Best, selling author, lecturer, psychiatrist and pioneer researcher in past-life therapy, Dr. Brian Weiss, MD, writes books that entertain, inform and inspire. Dr. Weiss is a master storyteller whose summaries of his patients’ lives and past-lives never fail to grab the reader’s attention. His exemplary background and many years of practice in psychiatry combine to inform readers as they explore with him new frontiers of psychotherapy. He also consistently inspires readers in that each example of therapy links to spiritual lessons that each human being needs to work on. All of this applies to Weiss’s newest book, Same Soul, Many Bodies: Discover the Healing Power of Future Lives Through Progression Therapy (Free Press, Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2004).

Some readers may already be familiar with some of Dr. Weiss’s previous books, such as Many Lives, Many Masters (Warner Books, 1996), Through Time into Healing (Simon & Schuster, 1992), and Messages from the Masters (Warner Books, 2000). Dr. Weiss did not originally intend to be a pioneer in past-life therapy. He started out quite traditionally, receiving his medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine. He became chief resident in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale. Currently he is chairman emeritus of psychiatry at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami.

As he describes in his earlier books, he only became involved in past-life therapy rather accidentally. He stayed with the process only when he determined that the procedure was highly effective in healing his patients. He continues to lead seminars, workshops and professional training programs throughout the world.

This book adds a new dimension to his work with patients. As the sub-title suggests, Dr. Weiss has been experimenting with the potential for exploration of possible future lives as therapy to heal the patient in the present. The results have been positive. In this new book he shares the stories of many patients who have benefited from this therapy.

With both past-life and future-life therapies, one needs to consider some points. Clearly, one can be skeptical about the “truth” of what past-life regressions or future progressions, reveal. What thousands of such therapies indicate, however, is that the therapy – or experience, or “reading” of a past-life – almost always illuminates or clarifies present day issues, thereby helping the patient to deal with the issues with greater insight. There is often immediate healing, especially in treating old phobias or fears.

With future progressions, one might say, “Couldn’t this be wishful thinking?” In some of his examples, Dr. Weiss even has that opinion. Nevertheless, as he demonstrates over and over again, the patient benefits because he grows to see that his present behaviors or choices have consequences in the future. He can explore potential paths and then choose the one that is best, healthiest and most reasonable.

Dr. Weiss holds a spiritual perspective common to many spiritual mentors today. He says, “I had come to learn that past, present, and future are one and that what happens in the future can influence the present, just as the past influences it... The future is born from the past.” Most of the patients in the case histories described in this book chose to experience past life regressions before they moved into their future. The result was “increased understanding” that allowed them “to make wise choices in the present.”

As a reader I especially enjoyed Dr. Weiss’s organization of his stories. Each fascinating case history demonstrates one major spiritual lesson. Just a few of the lessons are: Anger Management, Health, Empathy, Compassion, Patience, Relationships, Free Will and Spirituality. First, of course, comes the delightfully told story of the patient, his or her problems that lead them to seek therapy and then the past-life connections. Ultimately, in this book each patient explores the potential future if he follows any of several paths. Some of the “future stories” are in the patient’s current lifetime; some are in possible future lives. The stories are always interesting, probably because they are so applicable to each of us. We see ourselves in the stories and recognize the many issues and problems that all of us face in contemporary life. Dr. Weiss says, “Our goal here is to heal ourselves as we are in our physical world.”

Dr. Weiss has repeatedly sought spiritual answers from his clients. The messages over the years have been consistent: that we are immortal, that the earth life is a school where we learn lessons and have the opportunity to evolve spiritually. These messages are apparent in the stories of the clients in this book. Weiss uses each client to demonstrate a particular lesson. He notes that “it is rare that a person will master more than one lesson in one lifetime.” Hence each person’s “story” creates a framework for discussion of a lesson each evolving person needs to learn.

Dr. Weiss has learned many interesting insights from his patients, too, insights that are often thought provoking to us, the readers. In one story he writes, “I’ve discovered that the surest way to be reincarnated into a particular group of people, defined by religion, race, nationality, or culture, is to hate those people in a previous life, to be prejudiced or violent against that group.” The lesson here, of course, is to be aware of your prejudices and work to correct them or you may just have to live the role of that which you disdain.

Dr. Weiss includes some excellent discussions on empathy and compassion. He defines empathy as “the ability to put yourself in someone else’s place – to feel their feelings, to be in their situation, to see through their eyes.” Weiss says, “The core principle underlying empathy is that we are all connected.” It came to me as I read his chapter on Empathy that the recent tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia and the intense media coverage of that tragic event provided an opportunity for millions of people around the world to experience and practice empathy. This is an important experience for us all because, according to Dr. Weiss, “Empathy is the key to understanding and forgiving others.” Hence it can be transferred to issues in our own lives. Weiss says, “Empathy heals the individual at the same time that it heals the world.”

Weiss’s lesson on Compassion is equally thoughtful and insightful. He points out that although “empathy and compassion are often used synonymously... they are really two different elements in the human psyche.” Weiss reminds us that “Compassion comes from the heart and it is illustrated by being kind and benevolent to all living things.” His stories of clients experiencing lessons from past and present lives illustrate ways in which we as humans develop compassion. In this chapter and others Weiss also includes helpful exercises that we can use to help us reach that place in our hearts “where compassion, empathy, and love coexist.”

Any sort of spiritual growth requires patience and understanding, qualities that most of us need to work on. Weiss emphasizes the importance of patience as the key to understanding. He says, “The more you understand a person or a situation or an experience – or yourself – the less likely it is that you’ll have a knee-jerk reaction and do something hurtful to yourself or others.” He also points out that “if nations were more patient, there would be fewer wars because there would be more time for diplomacy, for dialogue, and again, for understanding.” A fascinating story illustrates the theme demonstrating that “inner peace is impossible without patience.”

A major means for human growth and evolution comes through our relationships with others. The stories Dr. Weiss relates of his patients’ current, past and potential future lives demonstrate the complexity and importance of relationship experiences. Most of the stories he relates, as told to him by his clients, indicates that souls manifesting as current relationships (parental, spousal, sibling, child, business associates, friends) have most likely played important roles in past lives and may show up in future lives. He emphasizes the importance of “healing all our relationships or realizing that we will have to work things out with that person in the future.”

People are often confused about the apparent contradictions between the concepts of “destiny and free will.” Dr. Weiss adds clarity to the issue. First he points out that these factors co-exist, not contradict. For example, he says, “The people we meet and the experiences that are set up help us learn – this is destiny.” But the choices we make in relation to these people and experiences – ”this is free will.” We might meet someone and choose to marry him or her, or we might say “no” and take another direction. The usual fascinating case history illustrates the consequences of our choices. Readers will also learn that the world we live in now and that of the future are all the result of choices, in this case, “the collective decisions of all humans.”

Dr. Brian Weiss is also a teacher of meditation. It is no surprise then to find an excellent discussion in this book of Contemplation and Meditation. He emphasizes the importance of working, practicing, in order to attune to the peaceful center we all have when we can move past the chaos and clutter of our physical lives. He also reiterates the significance of psychotherapy that deals with our experiences. The memories of past, present, and future lives help us locate the origin of our traumas and once they are revealed to us, we can recognize that our fears come from another place and are no longer a threat. Thus, therapy helps patients heal. But Weiss is also pointing out the healing qualities of meditation. “Meditation can open up possibilities for spiritual experiences since the sub-conscious mind is one of the gateways to the eternal dimension... When you come to awareness, you will find yourself compassionate and loving without expecting anything in return... (and) you will feel a oneness with every other person and being,.. (and) with all there is.”

Clearly, Same Soul, Many Bodies is a spiritual book, filled with insight, inspiration and enlightenment. Dr. Brian Weiss’s exceptional story-telling skill makes his work highly readable and entertaining as well. His patients’ life experiences help readers apply the lessons and insights to their own issues, problems and aspirations. Weiss includes, in his final chapter, a summary of the general consensus of potential futures for the Earth and its people. He looks for “agreement in the visions” and says, “I have found striking similarities in 90 percent of them.” He also says, “I found that people made wiser decisions and better choices when they saw ahead.” So he shares some possible futures because “for now it is the choices that matter.”

Readers can learn much from this book. If they only learn to make wiser choices, that would be a significant outcome. We all create our futures with the free will choices we make right now, today. Dr. Brian Weiss helps us to ponder that point, learn and grow.

Gayl Woityra, a retired high school English and Humanities teacher, now resides in Arizona where she continues to pursue her eclectic metaphysical studies in consciousness, the Ageless Wisdom, astrology, flower essences, music, color and alternative medicine.