A Quote on the Nature of Evil, from a Book by...

I have been reading Michael Newton's books about "life between lives" with great interest. M.N. is a counseling psychologist and hypnotherapist who has researched this area of existence through the experiences of his patients under hypnosis. He has found a remarkable correlation of experience between individuals, and also many variations, and has written about them in his two books, Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls. Below is a summary of what he has discovered about evil and violence, with references to serial killers and other disturbed individuals.

".....Evil exists internally, initiated within the confines of the deranged human mind. Life can be cruel but it is of our own making here on this planet.

Assuming that we are born evil, or that some external force has occupied the mind of an evil person, makes malevolence easier for some people to accept. It is a way of rationalizing premeditated cruelty, preserving our humanity, and absolving ourselves of responsibility individually and collectively as a race. When we see cases of serial killers, or those of children who kill other children, we might label these people as either "born killers" or under outside demonic influences. This saves us the trouble of finding out why these murderers enjoy inflicting pain by acting out their own pain.

There are no soul monsters. People are not born evil. Rather they are corrupted by the society in which they live, where practicing evil satisfies the cravings of depraved personalities. This emanates from the human brain. Studies of the psychopath have shown that the excitement of inflicting pain on others without remorse satisfies an emptiness they feel within themselves. Practicing evil is a source of power, strength and control for inadequate people. Hate takes away the reality of a hateful life. The warped minds of these executioners tell them, "If life is not worth living for me, why not take it away from somebody else."

Evil is not genetic, although if a family has a history of violence and cruelty to their children, these acts are often passed on from one generation to the next as learned behavior. Violence and dysfunctional behavior from one adult member of a family is an internal emotional reaction that spills over to contaminate other younger members. This can lead to compulsive and destructive behavior from children of that family. How do these genetic and environmental disruptions to the body affect our soul?

What I have found in my practice is that a soul's energy force may, during troubled times, dissociate from the body. There are those who feel they don't even belong to thir bodies. If conditions are severe enough, these souls are prone to thoughts of suicide--but usually not taking the life of another. I will have more to say about this condition in upcoming chapters. Part of this turmoil stems from conflicts between the soul's immortal character meshed to the temperament of a host brain with all its genetic baggage. There may also be influences of abnormal brain chemistry and hormonal imbalances affecting the central nervous system that might contaminate the soul.

.....Souls don't represent all that is pure and good about a body or they wouldn't be incarnationg for personal development. Souls come to Earth to work on their own shortcomings......"

(pp. 76 to 77)