Book Description
The Simplest Path, Step One: Free Your Mind delineates, in one slim volume, a complete system for achieving personal spiritual awakening, along with a straightforward, no-nonsense plan individuals and groups so enlightened can follow to awaken Humanity en masse and positively transform the world. This book contains keys to awakening. Awakening from our personal dream shatters the solid "box" of limitation memes have built around our lives, and frees us to fluidly craft our personalities, environments, relationships, careers, etc. as an artist paints a landscape or a sculptor teases form from formless clay. All of us awakening together from the shared dream of the planet will mark the birth of our species out of our current global nightmare of decline into a limitless future literally beyond our present ability to imagine, even in our "wildest dreams," indeed.
Customer Reviews:
Way Beyond "Socrates Revisited".......2007-08-22
After reading the commentary attached to the one star rating given by the young man from Texas, I feel compelled to step forward in defense of this very fine book. With only one exception, every point made in that negative review is simply wrong. Just not factually correct. The reviewer identifies himself as a young man (... "to my young mind"), and since all of his other Amazon reviews are of TV episodes on DVD, video games and rock music CDs I take him at his word. Well, I am an "old man," closing in on my sixty-third birthday, and I came to Mr. Casspriano's book after six decades of life experience, the last three of those decades a zealous practitioner of Zen Buddhism. I say this not to "brag," but simply to qualify myself as a reviewer before beginning.
I'll start where the one star reviewer closed his argument, with his statement that the simplest path reduces to two Socratic concepts: "Admit that you don't know anything" and "know yourself."
The first part is nominally true (the exception). Like Zen Buddhism, a central tenet of the simplest path is working to release the false notion we all hold that we know ourselves, other people, the world around us. But identifying and releasing our attachments to our illusions is a life's work, not some brash "I don't know nothin'!" as the young Texan seems to imply. Under normal circumstances, we go about our daily lives with no idea we are deluded about anything, as Maya (the illusion of the phenomenal world around and even inside us) is so convincing that most of us never even think to question its validity. Casspriano did not invent the notion of human beings being trapped in illusion, as this truth was known to the timeless authors of the Hindu Vedas and is central to all schools of Buddhism (not just Zen). But his scientific/spiritual exploration of the mechanism by which Maya ensnares our minds and can, with effort, be overcome is among the best "plain English" explanations of this process I have read. There is no "inscrutable mystery" in the simplest path (a criticism that has been accurately leveled toward Zen Buddhism, as a lot of Eastern thought truly does come off as "inscrutable" when translated into English and/or the metaphors of Western culture). Casspriano lays out in no-nonsense American English exactly what our brains are doing when they create the illusion we mistake for reality, then shows the reader in the same clear terms how to train his or her brain to break free of illusion and taste reality as-it-is. In just 216 pages, that is no mean feat. After thirty years of Zen practice and numerous kensho experiences (of varying depths and intensities), I can say from personal experience that Casspriano is correct. Enlightenment comes as the fruit of a long, incremental process of retraining the mind to touch reality in a new way, and the process described in the simplest path is the same as that followed in Zen practice, especially Rienzi Zen koan study (I'll have more to say about this in a later paragraph). Casspriano's approach and language is very different from traditional Zen (more "scientific," and no sitting meditation is required), which I think would appeal to Americans and other Westerners seeking to experience "awakening" without necessarily committing themselves to a religion like Buddhism, but the internal mental/spiritual process and final destination are the same.
"Know yourself," on the other hand, is not in this book at all, at least not in the way the young reviewer, or Socrates for that matter, uses the phrase. As in Buddhism, Casspriano takes pains to demonstrate that "self" is as much of an illusion as our misapprehension of the phenomenal world, and is a byproduct of exactly the same mind process that creates outer Maya. A core teaching of Buddhism is that our "self," our personality/ego, is nothing more than an aggregation of outside influences that cluster together in our minds like shiny stones gathered into a pile, and which we mistake not only for something "real," but tragically, for our essential selves. Yet this "pile" has nothing really to do with who we are at all. Buddhism teaches "no-self." Belief in the illusion of a unique and independent "self" is our greatest obstacle to enlightenment. Wasting time and energy getting to "know yourself" in the Western sense is foreign to Eastern thought. Casspriano again does a great job of translating the Buddhist concept of "no-self" into Western scientific/spiritual terminology. He shows the process by which our ego/personality aggregate "piles up," as well as how to take the pile down, stone by stone. Enlightenment is what the pile was covering up, and so it naturally appears as soon as the pile is removed - but oh how we cling to our personal pile of stones! "Self" is what we must trade for enlightenment, what must be surrendered, and Casspriano returns to this truth many times in the simplest path. My point is that the one star reviewer's reduction of the simplest path to "know yourself" has no basis at all in the actual book.
As to the book being "gimmicky": Yes, the words "The Simplest Path" recur frequently throughout the book, but not in reference to the book itself (at least that's not how I took it), but rather to the system of understanding the mind and working toward "awakening" Casspriano is describing - and it is a complete system that deserves to be considered as a whole, on its own. At times the repetition does have a feel of "branding" in the commercial sense, so I understand where the reviewer may have taken his impression. But the simplest path, while resonant with Zen Buddhism (and apparently, according to Casspriano, with the Toltec philosophy espoused by Carlos Castaneda, of which I have no personal knowledge, so I'll have to take the author's word for that) is far enough different that it needs its own "name" to set it apart from other schools of similar but not identical thought. The reviewer's criticism is like saying that every use of the term "Zen" in a book called "Zen Buddhism" should be taken as a reference to the book, and not to the larger practice of Zen Buddhism as a spiritual discipline that the book is describing. Casspriano's point in repeatedly linking The Simplest Path, Zen Buddhism and Toltec Shamanism throughout the book, at least as I understood it, is to highlight these three spiritual practices as related reliable paths through a dark forest of illusion, a forest in which many apparent (and more popular) paths, including most (all?) religious beliefs, actively vie to mislead travelers toward deeper ensnarement in the dream, rather than leading them toward "awakening."
I want to say a word about koan study in Rienzi Zen and how it relates to the simplest path. Koans are those quirky Zen sayings and stories like "what is the sound of one hand clapping?" or "what was your original face before you (or your parents) were born?" that have no rational answer, and which Zen students turn and turn in their minds like the tumblers of a combination lock until their imprisoned psyches "explode" in a "super-rational" experience of reality beyond the illusion ("irrational" would be the wrong term, as that implies "nonsense"). That "super-rational" vision of reality is called "kensho." I have experienced it myself, more than once in my lifetime. I have come to think of Casspriano's "Key Questions" in the second half of the simplest path, especially the later seven of the ten, as "cultural koans" designed to trigger "collective kensho" for the whole human race at once. Like "what is the sound of one hand clapping?", unflinching consideration of the value of human life, of how our beliefs about the future shape the present, of the true origin and destiny of life on Earth, etc., especially as seen through the lens of Casspriano's "Key Question Technique," reveals that none of these questions have rational answers, yet all require our active and immediate response. Successful resolution of these larger riddles that impact everyone will require us all to eventually "explode" into reality, together, in a "super-rational" way. We'll have to break through the illusion and wake up together, as one (which has been the goal of Mahayana Buddhism, of which Zen is a sect, since around 200 BCE). That is the "Planetary Awakening" addressed in this book, and I believe Casspriano's "Key Questions" are a concrete step in that direction. I'm glad I spent my fifteen dollars.
This is my "old man" take on the simplest path, having encountered it after 30 years of Zen Buddhist practice (I'm not veering off my chosen path here, just bowing respectfully in passing toward Casspriano's). From a Buddhist perspective, the simplest path is true Dharma, though I do not get the impression from reading his book that Vincent Casspriano is himself a Buddhist or a follower of any religion. That to my mind makes his book all the more interesting.
True, but gimmicky.......2007-08-09
Casspriano's book is scientifically and philosophically sound as best as my young mind can tell, but I don't recommend this book. Its scattered with numerous pages of advertising about how his "program" works and how it compares to other religions and spiritual movements. Why must this author physically write out "The Simplest Path" in reference to his book every other page, and talk about his second volume? Perhaps because he's not out for pure truth, but for our money.
All this book comes down to after you strip away the nonsense is two things. First, admit that you don't truly know anything. Second, know yourself. Do those two things (they essentially both mean to question EVERYTHING), and you'll have Casspriano's "Planetary Awakening," with 15 bucks still in your pocket. And you'll be following the fundamental truths already said by Socrates.. so do yourself a favor and pick up Plato's "Apology" and read up on the Socratic dialogue on how to live a good life. And don't stop there, because you can't be sure he's right.
And I have 10 bucks that says these other couple of reviews were written by the book publisher. In any case, ignore the hype.
A Unique and Inspiring Wake-up Call.......2007-05-15
This is one of the most clear-headed books I've read in years on the subject of real, nitty gritty, get your hands dirty spiritual development (as opposed to the fru fru New Age variety). So much of what passes for "spirituality" in our time amounts to some author, celebrity, priest, philosopher or self-appointed guru telling us what to "believe," sight unseen, if we want to reach heaven, attain enlightenment, achieve "ascension," etc. Casspriano takes an at times startling opposite approach. For Casspriano, such unquestioned/unquestionable beliefs are not only NOT the path to spiritual awakening, they represent the chief obstacle blocking our realization of higher consciousness. And it's not just religious beliefs ("faith") he's talking about, but all our beliefs about reality, especially those that enclose our thinking in "boxes" that limit our freedom to find solutions to real-world threats like Peak Oil, overpopulation, Global Warming, etc. Though much of the book focuses on individual enlightenment, for Casspriano, these larger planetary issues are "spiritual," as well. Whether the issue is our personal inability to find happiness or Humanity's collective rush toward physical extinction, the cause is the same - our wrong-headed beliefs about what's real. The solution is the same, as well - continuous, deep questioning. Using Richard Dawkins' concept of "memes" as a central metaphor, Casspriano first breaks down the basic process of belief, showing the mechanism in our brains by which beliefs misdirect and control our psyches, then he walks the reader through an exploration of a series of ten "anti-meme questions" aimed at breaking down the walls of our mental "boxes" and setting our minds free. With each question, he supplies an exercise designed to allow the reader to attain a personal taste of reality "beyond the box," especially as flavored by that chapter's "Key Question." For the most part, this formula works very well (with a few rare moments of over-exuberance on the author's part, as already described in other reviews, though as a card carrying vegan environmentalist, I can't say I particularly minded), delivering a cumulative series of death-blows to some of the most basic "pillars" of our present human consensus reality. Beyond the walls those pillars supported lies real reality, where we are all interconnected and interdependent, and, in Casspriano's view, mutually destined for greatness, if we can just wake up and grab the reins of our runaway culture in time. This is not a book for spiritual "feel gooders" seeking soft assurances that they're perfect just they way they are and everything's going to be all right, no matter what. This is a wake up call, a tool kit and a concrete action plan for becoming individually enlightened and collectively saving the world, all rolled up into one. That, I think, is a cause well-worthy of exuberance.
Challenge Consensus Reality!.......2007-05-10
This is a thoughtful book that addresses how we may go about developing a process to question our everyday consensus reality. I suppose if I have learned anything in 49 years of life, it is that all personal and social problems stem from our fundamental views on the nature of reality itself. Vincent Casspriano uses the concept of a "meme" as a fundamental unit of ideas, assumptions, etc. that often block our understanding of reality itself. One such meme, for example, may be that we have to "fight for our freedom" or the world's a "fearful" place and hence, we have to be ready to kill to protect ourselves. I suppose you could also use the word "paradigm" here as well, but the essential point of this book is that we "unconsciously" function in our life with many limited points of view that block our ability to solve problems on both a personal and a social basis.
While Vince Casspriano is to be congradulated for producing a book that presents both a methodology and a motivation for personal transformation, there are a few pitfalls here that the potential reader should be aware of before tackling this material. The author has some rather strong views on fossil fuel consumption, meet consumption, and the role of humans in the cycle of procreation. While I generally agree with his analysis on fossil fuel consumtion and meat consumption (as I have viewed large tracks of deforrested grazing land in developing countries), these viewpoints can distract the reader from the essential point here which is to rigourously question consensus reality. Since I am single, and have no motivation to have children, I definitely disagree with his views on the necessity of human procreation on this planet, but here again, it is important to extract the essential meaning rather than get caught in the specific political/social debates that these issues may spawn.
If you are serious about personal transformation with the potential for changing our global consciousness, than this book can be an invaluable tool. I do agree with the Author that a world population of "high functioning" people can resolve every planetary problem we face today. As we systematically question our consensus reality, we will see our problems in new ways, and with this new perspective, problems can often be quickly resolved or transcended.
A Simple Cure For What's "Eating Us".......2006-11-13
I considered titling this review, "Stop Whining, Wake Up and Get Busy Saving the World," but decided "Eating Us" would be more attention-grabbing - which matters because I believe Vincent Casspriano, Jr.'s "The Simplest Path, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND" is an important book, and I want to do whatever I can to draw your attention to it. Pick the title you like best. Both very fittingly describe what you will find within the pages of this remarkable new release from New Paradigm Press.
I have selected three short quotations to explore in this review that I think best summarize Casspriano's overall message:
From Chapter One, "The Boxes We Dream In":
"Right now, this very moment, you are asleep... Even if you are reading these words in broad daylight - sitting at your desk or beside the kitchen table, your feet firmly planted on the floor, eyes open, senses alert, feeling the weight of this book in your hands as sounds of life rise and fall rhythmically around you - you are deeply asleep, and dreaming furiously"
Now, the idea that Humans are sleeping, and must therefore "awaken," is by no means unique to Casspriano's "Simplest Path" spiritual system, being the root observation underlying pretty much all Eastern religion, and a lot of Western Occultism and New Age metaphysics, as well. In fairness, Casspriano makes no claim to this as an original insight, openly supporting his assessment of the human predicament with quotations taken from Animism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. He then flows seamlessly into a list of complementary illustrations from the secular realms of Quantum Physics, brain/consciousness research, and most to-the-point, the study of memes and memetics, ala Evolutionary Biologist and world's best-known cheerleader for scientific atheism, Richard Dawkins.
If you've never heard of memes or memetics, a quick Google of those terms will reveal hundreds of serious, information-rich websites devoted to this now thirty-year old science. In a nutshell, a "meme" is a sort of contagious thought-form that spreads between people by way of imitation. Obvious memes in our environment include advertising jingles, fads and fashions, etc. Casspriano somewhat radically extends the concept to include just about everything that makes up the contents of our individual brains and shared human culture. While he resists redefining the word "meme" wholesale, he decidedly expands its definition to make memes and "memeplexes" (what you get when a number of memes band together into an organic, relational unit, like a religion or cultural or political movement) the basic, fundamental building blocks of everything we habitually label "real..."
And then he demonstrates, in at times excruciating detail, the complete emptiness of the "apparent-reality" that is a byproduct of memetic activity in our brains. What we call "real" is not real at all. It's an illusion spun up by our memes. And our memes are not original to us. They are "viral invaders" assailing our minds from without. Worse - and, while even this thought is not wholly unique to Casspriano, he certainly gives it his own very effective spin - memes are by no means mere passive beliefs or simple "harmless ideas." They are, Casspriano believes, actively predatory psychic parasites whose survival depends on our buying into the illusions they create in our minds. Think of illusion (Samsara, Maya, etc.) as a web we're caught in. Memes are the spider. We are the fly. Gotcha.
One thing I like very much about Casspriano's book is that he never asks us to take anything on faith, least of all this rather ugly depiction of the human psychic/spiritual condition. He not only challenges readers to test his hypothesis firsthand in order to experience what is real and true for ourselves, he spends a large chunk of the book outlining specific exercises anyone can do to escape memetic interference and personally experience reality as-it-is. The exercises in Part II of the book are powerful medicine... But this is a digression, so let me return to the point.
Memes are the spider, and we are the fly. A better metaphor might be that memes are the farmer, and we are the cow. Domesticated and docile, we allow memes to milk us daily, to extract from our minds the potent human psychic energy which, if reclaimed by us and put to proper human use, would quickly and positively transform our lives and our world. This transformation is awakening, ascension, enlightenment, metanoia, the Buddha-like change of consciousness most religions and spiritual systems on Earth hint at, but few ever actually deliver to followers. In this analysis, Casspriano's "Simplest Path" is very much in line with Gurdjieff's "Fourth Way," Carlos Castaneda's Toltec sorcery, and a few other well known spiritual practices inhabiting a somewhat darker, though perhaps more realistic corner of the New Age. But unlike most of those other systems, Casspriano's prescription for escaping illusion and awakening to reality is remarkably, well... simple.
From Chapter Three, "Waking Up":
"The simple truth is that we are sleeping because we lack sufficient energy to wake up."
And later in the same chapter:
"The real work that brings about awakening, rather than merely granting the external appearance of "being spiritual," while actually embroiling us ever more deeply in the dream, is a rigorous, daily commitment to the identification and elimination of every self-serving belief from which our personal dream-lives are constructed."
For "belief" in the quotation above, read "meme/memeplex." Casspriano certainly does, treating the terms as largely interchangeable. In the end, this genuinely simple - at least in the sense of being uncomplicated and pragmatic - spiritual practice amounts to discovering reality as-it-actually-is less by searching for a glimpse beyond the illusion, than by systematically withdrawing our participation in, and identification with, the dream. When we disentangle our psyches from memetic illusion, only reality remains. We don't have to chase it; to a meme-free mind, reality just appears. This is "Satori" in Zen Buddhism. This is "stopping the world" in the Toltec sorcery of Castaneda and others. Casspriano's genius lies in his talent for exposing the core mechanism behind such complex and often inscrutable spiritual systems, and for putting into plain language clear instructions for unraveling the dream and achieving personal awakening. The virus-like process by which memes take over and control our human minds, as described by Casspriano is, to my mind, very complicated (but well worth struggling through). What is genuinely simple about "The Simplest Path," however, is Casspriano's prescription for breaking those bonds, once you've made the effort to understand how they are created and maintained. For Casspriano, remaining a victim of spiritual sleep and energetic exploitation by memes is a complex activity in which we unconsciously invest enormous amounts of psychic energy every day of our lives. Awakening is the product of a simple act of withdrawing that investment, which automatically re-energizes of our minds and lives. Or as Casspriano cleverly phrases it when closing Chapter Three, "Waking Up":
"Unweave the tapestry of the dream, and awakening happens."
Anyone can do this. Spiritual awakening, in Casspriano's view, may be hard work, but it is not complicated work. The path to enlightenment is really rather shockingly simple. Fall out of love with the dream. Reclaim your psychic energy. Wake up to reality.
The ten "Key Questions" Casspriano explores in the second section of the book are designed to put the theory laid out in Part I to practical and immediate use. Essentially, I think Casspriano sees these ten issues - why we treat enlightenment as an "airy-fairy" ideal instead of a measurable transformation of brain functioning, the excuses we make for avoiding personal responsibility and integrity along the lines of Castaneda's "impeccability," the fallacy of belief in a "separate self," etc. - as pillars of both our personal and collective human dreams. They are by no means an exhaustive listing of the memes twisting our minds. But they are primary keystones on which layers upon layers of the grand illusion are built. Topple these ten baseline pillars and the larger structure crumbles.
Casspriano explores some "Keys" more successfully than others. One downside to the book is that, especially in the "Keys," Casspriano's own memetic prejudices shine at times rather glaringly through, as when, in his discussion of the American "What Would Jesus Do?" religious fad, he characterizes the Evangelical Christian purveyors of WWJD as, "ultra-conservative, right wing ideologues." Even should the reader personally agree with such pronouncements, its hard to resist thinking, "Hey Vince! Your memes are showing!" But where he nails his point, Casspriano's prose can be downright inspiring, as with the "Key" cosmological study "Is Earth the Center of the Universe?," which explores the gap between what we know, scientifically, about the Universe and what our daily choices and behavior says we really believe, about the cosmos and about ourselves. His closing "Key" "Are We Alone?" so poetically frames the true stakes of our global human predicament - species survival VS extinction - that its hard to imagine anyone keeping their gaze glued squarely to their own self-involved navel in the wake of reading it. Of course we are not alone. There are six and a half billion of us on Planet Earth, and whether we awaken to what's best in us or follow our darkest drives over History's cliff into oblivion, we do so as one. One planet, one fate.
This notion of "oneness" and of a common, intertwined human spiritual and biological destiny is a core theme in The Simplest Path, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND that sets it apart from any spiritual book in recent memory. My final quotation from the book returns us to the opening lines of Chapter One, "The Boxes We Dream In":
"We are all aware of the challenges facing us as we enter together into the 21st Century:
· World oil supplies are running out.
· Global warming is transforming the Earth into a steamy greenhouse.
· Even as our technology connects the world, ideological extremism, terrorism and militarism divide us as never before.
· Headlines bombard us with news of war, famine, pestilence and death until we feel overwhelmed and unable to respond.
· Time is running out..."
Vincent Casspriano, Jr.'s "The Simplest Path to Personal and Planetary Transformation, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND" does not offer easy escape from these very pressing real-world human ills, but rather, a down to Earth, workable prescription for their cure. Yes, we must awaken as individuals, and, rest assured, "The Simplest Path" shows spiritual seekers exactly how to do that. But a prime message of "The Simplest Path" is that, for personal awakening to have meaning, it must occur within the context of a complete re-visioning of global culture, and a mass wrenching away of the wheel of History from the control of viral memes, that we might create a common cosmic human destiny worthy of our highest potential as a species.
Now that's a meme worth feeding.
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The Mystic Warrior of the Plains
Manufacturer: Barnes & Noble
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Native American | Regional | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Native American | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1566196574 |
Product Description
The Mystic Warriors of the Plains offers readers an extraordinarily detailed view of the daily activities of the peoples of the North American plains, including the Sioux, Cheyenne, Pawnee, Nez Perce, Comanche, and many others. Used by Kevin Costner as a resource text for the motion picture Dances with Wolves, this is an extraordinarily in-depth examination of the day-to-day lives of the North American plains Indians, with over one thousand illustrations and thirty-two four-color plates. Covering everything from social customs, personal qualities, and government to types of weaponry, achievement marks, and the training of Indian boys, The Mystic Warriors of the Plains is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Plains Indian lore that will delight and inform everyone interested in understanding the native peoples of the Plains. Magnificently and accurately ... conveys both the tragic ironies and splendors of the rich plains civilization. [Newsweek] - Fascinating detail that gives a better idea of the plains people than mere description can do... His combination of engrossing text and fascinating pictures makes this one of the most valuable books on Indian life ever to be published [Navajo Times] - "Sympathetic, respectul, and appreciative... a major attempr to present the Indians' own view of their life style." [University of New Mexico Press].
Customer Reviews:
Don't Believe Everything You Read!.......2000-05-22
There is no doubt that the author's veneration of the old time Plains Indians borders on hero-worship; and if enthusiasm alone could guarantee accuracy, this would be a great book. Unfortunately, that is not the case here. I have studied Plains Indian culture for more than 30 years, and must agree with the previous reviewer from Montana that this book is riddled with errors from beginning to end. For example, Mails tells us that the Indians made bow cases from the tails of mountain lions. I am currently making a mountain lion quiver and bowcase myself, and I can tell you flatly that the mountain lion never lived whose tail was big enough for this purpose. Instead, the tail was always left as a pendant hanging from the mouth of the quiver. Since Mails' book includes a full page color painting, done by him, of a quiver with the tail hanging down in just that fashion, you wonder how he could make this error - but he did, and many others like it. Most of them could have been avoided if Mails had carefully read the primary sources listed in his own bibliography. This is a big, impressive looking coffee-table type book, and so our natural inclination is to believe whatever it says - an inclination strengthened by the fact that Mails makes every statement with an air of absolute authority. The reviewer from Pipestone, MN says that this book has all the answers, and it does. The problem is that those answers are so often completely wrong.
This book is better than a years class in Nat Am. Studies.......1998-08-23
I teach Native American cultures to children and adults alike at the Little Feather Indian center in Pipestone, Minnesota. Ever since I first saw this book back in '95 I have had it by my side when giving a talk. If I don't know the answer to a question, I look it up in this book. I call it my Bible. It is the best source I know for information on the Plains Tribes. The pictures are works of art, and Mails has so much knowledge that he imparts to the reader. If you want to know more about the Plains Tribes do get this book, it is a little bit expensive but worth every cent. I promise.
Best book I've ever read!.......1997-07-18
Thomas Mails brings us this unforgettable book of the Plains Indians! Mails has really given us a classic here that must be read over and over again! This book is so informative. I personally think that it could be used in colleges as a textbook! It tells us all about their dress, weapons, hairstyles, and religion. I think that every person should run out and buy this book
Mystic Warriors a technical source, not a story........1997-06-06
The Mystic Warriors of the Plains uses a respectful and sensitive--but not fawning--tone that is perfect for anthropological history. It contains a huge quantity of detail about plains culture, with an emphasis on the material culture of the Siouxan peoples. However, the abundance of detail makes this a book that is difficult to read in anything but small doses. Further, the author implicitly treats Native Americans as a thing of the past. Use this book as a reference or browse it at bedtime, but don't try to read straight through it
Book Description
The Bronze Canticles is an expansive new saga chronicling the world-altering changes that take place as three connected universes#151;the Human world, the Goblin world, and the Faery world#151;are slowly drawn together.In Book One, Mystic Warrior, young Galen Arvad, a human with magical powers, must avoid the ritual that puts those with such talents to death. It seems that in the eyes of the community, magic is a sign of lunacy, and in a yearly ritual the local "crazies" are offered up to the Dragon Priests. Galen is suddenly captured and imprisoned. Now, as Galen's wife, Berkita, and his friend, Cephas the dwarf, set off to rescue him, Galen learns of the fate that awaits him, a fate far worse than even his own death.
Download Description
The Bronze Canticles are an expansive new saga chronicling the world-altering changes that take place in three connected universes that are slowly drawing together-the human world, the goblin world, and the faerie world. The story of Book 1 will mostly focus on the changes to the human world, which will be influenced by catastrophic events taking place in the other two worlds. Young Galen Arvad has a beautiful new wife, Berkita, and a thriving job as an iron craftsman with his dwarf friend, Cephas, in the small town of Leeside. But Arvad guards the ugly secret of his own magical ability. The community views magic powers as a sign of lunacy, and at a yearly ritual they offer up their local crazies to the Dragon Priests, who take them away to the city. This year, Berkita and Cephas are devastated to see Arvad being hauled away with the other "insane" and vow to follow and rescue him. Arvad, meanwhile, arrives at a camp for the outside the city where he learns all the new draftees are to be trained in the arts of war. But Arvad soon realizes that the "war" is a sham-the Dragon Kings have genocidal plans for their magical subjects.
Customer Reviews:
$5.98 book at Barnes and Noble.......2006-10-28
I stopped at BN to get some books for a trip to China the next day. I was specifically looking for books 11 and 12 of the Left Behind series. This book was sitting on a table for $5.98 and I thought, what the heck. When I initially got on the plane for the 14 hour flight I started reading a Reader's Digest. I picked this one and and in the beginning it started very slow. With nothing else to do on the plane I stuck with it. While in China we had a 1.5 hour commute each way to work and I brought the book to read in the minivan every day.
The authors weave together 3 different worlds. It is a challenge with any book keeping characters straight, let alone with 3 different worlds. I found the world of humans and fairies very well described, plausible and consistantly. The world of gnomes is a little bit out there but this is a creation of the authors and hey, if you do not like it, do not keep reading.
Anyways, I have added the next 2 books in the series to my Christmas list for this year and look forward to getting them.
A great fantasy action adventure story with no action or adventure...........2006-05-29
So the Hickmans have written some of my favorite stores over the years but I think they approached this knowing they wanted a "$ Trilogy $" so they had to stretch this one out a little too much. Not to mention my favorite storyline killer: the unlikely hero thrown into the heroic situation, which he doesn't want. Don't they all..... Why can't the main character just have the inner drive to get the bad guys and right the world's wrongs?
Discussing this with my friends who have also read it we all agreed: it was a disappointment.
That said, I went out and picked up the second in this series in paperback last week in hopes that this series does get better.
Another dumb, whiny hero.......2006-05-17
Well I just hit page 428 and I think Galen, our hero, has finally stopped his [...]and moan'n. The book is more or less OK. At least the plot is not driven by his stupidity, as is often the case with these miserable hero types. It simply goes on with him whining in the background, (or foreground as the case may be.)
I simply do not understand why otherwise talented authors feel the need to impose these endlessly whiny heroes on us poor readers. Is it really necessary for the protaganist to be such a blind jerk? The book is really quite interesting and has a lot of potential ... especially when any of the other major characters take the forefront. But I find myself shuddering when it is once again Galen's turn to come forward and whine.
Sigh.......2006-05-17
I held off writing this review until I had read the first 3 books in this series. Of those three, this falls in the middle.
The concept of three worlds (man, faerie, goblin) is interesting, but hard to pull off. The book relies on dream sequences to set the three heros in motion. In this book the dream sequences are vague enough to not get in the way of things. They work pretty well in revealing th plot. The problem is that worlds of man and faerie work pretty well. The goblin world appears populated with morons and that's being generous.
It was good enough to get to the second book.
Mystic Warrior good book but difficult start.......2006-05-15
This was actually a book I had difficulty in reading the beginning but it was worth the read, now I just have to make time to read the other two.
Book Description
The white buffalo is a sacred and holy creature to the Lakota. Buffalo Dreamer, a holy woman, and her husband, Rising Eagle, have not only been blessed to see the white buffalo, they have eaten of its heart and have been told by the sacred beast that as long as the Lakota have the white buffalo hide, all will be well.But all is not well. White hunters have stolen the sacred white robe and great misfortune has befallen the Lakota. Settlers continue to invade Lakota territory, backed by vicious cavalry forces that massacre women and children. The Lakota are starving and their anger is growing.Led by Rising Eagle, a great force of Lakota and other tribes wage war upon the white man. Together they battle to regain the land stolen from them, to protect the precious buffalo the white man wantonly destroys, and to search for the sacred white robe.
Customer Reviews:
If this book is meant to endear people to the Lakota, then it failed.......2006-01-28
I normally love the books of Rosanne Bittner. While I don't find many of them to be keepers, they are always very well researched and well written.
I'll admit I came into reading this book with a jaundiced eye, since I was thoroughly disgusted by the second book in this series, Mystic Visions. (see that book's page for that review) So I guess I was kind of looking to see if this book would turn me off as well.
And it did. Most of Rosanne Bittner's books are written with her obvious love of the Native American people. Which is fine with me, as I love Native American romance. But in this book, the people are torturing and killing captives and such, and it's portrayed in such a way that it's supposedly justified. Sick! Torture is wrong and disgusting, no matter what upbringing you come from. And these are the people I'm supposed to be cheering for? Doesn't work for me!
Final tale in this great, but gut-wretching saga........2001-07-15
Rising Eagle and Buffalo Dreamer knew their visions of the future regarding their tribe were destined to come true no matter how disturbing they were. There would be no stopping the migration of the white settlers into their lands, and they both knew something had to be done and soon. As a Lakota holy man, Rising Eagle had been told to take Buffalo Dreamer as his wife because she was the Chosen One that he had dreamt about. Together, they had seen over thirty years of their visions come true one by one. They had raised their children to be strong and true. Even now, their oldest, Brave Horse, rode with his best friend Crazy Horse to keep the Lakota lands peaceful and free of the white settlers who were constantly coming onto their lands looking for gold. Mystic Warriors is the final chapter of the saga of Rising Eagle and Buffalo Dreamer. Ms. Bittner weaves a tale around historical fact that explains the battle the Lakota Nation went though to preserve their sacred tribal lands better than any history book ever did. She brings out, in story form, the treachery and hatefulness that was practiced against the Lakota while, at the same time, preserving the beauty and dignity of the tribal rituals and beliefs. An excellent saga from start to finish!
This author makes history come alive through her fiction!.......2001-04-16
***** This is the best Historical Romance trilogy I have read in my life! Stop everything and read this book. It makes perfect sense if you have not read the first two (Mystic Dreamers and Mystic Vision); however, if read in order you will understand even more!
The author's main characters in this book are the same as the previous. They are Buffalo Dreamer, a Lakota holy woman, and Rising Eagle, her husband. Their children are now grown. Rising Eagle still did not know he had a son in the white world, from a previous captive, that was raised by Florence, whose Lakota name was Fall Leaf Woman. That son was William, a "blue coat" for the Whites.
Buffalo Dreamer had been told long ago that as long as the Lakota had the skin of the sacred white buffalo, all would be well. But white trappers stole it from her. Until it made its way back to her, all who owned it would have bad luck!
The author followed history as she wrote too! And as in real life, many battles are shown. I saw several characters from the previous books slain in battle or massacred during Army raids.
This book makes the reader see and feel all the love, hope, and pain that the brave people did in the past. Rosanne Bittner makes history come alive through her fiction! I cannot recommend this highly enough! *****
A triumphant finale to this exciting historocal series.......2001-04-16
In 1855 in a remote part of the Lakota Nation, four white buffalo hunters see the skin of a white buffalo for the first time near a single Indian teepee. Though fearful, the quartet decides to steal the pelt. Causing a diversion, they filch the hide.
Responsible for protecting the hide, Buffalo Dreamer and Rising Eagle are stunned at the loss of one of the People's most sacred talismans. They know that as long as the Lakota possessed the white buffalo, fortune would be their companion. Now the tribe faces hard times as the whites led by their cavalry seem greater than the sands and no treaty is sacred. As the people starve, MYSTIC WARRIORS try to regain what was lost in land and more significantly the white buffalo even though they face impossible odds.
MYSTIC WARRIORS, the third tale in Rosanne Bittner's "Mystic Dreams" series, is a tremendous ending to an incredible historical fiction trilogy. The story line is exciting, poignant, and dramatic as the audience sees the intrusion of whites on the Lakota mostly through the eyes of the Indians. The cast including real persona like Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. The fictionalized characters seem genuine as well which adds to the feel of observing a great people's struggle to survive. Ms. Bittner shows she is one of the genre's best as her audience will seek the previous two novels (MYSTIC DREAMERS and MYSTIC VISIONS).
Harriet Klausner
Average customer rating:
- Opening Up a New Way To Experience God
- Screaming Hawk
- Comparisson of Am. Indian spirituality with Christianity
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Screaming Hawk: Flying Eagle's Training of a Mystic Warrior
Patton Boyle
Manufacturer: Talman Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Screaming Hawk Returns: Flying Eagle Teaches the Mystic Paths
ASIN: 0882681591 |
Customer Reviews:
Opening Up a New Way To Experience God.......2000-12-12
I found this book 7 yrs ago when I was in 8th grade. I've read it about 5 or 6 times since then. This book has continually opened up my eyes to experience God in different ways. It is full of wisdom and power. Every time I read it I learn something new, and I am reminded of things I've learned once before. I've never been so moved by a book next to the Bible. Flying Eagle's wisdom is relevant for everyone who wants to learn more about how God moves in the world. It's an awesome reminder that God is the God of every creature, and that everyone/everything experiences Him in a different way. Many of the ways this book has moved me are undescribable in words. I suggest that it is read with an open mind and with lots of prayer that the Holy Spirit will speak to your heart as you read it.
Screaming Hawk.......2000-07-05
I did not want to put this book down but needed to and did after each chapter to digest the very content. I belive it was written so we can see our journey with new eyes, I believe occasionally religion has a way of coming between us and God and this author confirmed this for me. The author spoke of broadening the boundaries and refrain from rigid beliefs but to listen for truth in the silence between the words and to consider that everything belongs.
Comparisson of Am. Indian spirituality with Christianity.......1998-10-30
Fabulous book, couln't put it down. A Christian man with a big heart is taught the mysteries of the Great Spirit by an Indian Medicine Man. He is taught to channel his anger to become a warrior. "The warrior does not fight against evil; the warrior stands firm at the boundaries." Nature and God are love. All creation comes from Love. Each person's battle is in learning to love and accept their dark side. This book is Truth in a very distilled form.
Average customer rating:
- Deja' Vu All Over Again
- You're Not Just the "One," You're the Everything!
- You will be transported to another dimension
- Mystic Warrior - A Must Read!
- Celestine Prophecy for Enlightened Professionals
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Mystic Warrior: A Novel Beyond Time and Space
Edwin Harkness Spina
Manufacturer: Higher Dimensions Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Metaphysical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Visionary Fiction | Fiction | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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Andean Awakening: An Inca Guide to Mystical Peru
ASIN: 0974587133 |
Book Description
The DaVinci Code meets the X-Files as selfless mystics use advanced psychic abilities to battle terrorists, mercenaries and hidden powerbrokers, with the fate of millions hanging in the balance. Mystic Warrior is the 2005 Independent Publisher Book Award Winner for Visionary Fiction.
Customer Reviews:
Deja' Vu All Over Again.......2007-01-30
Short and Sweet: went back and read it again only to pick up on so many different levels than what I interpreted the first time around. Exciting and Energy-inspiring. Kudos. Well worth the $15 bucks and the trip in the easy chair.
You're Not Just the "One," You're the Everything!.......2005-02-14
Mystic Warrior: A Novel Beyond Time and Space changes you. It grabs something deep inside of your soul and never lets go. From page one you are hooked into a newfound reality that begins to expand your understanding of personal power and awareness. Not only does the author pull you into a seemingly plausible reality of heightened spirituality, but you actually start to believe that the awakening process developed through the main character can be applied to yourself through the simple mantra of "I believe."
Spina develops characters quickly and efficiently in this novel of psychic powers, past lives and karmic awareness. As you read through the chapters (which are kept nice and short for easy digestion) you begin to identify with the main character as he experiences spiritual awakening amidst a backdrop of financial instability and terrorist threat. This book empowers you with a feeling of hope. It grabs hold of you tightly and submerges you into a broader understanding of the current world around us.
Mystic Warrior embodies the essence of not only a good book, but of a greater feeling. It leaves you with a new sense of awareness that none of us is truly alone. This story not only reflects the current fears many of us have in these trying times, it exhibits our ability to rise above these fears and realize that the true power to change the world comes from within each of us. This book will enhance your understanding of reality and ultimately of yourself.
You will be transported to another dimension.......2004-12-27
Excellent book for anyone seeking enlightment and evolution. Once you start reading it you don't want to stop until you finish it. Find a pleasant atmosphere and a confortable place to read it, you will be tranported to another dimension while you are reading it.
Mystic Warrior - A Must Read!.......2004-04-28
A friend gave me this book and it is awesome! I do not read many novels, but I could not put this one down. It is a fast read with a very unique plot. Spina makes it all work and makes it very believable. I highly recommend this one!!!
Celestine Prophecy for Enlightened Professionals.......2004-04-17
Mystic Warrior is truly a guide for any
professional whether self-employed or not.
The exciting and sometimes hard to conceive
story is never boring. Spina portrays the world
of business as it really is and not the way we
are taught it is. Mystic Warrior is my favorite
kind of book; one that imparts valuable lessons
for success in the midst of a story you will not
want to end. Like James Redfield, the author is
a first rate teacher with a flair for writing
exciting fiction. Don't miss this real-life
adventure story.
Average customer rating:
- This book has more errors than any other book I have read.
- Excellent book on plains indian live!
- Excellent overview of the plains tribes.
- Singularly best one book resource on the plains tribes.
- Great Native American Resource.
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Mystic Warriors
Thomas E. Mails
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books | 19th Century | 20th Century | 21st Century | African Americans | Civil War | Colonial Period | General | Revolution & Founding | State & Local
General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 038504741X
Release Date: 1972-10-03 |
Customer Reviews:
This book has more errors than any other book I have read........1998-12-23
Let the reader beware! This book contains more errors than any book I have ever read, and I can read only a fraction of the book critically. A sampling of some of the errors follows.
The author shows a profound lack of understanding of many important features of the plains animals, such as the statement that antelope and elk were hunted "only on rare trips to the mountains". The historical distribution of the antelope was identical to the range of the buffalo throughout the plains area, and in the northern part of the plains, elk and buffalo herds intermingled far from the mountains.
One of the most peculiar errors is his description of the proper method to shoot an arrow. One illustration shows the arrow placed on the left hand as a rest. The author describes this as a "careless way of letting arrow rest on hand". An adjacent illustration shows the arrow on the right side of the bow, supported by the thumb and encircled by the left forefinger. This is the "secure way of guiding the arrow at bow". The former method is used by all archers worldwide to the best of my knowledge. In some cultures, the arrow is place on a rest rather than the top of the hand, however it is always on the left side (for the right handed archer). A neophyte may encircle the arrow with his forefinger, but a few shots will be more than enough to discourage him from continuing the practice. I actually tried shooting an arrow as he recommended, and while it may be possible to attain some degree of proficiency with this method after much practice, it would always be inferior to the proper method.
The author describes sinew as a "smooth animal muscle". Sinew is a tendon, with vastly different properties than muscle tissue.
Many Plains Indian arrows are grooved along the length. The author, having examined them, came to the "conclusion that the grooves served a religious purpose". Their actual function is to keep the arrow shaft straight.
These errors are just a few examples of the sloppy scholarship that pervades this volume; there are many, many more.
I am not able to read the cultural portions of the book critically, however, I suspect that these segments show the same sloppy scholarship as the biological and archery references. I would caution the reader not to take anything in this work at face value, but would recommend that the reader check with more scholarly works for verifiable information. In summary, the entertainment value of this book may be high for the casual reader, but the reader that is trying to learn something factual and accurate about the Plains Indians would be better off with a professionally researched and written text.
Excellent book on plains indian live!.......1998-09-19
One of the most complete books I have read about the every day life of the Plains Indians. It share every aspect of the day to day life and how religion, art and cuture intertwine to make up the social strucure of a complece and sucsesful society.
Excellent overview of the plains tribes........1997-09-27
Excellent source of information on plains indians culture and technology. Illustrations are beautiful and informative.
Singularly best one book resource on the plains tribes........1997-04-23
extremely well researched, illustrated, and written text. Have discussed points with tribal members who use this book as their resource. Very well annotated bibliography
Great Native American Resource........1996-12-04
Great overview of the plains indians. Has excellently written chapters on clothing, religion, and weapons. Great resource for the serious student
Customer Reviews:
Deeply insightful and transformative book.......2007-01-28
This is one of the most insightful and transformative books I have ever read. Christina's lucid writing style is a pleasure to read, and her understanding and compassion emerge page after page almost like from an ocean of wisdom. It's the kind of book that it would take a lifetime to understand, in each reading seeing something in a fresh way or finding new gems of teaching through changing life situations. I found especially empowering her sections on bringing a radical light of awareness to the belief systems we accept and/or internalize. Her exploration of the subject opens new doors in seeking and finding our own belief systems that are of benefit to ourselves and our world. This can be a tough journey to navigate, and she gives not solutions but compass points by which to travel our own, individual, unique journeys. What a truly beautiful book, it is a gift to come upon! I am buying more copies to give to others - I came across it through the lending library of my meditation group and want spread the joy around plus have my own copy. A beautiful complement to Feldman's other fabulous books - Silence was a deeply moving spiritual experience for me to read, and the Beginner's Guide to Buddhist Meditation is also a gem. Ms. Feldman radiates a beautiful and empowering spirit, it is a blessing to come upon her writings.
A Deluge of Insight.......2004-02-19
I opened this book not knowing what to expect. I was soon engrossed in one of the most inspirational and insightful books I've ever read. Many of the book's passages are rather deep but also very beautifully written. The statements in themselves were like mini works of art. I started dog-earing pages that I wanted to be able to refer back to, and quickly noticed I was marking nearly every page. I think this book may be difficult for some to read because it is very profound, but for those whose minds work that way, it will deliver nothing but page after page of exhiliration and awe.
This book renewed my spirit and validated the journey........1999-09-01
This book is a wonderful find for any woman that is on her spiritual journey. I am sorry to learn it is out of print, for I long to order copies and send them to all my friends. If you can beg, borrow, or steal a copy of this book...do so. and share it with as many women as you can.
Books:
- The Simplest Path to Personal and Planetary Awakening, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND: 10 Keys for Unlocking Your Personal Potential, Achieving Spiritual Awakening, ... of Humanity's Ultimate Cosmic Destiny
- The Vision A Two-in-one Volume Of The Final Quest And The Call
- The White Rose: Munich, 1942-1943
- The Writings of Florence Scovel Shinn: The Game of Life and How to Play It, Your Word Is Your Wand,the Secret Door to Success, the Power of the Spok
- They Shall Expel Demons: What You Need to Know about Demons - Your Invisible Enemies
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying)
- Tooth and Claw (Death Dealer)
- True to the Game: A Teri Woods Fable
- Turkey--Bright Sun, Strong Tea: On the Road with a Travel Writer
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One: Essential Writings on Nonduality
