Review of invisible forces and powerful beliefs
348539
I found this book to be disjointed and confusing. I believe the too many cooks in the kitchen was a problem here. The book does not really tell a good story or have any overarching theme. It tries to address basic human questions but often times it gets bogged down in technical discussion and obscure terminology. The authors are seemingly trying to bring intellectual and scientific rigor to basic questions of faith and belief and frankly are not convincing in their analysis. It tries to be a scientific self help book but it never really defines itself. It is a mismash of confusing ideas with no common thread. I can't recommed this book to anyone seeking help with the questions posed.
4727800
Irshad Manji is new and effective freedom fighter.  She has produced a great book with lots of ideas and lots of data.  We need more like her even if errors are made.  Errors are found in every good dialogue.  These errors are corrected naturally as the dialogue proceeds.  In her words, I learned of something very human and beautiful ' the huge amounts of love that reside in the Muslim mind.

 The debates between monarchism and free states are thousands of years old and are amplified today with the debates between conservatives and liberals.  Thus, one cannot expect these debate to end without continued discussion.  So, let Irshad Manji express her thoughts.  We need as much thought as we can get on both sides of these debates and by both sexes.  The days of trying to silence people for expressing their thoughts is out-dated and an indication of the degeneration of the repressor's MINDSET.

 However, debates among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam could fade away fast after the spiritual atoms (or monads) of Gottfried Leibniz are applied to God's creation and revealed to the general population.  With spiritual atoms, all forces in the holistic universe are based on love relations.  All things in the universe will be understood only with infinite sets and the transfinite numbers of Georg Cantor.  When God empowers and enlightens things in the universe through spiritual atoms, all metaphysical theories and all higher celestial worlds are rejected. And, God becomes the only higher world. Mediators (angels demons, etc.) no longer exist because God has secured His communications to us through the new atoms.  With spiritual atoms, revealed religions become figments of one's imaginations. This new atomic creation theory describes Nature as an eternal and non-linear continuum. Heaven and Hell are gone and reincarnation is in. Obviously, the new theory goes well beyond Moses creation theory.  It will become public soon.

 Of possible interest to Muslims is a 15th century paper on the Koran.  Specifically, in 1461, Bishop Nicholas of Cusa of the Roman Church made an interesting report in response to a request by Pope Pius II for information on the Koran.  (See Cusa, Nicholas of, 1461,'Prologues to an Examination of the Koran.' Found in the USA in Wertz, William,1993, 'Toward a New Council of Florence;' Washington, DC: Schiller Institute, Inc., pps. 387-396.)  Cusa reports that Muhammad prepared the Koran only to explain and simplify the words of Jesus Christ for his followers in Mecca.  He also reports that Muhammad died as a Nestorian Christian.  In his report, Cusa speaks of three very crafty Jews who attached themselves to Muhammad in order to avert him.  After Muhammad's death, Cusa reports that these Jews approached Alis, the son of Abitalip, to whom Muhammad had bequeathed his collection of writings.  Abitalip was persuaded by these Jews to elevate himself to a prophet.  They added and deleted what they wanted from the book of Muhammad and added passages so that Muhammad would also appear as a prophet.  The full report should be available at the Vatican.
2906479
In his book, Gregory Dawes looks at whether the idea of God works as a successful explanation.

Dawes begins by carefully defending his controversial stance that there are no in principle objections to positing God as an explanation. In doing so, he directly confronts the idea that supernatural explanations in general, and theistic explanations specifically, are outside of the scope of science. Instead, Dawes argues, if we take it that God will act rationally to create an optimally good world, we have a hypothesis that is testable and falsifiable in principle, well within the scope of science, and thus worthy of consideration as a possible explanation.

Now it seems at first that Dawes, in his defense of God as a potential explanation, would be very sympathetic to God as a successful explanation. Instead, Dawes points out that even if God might potentially explain things, in every criteria we use to evaluate a successful explanation, God does very poorly.

When examined in light of "testability", whenever theists do posit testable accounts of God, theism tends to fail those tests. In light of "background knowledge," a disembodied, timeless being goes against our established knowledge of humans as embodied, finite, and temporally limited. In light of "past success", naturalistic explanations have been wildly successful, with supernatural explanations never reaching any success whatsoever. The theistic hypothesis similarly fails in light of explanatory virtues like simplicity, ontological economy, and informativeness.

Unlike many philosophy books, Theism and Explanation is very readable and not prohibitively long, with only 166 pages of text outside of the index, bibliography, and notes. Dawes shows his fair minded nature by avoiding any of the easy criticisms of God that many atheists take. Instead, he builds the strongest, most defensible view of God as an explanation, and then proceeds to demolish that very view in terms of his explanatory virtues.
230527
This insightful and relevant book deals with a timeless and controversial subject for which there are still no definitive explanations. Apparitions and other paranormal experiences have been universally reported throughout recorded history and are examined here from the perspective of Carl Jung's analytical psychology. Author Aniela Jaffe notes that there are consistent patterns in these accounts and she discusses these patterns throughout her book. The immediate impetus for her work was a request by Jung for her to analyze letters reporting such incidents that were sent in by readers to a Swiss periodical in 1954 - 1955. It is nice to see that this work is now reissued and available as an ebook. The publisher informs us that 'Previous English editions appeared under the titles, Apparitions and Precognition (University Books, 1963) and Apparitions (Spring Publications, 1978)'.

Do the dead and other entities such as angels and fairies actually exist and contact the living, or are these experiences solely produced by the unconscious mind of those who experience these apparitions? Aniela Jaffe wonders if at times, both explanations may be true. There is similar and still unresolved controversy in regard to near-death experiences and so-called 'UFO abductions': are these 'real' or do they solely take place 'within the person's head (brain)'? The alternatives are not necessarily contradictory and mutually exclusive, and perhaps there are occasions where both might be true.

This list of contents will give you a fair idea of what the book covers:

Foreword
Introductory Note
The Letters
Letters as Scientific Material
The Archetypal Character of the Experiences
Man and Experience
The Capacity for "Occult" Experiences
The Meaningful Experience
The Fate Factor in Premonitions and Prophetic Dreams
Instruction through the Unconscious: Dreams of Death
The Ghosts
Radiant or Luminous Ghosts
White Ghosts
Apparitions of the "Woman in White"
The Guide of the Dead and the Spirit-Manikin
Relativity of Time and Space in the Unconscious
Unredeemed Ghosts
Ghosts Without Head or Face
The Unfulfilled or Broken Promise
Duplication Phenomena
The Double
The "Vardgr"
"Journey of the Soul"
Ghosts who cannot be distinguished from the Living
The "Nearness" of Departed Spirits
Fictitious Stories
Synchronistic Phenomena

In his Foreward, C. G. Jung tells us the perspective taken in this book: 'The author has made it her task to take these tales for what they are, that is, as psychic facts, and not to pooh-pooh them because they do not fit into our scheme of things. She has therefore...tried to inquire into the psychological questions: Exactly who is it that sees a ghost? Under what psychic conditions does he see it? What does a ghost signify when examined for its content, i.e., as a symbol?' These experiences are seen as 'archetypal psychic facts' because they are universal and transcend time and culture.

Anyone seeking insights into personal experiences or interested in paranormal phenomena and Jungian psychology will likely find this book to be an interesting read. Materialists who hope that all of this can and will eventually be explained in terms of brain function, etc., will probably be disappointed and critical of this work if they are not at all interested in the experiential psychological perspective.

One last note on the ebook:
The Kindle book format is okay. My only wish is that it allowed for using a black background with white text because I do a lot of reading on Kindle Fire and find that the black background creates less eye strain over time. At the time of this writing this book can only be read using the white or sepia background on Kindle Fire.
3170632
In this volume, Baumeister, Mele, & Vohs - all considerable contributors to the free will "debate" - accomplish two significant objectives. First, while they are not in complete agreement with one another with regard to the nature of free will and consciousness, they are able to present their positions without rancor. Second, they are able to assemble other authorities in psychology & philosophy whose contributions on these subjects give the text more depth and breadth in its overall considerations. As a result, the text provides substantive discussions on issues that are beyond the basic compatibilism/incompatibilism arguments that are characteristic of more basic texts. For example, the text provides an essay by Stephanie Carlson which focuses on the development of conscious control and how levels of consciousness are displayed by human beings at various stages (or ages) of their development. Carlson's focus on variations of consciousness across the spectrum of human development brings more of a person-centered sensitivity to this text. Rather than assuming that the relationship between consciousness and human will are static (an impression given by many of the texts which deal with these topics), Carlson demonstrates how humans at various ages might differ in regard to their development of either consciousness or free will or both.

One of the texts additional strengths is one of style. Each of the essays concludes with a segment in which the author responds to questions about his/her views on the subject of free will and consciousness. This provides the reader with an opportunity for further clarification of the author's position(s) and gives the text a more engaging feel. For the reader, this creates more of a sense of dialogue with the various authors than the more-usual monological approach often adopted in technical writing.

While this text is most suited to those who have had more than a cursory introduction to its topics (it is likely to be confusing to a novice)it provides considerable benefits for those who are already comfortable with the terminology and basic arguments in this "debate."

Prof. Thom
378623
Interesting! But the one thing Bloom should discuss if he were to successfully complete his analogies would be the phenomenal binding problem. Only philosophers such as David Pearce can be taken seriously when they discuss intelligence on a grand scale and they way systems ultimately compose minds. How do we distinguish between an apparently intelligence insentient system such as bacteria and the stock market from, say, conscious minds like ours if not by referencing the unitary nature of consciousness?
341654
Kind of heavy on phenomena such as near death experiences and brain physiology and light on Zen and Physics.  Still, a very readable book, given complicated concepts discussed and certainly interesting. The author makes a good case for reincarnation without heavy religious overtones.  Worth reading.
625004
This booklet was put together to complement the main text: The Seven Secret Flames channeled through Aurelia Jones by some advanced people who dwell in other realities.

It consists of sharp, and effective decrees and affirmations that if assimilated in daily life can both inspire and guide anyone. It is also possible to combine these thoughts with other helpful teachings you may have.

Since this booklet can keep you on the right track the best time to study them, in my opinion, is at night and early in the morning. Yet it is a good idea to stay cool since its writers are just more advanced people and should not be worshiped as gods, or anything like that.

I am an independent student of metaphysics and I sure don't worship anyone. There is one God in the universe and that is I AM Presence, Divine Love (Meaning you).
2886870
This is a well researched, innovative book unmasking non-Christian worldviews, and noting the rational faith we have. We have evidence for God through general revelation.
Pearcey cites Pauls ideas in Romans 1:19-20 What can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. Pg. 25

Finding Truth details five principles that help reveal the flaws in other worldviews. Since humans are conscious beings able to think, feel, choose and act, so God must have a mind and a will. Other worldviews do not view God as personal; their gods are things, rather than personal. In other words, they are idols. All religions and philosophies put something created in place of God. Pearceys five principles are worth memorizing. This is a valuable book that will teach many Christians how to share the truth in love to those who have misguided worldviews. The book is complete with a very good study guide.
1256218
Professor Emeritus C.A. Lofton has compiled a quintessential paradigm for augmenting the state of the human condition. This author describes how the "energy of thought and the power of words" can shape the reality of our physical existence. Her book an "African-American Guide to Prosperity: A Metaphysical Approach to Empowerment" unveils how ancient spiritual precepts are connected to the universal laws of "cause and effect." The underlying point continually emphasized throughout this text, in my view, is that the whole of creation is governed by certain immutable principles connected to a Divine Source. Scientifically, it has been theorized that everything that exists contains a unique quantum signature which can be traced to some unified cosmic force(Divine Source)associated with the formation of the universe. We can all realign our quantum energies with this Divine Source by altering thought patterns(intentions) and correctly harnessing the power of words(actions) in order to manifest the desired reality. This book takes a simplistic but practical approach with the transmutation of thought into substance on a refreshingly different level. Although written from a unique cultural perspective, this book is ideal for readers from all social strata who have an interest in transforming the quality of their lives through ritualistic practice and positive affirmation. Professor Lofton introduces several personal accounts of how our expectations, thoughts and words directly influence life outcomes. She also has presented 14 key tenets that are instumental in reshaping specific personal habits and eliminating deleterious thought patterns. C.A. appears to understand the singularity between thought, energy and matter. Abstract metaphysical concepts are conveyed in a concrete format. Following the prescription outlined in this highly insightful guide will require great commitment and focused mental discipline. However, the potential gains far outweigh the consequences of inaction. Self-empowerment can ultimately be achieved through controlled consciousness(awareness). C.A. Lofton advocates the acquisition of a successful lifestyle by maintaining a dynamic spiritual philosophy. In addition, this author has developed a set of exercises which can be used to attune ourselves with the universal laws of abundance and prosperity. Therefore, I highly recommend this book as an inspirational tool for personal growth.
2485788
An elaborate summary of the understanding of fundamental physics at about 1970. Posed as a comparative reflection on the similarities of the tenets of eastern mysticism and the energy packets perceived through experimentation, Capra brings a rational and logical tapestry to light that helps conceptualize an overall hypothesis of the energy (deity) that is pervasive in the universe, and is instructionally meaningful to our meager intellect. He provides an alternative explanation to superstition and miracles for our (not just humans, but all things as well as time) being and existence.
3719970
Excellent read.  The author repeatedly gives different views on the subject to reinforces the understanding of the reader for a very complex subject.  The book is as enjoyable as a fantasy novel or a spiritual book, for me.  As a scientist and engineer, who tends to look for hard evidence of how things work, this book is refreshing.  It provides hope, for me, that there is more that what we see.  In fact, for me I find there is a spiritual aspect to the concepts.  Many years ago I read two books: the Dancing Wu Li Masters, and The Tao of Physics that insisted the language used by physicists to describe reality was very similar to how the eastern spirituality described reality.  I find this book (though not explicitly) reinforces the concept
921597
Beyond the very speculative and unreachable theories like the  String Theory  and the  Quantum Gravity Theory , there is the  everyday physical world  which is still full of mysteries but accessible. Professor Jearl Walker is our guide to understand those mysteries and feeling smarter.

The only weak  I've found is that the book is lacking of enough illustrations and diagrams.

Thanks Professor Walker to help us understand the world around us.
800572
This is a nifty book.  It consists of two novels:  Hercules Text and A Talent for War.  In an author's note, McDevitt writes that he has updated The Hercules Text from its original edition.  It's a fine novel that raises all sorts of interesting issues.
  Harry Carmichael is a respected administrator at a site called Skynet that examines space for evidence of other life forms.  One day they see evidence that a million light years away, some alien intelligence has manipulated a star's light output in a pattern that can only be described as unnatural.  A month later a stream of text from the Hercules nebula is received.  Decoded, it consists of some mathematical and geometric symbols, a manual and what appear to be pictures of the beings who sent the message.
  The president, worried about what else the message might contain, clamps a lid of secrecy on their facilities, irritating the scientists who work there and who feel that releasing the information can only be beneficial to the scientific community; after all, the humans never been enthusiastic about acting in concert as a species.
  The religious community is divided on how to take this incontrovertible evidence that humans are not alone.  One priest remarks, "How can we take seriously the agony of a God who repeats His passion?  Who dies again and again in endless variations, on countless worlds, across a universe that may itself be infinite?",  assuming that God had revealed Herself to the other worlds.  And if not, why not? What did this do to human's perception of themselves as the primary focus of God?  "If there were any truth at all to the old conviction that the universe had been designed for man, why was so much of its expanse beyond any hope of human perception? Forever.?"
  As they learn more about the alien intelligence and begin to obtain information of value to the military, the scientific community begins to lose control of the information, and some of them want to have it destroyed.  But they also learn something extraordinary about the intelligence that sent it to them millions of years before.
1838994
Real Visitors, Voices from Beyond, and Parallel Dimensions by the amazing Steiger duo is a lighthouse guiding us through the murky realm of the Other. Decades of diligent research and professional writing have rewarded this couple with a smorgasbord of fascinating colleagues and access to literally thousands of personal narratives from readers and fans everywhere. Brad and Sherry Steiger maximized these assets and created another volume that will dominate paranormal libraries for many years to come.

What is the Other?

The authors explain: "We are now comfortable with the thesis that the aliens, angels, spirit guides, demons, fairies, elves, and gods and goddesses encountered by receptive percipients may actually be the product of a multidimensional intelligence that masks itself in physical forms that are more acceptable to humans than their true images. It may be equally appropriate to refer to this enigma as UFO Intelligences, but we chose to define and to name this multidimensional intelligence and its multitude of manifestations as the Other."

These are ageless mysteries. Do they really share a mutual origin? John Keel thought so. He coined the terms "ultraterrestrial" and "superspectrum" to describe this timeless, shape-shifting intelligence. Dr. Josef Allen Hynek, the astronomer and professor best remembered for his enduring UFO research, suggested that we are dealing with "metaterrestrial" entities that originate from unseen realms beyond our three-dimensional world. Jacques Vallee believes that religious apparitions, UFOs, and appearances by supernatural creatures rely upon the same mechanisms and share similar effects on the human observers, interpreted within the prevailing cultural environment.

As an investigative scholar of the unknown and unexplained, this reviewer has also researched the apparent overlap between nonhuman creatures, aerial phenomena, and "ghosts." Certain locations have been haunted by a medley of otherworldly visitors. These phenomena can materialize, affect our reality, and disappear again. Time and space become "terra incognita." Stranger still, unsuspecting folks have even briefly stepped over into so-called parallel worlds.

Brad and Sherry Steiger write that "readers may find that they will learn of more possibilities and probabilities than final answers to some age-old dilemmas and puzzles, but that is because there can be no dogma in a serious study of the paranormal and the UFO Mystery."

The greatest strength of this book is its thought-provoking variety. Facets of encounters with every manner of entity are described by every manner of experiencer, scientist, engineer, and scholar. Many have contributed their own unpublished accounts, theses, papers, and research data.

I have followed Brad Steiger since Strangers from the Skies in 1966. His early writings and my personal encounters with the Other triggered my own lifelong role as an author and researcher. Real Visitors, Voices from Beyond, and Parallel Dimensions is an enjoyable read that entertains and enlightens. This book easily deserves my highest recommendation.
1598346
Many will find David Young's fascinating book hard to believe, but it should strike a responsive chord with those who have experienced synchronicity at work in their own lives. Skeptics will scoff, "If George really is contacting you, why doesn't he just appear before your eyes and proclaim, "Hi, David! George Harrison here. Nice to meet you, and here's what I want to tell you..."

For reasons unknown and perhaps unknowable to us, Spirit seems to communicate to those who are living in the material world exactly in the way described by Young-- through dreams and  remarkable coincidences. People who expect Spirit manifestations to conform to rules invented by people, with our limited grasp of how higher consciousness operates, are just setting themselves up for disappointment. Spirit speaks to us in its own way, and beyond our narrow conceptions of time and space.

The big question I have, giving the author the benefit of the doubt that he is being truthful about his experiences,: IS it really George himself making the contact, or some aspect of Young's Higher Self? In the end, perhaps that doesn't matter as much as the positive results Young is seeing in his physical life.

Some mild criticisms: at times it reads like a romance novel, at other times it's an obvious promotional tool for Young's music. Still, I found this book very interesting. If you can maintain an open mind, you may not only find it interesting, but may experience coincidences of your own while reading it. Synchronicity is a natural part of life that many of is in Western society have been conditioned to overlook or deny. "The world is ready for a mystic revolution, a discovery of the God in each of us."-- George Harrison
4292376
Brian Lancaster is Principal Lecturer in Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University in England and is the Chair of the Transpersonal Section of the British Psychological Society. In this fascinating book he tries to weave together an empirical, scientific approach to consciousness with the personal accounts found in spiritual and mystical traditions. He tries to bring together some of the data that has emerged from neuroscience and psychology with teachings from Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism.

The book is well organized and most engagingly written.

I very much enjoyed reading this book, but I was left with two questions that have worried me since the first attempts were made to marry mysticism and quantum mechanics and secondly the attempts that have been made to reduce mystical experiences to neural activity. First, can we be sure that we are understanding the mystical texts accurately, and second, can we reduce transpersonal experiences to neural activity?

Many writers have cherry picked the experiences that fit their model. Mystical experiences have many common characteristics, but they are by no means all the same. When authors say that they have found a correspondence between one mystical report and one interpretation of physics, it is almost like trying to fit one mystery with another. There are so many ancient teachings and many of them are quite inscrutable or ambiguous to the untrained. Experts in the various traditions frequently disagree with each other. So it is quite possible to take pretty much any current scientific theory and find mystical teachings to fit. So unless we can be sure about what the teachings are saying we cannot use them to provide evidence for or against the theories. In addition the book includes a lot of  psychodynamic theory which is notoriously open to multiple interpretations.

There will likely be correspondences between neural activity and mystical states, but that is quite different from reducing a profound and meaningful experience to the firing of neurons.

Brian Lancaster subscribes to a supernatural or dualist theory, proposing that a "transcendent reality" is needed to account for subjective experience. I think that he may well be right, but we also cannot ignore several writers, like Francis Crick and Daniel Dennett, who think that we already know enough about the brain to explain conscious experiences, and presumably therefore mystical experiences.

Despite my two questions remaining unanswered, this book provides one of the best summaries of current thinking on consciousness and I recommend it highly.