"In Search of the Miraculous: Fragments of an Unknown Teaching" by P. D. Ouspensky

I approached this book with skepticism, based on my previous knowledge and readings about Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, their lives and their (pitiful) deaths. However, after the first few dozen pages, I started to get more and more interested and involved in the material. It was something that you obviously deviates from the standard 'New Age' teaching, both in form and in function, and it actually sounded like something that could be true. Of course, there was plenty of borrowings from Theosophy, especially about the cosmology of the world and the organization of the 'higher planes' for which I couldn't care less. Things like 'The Ray of Creation' , the 'Law of Octaves', the angels and archangels that govern each plane did not interest me the least, since their practical value in modifying my life and everyday experience was next to none. Nowadays I judge the teachings by their fruits, not by how elegant and elaborate they are, but by how do the improve the quality of my life.

The teachings about 'self-remembering', self-observation, intentional suffering, about the fact that humans are machines, always under the Law of Accident, that they cannot do anything of their own free will, because they have none, they are asleep, constantly in a lucid dream where they only think they are free, but in fact all they do is caused by external influences and accident; these teachings resonate strongly, almost as if becoming aware of The Matrix. Also here we must mention the teachings about the complete mechanicalness of the human-machine, and the fact that no one is born with higher bodies, and they have to be earned by hard work, and the right kind of work, otherwise nothing outlast the death of the physical body, the dust returns to the dust from which it was created and the machine disappears, with no trace or any kind of entity outliving it. This discouraging view resonates much more truthfully than the fairytale teachings of most New Age groups, and is almost the same as the teachings found within Peter Carroll's Chaos Magick, i.e. humans are not born with a soul, they have to work hard all their lives to create a soul, which might have a fleeting chance of eternal life or even only outliving the death of the physical body for a certain period of time.

The teachings of Gurdjieff also bear close semblance to the teachings of Castaneda's Don Juan, especially in the parts about self-remembering, and the lack of self-consciousness or self-awareness in humans. Don Juan says that the human consciousness is eaten by creatures from other planes, which Gurdjieff is saying that it is being sucked by the Moon, which uses it to become a planet itself, while reducing the meaning of human existence to yet another parasite whose by-product is useful to the wider world in general, much like the oceanic fito-plancton which produces oxygen. While these claims might be classified as outrageous or bombastic by people who like to believe in their own special and privileged place in the universe the ladder of living beings (as all major religions teach), it does infuse a refreshing perspective that is not egocentric and megalomaniac, and while the exact metaphors used might not be extremely accurate, the significance might be.

Further similarities between Gurdjieff's system and Castanedas 'Tensegrity' can be found in both teacher's insistence on use of moves for achieving higher states of consciousness. Castaneda has his 'Magical Passes' while Gurdjieff has the 'Sacred Dances' both being used for raising one's awareness and focusing attention. Similarities to Osho's system have been pointed as well, though Osho places much more emphasis on traditional systems like Yoga, Tantra and Buddhism. However, while Osho had no problem revealing and describing his system in great detail and with minute explanations, so that the greatest number of people can understand and practice it, neither Castaneda, and even less Gurdjieff did this, but quite the opposite. Gurdjieff was especially cryptic, and always let the students know that he is not telling them everything, which some people have equated with insincerity, even sadism, to complement many methods that Gurdjieff recommended to his students, which would look like masochism to an outside observer. Gurdjieff even goes further by saying that it is neither possible nor desirable to initiate many people in his system and thus increase their awareness, since then the initial purpose of the human beings of being parasitic converters of energy for the moon would be damaged. This goes in stark contrast to all major religions which claim salvation is for everyone and that spiritual evolution is the ultimate goal for all human beings.

Critics point out that after the demise of the teachers, both Castaneda's and Gurdjieff's teachings have not produced new enlightened followers and teachers, but have mostly fallen into obscurity, which is true and disturbing, as no matter how truthful and powerful one teaching sounds , if it is being unable to enlighten the students and bring them to the level of the teacher eventually, then it is useless, and becomes just another exciting fairytale. It is questionable that even Gurdjieff's best student, Jean De Saltzman, who died in 1990 at an age of 101, has achieved the permanent 'objective consciousness' which Gurdjieff pointed out is the goal of his teaching on individual level. It is a pity that Gurdjieff never wrote a clear and complete explanation of his teachings, both theoretical and practical, but left it to the students to record and publish scraps, bits and pieces, and supplemented that with convoluted, unreadable books like 'The Tales of Belzebub to his Grandson'. He pointed many times that the teachings are 'out there' and people either have no interest or capability to understand them, but in the same time never published a single clearly written book of his own teachings that would be 'out there' for the people to try to understand, but fall back into the errors of the teachers and teachings of the time past, wrapping it with allegories and metaphors for the 'initiated'.

It is a pity that even in the modern day people still fall back to methods of secrecy and allegories, as did the Pythagoreans and alchemists, the latter having good reason, fearing the persecution of the Church, while the former doing it from pure egotism and vanity, thus retarding mathematics for hundreds of years, and even resorting to murder like in the case of Hippasus of Metapontum. This insistence on secrecy and 'veiled knowledge' serves only to increase the egos and sense of exclusivity for those who think they have it, and is just as ridiculous as the Theosophist's paralyzing fear of developing 'powers' that can be used for evil. Secrecy and allegories are, and should be things of the past. All knowledge should be exposed clearly and comprehensively for the evaluation, acceptance or rejection by all of the human community, and until all self-appointed teachers and self-righteous students accept this, we will all continue to live in our own squalid little matrices.

"In the Line of Fire: A Memoir" by Pervez Musharraf

This is a very interesting book to read right now (December 2007), although it was written more than a year ago, as Mr.Musharraf is all over the news again, having stepped down as a military dictator and holding the first democratic elections in Pakistan in years. Probably the single worst thing about the book is that most of it follows an apologetic tone, defending the actions of Musharraf and portraying them the best and only right ones to take at that moment, a statement with which many independent observers would thoroughly disagree. Another distracting thing is the style in which it is written. It is obvious that the book was dictated to a scribe, and not directly by Musharraf, as the sentences are simplistic and colloquial, with a very basic grammatical structure, and yet we find quite a few 'GRE' words scattered around, which stand out and distract the reader, being obviously placed there by the subsequent editors who wanted the book to sound more scholarly.

The book starts with Musharraf describing his family's escape from Delhi during the first Indo-Pakistani war, and reaching Karachi safely, which could not be said for many who were massacred right on the trains, both Indians and Muslims, going in both directions. He describes his early childhood in Karachi and after that in Turkey very vividly, and probably this is the best and least controversial part of the book. He describes himself as not particularly book-smart (an honor which was reserved for his brother), but street smart kid, who got into lots of fights, did lots of mischief, and was even a gang leader in Karachi.

After the return from Turkey Musharraf embarks on a military career, and progresses quickly through the ranks, mostly based on his physical strength, stamina, and comradeship with his soldiers. He is very emotional about the wars with India, and never misses a chance to point out how Pakistan beats India all the time, in all kinds of conflict, which gets kind of repetitive and boring after the first few time, regardless of if it is true or not. A very emotional and crucial formational moment for him is the separation of East Pakistan and it's independence as the state of Bangladesh, for which he rightfully blames the then Pakistani leader, but most of his rancor is directed towards India, and their role in the process. This very open hostility pervades the whole book, starting from cricket matches and ending with the Kashmir question, which Musharraf always refers to as the 'Kashmir's fight for freedom' and calls the Kashmir's mujahedeens, which the whole world sees as terrorists, "freedom fighters".

Musharraf had problems with authority and discipline and was expecting to retire as a Brigadier-General, if it wasn't for the last Pakistan's Prime Minister decision to make him Army Chief of Staff, in order to change and anger the previous Chief of Staff. However, the relations between the new chief of staff and prime minister did not develop well, and the Prime Minister tried to prevent the landing of Musharraf's plane, on a return from foreign visit, thus nearly killing him due to lack of fuel. This was used as a pretext for Musharraf and his supporters withing the army to execute a coup d'etait and take over power in Pakistan.

The further chapters of the book describe the self-proclaimed achievments that Mushrraf achieved since his coming to power, which include some less controversial ones like improving the economy and the corruption situation, but others that are highly disputed like another war with India that he lost according to all observers except himself, and shady dealings with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and its own religious extremists at home. This part of the book would probably be most burdensome to a western reader as it is written in openly bombastic and self-laudatory style that can hardly pass even for good Public Relations effort.

The War on Terror and Pakistan's role in it is another part which is very interesting to the western reader, and although there is much valuable information, lots of things are left unsaid or distorted, like the statement from the US saying that if Pakistan doesn't cooperate with the war they will 'bomb them back to the stone age' which some observers point out was formulated because of the Pakistani intelligence agency's involvement in the 9/11 attacks. Musharraf writes on in great detail about the hunt for suicide bombers networks in Pakistan, and attempts on his life, but glosses too lightly over the wider Muslim extremists elements in Pakistan which make the country such a fertile ground for wannabe martyrs.

The book concludes with an optimistic view of the future of Pakistan, of course, under Musharraf's leadership, and somewhat disparaging diatribe about democracy and why the western-style democracy is not applicable to Pakistan. Although an amusing read, this is not the best written book, or full of objective information, but it gives a curious window into the mindset and personal views of one of the last modern dictators.

"Madame Blavatsky's Baboon: A History of the Mystics, Mediums, and Misfits Who Brought Spiritualism to America" by Peter Washington

Although this book tops 400 pages in a very small and dense typeset, it is a real pleasure to read and I persevered through it, though it took me some considerable time to finish it, even though I have trained in speed-reading techniques. Mr. Washington is an extremely well read person, editor of the "Everyman's Library" series, and a professor of English Literature at Middlesex University, and his vocabulary is humongous, including Latin and French-derived dixums and expressions. If your normal reading consists of the regular mystery, adventure and romance fare on the New York Times bestsellers list, then this is probably not a book for you.

The book traces the origins of the modern New Age ideas and teachings back to their source, in the writings, lives and teachings of two Russian immigrants, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, and Georgiy Ivanovich Gurdjieff. Although they never really met, and they supposedly derived their teachings from different sources, their pupils frequently alternated between the two teachers, and later their teachings were largely synthesized, and both can be found as the foundations or integral parts of most modern New Age teachings, the Theosophical part of Blavatsky being usually more prominent, while The Work part of Gurfjieff more hidden.

The title of the book refers to the stuffed baboon that Blavatsky used to keep in her apartment in New York City, and which she used to make fun of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution and natural selection. Washington's playful style, open skepticism, sarcastic jabs and jibs is a refreshing change from the usual exalted and all-praising writings on the western 'gurus' described in the book. He describes them as real people, with multitude of character faults, whims and quirks, without the aura of prophets and holy people, as they are frequently referred to in some misguided contemporary writings. Going even further, Washington exposes the real motives behind the teachings and methods promulgated by the founders, but even more by their followers, which almost always are money, power, domination, sex, and not that infrequently - barely covered criminal activities like paedophilia, physical abuse and felony theft.

Blavatsky is probably the most likeable character of the lot, in a cynical way. Chain-smoking, heavy-drinking, binge-overeating, cursing and abuse-spitting, morbidly obese woman with abundant and sometimes disturbing imagination, she came to the US in the 1870s and initially set herself up as a spiritual medium, which was the fad at that time. She soon found a devoted follower in Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, a Civil War veteran, and after he got persuaded by Blavatsky of her 'supernatural' abilities and her communication with 'ascended adepts' they founded the Theosophical Society in 1875 in a shabby two-bedroom apartment in New York City, with less than a dozen other people, among which was William Quan Judge, who was to become a future leader of the American Section of the Theosophical Society, after the schisms in Theosophy following Blavatsky's death.

Since the popular imagination of that time ran towards Ancient Egypt, because of recent discoveries by French and other archeologists, Blavatsky's first book 'Isis Unveiled' deals with ancient mystical knowledge from the Ancient Egyptian point of view, and supposedly transmitted from a secret brotherhood in Luxor, Egypt. However, soon after, the current 'spiritual' fad and imaginative thinking changed to liking everything Indian and Hindu-related, thus Blavatsky promptly changed her style and her "ascended" sources, and her following books, including the cornerstone 'The Secret Doctrine' are all written withing the Hindu cosmology and transmitted from a secret brotherhood in the Himalayas. Seems that the "Ascended Master" from Luxor, Egypt, went into retirement after "transmitting" the first book to Blavatsky, the arch-swindler. As Washington points out, Blavatsky's sister described the huge extent of her sister's imagination, and how she would invent lengthy and complicated fantastic, made-up stories as a child, which might serve as an indicator as to why most of the material in Blavatsky's mystical books does not appear in any other mystical tradition before that. She made them them up on the spot.

However, Blavatsky's hugely excessive lifestyle had severe consequences on her physical health, and her morbid obesity reached such unprecedented levels, that she was barely able to move, and had to be hoisted by a cargo crane to the ship she took to England on one of her last trips. Washington mentions that her favourite meal was fried eggs floating in butter. Despite her obvious deceit and manipulations, especially with 'materializing' letters from the 'secret ascended masters', like Khuth Hoomi, with which letters, on many occasions, she was caught red-handed while writing them herself or trying to deliver them herself, she was a jolly person, of considerable sense of humour towards others and herself.  She never took anything too seriously, including herself, and saw this whole Theosophy thing as mostly entertainment for the bored and feeble-minded. This however cannot be said of her successors, as after her death, and Colonel Ollcott's death, a real power struggle emerged in the Theosophical society between the warring factions of Annie Bessant, Katherine Tingley, W.Q. Judge and Charles Webster Leadbeatter, with frequently changing sides and alliances, the spoils being not only the sizable property the society owned in Adyar, India, but also the very sizable endowment and bequests by rich members.  Even today, with the Theosophical Society being just a shadow of its former self, the real estate properties in Adyar are considerable, and elderly members still bequest most of their estate to the society, in the hope of that 'eternal life in the higher spheres, without much work', so languidly promised by Theosophists even today.

The Theosophy seems to have gone downhill after Blavatsky's death. Bessant turned it into a theatrical, pompous shell of her former self, with different outfits and choreography for a multitude of made-up rituals and silly copycat offshoots like Co-Masonry, Order of the Rising Star, etc. Tingley barricaded herself in Ojai, California (another Theosophy real-estate which got gobbled up), and helped start California's notoriety as a mecca for newagers, mystics, charlatans, quacks, swindlers, gurus, yogis, sufis and other general wackos. Judge tried to promote 'source' Blavatsky ideas and writings and spent his life alternating loyalties among the different factions. The most notorious and vile Theosophist, by far, was Charles Webster Leadbeatter. A known and persecuted pedophile and child molester, he moved to US from England to avoid further persecution, then, after some sordid affairs with young children of other Theosophists in schools established and led by Leadbeatter, he had to run again and spend prolonged time in India, and after he couldn't keep it in his pants even there, at the end he had to settle in Australia, where he formed the monstrous cult called the "Liberal Catholic Church" (no relation or similarity whatsoever to the regular Catholic Church), which was an offshoot of the "Old Catholic Church" of another pederast and child molester, J.I. Wedgewood.  Both lifelong pedos proclaimed themselves 'Bishops' of their made-up "Church".

Between constantly escaping persecution because of continuous rape of young children, and writing gregarious and mostly useless volumes on his apparent "insights" into Astral and other spiritual planes of existence (since he claimed to be a clairvoyant, prophet, sage and confidant of the "ascended secret masters"), Leadbeatter, along with Bessant, managed to find a hungry, emaciated and poverty-stricken little boy on the shores of the Indian Ocean, which Leadbeatter's "precious" prophetic and clairvoyant powers unerringly told him would be the next Messiah and the Second Coming. This boy was Krishnamurti, yet another great 'eastern-turned-western' guru (as the money is better in the West) who spent his early life in a total loss and confusion as of what is he is expected of him and what he needs to do. He spent his his later life in great luxury, since he finally figured out that all he needed is to spew vague Hodge-podge of "spiritual truths" which allowed him to travel extensively, always staying in best hotels, eating in best restaurants, enjoying company of beautiful women, both sexually and 'spiritually', while at the same time preaching detachment from the world, modesty, humility and chastity. He also led people to believe that he was a life-long celibate, while having sexual affairs with quite a few women, and at least on one occasion, siring an illegal child, which the pregnant woman was forced to abort. His books and speeches are still mostly preserved today, and upon reading them one could ask themselves "what did I just read?" since there is nothing of substance or practical use in them, just generalities and vague sophistry. He was probably more "inspiring" in person.

Theosophy, however, did gain ground around the world, mostly because it was an open ended and vague system in which pretty much anything could be incorporated and practiced. After a change in the Theosophical Constitution in the early 1900s, even the belief in the 'secret adepts' was not required as necessary for one to be a Theosophist. In Europe, the German branch under Rudolph Steiner split off and formed it's own variant on Theosophy called "Antroposophy", which was pretty much the same thing but spiced up with Steiner's love for Goethe, ecology, child education, and, of course, with multitude of new information obtained by Steiner's 'supernatural' powers and his direct contacts with the "secret ascended masters".  Those masters certainly go around.

The other major stream of New Age teachings came from G. I. Gurdjieff. He was born in Armenia, in the then Russian Empire, in a very large family, to a Pontus-Greek father and Armenian mother. Just like Blavatsky, pretty much nothing is know about his life until his 40s, except from his own writings in which he claims to have travelled all of Central Asia and Middle East, finding a secret brotherhood after secret brotherhood (no sisterhoods) which taught him the ancient mystical secrets of spirituality, man's role in the universe, how to ascend to the highest spiritual levels, and of course, immortality (he died at age 81). He re-emerges in Moscow in the 1910s trying to stage a ballet, then during the Russian Revolution escapes through the Black Sea and Istanbul to ultimately settle near Paris, France. Here he founded his 'Institute of Harmonious Development of Man' where he teaches that man is basically an automaton in a form of spiritual sleep throughout his life, and the only way to "awaken" is through hard physical labour, intentional suffering and changing of thinking patterns (divided attention). None of these applied to him, however, but instead he entertained himself with lavish dinners, huge houses and castles bought with the money of his followers which he abused constantly, both verbally and physically, demanding slavish obedience to his multitude of whims and contradictory instructions. He always brought his extended family with him wherever he went, and had sexual relations with many of his female students, fathering illegitimate children with many of them, even with those that already had husbands and never stopped being married.

His followers were many, the most notable being Pyotr Damyanovitch Ouspensky, who wrote the most readable overview of Gurdjieff's teachings in his book 'Fragments of an Unknown Teaching' , but was eventually driven to alcoholism by the constant flip-flopping and abuse by his "master". Other followers like Alfred Richard Orage and John G. Bennett were driven to the brink of madness by Gurdjieff's contradictory demands and constant change of the rules of the game. In the case of Bennett, who in a way became a leader of the movement after Gurdjieff's death, the ending is tragic. After getting disillusioned with Ouspensky and then also with Gurdjieff, he desperately looked for other masters and teachings, travelling through the Middle East and Central Asia, getting in contact with various Sufi mystics, but to no avail. Back in England he gets in and out of various systems like Subud (he financed the trip of the entire family of the founder Muhammad Subuh to England and paid for all their expenses, including gallons of Coca Cola they consumed every day), Shivapuri Baba (another controversial Hindu holy man) and even Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation (the Beatles also though this guy was so cool, until his love for Rolls-Royce and helicopters came to light, with $300 million in assets at his death).

Finally, Bennett lost most of his considerable property (he was a British Military Intelligence Officer and had some coal mines interests) in the hands of the unscrupulous charlatan and self-proclaimed Sufi, Idries Shah. Idries Shah was a special kind of con man and scoundrel, since he was not satisfied just by having his and his family's expenses paid by Bennett, like the previous frauds, but he required that Bennett turn over all of his property and assets to him, without any strings attached.  This was to be an "act of faith" by Bennett where he gives everything he ever owned to his "master" and surrenders himself to his "infinite mercy", which Shah claimed is the only way to reach enlightenment.  Bennett was so desperate for something real in his endless spiritual search that he signed over everything he owned to the swindler Shah, as instructed.  The con man Shah immediately sold everything off and pocketed the money for himself, which allowed him to live off the rest of his life in considerable luxury and completely financially secure (writing many worthless books on Sufism with made-up or stolen material).  Bennett subsequently falls into an even greater desperation and depression, and even converts to Catholicism, in his endless, fruitless search for the evasive spiritual truths. His life ends tragically by falling off a bell tower of a church where the witnesses of his last moments say he saw Jesus Christ in the distance and climbed to meet him.

Washington's book is full of information, little known details and hidden facts from the lives of the mystics, misfits, crooks, frauds and self-proclaimed gurus. It is a perfect reading for anyone who wants to know the background of the multitude of contemporary New Age movements, sects and cults, which often try to muddle and misrepresent their sources and roots. Some of them have lifted their entire cosmologies and pantheons directly from the convoluted writings of Blavatsky and Gurdjieff. At the end of the book, after covering a period from the 1870s to the mid 1980s, chronicling the lives, fortunes and miseries of multitude of teachers, students, mental cases, frauds, scoundrels and wannabe mystics, Washington concludes that it is the sarcastic laughter of the Madame Blavatsky's baboon that roars triumphantly through the corridors of time.

"The Symbolism of the Tarot" by P. D. Ouspensky

This is a large format book, but quite thin, both on pages and on content. Most of the pages are with reproductions of the Great Arcana of the Waite Tarot Deck. Ouspensky was a student of Gurdjieff, a complicated and not always sincere man, who passed himself for a spiritual master most of his life, besides using methods that border on sadism and breaking his own principles countless of times. Ouspensky was his best student, though excommunicated and humiliated by his teacher number of times, and he published the most cohesive accounts of Gurdjieff's teachings, and molded them into something that might resemble a 'system'.

Ouspensky dabbles in other occult fields, as was the custom at that time, mostly in Theosophy, which in itself was a conglomeration of just about anything you wanted to put in, and wrote and lectured extensively on occult subjects, mostly in the United States, where there were enough people who were willing to pay for it.

This particular book falls short of the standards even of the time when it was writtent. It consists of a generic 'new age' essay on the many, many facets of tarot, followed by 22 musings on the meanings of the symbols of the 22 Great Arcana cards. To put it simply - you could have written this book yourself. There is nothing insightful or terribly original inside of it, pretty much consists of random thoughts on tarot in general and then on each card in particular without giving any new points of view for their use or interpretations.

I would label this book a waste of time. There are plenty of better Tarot books, and if you really want to delve into the symbolism of each card then get Crowley's 'Liber Thoth'.

"How to Be a Canadian" by Will and Ian Ferguson

Well, since Canada is my new adopted homeland (2 years and going strong now :) this is a very appropriate book for me. Actually I got it as a present (thanks!) while I was ailing at home with my broken wrist and pretty stuffed up with painkillers, so it might have added to the already ingrained funniness of the book itself.

The authors say they got the idea for writing the book from Margaret Atwood at a cocktail party. They executed it splendidly, creating one of the funniest tongue-in-cheek books in Canadian literature. To be sure, this is not a manual for new immigrants, though they will find some good pointers here about the 'real' Canada, but old timers and 'born' Canadians will find the things they laughed about all of their lives gathered in one place.

The first chapter 'How to Find Canada on the Map' is one of the most hilarious ones, and is geared mostly towards non-Canadians (ahem, read: Americans). The next chapters takes a swing at each province and makes (good-humored) fun of their provincial and regional stereotypes. Then you will learn about how Canadians dress, eat, communicate, and the most important thing of all: what Canadians are not - Americans!

As the book progresses it feels a little like the authors are losing their steam, as if they spent all their best ideas in the first few chapters, but the last one, which is the 'Canadianness' quiz, saves the day being hilarious. The chapter about the government of Canada and political parties also stands out as being very funny, so at least we can laugh at them, even though we can't do much about them, really (think about the oxymorons: "Progressive Conservatives" and "Responsible Government").

Overall, a light and entertaining book that you can finish in one or at most two reads. It will not burden you with the problems of the world, nor will it enlighten you in some insightful way, but will give you plenty of fun with no strings attached.

"Jungian Dream Interpretation: A Handbook of Theory and Practice" by James A. Hall

This book might seem small (only 120 pages), but it is written in a very condensed and specialized style, so that it can mostly be useful only to a dedicated professional who delves into such specialized writings on a daily basis. To be fair, the author does give an introductory chapter outlining the major Jungian concepts, and there is a glossary of Jungian terms at the end, but I've found this insufficient to internalize the book.

To progress further than the couple of initial chapters, the reader needs thorough understanding of Jungian concepts and terminology, and Jung being himself a notoriously convoluted and condensed writer, this narrows down the audience even further. It has been said that hte best way to dive into Jungian psychology is through neo-Jungian writings, as the founder's are so difficult even in their English translations, but Prof.Hall in this book definitely lives up to the density level, if not to the impenetrability of the originals.

The Potters I-VII

It is not in order to write yet another review of the Harry Potter books, as they have been reviewed a thousand times, with opinions ranging wildly from absolute praise to accusations of satanism. As for me, I can say that I am a Potterhead (hehehe); I really liked the books.

I was upset when JK killed Dumbledore in the 'Half Blood Prince' but I forgave her when I read why in the 'Deathly Hallows.' I loved and hated Snape alternately, I eagerly awaited every next year at Hogwarts to find out what subjects are they studying now, I was impressed by the names and spells and creatures and fables coming out of the, seemingly, unlimited JK's imagination. Yes, I am a Potterhead, indeed.

I am happy and sad at the same time that the series is at its end. I am happy because if it wasn't to end now, it would stretch forever and become more and more dilluted, until it becomes unrecognizable, much like Herbert's 'Dune,' in which a reader should not go further than the 3rd book, or at most the 4th. I am sad because there won't be more Harry Potter adventures to keep me awake at night, in excitement and expectation of what is coming next, laughing and crying with the heroes, and having that satiated, happyending feeling at the end.

JK and Potter are here to stay, and I won't be surprised if one day they are taught in schools, as classics of World's literature, much like Carroll's 'Alice' is. The movies are also very entertaining, but it is my personal opinion that the quality is being degraded with each subsequent issue, the first one being the best. And what will they do for the next one, when the main characters are supposed to be 16, while all the cast is already over 17, nearing 18?

Anyway, the joy of re-reading, re-listening (as Jim Dale's voice acting is absolutely amazing) and, more rarely, re-watching, always remains!

"Dream Yoga and the practice of natural light" by Namkhai Norbu

This is an interesting little book (only 128 pages). The main part of the book is Chapter 2 "The Practice of the Night" which seems to have been a transcribed talk given by Mr.Norbu. In this chapter the Dzogchen perspective on Dreaming and specifically Lucid Dreaming is given, which differs not only from the Western Perspective (presented well in LaBerge's books), but also from the Tantric and traditional Yogic perspective.

In the Dzogchen tradition the lucidity in the dreams is seen as a 'secondary' effect, and is more of a nuisance or a side-effect than a real goal. The real goal is continuing the "Practice of Natural Light" during the night, as well as during the day, and Mr.Norbu goes in great length warning the practitioner from being too involved into lucidity and dream play and being led astray from the only true purpose of consciousness in dreams, which is the practice of natural light, i.e. the Dzogchen system for enlightenment.

In this chapter Mr.Norbu also describes many of his dreams, and incidents of dream telepathy and communication with far-away people (namely his master in Tibet, while he being in Italy). He also elaborates on the different types of dreams, which are the main topic of Chapter 1 "The Nature and Classes of Dreams" emphasizing that dreams can be divided in two major groups: Karmic (which have to do with karma accumulated in previous or present life) and Clarity (which deal with lucidity, telepathy, spiritual instruction, clairvoyance, etc.).

The third chapter is a narrative of different dreams Norbu Rinpoche has on his pilgrimage to the Maratika monastery in Northern Nepal, while the fourth chapter is an interview with Norbu Rinpoche discussing material from the second chapter and further elaborating on it. The book ends with the final fifth chapter, which is a first English translation of a Dzogchen text discussing 'the true nature of mind'.

The book is very well introduced by the editor Michael Katz (who also conducts the interview in the fourth chapter) with a lenghty Introduction in which Mr.Katz discusses dreaming and lucid dreaming in literature and science, including the modern research of Stephen LaBerge, though from the content of the rest of the book the introduction seems a little bit misleading, since the rest of the book is concerned mostly with the view of the Dzogchen tradition. Overall, an interesting and different book compared to the classic lucid dreams and dream control fare we have become used to in the West.

Some light summer reading :)

oh, well, I am re-discovering the joy of reading :)

"The Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Yann Martel gives us a refreshing new view of novelistic writing in ‘The Life of Pi’. You won’ t find any spies, international conspiracies, ER doctors or hotshot lawyers inside, but instead you will be treated to an exhaustive explanation of the life in an Indian zoo and a courageous and magical adventure of a young boy named after a swimming pool in Paris.

In the beginning of the book we are treated to a description of the life of a typical educated Indian family. Pi’s father decides to start a small business with a zoo and things are going pretty well for a while. Pi explains his life with the zoo animals, and his problems in school and his thirst for spirituality for which he becomes a member of all three major world religions, only to discover later, to his big surprise, that one cannot be a member of more than one religion at a time.

When the zoo business starts going downhill, Pi’s father decided to immigrate to Canada. They board on a cargo ship across the Pacific, with a load of animals from their former zoo that need to be delivered. About the middle of their journey, they are caught in a storm and he ship sinks, leaving only Pi, with a zebra, hyena, orangutan, and a Bengal tiger as the sole survivors in a life boat.

The rest of the book traces the many adventures of Pi and the Bengal tiger, who is called Richard Parker, drifting across the Pacific. They learn to respect each others territory, share the food and shelter, even converse during bouts of famine and exhaustion, when both are floating on the borderline between life and death. As the time passes by, Pi drifts more into an imaginary world and it is hard to separate the real events form the ones that exists only in his head.

Eventually Pi and Richard Parker reach the Mexican coast, where Pi is taken to a hospital, and Richard Parker escapes into the jungle. When the Japanese representatives of the cargo company that owned the ship Pi’s family traveled on arrive at Pi’s hospital in Mexico, we discover the terrible truth about the real events, which is mercifully given only as a possibility.

‘The Life of Pi’ is a book that is read in one standing (once you get past the comprehensive review of the life of zoo animals). Each alternate chapter is written from the point of view of the author in present day Toronto, then of Pi during his adventures, and gives an interesting contrast and provides a wider context for the storyline. I recommend this book as a rewarding reading experience for everyone.

"The Ultimate Mind ESP" by Jose Silva

Probably older people remember the craze about the Silva Method in the 70s (I wasn't born yet :) and it seemed to be very popular then, spiking in popularity again in the late 80s and in the mid 90s. I was introduced to it when in high school in the mid 90s and I walked around for a long time with the three fingers clasped together. The Jose Silva foundation is still alive and kicking, publishing books, tapes, CDs and doing courses. Many trainers still make their living teaching the Silva Method.

I was impressed the first time I learned about it. The alpha state, the brainwaves, the mental screen, projections into almost anything, and all that with a scientific sounding to it was pretty impressive for an adolescent boy. I've learned better later on in life. I've seen other systems and techniques that were just as good if not better, like NLP, and seen systems that seemed like copied from Silva, without the name, or the other way around, but these new systems were much more expansive and strolled deeply into the realm of parapsychology.

With the background I have so far, I can say that the Silva Method is a combination of auto-hypnosis/auto-suggestion and creative visualization. As such, I give it credit, however for all the rest of the 'projection' stuff, as well as 'higher intelligence' and 'improve the life on earth', it just sounds very cliche and like cheap ministry. The stories about people 'tremendously' changing their lives only with the Silva techniques, and welfare mothers becoming wealthy career women, are pretty common among many other 'technologies' which require payment for their services, Scientology being one of the most dramatic ones. All of these success stories, of which this book/CD is full of, are to be taken with a grain (or a pound) of salt, all of the other methods have their share of success stories.

As for me, beyond the entering the alpha state, which is possible with the technique described in the Silva Method, and which technique forms the base for all the other techniques, I haven't found much use for the rest of Jose Silva's teachings. Alpha state is relaxing and all, but beyond being stress-relieving and adequate for visualizations, there are no miracles there. Many other teachings use this state, and different techniques for entering it, and do pretty much similar things as Silva. The rest of the stuff, remote viewing, higher intelligence, telepathy, astral and other projections I've never experienced; I guess I didn't work hard enough at it, or I didn't have imagination buoyant enough.

Jose Silva was a self-taught electronics repairman. He had to support his family from the age of 12 and never had the means to put himself through formal schooling, but he learned by himself, starting with a correspondence course in radio repair. Later he got interested in the brain, and the electric nature of brain's operation, and theoretized about lowering the impedance of the currents through the brain. Then he started developing his theories and techniques, using the Alpha frequency brain waves. He had contacts with the famous parapsychologist Dr.Rhine, and Silva's daughter was one of the subject Dr.Rhine tested and found to be a psychic, or so the story goes.

The book is a pretty good introduction to the theories and techniques of Jose Silva, from the '3 to 1' relaxation and Alpha-entering technique, the mental screen, contacts with higher intelligence(s), psychometry, dowsing, to finding one's purpose in life and getting everything you want. There are, however, large parts which consists mostly of people'ssuccess stories, which become boring and repetetive after the second one. There is one segment of live recording of Jose Silva himself, giving a lecture on sales and business success with his method. The book is a good introduction to the techniques and teachings of Jose Silva for all of those not having the pleasure yet to have made their acquaintance.

"When Panic Attacks" by David Burns

David Burns was one of the first proponents of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and wrote about it in his previous books, "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy" and "Feeling Good Handbook", but I got introduced to CBT through the book "Phobia and Anxiety Workbook" by Edmund Bourne, and I was extremely interested in it and how it applies to our everyday lives, and I thought Dr.Bourne's text is extremely well told and presented, so I am partial, but I've never felt that from the books of Dr.Burns. I've felt that Dr.Burns's books are more like sales material for his courses and therapy, and have some very aggressive and sales tactic feel to them and some high-school variety of humor that just didn't work with me.

I prefer Dr.Bourne's texts on CBT, but this book is also quite good in presenting all the different methods of CBT and illustrating them with great example cases. It is commendable that Dr.Burns is so thorough in his presentation of the CB techniques, but it doesn't seem like he is presenting different ones, but many variation to a similar one. Although it could be a good reminder of the CBT techniques, I'd rather recommend different books on CBT like Dr.Bourne's ones.

"The Unconscious God" by Viktor Frankl

This book is divided in two parts: the first part consists of several lecture given to a small group of Austrian intellectual in the early 50s, as Frankl was just starting to develop his theory of 'logotherapy, or 'existential analysis' and the second part, written especially for the American edition of the book, explores the research and developments in logotherapy from the 50s until 1975, when the book was first published in the United States.

In the lecture part of the book Frankl explores the spiritual unconsciousness, the existential analysis of dreams and conscience, the transcendental quality of conscience, which forms the foundation of logotherapy, just as pleasure forms the foundation of Freud's psychoanalysis, and self-esteem and inferiority forms the foundation of Adler's individual psychology. Frankl criticizes both Freud's and Adler's approach to psychotherapy, exposing their errors and pointing where logotherapy has more advanced explanations, but he also takes a hit at Jung, and his theories of collective unconsciousness, archetypes, etc. accusing Jung that by collectivizing these phenomena he is excluding the 'human' in them, and dehumanizes them, thes precluding the individual subjects of psychotherapy from embracing them.

Frankl shows that logotherapy is very individual and human, and tries to find the motives of people's behaviors within the people themselves, and their need for spirituality, for personal religiousness, and not imposed on them from without by some genetic code, or some dispersonal, omnipresent collective unconsciousness. The last of the lectures concerns the relationship of logotherapy and theology, where Frankl presents a view that they not only do not have to be mutually exclusive, but can complement each other, and bring a holistic benefit to the patient and his worldview.

In the second part of the book Frankl presents all the research and results obtained in logotherapy in the score or so years between the original lectures and the publication of the American edition of the book. The text is ripe with quotations form scientific publications and can be difficult to read at times because of its technical nature. However the first part of the book presents a very concise and clear, if somewhat unfinished, exposition of the relationship between logotherapy and the spiritual.

"Recollections: An Autobiography" by Viktor Frankl

This is more a collection of notes and snapshots of Frankl's life than a formal, biographical work, but nevertheless gives an insight into the life and inner workings of one of the greatest psychiatrists and thinkers of the XX century. Frankl wrote these snippets when he was in his mid 90s, and just a few years from his death.

The book starts with his retelling of his childhood, his patrician mother, and his bureaucrat father, who was a secretary to a minister in the Austrian government until he was deported to Auschwitz together with the rest of the family. Frankl describes his childhood and his growing interest in human problems, his choice to become a medical doctor and a psychiatrist. He already forms the basics of his 'logotherapy' in the mid 1930s, and applies the principles to a psychiatric ward for suicidal women, as well as to students in Vienna during the infamous 'matura' exams. Thanks to him and his teachings, no students suicides happened while his counseling program was in place, and the suicide rate in the women's psychiatric ward dropped to virtual zero.

Frankl describes his relationship with the other giants of psychology: Freud who encouraged young Frankl to publish articles on psychotherapy, but from whom Frankl later splits, and Adler, by whom Frankl was considered as one of the brightest, but with whom Frankl also splits, just like Adler split with Freud years earlier. About this time is the 'Auschluss' of Austria by Nazi Germany, and Frankl is forced to apply the principles of his own teachings to himself. He passes on a chance to escape Austria, because he wants to stay with his family, and later his father dies literally in his hands in a concentration camp, where eventually all of his family, including his young wife lose their lives.

After the war, and the publication of his book 'Men's search for meaning' , Frankl becomes a kind of celebrity in the psychotherapist circles in Vienna, and develops his logotherapy further. He meets his second wife, who becomes his main editor and helper with all of his writings until the end of his life. We also learn about Frankl's passion for mountain climbing, which he continued all the way through his mid-70s, when what he couldn't do with natural strength, he complemented with superior skill. He incorporates this in his logotherapy teachings, as yet another way of giving life an individualized meaning and getting pleasure and satisfaction from it.

Although the lack of structure is obvious, this is a warm and enlightening book about one of the greatest minds, and souls, of the XX century, who literally lived what he preached throughout his life.

"Freakonomics" by Steven Levitt

Despite the sensationalist tittle, which, I am sure, is influence of the journalist co-author of the book, "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" is a thought-provoking book, succeeding in shedding some light on issues you would never think would succumb to economical analysis. Some of the issues Levitt discuses are: why crack-dealers live with their moms, how swimming pools are more dangerous than guns, how legalized abortion lead to crime decrease, what to KKK members have in common with real-estate agents, how a child's name may largely determine the child's future financial circumstances, and why children don't get higher grades if put in better schools.


Levitt has received numerous awards for his thinking and work in economics, have been called 'the freshest thinker in America', and has received numerous fellowships, among which one from Harvard University, and he currently teaches at Chicago University. This book lacks a unifying theme, and that's the point, Levitt says, quoting a conversation with bunch of other Harvard fellows where he concluded that at his age (he's only XXXX) he should not have a unifying theme and should be free to explore whatever topic interest him. But still there is a unifying theme throughout the articles, and that is the economical analysis approach to problems most people would not see fit for economical analysis.

One of his more controversial claims is that the reduction of the crime rate in the 90s has mostly to do with the legalizing of abourtion (Roe vs. Wade) about a score years earlier. This statement is sure to outrage both abortion camps, but the data supports Levitt's claims. Levitt explains this by pointing out that when women were allowed to have abortion there were much fewer unwanted children born (decrease by some 90%), and exactly these unwanted and uncared for children are at greatest risk of having abusive childhood and growing up to become criminals.

Another issue he analyzes is the earnings of crack-dealers, which is a very competitive business, and finds out that the 'foot soldiers' which are the lowest ranking members of the gang, selling crack on the street corners, actually earn about and average of $3.30/hr. However these earnings rise exponentially as the gangster climbs up the ranks, but the dangers rise too, including being shot to death. Levitt uses this and other cases to explain that a carefully designed system of incentives can make people do even obviously unproductive jobs, while wrong system of incentives has little or opposite effect on the planned outcome (like the one used for high-stakes standardized tests in the USA, where teachers would cheat and tell the students the answers only to keep the school better rated or get bonuses themselves).

Although some of the claims can be termed sensationalist and some of the data is open to further interpretation and maybe somewhat different conclusions, the book is a refreshing read and will stimulate every thinking reader's brain.

“The Five People You Meet in Heaven” by Mitch Albom

Mitch Albom is a self-made journalist who became famous with his previous, non-fiction book “Tuesdays with Morrie”. In “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” Albom tries to give a vision of what happens when a person dies and what “Heaven” could mean. The author buys into the age-old idea that life is a learning experience and that everything happens for a reason, even though we might not see it at the moment it happens, or … at any other moment during our lives, then why not recapitulate all the reasons and find all the answers after we die?

Although the book hardly rises above the commonplace clichés and “live a good life” mantra, it is written in clear, concise and emotional style. He says many things without using too many words, and the reader cannot help but identify with the main character Eddie, a grumpy but lovable old man of 83 who spent his life as a maintenance at an imaginary amusement park called “Ruby Pier.”

The book has three, almost parallel storylines: the last hour of Eddie’s life on earth and the subsequent cleaning of his apartment and the reactions of his friends; flashbacks to the main events in Eddies life, from his childhood to just before his death; and the final line that happens in Eddie’s heaven where he meets the five people. Flashbacks are commonly used literary device, and although some might think it difficult to use in a story like this, Albom pulls it off quite well and the story line flows uninterrupted.

The story is syrupy and tries to be a tearjerker at times, but even despite these obvious flaws it does rise above the usual preachiness at times and can be called a satisfying read on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

“The World is Flat” by Thomas L. Friedman

Thomas L. Friedman is a well-know foreign affairs reporter for the New York Times, and has gained world renown for his book on globalization “The Lexus and the olive tree” published in 1992. While his previous book was widely criticized for taking the stance of the US-based multinationals that globalization is the best alternative and that US-led globalization is the way it should be done, he deviates from his US-centric looks in “The World is Flat” and spends more time talking about the rising power of India and China.

Friedman come to this conclusion not based on their current economic might, but on their educational system, and he quotes and explores in detail Bill Gates’ words: " In 2001, India graduated almost a million more students from college than the United States did. China graduates twice as many students with bachelor's degrees as the U.S., and they have six times as many graduates majoring in engineering."

The author is famous for his easy and conversational writing style, using information from his extensive travels and meetings with illustrious personalities around the globe. Although he has been often criticized that his books have arrogant and self-congratulatory tone, he manages to tell enough interesting anecdotes and draw original parallels to keep the reader interested. One of the statements from the book that sticks is when he talks about the emphasis that the government in China puts on educating young people in engineering in science and fostering and selecting the most intelligent and capable people, he says: “Even if you are one in a million, there are 1300 others just like you in China.”

The book has weak sides, since unlike his previous book, he tries to analyze globalization as a result of the technical innovations and capabilities, and it shows that his technical background is very limited. He tries to categorize and analyze the evolution of the globalization as a result of technical achievements, but because of lack of technical knowledge he spends too much time on obvious events and connections, while totally ignoring others, more fundamental and deserving.

This book would an interesting reading for anyone not coming from an overly high-tech background, but for someone who has been closely following all the technical achievements in the last 10-15 years, most parts of the book are pretty obvious and quite short of enlightening, but more trivial and repetitive.

Here we go again

This is my fifth blog, not that I have posted all that much on the other four. I try to separate my different interests in different blogs. In this one I will post book reviews, and maybe some other thoughts, or writings, or random musing, if any come my way, and I am not too far from the computer, and if I feel like it. Yes, yes, I know...

I've read so much since I was a kid. I was a book worm. Still am, but now prefer audio books, since they don't tire my eyes. I am also a knowledge junky, I spend hours reading Wikipedia or random web sites. I have a good memory, but cannot possibly remember in minute detail all the things I've read or thought. Enter "Books and Thoughts" blog!

Anyway, today I am very bored at work and I don't want to work on the PERL project I set up for myself, and don't want to start my presentation for the french class tonight, so here I am, creating yet another blog to which I probably will write little if anything - ever.