Michael Talbot believes in reincarnation. He knows that it is true. After all, when he was a small boy he had memories of a previous life as a Buddhist monk in Asia. These memories were so strong that he found himself making constant references to Buddhist teachings in the presence of his friends and relatives while in preschool and he refused to call his parents Mom and Dad until he was five years old, because he was fully aware of memories of other mothers and fathers and could not quite reconcile the existence of this mother and father with the memories of the previous ones. I think it is worth pointing out that in one of his previous books, Beyond the Quantum (reviewed in SI, Winter 1987-88), in which he deals with the new physics and its supposed confir306 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, Vol. 16 has any scientific validity, and the subconscious is most likely the single most controversial concept in the realm of- modern-day psychology. Stating that you are receiving messages from your subconscious doesn't make your statement scientific, and this is where Talbot's book fails.
Now let me try to be more positive. Although the book fails as the scientific document that it portends to be, I confess that I enjoyed it. It was very interesting and a great deal of fun.
Talbot explains many methods of "summoning up past-life memories." All of them hinge on the premise that these memories are buried away in a barely accessible portion of the brain. Talbot claims that by using these methods he has summoned up memories of 20 previous lives. It's one of his stated qualifications for writing the book.
Some of these methods include meditation in various forms, dreaming (including lucid dreaming), selfhypnosis, and his own self-developed resonance method, which essentially consists of finding things like artifacts and photographs and maps of different places and times and seeing whether it "feels" as if you've lived there before. As for the last one, he states, keep at it and in time you'll learn if you've really lived there before or if you're just fooling yourself.
Talbot also covers past-lifeexploration methods for couples and for people wanting "professional guidance and help in their past-life explorations."
The most peculiar thing about this book is the author's constant warning to beware of certain hazards, such as traumatic past-life memories, and not to confront them without the aid of a "certified and qualified past-life therapist." This sounds so much like the legitimate self-help and how-to books that clutter up my shelves that I couldn't help giggling whenever I stumbled across these warnings.
The book does contain the addresses of some peculiar-sounding organizations that can find you "certified psychics," "spirit channelers," or other such people who, Talbot says, can help you find past-life information. As a matter of fact, it seems that almost everything in the New Age arsenal, from crystals to pendulums, can be of help in finding your past lives.
This book is pseudoscientific gobbledygook of the worst sort, since it is based on an unproved premise. Nevertheless, it is well-written gobbledygook and provides an interesting insight into a cultural phenomenon. I enjoyed it. I'm sure that such information could do harm in the hands of the wrong people, but I have to give this book a peculiar and backhanded recommendation just because I found it so amusing. It does provide an interesting survey of what passes for "past-life exploration."
Either you believe in reincarnation or you don't, or like me you just sort of keep an open mind. For the scientifically inclined and critical thinkers, Talbot's book won't sway you one bit in any direction.
Peter Huston is a teacher of English as a second language and writer who currently lives in Taiwan. He has a degree in Asian studies and his interests include Asian history and religion, as well as science, paranormal claims, and much else