Reiki The Ultimate Guide Learn Sacred Symbols & Attunements plus Reiki Secrets You Should Know

Book Description

New 2nd Book In the Reiki Ultimate Guide Trilogy " Reiki The Ultimate Guide, Vol. 2 Learn Reiki Healing with Chakras, plus New Reiki Healing Attunements for All Levels" Is now available on Amazon

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This 300 guide makes Reiki knowledge accessible to everyone! It's the guide some Healers do not want published. Nothing like it published!

If you desire to heal yourself with Reiki or become a Healer, this Ultimate Guide is for you and:

-The many many thousands of students who have received Reiki Attunements from Steve Murray's VHS, DVD programs and in person and now are ready to teach and give attunements.
-Individuals who have experienced Reiki Attunements and healing
-People who wish to learn about Reiki before receiving Reiki Healing
-Reiki Healers and Non-Reiki Healers who desire more knowledge
- Guide Includes: 150 photos & Illustrations with symbols, hand positions and easy Step-by-Step directions showing how to give:
-A Reiki 1st Level Attunement
-A Reiki 2nd Level Attunement
-A Reiki Master Level Attunement
-A Reiki Psychic Attunement, which opens and expands psychic abilities
-A Reiki Healing Attunement, for healing mental, emotional, physical and spiritual issues

You will also learn:
-The four Sacred Reiki Symbols, including the Master Symbol and how to activate and use them
-How to Beam and Scan with Reiki-
-How to perform Reiki Psychic Surgery-
-How to remove Psychic Debris-
-How to contact spirits & departed love ones with Reiki-
-Why there are variations in Reiki Symbols & Attunements-
-Why there should not be any Reiki Secrets

Plus: Healing with Reiki
- What attunements are
-How to prepare for attunements
-What to expect after attunements
-How to protect & balance yourself
-The Antahkarana Symbol-Psychic Debris defined
-Chakras & Reiki
-Why intent is so important…
and much more Reiki Guidance you should know

Steve Murray is a Usui Reiki Master, Tibetan Karuna Reiki® Master. He is an author of several books including the best selling Reiki The Ultimate Guide, the first book in the Reiki The Ultimate Guide Trilogy. Steve also has 24 successful self-help & healing programs on video and DVD including a series of five Reiki Attunements.

Customer Reviews:

A Valuable Textbook.......2007-10-05

This book was a quick read, since there are many full page illustrations. I have revisited the book often, and consider it a valuable resource for years to come.
I admit to being skeptical when I purchased Steve Murray's products: How could a Reiki Master justify passing the secret Reiki symbols on to the general public? But I feel that we live in different times now. To coin a phrase by Caroline Myss, there are now many "Mystics without monasteries." I am grateful that Steve has made attaining higher levels of Reiki practice available to those who cannot afford to go the traditional route.

Wonderful.......2007-09-18

Here's my story. I didn't want to get any of his books or dvds. I read some of the reviews from other Master's and they talked badly about his teachings and how an attunement could not be done by watching a crystal on dvd. But, later i remembered having a dream when i was younger of watching myself staring at a crystal on tv. I thought it was freaky and didn't know what it meant, but then it all came together. So i started off with his first reiki book, the psychic attunement, and the reiki level one attunement. I had better results than i thought i was going to get. I have a natural gift for healing and i've been using it un-trained my whole life. His books and dvds helped me out a lot. This is the real thing and if you are new and looking to try reiki, i highly recommend it. I don't write reviews and Steve Murray is the first review i've ever written on. This is because i want people to know that this is real and powerful. The DVD's are powerful and the books explain it all and enforce all that is Imparted to you. By the way, I am a Christian and you should know that Reiki has no religion. I recommend all the DVD attunements, and i've read the first 3 Reiki volume set and the false beliefs. I will be getting more of his books and teaching. But i hope that this review and his works help you like it's helped me in my entire life and the people around me. I've healed things from headaches and back pains, to two different friends that were in the hospital death bed, one with severe kidney failure and the other had AIDS and i helped bring his status down to a controlled HIV status. Both were overnight. night saying it will work like that for everybody, but know that it will work in it's own way, some way. Be blessed all who read this.

Ultimate Guide Indeed........2007-09-05

I specially recomend this book if you have recently received your Reiki Master attunement or plan to do so. Nearly half the book is dedicated to the attunement process for levels 1, 2, Master, Healing and Psychic. Contains valuable information and it is easy to read and understand. It's a great book for my collection.

Excellent!.......2007-08-19

Not to repeat what has already been said but I just want to add my support to the positive reviews. I too read the reviews here before purchasing. I visited his website and came back here because Amazon always has the best deals. I took a leap of faith. The book is the foundation for the attunements. It is very clear and personalizes the Reiki Master who is giving you the attunements. I wouldn't do the attunement without having read the corresponding part in the book. You have to know what you have to know. The DVDs worked for me. I totally support this method and will continue on. I know there are different strokes for different folks but I gave it a chance it paid off. Actually, it paid off big time considering how much others charge for the same. I am extremely grateful to Steve Murray. He is a special and gifted guy.

Wonderful.......2007-08-09

I would like to thank Steve Murray for providing these Reiki attunement programs. I have received 1st and 2nd degree from his products and also from a live class. The experiences were very different but both were wonderful. I have not been able to raise the $1,000 required for my Masters Attunement from the organization that I received my live 1st and 2nd from but Steve has made it very affordable to receive the attunement. I have read some of the reviews and see that one or two have been upset because they didn't feel anything. I don't know what they expected to feel but Steve does explain that if you can't feel anything it does not mean that you did not receive the attunement. I have definitely been able to tell that I have received the Master Attunement even though I didn't "feel" that much while receiving the attunement.

I definitely recommend that anyone taking his attunements also read his Ultimate Guide Trilogy. They are so packed with information about Reiki that I feel so much more prepared to be a Reiki healer than I did prior to reading them. They are truely wonderful and his A Reiki 1st, Aura and Chakra DVD is very helpful in showing you how to perform your own attunements. Reiki False Beliefs Exposed is very good in answering questions you might have about things you have heard about Reiki and setting the record straight in many areas. I also have had Steves Psychic attunement and the wonderful thing about his programs is that you can take them over and over again and that is something you can't do with a live attunement. Of course, you need to follow Steve's cautions in waiting three days between pschic attunements. I believe that taking the Reiki Healer attunements over and over can continue to improve my abilities to be a better healer.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
History: Fiction or Science? Astronomical methods as applied to chronology. Ptolemy's Almagest. Chronology III
Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America: Lost History And Legends, Unearthed And Explored
Before the Pharaohs: Egypt's Mysterious Prehistory
They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies

ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

The Goddess in the Gospels: Reclaiming the Sacred Feminine

Average customer rating:

Begin your spiritual journey
Frightening Book -- shame on Dan Brown for referencing her work
Starbird as Scholar
Highly disappointing
Don't Read This Book First

The Goddess in the Gospels: Reclaiming the Sacred Feminine
Margaret Starbird
Manufacturer: Bear & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail
Magdalene's Lost Legacy: Symbolic Numbers and the Sacred Union in Christianity
Holy Blood, Holy Grail
Mary Magdalene, Bride in Exile
The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ

ASIN: 187918155X
Release Date: 1998-10-01

Book Description

In an era that has reclaimed many aspects of the feminine, Margaret Starbird’s The Woman with the Alabaster Jar stands out as a courageous exploration of the scorned feminine in the Western religious tradition. But espousing the marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene created a personal crisis for this Catholic scholar. In The Goddess in the Gospels the author tells how she was guided in her ever-deepening study of the New Testament and the gematria--number coding of the Greek alphabet--by an incredible series of synchronicities that mirror the inner and outer worlds and which reveal the Sacred Marriage of male and female--the hieros gamous--leading to her own personal redemption.

Customer Reviews:

Begin your spiritual journey.......2007-01-14

This is the book that changed my life. I read it and I began my spiritual spiral towards feminist religion. Margaret Starbird was a Roman Catholic when she read Holy Blood, Holy Grail, a book that dared to suggest that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalen and that their descendants carried on his holy bloodline in Western Europe.. Her theological beliefs were profoundly shaken, so she set out to refute the book, but instead found evidence for the existence of the bride of Jesus. Mary Magdalene was the same woman who anointed him with precious unguent from her "alabaster jar."

This book is part non-fiction thesis proving that Mary Magdalene was the bride of Christ. Starbird draws evidence from history, heraldry, symbolism, medieval art, mythology, psychology, and the Bible itself. It is also part narrative of Starbird's spiritual crisis. She got to the point that she felt that she was going crazy.

Upon reading this book, I too had a spiritual crisis. Although I was not raised Roman Catholic, I found it amazing that the Church suppressed Mary Magdalene and the sacred feminine. I began to fear I was becoming a conspiracy nut. I dreamed that God was talking to me, telling me I needed to investigate the presence of females in religion. I feared that I spiritual crisis would lead to a mental crisis. I read more and more until I realized that I was not alone, and that my beliefs were valid. Then my spiritual journey became a part of my everyday life.

Frightening Book -- shame on Dan Brown for referencing her work.......2006-05-05

Starbird's The Goddess in the Gospels is a frightening book in it's near-zero use of reason and reasonableness.

The issues in this book are legion, much like the demons in Luke 8:30. But, because I just tied the word "legion" from a Bible passage about demon possession to her book, can I then make the conclusion that Starbird is possessed? No, I cannot. I am just making that connection up. Yet, that's what Starbird does throughout this book. She uses numerology (Greek "Gematria") to draw connections between words from all over history - ancient fertility cults, the Bible, the planets and stars, etc.

Let's look at an example on page 156, in the section where she overviews Gematria. Here Starbird associates 1080 with the numerological value of the letters of the Holy Spirit (gr. to agion pneuma) -- note, she needs the definitive article here to get what she wants. But, she drops the article in other places, with other words. The number 1080 is also "based originally on the calculation of the radius of the moon" and the moon is associated with the feminine throughout the "ancient Middle East" (the "Middle East" here is never defined, no support is given outside conjecture that this is tied together, and the radius calculation is never explained). In Gematria, the Greek word for dove adds up to 801, which is an anagram of 1080 (it is???)! The dove was later adopted by Christians to represent the Holy Spirit (whose number is 1080). "So by Gematria, the Holy Spirit is linked explicitly to the lunar or feminine principal and to the dove" (pg 156).

This is how she makes connections. The problem with numerology is that you can take all the words you want, transcode them into numbers, and then pick and choose the connections that agree with your theory, and ignore those that don't. If you add the ability to do number anagrams (which she does), you get an unlimited number of combinations you can make. AND when you take into account that ancient texts can have minor variants from their originals (from being copied multiple times) - how do you know you're working with the right one? Finally, on page xvi, she admits herself that she has changed the spelling of certain words she uses (in Magdalene, she has added the `e' at the end, and in hieros gamous, she has added the u). This would change the value of these words, but I am sure these new values help her make new numerical connections. Did she go back and invalidate the old ones??

What gives Starbird peace of mind that she is revealing truth, and not just reveling in delusions? Simple - she is having this "truth" revealed to her by the Holy Spirit through 3 modes (page xi-xii): 1) through connections from her earliest childhood memories, including "blue iris and stone citadels, beloved fairy tales, storybook titles, symbols, and puns", 2) her charismatic community Emmanuel , in which she has had "prophetic revelations" including "timely scriptural passages, locutions, and often startling synchronicities" and 3) Gematria. So, in common terms, she feels revelation is coming to her by 1) childhood memories of fairy tales, 2) people saying what they want (locutions) and coincidence, and 3) numerology where she can make up whatever connection fits her model.

Addressing priest sexual abuse, priest celibacy, and looking to empower women are all noble aims. Doing it with nonsensical quackery is not helpful. For shame on Dan Brown for referring to her as an authoritative source in the Da Vince Code (page 253, DVC).

Starbird as Scholar.......2005-08-14

After reading the "review" by an "English professor" who attacked Margaret Starbird as scholar and author, I felt compelled to respond. Does a degree in English make one an expert in religious studies or scriptural exegesis? It seems hypocritical for an unqualified critic to accuse Starbird of being unqualified. Starbird's work is certainly more solid than the attacks on her work.

Margaret Starbird is a scholar of comparative literature, with a focus on scriptural texts, and literary traditions of the Medieval period. Starbird sticks to her own area of expertise. Her work is comparative analysis and interpretation of texts.

Starbird is an independant scholar, no longer teaching, now devoted to full-time writing and lecturing. Her academic work is impressive. She completed both a BA and MA in Comparative Literature and German at the University of Maryland. After that, she studied for a year on a Fulbright Student Fellowship to Albrechts Universitt in Kiel, Germany. She then pursued Doctoral studies in German, Comparative Literature and Linguistics at the University of Maryland. Following that, she studied at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Theological Studies.

Margaret taught university German as full-time faculty at the University of Maryland and North Carolina State University.
Following that, she was faculty, teaching religious education and scripture course for a variety of schools, including U.S. Army schools and Roman Catholic parishes. I should mention that while Margaret was doing all of this academic work and teaching, she was moving around the globe with her husband, an officer in the military, and rasing their five children. Margaret is the author of six or more books, some of which have sold many thousands of copies and been translated into several languages.

Margaret knows her texts well, she has analyzed and compared them extensively, can quote or cite them at length from memory. She also has an uncanny gift of finding deeper paralells and meanings embedded within the texts. She deftly excavates patterns and connections between texts. Margaret opens new meanings previously locked within texts. She has an ability to connect texts, stories, symbols, and traditions to a 21st- century mindset, making them live in contemporary society. She is not just a scholar, she is an inspired scholar.

It's easy to criticize others' work, but hard to produce something oneself. Unless one is an author or scholar, one cannot appreciate Margaret's knowledge, skill, comfort with her area, or ability to speak about the texts eloquently.

Margaret is not trying to be an historian, she's doing feminist theological interpretation of literary texts. She never claimed to be an historian, and she's not using historical method. It's illogical to accuse of her failing to do something that she's not trying to do. She claims to interpret text from a feminist perspective. And that's what she does--interpretation of texts. Meanwhile, even historians don't view biblical texts as history.

Highly disappointing.......2005-07-30

After reading "The Da Vinci Code," I started tracking down Dan Brown's sources, mostly to verify if his research is as sound as he presents it to be. Among the books mentioned were Margaret Starbird's two books dealing with Mary Magdalene. Knowing nothing about Ms. Starbird and judging by the title of "The Goddess in the Gospels," I expected a scholarly, historical and exegetical work which would shed light on biblical material.

Instead, I waded through page after page of painfully atrocious writing dealing mostly with Ms. Starbird's conflicted beliefs, crisis of faith, disappointment with the Catholic Church, struggle with mental illness, as well as some of the wildest connections ever made between unrelated events (e.g. the tragedy of the Challenger was a sign that the Catholic Church is corrupt). Along with these, there are plenty of so-called "prophecies," which basically consist of Starbird matching biblical passages to important events in her life, and of the "signs" that Emmanuel, the charismatic group she is part of, receives through the years. None of these, of course, have any scholarly or objective validity.

If you expect (as I did) to read new interpretations of obscure biblical passages or descriptions of historical evidence, you are out of luck. Since Ms. Starbird has little training as a theologian, biblical scholar, biblical exegete, etc., it is not surprising that all her information comes from already existing studies, so her contributions to the topic of Magdalene are minimal. She also makes grave, inexcusable errors, such as conflating Mary Magdalene with Luke's sinner, with the adulteress, and with Mary of Bethany. While some of these identifications were made by Gregory the Great, there is absolutely no evidence in the Gospels that Magdalene is all of these women, and serious scholars have long disputed the conflation. Ms. Starbird also seems to regard "Magdalene" as a personal epithet, without seeming to realize that it simply points to Mary's town of origin: Magdala or Migdol. Aside from these errors, there are references to books like "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," from which Ms. Starbird got the idea of the marriage; I will not deny that "HB, HG" is an entertaining read, but it is also based on a hoax (apparently, the authors themselves have realized that in the past years; maybe they should give Ms. Starbird a call).

The realization of the elimination of women from the structure of the Church is praiseworthy, but not new. If you want to learn more about it, and about the true, historical Magdalene, I highly recommend a scholarly book written by Dr. Susan Haskins - "Mary Magdalene - Myth and Metaphor." I was somewhat impressed when I saw that Starbird also consulted this book, but aside from ripping some of its more sensational discoveries, little of its serious research found its way into the pages of "The Goddess." For those interested in the Gnostic Gospels, I recommend Dr. Elaine Pagel's book.

All in all, "The Goddess" is a highly misleading book - it promises scholarly analysis and delivers the crazed autobiography of a self-proclaimed prophet (or, what ignorance does when allowed to run rampant).

Don't Read This Book First.......2004-04-25

To get the most out of Margaret Starbird's personal religious journey memoir, please read her other more scholarly works first. It will be less confusing for you. Otherwise, it is a good read on what one might go through when taking a leap of faith in a completely different direction.

Not in His Image: Gnostic Vision, Sacred Ecology, and the Future of Belief

Average customer rating:

Amateurish approach ruins promising text
The Gnostic Revival
Unveiling the Way of Organic Light, Transentience and Sacred Ecology
BRILLIANT
Thank God for Buck Teeth

Not in His Image: Gnostic Vision, Sacred Ecology, and the Future of Belief
John Lamb Lash
Manufacturer: Chelsea Green
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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Supernatural: Meetings With the Ancient Teachers of Mankind
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The Keepers: An Alien Message for the Human Race

ASIN: 193149892X

Book Description

Basing much of Not in His Image on the Nag Hammadi and other Gnostic writings, John Lamb Lash explains how a little-known messianic sect propelled itself into a dominant world power, systematically wiping out the great Gnostic spiritual teachers, the Druid priests, and the shamanistic healers of Europe and North Africa. They burned libraries and destroyed temples in an attempt to silence the ancient truth-tellers and keep their own secrets. But as Lash reveals, when the truth is the planet Earth it cannot be hidden or destroyed.

Not in His Image delves deeply into the shadows of ancient Gnostic writings to reconstruct the story early Christians tried to scrub from the pages of history, exploring the richness of the ancient European Pagan spirituality—the Pagan Mysteries, the Great Goddess, Gnosis, the myths of Sophia and Gaia—and chronicles the annihilation of this Pagan European culture at the hands of Christianity.

Long before the birth of Christianity, monotheism was an anomaly; Europe and the Near East flourished under the divine guidance of Sophia, the ancient goddess of wisdom. The Earth was the embodiment of Sophia and thus sacred to the people who sought fulfillment in her presence. This ancient philosophy was threatening to the emerging salvation-based creed of Christianity that was based on patriarchal dominion over the Earth and lauded personal suffering as a path to the afterlife. As Derrick Jensen points out in the afterword, in Lash's hands Jesus Christ emerges as the agent provocateur of the ruling classes.

Customer Reviews:

Amateurish approach ruins promising text.......2007-07-08

I came to this book with high hopes, as there are all too few works which take full blooded `anti-Abrahamic' approach to the subject, preferring to try and amalgamate Gnosticism and mystery religions to some grand new age vision shared by Greeks and Jews, Hindus and Christians. And Lash starts off doing a pretty good job, showing just how crazy and evil the Jewish `god' is, along with his later Christian and Islamic transformations.

In his picture, (compatible with the approach of de Benoist and the other European neo-pagans, who are not mentioned in the text) the destruction of the Second Temple led to the creation of the Jewish mentality, in which temporal triumph (a la Rome and other normal people) is replaced by an eventual otherworldly triumph after the destruction of `this world' -- i.e., apocalypse. Like his hero D. H. Lawrence, he suggests that the Jews co-opted the personal transformation offered by pagan mysteries into an endlessly pre-empted national triumph and fleshly rebirth in a new world. His analysis of `the redeemer complex' is intriguing, as is his use of it to explain how Christianity `triumphed' -- by first violently destroying pagan cultures, "turning them into victims," then offering a "reformulated justification of the victim role" which promised that "they would ultimately be saved," a brilliant way to co-opt victims into future victimizers. And his suggestion that the origins of contemporary suicide terror lie in the Jewish Dead Sea cultists is profound, not cheap and easy sensationalism. As my friend Alisdair Clarke has speculated on his Aryan Futurism blog, is there not the suggestion of something deadly, radioactive perhaps, an ageless evil, almost Lovecraftian, sleeping under the sand of that quarrelsome land with its dead sea and endless tribal violence?

Alas, although I obviously endorse much of this book, I find that it fails utterly, when judged as a work of scholarship. Lash, whatever his real qualifications might be, writes like an autodidact, with all of the related faults. No wonder the King of Autodidacticism, Colin Wilson, contributes a blurb saying `Lash's historical and anthropological erudition are [sic!] breathtaking." I'm afraid that grammatical solecism is typical of the book's problems.

First, Lash exhibits the bad habit of citing only evidence that supports him, rather than dealing with (apparent) anomalies. Thus, he suggests that the patriarchal god arises from the Jewish patriarchal family, as if most, if not all, pagan societies were not. Tell that to the Roman pater familias!

More seriously, Lash avoids all discussion or mention (although I'm going by his unreliable index here, see below) of the mysteries of Mithras, even though this was an official religion of the Empire (before Christianity), gave Christianity a run for its money, and last left us the most extensive records of all the mystery religions (such as the famous Mithraic Liturgy, available in the Mead anthology Lash constantly refers to). Could this omission be due to the fact that the Mithras cult does not fit into his simple patriarchal Christianity vs. Goddess/Gaian mystery paradigm?

However, I lost all confidence in Mr. Lash after turning to his `suggestions for reading and research' at the end. First, I only found this at the back because Lash fails to include the bibliography I was looking for, thus making it impossible to track down what editions he's using. The page numbering of my Penguin edition of Lawrence is certainly not his, for instance. I might let that scholarly flaw pass, however, if the "suggestions" were not so flawed as to be insulting. I don't mind his self-described "idiosyncratic" approach to selection and evaluation. I mean that he fails the basic test of being correct about things I know about, thus raising the issue of what he's wrong about elsewhere, where I have to rely on him.

Thus, we read the following incredible claim: "Unfortunately, the sole existing English translation [is] by the English Platonist Thomas Taylor....' Now I have only to half turn to my bookshelf to see the pricey but available paperback of the Clarke/Dillon/Hershell translation, along with a number of works, such as Shaw's Theurgy and the Soul which give quite adequate accounts and many excerpts from Iamblichus. This is not buried in obscure scholarly publications. All Mr. Lash needed to do to verify this claim, or to find himself a better translation, was to do what I did: search Amazon.com! How lazy and incompetent is this guy?

Later, Lash asserts that Harold Bloom gives a "brief, sober, no discounting passage on ... entheogenic practices." Now this intrigues me, so I consult Lash's index to find what he has to say himself. No entries on etheo-anything! And yet, here is at least one right before me. Did it slip by, because Lash in fact never discusses entheogens elsewhere in the text? No, in fact, a few pages later is a whole section of "suggestions" on the subject!

And here is where I throw the book aside onto the `read when bored and nothing else is around` pile. The section is entitled "Entheogenic Theory of Religion" and states "There are hundreds of text-heavy sites and heady forums dedicated to entheogenics on the Internet, but, unfortunately [there's that word again, always a clue to a howler on the way -- Lash mistakes his laziness for empirical restraint], they are all orientated toward recreational use of drugs and sacred plants, rather than sacramental use."

All? All? Now in elementary logic, I learned I could refute an `all' statement by finding one counterexample. Again, is it some obscure site? Well, how obscure is something on the Internet going to be? Get on the Google, as our president would say, and 9 hits come up for "entheogenic theory of religion" (the title of his section, remember), two of which lead to Michael Hoffman's Ego Death website, where his epochal article "Entheogenic Theory of Religion and Ego Death" can be found, along with hundreds of pages of articles and links to similar material. And needless to say, all the really new and useful books are unmentioned as well. Clark Heinrich, anyone?

Alas, Mr. Lash, as Housman said of incompetent textual critics, "the world is no feather bed for the repose of sluggards." If you want convince anyone but the most credulous, or the already convinced, you will have to do more work than this.

Three stars, but only for the Hebrew-bashing!

The Gnostic Revival.......2007-05-18

I first encountered the work of John Lamb Lash through his website, (...), when he posted a series of pieces on "2012" -- the end of the Long Count of the Mayan Calendar -- from astrological and historical perspectives. In his essays, he defined the characteristics of various "end-time tribes" that were embodying aspects of futuristic consciousness. I began a dialogue with him on this subject, and he sent me his new book, Not in His Image: Gnostic Vision, Sacred Ecology, and the Future of Belief (Chelsea Green, 2006). This work is a tremendous achievement that reframes the debate about monotheism, offering a radical perspective on the destructive effects that have been unleashed by religious ideologies over the last two millennia.

Not In His Image attacks the salvationist theology of the Judeo-Christian tradition from a Gnostic perspective, making a devastating critique of the moral conditioning and deep-buried suppositions of this heritage, which has shaped the modern Western psyche. As substitute, Lash presents a counter-myth and alternative cosmology drawn from the tradition of Gnosticism, featuring the goddess Sophia, who plunged from the Pleroma to become the physical and generative Earth, and the Archons, soulless off-planet entities who use the human propensity for error to lead us into increasingly destructive deviations from our evolutionary path.

The populist and academic conception of Gnosticism considers it a radical offshoot from Christianity that was stamped out as the Holy Roman Empire gave way to the Dark Ages. Lash has a different perspective. In his view, the Gnostics were the inheritors of the wisdom and initiatory training of the Mystery Schools that flourished across the Classical World. This learned, pagan tradition had roots in the shamanic practices that predated the rise of Greece and Rome, and could be considered the indigenous spirituality of Europe. In some respects similar to Buddhism, the Gnostic tradition valued philosophical debate and direct mystical experience over received wisdom and authority vested in religious hierarchy. Lash connects Sophia to the modern "Gaia hypothesis," developed by the scientists James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis, and argues that the Gnostic seers of the Mystery Schools were "deep ecologists" who taught "coevolution with Gaia." The alienation from the natural world and the body that developed in Christianity was the result of a deception, leading to the "enslavement of humanity to an alien, off-planet agenda." The Gnostics understood the basis of this error, and were persecuted for voicing their opposition to it.

Lash is ruthless in analyzing the moral precepts and core concepts of the Old and New Testament. He shows the ways in which these texts were designed to appeal to the highest aspirations and ideals of humanity, but subtly twisted to create impossible incongruities. Humans were tricked into trying to conform to an inhuman code of perfection, which doomed them to continual failure in relation to an absolutist abstraction. Borrowing a concept from Tibetan Buddhism, Lash suggests substituting the concept of "basic goodness" for "original sin," and argues that Gnostics were horrified by the Christian belief in the redemptive value of suffering.

He argues that the moral ethos expressed by Jesus Christ -- the "Divine Victim" -- in the New Testament has the unfortunate effect of aiding what he calls our "victim/perpetrator" bond. The concept of "turning the other cheek," for instance, only makes sense in world without aggressors. This precept instills a sense of otherworldly superiority in the victims of violence, while it helps the agenda of those who seek to dominate. "The ethic of cheek turning is utterly wrong because it obliges people who are not inclined to harm others to rely on those who do harm to embrace the same practice of nondefense."

The commandmant to "love thy God with all thy heart" is similarly distorted: "Who really needs to be commanded to love?" Lash asks. "We love spontaneously, through the power of love itself, which cannot be commanded." Throughout the Gospels, Lash finds "a monumental effort to convert the human mind to the bad faith of betrayed humanity." In our secular culture, it seems, the belief in a salvationist power that will liberate humanity at some future point has been transferred, unconsciously, from divinity to technology. In order to reconnect with our earthly powers, we have to deprogram ourselves from all concepts of a redemptive or divine force waiting outside of this realm.

While Lash evinces a tendency to romanticize traditional and indigenous cultures, while ignoring some of the progress made by modern civilization, his critique still goes to the heart of the crisis of our current world, where disconnection from nature and entrenched belief systems have brought us to the brink of global chaos. It seems that we can't find our way forward until we find our way back, utilizing that discriminatory intelligence -- what the Gnostics called "nous" -- that is our particular human gift.

(...)

Unveiling the Way of Organic Light, Transentience and Sacred Ecology.......2007-04-01

Not in His Image is indeed one of the "most important books of our time", or of any time. John Lamb Lash has created a textual masterpiece of historical documentation, mythopoeic vision and penetrating critique of the Abrahamic monotheistic religions. Lash digs deep into the roots of Paganism and skillfully reveals how the Gnostic tradition pre-dates and stands separately from the then emerging Christian religion. The Pagan Mysteries and Gnostic wisdom celebrated and honored the divinity of the Earth, and by so doing were anathema to Christianity. The subsequent genocide and ecocide of earth-based spiritual communities continues to this day, resulting in a world on the brink of disaster due to mankind's separation from the very planet that sustains all life. Lash's critique of patriarchal monotheism shows us the lie that people have accepted (and been forced to accept) for thousands of years.

As presented in Not in His Image, the ongoing creation story of Gaia-Sophia offers us a shift in perspective, an alternative reading of the history of the earth, and a mythopoeic narrative that invites humanity to re-imagine our sacred connection with the natural world. John Lash celebrates the fact that there are and always have been other ways of being and relating to the earth and each other. In the author's own words, "My primary purpose in writing this book is to show that Gnosis, taken as a path of experimental mysticism, and the Sophianic vision, taken as a guiding narrative for coevolution, can provide the spiritual dimension for deep ecology independently of the three mainstream religions derived from the Abrahamic tradition."

The human race is destroying itself and desecrating the earth in the name of monotheistic religions. It's past time to stop the infantile and patriarchal posturing and practices that characterize the "great" religions of the world; those same religions that breed division, materialism, genocide and ecocide in the name of off-planet deities. Or "annihilation theology" in John Lamb Lash's descriptive term. The earth will take care of itself. If and when mankind emerges from this dark time of scientific materialism, monotheistic fundamentalism and personal greed, Not in His Image will be looked back on as one of the most important and brightest signal flares that lit up the skies of darkness, revealing the divinity of the earth and Sophia's call for our participation in the ongoing dance of sacred life.

BRILLIANT.......2007-02-11

I have only just started this book but can not put it down. It is brilliant and life affirming. It is also BRAVE... Lash uses history, personal experience, common sense and a mind that is not afraid to ask the hard questions and find the real answers about Christianity. He puts Paganism in its true perspective -- not the vapid New Age-type fad cliche and not the ridiculous evil one, either... Lash shows the power, beauty, joy, SENSE of Paganism and what he calls sacred ecology. It is one of those rare books that one can call truly illuminating. Very intelligent, well written... the more I read , the more fascinated I am..

Thank God for Buck Teeth.......2006-12-19

Lash claims his life's work evolved from orthodontic visits that gave him time to think. [A little like Stephen Hawkings' claim that ALS made him so slow at getting dressed that it gave him time to think.] One third of Lash's book echoes things I've thought over a 72 year lifetime. The other two thirds comprise insights I can't claim to have arrived at before Lash did but which mesh perfectly with the one third just referenced. The book is an amazingly incisive summary of what the JudeoChristianIslamic monotheistic mainstream belief system has done to us all in 2000 years. Someone has finally caught on to the problems but it may be too late for rescue. Systems theorist Ervin Laszlo thinks we may have about 7 years to save ourselves and the others with whom we share the planet. Lash's JudeoChristianIslamic off-planet God definitely won't do it for us. I have serious doubts that we'll make it. But Lash and Laszlo offer rays of hope that younger people might "get it" soon enough to make some powerful corrective moves. If I were still teaching graduate students in psychology and related fields, I would make their books required reading. But I'm not. So I pray that someone will do whatever it takes to get the wisdom of Lash amd Laszlo before the people who can engineer needed changes.

The Sion Revelation: The Truth About the Guardians of Christ's Sacred Bloodline

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Wonderful Research
THE SION REVELATION
endless facts, sources, and names.......but it all goes nowhere
Lukas Dreyer - Palmerston North, New Zealand
Yes, Virginia, the Priory of Sion is a lie

The Sion Revelation: The Truth About the Guardians of Christ's Sacred Bloodline
Lynn Picknett , and Clive Prince
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ
The Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in History (Plus)
Holy Blood, Holy Grail
The Templar Papers: Ancient Mysteries, Secret Societies, And the Holy Grail
The Messianic Legacy

ASIN: 0743263030

Book Description

An essential notion in the #1 New York Times bestseller The Da Vinci Code is the existence of an age-old French society, the Priory of Sion, whose task it is to protect Christ's sacred bloodline. In The Sion Revelation, Picknett and Prince reveal the story of the Priory, taking readers on a highly significant, disturbing, and even alarming ride through history into an intriguing world where a great many uncomfortable facts will have to be faced, both religious and political.

Drawing on a wealth of astonishing evidence, they answer numerous questions that shroud this society, including:

• Does the Priory actually exist or is the group's entire history an elaborate hoax?
• Was Leonardo da Vinci really one of the Priory's Grand Masters?
• What is the truth behind Pierre Plantard, the enigmatic French aristocrat who claimed to be a Priory Grand Master -- and who some claim was a Nazi sympathizer?
• Could the Priory be a front for other occult societies in Europe with religious or even political agendas?

By carefully untangling centuries of obfuscation, rumor, and documented fact, The Sion Revelation unravels the great intricacies of this secret society and takes us on a historical journey that is as groundbreaking in its explanation as it is riveting in its telling.

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Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Research.......2007-06-30

Anyone who is interested in learning about the Priory of Sion and also about the Merovingian myth, will enjoy this easy to read book. It is well researched and based upon my own research, I agree with the conclusions presented in this well written book.

Picknett and Prince present information that poses questions about age-old
theories. The surprise ending is well worth the read and the bibliography
and references are extensive. Bettye Johnson, author, Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls.

THE SION REVELATION.......2007-01-21

IF DO YOU REALLY ENJOY DA VINCI CODE, THIS HAS TO BE THE NEXT ONE YOU MUST TO READ. VERY HISTORICAL EVIDENCES WILL SHOWING YOU THE ANSWERS IN WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE ABOUT SOME DETAILS IN THE DA VINCI CODE.
INGRID

endless facts, sources, and names.......but it all goes nowhere.......2006-06-06

I enjoyed reading the book at first, but after about 75 pages I simply couldn't stand it anymore. Maybe I just didn't know enough before picking up the book, but I was completely lost in the deluge of names, titles, and politics of France. I skipped far ahead in the book and it still seemed to lead nowhere. Eventually I skipped to the end...even that seemed uneventful.

Now if your obsessive about French politics and Pierre Plantard you might feel like your in heaven when you read this, it just didn't work out that well for me.

Also noticeable was a nearly complete lack of maps, photos, or graphics. These would have broken the book up nicely and provided a break from the endless amount of teasing, yet ultimatly non-connecting facts and names.

If possible, you might want to pre-read a few of the pages if they are available on amazon. It might give you an idea of how the book is structured throughout.

Lukas Dreyer - Palmerston North, New Zealand.......2006-05-28

I bought this book about a month ago and have really tried to read it. However I write this to vent my frustration for wasting my money. Easily the worst book I have bought and read in my entire life. If you want to read a book by somebody with little insigt trying to be politically correct this is the book for you. Not worth the paper it is written on.

Yes, Virginia, the Priory of Sion is a lie.......2006-05-11

In an interview prior to his death, one of the coauthors of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" (a French nobleman) who allegedly discovered the "secret documents" revealing the Priory of Sion admitted that he had forged them in order to become famous. Therefore the "shocking revalation" of the Priory is indeed, a load of bull. (Sorry conspiracy theory fans!) I'm glad someone finally did their homework and realized it was a hoax, but the added conspiracy theory is just riduculous.

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Sublime
Is all knowledge sacred?

Knowledge and the Sacred
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Epistemology | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Man and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis in Modern Man
Sufi Essays
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Three Muslim Sages: Avicenna-Suhrawardi-Ibn Arabi

ASIN: 0791401774

Customer Reviews:

Sublime.......2007-06-27

Good at the beginning then it just builds and builds. A wonderful piece of work, all the more valuable for its uncompromising style

Is all knowledge sacred?.......2005-10-09

Have you ever wondered:

1. Why no one ever goes to a philosopher for advice?
2. Why one mother had this to say about her son the philosopher: "He's the kind of doctor who can't help anyone."?

If you're curious about it, simply read the first chapter of this book. Once you have discovered.what we have lost, you will be encouraged to read the rest of the book.

"In the beginning Reality was at once being, knowledge and bliss ..." began the the first sentence of the book. For the purposes of this exceedingly short review, that phrase will be truncated to: "being and knowledge were one", on the theory that once you have those two the third will follow. The important part about all three qualities is that they constituted the sacred. But that was a long time ago in the era of the "primordial religion", long before even the first ancient texts of the Vedic scriptures were written. The wisdom of that religion however persisted in the lineage of Pythagoras -- Socrates -- Plato -- Plotinus, and even survived intact for the few centuries after them.

The author details how Western Civilization gradually lost touch with the wisdom of the ages. In the beginning, all knowledge was sacred, as well as art, music, dancing, and the crafts. The beginning of the decline of philosophy from its pristine wisdom to pure rationalism started with the famous -- or infamous -- enunciation :

"Cogito ergo sum," of Descartes, "I think, therefore I am.", entirely ignoring being. Anyway, modern philosophy was born. After that, we were treated to many "-isms", from nominalism to existentialism. And, of course, Sartre and his book: "Being and Nothingness". That was the final decree. Being and knowledge were officially divorced.

Fortunately however, there has been a rediscovery of the traditional wisdom, the two most notable names in this rediscovery being Guenon and Schuon. This book details that rediscovery and shows how not only is all knowledge sacred but how the arts and sciences are fountains of Grace.

This is not easy reading. However, it will interest and repay the reader with an interest in tradition as defined by Schuon. All of the ills of the modern world, global warming, overpopulation of the globe, nuclear weapons, etc., etc., etc. can be traced to the decline of traditional wisdom.

Angels Fear: Towards an Epistemology of the Sacred

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READ THIS BOOK
A unique collaboration and a new approach to religion

Angels Fear: Towards an Epistemology of the Sacred
Gregory Bateson , and Mary Catherine Bateson
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Consciousness & Thought | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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With a Daughter's Eye: Memoir of Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, A
Sacred Unity : Further Steps to an Ecology of Mind

ASIN: 0553345818
Release Date: 1988-10-01

Customer Reviews:

READ THIS BOOK.......2000-11-04

This is a great introduction to the ideas of Gregory Bateson, one of the most important thinkers of our times. He is able to bridge the gap between our ideas about a materialistic world and concepts of mind. He said that Western science did not explain mind, it explained mind away.

Anyone who feels that there is more to life than logic and science, but who doesn't feel comfortable with every new age quack idea, should read this book. Bateson's thesis is that aesthetics, beauty, and the sacred are as valid as ways of knowing as logic and science are, and he can back that up with real ideas about the real world.

A unique collaboration and a new approach to religion.......2000-09-29

Gregory Bateson is well known, among those with the perseverance to wrestle through his very compact prose, for his highly original synthesis of cybernetics, biology, anthropology and -- above all -- epistemology. Near the end of his one book written with a general audience in mind (Mind and Nature), he mentions his intention to continue his explorations into the realms of the sacred and the aesthetic. By the time of his death in 1980 he had written several drafts and discussed the project in depth with his daughter Mary Catherine Bateson, an investigator of great insight in her own right and a better writer than Gregory's devotion to formal rigor allowed him to be. This book is the end result of that collaboration, which Mary completed in 1986. Those familiar with Gregory's work will find some of his familiar themes explored in somewhat more accessible terms, along with some unexpected new ideas. As with his earlier works, Bateson often has to redefine some familiar words, and introduce new usages for others, which makes reading him a struggle, but a rewarding struggle in the long run. Those familiar with Mary Catherine's work will not be disappointed either. Her summarizing chapter which pulls together the various strands of the book and of her father's thought is a masterpiece of synthesis in its own right. And this book, which is above all about *relationships* at every level from the cellular to the cultural to the religious, is a fascinating record of the very human relationship between father and daughter. Like all of the elder Bateson's work, this one will take some time to digest. How much have I learned from it about "the epistemology of the sacred"? I expect it will take years to find out, and that I'll be revisiting this book many times while its implications work themselves out. As G.B. said, Life is a game whose purpose is discovering the rules. This volume is a voyage of discovery.

Hidden History: Lost Civilizations, Secret Knowledge, and Ancient Mysteries

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Excellent Look at Ancient Mysteries
A scattering of black-and-white photographs illustrate this fantastic volume
Absolute Fun,

Hidden History: Lost Civilizations, Secret Knowledge, and Ancient Mysteries
Brian Haughton
Manufacturer: New Page Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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Atlantis and the Kingdom of the Neanderthals: 100,000 Years of Lost History

ASIN: 1564148971

Book Description

Despite being enmeshed in a culture steeped in technology and science, the magic and mysteries of the ancient world can still haunt our imagination. Through their architecture, artefacts and deeds, ancient cultures speak to us across thousands of dusty years—from the labyrinthine palace of Knossos on Crete and the lofty pyramids of Egypt to the remotest jungle temples of Peru and the megalithic mystery of Stonehenge.

Hidden History brings together a fascinating selection of these ancient enigmas, arranging them into three sections: Mysterious Places, Unexplained Artefacts, and Enigmatic People. You'll discover fascinating facts about: • The Great Sphinx—Mysticism and archaeology collide in the ongoing debate over this enigmatic monument. • Mystery Hill—Who built the intriguing megalithic complex lying 40 miles north of Boston? • The Antikythera Mechanism—An ancient Greek computer found beneath the Aegean Sea. • The Giant Hill-Figures of England—The Uffington White Horse and other huge chalk figures cut into the English countryside thousands of years ago. • The Queen of Sheba—Clues to the real identity of this mighty ruler famous for her Biblical visit to King Solomon • Newgrange—Hundreds of years older than the Giza Pyramid and Stonehenge. Who were the builders of this Irish megalithic monument?

Hidden History fills the gap between archaeology and alternative history using the latest available data and a common sense, open-minded approach. The book discusses not only ancient history's major mysteries, but also some of the puzzles of alternative history—like the "Coso Artefact," the possibility of ancient flight, and the mysterious "Voynich Manuscript"—as well as mysterious peoples from the Magi and the Druids to the Knights Templar and the Green Children.

With more than 50 photographs and illustrations, this is the ideal reference work for those interested in the archaeology of these great enigmas.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Look at Ancient Mysteries.......2007-09-14

Unlike similar books, this looks at each mystery or historical object or location even handly. No UFOs and government conspiracies. An excellent collection that all students of ancient history should have.

A scattering of black-and-white photographs illustrate this fantastic volume.......2007-04-07

Written by archaeologist and devote of the esoteric Brian Haughton, Hidden History: Lost Civilizations, Secret Knowledge, and Ancient Mysteries is an amazing survey of mystic places, people, events and structures throughout history. From clues to the true identity of the Queen of Sheba, to ongoing debates concerning the Great Sphinx, to the Irish Newgrange megalith hundreds of years older than the Giza Pyramid and Stonehenge, to evidence for the origins of the Greek myth concerning the Minotaur, each chapter sheds new light on ancient quandaries of human history. A scattering of black-and-white photographs illustrate this fantastic volume; though highly speculative at times, Hidden History is sure to be a treat for anyone with a taste for ancient fables, wonders, and conundrums.

Absolute Fun, .......2007-03-14

As a skeptic, I enjoy picking up "conspiracy" type books, such as Cremo's "Forbidden Archaeology" and mentally debunking them. Despite the title of this book, this work is a skeptic's treasure trove!

The work is divided into Places, Artifacts, and People, and covers a wide range of topics, such as: Petra, Chihcen Itza, Easter Island, Helike, the Library of Alexandria, the Piri Reis Map, the Shroud of Turin, the Crystal Skulls, Robin Hood, Bog bodies, the Phaistos disc and so on.

Each chapter is about 5-6 pages long, perfect for a quick break. It doesn't denigrate the folks who would love to believe in more fanciful origins. It just calmly debunks them.

The only critique I might have is that there are no references, although he does refer to researchers, and so one could find the source material fairly readily - the book is geared toward a general audience, after all.

If you like this sort of thing, you can't pass on this work.

Sacred Ecology: Traditional Ecological Knowledge

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An informative 'myth-buster'

Sacred Ecology: Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Fikret Berkes
Manufacturer: Taylor & Francis
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1560326956

Customer Reviews:

An informative 'myth-buster'.......2000-07-12

This book pushes the field of Ecology to a new level. Whilst the concepts of Traditional Ecological Knowledge are not new (in fact they are ancient), the range and maturity of the discussion makes it very accessible to the average reader. Berkes ranges widely with his examples and clearly the book involved significant internationl networking (Yes, there were even examples from my home of New Zealand!). Some fascinating myths that are exploded include the Chief Seattle Speech and the Eskimo snow hoax. I recommend it to every ecologist as a way to bring the sacred into science.

Average customer rating:

Sacred Sites of the Knights Templar
John K Young
Manufacturer: Fair Winds Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

The Stone Puzzle of Rosslyn Chapel: The Truth behind its Templar and Masonic secrets
The Lost Colony of the Templars: Verrazano's Secret Mission to America
The Knights Templar Chronology: Tracking History's Most Intriguing Monks
The Knights Templar in the New World: How Henry Sinclair Brought the Grail to Acadia
Sauniere's Model and the Secret of Rennes-Le-Chateau: The Priest's Final Legacy that Unveils the Location of his Terrifying Discovery

ASIN: 1592330177

Book Description

SACRED SITES OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR examines a number of sacred megalithic sites such as Stonehenge and Rennes-le-Chateau, revealing the astronomical significance of these sites as well as the secrets that significance bore to the Knights Templar.

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