Karma Can Be a Real Pain: Past Life Clues to Current Life Maladies

Therapist and past-life researcher DiMaggio (Your Soul Remembers) offers a collection of brief case studies intending to prove that ailments in this life such as arthritis, diabetes, and depression are the result of “physical karma” from a previous life, and that spontaneous healings can occur if patients discover the source of their present-life maladies through past-life regression therapy. The collection includes some harrowing past-life accounts—opium addiction, sex work, and even death by crucifixion—but is weakened by some unexplained holes. DiMaggio states that her work is set apart by the inclusion of “soul writing,” a kind of automatic writing believed to come directly from one’s higher self, to provide extra insight on the past-life regression. Yet even though DiMaggio and all her volunteers did soul writing in each case, some studies only include DiMaggio’s soul writing or only the volunteer’s, while others have both. Seemingly analytical statements are often symbolic, such as the assessment that arthritic clients’ stiff joints result from “the tightness they hold in their attitude toward life.” Structural issues aside, the book offers possible karmic explanations and some hope for those with chronic health issues, and presents an interesting catalogue of approaches to life. (Oct.)