THE IMMORTAL SOUL

Spiritual counselor Rippy’s book offers accounts of the afterlife and assert the presence of unseen miracles in our midst.

Much of this book is made up of transcripts of nine past-life regressions in which Rippy says he helped people explore aspects of their previous existences. For each, he includes historical and relationship context and information about the causes of death of his subjects’ past lives. Stories include the life of Liza, a nanny in early-20th-century Boston who died of an allergic reaction to penicillin—in the company of a man that she only ever knew as a ghost. In another account, Rippy tells of a young woman who experienced a past-life regression to an orphaned boy named Elliot, who lived in 1910 and whose twin brother, Peter, was reincarnated as the young woman’s father. In a particularly compelling story, he describes a female subject who recalls serving as Lt. Hertzof, a member of a Nazi battalion that captured Brussels in World War II. Killed when his tank blows up, Hertzof then experiences hell for 1,000 years before God forgives him. Most of the stories of past lives end tragically in suicide, murder, or alcoholism, but their accounts of the afterlife may bring solace to some readers. Intriguingly, Rippy’s work doesn’t offer one consistent view of heaven, instead showcasing different versions that include spirit guides and councils, farms, spiritual “hospitals,” and other ways in which souls prepare for rebirth. This compelling book not only tells of hypnotic regressions conducted by the author, it also provides informative asides outlining how he helped clients focus during unfamiliar or startling experiences. He also informatively describes the steps that he says he uses to catch potential fabrications. In addition, readers learn of his techniques for keeping subjects from becoming retraumatized by past-life events and how he uses protective prayers and imagery to bring comfort to those entering hypnotic states.

An engaging vision of the enduring nature of the human soul.