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Life Before Life: Origins of the Soul
If we are spiritual beings, where did our spirits originate? Did they flare into existence at the moment we were born? Or did they have a spiritual beginning and come from a spiritual place?
With this provocative query, New York Times #1 bestselling author Richard Eyre begins a remarkable discussion of our spiritual origins. He draws upon a host of sources -- from C. S. Lewis to T. S. Eliot, New and Old Testament scripture, apocryphal writings from the first century, the popular spiritualism of Thomas Moore and James Redfield, using common experiences like intuition and deja vu, and most pointedly from his own spiritual experiences and promptings to argue that we existed previous to our birth, not as animals or other people, but as ourselves.
Written in the pragmatic style for which he is known, this book suggests how readers can come to a knowledge of the age of their souls and then how such a knowledge can radicalize their sense of self and their relationships with others.
With this provocative query, New York Times #1 bestselling author Richard Eyre begins a remarkable discussion of our spiritual origins. He draws upon a host of sources -- from C. S. Lewis to T. S. Eliot, New and Old Testament scripture, apocryphal writings from the first century, the popular spiritualism of Thomas Moore and James Redfield, using common experiences like intuition and deja vu, and most pointedly from his own spiritual experiences and promptings to argue that we existed previous to our birth, not as animals or other people, but as ourselves.
Written in the pragmatic style for which he is known, this book suggests how readers can come to a knowledge of the age of their souls and then how such a knowledge can radicalize their sense of self and their relationships with others.
180 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2000
6 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Richard Eyre
104 books29 followersWriters, lecturers, and grassroots and media catalysts, Linda and Richard Eyre's mission statement: "Our vision is to FORTIFY FAMILIES by celebrating commitment, popularizing parenting, glorifying grandparenting, bolstering balance, and validating values." Their latest efforts in these directions are their new books (The Happy Family [St. Martins Press], Empty Nest Parenting [Bookcraft], and The Book of Nurturing [McGraw Hill]) and their regular appearances on The CBS Early Show. Richard's new book, The Three Deceivers: How our obsessions with ownership, control and independence are ruining the quality of our lives, will be published next year.
Richard is president of a management consulting company and a ranked senior tennis player. He was a "mission president" for his church in London, and a candidate for Governor of Utah.
Richard and Linda have nine children (one of every kind) and live in Washington, D.C. and Salt Lake City.
Richard is president of a management consulting company and a ranked senior tennis player. He was a "mission president" for his church in London, and a candidate for Governor of Utah.
Richard and Linda have nine children (one of every kind) and live in Washington, D.C. and Salt Lake City.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
February 10, 2016
I am loving this book. However you must realize before even picking it up that this is not a science book with empirical evidence proving beyond doubt that there is life before this life. The author presents his beliefs, as he says, as fact, and invites us to extend ourselves to exercise faith that what he writes might be truth. He makes no claim as to this book being anything more than a truth that he believes is fact and an invitation to consider it with an exercise of faith.
in that light, I'd like to second his invitation to seriously consider what he writes with a willingness to believe. Let it germinate in your heart and see what you think. he writes beautifully and sincerely. please consider it.
And if you aren't sure how to exercise belief, Mr. Eyre explains.
in that light, I'd like to second his invitation to seriously consider what he writes with a willingness to believe. Let it germinate in your heart and see what you think. he writes beautifully and sincerely. please consider it.
And if you aren't sure how to exercise belief, Mr. Eyre explains.
January 21, 2014
This was one of the most disappointing books I've ever read. While I don't agree with the idea of life before life, I was very interested in hearing the author's thoughts on the idea. Well, he had a lot of thoughts, but he offered absolutely no strong evidence of his own to support his ideas. He constantly threw other people's ideas into his paragraphs and claimed they were proof, but he never expounded on anything. He didn't tie anything together. I finished the book only because I hoped he would finally attempt to prove his point, but, disappointingly, he did not. At best, this is a rough draft of an essay that still requires many hours of research and revision. If you're interested in this topic, read something else.
February 26, 2016
Simplistic. Remedial. Disappointing.
This is kindergartner's level, with a Bible under your arm for validation.
Don't need to hear from the Bible. If something's true, it rings true for everyone: any--or no--religion.
Don't need validation from others. Say what you're going to say and don't run around the bush so much.
This is kindergartner's level, with a Bible under your arm for validation.
Don't need to hear from the Bible. If something's true, it rings true for everyone: any--or no--religion.
Don't need validation from others. Say what you're going to say and don't run around the bush so much.
April 3, 2009
This book was cute, and thought provoking. However, I already knew everything that it said. I felt that it was speaking to an average person. I wanted something a little deeper with more doctrine. It was ok.
May 16, 2019
There's a guard shack on a island I visit frequently and inside of it are tons of books for anyone to take. I found this book inside one day and brought it home with me. That was about a year ago and I finally got around to reading it.
I really enjoyed it, but I felt it was awfully "religious" in nature. I'm not atheist, but I generally don't like reading books that focus heavily on Christian beliefs. Otherwise, it was a really good book.
I really enjoyed it, but I felt it was awfully "religious" in nature. I'm not atheist, but I generally don't like reading books that focus heavily on Christian beliefs. Otherwise, it was a really good book.
February 18, 2024
I was intrigued by the concept, and am already inclined to think Life / consciousness doesn't begin at conception, nor end at death. So, he wasn't struggling with a dubious audience in me.
Soon, however, the reasoning started to sound very much like an already-established religious narrative. Imagine my surprise! when it turns out his direct revelations correspond exactly with the faith he was brought up in. I don't begrudge anyone their personal belief system - I happen to have one of my own - but I felt blindsided by what turned out to be a lovely book of platitudes straight out of a proselytizing church.
Let me tell you my very favorite part. It is a piece of Wordsworth's Ode: Intimations of Immortality From Recollections of Early Childhood:
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home:
Heaven lies about us in our infancy!
There is a brief refutation of reincarnation, mostly because it causes "aversion." Let's not spend too much time on that idea because nope. Doesn't make mathematical sense, I guess, plus it makes us not as special.
Earth-life is presented as a thing God urges (insists?) upon his spirit children. But, if they mess up, make bad choices, or generally get too human-y here, they won't be allowed back to heaven! Enter a Savior (guess who?) who pays for all of our Divinely-mandated sins.
Two stars mean "it was ok." It was okay. There are some broadly wholesome concepts (respect your children and your spouse, respect other people, see everyone as your spiritual sibling). You really can't go wrong there. If you're looking for something with metaphysical depth, this ain't it.
Two stars. Disappointing.
Soon, however, the reasoning started to sound very much like an already-established religious narrative. Imagine my surprise! when it turns out his direct revelations correspond exactly with the faith he was brought up in. I don't begrudge anyone their personal belief system - I happen to have one of my own - but I felt blindsided by what turned out to be a lovely book of platitudes straight out of a proselytizing church.
Let me tell you my very favorite part. It is a piece of Wordsworth's Ode: Intimations of Immortality From Recollections of Early Childhood:
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home:
Heaven lies about us in our infancy!
There is a brief refutation of reincarnation, mostly because it causes "aversion." Let's not spend too much time on that idea because nope. Doesn't make mathematical sense, I guess, plus it makes us not as special.
Earth-life is presented as a thing God urges (insists?) upon his spirit children. But, if they mess up, make bad choices, or generally get too human-y here, they won't be allowed back to heaven! Enter a Savior (guess who?) who pays for all of our Divinely-mandated sins.
Two stars mean "it was ok." It was okay. There are some broadly wholesome concepts (respect your children and your spouse, respect other people, see everyone as your spiritual sibling). You really can't go wrong there. If you're looking for something with metaphysical depth, this ain't it.
Two stars. Disappointing.
August 1, 2013
Here are my favorite quotes from it:
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting;
The soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere setting,
And cometh from afar;
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home.
Heaven lies about us in our infancy...
-William Wordsworth
It is as though the veil of forgetfulness were a semi-permeable membrane, blocking conscious memory but letting certain feelings seep through.
Things that are real carry with them a ring of truth that is recognizable to our spirits- spirits that, I believ, with Wordsworth, come "from afar...from God, who is our home."
This book asks you to consider this.
Consider that our spirits lived long before they inherited our bodies-
not in other persons, but in another place,
in a pre-mortal realm where we each developed and became who we are and from where we foresaw this physical life as a continuing phase in our experience and our spiritual progression.
The moment you arrived here on this Earth, you were given a body in which to house your spiritual essence.
The real "you" is stored inside this body...
Though you will travel through your entire lifetime together,
you and your body will always remain two separate and distinct entities...
If you are open to all the lessons and gifts your body has to offer you,
it can impart to you valuable bits of wisdom and grace that will guide you along your path of spiritual evolution.
You came into this world already knowing all of the information imparted by these rules.
You simply forgot them somewhere along your journey from the spirit world to the physical one...
When something resonates for you...
you are remembering what you originally knew.
The sunrise of this mortal life was the sunset of our preexistent life. And when we die here, the setting of our physical lives will be the rising of our spiritual lives.
And then sometime, in the most magnificent new day of all, our physical and spiritual selves will rise together in a miracle called the resurrection.
Spiritual truth, when we hear it, can ring as clearly and recognizable like a bell. Because we are spiritual beings, we have spiritual memories, memories that are dim, but not gone. Veiled, but not blocked.
Thus spiritual truths resonate, they feel right. They ring true. They have about them a spiritual logic and light.
The author states that "if I expect you to go deeper with me, it seems I ought to tell you a bit more of my personal experience"- of how and why he came to write this book.
"For years I had struggled with it.
A prompting that I resisted but that wouldn't go away. I kept hearing 'Write what you know about life before life. Share the light you've been given'."
He goes on in great detail of his experiences and exactly how he got the inspiration for this book.
We came into this earth from a better place,
or at least an easier place.
If from that place we could have seen our lives in preview,
all the pain and all the trial,
we may not have come.
And if we could remember the place from whence we came, we might consider killing ourselves just to get back home, and we would not develop the faith and the independence we were sent here to gain.
You lived, as did I, long before we were born on this Earth.
In fact, we lived before there was an Earth.
We are not products of this Earth, nor did we evolve from it,
nor were we made to live on it. Rather, it was made for us to live on.
This Earth is God's handiwork, but we are God's offspring.
There is a reason for spiritual forgetfulness while in mortality.
Our purpose, God's purpose in sending us here, has to do with our development of faith and independence. We must find ourselves here rather than remembering ourselves there. But knowing we were there, and knowing some of the purpose and plan in coming here, can help us find our truest selves.
Faith in both our spiritual past and our spiritual future won't take the pain out of illness, injury, and personal loss, but it will lend a degree of faith and scope to our hardest times and allow us to accept them as part of a plan we agreed to long ago.
Observe your children, strive to know who they truly are- their unique and inherent gifts, inclinations, talents, and personalities. One of the worst things parents can do, on the other hand, is try to force kids into being something the parents wish for, without regard to who and what the child already is.
What we did before (this life) affects us here and now, and what we do now affects us there and then. All of life is real, and our spirits have a real past and a real future.
Just as you would not ignore the red light that your eyes see or the police siren that your ears hear, do not ignore the impressions or "nudges" that your spirit provides, or the warning and messages of right and wrong that your conscience sends. The little intuitions and feelings and promptings that come to our spirits are a bit like radio signals. If we tune them in carefully and pay attention, they become clearer. If we ignore them, they fade into static.
Coincidence may be just a word we use when we're unable to see God's purpose. The circumstances and situations of our lives are not pure chance or coincidence, not in the spiritual view. Although much of life seems completely random, it is important to always remember that there is purpose in life and that each of us was put in a particular current of mortality that would bring us into contact with the very people and situations and circumstances that would allow us to fulfill our purpose, to learn what we lacked, and to find the joy we were sent here to gain.
Pray for distinguishing spiritual discernment. A sense of spiritual awareness, recognition, and discernment. Ask to see things as they really are- spiritually. And then be willing to recognize and follow any answers or promptings you receive.
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting;
The soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere setting,
And cometh from afar;
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home.
Heaven lies about us in our infancy...
-William Wordsworth
It is as though the veil of forgetfulness were a semi-permeable membrane, blocking conscious memory but letting certain feelings seep through.
Things that are real carry with them a ring of truth that is recognizable to our spirits- spirits that, I believ, with Wordsworth, come "from afar...from God, who is our home."
This book asks you to consider this.
Consider that our spirits lived long before they inherited our bodies-
not in other persons, but in another place,
in a pre-mortal realm where we each developed and became who we are and from where we foresaw this physical life as a continuing phase in our experience and our spiritual progression.
The moment you arrived here on this Earth, you were given a body in which to house your spiritual essence.
The real "you" is stored inside this body...
Though you will travel through your entire lifetime together,
you and your body will always remain two separate and distinct entities...
If you are open to all the lessons and gifts your body has to offer you,
it can impart to you valuable bits of wisdom and grace that will guide you along your path of spiritual evolution.
You came into this world already knowing all of the information imparted by these rules.
You simply forgot them somewhere along your journey from the spirit world to the physical one...
When something resonates for you...
you are remembering what you originally knew.
The sunrise of this mortal life was the sunset of our preexistent life. And when we die here, the setting of our physical lives will be the rising of our spiritual lives.
And then sometime, in the most magnificent new day of all, our physical and spiritual selves will rise together in a miracle called the resurrection.
Spiritual truth, when we hear it, can ring as clearly and recognizable like a bell. Because we are spiritual beings, we have spiritual memories, memories that are dim, but not gone. Veiled, but not blocked.
Thus spiritual truths resonate, they feel right. They ring true. They have about them a spiritual logic and light.
The author states that "if I expect you to go deeper with me, it seems I ought to tell you a bit more of my personal experience"- of how and why he came to write this book.
"For years I had struggled with it.
A prompting that I resisted but that wouldn't go away. I kept hearing 'Write what you know about life before life. Share the light you've been given'."
He goes on in great detail of his experiences and exactly how he got the inspiration for this book.
We came into this earth from a better place,
or at least an easier place.
If from that place we could have seen our lives in preview,
all the pain and all the trial,
we may not have come.
And if we could remember the place from whence we came, we might consider killing ourselves just to get back home, and we would not develop the faith and the independence we were sent here to gain.
You lived, as did I, long before we were born on this Earth.
In fact, we lived before there was an Earth.
We are not products of this Earth, nor did we evolve from it,
nor were we made to live on it. Rather, it was made for us to live on.
This Earth is God's handiwork, but we are God's offspring.
There is a reason for spiritual forgetfulness while in mortality.
Our purpose, God's purpose in sending us here, has to do with our development of faith and independence. We must find ourselves here rather than remembering ourselves there. But knowing we were there, and knowing some of the purpose and plan in coming here, can help us find our truest selves.
Faith in both our spiritual past and our spiritual future won't take the pain out of illness, injury, and personal loss, but it will lend a degree of faith and scope to our hardest times and allow us to accept them as part of a plan we agreed to long ago.
Observe your children, strive to know who they truly are- their unique and inherent gifts, inclinations, talents, and personalities. One of the worst things parents can do, on the other hand, is try to force kids into being something the parents wish for, without regard to who and what the child already is.
What we did before (this life) affects us here and now, and what we do now affects us there and then. All of life is real, and our spirits have a real past and a real future.
Just as you would not ignore the red light that your eyes see or the police siren that your ears hear, do not ignore the impressions or "nudges" that your spirit provides, or the warning and messages of right and wrong that your conscience sends. The little intuitions and feelings and promptings that come to our spirits are a bit like radio signals. If we tune them in carefully and pay attention, they become clearer. If we ignore them, they fade into static.
Coincidence may be just a word we use when we're unable to see God's purpose. The circumstances and situations of our lives are not pure chance or coincidence, not in the spiritual view. Although much of life seems completely random, it is important to always remember that there is purpose in life and that each of us was put in a particular current of mortality that would bring us into contact with the very people and situations and circumstances that would allow us to fulfill our purpose, to learn what we lacked, and to find the joy we were sent here to gain.
Pray for distinguishing spiritual discernment. A sense of spiritual awareness, recognition, and discernment. Ask to see things as they really are- spiritually. And then be willing to recognize and follow any answers or promptings you receive.
February 6, 2021
The first half of this book was hard for me to understand and I was ready to chuck the book. Then I came to the Intermission and really liked it so I continued to read to the end. The 2nd half of the book was much easier for me to understand and much to my liking. I'm not sure how to describe the book. The first half of the book the author seemed to try to prove there is a life before this. The second half was more of a spiritual journey and wasn't trying to prove anything, in my opinion.
December 19, 2018
One of those rare times I was able to read a book in its entirety in one day while traveling. I found so many new insights and experienced a few paradigm shifts, it was a spiritual experience to read. Now I just want to read it again with my husband so we can thrill together.
November 14, 2020
Some interesting insights I had not considered before. Most of the material is a review if you already believe in life before this life, but a good review none the less.
June 21, 2022
The last couple chapters were my very favorite. I’ve read several of Richard eyres books and this was the most inspiring.
November 13, 2010
If you read this book, I suggest keeping paper and pen handy to write down impressions. I have pages of notes. Not all directly related to what the author was saying, but it must have got my mind spinning or my spirit restless to communicate with me. :)
I felt like the first part of the book was almost apologetic for what he wanted to say, or that he was being very tentative. I suppose that is good so as not to "turn off" too many readers, but I didn't feel like the real substance started until midway into the book.
Honestly, it is hard for me to wrap my mind around NOT knowing we existed before, so I have a different perspective on this book than who it seems to be addressing. And I must have had a different reason to read it too. I think I needed to reaffirm this thought: pg. 97 "You were an individual. You have always been separate, unique, and distinct from other spirits, developing your own character and characteristics, your own personality and propensities through your own circumstances and choices." But along with that thought.... pg 137-38 "It is not independence but acknowledged dependence on God that brings true peace and strength."
I felt like the first part of the book was almost apologetic for what he wanted to say, or that he was being very tentative. I suppose that is good so as not to "turn off" too many readers, but I didn't feel like the real substance started until midway into the book.
Honestly, it is hard for me to wrap my mind around NOT knowing we existed before, so I have a different perspective on this book than who it seems to be addressing. And I must have had a different reason to read it too. I think I needed to reaffirm this thought: pg. 97 "You were an individual. You have always been separate, unique, and distinct from other spirits, developing your own character and characteristics, your own personality and propensities through your own circumstances and choices." But along with that thought.... pg 137-38 "It is not independence but acknowledged dependence on God that brings true peace and strength."
October 13, 2008
There are many books written about life after death, so I was intrigued when I found this book about life before life. The principles that we lived before we came to this earth, and that our souls are who we really are, are explained in a very fundamental way. This book is written to the human race, not to one specific denomination. It is filled with beautiful quotes by C.S. Lewis, T.S. Eliot, as well as other scriptorians. Well written and insightful.
November 9, 2009
If you've ever wanted to flex your brain about the pre-existence, this is the book for you. I learned a lot and am way more in-tune with my pre-mortal spiritual vibe. It's beddy good!! My favorite part of the book was an analogy he drew from his week-long hike of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Now I want to go to Kenya and hike Mt. Kilimanjaro. I'm serious!!!! heehee
August 23, 2011
This book was amazing. This is a deep book that encourages pondering. It teaches that believing in a life before this life helps us understand ourselves, those around us, and our circumstances in a greater perspective. I feel changed from having read it and am grateful for the added perspective. I believe everything in this book to be true and highly recommend it.
September 29, 2013
This book felt like a Sunday sacrament meeting talk. It had some amazing pages of insight, and other pages that have already faded from my mind. The author chose a topic that doesn't have a lot of doctrine behind it but nonetheless provides the reading with some interesting thoughts about our life before earth. This is the type of book that each reader will pull something different from it.
February 21, 2016
I think my favorite passage was:
Knowing that we are God's spiritual children and that we lived with Him in a life before life can increase our regard and our respect for ourselves. It can give us faith that, over time, the goodness of our spirits can turn our weaknesses into strengths. That perspective can make us more patient and more gentle with ourselves.
Knowing that we are God's spiritual children and that we lived with Him in a life before life can increase our regard and our respect for ourselves. It can give us faith that, over time, the goodness of our spirits can turn our weaknesses into strengths. That perspective can make us more patient and more gentle with ourselves.
February 25, 2015
Loved this book because I love it when you come to your own conclusions separate from anyone else and than you read someone else's thoughts and they are the same! My favorite was the section on how knowing about life before life should change the way we live here.
February 11, 2011
Eyre tells what he believes and his thought process and literally his journey to writing this book. Bottom line he says it makes a difference or can make a difference in the way we live our lives if we believe in a life before life.
October 24, 2008
Great overview.
February 4, 2010
It's like looking in a mirror of truth and seeing it light up.
March 19, 2011
Knowing where you came from gives a greater understanding that life is the test "not the reward"
February 24, 2013
Great questions to ponder who we really are.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews