Truth, it is frequently said, is stranger than fiction. Few books have made the case more persuasively than this one. About fifty years ago a great master of yoga declared that Abraham Lincoln had been an advanced yogi in a previous life, and that he reincarnated as Charles Lindbergh. Richard Salva saw in this statement a mystery as fascinating as any our best novelists could dream up. In this book he delves into all that s known about these two celebrated men, and unearths a remarkable array of similarities between them. The psychological portraits he draws will be controversial, but they re creatively argued, and well defended. Mr. Salva has produced a most unusual and thought-provoking book, and has succeeded admirably in his effort to present the material in such a way that the reader can draw his own conclusions.
I think this book deserves to become a classic. --Swami Kriyananda, author of Conversations with Yogananda
Abraham Lincoln was an advanced Himalayan yogi in a past life, and he reincarnated as Charles Lindbergh--this statement is attributed to the great yogi Paramahansa Yogananda. In Soul Journey, Richard Salva inquires into this possibility by taking a close look at Lincoln and Lindbergh and comparing many dimensions and details of their lives. Episode by episode, through their ideas, words, points of view, behavior, character, adventures, ambitions and accomplishments, the author builds a compelling case study. His presentation, far beyond the realm of coincidence or superficial likeness, supports the phenomenon of reincarnation as well as the validity of this particular instance. The details of the life stories of Lincoln and Lindbergh are fascinating in themselves and gain additional interest from the mystery of their possible life-to-life connection.
Part Two of the book presents the basic components of yoga and the ways in which these can be related to the great emancipator and the dashing aviator. Drawing from the eight stages of yoga enunciated by the sage Patanjali, the author relates each stage to intimate details of the two lives. In the process, readers learn a good deal about yoga, yogis, karma and reincarnation. Overall, the book takes its place as a fascinating study of reincarnation, the exhaustion of karma and the transformation of the human being. --Marianne Martin, assistant editor of Light of Consciousness magazine
What happens to us when we die? Does our consciousness simply snuff out, or is there more to life after life is finished?
Soul Journey from Lincoln to Lindbergh is a book about reincarnation, using a unique theory: that Abraham Lincoln might have reincarnated as Charles Lindbergh.
While at first glance one might have reservations about such a radical idea, author Richard Salva painstakingly and exhaustively takes the reader on a spiritual adventure, comparing the lives of the president and the famous flyer, and makes a very strong, convincing argument in favor of his theory, in terms of life events, similar thought processes and reactions to life experiences, and even similarity of names. The theory behind the book was inspired by the words of yoga master Paramhansa Yogananda.
Point by point, Salva, an author and minister, brings up parallel scenes from the lives of Lincoln and Lindbergh. In a very convincing chapter, Salva compares the two great men's ladies: Lincoln's Ann Rutledge, who died before they could be married, and Lindbergh's Anne Morrow: each was a delicate beauty with dark hair and blue eyes, each petite at five foot-two, each woman twenty-two to the suitor's twenty-six. Salva discusses how the disappointment of Rutledge's death and the following, less-than-happy marriage to the emotionally unstable Mary Todd Lincoln, might have found its fulfilment in the happier, more stable marriage of Lindbergh and Anne Morrow.
Certainly the whole cycle of reincarnation as it applies to the rest of us is addressed in a brilliant way. Comparing the lives of Lincoln and Lindbergh is a marvelously educational model of the theory of reincarnation at work. Salva discusses how a soul may not necessarily incrementally improve in each lifetime, but may slip back a bit here and there, like a line on a 'reasonably successful business's financial chart.' He describes the life of Charles Lindbergh as 'Lincoln on vacation.' Fascinating glimpses of the spiritual lives of these men emerge, and the gift of the author is to make the reader feel as if he knows these great men intimately. At one point, the author offers a comparison of a quote of Lincoln's 'The world shall know that I keep my faith to my friends and enemies, come what will,' as a heartrending parallel to Lindbergh's refusal to use marked bills in order to keep faith with his son's kidnappers.
The author offers so many fascinating ideas and aspects of the two men's lives that the reader will probably want to continue investigating on his or her own. Salva has included a bibliography of source material just in case the reader chooses to do just that.
Even those who do not subscribe to the idea of reincarnation will find the book most rewarding for the extensive historical work that Salva has achieved. Historians as well as those on a spiritual path will enjoy and learn from this fascinating, consciousness-expanding book. --Kathleen Youmans, reviewer for Foreword Clarion Reviews
One of every five Americans today believes in reincarnation—yet few are aware of how past-life patterns affect their character, personality, and the events of their daily lives. Soul Journey from Lincoln to Lindbergh fills this gap, by drawing hundreds of clear and persuasive parallels between the lives of two American heroes.
This is the first in-depth study of reincarnation based on the lives of actual, historic figures. The reader is not asked to take the author's word for what he has written, but can feel free to verify the information in books found in most public libraries.
Soul Journey from Lincoln to Lindbergh sets a new trend in past-life studies and, in the words of Swami Kriyananda, direct disciple and spiritual heir of Paramhansa Yogananda, "deserves to become a classic."
