Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives

Dr. Michael Newton’s Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives (1994) is a foundational work in the New Age and spiritual regression genres. Based on years of clinical hypnotherapy, the book presents a detailed model of the afterlife, arguing that the soul’s memories of its existence between physical incarnations can be accessed through a deep trance state. The narrative is structured around numbered case studies. Using transcripts from 29 hypnotherapy clients, Newton constructs a chronological journey, following the soul from the moment of death through a structured spiritual realm of healing, review, and learning, until its eventual rebirth into a new body. Through this framework, the book explores themes of The Soul’s Journey as a Structured Educational Process, Karma as Self-Imposed Justice and a Catalyst for Growth, and The Symbiotic Yet Conflicted Union Between Soul and Human Host.

This guide refers to the fifth revised edition of Journey of Souls, published in 2025 by Llewellyn Publications.

Content Warning: The source text features depictions of death, graphic violence, addiction, and references to suicide.

Plot Summary

Based on the accounts of his clients under regressive hypnosis, Newton constructs a detailed outline of the soul’s journey. To support his conclusions, he frequently refers to these individuals, labeling them as Case 1, Case 2, and so on. He asserts that from the moment of death, the soul observes events in a floating, out-of-body perspective. This phenomenon is illustrated in Case 1, as Newton’s client describes watching hospital staff attend to his body and tries unsuccessfully to comfort his grieving wife. In instances of severe pain or trauma, the soul often departs the body moments before death, as with Sally in Case 2, who is freed from the agony of an arrow wound. A gentle, magnetic force then begins to pull her soul away from the Earth, though she resists this pull for a time. Many souls choose to linger for a few days to witness their own funerals or attempt to console loved ones before willingly moving on.

The soul then travels through a dark passage, often described as a tunnel, toward a circle of light at the far end. Upon exiting, it enters a gateway to the spirit world. Here, it is surrounded by feelings of love and security, sensing the presence of other waiting spirits. Relaxing, musical vibrations often accompany this stage of the journey. If a soul is particularly distressed by its recent death, as in Case 5, a guide appears at the gateway to offer comfort and reassurance, sometimes showing the soul a vision of the future to ease its anxieties.

After passing through the gateway, the soul experiences a homecoming, greeted by a “reception committee” of familiar spirits. These entities, including soulmates, friends, and relatives from past lives, project recognizable human forms to provide comfort, as when “Uncle Charlie” greets his niece in Case 6. Souls who are already incarnated on Earth can still appear in these greeting parties by dividing their energy. Communication is telepathic, and souls embrace by swirling their energy masses together. Highly advanced souls may not require a greeting and travel directly to their destination, riding a “homing beacon” of light, as described in Case 9.

While most souls follow this path, exceptions exist for “displaced souls.” Some become “ghosts,” refusing to leave Earth due to unresolved anguish. Others who committed evil acts are immediately secluded in the spirit world for intensive remediation, as explained in Case 10. For the majority, the journey continues to a “shower of healing,” where a beam of energy cleanses the soul of trauma from its past life. Following this, the soul undergoes an orientation with its guide to review the life just completed. In Case 13, the soul of Ross Feldon, accompanied by his guide Clodees, regretfully reviews his life of corruption, which ended in death by suicide. Newton connects these past events to the subject’s current-life struggles as a woman. 

After orientation, the soul is transported through a central “staging area” and guided along an energy current to its permanent home, a “cluster group” of kindred spirits organized by spiritual developmental level. Here, souls study their past lives together, often using “life books” containing moving, three-dimensional images of their experiences. A soul’s level of advancement is visibly identifiable by the color of its energy aura, which progresses from shades of white (beginner), through yellow and gold (intermediate), and finally to blue and deep purple (advanced). As souls advance, they take on new responsibilities, such as training to be guides and practicing creation. After rejoining its group, the soul is also summoned before a Council of Elders, a panel of master beings, for a more formal review of its life and conduct.

When the soul is ready to incarnate again, it travels to a place of life selection, described in Case 25 as the “Ring of Destiny.” In this theater-like environment, the soul previews potential future lives on panoramic screens. They can move through time, stop at critical junctures, and even enter a scene to experience it firsthand. The choice of a new body is based on specific karmic goals. Case 26 illustrates a soul choosing contrasting bodies across lifetimes. In one, she incarnates as a powerful Viking to focus on physical development, and later, she incarnates as a disabled woman in order to work on intellectual development. Newton emphasizes that psychological and karmic lessons are the most critical factors in life selection. In Case 27, the soul Sumus, who killed his own mother in a past life, chooses a life in which he is abandoned as a baby.

Newton explains that once a body is chosen, the soul proceeds to a “recognition class” for final preparations. Here, specialist souls called “prompters” implant “memory triggers” into the minds of all souls who will play significant roles in each other’s upcoming lives. As described in Case 28, these signs, such as a scent or a piece of jewelry, are designed to help them recognize one another on Earth. After a final meeting with its Council of Elders for encouragement, the soul travels rapidly back to Earth through a dark tube. It enters the fetus, typically between the third and sixth month of pregnancy. Before birth, the soul begins the process of synchronizing its energy with the baby’s developing brain. After birth, amnesia begins to block conscious memory of the spirit world, and the soul embarks on its new physical journey.