"...My arms were gooseflesh. Catherine could not possibly know this information. There was no place to look it up. My father's Hebrew name, and, that I had a son who died in infancy from a one-in-ten million heart defect, my brooding about medicine, my father's death, and my daughter's naming, it was too much, too specific, too true. This unsophisticated laboratory technician was a conduit for transcendental knowledge. And if she could reveal these truth what else was there that I needed to know? 'Who', I sputtered, tells you these things? 'The masters', she whispered. 'The Master Spirits' tell me I have lived 86 times in physical states. Catherine's breathing slowed and her head stopped rolling from side to side. She was resting…"

A true story written by a famous psychiatrist Dr. Brian Weiss about the association with his patient. She suffered from recurring nightmares, severe panic conditions, anxiety attacks, and depression. Dr. Brian initially started intensive psychotherapy but later switched to hypnotic regression therapy. Usually psychotherapy cures the patient and aids the individual to look at his/her problem with a larger detached perspective.

To dislodge the irritant of the past, Dr. Brian hypnotizes Catherine into her childhood experiences. The story takes a twist when Catherine starts relating her traumatic encounters that don't seem to be a part of her childhood. Before Dr. Weiss could assimilate the interpretation, she had leaped into her previous life -describing events that caused her severe anxiety attacks and fears.

The chapters of the book reveal the hypnotic sessions and experiences of her previous lives, and other impacts that created her fears. Dr. Brian, a graduate of Columbia University and Yale Medical School and the former Chairman of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami, is stunned with previous lifetimes and questions of reincarnations. His clinical mind utilizes his whole gamut of possible psychiatric diagnosis to explain her state and her character structure, but subsequently fails to explain Catherine's revelations with his psychiatric terms.

Many books narrate near death experiences, but in this one Catherine gets connected to different states of existence revealing the 'Master Spirits' message to all. Every chapter explains the meaning and purpose of life and existence.

Dr. Weiss has researched extensively and has developed a scientific overview of these events. Dr. Weiss explains hypnosis as an excellent tool to help patients reduce anxiety and eliminate phobias. He says, "there is nothing mysterious about it, it is just a state of focused concentration." Under the instruction of a trained hypnotist, unhappy lives can be changed to bring peace, contentment, and harmony.

This book broadens the perspective of existence. It fills you with chills of inquiry and provides a systematic explanation to the different states of consciousness and the in-between forms of life and death. It describes the existence of energy - the life principle - the light, and asserts the power and ability to rejuvenate and alleviate stress.

Can we experience this kind of state in our physical body? Can we progress on our path and find the true meaning of existence? Can we find essence in our life pattern? How do we respond to relationships?

As you read about Catherine's lives in different bodies: as an Egyptian, a maidservant, a farmer, a daughter, a son etc., you will visualize these happenings in Dr. Weiss's clinic while he heals the mind and body. Dr. Weiss provides answers and information on the mysteries of the mind, continuation of life after death, and the effect of the past on our present lives.
This book forms an excellent channel of information about life and death. It will hold you in awe, suspense, and wonder.

A must-read for novices who have not encountered a book on reincarnation, hypnosis, or experiences relating to meditative experiences.

Reviewed by Heeru Bhojwani

• Title: Many Lives, Many Masters
• Author: Dr. Brian Weiss
• Publisher: Fireside