Adventures of the Soul: Journeys Through the Physical and Spiritual Dimensions
Author: James Van Praagh
Published: September 8, 2014
Publisher: Hay House
Source: ARC
In Adventures of the Soul Van Praagh attempts to give his readers a glimpse into the spirit world by giving accounts into his encounters with discarnate spirits, and offering several wafers of wisdom; which i can only assume come from a lifetime of reading and communicating with spirits; and a lifetime of in an industry where trips to other dimensions are common place. There is an entire chapter dedicated to the out of body experiences or OBE’s as they are commonly referred to in the New Age community. In this chapter Van Praag delineated the differences between OBEs and remote viewing. He also gives personal account he has had with OBEs, as well as a moment he had with a friend who was in transition. He floats over 
dozens of metaphors illustrating in the readers mind blatant examples of things that are hard for the normal human mind to grasp. For example at the outset of the book he explains the difference between the soul and the spirit; using a piece is cinematic americana to do it. Taking from The Wizard of Oz; the spirit he offers is more pure and vast than the soul. The spirit is more connected to ‘the source’ most would call God. While the soul intentionally comes to earth to collect information in order to learn lessons. Generally to express the Universe in the best way they know how; with the circumstances in front of them. The way it clicked for me while reading, is he likened the soul to Glinda the good witch, and the bubble that carried her up, up up, and away at the end of the movie to the spirit. So basically the soul is the spirit incarnate.
He also makes no bones about the realities of life and death. And that we all make mistakes. He continues that we build our own world with the choices we make, whether 
those choices are made as a result of love or fear. As a teacher in this respect Van Praagh is one of the highest caliber in this realm of New Age and New thought. He may not be as wordy and disciplined in his prose as a Micheal Singer or Eckhart Tolle, but he’s driving home the same point. And like any good teacher he uses the most worn tool in his arsenal: repetition. Which is my only major gripe with this book. Like a hard headed pupil I must confess I skimmed over the portions I felt were repetitious (which were not plenty). I trust this is a device Van Praagh uses as a teaching tool for anyone who may be picking up one of his books for the first time. I was not one of those readers but I appreciated the consistency in his writing style and prose. The thing that annoyed me may offer a jewel or an ‘aha’ moment to the novice to the genre reading a Van Praagh title for the first time. I can not crucify a man for doing what both of the other above listed authors do just as often. If you are looking to dip your toe into the water in new thought/new age I offer Adventures of the Soul; as Van Praagh having been raised catholic is gentle with those coming from a traditional religious background. So if you have read similar titles, or been to talks, and would like to expand on a shift that you have had. This is a good title to keep the juices flowing.
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