Coming back? Over my dead body!

"Coming back" is Raymond Moody's exploration of a curious psychological phenomenon: past life memories. Moody discovers that past life memories can be accessed or induced by regression hypnosis and used therapeutically. Or rather realizes, since past life regression existed before Moody became interested in the subject. He admits of first being sceptical to the phenomenon.

On one level, Moody is still sceptical. He doesn't seem to believe in reincarnation on the basis of his scientific training and Christian upbringing. Rather, he considers "past lives" to be products of the subconscious mind. Moody is more interested in the therapeutic uses of past life regressions and makes connections to Jungian psychotherapy. In that sense, "Coming back" is actually Moody's most sceptical book. And this from an author who accepts near-death experiences and apparitions of the dead...

Interestingly, Moody has undergone past life regression himself and "discovered" nine previous lives under hypnosis. In one of those lives, he was an ape or monkey. It's not clear to me why the author nevertheless veers towards a sceptical or at least agnostic position. If the soul is immortal, logically reincarnation can exist, too.

Perhaps on some subconscious level, Dr. Raymond Moody doesn't want to come back. I'm with him on that one. Meeting Elvis in the Middle World would me more fun! Hopefully, one billion Indians *can* be wrong...

Coming back? Over my dead body!

;-)