This Side of the Gate

by John P. Johnston

He has walked the earth lifetime after lifetime, sometimes playing the part of a villain, sometimes that of a courageous warrior, occasionally that of a student or teacher. We pick up his journey on the lost continent of Atlantis and follow his exploits across the pages of history. Through it all the answers to life's deepest mysteries are revealed by his Soul, who narrates his story so that others might profit from his experience. He might contradict everything you hold sacred, but in the end he just might reunite you with your own Divine Inner Presence. Come along, if you dare, and if you are not forever changed, then perhaps you too are destined to endure life after life upon the Wheel of Rebirth.

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2005

Reviews

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Side of the Gate is a story with a really innovative concept. The entire book is made up with short stories each detailing the life of a particular individual. In each of these pieces, the reader learns a little about the character of that person, some of his most defining moments, what he has learned from these experiences, and the karmic debt he has accumulated. The tie together of these chapters is that these lives are the reincarnations of one single spiritual entity and the book follows his existences from his life in Atlantis where he seeks spirituality to his life as a major in the Crimean War. His experiences in these thirty-two different lives varies dramatically from an individual seeking spiritual knowledge to another seeking only monetary gain and from the ultimate pacifist to the killing machine.

I loved the idea of tracing an entity's lessons and common patterns through analysis of each life and through the process as a whole. I thought it was a particularly good touch that the reincarnation pattern was not evolution-like so the individual tended to learn a lesson in one life and then fall back into the same destructive pattern in another experience.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely interesting character development through the different incarnations.