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The holiday season has yet to arrive and there's no rush. However, this Atlantis Rising precedes it and the next one doesn't. Many of the books reviewed here go out of print and may be periodically or indefinitely unavailable. Other eminently reviewable titles never get reviewed, despite my appreciation of them. And some books, by their nature, make wonderful gifts. Herewith, then, a selection of still available fine books, all especially readable and definitely worth giving, accompanied by brief comments. Shaman of Tibet: Milarepa From Anger to Enlightenment is a biographical novel about Tibet's greatest yogi who lived in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Written by Winged Wolf and published in 1994 by Higher Consciousness Books, it's a book that educates by engaging. Milarepa's story (as told here, it appears similar to other versions I've read) is interesting, dynamic, mysterious, painful, full of humanity and discovery. However, it is the manner of telling that substantiates Shaman... and facilitates Winged Wolf's intent to convey useful spiritual ideas. Subtle ideas and true knowledge are embedded in characters, and in that way vivified. To do this an author must more fully understand what is being conveyed so the knowledge is presented in an effective and timely way. There are degrees of understanding, and understanding exceeds intellectual comprehension as the square of a number exceeds the number. It is very difficult. When it is accomplished, the reader can feel as well as cognize the thought. Winged Wolf succeeds admirably and in such a way that, even if one has no interest in esoteric knowledge, the characters have depth, are believable, and come to life. Even younger people (the dwindling number who read) will enjoy this book which will constructively unfetter their imaginations: they will love Milarepa, the friend, and last guru (who will mystify them also) and have lively feelings about various other characters in the book. Swedenborg: Buddha of the North by D.T. Suzuki, the renowned religious scholar, was first published in 1913. Suzuki, who died in 1966, had learned of Swedenborg and, feeling that Japan had already reached a nadir of religious crisis, wanted to make available his teachings to any Japanese who were accessible. He translated some of Swedenborg's greatest works into Japanese and through the process came to feel that Swedenborg was a Buddha. There can be no higher accolade bestowed upon another by a Zen Buddhist philosopher, scholar and student of the spiritual world can there? This short book has been translated from its original Japanese by Andrew Bernstein and published in 1996 by the Swedenborg Foundation. Additionally, it contains both a lengthy introduction (by Bernstein), an afterword by David Loy, a professor and advanced Zen teacher, and a foreword by Tatsuya Nagashima, another Japanese professor, skilled in Latin and translator of Swedenborg's writings. The book is interesting for its subject matter and the many vignettes and historical facts that accompany that. Suzuki's writing demands attention but is not dry or boring. However, because his attempt is to make Japanese readers aware of the extraordinary range and experiences of Emanuel Swedenborg and his work, the focus sometimes dwells on the books. Nevertheless, charming stories concerning Swedenborg abound and the humanity of both warms the reader. Suzuki even mentions that Swedenborg was extremely fond of snuff, the odor of which apparently protected his manuscripts from bookworms. One may spend an entire lifetime studying Swedenborg. Suzuki's book provides one with a useful perspective, enabling the interested reader to decide upon an entrance point or even to forgo the effort. And aside from that, Swedenborg was, in truth, a remarkable scientist and scholar (the equal of whole universities of men, said Ralph Waldo Emerson): a concise discussion of his life would fill a void in anyone's mind and acquaintance with his teachings which he attributes to his travels in the spiritual realm could be useful. For one thing, the plethora of channeled books (which allegedly come from the realm Swedenborg described in literally thousands of memorabilia inserted at chapter ends can readily be evaluated as to their quality and authenticity. Swedenborg: Buddha is educational, interesting, edifying and an excellent introduction to Swedenborg as a man and philosopher. Element Inc. of Great Britain has published, since 1991, the best book about a great but mysterious man that I have read. The man is G.I. Gurdjieff and the book is Gurdjieff: The Anatomy of a Myth by James Moore. It's surprising how many biographies have been written about Gurdjieff and his Work by well-known writers who may sense an opportunity to make a few bucks off the life of this enigmatic master. However, by comparison with Gurdjieff: The Anatomy these all have failed to capture the essence of Gurdjieff the man as well as the essence of the Gurdjieff teachings. The reason, to a student of Gurdjieff's teachings such as myself, ought to be apparent: it is their inability to move away from their own cerebral intelligence, their own habitual patterns of and limits to thought. Without so doing, understanding Gurdjieff and his teachings is impossible. James Moore is a Gurdjieffian. That is, he practices the Work. Many might think he could hardly then, be expected to be impartial. Emphatically, this preconception is wrong. Quite literally, an individual unacquainted with the experience of the work and the ideas that underlie it (or having merely an intellectual comprehension of these) cannot understand Gurdjieff's personality and his methods or especially, his teachings and the Work. Thus, we are much indebted to Mr. Moore for his book. Initially, Moore goes to pains to clarify his use of the word myth. He is too kind to mention the common misuse of the word today: he uses the word in the most positive sense... reiterating in modern dress the urgent quest of literature's first hero Gilgamesh, King of Uruk. Indeed, Gurdjieff was a man of Gilgamesh's mettle and psychological proportions. Only someone who has wrestled with his deliberately obfuscated, apparently contradictory and mind-expanding teachings could begin to convey the dimensions of the myth and its skeleton, the man. Gurdjieff's life was so extraordinary that few people could possibly have lived it. Moore, who never knew Gurdjieff, was well acquainted with many who did. And he was (is still) in the Work. The man who emerges is one of intelligence, courage, knowledge, chutzpa, concern, cunning and essential human understanding, all to a degree seldom if ever seen combined in one man. You have to read the book to know what I mean, to see how time and time again he led his small group of devotees through the valley of death, and eventually to relative safety. Gurdjieff traveled the Eastern world in search of ancient wisdom. That's quite a different life than the usual yogi leads. And this fact partly explains why he gained such tremendous understanding of human nature and the human mechanism. Those in the Work had to struggle with themselves, i.e., with their mechanism, which, Gurdjieff taught, was a machine dominated by habits. Individuals without the slightest interest in the Work still, I think, will find this book exceptionally entertaining and educational. It is alive with the politics of the era; the danger and excitement of war frequently creates tension; and the anecdotes about this man, his followers and visitors (such as F.D.R.) frequently are hilarious. It is no wonder someone referred to Gurdjieff as a saint with balls. James Moore has written impeccably about the man who stepped on the corns of nearly everyone and showed those who remained how to use their negative feelings to advance themselves. Academics, most of whom have corns on every toe of every foot, seem to think that no one outside a university is intellectually capable. This attitude has led in the history of science, to egregious oversights and misconceptions. The phenomenon has become more prevalent in recent times, where group-think by the established hierarchy can be effectively sustained through controlled access to journal space and the ubiquitous ploy of deliberate ignorance of new hypotheses generated outside the establishment. Such is the case with Richard Noone's book 5/5/2000: Ice: the Ultimate Disaster, first published in 1982 and just now reprinted by Three Rivers Press. 5/5/2000... does not follow usual scholarly practices: but it's not an unscholarly work. Its primary hypothesis can raise eyebrows yet it's not unreasonable and is substantiated by more than a little evidence. In fact, Mr. Noone's book is filled with irrefutable facts and contains little-known information and knowledge. From these it proceeds sensibly and rationally. Further, there is a quality of excitement that pervades the book, especially, I think, because various ideas and conjectures Noone expressed in 1982 have been scientifically substantiated since then. The book is not written authoritatively but somewhat as a chronicle of one man's pursuit toward understanding. In this respect, I was reminded of Charles Hapgood's Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings, which I heartily endorse (and reviewed in A.R. #11). It also ranges widely and in the process questions more than one currently accepted dogma, including Darwin's evolutionary hypothesis. (today's biologists forget that vast, gaping holes in Darwin's scheme of things have yet to be filled in.) This revised version includes an epilogue that contains a variety of exciting ideas. Perhaps most remarkable is the work of Edward Kunkel, who may have discovered through the construction and testing of scale models, the method used in constructing the great pyramid. Much else, including more intrigue and official duplicity is presented in this epilogue, written in 1996. Inasmuch as a more complete review of 5/5/2000... is intended, brevity is necessary now. However, in a nutshell, here is the book's thesis: the earth, due to the alignment of five planets (and the moon) on May 5, 2000, will be subject to unusual stresses that could cause the Antarctic ice caps to shift, producing a corresponding change in its tilt, catastrophic tidal waves, and incomprehensible climatic changes. Is this possible? It's thought now that this calamity has occurred before. Noone suggests that the ancients, in embodying what they did in the Giza pyramid, have warned us of the potential holocaust. If he's correct, it won't have been the first time the truth has been ignored by our modern priesthood. Relevant to this all-too-common phenomenon, a number of fine books have been written. I like Prodigal Genius by J. J. O'Neill, a biography of Nikola Tesla (reviewed in A.R. #8). The book, although sad, as one must feel in reviewing Tesla's life, is marvelous. O'Neill conveys Tesla's astoundingly prolific inventive genius, high integrity and, one might say, his love of nature's raw power. Tesla's inventions provide the electric power that drives the industrial world. Seldom does his name appear in modern texts. This book would be enjoyed by younger readers who will identify with Tesla and be much moved by his humanity and his irrepressible urge to discover nature's truths. On the subject of the ancients, three previously reviewed titles are worth considering. Serpent in the Sky: the High Wisdom of Ancient Egypt by John Anthony West (see A.R. #1) is a well-written introduction to the work and thought of R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz. De Lubicz, who first conjectured that the sphinx was much older than postulated by orthodox Egyptologists, uncovered and developed the esoteric meaning of ancient Egyptian architecture, thought, and art. West presents this effectively and in the process demonstrates the narrow- mindedness of most modern scientists and thinkers. Isha de Lubicz, collaborated in all this work as she was skilled in hieroglyphics. She herself wrote several books, among them Opening of the Way (A.R. #7). This book conveys the ancient Egyptians' teaching on the structure of human nature, the organization of the soul, the contributions of immediate and distant (!) heredity to one's nature, and necessary steps one must take in order to advance oneself spiritually. This is an unusually interesting and useful book to anyone who appreciates ancient wisdom and the teaching that spiritual development happens only through individual participation in the process and not by itself. Students of Gurdjieff's writings will find many of the ideas and practices he advocated in this book. Those interested in Gurdjieff's spontaneous talks will enjoy Views from the Real World, assembled by students to whom they were delivered. They present a picture of humanity translated for the twentieth century but incorporating much ancient thought. Gurdjieff did not teach blind acceptance. Quite the contrary. Nor did he practice it. In consequence, one can be sure that when he began to rock Western man's boat he had measured what he'd learned in the Middle- and Far-East and concluded it was, in his turn of phrase, of highest quality. Finally, let me remind you of two books, both remarkable, yet very different. The Boy Who Saw True (A.R. #2) is a journal kept by a young fellow who grew up seeing spirits. Eventually, through his tutor, Mr. P., numerous conversations take place with one elevated spirit. Often the boy doesn't understand what the spirit tells him and Mr. P. must explain it. The book's ingenuousness contributes to its charm; its natural expression of truths few of us experience enhances its validity. Young readers will enjoy and be benefited by it; older ones will appreciate its unaffiliated confirmation of esoteric knowledge. Heaven and Hell by Emanuel Swedenborg (also A.R. #2) is simply one of the most extraordinary books one might ever read. Swedenborg, an exceptional scientist who contributed meaningfully to physics, mathematics, biology, physiology, geology and neurology, left his post as Minister of Mines and began to explore the spiritual realm. This he did for about 25 years until his death. H and H is one among numerous books written to tell readers about his experience of the spiritual world. One can find many statements in it confirmed by today's science, on a variety of subjects. Further, one will find here confirmation of numerous ideas associated with elevated teachings, both new and old. The book can be read and re-read every time it will never fail to inspire, amaze and even entertain. Return To TOP |
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