''Have You Lived Before This Life'' is a non-fiction book published by
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianetic ...
in 1958. It was one of the
canonical texts of
Scientology,
The book was Hubbard's response to the success of the
Bridey Murphy phenomenon in the UK. Hubbard saw this as an opportunity to increase public interest in
past life regression.
It purports to be a collection of "forty-one actual case histories" of
reincarnation and past-life experiences, gleaned from
auditing
An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...
with an
e-meter at the
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a scientology as a business, bu ...
's "Fifth London Advanced Clinical Course" held in October-November, 1958.
Some of these "case histories" took place on other worlds or in the extremely distant past. The book was based on an earlier privately printed softcover circulation made available to students who attended that course.
Scientology's official website says of the book: "The major portion of the book is devoted to the auditing case histories of individuals, detailing their memories of past lives. These case histories graphically show how a person’s attitudes and actions in present time can be affected by incidents in his or her past lifetimes. They also document the improvements that occurred when such incidents were addressed and run out in auditing."
Reception
In her book ''
The Scandal of Scientology
''The Scandal of Scientology'' is a critical exposé book about the Church of Scientology, written by Paulette Cooper and published by Tower Publications, in 1971.
In 2007, Cooper wrote about the events resulting from the publication of her stor ...
'',
Paulette Cooper examined the often fantastical nature of the past lives described, referred to by Hubbard as "
space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soci ...
":
"Hubbard has devoted a special book called ''Have You Lived Before This Life: A Scientific Survey'' just to past-life case histories of Scientologists. The preface of this book also contains the names and addresses of the people who took part in the experiment so that the cynical could check its facts ... Most of the Scientologists who relived their past lives believed that they had once been plain people, or very often space people, and for plots, their histories read like a type of science-fiction sadomasochism."
Unpublished sequel
According to Cooper, Hubbard announced a sequel called ''Where Were You Buried?'' was in the works. He instructed his auditors to check all preclears for recent deaths, and then to physically locate their place of burial.
[*''Ability'' (Scientology newsletter) number 114.
*]
See also
*
Scientology bibliography
*
Scientology beliefs and practices
References
External links
*New Era Publications:
*Scientology Library: ''Have You Lived Before This Life?''
{{Authority control
1958 fiction books
Books published by the Church of Scientology
Books about reincarnation