cover image Messages from the Masters: Tapping Into the Power of Love

Messages from the Masters: Tapping Into the Power of Love

Brian L. Weiss. Warner Books, $22.95 (272pp) ISBN 978-0-446-52596-1

According to Weiss, the earth is like a ""chaotic one-room schoolhouse"" in which evolving souls reincarnate to learn faith, charity, compassion and the transcendence of fear and anger. The author, a psychiatrist and expert in psychopharmacology, was moved to learn more about reincarnation after patients under hypnosis described detailed, verifiable memories of past-life experiences. Meditation and work with mediums then brought him in contact with ""master spirits,"" who helped him develop a psychoanalytic method grounded in spirituality. The spirits' messages, which Weiss first presented in Many Lives, Many Masters, appear here in condensed form and elucidate themes such as karma, obstacles to happiness and joy, the reunion of soul mates and love's capacity to connect souls across all dimensions. The author employs case studies, some involving celebrities like singer Gloria Estefan and bestselling author and medium James Van Praagh, to explain past-life regressions, near-death experiences and communication with deceased loved ones. While Weiss's points about the paranormal are provocative, his book would have benefited from the addition of case studies clarifying how the integration of spirituality into psychotherapy enhances the healing process. And his contention that contemporary psychotherapies lack spiritual roots and are ""in their death throes"" will be widely challenged in psychiatric circles. Still, his work sheds light on a controversial topic worthy of serious attention. Agent, Joni Evans. (May)