Review for An Introduction to Parapsychology
583844
I rated this book 5 stars because it is a good introductory resource to whoever is interested to know more about Parapsychology but has 0 knowledge of it so far. Experiments and histories are illustrated clearly. Very interesting read!
3716564
I am a student of metaphysics and have a particular
interest in Near Death Experiences and how they impact individual
lives, so the experiences recounted in your book are consistent with
my belief system. I see them as powerful anecdotal evidence of a
higher intelligence, influencing and shaping our lives. The stories
suggest that we are, in ordinary states of consciousness, only dimly
aware of it's workings, but, occasionally, we are given a glimpse
into the dimension from which events become manifest.

I find it deeply affirming to read about such events, so I appreciate
the work you have done, and I hope you will continue to encourage
your readers to share experiences where the hand of fate has touched
their lives, parting the veil for a brief glimpse into something
beyond.  Best Wishes, Joan Ruderman, MFT
3050476
This is a book that while providing a brief introduction into some of the theory and science of explorations into the nature of consciousness also has some of the authors own speculations on the subject.  Nunn opens with a background on a Mrs Willett, a lady who was not only involved in psychical research but also an apparent medium who actually channelled other psychical researchers.  Despite the rather supernatural aspect behind Mrs Willett's story, Nunn uses the case of Mrs Willett as a basis for his exploration into the nature of consciousness.  After introducing us to some of the philosophy and scientific exploration (and speculation) around consciousness, he returns to the case of Mr Willett in the final chapter to explore what her case tells us about  consciousness, the notion of self and of time.  So what goes on in the chapters in between?  Well, Nunn introduces us to what he tells us are 'mental landscapes.'  Such landscapes are described mathematically by so-called 'attractors' - a concept derived from mathematical Chaos Theory.  Nunn argues that attractors may represent mental dynamics between the mind of a subject and their environment and manifest in the brain though a hierarchy of neural processes which are 'holographically fractal.'  Despite Nunn's physiologically based conception of mental processes he does not see himself as a mental reductionist.  This is because Nunn does not believe that mind, which involves 'meaning,' can be reduced to information as it is understood in computer engineering terms.  Nunn does not really make clear his arguments for the non-reduction of meaning to information but his views may be similar to those expressed by philosopher John Searle who argued that you cannot derive semantics from syntax or computation.  This technicality aside, Nunn goes on to suggest that consciousness may be related to the physical brain by being a 'gauge-like field that reflects the energetic properties of the brain.'  Gauge fields are a concept from Quantum Field Theories which determine local symmetries (conserve physical properties) during dynamic physical processes.  Nunn suggests that the 'consciousness field' may be a 'broken temporal symmetry' and that consciousness may therefore manifest 'temporal anomalies.'  He rounds out these technical arguments by discussing various unusual conscious experiences such as Near Death Experiences, Mystical and Hallucinogenic Drug experiences which may (or may not) support the speculation that the consciousness field involves anomalous distortions of time.  If your head is spinning at the references to 'attractors, holographic-fractals, gauge symmetries' - not to mention 'qualions' (units of consciousness) and references to mathematical knot theory also made in the book - then you may be surprised to know that this book is actually quite an accessible read.  However, anyone reading this book will be forgiven for thinking that maybe science really is a long way off from a proper 'science of consciousness.'  Ironically, after having read this book, you may even be forgiven for thinking that the goal of having a pure science of consciousness is ultimately unobtainable.
644268
Michael J. Loux's _Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction_ is an excellent introduction to the metaphysical issues which are of paramount importance in contemporary Anglo-Australo-American analytical  philosophy.
Another reviewer has already noted Loux's helpful treatment  (in Chapters 1 and 2) of realism vs. nominalism as regards universals; I  concur and shall therefore limit my summary here to other features of the  text.
Loux devotes Chapter 4 to a crucially important topic of which many  readers may not even have been aware: the ontological status of  _propositions_. Do properties, kinds, and relations cover all the sorts of  abstract entity whose existence we must admit, or do  "propositions" constitute another such class?
Loux dedicates  Chapter 5 to a discussion of _modality_ (necessity and possibility). In  particular, he provides a solid introductory discussion of possible-worlds  modalism.
And in chapters 3 and 6, Loux tackles the problem of the  "concrete particular" -- first in regard to what it is (the  subtitle of Chapter 3 is "Substrata, bundles, and substances"),  and second in regard to how such an entity persists through time  (endurantism, perdurantism, presentism, eternalism).
The presentation is  clear and accessible throughout, and each chapter is helpfully introduced  with a summary of its important points. Readers interested in this topic  will find Loux's work both readable and self-contained; those who wish to  read further will profit from his suggestions for further reading (at the  end of each chapter).
Readers unfamiliar with the field may also want to  pick up _ A Companion to Metaphysics_ (edited by Jaegwon Kim and Ernest  Sosa), a fine collection of 264 alphabetical entries by various respected  philosophers. And the _Oxford Companion to Philosophy_ (edited by Ted  Honderich) is an excellent general reference which no student of philosophy  should be without.
(The Routledge Contemporary Introductions to  Philosophy series seems to be very good in general, by the way; Robert  Audi's _Epistemology_ is also highly recommended.)
3047680
This book consists of 3 parts. The first, Liber Kaos proper, deals with the principles of magic, aeonics and the principles of chaos. It includes Pope Pete's fascinating psychohistory model in which the shamanic, religious, rationalist and pandemonic aeons are measured against the materialistic, magical and transcendental paradigms to illustrate the historical ups and downs of the spiritual worldview. Part two: The Psychonomicon, discusses practical magic, sleight of mind, auric and different types of color magic, from octarine to purple. It also includes the Thanateros ritual, which is a celebration of Chaoist principles and a momentary invocation of the power of chaos itself. The appendices make up the third part of the book and includes Liber KKK: an extended series of magical operations; the Gnostic pentagram ritual; chaos monasticism, and; Liber Pactionis: the structure, rituals and protocols of the magical pact of the illuminates of Thanateros. The text is enhanced by diagrams and two illustrations, and there is a short bibliography which includes Stephen Hawking and Terry Pratchet. Pope Pete certainly provides a compelling read, but I'm not convinced of his premises. As another reviewer has said, chaos only occurs in a localized context. Certain patterns in the universe, like the platonic solids and sacred geometry (the golden mean) seem to indicate the prevalence of order in the larger scheme of things. Call me a heretic or Reform Chaoist if you will, but I don't believe Pope Pete is infallible!
2695859
I am in the middle of this book, and I am enjoying it so far.  The author provides a lot of information and history on parapsychology and Spiritualism.  The only problem I have with this book is the editing; tons of errors!
1588364
While Wheatley's "right-handed" moralizing gets tiresome, this book is a useful introduction to each avenue of the occult.  His particular blend of history with parapsychology makes it less tedious a read.  I feel  generous giving this book 4 stars, but I cannot justify 3 since the author  is so very thorough in his research.  This book provides whets the appetite  for further study of "world of the unseen" for the beginning  occultist, or for a philosopher in general.  Read this for an overview,  though be prepared to ignore some heavyhanded opinions.
756081
I have long been intrigued by the ideas put forth in the late Julian Jaynes's "The Origin of Consciousness In the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind".  Jaynes's theorized that humans did not achieve actual consciousness until comparatively recent times (it varied from culture to culture but in the Near- and Middle-East, according to Jaynes it would have been several centuries or a millennium or so BC).  And he believed that the pre-conscious state was characterized by auditory hallucinations that were generally interpreted as the voices of the gods.

Jaynes's central theory about the origin of consciousness is probably beyond proof (exactly what is consciousness is a slippery concept, but Jaynes does NOT equate it self-awareness), but he does supply a great deal of evidence about how ancient humans did believe they regularly "heard" the voices of gods, and that at some point (again, it was not the same for all cultures), that ability went away, often with devastating consequences for a culture suddenly left without seeming divine guidance.

Daniel B. Smith's "Muses, Madmen, and Prophets: Rethinking the History, Science, and Meaning of Auditory Hallucination" addresses the survival of the phenomenon of "hearing voices" generated unconsciously by one's own mind.  Popularly, hearing such voices is viewed as evidence of mental illness (indeed, schizophrenia has become in recent decades almost defined by the phenomenon), but Smith's book demonstrates that auditory hallucination is fairly common in people who are otherwise viewed as mentally normal.  Surveys have supplied varying figures for the phenomenon (understandably, many people are reluctant to admit to a circumstance which might earn them a careless label of "crazy"; I suspect that the frequency of positive responses to the survey questions depend a great deal upon just how the questions were phrased), but it appears that at least a few percent up to maybe the majority of people at some time in their lives experience auditory hallucination, perhaps only a single time, although in some cases the phenomenon can be almost continual (Smith's own father and grandfather "heard voices" much of their lives).  The condition is sometimes connected with stress (participants in combat and victims of rape appear to especially prone to it) and it sometimes is associated with bursts of great creativity.  Smith discusses quite a number of famous people who regularly experienced what in today's rational world would be termed auditory hallucination: Socrates, Joan of Arc, and William Blake included.

Smith's book is not a dense, statistic-laden study, but rather a fast-flowing, somewhat ancecdotal introduction to a fascinating phenomenon which at one time may have played a decisive role in human culture and continues even today to shape some people's lives.
3831258
Magical Imagination: The Keys to Magic By Nick Farrell

Magical Imagination offers greater insights into the techniques of imagination in magic which Farrell previously examined in his book, Magical Pathworking: Techniques of Active Imagination. In Magical Imagination, Farrell draws on his own experiences as a magician and teacher within the Golden Dawn and the use of these techniques to build up a strong and reliable magical practice for the individual. The book looks at the continued use of pathworkings from a multitude of perspectives and functions. Farrell's skills as an author are really brought to fruition in this text as he manages to successfully draw the reader into the right mind-frame in which to engage with the material presented.

Magical Imagination takes a more contemporary view of pathworking as a form of magic rather than the psychological experimentations of Farrell's earlier work. The industry is already heavily populated with so-called "self-help" books and New Age techniques and so it can be difficult for occultists to find material they can actively work with. Reading the book I'm fascinated with the layers of self-discovery presented before the reader and find myself highly enthused with the material presented here. The book is really well formatted presenting areas of personal space to be explored in one's own "Inner Kingdom", following on to mapping out safe techniques that can be developed for clairvoyance and astral projection (though the book stays on topic and provides only a peripheral idea of rising in the spirit vision or astral projection. More time is spent towards the latter half exploring the creation of Inner Temples and working with inner plane contacts. The author is highly skilled in this area with case studies on hand to illustrate from personal experience what an individual might encounter along the way offering sage advice.

Holding so much promise I must confess I did fear that the book might result in being a re-hash of what was in Magical Pathworking; and yes there are some aspects of Magical Pathworking skill in Magical Imagination, however, I found that Farrell wove his various elements quite successfully into a very effective and yet approachable book. While one might notice some common themes in Nick Farrell's writing the author is always a delight to read and explore the various tropes of the work presented.

Upon reflection, I'm compelled to recommend this book to anyone seeking, either to begin their magical path or to develop it on a personal or indeed a group level. Regardless of one's background there is much on offer within this book for the sincere student of the Western Mysteries. Everything from the clear writing style, to the formatting and presentation of the techniques is accessible to the reader and having bought by fair share of books with guided meditations and pathworkings on offer over the years this is by far not an easy feat to achieve.

Magical Imagination: The Keys to Magic is published by Skylight Press. The book is available from various retail outlets such as Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk or direct from the Skylight Press website
1221812
That was a good book, an eye opening and interesting to read.
I got better understanding about mind control - manipulation, deception, brainwashing, psychopaths etc.
It's a little bit creepy, how other people can brainwash you or manipulate with you, so it's good to know tactics and techniques.
Recommended
1363090
This fat volume comprises both a skillfully abridged version of the 2-volume Phantasms of the Living, first produced in 1886 by Edmund Gurney along with other giants of England's Society for Psychical Research, and a supplement of later, similar accounts pulled together by Mrs. Sidgwick, another SPR stalwart. It provides an invaluable trove of data on sensing the presence of another human being, alive or dead, when that being wasn't physically there.

For Phantasms of the Living, over 5700 people were asked the question, "Since January 1, 1874, [10-12 years before the question was posed] have you--when in good health, free from anxiety, and completely awake--had a vivid impression of seeing or being touched by a human being or of hearing a voice or sound which suggested a human presence, when no one was there?" A slightly smaller number were asked if they'd dreamt of the death of some person known to them. If the answer was yes, respondents were invited to tell their stories. SPR volunteers went to great lengths to verify their informants' stories by soliciting letters from other parties in whom these informants had confided, reading diary entries, checking death notices in newspapers, and the like.

The accounts reported in this pioneering work, the result of diligent and  rigorous scholarship  by eminent Victorians some of whom were associated with Cambridge University, provide impressive evidence for the reality of clairvoyance, telepathy, and the survival of the human spirit after death.
2391769
As a master and teacher in thought field therapy and emotional freedom technique I consider the book to be a fantastic introduction for the curious reader. The book is very thourough and that is the only thing which I dislike. It takes too long to get to the juice, on the other hand I believe the person reading and understanding the book will have a big chance to have success using the books advice. Even if I am very experienced I picked up a few new tricks. Lars Mygind, Denmark, [...]
1327694
Title:  Buddha and the Quantum

Book Review submitted by: Stephen J. Hage, SteveH9697@aol.com

In his first book, the Dimensional Structure of Consciousness, Samuel Avery reveals a new paradigm for understanding our experience, in space and time, as multicellular organisms.  He does this by walking us through the physics that underlies the structure of the paradigm and makes his ideas intelligible to those who have a good working knowledge of physics, relativity theory and quantum mechanics.

For those with little or no exposure to physics, relativity theory or quantum mechanics, The Dimensional Structure of Consciousness will be a tough slog but worth the effort.

In his second book, Transcendence of the Western Mind, Avery revisits the paradigm of the dimensional structure of consciousness but softens his approach by relating ideas physicists understand intuitively, like rotating axes of space and time orthogonally by relating them to things non-physicists do every day, like walking from your living room to your bedroom.  And, continuing this softer approach he helps the reader understand the different relationships between the five realms of perceptual consciousness, seeing, hearing, smell, taste and touch and how their coordination in space-time actually creates the world.
He deals with the mind, and meditation, the self and being and introduces us to a sixth realm of consciousness--observational consciousness--that exists in a dimension of its own--order.

In Buddha and the Quantum, Avery, once again, revisits the principles which underlie the paradigm he has created--the dimensional structure of consciousness--by approaching it in a way that is even softer than the approach he used in Transcendence of the Western Mind.  By providing detailed descriptions of certain meditative experiences he is able to relate those experiences to the principles which underlie how consciousness is structured and why we experience the world the way we do.
He further refines and clarifies concepts dealt with in the previous books like the photon screen and the quantum screen making them easier to understand.  Here is an example:

"Now, still watching the subtle sensations in your field of vision, open your eyes.  Concentrate on the whole body as you see part of it become light.  This may take a few tries.  The subtle sensations that you see crackling like static electricity in front of your eyes suddenly become tiny points of color arranged in space.  They fall into a multidimensional grid pattern with each point of light at its own distinct location.  Shapes and patterns of light form with crisp lines and sharp edges.  Unlike shapes in the body, each visual pattern begins and ends at a precise location and each has its own clear identity.  There is little overlap among them and there is empty space between them.  Most of the space you see remains unoccupied, as if it were potential perception waiting to be filled with actual perception.
This is the photon screen.  The screen is not the photons; it is the grid pattern they fall into.  It is the wholeness of multi-cellular consciousness that cannot be reduced to cellular consciousness.  It is not in space; it is space."

With Buddha and the Quantum, as he did with his first two books, Samuel Avery lifts the veil even further allowing us to not only glimpse but also actually see how the universe works and why we experience it in the ways we do.

What I enjoy most about reading Avery is his insights expand my mind and, as I reread his thoughts and think about them deeply, my own mind is blown to smithereens.  It is a truly exhilarating intellectual experience.

If you find any of this at all interesting, I recommend you read Buddha and the Quantum first.  Then read Transcendence of the Western Mind and, if you dare, then read The Dimensional Structure of Consciousness and be prepared to have your own mind blown to smithereens.
4527681
This is the first book to build a real path between transpersonal psychology and ordinary psychology. The book can make a difference to both subjects by getting them talking with each other sensibly, which they need to.

The book does four main things :-

1 Brings together the work of Wilber, Washburn, Ferrer, Hunt, Maslow, and others, into one model . The model is based in complex systems theory and evolutionary developmental biology.

2 Creates a new version of the perennial philosophy  based in math  and the similar findings about reality in science and mysticism. But in this model religions remain separate and explore the religious universe together

3 Provides a comprehensive history of science and philosophy for context (the book is very detailed, the bibliography is over 65 pages on its own)

4 Makes clear that Piaget was a spiritual thinker who wrote books about spiritual life similar to transpersonal psychology books

It got very good reviews in transpersonal psychology. (As we might expect, for  it is certainly as good as anything that has been written in the area). It also caused a stir in the Jean Piaget society email list. Maybe  this is the moment transpersonal psychology will start being taken seriously instead of being ignored.
274540
This cogent compendium of well-chosen readings can be read by the novice or the scholar, useful as it is for reflection and cogitation. The readings are handily arranged into six major sections: social and political philosophy, philosophy of religion; philosophy of art and culture;  metaphysics; epistemology;and philosophy of science. Each section has a  brief introduction; and in a few cases, a summary essay. Excerpts from  selected works of various philosophers--classic and otherwise--give a  well-rounded fullness to the major topics and concepts being examined. A  bibiliography of primary source material and a full index enhance  retrievability options. This will surely stimulate even the most inert of  minds.
283538
This book is a collection of essays presenting opposite views on various problems in metaphysics. These include problems about abstract entities, laws of nature, modality, personal identity, time, persistence, free will, mereology and metaontology.
Each section includes two essays, each presenting and defending a prominent view on the topic, though some sections do not canvass all views. While the essays address opposing views, they don't always contend directly with each other, and there are no subsequent replies from each author, in contrast to some other "debates" books.
The authors are significant contributors in their areas, and their contributions here are excellent. They are original, and written carefully and clearly. The book is nicely organized, and includes a brief general introduction as well as very brief introductions for each section.
This book will be of great interest to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in philosophy as well as professional philosophers working in metaphysics. This is an impressive contribution to the series and to the field.
2361937
This book provides a pretty good introduction for those who are interested in learning about "supernatural vanishings". It includes interesting case histories of unexplianed dissappearances and teleportation, and even a few related to time dislocation. However, my main criticism with the book is that is deals mostly with very old cases. The first couple of chapters deal mainly with ancient cases- which could be attributed to legends and myths. The later parts of the book deal mainly with cases from the 14th to early 20th century. if you are sceptical before buying the book, this book will probably not be sufficient to change your mind; but if you read with an open mind, this is a pretty enjoyable read.