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Prefaceand families w h o have discovered present-day partners andloved ones in their past lives. Sometimes I have regressedcouples w h o simultaneously and for the first time havefound themselves interacting in the same prior lifetime.These revelations are often shocking to the couple. T heyhave not experienced anything like this before. T hey aresilent while the scenes unfold in m y psychiatric office. It isonly afterward, after em erging from the relaxed, hypnoticstate, that they first discover they have been watching thesame scenes, feeling the same emotions. It is only thenthat I also becom e aware o f their past-life connections.B ut with Elizabeth and Pedro everything was reversed.T heir lives, and their lifetimes, were unfolding indepen dently and quite separately in m y office. T hey did notkn o w each other. T h e y had never met. T h e y w ere fromdifferent countries and cultures. Even I, seeing them bothseparately and having no reason to suspect a link betw eenthem , did n o t m ake a connection. Y et they seemed tobe describing the same past lifetimes w ith stunning similar ity o f detail and em otion. C ould they have loved eachother and lost each other across lifetimes? In the begin ning, none o f us was aware o f the gripping drama thathad already begun to unfold in the unsuspecting serenityo f my office.I was the first to discover their connection. B ut n o wwhat? Should I tell them? W hat if I w ere wrong? W hatabout patient-doctor confidentiality? W h a t about theircurrent relationships? W hat about tinkering w ith destiny?W hat if a current life connection was no t in their plansor even in their best interests? W o u ld another failed rela tionship underm ine both the therapeutic gains that theyhad made as well as their trust in me? It had been ingrainedin m e during m y medical school years and subsequent

Prefacepsychiatry residency at the Yale University School o fM edicine to do no harm to patients. W h en in doubt, dono harm. Both Elizabeth and Pedro w ere improving.Should I just let it go at that?Pedro was finishing his therapy and w ould soon leavethe country'. T h e re was an urgency to m y decision.N o t all o f their sessions, particularly Elizabeth's, areincluded in this book, as some sessions w ere n o t pertinentto their stones. Som e were completely devoted to tradiiional psychotherapy and did not include hypnosis orregression.W hat follows is written from medical records, tran scripts o f tapes, and m em ory. O nly names and m inordetails have been changed to ensure confidentiality. It isa story o f destiny and of hope. It is a story that happenssilently every day.O n this day, som eone was listening.

//chapter 1Know, therefore, that from the greater silence I shallreturn. . . . Forget not that I shall come back toyou. . . . A little while, a moment o f rest upon thewind, and another woman shall bear me.K ahlil G ibr a nere is som eone special for everyone. O ften there aretwo or three or even four. T hey come from different genera tions. They travel across oceans o f time and the depths ofheavenly dimensions to be with you again. They come fromthe other side, from heaven. They look different, but yourheart knows them. Y our heart has held them in arms likeyours in the moon-filled deserts o f Egypt and the ancientplains o f Mongolia. Y ou have ridden together in the armieso f forgotten warrior-generals, and you have lived togetherin the sand-covered caves o f the Ancient Ones. Y ou arebonded together throughout eternity, and you will neverbe alone.Y o u r head may interfere: "I do not k n o w y o u ." Y ourheart knows.H e takes your hand for the first time, and the m em oryof his touch transcends time and sends a jo lt throughevery atom o f yo u r being. She looks into y o u r eyes, andyou see a soul com panion across centuries. Y our stomach1

2Brian L. Weissturns upside dow n. Y our arms are gooseflesh. Everythingoutside this m o m e n t loses its importance.H e may no t recognize you, even though you havefinally m et again, even though you kn o w him. Y ou canfeel the bond. Y o u can see the potential, the future. Buthe does not. His fears, his intellect, his problems keep aveil over his heart's eyes. H e does not let you help himsweep the veil aside. Y ou m ourn and grieve, and hemoves on. Destiny can be so delicate.W h e n b oth recognize each other, no volcano coulderupt w ith m ore passion. T h e energy released is trem en dous.Soul recognition may be immediate. A sudden feelingo f familiarity, o f k now ing this new person at depths farbeyond w hat the conscious m ind could know . At depthsusually reserved for the most intimate family members.O r even deeper than that. Intuitively know ing what tosay, h o w they will react. A feeling o f safety and a trustfar greater than could be earned in only one day or onew eek or one m onth.Soul recognition may be subtle and slow. A dawningo f awareness as the veil is gently lifted. N o t everyone isready to see right away. There is a tim ing at w ork, andpatience may be necessary for the one w h o sees first.Y ou may be aw akened to the presence o f your soulcom panion by a look, a dream, a m em ory, a feeling. Youmay be aw akened by the touch o f his hands or the kisso f her lips, and y o u r soul is jolted back to life.T he touch that awakens may be that o f your child, o fa parent, o f a sibling, or o f a true friend. O r it may beyour beloved, reaching across the centuries, to kiss youonce again and to rem ind you that you are togetheralways, to the end of time.

Chapter 2M y life as I lived it had often seemed to me like astory that has no beginning and no end. I had thefeeling that I was a historical fragment, an excerpt forwhich the preceding and succeeding text was missing. Icould well imagine that I might have lived informercenturies and there encountered questions I was notyet able to answer; that I had to be born again becauseI had not fulfilled the task that was given to me.C a r lJ ungrV all, thin, and attractive w ith long blonde hair, Elizabethhad sad blue eyes w ith specks o f hazel in them . H ermelancholy eyes overpow ered her loose navy blue busi ness suit as she sat nervously in the large w hite leatherreclining chair in m y office.Elizabeth felt com pelled to see me, searching for hopeafter reading M any Lives, M a n y Masters and identifyingwith Catherine, the book's heroine, on m any levels."I d o n 't know m u ch about w hy you're here," I co m m ented, breaking the usual impasse at the beginning o ftherapy. I had briefly glanced at the inform ation sheet allnew patients fill out. N am e, age, referral source, chiefcomplaints and symptoms. Elizabeth had listed grief, anxi ety, and sleep disturbance as her major maladies. As shebegan to talk, I mentally added "relationships" to her list." M y life is such a mess," she stated. H e r history beganto po u r out, as it it w ere finally safe to talk about thesethings. T h e release of pen t-u p pressure was palpable.3

4Brian L. WeissDespite the drama o f her life's story and the depths ofem otion lying just under the surface o f her telling it,Elizabeth quickly m inim ized its importance." M y story is no t nearly as dramatic as Catherine's,"she said. " T h e re w o n 't be any book about m e."H e r story, dramatic or not, flowed forth.Elizabeth was a successful businesswoman w ith her ow naccounting firm in M iami. T hirty-tw o years old, she wasborn and reared in rural Minnesota. She grew up on alarge farm w ith her parents, an older brother, and manyanimals. H e r father was a hard-w orking, stoical m an w hohad great difficulty expressing his emotions. W h e n he diddisplay em otion, it was usually anger and rage. H e w ouldlose his tem per and lash out impulsively at his family,sometimes striking her brother. T h e abuse Elizabethreceived was only verbal, but it hurt her greatly.D eep w ithin her heart, Elizabeth still carried this child hood w ound. H e r self-image had been damaged by herfather's condem nations and criticisms. A profound painenveloped her heart. She felt impaired and som ehowdefective, and she w orried that others, especially men,could also perceive her shortcomings.Fortunately her father's outbursts w ere infrequent, andhe quickly retreated to the stern and stoical isolation thatcharacterized his personality and behavior.Elizabeth's m o th e r was a progressive and independentw om an. She p ro m o te d Elizabeth's self-reliance whileremaining warm and emotionally nurturing. Because o fthe children and the times, she chose to stay on the farmand to tolerate reluctantly her husband's harshness andemotional withdrawal."M y m o th e r was like an angel," Elizabeth w ent on."Always there, always caring, always sacrificing for the

O n ly Love Is Real5sake of her children." Elizabeth, the baby, was her m o th e r 's favorite. She had m any fond memories o f childhood.The fondest o f all w ere times o f closeness to her m other,o f the special love that bon d ed them together and thatmaintained itself over time.Elizabeth grew up, was graduated from high school,and w ent away to college in M iami, where she had beenoffered a generous scholarship. M iami seemed like anexotic adventure to her, and she was lured away fromthe cold Midwest. H e r m o th e r reveled in Elizabeth'sadventures. T hey w ere best friends, and even though theymostly com m unicated by p h one and mail, their m otherdaughter relationship stayed strong. Holidays and vaca tions were happy times for them , as Elizabeth rarely misseda chance to go back hom e.D uring some o f these visits, Elizabeth's m o th e r talkedabout retiring to South Florida to be near Elizabeth. T h efamily farm was large and increasingly difficult to run.They had saved a considerable am ount o f m oney, anam ount augm ented by her father's frugality. Elizabethlooked forward to living near her m other again. T heirnearly daily contacts w o u ld no longer have to occur bytelephone.So Elizabeth stayed in M iam i after college. She startedher ow n accounting firm, w hich was slowly building.C om petition was keen, and the w ork absorbed greatchunks o f her time. Relationships w ith m en added to herstress.T hen disaster struck.Approximately eight m onths prior to her first appoint m ent w ith me, Elizabeth was devastated because o f hermother's death from pancreatic cancer. Elizabeth felt asit her ow n heart had been torn apart and ripped out by

6Brian L. Weissthe death o f her beloved mother. She was having anenormously difficult time resolving her grief. She couldn'tintegrate it, couldn't understand w hv this had to happen.Elizabeth painfully told m e about her m other's coura geous battle w ith the virulent cancer that ravaged herbody. H e r spirit and her love rem ained untouched. Bothw om en felt a profound sadness. Physical separation wasinevitable, quietly but persistently approaching. Eliza beth's father, grieving in anticipation, grew even moredistant, w rapped in his solitude. H e r brother, living inCalifornia w ith a young family and a new business, kepta physical distance. Elizabeth traveled to M innesota asoften as possible.She had no one w ith w hom to share her fears and herpain. She did not w ant to burden her dying m other anym ore than was absolutely necessary. So Elizabeth kepther despair inside, and each day felt increasingly heavy."I will miss you so m uch. . . . I love y o u ," her m othertold her. " T h e most difficult part is leaving you. I'm notafraid o f dying. I'm not afraid ot what awaits me. I justd o n 't want to leave you yet."As she grew weaker and weaker, her m other's resolveto stay longer gradually diminished. D eath w ould be awelcom e relief from the debility and the pam. H er lastday arrived.Elizabeth's m o th e r was in the hospital, the small roomcrow ded w ith family and visitors H e r breathing becameerratic. T h e urine tubes showed no drainage; her kidneyshad ceased to function. She lapsed into and out o f con sciousness. At one point Elizabeth found herself alonew ith her m other. At this m om ent her m other's eyes w id ened, and she became lucid again.

O nly Love Is Real7i w o n 't leave y o u ," her m other said in a suddenlyfirm voice. "I'll always love you!"Those were the last words Elizabeth heard from hermother, w ho n o w lapsed into a coma. H e r respirationsbecame even m ore erratic, w ith long stops and sudden,gasping starts.Soon she was gone. Elizabeth felt a deep and gapinghole in her heart and in her life. She could actually feela physical aching in her chest. She felt she w ould neverbe completely w hole again. Elizabeth cried for months.Elizabeth missed the frequent phone calls w ith hermother. She tried calling her father m ore often, but heremained w ithdraw n and had very little to talk about. H ew ould be off the p h o n e w ithin a m inute or two. H e wasnot capable o f nurturing or com forting her. H e also wasgrieving, and his grief isolated him even m ore. H e r b ro th er in California, w ith his wife and tw o y o u n g children,was also devastated by his m other's death, but he wasbusy w ith his family and career.H er grief began to evolve into a depression withincreasingly significant symptoms. Elizabeth was havingproblems sleeping at night. She had difficulty falling asleepand she w ould awaken m u ch too early in the m orning,unable to fall back to sleep. She lost interest in food andbegan losing weight. She had a noticeable lack o f energy.She lost enthusiasm for relationships, and her ability toconcentrate becam e increasingly impaired.Before her m other's death, Elizabeth's anxiety consistedmainly o fjo b stresses, such as deadlines and difficult deci sions. She was also anxious at times about her relationshipswith men, with h o w she should act and w hat theirresponses w ould be.

8Brian L. WeissElizabeth's anxiety levels increased dramatically afterthe death o f her m other. She had lost her daily confidanteand adviser, her closest friend. She had lost her primarysource o f guidance and support. Elizabeth felt disoriented,alone, adrift.She called for an appointm ent.Elizabeth came into my office hoping to find a pastlife in w hich she had been together w ith her m other orto contact her in a mystical experience. In books andlectures I have talked about people in meditative stateshaving such mystical encounters w ith loved ones. Eliza beth had read m y first book, and she seem ed aware o fthe possibility o f these experiences.As people open up to the possibility, even the probabil ity, o f life after the death o f the physical body, o f thecontinuation o f consciousness after leaving the physicalbody, they begin to have m ore o f these mystical experi ences in dreams and in other altered states o f conscious ness. W h e th e r these encounters are real or no t is difficultto prove. B ut they are vivid and filled w ith feeling. Som e times the person even becomes aware o f specific informa tion, facts or details that were k n o w n only to the deceased.These revelations from spiritual visits are difficult toascribe solely to imagination. I believe n o w that such newknow ledge is obtained, or visits are m ade, no t becausepeople wish this to happen, no t because they need it, butbecause this is the way contacts are made.O ften the messages are very similar, especially indreams: I'm all right. I'm fine. Take care o f yourself. Ilove you.Elizabeth was hoping for some type o f reunion orcontact w ith her mother. H er heartache needed somebalm to ease the constant pain.

O n ly Love Is Real9M ore o f her history em erged during this first session.Elizabeth had been married for a brief period o f timeto a local contractor, w h o had tw o children by a previousmarriage. A lthough she was no t passionately in love w iththis man, he was a good person, and she thought that thisrelationship w ould bring some stability into her life. Butpassion in a relationship cannot be artificially created.There can be respect, and there can be compassion, but thechemistry has to be there from the start. W h e n Elizabethdiscovered that her husband was having an extramaritalaffair w ith som eone w h o could provide m ore excitem entand passion, she reluctantly left the relationship. She wassad about the breakup and sad to leave the tw o children,but she did not grieve because o f the divorce. T h e losso f her m other was m u ch m ore severe.Because o f her physical beauty, Elizabeth found it easyto m eet and date o th er m en after the divorce. B ut noneof these relationships had fire either. Elizabeth began todoubt herself, to try to find w here w ithin herself the faultlay in her inability to establish good relationships withmen. " W h a t is w ro n g w ith m e?" she w ould ask herself.And her self-esteem w ould dip another notch.T he barbed arrows o f her father's painful criticismsduring her childhood had left w ounds in her psyche. T h etailed relationships w ith m en rubbed salt in these wounds.She began a relationship w ith a professor at a nearbyuniversity, but he could no t com m it to her because o fhis ow n fears. Even though there was a strong feeling o ftenderness and understanding, and even though the tw ocom m unicated very well, his inability to com m it to arelationship and to trust his feelings doom ed that relation ship to a quiet and unspectacular ending.Some m onths later Elizabeth m et and began dating a

10Brian L. Weisssuccessful banker. She felt secure and protected in thisrelationship even though, once again, the chemistry waslimited. He, how ever, was strongly attracted to Elizabethand becam e angry and jealous w hen she aid not recipro cate w ith the kind o f energy and enthusiasm that heexpected. H e began to drink m ore, and he became physi cally abusive. Elizabeth left this relationship, too.She had been quietly despairing o f ever m eeting am an w ith w h o m she could have a good and intimaterelationship.She had th ro w n herself into her w ork, enlarging herfirm, hiding behind the num bers and calculations andpaperw ork. H e r relationships primarily consisted o f busi ness contacts. A nd even though from tim e to time a manw ould ask her out, Elizabeth w ould do som ething todiscourage that interest before it grew into anythingserious.Elizabeth was aware that her biological clock was tick ing, and she still hoped to m eet the perfect man someday. but she had lost a great deal o f confidence.The first therapy session, devoted to gathering historicalinformation, formulating a diagnosis and therapeutic ap proach, and sowing the seeds o f trust in our relationship,had ended. T he ice had been broken. I decided not to useProzac or other antidepressants at this rime. W e would aimfor a cure, not just the covering over o f her symptomsAt the next session, one w eek later, w e w ould beginthe arduous jo u rn e y back through time.

So long ago! A n d yet I' m still the same Margaret.I t ' s only our lives that grow old. We are wherecenturies only count as seconds, and after a thousandlives our eyes begin to open.E u g e n e O ' N eii .i- / rior to my experiences w ith Catherine, I had nevereven heard o f past-life regression therapy. T his was nottaught w hen I was at Yale Medical School, nor anywhereelse, I was to learn.I can still vividly rem em ber the first time. I hadinstructed C atherine to travel backward in time, hopingto discover childhood traumas that had been repressed,or forgotten, and that I felt were causing her currentsymptoms o f anxiety and depression.She had already reached a deeply hypno

Also by Dr Brian Weiss Many Lives, Many Masters I )r Brian Weiss had been working wirli Catherine, a young patient, for eighteen months. When his traditional methods of therapy tailed, he turned to hypnosis. As a traditional psychotherapist, Dr Weiss was sc eptical and astonished when Catherine began to recall past-life traumas that seemed to hold