Books

Average customer rating:

Need for Spiritual Change
Really Bad. Don't Buy
Thought Provoking
Spiritually Uplifting
A Good Effort

Nexus: A Neo Novel
Deborah Morrison , and Arvind Singh
Manufacturer: Manor House Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0978107004

Book Description

Nexus offers an engaging and insightful journey of an odd mix of people drawn together to a spiritual retreat to overcome personal pain. This book will please readers of spiritual, new age, inspirational, self-help and visionary fiction books. It weaves insights within the narrative like The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield and The Peaceful Warrior series by Dan Millman.

Starting with a dramatic suicide scene through intimate details of the struggle of Logan Andrews with depression and despair, we are brought on a journey of inner struggle and personal transformation. The reader is transported to a spiritual retreat where the experiences of people at the retreat provide illuminating life lessons. The tone of book creates an authentic journey that is both exploratory and insightful.

The overriding theme in Nexus is mystical in its nature, narrating experiences of deeper connection felt with one another and all of life. This is poignantly highlighted in key passages, including Logan's empathy for a dying fish in Chapter 6.

Customer Reviews:

Need for Spiritual Change.......2007-07-01

I've read many spiritual books and this one really spoke to me with a story that communicated about both the highs and lows of spiritual life through the touching journey of people at a retreat center. Each person in the story is dealing with their own sorrow from the depression-despair of Logan, Sarah's loss of direction and Muriel's desire to be comforted in her old age. Steven is fixated on his money-making schemes and in order for him to experience growth, he needs to connect to the path of love.

The story speaks of something deeper - a need for spiritual change. It isn't always stated on the surface and you have to dig deeper to recognize that as the central theme of this book. Yet you feel this impulse motivating the communication between teachers and students at the retreat center and the experiences there allude to a deeper bond - to the Nexus that connects us all through our heart where empathy and compassion can grow with experiences of our Oneness. The compassion Logan shows for a dying fish vividly captures this theme. This vision of non-duality is always there beneath the surface though our ego stands in the way of its realization.

The message in this book is beautiful and so I want others to know about it. Through spiritual books like this, we can delve into consciousness transformation and share it with others.

Really Bad. Don't Buy.......2007-06-30

I made the mistake of purchasing this book because it was referenced in a review for The Road (an amazing fiction currently on the best seller list). Now I realize I was probably led into buying it by one of the authors' friends or supporters. The 5 star reviews are bias, to say the least! The dialogue is beyond bad. It is stilted and at times downright silly. I love top quality spiritual writings like "The Power of Now" by E. Tolle or the writings of D. Chopra. It's not that I am spiritually closed, I just know very bad writing when I see it.
This "fiction" is an attempt to flesh out the spiritual teachings of the two authors through poorly crafted, one dimensional characters. I would rather drink flax oil and fast for a week to better my soul than read this kind of stuff. I anticipate receiving some unsupportive votes for this review, and these will likely come from the friends of the authors who have written the 5 star reviews. So be it. I'd rather be honest and save the potential Amazon customer some money!

Thought Provoking.......2007-05-30

NEXUS is an absorbing guide to the dazzling universe of spirituality! Written in the appealing genre of a new age novel I found NEXUS to be a remarkable psychological and spiritual adventure filled with mystery, enchantment, romance, insights, as well as being highly realistic in terms of life's joys and sorrows. I just couldn't put the book down!!!

The diverse assortment of characters were realistic, and the plot was deep, lively and fast paced throughout. NEXUS WORKED AT VERY DEEP LEVELS OF MY MIND TO PENETRATE MY SUBCONSCIOUS AND TO EXPAND AND INSPIRE MY SUPERCONSCIOUS MIND. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!!!

By carefully reading NEXUS and reflecting on the philosophical insights inherent throughout the book I found that I could tap into my deepest inner centre of being- my inner source of strength, wisdom and compassion...what a discovery!!!

I heard about NEXUS from a friend and that is why I bought the book. I told another friend about NEXUS but she had already just finished reading it and was most impressed.

It seems that people everywhere are suddenly experiencing an intense attraction to NEXUS, one of the most valuable books I've read in a long time.

Another new age novel that I highly recommend is The Saint, the Surfer, and the CEO: A Remarkable Story About Living Your Heart's Desires

Spiritually Uplifting.......2007-05-21

Every once in a while you come across a book that resonates at a deeper soulful level. "Nexus: A Neo Novel" is one of those books that touches you through a spiritual journey of transformation of people in the book. Their transformation is an inner one at the level of their heart and psyche.

For Logan Andrews the transformation requires that he move from negative thoughts and emotions to positive ones. This task is fraught with difficulties, since even at a spiritual retreat intended to help people find the centre of their being called the Nexus, Logan is confronted with his greatest loss as he meets his ex, Sarah.

I really liked the sub-plot with Steven, an arrogant millionaire, who at first is irritating but in time he grows on you and becomes an endearing person. Steven believes that money is the answer to life's problems but has he lost his way?

Even though the writers of "Nexus" have their own unique voice, still this book reminds me of other visionary writers like James Redfield, Carlos Castaneda and Dan Millman. I highly recommend "Nexus" as a deeply moving experience of personal transformation whose message spiritual readers will most appreciate.

A Good Effort.......2007-04-13

I thought the format interesting and looked forward to real-time dialog between the characters, but that was sadly lacking. They never really engaged one another in any meaningful, escalating dialog that showed how they connected to one another or how someone's perceptions influenced another's thought processes. There was also a lot of one sided conversations disguised as dialog, and, I felt that there were many opportunities lost where the student could have questioned the master, in order to have the master expand upon the lesson and explain just how the student was to put the teachings into practice. The motivations of characters did not move the plot along and the authors resorted to inserting convenient situations to make points or generate conflict that would be magically resolved. I'm hoping a second read will enable me to get beyond the character and plot limitations to the lessons that the authors were trying to convey. Kudos to the authors for making the book happen; so many people who have a book in them never get it out.

Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers: An Intimate Journey among Hasidic Girls

Average customer rating:

love, love, love it
Fascinating and Readable
interesting, insightful and a little long
An excellent read
Great insight into a different world

Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers: An Intimate Journey among Hasidic Girls
Stephanie Wellen Levine
Manufacturer: New York University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0814751970
Release Date: 2004-08-06

Book Description

"A vivid portrayal of the Lubavitcher community."
— Library Journal

"Levine does a splendid job of presenting how the girls cope, and paints vivid pictures of Shabbat around their family tables."
— The Jerusalem Post Literary Quarterly

"Stephanie Wellen Levine has written an intriguing and joyous account of the lives of young adult Hasidic women."
— Jewish Book World

"Eminently readable."
— Jewish Journal Book Review

"Levine steps back and lets the girls speak for themselves; their voices, layered with determination, yearning, confusion and wonder, emerge clearly."
— Na'amat Woman Book Reviews

"This absorbing ethnography acts as one subculture's corrective to Reviving Ophelia, in that it offers a refreshing portrait of adolescent girls who are far from insecure."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

From the ardently religious young woman who longs for the life of a male scholar to the young rebel who visits a strip club, smokes pot, and agonizes over her loss of faith to the proud Lubavitcher with a desire for a high-powered career, Stephanie Wellen Levine provides a rare glimpse into the inner worlds and daily lives of these Hasidic girls.

Lubavitcher Hasidim are famous for their efforts to inspire secular Jews to become more observant and for their messianic fervor. Strict followers of Orthodox Judaism, they maintain sharp gender-role distinctions.

Levine spent a year living in the Lubavitch community of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, participating in the rhythms of Hasidic girlhood. Drawing on many intimate hours among Hasidim and over 30 in-depth interviews, Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers offers rich portraits of individual Hasidic young women and how they deal with the conflicts between the regimented society in which they live and the pull of mainstream American life.

This superbly crafted book offers intimate stories from Hasidic teenagers' lives, providing an intriguing twist to a universal theme: the struggle to grow up and define who we are within the context of culture, family, and life-driving beliefs.

Customer Reviews:

love, love, love it.......2007-03-10

This was such a wonderful eye-opening book about the variety of girls in the Lubavitch community in Crown Heights. This book breaks the stereotype that says that girls from very religious families become "drone-like" or don't have their individuality. Within their very prescribed world, because of the teachings and influence of the rebbe, there are countless opportunities for personal exploration and expression. It was inspiring to me as a mother of a girl as well; I want my daughter to have some of the passion and commitment displayed in these pages!

Fascinating and Readable.......2006-10-03

This is a book version of Stephanie Levine's doctoral dissertation, but don't let that put you off--all it means is that it is very well researched and has some theoretical underpinnings laid out in the opening and closing chapters, which are quite readable in themselves. HOwever, the meat of the book is the profiles of individual Hasidic girls who run the gamut from intensely religious to rebelling against the norms of their enclave. The girls all come across as fascinating individuals and Levine is a sympathetic portrayer of them. She can appreciate both the strengths and the confining aspects of the Hasidic world, and marvels at the strong assertiveness of these girls who have been educated and largely socialized in a single sex environment. For anyone who has looked at these communities from the outside and wondered what it's like to live or grow up within them, particularly as a woman, this is a fascinating book that in no way reads like a textbook or a heavy academic tome. Excellent!

interesting, insightful and a little long.......2006-07-28

This book was really different. The introduction and the conclusion were really too long and drawn out, however, the stories of the girls Levine met with and talked to were captivating and insightful. The writing seemed to be twofold, a long, drawn out sociological blah blah, but a great, funny, quirky, interesting middle. Worth the read for anyone who wants to learn more about the Lubavitch culture, about frum teenage girls and who wants a light read.

An excellent read.......2005-11-20

Having been Lubavitch, I read Levine's book as both former insider and outsider. Her portrayal of the Lubavitch world captured its essence, and her description of the variety of personalities within it was also apt. Unlike an earlier reviewer, I considered the deliberate care taken to obscure the identities of the girls to be important and in keeping with academic ethics.

The Lubavitch world holds within it a certain comfort and certainty, simply because all the answers are there. Unfortunately, as we read in the cases of several of the girls portrayed in this book, there is little to no place for the girl or woman who thinks critically, questions the tenets of Chabad-Lubavitch, or who is called to higher education. For example, I wonder if one of the women portrayed ever completed her medical training.

An excellent study that offers the reader insightful glimpses into the world of Lubavitch girls.

Great insight into a different world.......2005-08-28

I loved this book. I really got an inside view of a world far different than the secular one I live in. The author was honest about her own points of view and her own biases. I really feel like I understand and know about the Lubavitch lifestyle after reading this book. As a secular Jew, I felt like I related to the author and how she viewed the unique culture of Crown Heights. A wonderful ethnography!

Medicine of Light: A Shaman's Journey Through Mystic Space-Time

Average customer rating:

With all Modesty - a True Master in an Ancient Matrilinear Tradtition
Beyond Expectations

Medicine of Light: A Shaman's Journey Through Mystic Space-Time
Amarananda Bhairavan
Manufacturer: Nicolas-Hays
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Metaphysical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0892541261

Book Description

Readers of Kali's Odiyya will be thrilled to see Shambu, Sandhya, and Aunt Preema return in this new memoir in which we encounter the dark odiyyas, predatory sorcerers from realms below the conscious human realm. Aunt Preema and the agorhi (mystics) prepare Shambu (the author's name in his native land) and his mystical companion Sandhya for a descent into the underworld to rescue a disciple of their group. We learn with them about assimilating logical awareness into dream awareness in order to travel into the astral realm, working with herb awareness, and the miraculous healing that can be achieved in the astral realm and manifested in the physical one.

This exciting story contains information about incarnation, karma, the subtle body and the "cosmology" of consciousness. More than a New Age novel, Medicine of Light will make you want to read it in one sitting and come back again and again for its valuable teachings in consciousness.

Customer Reviews:

With all Modesty - a True Master in an Ancient Matrilinear Tradtition.......2007-05-28

This book ("by popular request" really) contains the teachings in response to the kind of questions one asks only after one stops being afraid of the answers.

Amarananda Bhairavan is the conduit for his aunt Preema's unadulterated wisdom. There is no fashionable or slick feel-good stuff, nothing one could tweak into a foundation for a (pseudo-) spiritual empire.

I guess, when you read this review/opinion, you must have been led here and probably are ready to receive the gifts and blessings offered in this rare source of knowledge and inspiration.

Beyond Expectations.......2007-04-28

Being an avid lover of Kali's Odiyya by Amarananda Bhairavan, the bar was held high as I dove into his second book Medicine of Light. It was beyond my expectations. For the second time, I have found incredible engagement and excitement from the story line and heart-opening gratitude for the body of knowledge embedded in this story. This is the kind of knowledge that is not offered in seminars or weekend courses. Even if you set out to look for it, it is a rare find. This book along with Kali's Odiyya will be my most turned to for reference on Karma, herb medicine, Goddess worship and devotion. But beyond all that, it carries the medicine we all need. Deep humility and Love.

The Essential Mystics: The Soul's Journey into Truth

Average customer rating:

You can probably do better...
Go to a quiet place to read...
A momentous journey...
You'll end up feeling better about Mankind
Fantastic Collection!!

The Essential Mystics: The Soul's Journey into Truth

Manufacturer: Book Sales
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 078580904X

Amazon.com

Mystical experience, Andrew Harvey explains in his introduction to The Essential Mystics, is that "direct, unmediated experience of ... an almost unfathomable mystery," a mystery beyond name or form that draws the mystic toward its presence into a relationship of rapturous, awesome, ecstatic love. But this experience is not the exclusive domain of a few chosen beings; it is "always available--like the divine grace it is--to any who really want it." Harvey speaks of the urgent need for humans to look to this grace as the best hope for addressing pressing social problems. His collection, a "feast of the greatest and wisest mystical texts," presents the most precious testimonies to this divine relationship from all major world traditions. Included are teachings from Native American, Australian, and African visionaries as well as writings from Taoist, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, and ancient Greek sources. Moving selections from Maori legends to the Upanishads, writings by Plato, and words of Mother Teresa reveal different approaches, but all echo the same longing of the soul to merge with the divine--and a simultaneous need to be fully engaged in the world to effect this union. Harvey pays special attention to the neglected role of the sacred feminine, saying that "without the balance of the knowledge of God as Mother as well as Father ... the human race will die out and take a large part of nature with it." The Mother's knowledge of unity, her powers of sensitivity, balance, and respect for life, he explains, must be invoked if humans are to overturn the damage wrought by centuries of adherence to a patriarchal vision--one that has left the external environment and our inner lives in serious need of repair. By understanding the divine in its complete masculine and feminine aspects and by looking to the great mystics, Harvey says, humans can initiate themselves into a fullness of the wisdom that inspires real action in the world. --Uma Kukathas

Book Description

From a highly popular and respected scholar, poet and lecturer and one of the nation's most celebrated authorities on mysticism comes the paperback edition of a brilliant introduction to the essential texts and themes of the great mystic visionaries.Whether it's based on the Buddhist vision of the Bodhisattva or the Christian concept of service, the mystic's journey is one take on behalf of all humanity - and that journey is the same in all traditions. This wide range of selections brings readers the essential themes and personalities of the mystic experience. Beautifully introduced with practical analysis and vital historical information, The Essential Mystics offers extras from many traditions, including Buddhist, Sikh, Taoist, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Hopi, Aborigine and Kogi.

Customer Reviews:

You can probably do better..........2005-10-18

This is an adequate survey of some of the highlights of a variety of religious writings. Unfortunately, I was looking for information on the mystics, not the author's summary of what he thought was the important mystical texts. If you're looking for this type of info, you probably already have or know a lot of the material in this book. "Cliff Notes" for mystics just doesn't makesense to me!

Go to a quiet place to read..........2004-11-11

This wide-ranging anthology collects all the essential texts and themes of great mystic traditions of the world -- from Buddhist, Taoist, Jewish, and Christian to Hopi, Hindi, Islamic, Sikh, Aboriginal, and Kogi. Provides analysis and historical information with special attention to the sacred feminine mystics. Well introduced with important historical information. This is an approachable guide to the unique and inspiring personalities that define the mystical experience.

A momentous journey..........2003-06-08

Andrew Harvey's 'The Essential Mystics' is subtitled 'The Soul's Journey into Truth'; this is a book which takes a broad approach to exploring the mystical side of religion, whatever cultural contexts it might take.

This is apparent from the basic listing of chapters:

Voices from the First World
Taoism: The Way of the Tao
Hinduism: the Way of Presence
Buddhism: The Way of Clarity
Judaism: The Way of Holiness
Ancient Greece: The Way of Beauty
Islam: The Way of Passion
Christianity: The Way of Love in Action

Drawing on the holy texts of the different traditions, and exploring the practices of the spiritualists, monastics and holy teachers of these traditions, Harvey has given us a concise volume that reaches to infinity. Harvey's ancient, native and cultural mystical experience has a choice example in the following:

'Sacred One,
Teach us love, compassion, and honour
That we may heal the earth
And heal each other.'
- from a Yokuts prayer

With regard to Taoism, Harvey says, 'This vision in its sanity, lack of pretension, depth, humanity, and wise, demanding humility offers, I have found, a marvelous touchstone by which to inwardly test both the truths and the imbalances of the later mystical traditions.'

In exploring Hindi mysticism, Harvey claims that Hinduism's chief attraction to us now is that it has kept alive a very full at once majestic and tender vision of God the Mother.

'Daily existence in the heart of my extended family
is the worship beyond worship
that perceives Mother Reality
as every being, every situation, every breath.'

The way of clarity in Buddhism is exemplified by the Buddha's statements, such as, 'Be a lamp into yourself! Work out your liberation with diligence!' The buddha awoke to clarity, and Harvey introduces the four noble truths and other enlightenment texts.

Harvey's exploration of Jewish mysticism explores an extraordinary postive vision of the divine and the human life.... Yahweh is both transcendent and immanent, thus giving blessing and goodness to the world. This follows the kabbalistic tradition with insight and sensitivity.

The chapter on Ancient Greece is one of the real treasures of this book, for it is a topic which is often overlooked. We are much more familiar with the philosophical, political, and historical writings, as well as literature, but a true mystical sense has often been discounted as a side-show to the mythology. But Harvey says, 'in the great pre-Socratic philosophers such as Heraclitus and Empedocles we find maters of fearless paradox who rival the anonymous seers of the Vedas and Upanishads in their awareness of the necessity of opposites and of the unity that uses, contains, and transcends them.'

Harvey's chapter on the mysticism of Islam follows a Sufi approach; there is passion in realising reality, burning like the Flame of Love, that sees all of creation as a reflection or even incarnation of the divine.

'O My servants who believe!
Surely My earth is vast,
Therefore Me alone should you serve.'
- Qur'a

In the chapter on Christianity, Harvey states, 'one of my hopes for this anthology is that it will deepen this wonder by helping people to see the truths of the other mystical traditions reflected in the depths of the Christian messages.' Harvey knows that the primary audience for this book is the western, Christianised (if not Christian) academic readers. He also explores his own journey which recognises the spirituality of Mary and Jesus as male and female subjects of mysticism.

These chapters provide a brief introduction to the wide range of mystical paths in history. They provide much meditation material, and the brief introductory texts to each section are gracefully enlightening and blessedly brief, so as to let the texts themselves speak. Were you to get only one volume of the Essentials series, this would most likely be it.

You'll end up feeling better about Mankind.......2002-06-14

_If I was to take one book along to an isolated beach or island this summer for a serious read and reflection this would be it. You'll end up feeling better about your self, because you'll end up feeling better about mankind. This book proves that people of all cultures and all times have had the capacity to transcend the commonplace and petty and know God. This is the "golden thread" that connects all mystical traditions, all true wisdom in the world.

_Inspite of the extensive footnotes, I would not consider this to be a scholarly book. Rather, I would consider it a spiritual book- that is why it has value and is worth the reading. Here is the mystic heart of native cultures, Taoism, Hinduism, Buddihism, Judaism, Classical Greece, Islam, and Christianity all in one beautifully designed book of 236 pages. What better use could you find for your reading time?

Fantastic Collection!!.......2001-10-04

This is a beautiful book that is really well put togetther. I love that it opens with "voices of the first world" - native american poems. It then moves into Taoist poetry from the Tao Te Ching, then into Hindu poems, the Judaic writings, then writings from ancient Greece, then Islamic poems, and finally christian passages and poems. The book is marvelous in the way that it shows that all religions are talking about the same things, just using different words/concepts to express them. Too bad more people don't realize this - there'd be fewer wars. Great book, really nicely pulled together. Glad I bought it.

The Mystic Spiral: Journey of the Soul (Art & Imagination)

Average customer rating:

The Spiral is a Cosmic Symbol
This is the book I was looking for...
Not quite what I had in mind.....
Ascension
A brilliant and beautiful book, superbly written.

The Mystic Spiral: Journey of the Soul (Art & Imagination)
Jill Purce
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0500810052

Customer Reviews:

The Spiral is a Cosmic Symbol.......2004-01-27

This book is an in-depth contemplation of the significance of the spiral. It is demonstrated that the spiral in its several forms has been a universal cosmic symbol from earliest human history. Indeed, this book traces the history of its use from stone age cultures, Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Greco Roman world, Islam, India, China, the Jewish world, the Celts, Medieval Europe, the Americas, etc., etc, etc. The reoccurrence of spiral forms in nature, and hence science, is also examined.

The spiral is shown in its various forms and interpretations. This includes the evolutionary spiral (constant upward advancement through repeating cycles- reaching the same point, but at a higher level of attainment every time.) It can also be seen as the inward spiral of the hero's journey to the center where the great secret or gift lies. It can as well be the double spiral of descent, rebirth, and upward climb. It can also be the spherical spiral of expansion and contraction, or the never-ending vortex ring which periodical passes through it's own center. All variations and their deeper metaphorical meanings are examined- for it is assumed that the cycles of the spiral in nature, or human life, are microcosmic resonances of the great cosmic cycles and rhythms.

Yet, it is also shown that at the center of the spiral must lay a straight upward path, a "short cut." This is the Axis Mundi, the World Tree that leads directly to the highest planes, the ultimate Source. This is the path of illumination of the mystic, the shaman.

The layout of this book is that approximately the first third is an in-depth essay on the significance of the spiral, while the remaining two thirds are excellent color and black and write illustrations (with detailed descriptions and explanations.)

This is the book I was looking for..........2003-07-30

This is the unknown guide I hoped to find, as I searched, looking high and low, in libraries and bookstores. The spiral is partly something visual, and I wanted a book that would understand that and teach both in words and in pictures. The numerous illustrations (100+ pages) in THE MYSTIC SPIRAL are presented on large glossy paper, almost all in color, and are fantastic. The writing in the introduction and long captions, is essentialized, what I believe the author distilled after years of research. Yet it is so provocative!-- it opens the mind's eye to leap into exceedingly refreshing ideas. Here is the opening 2-sentence paragraph...

"In a second, the faintest perfume may send us plummeting to the roots of our being, our whole life verticalized by a fleeting sensation: we have been connected by a mere smell to another place and another time. The amount we have changed in the recognition of this moment -- this is the spiral: the path we have followed to reach the same point on another winding."

If you never read the rest of the book, you can contemplate this one statement and open a window into the mystery of labyrinths, seashells, whirlpools, our own galaxy, or the whole "breathing cosmos." But the entire 24-page introduction is equally profound. The idea is to take each meditation and deepen into it with much contemplation on your own, especially with the help of the art historical illustrations. A thousand times thank you to Jill Purce for leaving this enchanting, delightful marker on the path for others to contemplate and to follow.

Not quite what I had in mind............2002-05-22

I had had the impression this book would have more text addressing the spiral and its spiritual symbolism, with illustrations throughout. Instead, the book had a brief 30 page introduction with page after page of various artworks that feature a spiral somewhere in their design. I found the pictures to be poorly notated and wished that each photo had a more in-depth discussion to accompany it.

Ascension.......1999-09-30

THE MYSTIC SPIRAL packs a staggering amount of essential information in a handsome, reader-friendly, and hugely enjoyable book. The main text (page 7 - 31) embraces all strains of mysticism, Eastern, Western, and everything in between, with scholarly exactness but also lyrical charm. Its density prompts (welcome) re-readings. The illustrations are exceptionally well chosen, and transporting. The reader, certainly this reader, comes away wishing for more. I am happy to see that an integrative book is being planned. Possibly, no theme is more consequential to us bipeds on the earthly tariqa than the one of the Spiral.

A brilliant and beautiful book, superbly written........1998-10-06

"The "Mystic Spiral" is the clearest expression I have ever come across of the system I have glimpsed in the intuitive flashes my poems are composed of. The bones of the universe, one potent sunbird structure. Ms. Purce is the magic maiden with the skeleton key that opens a myriad of doors." George Andrews - Poet and author.

"Jill Purce's book is extraordinary, it shows the spiral going through all the manifestations of life- art, music, literature, dance, religion, mythology, physics, biology, botany and astronomy. Everything is spiral. She points to the unity of the cosmos, and acts as a counterbalance to the atomization of the world. There are hundreds of wonderful illustrations. She gives you the key - like the thread of Ariadne which leads you out of the labyrinth." Karlheinz Stockhausen

"A brilliant and beautiful book...superbly written, stunningly illustrated and extremely illuminating." Michael Sayers.

"I deeply appreciate, this marvellous book, "The Mystic Spiral". It seems to me that this book- and indeed the whole series "Art and Imagination" of which Jill Purce is the General Editor - heralds the consolidation of a new philosophy of life in which art takes its place as an essential guide to, and expression of, our development -if the world is to continue to live." Peter Redgrove - Author of "Wise Wound".

Mere words can not do justice to the beauty of this book. Elegant, graceful, profound, these spirals embody such concepts as eternity, evolution, birth and death, expansion and contraction, the Tao, and God." Stanley Krippner in "Association for Humanistic Psychology Newsletter".

"The Mystic spiral, together with its spiritual message, has much to tell us architects of the laws of growth and its archetypal forms. This would help us design buildings which are within the flow of nature rather than in opposition to it." Professor of Architecture, Birmingham School of Architecture.

"Jill Purce"s The Mystic Spiral is thoughts I have thought and is the most thought-furthering / interesting work I have read for a very long time." Dean Melles - Hacks, Singapore. "I found the Mystic Spiral one of the most absorbingly fascinating books I have ever laid hands on." Lionel Miskin - Professor of Art, Falmouth School of Art.

"Her book, The Mystic Spiral and the BBC film of the same have enlisted not so much my imagination as my heart. I count myself a genuine admirer of her work. Jill Purce is an alchemist, the first I have noticed in this age." Sebastian Barker - Author of "Guarding the Border".

"Purce's prose has the ultimate effect of poetry." Chellis Glendinnng in "Codex Shambhala" Vol. 4 No.2.

"It is bridging the gap, the irreconcilable chasm between Science and Religion- "reason" and "feeling" which Ms. Purce has dexterously pursued by way of "The Mystic Spiral"- The spiral is both a universal mythological symbol as well as an empirical picture of the most fundamental ordering of matter and energy. In "The Mystic Spiral" Jill Purce has excelled in the dovetailing together of rational and mythological language and ideas, and by so doing she illustrates how the spiral is an archetypal symbol which reverberates, unaltered, between the extremes of empirical science and spiritual growth. Her juxtaposition of images as well as her well-chosen words unite the disparate threads of our experience into a single, self-perpetuating, spiral expression." Dr Lawrence Blair. Author of "Rhythms of Vision".

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - The Mystic's Journey (Pirates of the Caribbean: at World's End)

Average customer rating:

The Mystic's Journey
Different insight worthwhile!

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - The Mystic's Journey (Pirates of the Caribbean: at World's End)
T.T. Sutherland
Manufacturer: Disney Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Saving Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean at World's End)
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Singapore! (Pirates of the Caribbean: at World's End)
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - The Movie Storybook (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End)
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Junior Novelization)
Pirates of the Caribbean Visual Guide (Pirates of the Caribbean)

ASIN: 1423103807
Release Date: 2007-04-10

Customer Reviews:

The Mystic's Journey.......2007-05-31

As with previous releases, Disney created a number of books featuring photographs from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. These picture books are best for bedtime reading for young children. The books are loosely based on the movie and each tell a part of the story:

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Saving Jack Sparrow is a 24-page picture book zeroing in on the attempted rescue of Jack Sparrow. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is hopelessly trapped in Davy Jones' locker after a harrowing encounter with the dreaded Kracken. Jack has gone beyond and to bring him back will require somethinig special.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Force of Will is a 24-page picture book telling the story of Will Turner. He wants to rescue Jack but also to ensure the love of his life, Elizabeth Swann, doesn't come to harm.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - The Mystic's Journey is a 32-page picture book telling the story of Tia Dalma. Tia Dalma, Pintel, and Ragetti must reach exotic Singapore to convince the infamous pirate Sao Feng to provide them with charts and a ship.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Singapore! is a 32-page picture book telling the story of the infamous Chinese pirate Sao Feng and his part in the movie.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Escape from Davy Jones is a 32-page picture book telling the story of the heroic escape from Davy Jones.

These picture books are meant for readers 5 to 7 years old. For older children who are reading on their own, their are much better Jack Sparrow stories to read. There's a fairly good junior novelization of the movie, and there's a growing number of Young Jack Sparrow books

Jack Sparrow #1: The Coming Storm
Jack Sparrow #2: The Siren Song
Jack Sparrow #3: The Pirate Chase
Jack Sparrow #4: The Sword of Cortez
Jack Sparrow #5: Age of Bronze
Jack Sparrow #6: Silver
Jack Sparrow #7: City of Gold
Jack Sparrow #8: The Timekeeper
Jack Sparrow #9: Dance of the Hours
Jack Sparrow #10: Sins of the Fathers

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is a great adventure story and recommended for anyone who loves pirates. For adventure lovers, I also recommend "The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches" and "In the Service of Dragons."

Different insight worthwhile!.......2007-05-21

I'm a huge fan of Naomi Harris so I think this was a wonderful little
book! I loved the pictures and the insight that you aquire from reading
how still another charactor was looking at the situations in the movie.
I'm very happy I purchased this booklet!

Journey into Vastness: A Handbook of Tibetan Meditation Techniques (Tibetan Mystic Path)

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Dzogchen Semde in practical english
A Reluctant Rave!

Journey into Vastness: A Handbook of Tibetan Meditation Techniques (Tibetan Mystic Path)
Nagkpa Chogyam
Manufacturer: Element Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1852300175

Customer Reviews:

Dzogchen Semde in practical english.......2004-05-19

Despite some recent controversy surrounding this lama, this is the best book to appear yet on Dzogchen Semde.

Experiential, practical and concise it can easily serve as a bridge from Shinay to the state of non-dual (Nyi-med) Contemplation.

A Reluctant Rave!.......2001-10-01

This book was written by an iconoclastic lama. I read it twice
before I sold it (and you're not supposed to sell dharma books!).
The author gives the outlandish belief that the rules of the
vinaya (monastic order) were simply created so that they could
get along with one another! And had nothing to do with
cause-and-effect karma! So much for the Gelukpa Order of
Tibetan Buddhism. Nevertheless, his chapter on the use
of alcohol to hasten enlightenment and his account of a lama

stopping rain in his prescence are incredible! Well worth
reading even if you disagree. Meditation techniques are
good, but a little too advanced. The author also refers
to having moral precepts as being "drag factors". They drag
down altruistic intent. I belong to the Gelukpa Order so I
should be giving this book one star. But I recommend it for
everyone. Priceless information contained inside. He will
also stop you from using an alarm clock with a button that
delays your awake by ten minutes! Just read it.

The spiritual journey of Joel S. Goldsmith, modern mystic

Average customer rating:

Joel Goldsmith's vision
Rubbish and mystical hokum!
A helpful perspective of the authors experiences with Joel

The spiritual journey of Joel S. Goldsmith, modern mystic
Lorraine Sinkler
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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The Thunder of Silence
The Infinite Way

ASIN: 0060673869

Customer Reviews:

Joel Goldsmith's vision.......2002-11-24

I read this book in 1984 along with "The Thunder of Silence" and my own spiritual life changed radically for the better. I still follow the Infinite Way in my life. Lorraine Sinkler edited most of his early talks and notes. Ms. Sinkler's biography gave me great insight into his journey and his perceptions of spiritual living, and help with my own.

Rubbish and mystical hokum!.......2002-09-12

What a bunch of garbage... diluting others' spiritual work and molding it in his own image.

A helpful perspective of the authors experiences with Joel.......1997-12-02

After having read many volumes of Joel's teachings I was searching for some perspective on the man and his route to this 'place'. This book was very helpful in relaying not only biographical information but the difficult process that any one on a similar journey will face. It is comforting to know first hand of Joel's searches and where they compelled him to go.

I find the criticism to be unfounded in terms of both what he would want and also relative to glorifying his role. This volume clearly presents Joel as a human being with all the failings but with a clarity of vision that is obtainable by all who are interested in such a search. It's very helpful to know that it wasn't easy for him either. Those who criticise so vehemently should read his works again and examine the source of the response.

The enchanted land: A journey with the saints of India

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The enchanted land: A journey with the saints of India
David Christopher Lane
Manufacturer: MSCA Philosophy Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 1565430530

Transformed By Love: The Soul's Journey to God in Teresa of Avila, Mother Aloysius of the Blessed Sacrament, and Elizabeth of the Trinity (Issues in Contemporary Religion)

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Transformed By Love: The Soul's Journey to God in Teresa of Avila, Mother Aloysius of the Blessed Sacrament, and Elizabeth of the Trinity (Issues in Contemporary Religion)
Shirley Darcus Sullivan
Manufacturer: New City Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Elizabeth of the Trinity THE COMPLETE WORKS, I have found GOD, Vol 1
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ASIN: 1565481682

Book Description

In an age when the desire for spiritual depth often eclipses the yen for material prosperity, Shirley Sullivan's Transformed by Love is a welcome guide for the interior voyage.-- Gloria Hutchinson, author of A Retreat with Teresa of Avila

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