Have You Lived Before This Life
 | |
| Author | L. Ron Hubbard |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Bridge Publications |
Publication date | 1960 |
Have You Lived Before This Life is a non-fiction book published by L. Ron Hubbard in 1960. It is one of the canonical texts of Scientology.[1]
It purports to be a collection of "forty-one actual case histories" of reincarnation and past-life experiences, gleaned from auditing with an e-meter at the Church of Scientology's "Fifth London Advanced Clinical Course" held in 1958.[2]
Scientology's official website says of the book: "The major portion of the book is devoted to the auditing case histories of individuals, detailing their memories of past lives. These case histories graphically show how a person’s attitudes and actions in present time can be affected by incidents in his or her past lifetimes. They also document the improvements that occurred when such incidents were addressed and run out in auditing." Their promotional text for the book also goes on to note that the book answers important questions such as:
The book has been consistently in print until 1989. It is still sold in Church bookstores but it is not currently offered for sale today by Scientology's Bridge Publications and New Era Publications websites.
Criticism
Journalist Paulette Cooper, a critic of Scientology and the target of harassment and a failed frameup for writing her book, The Scandal of Scientology, stated in her review of Have You Lived Before This Life:
"Most of the Scientologists who relived their past lives believed that they had once been plain people, or very often space people, and for plots, their histories read like a type of science-fiction sadomasochism. Many of the preclears believed that they had lived on other planets ... One preclear remembered that when he was in another life and was five years old he was "already on the lookout for brothels," by fourteen or fifteen had learned all about "sex and homosexuals," and by sixteen had killed his father, baby, and captain, breaking up the body of the last, before finally being taken away to the "Zap machine" where he was decapitated and his arms and body placed in a space coffin." [3]
Unpublished sequel
Hubbard, who was extremely enthusiastic about the project, announced a sequel called Where Were You Buried? was in the works. He instructed his auditors to check all preclears for recent deaths, and then to physically locate their place of burial.[4]
Proper title
Some editions of the book have a question mark in the title, but most, including the first printing, do not. Later editions added the proper question mark missing from its title in the original printings. Adding to the confusion, some editions use the question mark on the dust jacket but not on the book itself.
See also
- Scientology bibliography
Notes
- ↑ Rothstein, Mikael (2007). "Scientology, scripture and sacred tradition". In James R. Lewis, Olav Hammer. The invention of sacred tradition. Cambridge University Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-521-86479-4. OCLC 154706390.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "More on Have You Lived Before This Life by L. Ron Hubbard". The L. Ron Hubbard Bookstore. Church of Scientology.
- ↑ Cooper, Paulette (1971). "4. Have You Lived Before This Life?". The Scandal of Scientology. Tower Publications.
- ↑ Ability, Number 114
References
- Ability (Scientology newsletter) number 114.
- Miller, Russell (1987). "14. Lord Of The Manor". Bare-faced Messiah, The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard (First American Edition ed.). New York: Henry Holt & Co. p. 238. ISBN 0-8050-0654-0.
External links
- New Era Publications: Have You Lived Before This Life? Archived July 1, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Scientology Library: Have You Lived Before This Life? Archived October 14, 2006 at the Wayback Machine