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Loading... Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives (original 1988; edition 1996)by Brian WeissI read this book after reading only Love Is Real, I have to say that my feelings are still the same, I am keeping an open mind and I have some reservations but it was fun to read. It felt good reading something different and very difficult at least now to prove. I still don't know if I will ever believe in reincarnation but what I know for sure is that I will definitely read more about the subject. I read at least part of this book several years ago. Here are the lines that have always affected me the most: “People of the religious orders have come closer than any of us have [to learning the lessons of life] because they’ve taken these vows of chastity and obedience. They’ve given up so much without asking for anything in return. The rest of us continue to ask for rewards—rewards and justifications for our behavior... when there are no rewards, rewards that /we/ want. The reward is in doing, but doing without expecting anything... doing unselfishly.” Shorter: “[Monastics have] given up so much without asking for anything in return.... the reward is in doing.... doing unselfishly.” These words affected me greatly, and after a period of my life when I chased skirt music and such, I started to fantasize about becoming a monk. (I’m drawn to opposites, and to extremes.) Eventually I even settled down mentally enough and overcame my fears of community enough where I started to contemplate actually joining a monastic order, told people seriously that that was my new plan for my life, and reached out to one of the Episcopal religious orders for men. Eventually I realized that it was a little bit over my head and beyond my capability, and I was more or less told as much, so when the pandemic started and everything just shut down, I let it go. It was beyond my ability, not my fate. “They’ve given up so much without asking for anything in return.” But as I read these words again, a new and more suitable significance emerges for me. It’s true I could never be a monk. The discipline of waking up early enough in the morning, for example, and a few other things like that; I’m just not sure that I could make a life like that. But now I see it’s not all about joining, necessarily, some or another specific organization and getting a specific outfit complete with letters after your name, as important as community is—which is still one of my biggest challenges. (I think in my past life I was this person who turned away from people until I was the old man that the priest took care of, and even in this other lifetime I’m still very close to religion and intellectuals and distant from more daily people, often to excess.) But I see that all now as means, important means, no doubt, but just means, and even Thomas Keating, himself a great monk, said that people should never consider themselves to have missed the party just because they never got to be a monk or nun. “They’ve given up so much without asking for anything in return.” THAT is the point. Live your life so as to give it away. .... The only other point that I want to make for the purposes of this review is about Dr. Weiss himself; he’s a great guy. I respect how he dialogues the scientific and the spiritual, and since some psychics are genuine, and that is possible, but many are just trying to make money in an immoral society, speaking to either afraid/greedy people or people who think ‘Since psychics are real let’s not bother with skepticism’ and get hurt—I mean, really we need people like Brian to help us dialogue and integrate rational skepticism with other kinds of intelligence. A must-read for people in the healing world who have worked with individuals with seemingly insurmountable problems. Dr. Weiss, a traditional psychologist, counseled Catherine for 18 months with no improvement in symptoms until he decided to try hypnotherapy. While hypnotized, Catherine regressed into another lifetime. Almost immediately her anxieties and fears started to diminish. Over the next months, Dr. Weiss regressed Catherine many times and in so doing became a better doctor and family man as his own fear of death diminished. Two ways exist for me to analyze and review Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives by Brian L. Weiss, MD. The book is about a belief in reincarnation and the ability to learn from past lives. Whether or not your believe in that is your choice and not the subject of this review. Looking at the book a case study from the scientific community, this book is not for me because of both what it includes and what it leaves out. Read me complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/10/many-lives-many-masters-true-story-of.h... I remember reading this book shortly after it came out and I still will occasionally go back and read it. It's a fascinating story of a psychiatrist who attempts to help a young patient and inadvertently discovers that the patient has had past lives. The therapy sessions presented here will really challenge any notion you may have that reincarnation doesn’t exist. As with anything in life, there are so many things that we have question after question about, and as the questions pile up with no clear answers we can really dispute anything. But this book will make you think about the possibility that we have been here before. I was raised in a very conservative and religious home and never gave any thought to this concept until I read this book. The more I read and the more I thought about it, it started to make sense that we may have lived here before and done it many times. It also brought to question my ideas on purgatory and what it really is. Perhaps this is a place we go to if our soul doesn’t learn all it needs to when we die and before we incarnate again?? I highly recommend reading this book. It’s a fast read that will capture your attention and have you thinking about some concepts you may not have thought about before. If you have had doubts that reincarnation is real, read this book. I am a spirit filled Christian and nothing in this book made me feel that it was wrong. It made me wonder if pergatory in the Catholic faith is where all the reincarnation happens. This is an astounding book to read and if nothing else it makes you ask yourself some very pointed questions about what you do or don't believe about reincarnation. I can whole recommend this book without reservation. Would like to believe in reincarnation, past life stories sound interesting, especially the stories about little kids "knowing" things. But..... I'm still an agnostic who likes to think about possibilities. In any event, I met Dr. Weiss at a conference. What was memorable to me was that he seemed to be such a gentle, soft-spoken man. I had the pleasure of attending Dr. Weiss's Regression Therapy Training at Omega Institute and I can tell you, Dr. Weiss is the real deal! His compassion and willingness to share his knowledge is a blessing. "Many Lives, Many Masters" is a great place to start but I suggest you work your way through all his books and experience his meditation CDs...you'll be in for an experience that will change your view on life and your relationships! A true story of a psychiatrist living in Miami, who takes a patient through past life regressions via hypnosis. She has led 86 previous lives. Through hypnosis she is cured of her numerous fears and while in deep trances reveals Master Spirits to the doctor. It is a spiritual journey for all -- the patient, the doctor and the reader. Dr Weiss (psychiatrist) records in detail his experiences with a young woman who seeks his expertise in overcoming severe fears and anxieties in her life. True story. After 18 months of unsucessful treatment, Weiss decides to try hypnosis to search her early childhood for traumas that may be causing her distress. Much to his surprise she goes back even further - to previous lives. Being well trained at Columbia and Yale in the scientific method of observation and discovery, he has a difficult time with this very personal experience. He finally gets to a point he can no longer NOT believe. Bottom line: the patient and doctor find the problems and cure the fears. But the experience is so much more than that for both of them. Whether you believe in reincarnation or not, this book is fascinating. And frankly, I don't find it offensive in any way. The views in this book are consistent with many faiths around the world. The excesses, rites, and man-made structures of all religions are stripped away to expose the "secrets" of life and death. This is a book to lessen anxiety and the fear of death. It aims to promote spiritualism and instill hope. It briefly outlines a path for evolving spirits and living in harmony... starting with do not kill and emphasizing balance. If you dare, read it and see what you think. Because you will think something! Recommended. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)133.9013Philosophy and Psychology Parapsychology And Occultism Specific Topics Spiritism - Table-tipping, etc.LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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