Book Description
This book provides an inspiring, positive approach to what some call the negative truths of Scripture and presents a timeless but contemporary look at faith’s real attributes of sacrifice, selfless love, and discipleship at a time when society, and even the Christian community, is focused on blessing and comfort.
Customer Reviews:
powerful teaching.......2007-10-01
Gary Thomas is a gifted writer and communicator who presents classic foundational truths in a fresh and understandable way. This book represents another work that will cause the reader to think past a stereotypical walk with Christ.
Aweome book!.......2006-04-17
This is one of the best books I've ever read! Thomas address areas of faith that most people never talk about (the difficulties that we can't control). I recommended it to all my friends. We even used it for our women's study bible stuy. Every one of my friends who've read this book has also loved it. It's challenging, and it makes you uncomfortable with the comforts of your own faith. This book is convicting, but it also helps to transform your thinking and test your faith.
Great Book...Greater Footnotes.......2006-03-23
I absolutely enjoyed this book...but what I enjoyed even more than the book itself was the amazing resource of classic authors and texts through Gary Thomas' extensive footnotes...it is always a joy to find a book that sends you on a long and wonderful trail through the greatest thinkers/theologians of all time...a must read!
Authentic Faith reveals much deeper issues in our lives........2004-03-08
This book is a blessing. I recommend any of Gary Thomas's books. His writings are well focused but dynamic enough to keep your attention. This book covers a wide range of issues facing contemporary christians. I particularly like how easy it is to identify with his examples. Definately highlighter worthy!
Gary came to my church..........2002-10-05
to talk about greed, his new books, and how people take things for granted these days. We must accept the blessings that come to us and be thankful for them, not take them for granted. Gary gave several great examples adapted from Authentic Faith. I enjoyed the lecture and I got his autographs on the book and Seeking the Face of God. Also, I learned so much from his chapter on the Discipline of Forgiveness. I do need to forgive a coworker who sinned against me not too long ago and its going to be hard to decide on an obligation whether to forgive him or wait more weeks. Good work and thank you Gary!!
Book Description
When a bizarre houseboat explosion rocks the close-knit community of Baxter, firefighters, friends, and neighbors stand powerless as the McConnells' blazing hull sinks to the bottom of Heron Lake. Grief turns to outrage as new evidence proves there was one survivor -- and points to murder, something this sheltered community has never faced in its hundred-year history. In a race with the FBI, Jed sets out to track down the sole survivor, coping meanwhile with his own painful marital struggle. Baxter's mystery and Jed's dilemma are ones only God can solve in this suspenseful, surprising story of redemption amidst despair in small-town America.
Customer Reviews:
clunky.......2004-01-07
I did not enjoy this book at all but rather found the story and dialogue clunky and uninteresting at best. It began well but slowed in pace and petered out way before the end with far too much repitition of certain themes like angelic visitation
Great start to a new series!.......2003-09-23
This book is a real page-turner! Kathy Herman is a first-class writer. She gets you to care about the characters, and the story moves along quickly. Most series continue the stories of the same characters. In the Baxter Series, however, all 4 books (as of September 2003) are set in the same small town and seem to have the same background characters, but the major plot-line involves different characters for each book.
I loved the first book, but I was up late last night getting into the middle of the second one "Day of Reckoning" and I like that one even better! The third one is a "medical fiction" book, which I love. (See my other reviews of Hannah Alexander's and Harry Lee Kraus MD for other recommendations.)
This is series I can highly recommend! I'm glad that I started reading it when 4 books are out - I hate waiting months or a year to read the next book in a series! I'm excited about the 5th book in the series, which will be coming out in a few months!
Check out my other reviews!
Excelent Series!!!!.......2003-05-02
I judge books by their cover, thus, I didn't read this book for a while. My roomate and my sister loved the series and keept raving about it. As I am an avid reader I finally picked this book up and Wow! I read the whole series (4 books so far) in two days! They are all excelent books about God and His faithfulness to his children. Take my advice, read the series, don't look at the cover, and you will be blessed.
Hint: don't start them if you have to get some sleep, you won't sleep.
Great book!.......2002-08-17
This is my first reading by a Christian author and loved it! I have been so tired of trying to find a good book without a lot of garbage in it and this is exactly what I was looking for! Very interesting, suspenseful, and a good message through it all! Highly recommend it!
Tested By Fire by Kathy Herman.......2002-03-25
I read Christian novels as fast as I can get them into my hands so I know good writing. I have some very favorite authors. Kathy is a new author to me and this debut novel was so thrilling, so wonderful that I would like her to know it. I can't wait until April for the 2nd. She is definitely a wonderful writer and it is hard to put the book down. I pray she can write many more.
Book Description
If you're hungry for updated, practical electronic circuits, this is a beggar's banquet. Not only do these ingenious circuits - some never published - really work, but they're simple, inexpensive and fun. Includes clear explanations and schematics plus real-life applications.
Customer Reviews:
Bench tested circuts.......2005-07-25
A good read, great circuits to build and test....good technical book to refer to.....
Some may find this useful........2003-10-28
As the title suggests, this book is a collection of circuits. The circuits are all well-designed and functional although they do seem chosen at random. The technology is old (very old, I have seen versions of these from the 1940s) but it does work - mostly. This book is probably pitched at the self-taught private detective who is not too fussy about the local eavesdropping laws. This is definitely not what your country's internal securty force is using!
Circuit schematics are provided along with a theoretical description and some practical tips.
The book presents the circuits in six sections:
In the section on surveillance, the circuits include a simple subcarrier generator for an FM bug, a hookswitch bypass for older style (non-electronic) phones and some very old (but useful) techniques for hardwire and telephone taps. Some voice activation circuits and high gain amplifiers are also mentioned.
The section on remote control offers some very simple but useful techniques turning common consumer electronics into remote controlled devices.
The section of infra-red flashers provides variations on the same circuit - a blinking IRED which can be tracked at night with an infrared scope or a video camera.
The section on counter surveillance provides some well-known techniques for tracing radio bugs, phone taps and hardwire taps.
The section on receiver enhancements provides some simple techniques to receive subcarrier or carrier current transmissions on an HF communications receiver.
There is a section mostly dealing with circuits that record unauthorised entries or phone use.
Most circuits are old, but well-proven technology. A few would be dangerous enough in North America with their 110 volt mains, but they are guaranteed lethal in the remainder of the world where 220, 230 or 240 volts is more common, or where 415 volt three-phase systems are in use.
The Parts Source section is only of use to readers in North America
Bench-Tested Circuits : For Surveillance and Countersurveill.......2002-02-21
My buddy and me used some of the circuits from this book and his second Bench Tested Circuits book and were able to fool a high priced Counter Measures team with a big van loaded with CM equipment. We were in some god forsaken town that only had a Radio Shack and a Hardware store. The circuits are simple but work just as well as the more high priced circuits that we have seen. Many of this guy's simple techniques are almost impossible to detect. Our client was very happy when he listened to the chatter from the CM people.
I found some very interesting and overlooked circuits here!.......2001-06-04
A friend of mine and I were very impressed with his simple Subcarrier Converter for transmitters and his SCA decoder using a very common, mid-price range communications receiver. We have never seen such an unusual and highly effective technique for preventing the casual listener from over-hearing covert intercepts. Some of the other books like Basement Buggers Bible (though really great and with much more detailed plans), for some reason, did not have some of these more sophisticated modulation schemes. His simple Carrier Current By-pass technique really worked well on a recent case. We found the Capacitors that he recomended for the By-pass at a Ham Fest (they were a little hard to find though)...
Very useful circuits!.......1999-05-07
As an electronics technician in the security field, I found Mr. Larsen's circuits well described and very clever! They are sophisticated yet simple for the average tech (like me) to build. Some of the circuits are unusual and I have not been able to find them elsewhere!
Customer Reviews:
Tested by Fire.......1999-12-04
This is a page turning biography about a Christian gospel singer who is horribly burned in a plane crash. It cronicles his struggles back to a meaningful and fulfilling life after nearly losing life, losing his handsome good looks and his voice. It tells of the loving power of Jesus Christ in his life and his long and painful journey out of hell and into the arms of a loving and forgiving God.
Customer Reviews:
A truly entertaining and suspenseful novel.......2007-08-27
Finn Kelly is a rookie cop whose work is being sabotaged - someone in her department doesn't want her to survive her probation period. Her law enforcement legend grandfather, Seamus, suspects trouble and calls in an old friend and former associate, John Gabriel, to check things out. John's love for Seamus prompts him to agree to look into Finn's situation. When he begins to fall for her, he pulls away, not wanting a close relationship because of the losses he's experienced in life. But when it looks like Finn may lose her life, will John realize too late that life is too short to let the love of his life get away?
Kathryn Springer brings her characters vividly to life. I loved the way she built the Kelly family. It is so rare to encounter a family with such deep ethnic roots. It brought back many fond memories of my large extended family.
A Great Debut Title.......2004-10-27
I had the pleasure of meeting Kathryn Springer at the annual ACRW conference in September. She is as sweet as this wonderful little novel she has written for Love Inspired.
Romance blossoms slowly and naturally from friendship, and our hero and heroine are both blessed with enough friends and family to support them through the hero's crisis of faith. The subplots involving a local arsonist and sexual discrimination in the workplace round out the story well.
Perhaps a little too much reliance is placed on stereotypes (the rich girl who is really down-to-earth and altruistic, the man who acts out against women at work because his wife has a job that causes conflicts in their home), and there is never much doubt as to identity of the arsonist.
But the love story is sweet and satisfying. All in all, a great little read.
Book Description
Larsen's latest is packed with fun, inexpensive and brilliantly simple designs, each with a detailed schematic. There's an incendiary method of destroying inaccessible taps and bugs, circuits for detecting phone line cuts and usage, designs for undetectable phone taps, ways to use off-the-shelf components to remotely control a bug or phone tap, some low-power-drain circuits for marking hidden caches and much more! For academic study only.
Customer Reviews:
More Bench-Tested Circuts.......2005-07-25
Good companion to read with the the first book.....simple but effective circuts........
The companion volume to "Bench-Tested Circuits".......2003-10-28
On its own this book is not worth the money, but if it's regarded as the companion to the earlier volume it is just worth the money, especially if it they are both offered together for a reduced price.
As before, the book is a random collection of circuits, most of which are old, well-known (but also reliable) technology.
Some, such as the intrusion alarms, present yet more variations on circuits provided in the first book. Some, such as the subcarrier decoder, should have been in the first book. Some, such as the component analayser used to sweep for hardwire or phone taps are interesting, but a lot of hard work. Others, such as the proximity detector, may not work at all in practice.
The circuit designed to destroy hard-to-get-at bugs is almost guaranteed to kill you. The timers are nasty. If the stories you hear are true, people who want you to design timers are going to use them to commit arson - or worse. Avoid them!
Many circuits make use of specific devices from Radio Shack that are unobtainable outside North America.
Taken all together, a bit of a mixed bag.
More Bench-Tested Circuits.......2002-02-21
My buddy and me used some of the plans from this book and his first Bench Tested Circuits book and we were able to fool some high priced CM folks who came in a big white van loaded with lots of Counter Measures equipment. We were on the road at the time and all we had was a [electronics store]and a Hardware Store in the whole dirt water town, what a dive. We even recorded some of the chatter for the client of the hot-shot CM team. Client was very pleased! The circuits are pretty simple, yet hard to detect. They work as good as many of the more complicated circuits that we have used in the past.
A waist of time and money.......2000-05-15
I would strongly suggest that the would be purchaser look else wear ! This book contains little of what the title suggests, and of that very little, most of the information is simplistic or out of date.
A waist of time and money.......2000-05-15
I would strongly suggest that the would be purchaser look else wear ! This book contains little of what the title suggests, and of that very little, most of the information is simplistic or out of date.
Average customer rating:
|
Tested by Fire
Woodrow Michael Kroll
Manufacturer: Loizeaux Brothers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Christian Living
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Soteriology
| Theology
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Theology
| Religious Studies
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 087213475X |
Average customer rating:
|
Tested by Fire
John Piper
Manufacturer: Inter-Varsity Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Piper, John
| ( P )
| Authors, A-Z
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0851115535 |
Average customer rating:
|
Tested by Fire
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: 0800784332 |
Book Description
Wild Roses for Miss Jane ~ Miss Jane Engle has found a new home, security, and a classroom full of smiling faces in her 1876 one-room schoolhouse in Albany, New York. Choosing to teach rather than to marry handsome widower and father of one son, Garrett Michaels, Jane has found serenity...if not happiness and love. When Jane reads the pirate book young Trace Michaels has hidden in his school desk, Jane is transported to a 1722 British sailing ship that is being attacked by the notorious Caribbean pirate, Captain Garrett Michaels. Although he looks just as handsome as his 1870's counterpart, there are some major differences -- the cruel and sinister look in his eyes, and the sharp dagger he has pressed against her throat. Will Jane be able to tell the Albany Board of Education "what she did on her summer vacation" if she ever returns?
Customer Reviews:
time travel, cancel trip!.......2007-06-16
Oh dear, initial premise good, 1800's school marm reads 17th century pirate tale and ends up on pirates ship. I do not have enough English Major in me to figure out what exactly is wrong with this book, but it read as very flat, almost like reading a play and trying to inject emotion from the page into a character, very exhausting and ultimately not worth the effort.
I JUST LOVE THIS SERIES (TIME TRAVELERS).......2006-03-11
This is the second book I have read by Hollie Van Horne and I love both of them!! Each book has its own unique story with super characters and great plots!! I really enjoy how Ms. Van Horne has incorporated Sam and Jim Cooper into each book. The main character Jane Engle is a very likeable heroine and Captain Garrett Michaels is just well...sigh...very lovable and can I say super duper hot!! This book (WILD ROSES FOR MISS JANE) has more adventure than the first one and I agree with the other reviewers that this book is so much more romantic than the first!! PLEASE...PLEASE read this book if you love sexy romance, hot pirates and adventure!!
Hope the Rest Are A Tad Better-.......2005-08-17
I very much like the time travel premise and thought that Reflections of Toddsville was nicely writen (save some typos...who proofs Hollie's books anyhow?) and it ended superbly.
So I was looking forward to the second in the series...it's got a wonderful - intriguing plot and I enjoy that very much...but why the heck does she have to overdo the sex? Enough already- the story is good enough to stand on it's own, if I wanted a purely romance novel I'd just look for that instead!
A big fan in Pa........2001-12-21
I met the author at Beaver Valley Mall and purchased WHEN WE DO MEET AGAIN. I have read all of the books in the series as well as SPEAK OF THE DEAD and MISS JANE is my favorite. I have read it over and over again. What can I say! A handsome pirate, a tropical paradise, and a feisty heroine. My book is dogeared from reading it again and again. Romance reader heaven! Thanks Hollie.
Time Travelers, Inc. does it again.......2001-03-10
I have read every book H. Van Horne has written, and I swear no two are alike. Each Time Travel book is its own story totally unique with great characters you never really forget. I still think about Cuyler and Trudy, and I read Reflections of Toddsville months ago. I love the minor characters: Sam and Jim Cooper and Bruce Wainwright who pop up in each book. Sam is in Wild Roses for Miss Jane too and up to his usual wild self. I thought Jane was an incredible heroine and Captain Garrett Michaels was...hot! I like all the books. But, this one is the most adventurous and romantic so far, and if you love romance, pirates, and HOT steamy Caribbean nights on soft beaches...well...you need to get this book. I suggest all of the books in the Time Travelers series, and Speak of the Dead also. I can't wait for the next book in the series McKnight's Revenge.
Book Description
What kind of force can freeze a lynx solid in seconds, so fast that, once thawed, the cat can walk away in perfect health?What kind of force can murder almost all the inhabitants of a small New Mexico town in seconds?Larry Fowler is a scientist--he doesn't want to be frightened by things he doesn't understand. he'd rather run away from the frozen cat than have to believe it existed. However, he can't stop asking questions--questions that will bring him face to face with psychlone!
Customer Reviews:
Not Bear's best, but doesn't stink either.......2007-09-02
I read this book when it was re-released in 1988. It scared the pants off me then, and still does. It also indroduced me to the author, whose books I now eagerly collect.
living, prowling reprint of the dead novel.......2007-04-28
I enjoy reading Greg Bear books for their depth and originality for sci-fi. The only sci-fi in this book was the laser at the end of the book. What's up with an elemental and the living, prowling souls of the dead? I started reading the book so I had to finish it, but I wish I hadn't of picked it up in the first place.
maybe this was a contract book?.......2005-11-20
Greg is capable of much better (his short story "Petra" is a jaw-dropping standout, for example). The central idea is interesting, but the development into a story is contrived, choppy, and flows very unevenly. (I really feel awkward saying this, but the book would have been much better had it been written by Steven King.)
Get the REAL message.......2004-06-22
I can't understand the bad reviews. This book is important, not for the surface plot, but for the REALLY creepy idea that Bear purports - that mankind has become so powerful that we can now kill souls. This power has been ursurped from God (or whatever name you prefer) and we now face the consequences. This idea gave me the whillies. What a horrific thought. I am a reader of scifi, horror, etc., and this is the first time I ever came across this idea. Read it with an open mind and consider the possibilities.
I'm sorry, Mr Bear........2004-01-31
I write this with all due apology for what I will say next: Bear is a good writer, and I enjoyed Darwin's Radio, but this Psychlone is not one of his best works. Not at all. It could be the worst book I've ever read by such a promising author.
Not that anything was bad with the idea: some unknown force with unnatural powers shows up, scientists try to deal with it. But somehow, a little kid is drawn up into the plot. This kid had powers, or maybe not. The truth is that I don't know. I couldn't tell. At the end of the book, several people die. Or maybe not. Yet again, I was unable to tell. This is a BOOK. In books, the writer tells you what happens. Or he's supposed to.
The characters were shallow, and the three plotlines never met up or formed any coherent anything. There was an interesting theory that atomic bombs could destroy the human soul, and that the Big Bang had caused our souls to split from God, but that is never addressed. Something about dead WWII vets who return home as evil ghosts to kill their hometowns. Why would they do such a thing? I couldn't tell.
The main character, though he's a scientist, is also an idiot. He seems unable to do anything on his own. His love interest is mentioned four times in the ENTIRE BOOK. There are simply too many flaws to name.
I will never again read a book where the title is spelled "All hippity hop"
Average customer rating:
|
PSYCHLONE
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HY6TIQ |
Average customer rating:
|
Psychlone
Greg Bear
Manufacturer: A Tom Doherty Assoc. Book
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S5X2CA |
Average customer rating:
|
Psychlone
Greg Bear
Manufacturer: Ace Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000P7BETY |
Average customer rating:
|
Psychlone
Manufacturer: Ace
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GSLYQU |
Book Description
Integral Spirituality is being widely called the most important book on spirituality in our time. Applying his highly acclaimed integral approach, Ken Wilber formulates a theory of spirituality that honors the truths of modernity and postmodernity—including the revolutions in science and culture—while incorporating the essential insights of the great religions. He shows how spirituality today combines the enlightenment of the East, which excels at cultivating higher states of consciousness, with the enlightenment of the West, which offers developmental and psychodynamic psychology. Each contributes key components to a more integral spirituality.On the basis of this integral framework, a radically new role for the world’s religions is proposed. Because these religions have such a tremendous influence on the worldview of the majority of the earth’s population, they are in a privileged position to address some of the biggest conflicts we face. By adopting a more integral view, the great religions can act as facilitators of human development: from magic to mythic to rational to pluralistic to integral—and to a global society that honors and includes all the stations of life along the way.
Customer Reviews:
Integral Spirituality.......2007-09-04
This book describes an intriguing concept but is WAY too academic and dry. It was also clumsy to read; it didn't flow nicely, and it was too repetitive. It was a disappointment to me. It could been written in a way that would have been joyful as well as informative.
Emptiness.......2007-09-02
Wilber's writings concerning "emptiness and form" and "you are pure emptiness" make absolutely no sense to a non Buddhist. Although I love Wilber's AQAL model, his brush strokes are at times, too broad and he misses important details. This is not uncommon for Intuitive personality types. I'll bet my shirt that Wilber is an NT type. Although he does not seem to put much weight on personality typology, it is obvious that he filters all of his perceptions and thought forms through his distinct NT typology. NT's are known for broad brush strokes, overlooking important key details, and loose associations.
The Wisdom traditions of all time have stressed the importance of a descending journey into the depths as well as deep integrative work before steady states of higher consciousness can be realized. Wilber refers to this as the "pre/trans" fallacy. However, this is not fallacy but spiritual Truth. Jung was much more correct on this point than Wilber.It is in accessing and releasing the darkness in the deep unconscious that we begin to integrate and Realize the Higher aspect of our Being...our own Individual Spirit/Soul. In this book, Wilber spends all of about 3 paragraphs on the critical "dark night." This is how the Shadow and disowned aspects of the Soul are integrated and it is an extremely painful and arduous ordeal indeed. It takes many years. Even our own dreams point us in the direction of this process. Simply imagining the "dark clouds" of negative shadow energy to be released as Wilber suggests does little to nothing to release/integrate this energy.
I love Wilber and truly believe him to be one of the brightest among us. However, he seems to build his model with an emphasis on his own Buddhism. His attempts to integrate "Emptiness and Form" are ambiguous and confusing. First of all, it would be helpful for many of his readers to lose the word "Emptiness" when describing Spirit. The word "Empty" has a negative connotation in our culture. "Fullness" or "Bright Spirit" would be better words. His explanation of Non-dual states of awareness is also ambiguous. The facts are that Non-dual or Oneness can be experienced directly by integrated people. However, it takes years and years of inner work and it takes the arduous work of Realizing oneself as an Individual Spiritual Being before one can achieve the ultimate Union. Even then, a person's Individuality is not negated but enhanced. Lot's of good stuff in this book in re: consciousness and Spirit...however, I thought the book was lacking in attention to the Soul. Terms like "emptiness" and "self is made toast" and "self/no self" etc..are simply misleading, ambiguous, and not helpful for those of us on the path of integration and wholeness. There are many like me who believe that Wilber's Buddhist underpinnings cloud and obscure what would otherwise be a great integral vision of the World's Wisdom.
Can Enlightenment Be Graphed?.......2007-08-29
I found this book painful to read. I trudged through it because I wanted to have a basic notion of where Ken Wilber --who has been a very influential figure in movements such as transpersonal psychology and, obviously, integral spirituality-- is coming from. He is one of those authors who is often quoted and referred to, but until now I had never actually read anything by him. After this book, I doubt if I will ever again. Whatever value that may be present in the concepts was, for me, overshadowed by the inaccessibility of the style, something which Wilber seems to take pride in. He says, in one footnote (of hundreds):
"This is just another little fun bit of technical jargon that we designed to deliberately confuse folks, since we like to leave people thinking, "what the hell did he say?""
After reading this book, I don't think Wilber is joking about this. The above comment could be referring to the book as a whole. Integral Spirituality is one of those books that is meant to explain a great deal about things that matter. The subject is an important one; unifying the various interpretations of spirituality, and, in turn, connecting these with other disciplines (physical sciences, social sciences, the arts, etc.) is a theme that many modern thinkers have tackled.
The first problem with his approach is that the very way he writes undermines the stated goal of bringing different realms together. His style is basically academic, with a constant barrage of jargon, some invented by him, some by other intellectuals. For the most part, he makes no attempt to be accessible to the general reader. This makes his work implicitly elitist. In fact, if you follow his arguments, you can deduce that he is actually saying that only the truly enlightened can understand him. Put another way, in order to be truly enlightened you have to be an intellectual. In general, Wilber's answer to the problem of integral spirituality suffers the same limitations of any Great Theory Of Everything. It assumes that the universe can be categorized in some definitive way, and that these ultimately arbitrary categories can then be considered the final authority on some question (or perhaps even, in this case, on all questions). So, although he makes a token allowance that "the map isn't the territory" and that his system isn't the only valid one, it's pretty clear that he believes at the very least that his is the best map out there. Hence, if we want to be fully enlightened, we would do well to suffer through his diagrams of quadrants, stages, phases, holons and what-have-you.
According to Wilber, enlightenment is a two-part affair, made up of both states and stages. States are the traditional states of consciousness that the spiritual traditions (especially in the East) have defined for us, such as Satori. Stages are a more recent, Western discovery, and pertain more to cognition and awareness about psychology, sociology, history and other less overtly spiritual aspects of life. It is *a lot* more complicated than that, but this is how I understand Wilber's basic concept. He then criticizes traditional spirituality for not taking into account the stages. The intellectually-centered West, and especially academia, for their part, have the reverse problem, and tend to ignore the more subjective states. Wilber is especially critical of how most "spiritually" oriented people are ignorant of postmodernism. For example, a person may be experiencing a very high level spiritual state but have no idea about the cultural/historical/political context that has influenced his or her overall state of mind. Although it's hard to deny that he has a point here, I think that Wilber is, overall, way too impressed with postmodernism, perhaps even a little intimidated by it. In fact, much of this book seems to be less a guide to enlightenment than a kind of academic defense of spirituality against the postmodern intellectual establishment, which does not deign to even recognize the spiritual realm. Wilber is trying to put together a postmodern-proof system of spirituality that might actually be accepted by the modern Academy's demigods. I doubt if he has much of a chance here. While Wilber apparently feels the need to have spirituality validated by the intellectual establishment, I doubt if this is really very important to most people outside of academia.
Wilber expends much of his energy in this book on attacking other (competing?) models of modern spirituality. Just about anyone not affiliated with his own organization, whose web site is conveniently given throughout this book, is suffering from "Boomeritis" or some other disorder that comes from not properly comprehending Wilber's states/stages rigamarole. Boomeritis is an interesting term, as it refers to people of Wilber's own generation and seems to cover the majority of non-traditional, eclectic spiritual seekers/researchers; Wilber seems to have a special contempt for American Buddhists. If the traditionally spiritual and religious don't measure up because they are ignoring the all-important stages, and those who attempt a more modern/eclectic approach are failing to suck up properly to the postmodernists on campus, what's left? Not much --aside from Wilber and his institute.
Is Ken Wilbur the most enlightened human being in the history of the world? This may sound like a silly question, but I'm afraid that the subtext of this book actually may be suggesting this conclusion. By Wilber's criteria, enlightenment means reaching the highest possible states *and* stages. The latter are always evolving, as with scientific knowledge. Here, I believe Wilber is expressing a faith in scientific progress that is either naive or self-serving, maybe both. The notion of progress is especially dubious when applied to the social sciences, which is essentially what the stages are all about. Where is the evidence that the "discoveries" made by fields such as psychology, linguistics, contemporary philosophy (which is largely about language) and sociology have improved the quality of our lives? I am not trying to dismiss these fascinating realms of inquiry, but when you are saying that they are essential for enlightenment, it would seem that they would have to be more than interesting. Since Wilber is the creator of the integral system with all its stages, it stands to reason that he understands it better than anyone else. He makes more than a few critical remarks about other thinkers who fancy themselves integral in their approach (they are mostly suffering from Boomeritis). And this paradigm conveniently excludes all figures from pre-modern times from the modern definition of enlightenment. It would therefore seem that someone like Wilber is, by this standard, more evolved than Buddha, Christ or anyone else who was not lucky enough to live in the present age.
It might be a good idea to dispense with the whole concept of Enlightenment with a capital E. It is one of those words that is especially prone to misuse and ego-driven power struggles. In fact, in our multicultural world, it is hard to define "Enlightenment" in a way that is not narrow (e.g. specific to one specific tradition, like Zen) or cult-like (e.g. Wilber's states and stages, or those created by other systems-builders like EST and Scientology). I suspect that the most enlightened (small e) spiritual teachers in the world, in this age or any other, would not attempt to quantify something as elusive as enlightenment.
Lost in the labyrinths of the intellect.......2007-08-24
In recent years Wilber's theories have become, apparently, more and more complex, more and more aimed for a 'sophisticated' intellectual audience. Having left the transpersonal theories of Grof and other far behind him, instead embracing some rather dubious sociological theories which divides people into several tiers (memes) and rather amusing placing Wilber himself at the top, belonging to the 0,7 % of the most evolved humans.
And his complexity, his many quadrants and other models, sure seem to make spritual progress look very difficult. But could it rather be Wilber who has become lost in "the murky corridors of the mind" (to qoute John McLaughlin).
Furthermore his recent writings have a decisively ethno-centristic undertone in the dismissal of the classical Eastern views on the topic of Enlightenment. Views based on thousands of years exploration of altered states of consciousness. And based on the experiences of thousands of mystics and their existential insights into the Beyond. This attempt to americanize the field of spiritually seems to fit all too well with his support to president Bush and the Iraq war.
Perhaps things are a whole lot easier than Wilber and his admirers will admit, perhaps we don't need quadrants, perhaps the question to be asked is really the old Hendrix-phrase: Are you Experienced? Have you gone beyond the everyday mind and opened up to the truth of who you are?
But Wilber's real mistake is to think that Truth can ever be figured out by the human mind with all its limitations.
I find it significant that great enlightened ones like the Buddha or in recent times Ramana Maharshi and Osho have discouraged all kinds of metaphysical speculations. Cause when push comes to shove that's actually all Wilber has to offer: some highly hypotetical speculations about the Unknowable.
No doubt Wilber has a very keen intellect, a brilliant mind. What his 'teachings' lack is: Heart, openness, humility concerning the limits of intellectual understanding and the abillity to just open up to the wonders of the world.
Many a simpleton may actually 'know' a lot more than a smart guy like Wilber. And she/he may express that insight in a dance or a song or just intears of gratitude because Truth makes words seem so utterly inadequate and gross.
Typical/Outstanding/Vintage Ken.......2007-07-04
I asked a mentor several years ago to point me in a direction of spirituality that made sense, was internally consistent, was short on dogma, was long on changing as the evidence came in...in short a spiritual system that honored the best of the scientific tradition. My mentor advised me to "get over it, those two worlds aren't _ever_ going to work and play well together."
Well. This book delivers the goods.
You will not like this book if you aren't willing to
a) Re-read sections. It's a little dense sometimes.
b) Suspend your own agenda. Particularly if you're a hard core deconstructionist or believer.
c) Try. You can't _think_ your way into spirit. That is one of the keys to the book if you're going to "get it", enjoy it, or use it as a basis for your own...growth for lack of a better word.
Worth every penny. I'd recommend it to anyone who's willing to quiet their mind and watch what happens.
Books:
- Banishing Verona: A Novel
- Before She Met Me (Picador Books)
- Bendiceme Ultima
- Bestial Noise: The Tin House Fiction Reader
- Beyond Illusions : A Novel
- Blood on the Leaves
- Blues for Mister Charlie: A Play
- Canaan's Tongue
- Cheat and Charmer: A Novel
- Clearcut
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Faith in the Valley: Lessons for Women on the Journey to Peace
- Vegetarian Planet
- The Big Book of Little: A Classic Illustrated Edition
- The Art of War by Sun Tzu - Special Edition
- The Headless Republic: Sacrificial Violence In Modern French Thought
- The Physics of Semiconductors: An Introduction Including Devices and Nanophysics
- This Moment on Earth: Today's New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future
- The Joy of Teaching: A Practical Guide for New College Instructors
- Rooted in Dust: Surviving Drought and Depression in Southwestern Kansas
- Discovering Wine Country: Tuscany: How to Find Great Wines Off the Beaten Track
Seeking the Face of God: The Path to a More Intimate Relationship with Him
Sacred Pathways
Sacred Marriage
The Glorious Pursuit: Embracing the Virtues of Christ
Sacred Influence: How God Uses Wives to Shape the Souls of Their Husbands
