (2)exploration of past lives is a useless parlor game if undertaken for other than healing of "samskaras". With Dr. Sagan, I abhor charletans who would inform people they were Cleopatra or Napoleon. However, in my practice, I have found no one who believed they were royalty/persons of note, and most of the lives encountered were very plebian--farmers, slaves, and the like. While healing of past life wounds is, of course, the primary goal of past life regression therapy, the self-knowledge which comes from simple exploration of past lives is not to be distained.

There are many compassionate and competent regression therapists doing invaluable work in healing the wounds and carryovers (yes, samskaras, if you will) from past lives, and there are many people living richer, healthier lives as a result. There are a number of excellent, in depth books dealing with regression therapy and related issues that he doesn't touch on. I am saddened that Dr. Sagan seems to believe that only through his system can anyone achieve release. This is simply not true.

For the person wishing to study or do past life therapy, I recommend first IBRT (International Board for Regression Therapy) certified courses in past life therapy, plus extensive study and reading. There are a number of excellent resources. However, I cannot recommend this book as a starting point, or even a mid-point. Frankly, I have found that this book did not significantly contribute to my knowledge or practice. Regardless, if you are suffering from a problem which may have a past life root, I would urge you to seek out a competent past life regression therapist. If that is in Sydney, it may well be Dr. Sagan or his group.

Dr. Sagan provides an amazingly clear description of this material, probably one of the most easy to understand descriptions of samskara that I have read. The discussions distinguishing samskara from karma, as an example, gave great examples which helped distinguish the concepts for me. This was a great find!

This book earned one star for having made a couple interesting points. However, there is no progression or continuity in thought development, and the writing style demonstrates a fragmented, sporadic thinking process. This makes it extremely frustrating to try to follow along and make sense of what the author is trying to say. Like listening to a person who recognizes an interesting idea he doesn't fully understand, when he tries to explain it, the idea is rendered indefensible because he not capable of explaining it. The author introduces a topic, meanders away from it, and then draws conclusions! Because he jumps from one idea to another, he doesn't present cohesive ideas or clearly convey meanings. I'm amazed to see how many books he has to his credit. This one is superficial, if not artificial. It is a complete turn-off to anyone eager to learn more about regression therapy.