Book Description
Internationally renowned and bestselling author Donna Farhi moves yoga practice beyond the mat into our everyday lives, restoring the tradition's intended function as a complete, practical philosophy for daily living.
Expanding upon the teachings of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, the core text of the yoga tradition, Donna Farhi describes yoga's transforming power as a complete life practice, far beyond its common reduction to mere exercise routine or stress management. This is the philosophy of yoga as a path to a deeper awareness of self. Drawing upon her years of teaching with students, Farhi guides readers through all the pitfalls and promises of navigating a spiritual practice.
Farhi's engaging and accessible style and broad experience offer important teachings for newcomers and seasoned practitioners of yoga alike. And because her teachings of yoga philosophy extend into every corner of daily life, this book is an equally accessible guide to those seeking spiritual guidance without learning the pretzel bendings of the physical practice itself. As one of the top teachers worldwide, Farhi's exploration of the core philosophy of yoga is destined to become an instant classic.
Customer Reviews:
A Real Gem.......2006-07-27
I really treasure my copy of Donna Farhi's "Bringing Yoga to Life." No matter how many times I've read it, I can always pick it up and glean some new insight or perspective from any passage. Her writing reflects genuine depth, wisdom, and experience, and she has a real gift for expressing sentiments that we intuitively realize but may not yet be able express ourselves. Note that this is not your typical manual of physical postures (there are certainly plenty of those available), but a very unique work that speaks to the process of integrating one's practice into daily life (which is what yoga is really about). Highly recommended.
Donna Farhi Takes Yoga Beyond The Asanas To It's Depths.......2003-12-30
Donna Farhi is one of the most knowledgeable, sincere, interesting and open minded Yoga teacher/writers that I am aware of, and she has given all of us the gift of another wonderful book.
Her deep and profound knowledge of all aspects of Yoga, both from a Physical and Spiritual perspective is always apparent in her writing and anyone can reap benefits from her books no matter what style (or styles) of yoga you embrace, as she is not bound by any one school of yoga.
In "Bringing Yoga To Life" Donna Farhi goes beyond the postures and moves deeply into the heart of yoga, the practice of yoga in one's day to day life.
Still, you can also bring your actual physical practice of Yoga "to life" by incorporating an awareness of the 8 limbs. This will help you deepen and internalize your asana practice.
This is one of many excellent books that have recently surfaced that take Yoga beyond the postures and show how it can have a profound relevance to real life, beyond the work one does on their sticky mat (or mysore rug). Among these other books I highly recommend "Yoga And The Quest For The True Self" by Stephen Cope, "Yoga and the Path Of The Urban Mystic" by Darren John Main and Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy by Michael Lee.
Namaste
Questions answered.......2003-12-03
Soon after practicing yoga and finding myself changing in strange and remarkable ways, I felt I needed a book that might explain the less obvious "benefits" of yoga other than physical fitness. I now read a chapter or two of this book every night and so far I have the feeling that I am conversing with a very wise, benevolent, and understanding teacher. Donna Farhi has a way of communicating exactly what I, at least, have been wondering and feeling about me, my yoga practice, and life. I will send this book to my closest friends.
Book Description
A magnificent compilation of sacred writings from all traditions and the perfect companion to Stephen Mitchell's poetry collection, The Enlightened Heart, and the bestselling Tao Te Ching.
Customer Reviews:
The Enlightened Mind.......2007-01-04
A MUST HAVE for any spiritual seeker. Packed with insight, mystical and practical, on every page. I will never be without it.
So many stars, one sky........2005-02-01
This is an excellent anthology of sacred prose. Stephen Mitchell was very ecumenical and egalitarian in his selection process. Such a lack of bias is clear evidence of his own enlightened understanding where the universality of truth is concerned. No one, no cult, no philosophy, no religion, has a patent on the ultimate source of being, on God. All anyone can do is say what God is like, not what God is. No one knows God's name. "I AM THAT I AM", the self-existent one. Exodus 3:14. The bits and pieces of the whole that is contained herein is a tasty feast for the hungry heart. A veritable smorgasbord of heavenly and earthly delights. A little Heraclitus, Plato, Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, Rumi, Eckhart, Dame Julian, Blake, Seattle, Emerson, Einstein, and so many others. A portion of the Upanishads, the Judeo-Christian Bible, the Hermetic Writings, the Diamond Sutra, and what we have hear is truth, truth, and some more truth. If you can't handle truth don't read this collection of writings, it may just enlighten your mind. Personally, I can't get enough wisdom.
Sampler:
Ramana Maharshi:
"If the mind is happy, not only the body but the whole world will be happy. So one must find out how to become happy oneself. Wanting to reform the world without discovering one's true self is like trying to cover the whole world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns. It is much simpler to wear shoes".
Dogen:
"Gaining enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon doesn't get wet; the water isn't broken... The whole moon and the sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass".
Einstein:
"A human being is a part of the whole that we call the universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical illusion of his consciousness. This illusion is a prison to us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for only the few people nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living beings and all of nature".
Rumi:
"The Love-Religion has no code or doctrine. Only God".
Remove the log from thine own eye first..............2004-09-11
I found this book on accident several years into my journey, and found it to be a most intriguing work. If you already claim to know the truth, the whole truth, and everyone else falls short, this book will no doubt offend your sensibilities. However if every day is a learning experience for you, and you listen to the " still, small voice within", you will no doubt recognize the transparent thread which connects all the passages in Gods love. No matter how many times I read and reread it, as my perspective grows, so do I find new teachings to inspire and motivate me.
A title to be a title........2004-08-30
I read this book about ten years ago, when I was searching for truth. This book did little to help that - I can remember nothing of value from this book.
If you are searching for truth, read the Bible. It is truth, and nothing will come close to it.
Also, for an easier read than other translations, check out the NIV version.
Thanks,
Calvin
NOT THE BEST.......2002-04-07
A book that had potential--but missed the mark. There are a few jems inside but over all there are much better compilations out there...so just skip this one.
Average customer rating:
- An Extraordinary Panorama of Western Teachers
- Fake information based on personal vendetta
- fine piece of scholarship
- 650 worthless sheet (of paper)
- Why Johnny can't think......
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The Book of Enlightened Masters: Western Teachers in Eastern Traditions
Andrew Rawlinson
Manufacturer: Open Court Publishing Company
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0812693108 |
Amazon.com
Professor and religious historian Andrew Rawlinson has done a monumental service. With an effulgent wit and a critical eye he tells the stories of virtually all the teachers, East and West, who have had an impact on establishing Eastern religious traditions in the West. Three branches of Buddhism, two lineages of Sufism, and innumerable Hindu and independent teachers are all fully represented--from Swami Vivekananda to Alan Watts, Madame Blavatsky to Idries Shah, Ruth Fuller Sasaki to Pema Chodron. A 200-year time line, charts of lineages, and tables of significant groupings supplement Rawlinson's biographies to great effect. He details historical links and tangential relationships while deftly narrating controversies without taking sides. Find your own master in this guide to spiritual leaders.
Customer Reviews:
An Extraordinary Panorama of Western Teachers.......2006-08-26
This excellent book is designed to provide a framework for understanding some of the people involved in bringing Eastern Teachings to the West, and often modifying them in the process. It is clear from the introduction that it is not designed to be a detailed exposition of teachings. To do so would require scores of volumes. Some of the teachers represented - or claimed to represent - classical mainstream Hinduism, Buddhism or Sufism. Others branched out on their own, developing independent spiritual traditions. Many of the teachers were given or simply adopted new names of Asian origin. The sub-title of this book is "Western Teachers in Eastern Traditions," though there are some exceptions. Krishnamurti is included because, from the age of 14, he received most of his education in Europe. A few other teachers born and bred in the East are included in passing.
Not only does the book provide us with innumerable informative biographies of the people mentioned, Andrew Rawlinson also provides extensive cross-references that help to illuminate some of the links connecting different teachers. He's also not afraid to expose some of the teachers who have plagiarized the work of others. In some places he has two texts side by side for comparison. Some quite well known people don't come out too smelling of roses. Like any writer, he has some strong views about some of the people whom he discusses. But I have known a number of the people mentioned in the book, and his descriptions of those have been very fair.
The book contains a vast amount of information. But equally important, is that it is a work of scholarship using some novel methods for helping us make sense of the rich and varied tapestry of thought and practice that have marked the transfer of portions of Eastern thought to Western culture.
I've used this book extensively, and in a work of this size and scope it is inevitable that there will be a few facts and opinions with which each reader will disagree. But that is the nature of scholarship: a first attempt is presented, is gets critiqued, re-edited and re-presented.
For anyone trying to get the big picture of the growth of these new religious movements, Andrew Rawlinson's book is an excellent starting point.
Fake information based on personal vendetta.......2005-06-17
Having attended many of Rawlinsons's lessons, I see this book as an outcome of Rawlinsons personal vendetta against anything that was threatening to him during his live. He never was allowed into the inner circles of what he tried to research for the very reason of his egoistic and selfish personality, being a man in great need to shine as Mr. Judge or Mr. Sheriff (sharif)
Rawlinson does not understand what he teaches/preaches. He is a walking dictionary, filled with facts, can draw on these facts like a computer, but what really counts... he does not live what he teaches, it's all rather fiction, he is a walkie-talkie of the finest order.... i.e. a kind of perpetum mobile.
fine piece of scholarship.......2002-11-02
An outstanding work. Well balanced between critical scholarship, and thorough research into the subjects. Overlooks a few teachers, but that's inevitable given the vast scope the book tackles. There is no book like this anywhere in the field of post-modern study of Western spiritual teachers and the phenomenon they represent. Dr. Rawlinson is very fair and impartial in his observations about the personal difficulties and challenges faced by many of the gurus, and how these challenges shaped their work, or in some cases detracted from it.
650 worthless sheet (of paper).......2002-07-09
The mixture that Mr. Rawlinson makes on this book is everything but "enlightning". The encyclopedic style is just on the surface, since the author focuses more on the personal details of the lives he choosed to write about, than on their specific spiritual standpoints. That makes this heavy book more a gossip than an academic work. It's tricky too, because it seems to put an impartial span of spiritual liders of the West, but, what he really wants is to advice about the deviations of this people. Which is not bad at all, if only he had the tools to do it. Instead, Mr. Rawlinson puts all in one bag and you get truly interesting perspectives (like Frithjof Schuon's Religio Perennis or "trascendent unity of religions") paired with plain crazy people.
So, this book is not a help at all; the charts are not clear and have some mistakes here and there.
Why Johnny can't think.............2001-10-21
Another book on comparative religions so filled with bias and self-centered sarcasm one can hardly read from cover to cover. What has happened to our educational system that this sort of thing passes for intelligence? No wonder "Johnny can't read". If you want to learn about the influence of the East on the West from this perspective, skip the cost of the book and simply search the internet for dirt on the particular religion. What a complete disappointment. Andrew Rawlinson never seemed to come close to the lofty title much less most of the religions he criticized.
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.
Customer Reviews:
Powerful Book. .......2007-10-11
Talking to Extraterrestrials is a wonderful, powerful book. I just finished reading it for the second time. I read it for the first time several years ago. I was almost embarressed to purchase it because the subject is somewhat taboo. However, once I started reading it, the answers the ETs gave to Lisette's questions range so true. No matter how challenging the question or simple, the answers always suprised me. I would find myself guessing how they would respond, but I was usually wrong. The answers always came from such an elevated state of consciousness that is so solidly grounded in love and peace and no fear that I believe that this book is the real deal and so are the ETs. The second time reading it, its seems to be even more meaningful to me, in light of current world conditions. Strongly recommended. I have sent it two three friends now.
Amazing dialog for the open minded.......2007-10-10
This was a wonderful book that shows us that, no matter where the message is coming from, it all seems to the same message. If you read "Conversations with God" or "Love without End", A Course in Miracles" they all pretty much say the same thing, just filtered through different people's perspective that give a slightly different spin on the same message. We are all just one spirit and we can choose our daily outcome based on our attitude, beliefs and intentions. It also parallels the movies "What the Bleep do we Know" and the "Secret". All very inspirational and insightful moving us away from the dualistic nature of formalized religion into the future of consciousness awareness.
The more you take a path down truthfulness the more you will align yourself with what these books are saying. Look also into "The Hidden History of the Human Race" "Forbidden History" internet movies "Zeitgeist the Movie", "Loose Change" and you'll see that what we've been told in the past was not always the truth but a form of control of the masses.
Tingles up/down your spine.......2006-10-14
Is it both pompous & absurd to believe we humans on earth are the only intelligent beings in the *entire universe*? What if you had the opportunity to receive stunning perspective about our earthly existence and unconditional love from other intelligent, older beings out there in the expansive universe?
Lisette has that ability and chose to set aside her own life's challenges and share these insights with her readers. Make yourself wise to extra-earthly perspective - you will not be able to put this book down.
A very nice read.......2005-09-10
This book is very good. She is not trying to sell anything or convince anyone of anything. She just simply gives her side.
She does not really speak that much, in this book as she did in her other books. The ETs pretty much make up this entire book.
And this book is the best in the series.
excellent book.......2004-11-06
This book took me by suprise. It is filled with information about grey extraterrestrials who are and wish to be known as enlightened. This is not another paranoid UFO encounter book. This is channelled material from an otherwise normal humble woman who will change many minds as to what the greys are doing here on this planet. They make their thoughts known to us. If you're interested in extraterrestrials, this is a great book.
Book Description
Fear, anger, anxiety, negativity, rudeness, information overload — the stressors of modern life can make just getting through the day a daunting task. Since 1985, John Maxwell Taylor has been moving through the collective madness with joy, spirit, and strength. The Power of I Am invites the reader to join him on this journey. Combining principles from martial arts, mindfulness, body-centered awareness, and spiritual and scientific principles, this engaging mix of practical tools, stories, and life lessons teaches personal empowerment through gaining inner strength in social situations and dealing effectively with negative people. The author uses real-world experiences to show readers how to stop being drained by “energy vampires,” how to defuse conflict by boosting energy levels when trouble comes, how to eliminate stage fright and other social anxieties, how to increase personal magnetism and sense of self, and how to tap the existing, but often dormant, power of the mind for personal transformation.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating and useful.......2007-08-25
The author offers not only fascinating stories about interpersonal conflicts. He offers practical suggestions on how to act in such conflicts and at other times. I haven't yet made habits based on anywhere near all his suggestions, but what I have tried has been helpful.
I have read or perused many books on the subjects the author covers, but never have seen a more remarkable combination of ideas. Especially interesting are his ideas about our eyes.
Essoteric learn put into practice..........2007-06-18
A lot of reviews get written by friends as a favor to the author - they of course never admit it! I am happy to admit I've known the author for over 25 years and watched him spend decades intensely pursuing his spiritual growth in meditation and study. While many spiritual seeker seek enlightenment, I have seen few actually implement real change in their lives - here and now. John Taylor slugged it out over the years - this is a rare author who lives what he writes. The techniques and insights in The Power of I Am - are hard earned, refined to specificity, and successfully integrated into the author's life - especially in his personal relationships. John has it wired. The techniques he suggests in the book work- read it, do them! The reviewer who complains that the author is always talking about himself is missing the point - unlike so many 'new age' psychological babble books that taste great by appeasing our need to believe happiness is just around the corner, but have little practical nutritional value as to how to achieve it, the Power of I Am, is packed with practical real world advice on how one person successfully implemented esoteric spiritual principles into his daily life and experience d psychological wholeness - here and now.
Author using book for self praise.......2007-05-07
Not sure if the author is trying to enumerate a technique to use the power of I am or trying to boast about himself. He has used more than half of the book boasting about himself. While i will refrain from doubting his honesty about his experience.. it is of little relevance to me whether he got a speeding ticket from a cop or not Or how his mother behaved with him. The context of these examples should have been in terms of what needs to be done.. not the other way around. Waste of money!!
Wow!!.......2007-03-03
This book transcends almost everything that's out there in the way of personal growth. Way beyond The Secret or the Law of Attraction, if you're ready to up your game beyond the kindergarten new age pabulum stage, this book is for you. At once psychedelic and practical, the strategies in this book will help you expand your consciousness and make you a better human being. Check out the "essence eye" - you'll be amazed. If you're ready for this book it'll change your life!!
To live a more joyfull life.......2006-12-06
He or she who want to become better human beings, grounded, centered, and connected with the Source of inner power, will find the principles and techniques in "The Power of I AM" very effective. Practicing these techniques will lead them to live a more joyful life.
Book Description
This is an important new resource in qualitative research methods and educational research. This benchmark work gives readers a solid understanding of qualitative research and evaluation, and its great promise for evaluating and guiding educational practice. It demonstrates how the same methods used by critics in the arts and humanities, such as observing performance qualities, setting, and interaction patterns, also applies to the classroom practice. Excellent examples are provided to show what this type of research looks like, and how it can be applied to the evaluation of teaching, learning, and the overall school environment.
Customer Reviews:
The beauty of written language and the power of words........1997-12-17
Designed as a text for education courses, The Enlightened Eye should be on everyone's reading list. The power of the author, Elliot Eisner, to convey ideas that are normally limited to esoteric "research" courses, and the "elite" graduate students who inhabit that world, is remarkable and refreshing. Through artistic and poetic imagery, the author transports the reader to a world of knowing that lies at the heart of connoisseur-ship and critical inquiry. Through a lens that distinguishes between seeing and looking we embark on a journey of discovery -- a journey that begins and ends in the qualities of our everyday experience.
In sum, Elliot Eisner, provides a vehicle that guides us through the processes of decoding and encoding the meanings attached to "experience," including the objects that reside in that experience.
It is a book that is a pleasure to read because the author writes well, seduces the reader, and provides opportunities for serious reflection. In sum, Elliot Eisner takes us on a qualitative journey discovery, through which we uncover the qualities of our life and our society.
Buy it. Read it. Savor it.
Book Description
Condenses the path to Buddhahood into straight-forward practical instructions based on a famous text of slogans.
Customer Reviews:
A truely helpful guide to making real, Buddhist practice in your life........2007-08-06
For those of us who cannot grasp into deep esoteric teachings, this book is simply amazing. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche takes the Tibetan Text "The Thirty Seven Verseson the Practice of a Bodhisattva" and expounds upon it in such a way as to transform it into very personal, very practical ways for using your mind and living this life. Don't get me wrong, this isn't watered down simplistic teachings like "be nice" this is still hard core Bodhisattva practice... and Dilgo Rinpoche's teachings cut across all traditions. I am a Zen practitioner, not a Tibetan practitioner, but I simply wept when I read this book. It is so very helpful for those of us attempting to cultivate true compassion and live out of that, no matter what tradition we practice in... For people who need the teachings to be practical and clear, this book is a true gem.
It's all about the practice! --Profound wisdom for cutting through the root cause of suffering ..........2006-08-07
The lojong--"mind transformation"--tradition in Vajrayana Buddhism constitutes a profound spiritual discipline for overcoming the root casue of suffering and cultivating real happiness. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, who passed away in 1991, was one of the great Dharma lions of his generation, a teacher of teachers (including His Holiness the Dalai Lama). Here he offers a practical, uncompromising, yet always compassionate guide to applying the lojong teachings in ALL of daily life, whatever comes to knock us on the head. I would recommend studying this volume alongside the Dalai Lama's TRANSFORMING THE MIND--TEACHINGS ON GENERATING COMPASSION, which provides a wonderfully humane and practical commentary on the famous "Eight Verses on Transforming the Mind."
Book Description
At age 24, Maura O’Halloran traveled to Japan, where she began studying Zen, first in Tokyo and later in the remote northern countryside. Her journey into the depths of her heart and mind is portrayed in this memoir. Journal entries and letters home recounting her quest to become a Zen master reveal Maura’s humor, compassion, wisdom, and above all, her endless commitment to awakening. Insightful and absorbing, Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind remains one of the most beloved dharma books ever published. Maura O'Halloran and her book have inspired popular songs, artists, and countless readers. This new edition will be a must-have for previous fans and is sure to find thousands of new ones.
Customer Reviews:
Brilliant and beautiful! Buy it NOW!.......2001-10-26
In order to appreciate the great wisdom to be found in Finding Enlightenment, you must first know the credentials of this wonderful biographer. J. Gordon Melton is the director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion, the author of over 25 books, encyclopedias and almanacs, and an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church.
Further, this unbiased scholar studied the teachings of Ramtha as well as forming a kinship with JZ Knight. It is from this place he wrote his biography of JZ Knight and Ramtha and the lessons to be learned from both. These insights enabled seemingly ordinary citizen JZ Knight to discover the One living inside her...and the means to uncover the hidden realities. This is the wisdom and knowledge now available to us, today!
The foundation of Ramtha's teachings is Gnosticism...a belief that humans are angelic, perhaps even divine beings who are lost in a world of distractions, self-imposed limitations and confining traditions. We learn that Ramtha is a Lemurian who lived on Earth 35,000 years ago. His experiences and his desire to become the wind, and his ascension ultimately led him to God status. He is now back on Earth to teach us all he has learned...and JZ Knight with Ramtha's School of Enlightenment is his pulpit.
Finding Enlightenment offers a path as well as a comparison to the many religions abounding today. A major difference? Ramtha teaches that there is no Satan. This basic difference allows his students to focus on self-discovery and self-growth...and not fear.
This reviewer discovered in Finding Enlightenment a clear and unbiased view of Ramtha's teachings through his channel, JZ Knight. Thank you, J. Gordon Melton, for giving us insight into a woman shaman and an understanding of Ramtha's word!
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- Choosing a Jewish Life: A Handbook for People Converting to Judaism and for Their Family and Friends
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- Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #3: Soul Eater (Chronicles of Ancient Darkness)
- Confessions (Oxford World's Classics)
- Contacting Your Spirit Guide
- Created to Be His Help Meet: Discover How God Can Make Your Marriage Glorious
- Crisis in Masculinity
- Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life
- Cuffed by Candlelight: An Erotic Romance Anthology (Noire Passion)
- Doing Qualitative Research: Circles within Circles (The Falmer Press Teachers' Library)
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