Michael Newton

**Michael Newton**
Full name	Michael Duff Newton, Ph.D.
Born	9 December 1931, Hollywood, California, USA
Died	21 September 2016, Grass Valley, California, USA
Occupation	counseling psychologist, hypnotherapist, author
Education	Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in counseling psychology
Known for	the "Life Between Lives" regression method; founder of The Newton Institute
Awards	Chevalier of Honor of the Order of Constantine; NATH award (1998)
Wikidata	Q459333
Graph (ReQ)	ReQ-0000-0000-0000-0124

Michael Duff Newton (9 December 1931, Hollywood, California – 21 September 2016, Grass Valley, California) was an American counseling psychologist, Certified Master Hypnotherapist, member of the American Counseling Association (ACA), and founder of The Newton Institute for Life Between Lives hypnotherapy. He authored a series of bestselling books that, drawing on thousands of hypnotic sessions, describe the state of the soul between incarnations.

Newton developed a regression method that shifted the focus from memories of past lives to the interval between them. His books have been translated into many languages and have remained bestsellers in their field for decades.

Biography

Michael Duff Newton was born on 9 December 1931 in Hollywood, California. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy in counseling psychology, worked as a Certified Master Hypnotherapist, and was a member of the American Counseling Association; he taught at higher-education institutions in Los Angeles. Beyond his clinical work he served as a corporate consultant, behavioral psychologist, and group-therapy director at mental health centers. He ran a private practice for more than 35 years, conducting some 7,000 regression sessions; at the height of his renown his waiting list reached three to four years. He died on 21 September 2016 in Grass Valley, California.

How the method was discovered

At first Newton was skeptical of metaphysics and declined to conduct past-life regressions. The turning point came by chance. In 1967, while working with a client suffering from shoulder pain, Newton regressed him to a scene in a trench during the First World War — the Battle of the Somme; he later checked the details against military archives in London, and this changed his views. In 1968 a woman who came to him with depression spontaneously moved, under hypnosis, into the "between lives" state and met her "soul group"; her healing prompted Newton to focus on the systematic study of that state.

The "Life Between Lives" method

The Life Between Lives method (LBL) is a form of hypnotic age regression in which the client is brought into a deep (theta) state of consciousness. Unlike classic past-life regression, Newton's method focuses on the period that, by his accounts, the soul spends in the spirit world between incarnations. Newton organized the results of many sessions into a coherent picture.

Stages of the between-lives journey (according to Newton)

Death and separation from the body;
The "healing shower" — restoration of energy;
Meeting with a spirit guide and review of the life just lived;
Return to one's soul group (typically 3–25 related souls);
The Council of Elders (usually three to seven), connected with reflection on karma;
Planning the next life and selecting a body (the Ring of Destiny);
A new incarnation, with loss of memory of the spirit world.

Mapping the spirit world

In Newton's model the spirit world includes a "distribution hub," a "library of lives" with records of incarnations, a "city of shadows" (rehabilitation), and a "Space of Transformation." Souls are classified into six levels of development, to which he assigned aura colors — from white (beginners) to indigo-violet (masters) — while advanced souls acquire specializations (healers, teachers, researchers, and others).

Books

All of the main books were issued by Llewellyn Publications:

Journey of Souls (Journey of Souls, May 1994) — 29 cases; over 700,000 copies sold in English alone, a bestseller for more than 25 years;
Destiny of Souls (Destiny of Souls, 2000) — 67 cases;
Life Between Lives (Life Between Lives, 2004) — the institute's instructional manual;
Memories of the Afterlife (Memories of the Afterlife, 2009) — a collection of students' cases edited by Newton.

Published posthumously with the institute's involvement were also Little Book of Life Between Lives and Wisdom of Souls (2020).

Recognition

In 1995 Newton's method was featured on the television program "Sightings" (Paramount, about 9 million viewers). In 1998 the National Association of Transpersonal Hypnotherapists granted him its "Most Unique Contribution" award, and in 2001 his second book was named "Best Metaphysical Book of the Year." Newton was made a Chevalier of Honor of the Order of Constantine; he lectured in London (College of Psychic Studies), Montreal, and Johannesburg, and was a keynote speaker at the IARRT conference (1996).

Philosophy

Newton framed his task as answering humanity's great questions: "who am I, where do I come from, why am I here, and where am I going." He held that spiritual self-knowledge could reduce conflict and foster harmony by helping people recognize their common spiritual origin. In his words, "the primary purpose of souls who come to Earth in incarnations is to bring love, compassion, and understanding to others."

Sources

The Michael Newton Institute — newtoninstitute.org
Wikidata, item Q459333
Find a Grave: Dr. Michael Duff Newton (1931–2016)