Review: Journey Of Souls By Michael Newton

38 Responses to “Review: Journey Of Souls By Michael Newton”

1. Anthony Lawrence on January 20th, 2009 9:41 am
   

   I’d have a lot more questions than that

   I don’t believe in such things. Death is simply the end of “you”. There’s no soul, no afterlife.

   I understand people’s fear and need to believe such things and if it truly comforts you and makes your life better I wouldn’t want to take that away from you. On the other hand, this forlorn hope for something that is NOT going to happen makes some people miss out on the real life they could have and I hate seeing that.

   If you want to believe this stuff, fine. But don’t miss out on the here and now.
2. akemi on January 20th, 2009 2:00 pm
   

   Hi Tony,
   I absolutely agree with you that we are best to live fully here and now. Religions have abused the idea of soul and afterlife for their own benefits, and it’s a shame. However, I don’t endorse the idea of soul’s life beyond this one we are in for the purpose of putting off something. I think, on the contrary, it encourages us.
   And I don’t think you can prove the non-existence of soul just as much as you can’t prove the existence of it.
3. Anthony Lawrence on January 20th, 2009 2:08 pm
   

   Of course you can never “prove” such things. I can’t prove that invisible pink unicorns who will get angry if I don’t mention them weekly don’t exist either.. but you’d agree that’s a fairly ridiculous thing to believe in.

   There is no scientific rationale for anything like a “soul”. If there is such a thing, then everything we know about physics is not only wrong, but completely off base. That, of course, could be true, but I rather doubt it.

   If you are encouraged by your beliefs, then that’s fine. I get worried when people put off happiness because they think it’s coming later. If that belief makes them joyful now, that’s great. Still foolish, but great.
4. akemi on January 20th, 2009 3:43 pm
   

   Tony,
   I’m enjoying this conversation! After all, you are spending your precious and expensive time to comment on me ^_^

   When Galileo said the Earth is moving, most people, including the best educated people of his time, ridiculed or condemned him. He nonetheless changed our understanding of this world. Einstein did it again, extending our understanding of physics.

   I don’t think our current understanding of science is wrong; I just think it is incomplete.

   And while I don’t mind someone not believing in the soul (their denial does no harm to me nor to my business), I’m going to demystify one thing here: At least in my practice, the people who believe in the soul and seek to have the reading are well-educated people, including lawyers, CPAs etc. Oh, and famous and popular bloggers ^_^ Some have sent me great testimonials — please check my Akashic site for them.

   I don’t think me having great clients proves the validity of the soul’s existence, but I think it may indicate it.
5. Anthony Lawrence on January 20th, 2009 3:47 pm
   

   No, of course it doesn’t – that’s called “Argument from authority” and is meaningless.

   Many very bright people are very religious and superstitious. Percentage-wise, most are not, but it shows that intelligence isn’t important in religious belief.

   That’s a non-starter
6. Winnie Lim on January 20th, 2009 8:41 pm
   

   @Anthony Lawrence, perhaps you may want to retain an open mind and read those books above by Dr. Brian Weiss and Dr. Michael Newton, both classically trained psychologists who were particularly scientific in their beliefs until they started to conduct hypnotherapy. For Michael Newton’s book in particular, he hypnotized hundreds of cases, if not thousands, to come out with the findings for the book.

   We can brush off one hypnotized case as delusion, but what if thousands of cases describe the same processes and environment when asked to describe what they see in between lifetimes? These people have been in hypnosis, have no idea what they are talking about in their waking state, yet ended up co-relating.

   And these two PhD holders probably do not even know each other prior to writing the books, but they have conducted hypnotherapy on many cases, ending up with similar-sounding case studies – separately.

   If that particular approach is not scientific enough, I don’t know what is.

   And I am not even going to mention about the number of people having gone through past-life regression successfully and recounted dates, events and people with historical accuracy.

   Also, I don’t think people will put off their happiness to other lives or after-lives if they know that they may have to repeat whatever crappy life they had in this life if they do not learn their lessons from it.

   @akemi, I enjoyed the book quite a bit actually, I think there was a bit of confusion in the way he writes about soul development, but I do think he includes lifetimes on other dimensions and planets as well. I did not get the particular idea that he implied everyone developed at the same pace, just that perhaps he did not make it clear enough.

   It is a great starter book though, for people who are new to this idea, and also a great book to add to any seasoned spirituality reader’s collection. I think it does a reasonably well job documenting the concepts.
7. sumiran on January 21st, 2009 5:49 am
   

   The book seems interesting, though it is not new topic. There are many books in this topic (like life after death by Deepak Chopra and in Conversation with god series)
8. akemi on January 21st, 2009 8:05 am
   

   Winnie,
   I like your last paragraph to Anthony. People naturally desire to improve the now. And I do think Journey of Souls is a great book, especially as an intro to the idea of past life. If I didn’t think it is worth reading, I wouldn’t have written my review.

   sumiran,
   No the topic is not new nor New Age. But it’s an interesting book because it is written by a professional therapist.
9. Carl on January 23rd, 2009 11:05 am
   

   I just loved Michael Newston’s books. I read both in two weeks.

   Personally, my conclusion is this : Basically I’d rather feel empowered and good during my lifetime than miserable and mediocre.

   Having this sens of purpose, that what you do is for greater knowledge is far more empowering than thinking that “anyway we all eat-sleep-work-then-die and that’s it”.

   It’s like when someone is telling me “why are you eating healthy, you’re going to die anyway”. Well my answer is this: even if i die tomorrow, i want to feel great and in shape DURING my time living here.

   Even if I’m completely deluded, and that there is no such greater level of life, at least I will have felt good until the end, and maybe make others feel good too.
10. akemi on January 25th, 2009 9:15 pm
    

    Carl,
    What you say reminds me of one of the stories in the chronicle of Narnia That will keep you flow.
11. Dot on January 28th, 2009 10:20 am
    

    I have many questions about what happens after we die, and it seems like I’ve been seeking the answres my whole life. I’ve read many books on spirituality, including “Many Lives, Many Masters” and many books on near-death experiences. The problem is, I seem to be the kind of person who has to experience it to believe it, no matter how logical the arguments are.

    @Anthony – There are scientists, particularly physicists, who claim that their scientific investigations lead them more and more in the direction of belief in a god and in more than this physical life. However, those who rely strictly on double-blind studies and such, and don’t accept the validity of intuition, have trouble believing those people.
12. Anthony Lawrence on January 28th, 2009 11:18 am
    

    You make it sound like double-blind studies are somehow deficient and intuition is valuable

    Look, I understand your need to believe. It’s OK – we all have beliefs that aren’t supported by reason. Just don’t do foolish things with your real life because of those beliefs and we’re all fine.
13. Kris Andersen on January 29th, 2009 10:42 am
    

    Akemi, I think this website is just great and I read it all the time. Thank you for doing it.

    As I am reading these comments I am curious: Why are you, Anthony Lawrence, reading a spiritual website such as this, it does not fit into your belief system? Just wondering.
14. Anthony Lawrence on January 29th, 2009 11:59 am
    

    “Why are you, Anthony Lawrence, reading a spiritual website such as this”

    Because it’s not always a “spiritual website” and also the variety of people’s beliefs is fascinating.
15. akemi on January 29th, 2009 1:19 pm
    

    Why Anthony Lawrence is reading my blog — my understanding: Because he is converting to my client soon. It’s quite common that critiques become supporters. He just doesn’t know at this time. Typical especially for a man. ^_^

    And when you do, Anthony, your confidentiality will be kept of course. I will treat you well just as I treat everyone else. No worry.
16. Anthony Lawrence on January 29th, 2009 1:23 pm
    

    If that ever happened, I’d put myself in the care of a psychiatrist immediately

    No, this life long pragmatic atheist is not going to start believing in any of this.. again, nothing wrong with it as long as you are not hurting other people or yourself. But I’m too much of a realist, sorry.
17. akemi on January 29th, 2009 5:19 pm
    

    Anthony,
    If you are looking for a psychiatrist, I recommend Dr Brian Weiss.
    And you still haven’t responded to Winnie.
18. Anthony Lawrence on January 29th, 2009 7:19 pm
    

    There’s nothing to respond to Winnie. That’s just two psychologists babbling. Nothing scientific about it.
19. 7 Questions On Soul Shifting And the Light Ascension | Yes to Me on February 8th, 2009 8:26 pm
    [...] just shared what I observed. I do want to make sure that we are clear about the difference between the soul’s age (number of physical incarnations) and the soul’s level of evolution (vibr….  “Older and wiser” is a nice expression, and within a single soul’s evolution, that may [...]
20. Soulmate Sucks - the truth of soulmate contract | Yes to Me on February 12th, 2009 10:47 am
    [...] like to call “soul friends”.  Dr Michael Newton calls them “soul cluster groups” in Journey of Souls.  These souls know each other, may have some agreements, but not a binding contracts like soulmate [...]
21. Dude-x on March 3rd, 2009 5:00 pm
    

    Anthony your very thoughts of believing yourself to be an athiest put you into a belief system. Your belief that all other systems of beliefs are wrong is very ironic. And also your belief in no life after death or anything of that sort is also ironic. But hey, as long as you don’t hurt yourself or anyone else while believing in that nonsense right?
22. Erik on March 12th, 2009 2:22 am
    

    Hi akemi,

    You wrote :

    “But. If he is so enthusiastic about uncovering the mystery of in-between life of souls, why doesn’t he go there himself? He can certainly do this by having his trusted assistant therapist work on him. Doesn’t he want to go see it himself? ”

    Well, to answer this question you will have to look at the link below : an interview with Dr Michael Newton.

    http://www.souljourneying.com/articles/article/2133640/28077.htm
23. Jennifer on March 29th, 2009 11:29 am
    

    I have a close friend who passed away many years ago and I find myself wondering if she has reincarnated her soul yet. I always thought that souls would take many many years to reincarnate because our way of tracking time is different than theirs or does not exist at all. One time after she died I was able to go and be with her in a dream. I find myself wondering if I could go and be with her through astral flying (if she has not come back into physical form). Like setting up an “astral coffee date”
24. Matthew | Polaris Rising on March 30th, 2009 9:20 pm
    

    Soul Age is a concept well defined in the Michael Teachings, with its own structure. Sort of a perspective the soul comes into a lifetime with. Of course there’s a relationship to the number of lives lived, but it depends on the experiences and learning.

    http://www.polarisrising.com/soul-age-in-michael-teachings.html
25. Andrew Gubb on March 31st, 2009 2:06 pm
    

    When I channelled my higher self a few months back, I asked him how many lives we had been through and he said “infinite”. Yet somehow I’m also a young soul. I don’t really understand this. Can you clarify Akemi?
26. akemi on March 31st, 2009 3:50 pm
    

    Jennifer,
    Gee, I know you are not afraid of death nor the deceased souls, but “astral coffee date”… I haven’t thought about it…
    It seems souls take different time between each incarnations. Some souls come back in a few years to a few decades, but I’ve also seen souls coming back after almost a thousand years — it was like her soul never intended to come back but changed her mind somehow.

    Matthew,
    Interesting. I wonder what you have to say about the Ascension soul shift.

    Andrew,
    Well, I don’t know for sure, but when I do Akashic Record Reading, I count only the physical incarnations on Earth. Your HS may have had eons of other lifetimes elsewhere and just came to Earth. Which will make you a young soul on Earth, but old in the big picture.
27. sally hearmoi on April 11th, 2009 9:29 am
    

    Michael Newton’s books are the rEAL THING!! After near 30 years of metaphysical studies, these books completely, for me personally, correllate on every level, intuitive, intellectual, etc. TRUTH.

    Mr. Newton’s books are the closes thing, I believe, to an actual scientific methodology re: trance and the results thereof.

    I, blessedly, stumbled upon these books well over 10 years ago.

    I often look to find Dr. Newton, but it looks to be that he is instead burned out and thru his organization is training many many others, all around the world. I was curious about possibly doing this myself, but the standards are high. As a hypnotherapist, you have to have years of qualified experience in order to qualify for this training, that impresses me.
28. akemi on April 14th, 2009 8:28 am
    

    Hi Sally,
    Thank you for your comment. I’m glad you found something you like.
29. Alana on September 4th, 2009 7:16 pm
    

    I thought Michael Newton’s books were fascinating. I am not sure if the afterlife looks the way his patients describe it, but I do believe in an afterlife. I also think Anthony is rather misled if he thinks that physics and science precludes such a thing. Anyone who has studied even rudimentary quantum physics knows that the most fantastic concepts are accepted by scientists: parallel dimensions, time travel, infinite alternate realities, etc. To me, the concept of a life after physical death is no less believable. Thank you Anthony for allowing that we can hold our beliefs if they comfort us. I would add that if someone would prefer not to believe in an afterlife because they are comforted by the notion they won’t be held accountable in any way by their behavior in this life, that is their prerogative
30. Joy Sayler on September 5th, 2009 2:05 pm
    

    I have become a very strong believer in the writings of Michael Newton. After recovering twice from cancer and still uncomfortable with my own spirituality, I was immediately drawn to determining my self-worth. My basic fears were catapulted by the desperation I felt at never having had accomplished anything astounding in my life–that great thing that I could point to and say that I was responsible for.

    A sense of relief washed over me after reading the first book. I instantly felt that I had more yet to learn and yet more opportunities to accomplish what I was intended to accomplish-whether or not it would be in this life or another. An inner strength told me that I did not want to disappoint God and that I wanted to try to make THIS life count for as much as I possibly could. Everyday I make (at least) an attempt to find something important to me. I take on issues with a fervor that I always had but had often left fall by the wayside when things seemed down with a “what’s the use?” attitude.

    I have not lost my bad attitude completely; I understand that it is part of my make up and I now try to use it to achieve my goals. I have every reason to believe that I am a relatively young soul as I seem to not have the direction or purpose of older, more experienced souls. I seem to struggle much more to make accomplishments that others seem to make so easily. That being the case, I feel that I have already gained something in just accepting that I still have a lot to learn. But now I’m ready, impatient and can’t find ways to further either my learning or how I can affect the world in a positive way.

    I’m looking for groups, connections, individuals with similar feelings. I am tiring quite a bit from the lack of opportunity to share and be with like minded individuals. I currently reside in Las Vegas after recently moving from Minneapolis where my husband is still stuck until his transfer is attained.

    Joy
31. akemi on September 7th, 2009 7:18 am
    

    Alana,
    Lol, well said, I think.
    As you say, it’s a choice. I just posted another article on death and afterlife (and potential of immortality). Some are excited and delighted about continuation of life, and some are scared. Choose your path

    Joy,
    You are very wise in accepting what you call the “young soul” status. As you wrote, this is not some kind of condemnation (like saying “underachieved”) but simply means you just started — and it’s completely fine to take your time. It’s not a race.
    If you are in LV, why not check out Erin Pavlina? I only know her online, but she is sweet and lives there.
32. Death, Afterlife And Immortality | Yes to Me on September 10th, 2009 1:27 pm
    [...] are interested in more details of the process on the other side, please check Dr Michael Newton’s “The Journal of Souls”) Can we choose not to incarnate any more? If so, are there any requirements, like a certain level [...]
33. Thomas on November 4th, 2009 4:38 am
    

    (sorry if this sounds strange, i’m European)

    I felt so much more relieved after reading about this kind of stuff with souls.
    Since childhood i’ve been afraid of death, having periods of weeks when i thought about that a lot, but then i forget to think about it and felt much better for years.. then suddenly i start thinking about that again and i begin that over again. That feeling i get,,, when being alone in a room and just thinking that when i die i will be dead forever, that i disappear from everything and its just over…. that feeling is horrible, i feel my blood rushing around the body and my heart pumping deeply and all of myself is filled with great fear.

    after some quick googling, and reading this, I believe, or at least believe in the possibility in, that this life im living is just one of many lives being lived through a human, which is again being lived by an endless soul that i will keep forever in some kind of form. Maybe its not exactly like that, nobody knows, but to me something like “that” just seems logical. And its made my life feel so much better
    If there was death before life, why shouldnt there be something new starting after death? I must have come from somewhere or something, not just suddenly that there is a kind of “press play” and i was born.
34. Lesley on December 28th, 2009 8:54 am
    

    I found that I had to labour through Destiny of Souls.
    Michael Newton is a psychologist whereas Brian L. Weiss is a psychiatrist (he is a medical Dr who has specialised in Psychiatry) – there is a difference, not the least of which, is years of exhaustive study.
    I didn’t like Newtons style – it put me off. He came across to me as egotistical. He confesses in the book to pretending he has more knowledge than he had, in order to “extract” more information. He also seemed to be trying to put earthly/human concepts to Universal matters – to try and come to grips with things clearly beyond his grasp. e.g. his “diagrams of soul clusters”. In my opinion he trivialised things and didn’t do anything to make me consider him in a better light. I felt it made for a depressing read – I found nothing inspirational about what he says is the path for the individual.
    Weiss on the other hand felt much more genuine – as you said “compassionate”. One was left with a lighter heart for having read his books.
    I suspect Newton has “jumped on the bandwagon” for whatever purpose (self glory? attention seeking? maybe just a quick buck or two). Nice try – but he didn’t quite cut it.
35. akemi on December 28th, 2009 10:16 am
    

    Thomas,

    I think what you are trying to say is that you have an inner knowing that this life is not the first time and the death of this life is not the end all. We all have this innate knowing — if only we are willing to listen! I’m glad you are listening and this book worked as a reminder.

    Lesley,

    Interesting. I agree with many points you make. There is such an energetic difference between Brian Weiss and Michael Newton. I’ve wondered why no one seem to point it out. Thank you.
36. Jan on February 11th, 2010 8:28 am
    

    Hello, from England. I was pleased to come across your discussion of Journey of Souls. I am now nearly 60 but many years ago, in my teens, I was woken in the night by a presence I could not see and was told that I was to be shown something. A small screen materialized before me, then a landscape appeared on it and I was taken into it and given a message – I am happy to elaborate on this if anyone is interested.

    For decades afterwards I felt perplexed by this experience and largely put it to the back of my mind until the 1990’s when I bought an old book in a village sale. It was called Spirit Intercourse by J. Hewat McKenzie and was first published in 1916 in London. Flicking through it I suddenly came across a picture of a valley such as I was shown that night in the 1960’s, not identical but with many similar features.

    I pored over this book for weeks – McKenzie claimed to have travelled through the ’spiritual realms’ and wrote in some detail about the different levels of existence. What stunned me, however, was that he spoke of scenes projected upon an astral screen. This was the first mention of such an object that I had ever come across and I began to realise that there were other people out there who had also seen such things, many of them decades before myself.

    And then, last year, I bought Michael Newton’s two books ( Journey of souls and Destiny of Souls ) and the world, for me, changed for ever. I struggled with some concepts – for example, in the glimpse of the afterlife I saw there was a definite landscape with earthly contours and I initially felt very alienated from Michael’s description of twinkling lights of energy moving through a vast space, linking up with clusters of souls but I assume that I will feel at home there when I finally leave this earth.

    I want to say to anyone such as Anthony who, naturally and sensibly, has doubts about all this that I am a very down-to-earth person, a mother and grandmother and that I worked for some years in the mental health field. I have seen many manifestations, bizarre and otherwise, of the human mind and I have no intention of letting anyone ‘pull the wool over my eyes’. I only really believe what I personally know to be true through experience and, however strange Michael’s books may seem to some readers they speak of a reality that, for me, is now an inescapable truth.
37. Lesley on February 11th, 2010 11:43 am
    

    Dear Jan,
    May I recommend a book that might help you to bridge the gap between what you saw in your teens and what Michael Newton PhD has written in his? The book is called ” Life after Death” by Neville Randall. Corgi Press.
    It was published in 1975, and to our modern views – the methods used to obtain the tapes that make up the book, might seem antiquated, however the content speaks volumes in it’s own humble way.
    The lady called Rose who comes through and speaks from time to time, gradually comes to realise why it’s important to “move forward” when she is fully ready to. Other notable characters who come through to speak include Oscar Wilde and Lionel Barrymore. There are many plain simple folk who come through – all telling their story in their own way.
    I would be remiss if I did not suggest that you read Dr Brian L. Weiss’ “Many Lives-Many Master”. He explains soul groups and their role in our re-incarnating lives. He has a gentle manner and speaks his truths quietly and yet maintains an optimism that stays with you long after you’ve read his books. He too, uses regression on his patients (He is a qualified psychiatrist – but does not feel the need to make himself seem self important). He is, in effect a Doctor of Medicine, usually with a Bachelor of Science, who has gone on to do further extensive training. He can prescribe drugs. It takes about 13 years to become a psychiatrist.
    Michael Newton is a psychologist who has a Doctorate in Philosophy. For some reason he continually refers to himself throughout his books as Dr Newton. He is perfectly entitled to…but I feel that by doing do – he is trying to give the illusion that he is of greater importance than he is. It takes about 5 years to become a psychologist.
    But I digress…. I really hope that you can locate this book, Jan – it’s a little gem!
38. Jan on February 12th, 2010 7:34 am
    

    Thank you Lesley, I will certainly seek out the books you mention. After many years of looking, and not finding, anyone who had the remotest idea of what I was talking about – and that includes the Spiritualist Association of Great Britain (!) – I am very glad to have discovered that you are all out there. My best wishes to you all.

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