Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives (Michael Newton's Journey of Souls Book 1)

by Michael Newton

Members of the same cluster group are closely united for all eternity. These tightly knit clusters are often composed of like-minded souls with common objectives, which they continually work out with each other. Usually they choose lives together as relatives and close friends during their incarnations on Earth.

Parents can meet us at the gateway to the spirit world after a death on Earth, but we may not see much of their souls in the spirit world. This circumstance exists not for reasons of maturity, since a parent soul could be less developed than their human offspring.

Close association between souls depends on their assigned proximity to one another in cluster groups, where there is a similarity of knowledge and affinity brought about by shared earthly experiences.

I think what we have to keep in mind is that people tend to structure their frame of reference during a trance state with what their conscious mind sees and has experienced on Earth. Quite a few people who come out of trance tell me there is so much about the spirit world they were unable to describe in earthly terms. Each person translates abstract spiritual conditions of their experience into symbols of interpretation that make sense to them. Sometimes a subject will even express disbelief at their own visions when I first take them into a spiritual place. This is because the critical area of their conscious mind has not stopped dropping message units. People in trance soon adapt to what their unconscious mind is recording.

I was familiar with Kirlian photography and the studies in parapsychology at UCLA, where research has indicated each living person projects their own colored aura. In human form, apparently we have an ionized energy field flowing out and around our physical bodies connected by a network of vital power points called chakras. Since spiritual energy has been described to me as a moving, living force, the amount of electromagnetic energy required to hold a soul on our physical plane could be another factor in producing different earthly colors.

In the minds of my subjects, every soul generates a specific color of aura.

I routinely question everyone about their color hues while they are in trance. Aside from the general whiteness of the spirit world itself, my subjects report seeing a majority of other souls displaying shades of white. Apparently, a neutral white or gray is the starting point of development. Spirit auras then mix the primary colors of red, yellow, and blue from a base of white. A few people see greenish hues mixed with yellow or blue. To equate what I have heard about soul energy with the physical laws that govern the color spectrum we see in the heavens is just supposition. However, I have found some similarities. The energy of radiated light from cooler stars in the sky is a red-orange, while the hotter stars increase from yellow to blue-white. Temperature acts on light waves that are also visible vibrations of the spectrum with different frequencies. The human eye registers these waves as a band of light to dark colors. The energy colors of souls probably have little to do with such elements as hydrogen and helium, but perhaps there is an association with a high energy field of electromagnetism. I suspect all soul light is influenced by vibrational motion in tune with a harmonious spiritual oneness of wisdom. Some aspects of quantum physics suggest the universe is made up of vibrational waves that influence masses of physical objects by an interaction of different frequencies. Light, motion, sound, and time are all interrelated in physical space. I was hearing these sa...

Individual patterns of energy not only display who we are, but indicate the degree of ability to heal others and regenerate ourselves.

My classification of soul development is intended to be neither socially nor intellectually elitist. Souls in a high state of advancement are often found in humble circumstances on Earth. By the same token, people in the upper strata of influence in human society are by no means in a blissful state of soul maturity. Often, just the reverse is true.

Regardless of the relative time of creation after their novice status is completed, all beginner souls are assigned to a new group of souls at their level of understanding.

Once a new soul support group is formed, no new members are added in the future.

There appears to be a systematic selection procedure for homogeneous groupings of souls. Similarities of ego, cognitive awareness, express...

Irrespective of size, cluster groups do not directly intermix with each other’s energy, but souls can communicate with one another across ...

Primary clusters in levels I and II may split into smaller subgroups for study but are not separated from the integrated whol...

Rates of learning vary among peer group members. Certain souls will advance faster than others in a cluster group, although these students may not be equally competent and effective in all areas of their curricula. Around the intermediate level of learning, souls demonstrating special talents (healing, teaching, creating, etc.) are permitted to participate in specialty groups for more advanced work while still remaining with their cluster group.

At the point where a soul’s needs, motives, and performance abilities are judged to be fully at level III in all areas of self-development, they are then loosely formed into an “independent studies” work group. Usually, their old guides continue to monitor them through one master teacher. Thus, a new pod of entities graduating into full level III could be brought together from many clusters within one or more secondary groups.

When they approach level IV, souls are given more independence outside group activities. Although group size diminishes as souls advance, the intimate contact betwe...

Spirit guides have a wide variety of teaching methods and instructional personifications depen...

I have never worked with a subject in trance who did not have a personal guide. Some guides are more in evidence than others during hypnosis sessions.

Often, a client will sense the presence of a discarnate figure before visualizing a face or hearing a voice. People who meditate a great deal are naturally more familiar with these visions than those who have never called upon their guide.

Through our guides, we become more acutely aware of the continuity of life and our identity as a soul. Guides are figures of grace in our existence because they are part of the fulfillment of our destiny.

Some clients are unable to verbalize their guide’s name because the sound cannot be duplicated, even when they see them clearly while under hypnosis. I tell these people it is much more important that they understand the purpose of why certain guides are assigned to them, rather than possessing their names. A subject may simply use a general designation for their guide, such as director, advisor, instructor, or just “my friend.”

Entities who are our friends exist on levels not much higher or lower than ourselves. These friends are able to offer mental encouragement from the spirit world while we are on Earth, and they can be with us as incarnated human companions while we walk the roads of life.

A personal soul deity served as a guardian angel to each person or family and could be called upon for divine help during a crisis. This tradition has been carried down into our cultures of today.

‘Aumakua are personal gods to Hawaiians.

Iroquois believe a human’s own inner spiritual power is called orenda, which is connected to a higher personal orenda spirit. This guardian is able to resist the powers of harm and evil directed at an individual.

The Zuni tribes of the Southwest have oral traditions in their mythology of godlike beings with personal existences. They are called “the makers and holders of life paths” and are considered the caretakers of souls.

I think human beings have always needed anthropomorphic figures below a supreme God to portray the spiritual forces around them. When people pray or meditate, they want to reach out to an entity with whom they are acquainted for inspiration. It is easier to ask for aid from a figure that can be clearly identified in the human mind. There is a lack of imagery with a supreme God, which hinders a direct connection for many people. Regardless of our diverse religious preferences and degrees of faith, people also feel if there is a supreme God, this divinity is too busy to bother with their individual problems. People often express an unworthiness for a direct association with God. As a result, the world’s major religions have used prophets who once lived on Earth to serve as our intermediaries with God.

I have the theory that guides appear to people who are very religious as figures of their faith. There was a case on a national television show where the child of a devout Christian family suffered a near-death experience and said she saw Jesus. When asked to draw with crayons what she saw, the little girl drew a featureless blue man standing within a halo of light.

Some guides appear as mixed genders, which lends support to souls being truly androgynous. One client told me, “My guide is sometimes Alexis or Alex, dropping in and out of both sexes, depending on my need for male or female advice.”

During our lives, especially in periods of great stress, most people feel the presence of someone watching out for them. We may not be able to describe this power, but it is there nonetheless.

National surveys by psychologists indicate one person in ten admits to hearing voices that are frequently positive and instructional in nature. It is a relief for many people to learn their inner voices are not hallucinations associated with the mentally ill. Rather than something to be worried about, an inner voice is like having your own resident counselor on call. More often than not, these voices are those of our guides.

When seeking guidance, I suggest requesting help with just the next step in your life. When you do this, be prepared for unexpected possibilities. Have the faith and humility to open yourself up to a variety of paths toward solutions.

Every soul has a spiritual higher power linked to its existence. All souls are part of the same divine essence generated from one oversoul. This intelligent energy is universal in scope, and so we all share in divine status. If our soul reflects a small portion of the oversoul we call God, then our guides provide the mirror by which we are able to see ourselves connected to this creator.

My subjects state that souls end their incarnations on Earth when they reach full maturity.

The important thing is to recognize our faults, avoid self-denial, and have the courage and self-sufficiency to make constant adjustments in our lives.

Guides, like everyone else, have different abilities and talents as well as shortcomings. By the time we reach level V, our soul aptitudes are well known in the spirit world.

Without addressing and overcoming pain, you can never really connect with who you are and build on that. I must tell you, the more pain and adversity which come to you as a child, the more opportunity to expand your potential.

In most cases, level Vs are here as incarnated guides. Having mastered the fundamental issues most of us wrestle with daily, the advanced soul is more interested in making small refinements toward specific tasks. We may recognize them when they appear as public figures, such as Mother Teresa; however, it is more usual for the advanced soul to go about their good works in a quiet, unassuming manner. Without displaying self-indulgence, their fulfillment comes from improving the lives of other people. They focus less on institutional matters and more on enhancing individual human values.

The mark of an advanced spirit is one who has patience with society and shows extraordinary coping skills. Most prominent is their exceptional insight. This is not to say life has no karmic pitfalls for them, otherwise the level V probably wouldn’t be here at all. They may be found in all walks of life but are frequently in the helping professions or combating social injustice in some fashion. The advanced soul radiates composure, kindness, and understanding toward others. Not being motivated by self-interest, they may disregard their own physical needs and live in reduced circumstances.

One of my advanced subjects remarked, “Souls have seeded the Earth in different cycles.” A composite of information collected from a wide range of clients suggests to me that the land masses we know today deviate from earlier continents—drowned, perhaps, by cataclysmic volcanic or magnetic upheavals.

Dr. N: If all basic intelligent energy is the same, why are souls different in their character and integrity? S: Because their experiences with physical life change them, and this is intentional. By that change new ingredients are added to the collective intelligence of every soul.

S: Incarnation is an important tool, yes. Some souls are driven more than others to expand and achieve their potential, but all of us will do so in the end. Being in many physical bodies and different settings expands the nature of our real self.

Dr. N: Well, if each soul is preoccupied with self, doesn’t this explain why we have a world of self-centered people? S: No, you misinterpret. Fulfillment is not cultivating self for selfish means but allowing for integration with others in life. That also shows character and integrity. This is ethical conduct.

S: Watchers are not supposed to intrude. It’s more of a . . . soft coupling. I implant ideas—which they assume is inspiration—to try and give them peace.

Dr. N: So the source starts out by deliberately creating imperfect souls and imperfect life forms for these souls and watches what happens in order to extend itself? S: Yes, and we have to have faith in this decision and trust the process of returning to the origin of life. One has to be starving to appreciate food, to be cold to understand the blessings of warmth, and to be children to see the value of the parent. The transformation gives us purpose.

Once a soul has decided to incarnate again, the next stage in the return process is to be directed to the place of life selection. Souls consider when and where they want to go on Earth before making a decision on who they will be in their new life.

Orientation spaces are said to be small, intimate conference areas designed to make a newly arrived soul comfortable, but our mental attitude in this space can be somewhat defensive. This is because there is the feeling we might have done better with life. A guide is always directly interacting with us.

While some spiritual locales are difficult for my subjects to describe, most love to talk about the place of life selection, and they use remarkably similar descriptions. I am told it resembles a movie theater that allows souls to see themselves in the future, playing different roles in various settings. Before leaving, souls will have selected one scenario for themselves. Imagine being given a dress rehearsal before the actual performance of a new life.

“Whenever I am confused about what to do in life, I quietly sit down and think about where I have been and compare this to where I might want to go in the future. The answer to the next step just comes to me from inside myself.”