An Interview with Michael Newton

1. The subtitle to your new book, Memories of the Afterlife, is “Life Between Lives Stories of Personal Transformation.” Could you explain this subtitle in a little more detail?

The subtitle represents, for the first time in a major literary work, a primary theme of the benefits for having a life between lives hypnosis regression session. In each of the thirty-three cases discussed in Memories of the Afterlife (one of my own in the introduction and thirty-two cases by authors of the Newton Institute), follow up studies were implemented with the clients to learn how the LBL session significantly impacted and improved their lives. This information is detailed in our book.

2. How would you separate the study of life between lives with that of past life hypnosis regression?

For many years people engaged in the work of hypnosis regression worked with the past lives of their clients. The place in between was considered, "a grayish limbo of no consequence" to many hypnosis people. In l968, I had my first life between lives case and after years of study wrote my first book on the subject, called Journey of Souls , in l994. Since then, more and more hypnotherapists have become engaged with what I call Spiritual Regression. This means taking subjects into the spirit world between their lives. Certified regression therapists of the Newton Institute do work in past life regression in terms of taking a person through a past life death scene in order to reach the afterlife between. At the moment of physical death people pass into the light which may also involve "the tunnel effect" in order to reach the spirit world as souls in a non-physical state.

3. Why is life between lives important?

The information one receives from the superconscious mind as a soul in the afterlife is simply incredible. Unlike a simple past life session, subjects of LBL gain access to the age old questions of: Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going after death? The detail readers will receive from the cases in Memories of the Afterlife not only explains many of the mysteries of life but also how good hypnotherapy by well-trained professionals can improve the mental health of clients.

4. How can we access our life between lives? Is hypnotherapy the only way?

There are people who may experience what we call spontaneous recall in the conscious state, and others who can gain some information on their soul life in meditation in the Alpha state of altered-consciousness. However, I am biased in my belief that only a deep Theta state of superconsciousness can produce the detail of the afterlife. This is contained in the mind of every person. This is why I feel hypnosis is such a valuable tool in the search for answers about our immortal life.

5. In addition to the over hundred cases in your own previous books (Journey of Souls , Destiny of Souls , and Life Between Lives ) you now have added thirty-two additional cases by other authors in Memories of the Afterlife . What can readers take away from all these case studies?

I want readers to gain a sense of purpose to life and that, rather than living in a capricious world of accidents, there is order to our existence with higher beings that care about our welfare on earth. I hope that readers will take away from all these cases the fact that when we show courage in meeting the challenges of life through making difficult choices they are advancing as souls as well. Finally, I want readers to realize that the trauma in our life usually involves a divine reason involving our growth.

6. You founded The Newton Institute for Life Between Lives Hypnotherapy. Why did you feel this was important?

I wanted to leave a legacy of the hypnosis methodology I discovered for reaching the spirit world. I wanted to create an educational institution with training manuals and a base of skilled instructors and trainers for future generations of hypnotherapists wishing to specialize in the field of spiritual regression. I wanted an organization that would certify such people in order to provide the public with well-trained professionals in LBL therapy.

7. Finally, can you tell us what it was like for your organization to create a book like Memories of the Afterlife ?

I can tell you it was very difficult. This project was two years in the making, and there were times early on when we thought it might not happen at all. Unlike my past books, Memories of the Afterlife would involve editing a multitude of different members of the Newton Institute, each with their own interests, talents and style. All these divergent elements had to be melded into one literary work involving a series of life between lives cases.

From the beginning, we wanted our central theme to center around the benefits of the LBL session for the clients involved. We also had to have client permission to publish their cases. I can tell you we lost some excellent cases because of privacy issues with clients who did not wish their cases to be published. On the other hand, thankfully, there were clients who felt their cases could help others and therefore were willing to put aside their feelings about privacy to accomplish the greater good.

A major task was to assemble a group of authors who not only had excellent LBL stories to tell but also be willing to spend a great deal of time and effort in selecting the right case and then skillfully write about their case for the book. Thus, not only did the final thirty-two authors selected have to be vitally interested in a case themselves but also produce a case that would fit into the general format of other cases for the book. They also had to have documentation for long-term follow up with the clients of these cases. We wanted the cases to present different aspects of the afterlife for variety as well. In addition, my editing job was to then arrange the stories in sequence in the book so that each story supported the others with information to readers that would bring the spirit world to life for them. We wanted the stories in the book to unfold in such a way that the meld of ideas would be seamless. I provided case footnotes to assist in this process.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the staff of Llewellyn Worldwide for their support in the creation of this work. All of us are pleased with the final results of Memories of the Afterlife and hope the public will become more aware of the power of life between lives therapy for people.