Marie Gates has led a most interesting life, along the way helping countless writers and those seeking the spiritual path. I met Marie over 20 years ago when she led the Rochester Writers Group at Barnes & Noble. This group introduced me to many wonderful people, some who have since passed away, and others who I became good friends with including Marie.

Over the years, the more I learned about Marie, the more I respected and admired her as a person and as a writer. She has had a most interesting life. As I’ve often said, “What’s the use of having a great book if you have a lousy life? These days, especially, having a great life can easily translate into a great book.”

That’s the case with Marie Gates. She has translated her great experiences into several books and is currently working on her third book.  Marie holds an M.A. in psychology, and for several years she taught in colleges and universities. Her first book, Shadows on My Mind: A Psychologist Explores Reincarnation and PSI, describes how she first became interested in reincarnation.  As a university instructor, she encountered a student acquainted with a hypnotist who regressed people to their past lives, and curiosity about a vivid dream led her to him.  He uncovered five of her incarnations, including that of the woman in the dream.  Under hypnosis, Marie gave her name and that of her husband and their city.  She was able to verify this life by finding the woman’s daughter.

Marie spent the past thirty years exploring reincarnation and other spiritual topics.  Hypnotic regressions and spiritual healing sessions revealed a number of her past lives.  Research confirmed the existence of Rev. Jacob Gruber, the 19th century circuit-riding minister described in her second book, Are We Our Past Lives?          

 “Everything we are can be traced to past lives,” Marie said, explaining what the book is about. “Before birth we select our physical appearance, health, values, habits, talents, disabilities, and many other qualities.  We also choose our family members and close associates as well as factors such as our occupation and where we will live.  All of these choices are made to work upon our past-life karma.   Knowing this helps explain who we are, why, and the dynamics of our relationships.”

The main objective of this book is to illustrate how former lives affect people and their relationships.  Each of the first nine chapters of Are We Our Past Lives? begins with one of Marie’s past lives.  Then comes a historical perspective showing the factors that may have influenced that life.  Next she relates aspects of her current life, such as tendencies, abilities, challenges, and relationships, to that incarnation.  Marie’s claustrophobia originated in a life as Tim, a young gold miner who suffocated in a cave.  Relationships with people who were relatives both in a past life and a present life are discussed with karma, unresolved emotions, in mind.  A current family member was responsible for Tim’s death in the cave, and he has paid back some of his karmic debt by teaching Marie to be less trusting of others.    

Are We Our Past Lives? illustrates how former lives affect personalities and relationships in a current life in great depth and it emphasizes the cumulative origin of conditions such as depression and chronic anger.  The incarnations presented in Are We Our Past Lives? span 1,700 years.

“By reading it, you might recall events in your life which will trigger many different emotions including joy, anger, sadness, and regret,” she noted.  “You might realize the necessity of forgiving another person for an offense.  You might speculate about what happened in a past life.”

By reflecting upon their personalities and relationships, and perhaps thinking about how they relate to past lives, readers may make positive changes in their lives.  Some may seek a hypnotist or other therapist to explore the origin of a disorder such as chronic anxiety and receive treatment. 

“And you’ll feel hopeful,” she said.

Spiritual work has led to the complete resolution of Marie’s past-life karma, and depression is no longer a concern. Marie hopes that this book will also “remove the stigma of mental illness.”

Watch the half-hour interview with Marie Gates and to learn more about her work, visit http://www.areweourpastlives.com/