SIGNALS FROM THE SOUL

Muller’s personal text offers a firsthand glimpse into the alternative therapies of hypnosis, neuromuscular response therapy (NMR) and past-life regression.

After a lifelong journey through many different types of traditional therapies to ascertain why she always felt discontented, Muller discovered certified clinical hypnotist Pamela Chilton and began a course of alternative therapy that she says allowed her to understand the physical and mental challenges of her life and find happiness. A self-proclaimed neophyte in her book’s topics, with a background in theater and small-business start-ups, Muller states upfront that she’s no expert in the subject—she has simply printed the transcripts of 17 of her therapy sessions with Chilton in an effort to share her learning with others. In the types of therapy Muller describes through Chilton’s approach, the answer to the great unknowns of life is to regress to whatever experiences in this life or past lives generated the thought that caused the ongoing unhappiness or ailment and then literally erase it. The soul knows all, Muller posits, and we can consult our higher self for all the problems of life that plague us. The sessions she transcribes range from tracing problems with her eyesight to a past life as an Essene and a relative of Jesus in the time of the crucifixion, to learning about a birth defect in her heart, traced to a life as a greedy, dishonest 18th-century Boston merchant, to regressing to her younger selves to heal a painful legacy of sexual abuse. It’s a comforting idea that we can—and already do—know everything we need to know and can fix our problems as easily as erasing a chalkboard, but while Muller’s book presents plenty of personal detail, it lacks objective information and stops short of offering any way for readers to explore the ideas for themselves other than seeking out a hypnotherapist who specializes in these techniques. For readers already on board with alternative therapies, Muller is a fluid writer, and Chilton’s dialogue supplies an intriguing, if repetitive, narrative; but there’s little case made to convince the unconverted in what amounts to a documentary about Muller’s personal therapy sessions.