Lifecycles: Reincarnation and the Web of Life

"Lifecycles" is a remarkable and pioneering book. It is the best book on reincarnation and karma that I have ever come across. I too have come to accept reincarnation though, like Professor Bache, it was an idea alien to my Christian upbringing (even though it in no way contradicts Christianity). I came to reincarnation through my own life experiences, including mystical ones. I do not pretend to understand the exact dynamics of reincarnation nor does Bache. But this book sets out perhaps the best analysis of how and why reincarnation occurs than any other I have read. It also examines, as no other book I know of does, the practical ramifications of reincarnation for our present lives. I heartily recommend "Lifecycles." Jim Marion, author of "Putting on the Mind of Christ, The Inner Work of Christian Spirituality."

This book by Christopher Bache is really a must read for anyone interested in the possibility of Past Lives. It is written in an objective scholarly manner which is rigorous in detail yet incredibly readable. He doesn't try to sell you on any point of view, he presents the evidence (which is quite compelling) and also explains rebirth in terms both Spiritual as well as Psychological. I originally bought this book many years ago after hearing the last part of an interview w/ Christopher Bache on the radio. I was so blown away by his honesty and integrity regarding the subject that I ordered the book immediately. The book far exceeded my expectations in every way. Unlike Gary Zukav's book "Seat of the Soul" which is interesting but doesn't give the reader any data in which to understand where he bases his statements, "Lifecycles" is written from a scholarly perspective with loads of carefully scrutinized documentation. It's approach is "here is the data (and it's very substantial), here are various points of view regarding rebirth throughout history (including discussions of karma), you are left to then come to your own conclusions based on the material presented. Outstanding achievement and Highly recommended!

Lifecycles in reviewThis is an interesting, provocative and analytical book in that it attempts both a subjective and an objective assessment of the human condition with the added dimension of multiple reincarnating threads. The work makes a fair fist of reviewing some of the religious views on the matter and does quite well at that without covering some of the finer points of structure as elaborated in some of the Upanishads (see: Kenopanishad by Swami Chinmayananda). The individual life-experience examples provided are informative and persuasive. A considerable space is devoted to analyzing elements such as the meaning of "soul age" and reincarnation in relation to Christianity. In the latter case the author places less emphasis on the elements of political control utilized in the rejection of reincarnation by modern Christianity than might otherwise be warranted in an assessment that could be described as "Wouldn't it be nice if Christianity recognized reincarnation?" The discussion of Karma omits to point out that "group Karma" might be seen to play a long-wave role in why this is simply not the case.In his postscript the author asks what the individual prophets and holy ones have added if the totality of cyclic manifestation has been ongoing (at the individual level) since the earliest of times. His conclusion is that they have added awareness and empowerment. The Hindu faith as stated by Swami Chinmayananda goes a step further and asserts that the totality of all minds/intellects in the visible world is the total conception of god (the god-principle). The individual avatars or incarnations are merely manifestations of the god-principle (however great or small they may seem).There are two further features of the book, which are worth mentioning. The first is that a credible attempt has been made to "round out" the story of reincarnation by thoroughly integrating an often overlooked portion of the story. This concerns our life the bardo. (This is further carried over in the author's latest book "Dark Night Early Dawn" in an interesting chapter devoted to the insights of Robert Monroe). The title, Lifecycles, apparently relates to the emphasis placed on a rounded account of all the phases of the soul's cyclic development. The second resides in the way in which the author underlines that karma is a living energetic net connecting us to a living universe that continuously accumulates information and, when sufficient energy is amassed, responds to our choices by bringing about new configurations and opportunities in our lives.

A well written, well researched book. It is so good to read a book on this subject that is so unbiased. I definitely suggest that anyone who is in the process of re-evaluating the meaning of life, reads this book. This book has proven to be one of the more important influences on my thoughts to date. A must read.

Most books on past lives are mostly anecdotal, depending for their interest on the reader's being amazed that the evidence for them exists. Bache's book, however, goes beyond that to attempt a coherent theory of what happens between lives, and whether there is a pattern to one's lives. I thought this was the most important book in this field that I have read in 10 years. There is still a lot to be explained, but I found much of what Bache says very convincing. A good book to begin with if you have read nothing else - he mentions all the important work in the field so you can explore further.