What Happens Between One Life and the Next: The Between-Lives Period

What the between-lives period is

The between-lives period is the time that, according to various spiritual traditions and deep hypnotic regression studies, elapses between the end of one life and the beginning of the next incarnation. It is not exclusively a religious concept: psychologist Michael Newton documented thousands of cases of people who, in deep hypnotic states, described consistent experiences of this intermediate state. What occurs in that period, according to those accounts, is not void or sleep — it is an active phase of review, learning, and choice.

What souls experience between lives according to LBL regression

In Life Between Lives (LBL) regression sessions, subjects describe a similar sequence regardless of their culture or religion: first, a review of the recently ended life (key moments, unresolved emotions, impact on other souls); then a rest or energetic recovery period; and finally a planning phase where the soul chooses its next experience, the bonds it will renew, and the lessons it will address. This consistency across thousands of cases is what gives the research its weight.

The between-lives period in different traditions

The Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thödol) describes the bardo state: a 49-day transition period where the soul traverses states of light and illusion before choosing a new incarnation. Allan Kardec's spiritism speaks of a perispiritualization period where the soul reviews its failings and prepares its progression. Theosophical doctrine describes Devachan as a state of assimilation and rest. Differences between traditions are terminological and cultural; the basic structure — review, rest, planning — appears in all of them.

How long the between-lives period lasts

There is no uniform duration, and several factors influence it according to spiritist and regression models. More evolved souls tend to spend less time between incarnations because their review and choice process is more fluid. Violent traumas or abrupt deaths can extend the transition period. Some regression accounts speak of months; others, of centuries. The perception of time in that state is radically different from linear time: many describe it as something that cannot be measured in earthly years.

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The soul group: who you share the between-lives journey with

A recurring concept in LBL research is the soul group: a set of kindred souls that reincarnate together repeatedly in different roles. During the between-lives period, this group gathers to review the last shared life and plan the next. This would explain the experience of recognizing someone as if you have always known them from the first meeting, or the unusual intensity of certain relationships that cannot be explained by just the history shared in this life.

Signs your soul carries the weight of an unresolved transition

Irrational fears with no origin in this life, a sense of existential urgency without apparent cause, difficulty releasing bonds that no longer serve, and patterns that repeat despite intensive therapeutic work are signs some spiritual frameworks attribute to incomplete between-life transitions or unmet soul commitments. This is not a diagnosis — it is a reading framework that can complement other approaches.

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