Many Lives, Many Masters (Book on REBIRTH)

Background

Many Lives, Many Masters is a true story. It involves a known psychiatrist and his female patient and how he helped her through past life therapy. This entire incident changed both their lives. Past life therapy was not something that was practiced at that time.

As a traditional psychotherapist, Dr. Brian Weiss, M.D. from Columbia University, spent years in the disciplined study of human psychology, training his mind to think as a scientist and a physician.​​

He held steadfastly to conservatism in his profession, distrusting anything that could not be proved by traditional scientific methods.

For the first time, he came face-to-face with the concept of reincarnation (Rebirth) and the many tenets of Hinduism, which, as he says in the last chapter of the book, “I thought only Hindus… practiced.”

For 18 months, Dr. Weiss used conventional methods of treatment to try and help Catherine overcome her traumas. When nothing seemed to work, he tried hypnosis, which he had found to be “an excellent tool to help a patient remember long-forgotten incidents. There is nothing mysterious about it. It is just a state of focused concentration.

Under the instruction of a trained hypnotist, the patient’s body relaxes, causing the memory to sharpen . . .  eliciting memories of long-forgotten traumas that were disrupting their lives.”

During the initial sessions, the doctor regressed Catherine back to her early childhood as she strained to bring out isolated, deeply repressed memory fragments.

From the age of five, for example, Catherine recalled swallowing water and gagging when pushed from a diving board into a pool; from age three, a memory of her father, reeking of alcohol, molesting her one night.

RECALLING PAST LIVES

Catherine then went on to recalled her past life memories, which proved to be the main cause of her recurring nightmares and anxiety attack symptoms. In a series of trance-like states, she recounted her living 86 times as a human in different places on this earth as a male and as a female. She clearly recalled each birth – her given name, her family, appearance, the area where she stayed, and how she was killed by drowning, stabbing, or illness. The interesting thing was that in each life time she experiences events making progress towards fulfilling all the agreements / and all of the Karmic (from Hindu concept of Karma) debts that are owed.

CHANNELING MESSAGES FROM MASTERS

Catherine began to channel messages from ‘the space between lives’, which confined amazing revelations about Dr Brian’s very own life. Acting as a channel for information from highly evolved spirit entities called the Masters, Catherine revealed many secrets of life and death. She provided important information on the mysteries of the mind, the continuation of life after death and the influence of our past life experiences on our present behavior.

Dr. Brian’s doubts was further eroded when she began to channel messages from “the space between lives," messages from the many Masters (highly evolved souls not presently in body) that also contained remarkable revelations about his own family and his dead son that Catherine could not possibly have known.

Dr. Weiss had often heard patients talk about near-death experiences in which they floated out of their mortal bodies guided towards a bright white light before reentering their discarded body once again.

But Catherine revealed much more. As she floated out of her body after each death, she said, “I am aware of a bright light. It’s wonderful; you get energy from this light.”

Then, while waiting to be reborn in the in-between-lives state, she learned great wisdom from the Masters (Devdoot as per Hinduism) and became a channel for transcendental knowledge.

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Catherine told Dr Brian after her death in one life……..from the book –

"I feel free . . . free," Catherine gently whispered. "I'm just floating in darkness . . . just floating. There is a light around . . . and spirits, other people."

I (Dr Brian) asked if she had any thoughts about the lifetime that had just ended, her life as Christian.

"I should have been more forgiving, but I wasn't. I did not forgive the wrongs that people did to me, and I should have. I didn't forgive the wrongs. I held them inside, and I harbored them for many years. ... I see eyes . . . eyes."

"Eyes?" I echoed, sensing the contact. "What kind of eyes?"

"The eyes of the Master Spirits," Catherine whispered, "but I must wait. I have things to think about." Minutes passed in tense silence.

"How will you know when they are ready," I asked expectantly, breaking the long silence.

"They will call me," she answered. More minutes passed. Then, suddenly, her head began to roll from side to side, and her voice, hoarse and firm, signaled the change.

"There are many souls in this dimension. I am not the only one. We must be patient. That is something I never learned either. . . . There are many dimensions. ..." I asked her whether she had been here before, whether she had reincarnated many times.

"I have been to different planes at different times. Each one is a level of higher consciousness. What plane we go to de-pends upon how far we've progressed. . . She was silent again. I asked her what lessons she had to learn in order to progress. She answered immediately.

"That we must share our knowledge with other people. That we all have abilities far beyond what we use. Some of us find this out sooner than others. That you should check your vices(sins) before you come to this point. If you do not, you carry them over with you to another life. Only we can rid ourselves . . . of the bad habits that we accumulate when we are in a physical state. The Masters cannot do that for us. If you choose to fight and not to rid yourself, then you will carry them over into another life. And only when you decide that you are strong enough to master the external problems, then you will no longer have them in your next life.

"We also must learn not to just go to those people whose vibrations are the same as ours. It is normal to feel drawn to somebody who is on the same level that you are. But this is wrong. You must also go to those people whose vibrations are wrong . . . with yours. This is the importance ... in helping… these people.

"We are given intuitive powers we should follow and not try to resist. Those who resist will meet with danger. We are not sent back from each plane with equal powers. Some of us possess powers greater than others, because they have been accrued from other times. Thus people are not all created equal. But eventually we will reach a point where we will all be equal."

Catherine paused. I knew these thoughts were not hers. She had no background in physics or metaphysics; she knew nothing about planes and dimensions and vibrations. But beyond that, the beauty of the words and thoughts, the philosophical implications of these utterings—these were all beyond Catherine's capabilities. She had never talked in such a concise, poetic manner. I could feel another, higher force struggling with her mind and vocal cords to translate these thoughts into words, so that I could understand.

                  Of course, all of the people interviewed about their near-death experiences returned to their bodies. There is a striking similarity in their stories. They become detached from their bodies and "watch" resuscitation efforts from a point above their bodies. They eventually become aware of a bright light or a glowing "spiritual" figure in the distance, sometimes at the end of a tunnel. They feel no pain. As they become aware that their tasks on earth are not yet completed, and they must return to their bodies, they are immediately rejoined to their bodies and once again are aware of pain and other physical sensations.

Catherine told Dr. Brian after her death in another life……..from other chapter -

"I'm floating . . . away from my body. I have no body. I am in spirit again." said Catherine.

Dr. Brian replied "Good, Rest. You've had a difficult lifetime. You went through a difficult death. You need to rest. Restore yourself. What did you learn from that lifetime?"

"I learned about hate . . . senseless killing . . . misdirected hate . . . people who hate and they don't know why. We are driven to it ... by the evil, when we are in physical state. . . ."

"Are you waiting for something now?"

"Yes . . . I'm waiting to go into a state of renewal. I must wait. They will come for me . . . they will come. . . ."

"Good. I would like to talk with them when they come." We waited for several more minutes. Then abruptly her voice was loud and husky, and the original Master Spirit, not the poet Master, was speaking.

"You were correct in assuming this is the proper treatment for those in the physical state. You must eradicate the fears from their minds. It is a waste of energy when fear is present.

"To be in physical state is abnormal. When you are in spiritual state, that is natural to you. When we are sent back, it's like being sent back to something we do not know. It will take us longer. In the spirit world you have to wait, and then you are renewed. There is a state of renewal. It's a dimension like the other dimensions.

The Master Spirit was silent. I pondered the meaning of this incredible message. I knew I was successfully getting rid of Catherine's fears, but this message had a more global meaning. It was more than just a confirmation of the effectiveness of hypnosis as a therapeutic tool. It involved even more than past-life regressions, which would be difficult to apply to the general population, one by one. No, I believed it concerned the fear of death, which is the fear deep within the volcano. The fear of death, that hidden, constant fear that no amount of money or power can neutralize - this is the core.

But if people knew that "life is endless; so we never die; we were never really born," then this fear would dissolve. If they knew that they had lived countless times before and would live countless times again, how reassured they would feel. If they knew that spirits were around to help them while they were in physical state and that after death, in spiritual state, they would join these spirits, including their deceased loved ones, how comforted they would be. If they knew that guardian "angels" really did exist, how much safer they would feel.

If they knew that acts of violence and injustices against people did not go unnoted, but had to be repaid in kind in other life-times, how much less anger and desire for vengeance they would harbor. And if indeed, "by knowledge we approach God," of what use are material possessions, or power, when they are an end in themselves and not a means to that approach? To be greedy or power-hungry has no value whatsoever.

Catherine stirred and began to whisper. "Someone named Gideon, someone named Gideon . . . Gideon. He's trying to talk to me."

"What does he say?"

"He's all around. He won't stop. He's some type of guardian..... something. But he's playing with me now."

"Is he one of your guardians?"

"Yes, but he's playing . . . he's just jumping all around. I think he wants me to know he's all around me . . . everywhere."

"Gideon?" I repeated.

"He's there."

"Does it make you feel safer?"

"Yes. He'll be back when I need him."

"Good. Are there spirits around us?"

She answered in a whisper, from the perspective of her super conscious mind.

"Oh, yes . . . many spirits. They only come when they want to. They come . . . when they want to. We are all spirits. But others . . . some are in physical state and others are in a period of renewal. And others are guardians. But we all go there. We have been guardians, too."

"Why do we come back to learn? Why can't we learn as spirits?"

"Those are different levels of learning, and we must learn some of them in the flesh. We must feel the pain. When you're a spirit you feel no pain. It is a period of renewal. Your soul is being renewed. When you're in physical state in the flesh, you can feel pain; you can hurt. In spiritual form you do not feel. There is only happiness, a sense of well-being. But it's a renewal period for . . . us. The interaction between people in the spiritual form is different. When you are in physical state . . . you can experience relationships."

"I understand. It will be okay." She had become silent again. Minutes passed………..

Catherine told Dr. Brian after her death in another life……..from other chapter -

"Yes, I'm floating." She died and had entered the spiritual state again.

"Do you know now what you needed to learn? It was another hard lifetime for you."

"I don't know. I'm just floating."

"Okay. Rest . . . rest." More minutes passed silently. Then she seemed to be listening to something. Abruptly she spoke. Her voice was loud and deep. This was not Catherine.

"There are seven planes in all, seven planes, each one consisting of many levels, one of them being the plane of recollection. On that plane you are allowed to collect your thoughts. You are allowed to see your life that has just passed. Those of

the higher levels are allowed to see history. They can go back and teach us by learning about history. But we of the lower levels are only allowed to see our own life . . . that has just passed.

"We have debts that must be paid. If we have not paid out these debts, then we must take them into another life ... in order that they may be worked through. You progress by pay-ing your debts. Some souls progress faster than others. When you're in physical form and you are working through, you're working through a life. ... If something interrupts your ability ... to pay that debt, you must return to the plane of recollection, and there you must wait until the soul you owe the debt to has come to see you. And when you both can be returned to physical form at the same time, then you are allowed to return. But you determine when you are going back. You determine what must be done to pay that debt. You will not remember your other lives . . . only the one you have just come from. Only those souls on the higher level - the sages - are allowed to call upon history and past events . . . to help us, to teach us what we must do.

"There are seven planes . . . seven through which we must pass before we are returned. One of them is the plane of transition. There you wait. In that plane it is determined what you will take back with you into the next life. We will all have ... a dominant trait. This might be greed, or it might be lust, but whatever is determined, you need to fulfill your debts to those people. Then you must overcome this in that lifetime. You must learn to overcome greed. If you do not, when you return you will have to carry that trait, as well as another one, into your next life. The burdens will become greater. With each life that you go through and you did not fulfill these debts, the next one will be harder. If you fulfill them, you will be given an easy life. So you choose what life you will have. In the next phase, you are responsible for the life you have. You choose it." Catherine fell silent.

This was apparently not from a Master. He identified him-self as "we of the lower levels," in comparison with those souls on the higher level—"the sages." But the knowledge transmitted was both clear and practical. I wondered about the five other planes and their qualities. Was the stage of renewal one of those planes? And what about the learning stage and the stage of decisions? All of the wisdom revealed through these messages from souls in various dimensions of the spiritual state was consistent. The style of delivery differed, the phraseology and grammar differed, the sophistication of verse and vocabulary differed; but the content remained coherent. I was acquiring a systematic body of spiritual knowledge. This knowledge spoke of love and hope, faith and charity. It examined virtues and vices, debts owed to others and to one's self. It included past lifetimes and spiritual planes between lives. And it talked of the soul's progress through harmony and balance, love and wisdom, progress toward a mystical and ecstatic connection with God.

There was much practical advice along the way: the value of patience and of waiting; the wisdom in the balance of nature; the eradication of fears, especially the fear of death; the need for learning about trust and forgiveness; the importance of learning not to judge others, or to halt anyone's life; the accumulation and use of intuitive powers; and, perhaps most of all, the unshakable knowledge that we are immortal. We are beyond life and death, beyond space and be-yond time…….

VOICES OF MASTER SPIRITS (Devdoot)

Here are some of the teachings that were received through Catherine during ‘the space between two lives” by the Voices of the Master Spirits:

•  ” We have assignments to learn and become God-like through knowledge then we can rest, and then come back to teach and help others”.

• “We must share our knowledge with other people. We all have abilities far beyond what we use. . . . you should check your vices(sins). . . if you do not, you carry them over with you to another life. . . when you decide you are strong enough to master the external problems, then you will no longer have them in your next life.”
• “Everybody’s path is basically the same. We all must learn certain attitudes while we’re in physical state. . . charity, hope, faith, love. . . we must all know these things and know them well.”
• “Everything is energy. . . Humans can only see the outside, but you can go much deeper. . . To be in physical state is abnormal. When you are in spiritual state that is natural to you. When we are sent back, it’s like being sent back to something we do not know. In the spirit world you have to wait, and then you are renewed. It’s a dimension like the other dimensions. . . ”
• “The fear of death. . . that no amount of money or power can neutralize”. . . remains within us. “But if people knew that life is endless; so we never die; we were never really born, this fear would dissolve.” We have “lived countless times before and would live countless times again. . . and spirits are around us to help while in physical state and after death, in spiritual state.”                                   We and our deceased loved ones would join these guardian angels.
•  “Violence and injustices against people are noticed and repaid in kind in next lifetime.”
• “Everything comes when it must come. A life cannot be rushed. . . we must accept what comes to us at a given time. . . life is endless. . . we just pass through different phases. There is no end. Time is not as we see time, but rather in lessons that are learned.”​
• After death “we get to the spiritual plane, we keep growing there, too. When we arrive, we’re burned out. We have to go through a renewal stage, a learning stage, and a stage of decision. We decide when we want to return, where, and for what reasons. . . Our body is just a vehicle for us while we’re here. It is our soul and our spirit that last forever. . . ”

·        “Forgive the past. It is over. Learn from it and let go. People are constantly changing and growing. Do not stick to a limited, disconnected, negative image of a person in the past. See that person now. Your relationship is always alive and changing.” 

·        “One of the most important of life´s lessons is to learn independance, to understand freedom. This means independence from attachments, from results, from opinions, and from expectations. Breaking attachments leads to freedom, but breaking attachments does not mean abandoning a loving and meaningful relationship, a relationship that nourishes your soul. It means ending dependency on any person or thing. Love is never a dependency.” 

·        “For truly we are all angels temporarily hiding as humans.” 

·        “More learning can occur when there are many obstacles. A life with difficult relationships, filled with obstacles and losses, presents the most opportunity for the soul's growth. You may have chosen the more difficult life so that you could accelerate your physical progress” 

·        “Often we take personally the slings and arrows of our 'abusers'. But frequently we are merely the interchangeable pawns of their own fixed dramas. Anyone else in your position would have received the same treatment. There is nothing especially harmful or negatively noteworthy about you.” 

·        “The reward is in doing, but doing without expecting anything...doing unselfishly.” 

·        “Understand the nature and influence of repeating patterns, from childhood experiences or even from past lives. Without understanding, patterns tend to repeat, unnecessarily damaging the relationship”

·        “Sometimes, soulmates may meet, stay together until a task or life lesson is completed, and then move on. This is not a tragedy, only a matter of learning.” 

·        “To reach back and help, and expect neither reward nor even thanks because that is what spiritual beings do.” 

·         “Everything will be clear to you in time. But you must have a chance to digest the knowledge that we have given to you already.” 

·        We get to the spiritual plane, after death. There we keep growing too. We reach there exhausted, drained and have to undergo a renewal stage. We also go through a learning stage and a decision stage. A decision is taken when to return, where to return, and for what reasons to return. Our body is just a conduit (channel) for us while our stay here. Our soul/ spirit on the other hand last forever.

·        “We also must learn not to just go to those people whose vibrations are the same as ours. It is normal to feel drawn (tense) to somebody who is on the same level that you are. But this is wrong. You must also go to those people whose vibrations are wrong … with yours. This is the importance … in helping … these people.” 

REINCARNATION / re-birth

Dr. Weiss believes, that under hypnosis, his patient was able to concentrate on the part of her subconscious mind that stored past-life memories, or she somehow tapped into the Collective Unconscious, which is the energy source that surrounds us containing the memories of the entire human race.

REINCARNATION (re-birth) IN HINDUISM

Dr. Weiss’s experience and Catherine’s transcendental knowledge might inspire  disbelief in westerners. However the concept of rebirth, cycle of life and death, and this divine knowledge is natural for Hindus. The holy ‘Bhagavad Gita’ and the ancient Vedic scriptures contain this wisdom; the teachings form the primary tenets of Hinduism. Dr. Weiss’s mention of Hindus acknowledges a religion that has already established all of his new-found experience

REINCARNATION IN BUDDHISM

The concept of reincarnation familiar to Tibetan Buddhists, too. His Holiness the Dalai Lama says that his body is like a garment, which he will discard and move on to accept another. He will be reborn, and it will be the duty of his followers to find him. For Buddhists in general, a belief in karma and reincarnation is shared with Hindus. 

Conclusion

Many Lives, Many Masters makes for an unstoppable read. Though many things stated in this book may not be edible to many but these things do happen. Past Life Regression is a fully fledged treatment these days and people do recollect their past lives.