Book Review: Human Devolution

Science is supposed to work on the basis of developing a provisional theory which is modified or re-done as further information becomes available. Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen. Initial hypotheses often become set in stone, and any evidence to the contrary is swept under the rug until it starts to spill out from under the edges. Need examples? Human Devolution by Michael A. Cremo has them. The book is devoted to a single important proposition: that the fundamentalist materialist view of us, the world, and how we got here is incomplete at best.

The first part of the book is an overview of evidence given in Forbidden Archeology that the timeline of man's development given by traditional evolutionists doesn't match the time periods given by archeology. Evidence of man, including fossils, has been found in deposits thought to predate humans, by millions of years in some instances. The second part of the book provides evidence against the materialist view of man as being merely "a bag of chemicals." As you might expect, this section gives plenty of examples of documented paranormal phenomena, including levitation and telekinesis. Myths from various cultures about the origins of man are also covered.

This book is a helpful, if long, antidote against fundamentalist materialism.

Book Review: Lord of Light

Lord of Light is a classic science-fiction work by Roger Zelazny. The setting is a future colonized planet. A few people have figured out how to make themselves immortal, and are worshiped by the rest as gods. The "gods" keep technology to themselves because they think the general population isn't ready for it. The main character, Sam, has been brought back from Nirvana in order to fight for the general public against the "gods" in order to make technology accessible to everyone.

The reason I decided to review this book is the following quote:

Being a god is the quality of being able to be yourself to such an extent that your passions correspond with the forces of the universe, so that those who look upon you know this without hearing your name spoken.

This is what we are aiming at. Recovery from materialism is not really about renouncing wealth, the 4000-square-foot house, the luxury car, and so forth. Most people who want those things don't really want them for themselves. They want them to impress their friends, or themselves. These things are success symbols, and that's OK. Nothing is wrong with these things per se. The problem is that some people want them mainly to prove to themselves that they've made it; they can't really "be somebody" without those things.

The real goal of recovery is to be yourself, instead what you think you are or what you think you should be. Only after you do that can you really decide if you want the McMansion and the Lexus. And it will be you making the decision instead of the theoretical conception of yourself that you carry around with you.

Book Review: Spiritual Enlightenment

Jed McKenna, author of Spiritual Enlightenment: the Damnedest Thing claims to be enlightened. Furthermore, he claims that enlightenment isn't what most people think it is. What most people think of as enlightenment is actually just cosmic or unity consciousness. A good thing to have, but not the real deal. What's more, he recommends that you don't try to become enlightened if you can possibly help it.

Here's the thing: in order to become enlightened, you'll have to leave what you think of as your personality, and your belief systems, at the door. You'll get your personality back afterward, but it won't be the same as you won't identify with it. The worst part is, you go back to your normal life afterward, but it looks like you're watching a soap opera from the inside. You see all of the characters hamming up their lines, and you know it's not real, but they don't. You might as well be sitting on a mountaintop by yourself. If this is enlightenment, I want no part of it, thank you very much. On the other hand, I know he's right, so I may not have a choice.

For those of you who for some reason wish to try it, the formula is quite simple: "ask yourself what's true until you know." It's a scorched earth approach. Question everything, and whatever is left at the end is the truth. But are you really sure you want to do this? After all, as Mr. McKenna says, "the price of truth is everything."

Book Review: Conquest of Illusion

No one will disagree with the proposition that what we experience as reality is actually a representation created by our brain and sensory organs. The more optimistic materialists will claim that although it is a representation, it is perfectly accurate. One problem I have with this claim, especially coming from the evolutionists, is that an accurate representation isn't necessary for evolutionary fitness; only consistency is required. For example, it isn't necessary that our internal representations of an apple correspond exactly to what the apple really looks like; it's perfectly sufficient that we be able to consistently identify apples and distinguish them from other items that are not food.

Conquest of Illusion by J. J. Van der Leeuw (ISBN 0-7661-5769-5) takes this line of thought even further. According to this book, the representation is consistent at best, and bears little resemblance to the real world, which is referred to as Eternal Reality. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the perennial philosophy, bold and in all caps. The book goes on to discuss various philosophical problems; the common thread is that they are all only problems from our limited perspective. Free will, justice and immortality are covered, among others.

The real value of this book is that it gives another picture of what life might be like for the fully-recovered materialist, especially in the last chapter. I experienced it as similar to the scene in the Matrix movie where Morpheus was enduring torture presumably by telling himself that it wasn't real, whereas Neo not only had the experience if it not being as it appeared, but even managed to figure out the game. The author may have also gotten to that point; the rest of us have more work to do.

Secret History of the World Part 1

In a prior post, I hinted that there were two versions of science, one for the masses, and one for those in the know. Could the same be true of history? Mark Booth, author of The Secret History of the World as Laid Down by the Secret Societies seems to think so. Mr. Booth tells us in the introduction how he befriended someone who happened to be a member of a secret society. His friend gave him many of the concepts set forth in the book. Mr. Booth apparently also had the opportunity for initiation in the secret society, but the secrecy oath was a sticking point.

The first thing you will probably notice about the book is how many eminent scientists, philosophers and writers were involved. I already mentioned Newton, but Dante, Cervantes, Francis Bacon, Dostoevsky, Freud and Jung are also mentioned. But I don't want you to think that this is just about history. The important thing about this book is that it provides an excellent introduction to occult philosophy.

Book Review: Persephone Unveiled

Before the Golden Dawn, before the Rosicrucians, possibly even before the Masons, there was a mystery school in ancient Greece. Since, like most mystery schools, initiates were subject to oaths of secrecy, we do not know what was taught in the school. Persephone Unveiled by Charles Stein investigates the matter. Just to give you an idea of what is involved, I'll give you this quote from the book:

The Eleusinian Mysteries were believed to bestow a privileged afterlife upon those who participated in them. At the climax of the rites performed there, Persephone herself flashed before the celebrants in her form as Queen of the Dead and stimulated an experience so penetrating that the afterlife and death itself were said to hold no further terrors for them.

Powerful stuff, if you ask me. Now, for those of you who don't have Bulfinch's Mythology memorized, I'll give you a brief summary of the story and a hint at an esoteric interpretation: Demeter, the Greek earth goddess, had a daughter named Persephone, who was carried off by Hades to be his wife in the underworld. Demeter was naturally quite pissed and decided to make all the crops stop growing until she got her daughter back. No crops meant no worshipers, so the other gods intervened and a bargain was made. Persephone would spend half of the year on earth with Demeter and half of the year with Hades in the underworld. Now the hint: Demeter could be said to represent the universal soul, and Persephone the individual soul.

The book explores in depth what is known about the mystery school. There is also some speculation about the ceremonies involved. The author conjectures that a psychedelic derived from a naturally occurring fungus may have been involved. An interesting theory, but those of you who have read The Biology of Belief (ISBN and review to be provided later, as soon as I find the damn thing) know that mind-altering drugs are only effective because the molecules fit into receptors in our nerve cells for naturally-produced neurotransmitters that perform the same function. So, given the right setting, the same experience could have been produced without the drugs. So Just Say No!

There is also a chapter about the philosopher Parmenides. You'll like Parmenides, once you get to know him. I have another book about him, which I'll tell you about later. He was not the cold logician he is commonly portrayed as. I think he would have been just as much at home on a mountaintop in Tibet as in his native Italy. Another chapter explores the effects of the work on identity.

I would recommend the book not only for the mythology, but because the rites seem to be a source for the Golden Dawn tradition.

Start Here

The Power of Myth (ISBN 0-385-41886-8) by Joseph Campbell, is of course, an excellent introduction to mythology and why it still matters. It also serves as a very good introduction to comparative religion, as it covers not only the "Big Three" of western civilization (Christianity, Judaism and Islam), but also Eastern and even Native American religious thought. For example, one of the highlights of the book is a delightful story about Indra's castle.

What may not be readily apparent is that the myths not only represent things that may happen in our lives, for example the quest and the coming of age, but also things that could or should happen, like spiritual development and what I will call for expediency's sake "enlightenment."

Even though I reviewed a couple of books before this one, the seeker of wisdom will do well to read this one first.