The Inner Mind: Research Into the Soul

A Book Review by Tim Brunson DCH

As hypnotherapists and other integrative care practitioners we occasionally stumble into some phenomena that make us delve into regions of the unknown and unexpected. In the mid-1960's A.L. Ward, a San Bernardino, California policeman and sometimes hypnosis instructor encountered a series of events that led him to expand his interested into the inner workings or our mind and soul. While participating in a search for abody discarded in the dessert by a would-be abortionist, Ward suggested that hypnosis could be used to regress the confessed murderer so that the body may be found. Although this was not allowed, a series of regressions with another "witness" presented him with a series of conversations with what many may regard as a channeled entity.

In The Inner Mind: Research Into the Soul Ward details a series of conversations with Rebecca, a personality that claim to have special spiritual knowledge and insights into spirituality and the inner workings of the mind. Even though the skeptic can find plenty to dispute in this book, I found it a very interesting case study. The series of regressions involving Rebecca, to include taking her through different past life regressions, give us an insight into much of the prevailing religious thought of the modern era. While Ward is quick to point out the lack of conflict with his Christian readers (and in fact points out that Rebecca's revelations should support Christian thought), many of her statements may make some main-line Christian groups more than a little uncomfortable.

I really enjoyed this very thorough documentation of conversations between a competent hypnotist and what appears to be a channeled entity. While I'll leave it up to other reader's level of acceptance of the "scientifically unexplained", I must admit the ongoing dialog is either an outstanding work of fiction or a brilliant insight into truths normally considered beyond our day-to-day comprehension. If this book is to be taken seriously, Rebecca (and the other few regressions detailed in the book), give us a deeper look into our subconscious mind.

The concepts and ideas brought forth in the regression sessions do support much of the modern thinking about hypnosis. What I loved best about this book was how Ward attempted to tie all the concepts together in Chapter Twenty, entitled "Theories and Explanations". My first impression was that this chapter should have been the introduction for a major book on hypnosis. His comments about the workings of the mind are some of the best expressed that I've found in hypnosis books published over the past 50 years. And, despite the fact that this book was first released in 1966, I found his opinions about the need to create a hypnotherapy profession, separate from the medical and psychological disciplines to be right on target and relevant today. Even if a practitioner has a difficulty with channeled entities, this one chapter makes the book worthy of the purchase price.

Later A.L. Ward published a sequel to The Inner Mind. Over the next few weeks, I'll be reading it and reviewing it as well. Lastly, I believe that he has a new book in the works. It will be interesting to see how his thoughts and ideas have progressed over the decades since his first book.