I have long wanted to write about Dr. Brian Weiss, a prominent American psychiatrist, whose books about reincarnation and past life hypnotic regression have helped thousands of people in the United States realize and embrace the reality of reincarnation or multiple past lives, by providing undeniable proof from his clinical practice.
Dr. Weiss graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University, obtained a medical degree from Yale University and later taught psychiatry at the University of Miami and became head of its psychopharmacology division.
When he became chief of psychiatry at a hospital in Miami, he had already published over 37 scientific papers and book chapters in the field of psychiatry.
Dr. Weiss’ impressive academic and scientific backgrounds certainly did not prepare him for what he discovered about reincarnation. In his best-selling book “Many Lives, Many Masters,” he said “years of disciplined study… had trained my mind to think as a scientist and physician, molding me along the narrow paths of conservatism in my profession.
“I distrusted anything that could not be proved by traditional scientific methods. I was aware of some studies in parapsychology being conducted at major universities across the country, but they did not hold my interest. It all seemed too far-fetched to me.”
Unexplained phobias
Then he met a patient named Catherine in 1980. The encounter completely changed his life and his traditional way of thinking.
Catherine came to see him because of her unexplained phobias and anxieties. He described her as “an extraordinarily attractive woman, blond hair and hazel eyes” who worked as a lab technician in the same hospital and who was a part-time swimsuit model.
She came from a conservative Catholic family which, of course, did not believe in reincarnation. Her psychological phobias were serious. She feared water, airplanes, the dark and was terrified of dying.
In recent years her fears became worse. She suffered from bouts of insomnia, nightmares and sleepwalking episodes.
Dr. Weiss had successfully treated many patients with the same problems using traditional psychotherapy, and regarded Catherine’s case as no different from the others. But he was mistaken.
Conventional therapy repeated over a period of several months did not improve Catherine’s condition, and, in fact, seemed to have gotten worse. He was at a loss as to how to explain Catherine’s resistance to conventional treatment.
“At the time of my first session with Catherine,” confessed Dr. Weiss, “I had no idea that my life was about to turn upside down, that the frightened, confused woman across the desk from me would be the catalyst, and that I would never be the same again.”
Frustrated at the fact that conventional hypnotherapy failed to alleviate the patient’s symptoms, Dr. Weiss instructed the hypnotized Catherine to “go back to the time from which your symptoms arise.”
What followed was a very detailed description of Catherine’s past life, almost 2,000 years BC. There was a big flood that devastated her village. That was how she died—by drowning, with her baby in her arms.
In subsequent sessions, Catherine described another life as a Spanish prostitute in the 18th century and many other lifetimes and historical facts she could not have known in her waking state.
At one point she even pointed to a past life connection with Dr. Weiss in Greece; she said he was her teacher named Diogenes (not necessarily the Greek philosopher by that name).
Sudden death
She also mentioned the sudden death of his first-born son almost 10 years before they met, and the Hebrew name of his father, which she could not have known.
Could Catherine have been making all these up? Was she hallucinating? Dr. Weiss said his clinical evaluation of her showed she was not making things up and was not delusional at all.
So his curiosity was aroused to the point of insatiability. He read everything he could lay his hands on about ESP, parapsychology and reincarnation—subjects that did not formerly interest him at all.
He read the works of Dr. Ian Stevenson, a psychiatrist at the University of Virginia, who wrote the pioneering book “Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation,” then the excellent scientific overview of parapsychology edited by astronaut Edgar Mitchell, who had a Ph.D. in Science.
The doctor also “intently analyzed the studies of Dr. Martin Ebon, Dr. Helen Wambach, Dr. Gertrude Schmeidler, Dr. Frederick Lenz, and Dr. Edith Fiore,” among others.
After many more revelations made by Catherine under hypnosis proved to be accurate, Dr. Weiss was finally convinced about the reality of reincarnation and our ability to access such memories.
Yet it took four years after writing the book before he gathered enough courage to publish it. His initial fear that his scientific and medical reputation would be destroyed if he had it published did not materialize. On the contrary, it made him world-famous and in demand as a speaker.
Dr. Weiss concluded: “I am no longer concerned with the effect this book will have on my career. The information that I have shared is more important and if heeded, will be far more beneficial to the world than anything I can do on an individual basis in my office.”
For those who cannot accept the reality of reincarnation, this book by Dr. Brian Weiss is a must-read.
Good news! The revised edition of my own bestselling book, “When the Impossible Happens (From Scepticism to Complete Belief),” has just been released by Anvil Publishing, Inc. and is now available at National Book Store and Power Books. It contains a detailed account of my many paranormal and spiritual experiences which I initially doubted and ignored.
For more info on my seminars, counseling and past life regression, call 8107245 or 0908-3537885.