Product Description
Professional Dreamer: 6 Simple Steps That Turn Dreams Into Reality: is an energetic manifesting masterpiece - the book that sets in print the powerful insights that have helped people worldwide experience the remarkable power within; yet, even more importantly, it's the remarkably effective book that teaches, through real-life example and real-world methods, how to connect with and apply this power day-in-and-day-out.
Professional Dreamer is based on a very simple concept- your thoughts, whether positive or negative- influence your life and the events which occur in it. By changing how we think and directing our thought energy towards our desired goals, we can achieve anything we desire.
In Professional Dreamer this process of changing your thoughts and using thought energy is clearly outlined in six steps: One-Pointed Thought, Desire, Trueprint, Visualization, Demonstration, Manifestation. Each step is broken down into two parts, Principles and Method, allowing the reader to understand what each step is, how it works and why, as well as provide clear and practical steps to applying the theory to your day to day life. Interspersed with inspirational poetry and inspiring testimonials, Professional Dreamer is an easy read, beautifully laid out with life changing potential.
If you have ever wanted to change your life, but felt like nothing has worked for you, Professional Dreamer is for you. If you want to lead a healthier, happier life, Professional Dreamer is for you. If you want to surround yourself with daily miracles then Professional Dreamer is for you.
You will be stunned by the beauty and simplicity of this truly amazing book.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent.......2007-10-12
So many of thses books are just rehashed stuff from other sources. It all gets boring after awhile, with folks cashing in big-time on things Wattles and Haanel wrote years ago. I purchased this one on a whim, figuring what the heck, i can send it back if it's the same ol. No way. This one stays on the shelf. Ghalil offers a bit of a different take on the LOA and manifestation. A pleasant and engaging read, with step-by-step instructions. Too bad there's no coupons for free stuff. With all due haste, buy this book.
The WORST.......2007-09-22
I would say this book was a BIG waste of my money...yes it is well organized and all that BUT it was boring..other books written about the law of attraction are much better...clearer..easier to understand...
oh my god.......2007-05-19
This is such an easy read it is like having a conversation with someone who is telling you things in a straight forward way. The information in this is amazing and with the cd's I bought it has made such an AHA moment on every page.
As simple as it can get.......2007-05-13
Clear, concise, and to the point. Very well organized, and simple to understand. One of the better books on this subject. Definitely a keeper!
Insightful and Timely.......2007-03-20
Professional Dreamer fits pefectly with our new realization of the power of thought. Using Ghalil's six steps, you can learn how to master your thought processes and enjoy the benefits of the law of attraction. this book espouses similar ideas to The Secret and The Law of Attraction, two current bestsellers.
For more information on achieving financial wealth and applying principles from the law of attraction, check out "The 17 Principles of creating Wealth," by Phillip Collinsworth.
Customer Reviews:
Caution - This book might shake your faith..........2004-11-24
I was amazed at the depth of this book. Chapter after chapter Wells was able to pin point weaknesses and compromises being made daily in our churches. This book is not just a for pastors and clergy, its a laity book that takes the reader into areas of church life that will make or break Christianity.
A Classic.......2002-10-18
In this sequel to the groundbreaking 1993 book entitled "No Place for Truth" (which is also strongly recommended), a professor from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary shows how evangelical churches have slowly but surely fallen for the values of postmodern society. Christian ministers in particular should pay close attention to Wells' thoughts, as he calls for a return to preaching God's holiness as an antidote to the church's compromised state.
Strong Evidence for repentance and faith among the church.......2001-01-26
This second in Well's trinity follows on the heels of "No Place For Truth." In it, Well's strongly presents evidence that Christianity is on the brink of caving into the pressures of a postmodern culture and world that it finds itself in.
As in the kings in the Divided Kingdom, many chose to compromise and/or align with the enemies or allies. We know how this turned out for the church. Will the church today heed prophecy such as Well's before it's too late?
Expressing the opinion that the church is being attacked both within and without to speak different messages with different words, Wells challenges the church to be the church; to say a different message which confronts and challenges the world to align itself with the world's Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier.
Very insightful and thought provoking ........1999-11-06
I am reading this book as part of a course in basic theology, and it is very illuminating. I would highly recommend this book to anyone in the church who wants to tell about "the reason for the hope that lies within you..." It is not just for a few pastors and teachers to know theology; it is the opportunity of everyone in the church.
Thoughtful, educating, meant for someone who wants to think.......1999-07-11
I think this is one of the best books I've read of serious Christian thought in the last few years. He teaches on ramifications of our po-mo thinking and also brings out clearly the way our consumer bent way of thinking has dictated the presentation of the gospel. Many times in ways we do not even see or sense...yet the 'consumer as king' mentality has not been challenged in the church and the believer feels at home sitting in judgement on eternal truths. An extremely worthwhile read,
Average customer rating:
- Awesome, Awesome, Awesome.
- Out of Date
- With basic understanding of electronics this book is great
- Poor description and content
- Now you understand...
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High-Power Audio Amplifier Construction Manual
G. Randy Slone
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics
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The Audiophile's Project Sourcebook: 80 High-Performance Audio Electronics Projects
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Building Valve Amplifiers
ASIN: 0071341196 |
Book Description
Design and build awesome audio amps. Amateur and professional audiophiles alike can now design and construct superior quality amplifiers at a fraction of comparable retail prices with step-by-step instruction from the High-Power audio Amplifier Construction Manual. Randy Slone, professional audio writer and electronics supply marketer, delivers the nuts-and-bolts know-how you need to optimize performance for any audio system--from home entertainment to musical instrument to sound stage. Build a few simple projects or delve into the physics of audio amplifier operation and design. This easy to understand guide walks you through: Building the optimum audio power supply; Audio amplifier power supplies and construction: Amplifier and loudspeaker protection methods; Stability, distortion, and performance; Audio amplifier cookbook designs; Construction techniques; Diagnostic equipment and testing procedures; Output stage configurations, classes, and device types; Crossover distortion physics; Mirror-image input stage topologies.
Download Description
Randy Slone, professional audio writer and electronics supply marketer, delivers the nuts-and-bolts know-how you need to optimize performance for any audio system--from home entertainment to musical instrument to sound stage.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome, Awesome, Awesome........2007-09-13
The book is outstanding. I'm an EE and an audio enthusiast. I love the way this guy writes. He tells it how he sees it.
Out of Date.......2007-08-26
Great book. One major problem ... all of the "pro high end" designs discussed require L-MOSFET outputs 2SJ162 / 2SK1058 that are no longer available from reputable suppliers AT ANY PRICE. Also ... the PCB's are no longer available from Seal Electronics (in fact they are defunct). If you are looking for a good power amp project, don't waste your money here.
With basic understanding of electronics this book is great.......2007-07-18
Unlike other amplifier books this skips all the math. It focuses on topology of amplifier design. To make your own from the book you would need to know some EE math to figure everything out. If you understand how basic components like capacitors and transistors work this book is amazing. There is also a lot of incite about high end audio products available and dismisses many myths. I'm a third year electrical engineering student and this book was great. It is definitely not for beginners but great for everyone else.
Poor description and content .......2007-07-08
Don't purchase this book if you only have a basic knowledge of electronics. The title and covers are very misleading. Contains few illustrations and the so-called step-by-step instruction is nonexistent. Author talks down to you and does not deliver the "nuts-and-bolts know-how" the Editorial Review states. It also states, "Easy to understand guide walks you through": Building the optimum audio power supply; Audio amplifier power supplies and construction: Amplifier and loudspeaker protection methods; Stability, distortion, and performance; Audio amplifier cookbook designs; Construction techniques; Diagnostic equipment and testing procedures; Output stage configurations, classes, and device types; Crossover distortion physics; Mirror image input stage topologies. He doesn't walk you through anything. Maybe good for the professional but novices beware!!
Now you understand..........2006-12-03
Very well and clearly written book which which explains the basic principles of power audio amplifier design and construction. To be able to understand, you should have appropriate technical education, or previous experience with electronic circuits. The book also contains a real world do-it-yourself examples (+ pcbs) of power audio amplifiers. However, do not expect to be able to design your own amp after reading this book - it is beyond any single volume. Excellent. Kind regards, Mario Mitas.
Amazon.com
New York City, the melting pot of the United States, contains the nation's largest West Indian immigrant population. Since the immigration explosion of 1965, the Afro-Caribbean influx has impacted the social dynamic of the United States and its native-born African Americans, often with volatile results. Black Identities, an important sociological work by Mary C. Waters, explores the question, "How similar or different is it to be a black immigrant or descendent of immigrants in Brooklyn in the late twentieth century from what it was like to be an Irish, Italian, or Jewish immigrant in the earlier part of the century?" Waters interviews blacks from Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad, and other islands and deconstructs the mutual myths, truths, allegiances, and distrusts between these communities and whites (as well as African Americans with deeper family roots in the U.S.). Among the stereotypes Waters addresses, the most dangerous one is the perceived superiority of Afro-Caribbeans to African Americans. She deflates this and other myths with a combination of sharp scholarship and dead-on analysis. --Eugene Holley Jr.
Book Description
The story of West Indian immigrants to the United States is considered a great success. Many of these adoptive citizens have prospered, including General Colin Powell. But Mary Waters tells a very different story about immigrants from the West Indies, especially their children.
She finds that when the immigrants first arrive, their knowledge of English, their skills and contacts, their self-respect, and their optimistic assessment of American race relations facilitate their integration into the American economic structure. Over time, however, the realities of American race relations begin to swamp their positive cultural values. Persistent, blatant racial discrimination soon undermines the openness to whites the immigrants have when they first arrive. Discrimination in housing channels them into neighborhoods with inadequate city services and high crime rates. Inferior public schools undermine their hopes for their children's future. Low wages and poor working conditions are no longer attractive for their children, who use American and not Caribbean standards to measure success.
Ultimately, the values that gained these first-generation immigrants initial success--a willingness to work hard, a lack of attention to racism, a desire for education, an incentive to save--are undermined by the realities of life in the United States. In many families, the hard-won relative success of the parents is followed by the downward slide of their children. Contrary to long-held beliefs, Waters finds, those who resist Americanization are most likely to succeed economically, especially in the second generation.
Average customer rating:
- A must read for every entreprenuerial spirit!!
- Beautiful Pictures; Great for an Upscale Boutique
- Well written, pratical advice, illustrative photos - Love this book!
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A Shop of One's Own: Women Who Turned the Dream into Reality
From the Editors of Victoria Magazine , and
Rachel Epstein
Manufacturer: Hearst
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1588161048 |
Book Description
Whether flowers are your fancy, hats your madness, or paper your passion, you can open a store selling the things you love. To thrive in a shop of your own, however, requires myriad skills best learned from those who already know. Victoria introduces a group of women entrepreneurs who, with little inventory and big dreams, created a rewarding niche in the retail market. Their triumphs and failures, practical advice and insider secrets, provide invaluable lessons for fledgling shop owners. Here's just the right advice to take you from getting establishing credit to choosing a space to developing a solid partnership with vendors. Find creative and inviting ideas for displaying your wares so customers will linger longer, and smart ways to get the biggest bang out of your advertising dollars. The profiles of female shop owners will offer inspiration and provide invaluable role models.
Customer Reviews:
A must read for every entreprenuerial spirit!!.......2007-01-10
Half way into the book, I started shopping for studio and retail space. It will motivate you to be brave!!
Beautiful Pictures; Great for an Upscale Boutique.......2006-08-26
The pictures alone almost make it worth purchasing this book. It is easy to read. The book is most useful for someone trying to start an upscale boutique (ideally clothing). If this is you, buy this book. The pictures and the ideas are very much worth it. This will be a great resource.
I was helping plan a semi-upscale souvenir shop and found the ideas only somewhat applicable. That said, there are a few guidelines that I found really useful. I made sure to photocopy those few pages for my reference.
Well written, pratical advice, illustrative photos - Love this book!.......2005-07-04
I really love this book as it was a break from the word overloading of most business books. It had lovely colour pictures of actual products, services, interior designs, branding, packaging, etc. These illustrations backed up the information on building your small business.
The book is divided into 3 parts:
1. Getting Started - Government regulation; Keeping Records; Establishing credit; Dealing with vendors; Finding a Space; Negotiating; Security; Insurance
2. Planning For Success - Inventory; Setting prices; Merchandising and Display; Publicity and Advertising; the Internet
3. Dealing with People - Building Staff;p Training; Delegating; Problem solving; Expansion
I must stress that this book is an addition to your business collection; not a one-stop shop. This book does not provide the in-depth coverage of issues you'll need to start your business. But especially if you've got most of that already covered and you are looking for ideas or personal stories that can help to streamline your particular service, this is a great book to read. It is an easy, enjoyable to read plus beautiful to flip through and I got a ton of ideas. I can see myself coming back to this book again and again as I start my business.
Thanks Victoria Magazine.
Average customer rating:
- unknown reality
- Orgasmic Experience
- Extraordinary Material
- thrilling in its implications
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The "Unknown" Reality, Vol. 2: A Seth Book
Seth , and
Jane Roberts
Manufacturer: Amber-Allen Publishing
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ASIN: 1878424262 |
Customer Reviews:
unknown reality.......2002-04-23
Outstanding. Best understood after first reading 'The Seth Material' and 'The Nature of Personal Reality', also Seth books by Jane Roberts. There is a second book (Book II) to this series that completes the study on the unknown reality. Very intricate and intense reading and very much worth the effort.
Orgasmic Experience.......2001-07-27
This is an absolutely mind-boggling and exhilarating read. This is the third Seth book I've read and I dig them all. As I read I can feel myself becoming an intelligence residing outside time and space. I highly recommend to all those who are as certifiable as me.
Extraordinary Material.......2000-10-22
The material brought forth by Seth is always amazing and deeply fundamental. This book is another in the series of Seth teachings and has the same, extraordinary level of perception and wisdom as the other Seth books. It should definitely be included in any reading of Seth, and for those who have read previous material, this adds another segment to this fascinating collection of writings. After reading Unknown Reality, I feel closer to Seth and his messages than before. I am very glad to see this material is being carefully compiled and released so its messages get broadly distributed. - Mark Greenia, author of "Energy Dynamics: Conscious Human Evolution."
thrilling in its implications.......1999-02-22
This is the fourth Seth book I've read, and my one-line summary up there says it all. Easier to read than Volume One of "Unknown Reality", and I think more exciting even than "The Nature of Personal Reality". It's kicked me off on some of my own adventures that would have been inconceivable to me before.
Book Description
It’s time to cash your reality check and re-create your life on your own terms.
In your twenties you expect to finally live life on your own terms. But it can seem like the world won’t cooperate. Roommates drive you crazy (but you can’t afford to lose them), entry-level jobs frustrate you (“Four hundred double-sided copies before lunch,”), and even a dream job can take over your nights and weekends, leaving you feeling like you are running hard but going nowhere.
Jason Ryan Dorsey helps you turn this coming-of-age crisis into opportunity. He shows you the big secret of the real world—that you don’t realize how much control you have over your life until you use it. In My Reality Check Bounced! Jason shows you how to:
Find the courage to climb out of your real-world rut
Create a Future Picture that gets you off your “buts”
Uncover opportunity and build a tag team to make the most of it
Live like you mean it, and finally cash your reality check.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome Book.......2007-07-22
Awesome book. I have found what I want to do and I am in my 20's and I found this book very valuable. I have highlighted 20 different pages with key points and lists for me to remember while facing challenges or examining opportunities. Dorsey is the new Covey for 20 somethings.
Beyond A Book For 20-somethings, It Is A Book For Everyone.......2007-05-31
Everybody at any age can benefit for the advice in Jason Dorsey's "My Reality Check Bounced". The book gives great advice to anyone who feels trapped in a "rut" who needs to take control of their life and achieve the success that is their destiny. Discovering what you want, creating a plan, taking action, finding the right people to help you along your journey, overcoming fears, and always acting with ethics and integrity are just a few of the lessons in this book.
Dorsey does a masterful job of sharing his personal story as well as the touching and useful experiences of others who have created the life they now live (and love!). The book is written in an easy to read and conversational style and should be read by everyone just out of college or beyond. However, reading the book alone will not produce results....the reader must take action to cash their reality check!!!
Great Book!.......2007-05-25
Found this book an interesting read. Great for young folks starting out and older ones that have lost their way.
Amazing!! This book helped me in 15 minutes!.......2007-05-18
My only complaint: it's not only for 20-somethings! This book has so many great ideas of things I started doing the SAME day I read the book. I gave the book to my 40-year-old brother, and he learned great ideas in the book, too! And they're simple, and easy, and make total sense. AND THEY WORK! It's been one month, and already my boss treats me better, I'm making smarter decisions at work, understanding the whole system, and learning the right way to get what I want from my career. Thanks!!!
Don't pass it up!!!.......2007-03-13
Being a twenty something my self i found this book extremely helpful!!
I have read all of Jason's books and loved them just as much as i love this one. I found my self reading his book with a pad of paper, taking notes on everything i should do to be succesful. Jason Dorsey is a brilliant author. He knows the perfect things to say to get you up out of your seat wanting to be a succesful person in life. Jason gives step by step suggestions on what to do to become succesful and how to enjoy it at the same time. I never thought checking out books on how to start the business of your choice would be so helpful. What a simple but perfect idea!
I disagree with John 100%. Jason's stories and his challenging backround has inspired me to be determined in all aspects, a long with hundreds of other twenty somethings. The way he uses these stories is a perfect way to explain his message.
Jason's book inspires you to be outgoing to make this tag team he talks about. The point is not how many people you know. It's meeting new people and expanding your network. Im not yet twenty years old and in the past 2 and a half years i have met hundreds of people whom i network with on a regular basis. So lets face it, John, your statement about twenty somethings not knowing "that many people" is a very weak arguement.
This book is a PERFECT book for ANYONE working to become happier and more succesful in life. I recommend you buy this book and share it with all your friends and family. You will not be dissapointed!
Customer Reviews:
Dreams in realities.......2000-08-18
The books sends a profound message about life here in California, which is not entirely factual. When I have read the book it made me realized that how people perceived California is greatly influenced by what we hear and see from the media and television. But living here makes a person either contented or emotionally depressed.
Book Description
The Simplest Path, Step One: Free Your Mind delineates, in one slim volume, a complete system for achieving personal spiritual awakening, along with a straightforward, no-nonsense plan individuals and groups so enlightened can follow to awaken Humanity en masse and positively transform the world. This book contains keys to awakening. Awakening from our personal dream shatters the solid "box" of limitation memes have built around our lives, and frees us to fluidly craft our personalities, environments, relationships, careers, etc. as an artist paints a landscape or a sculptor teases form from formless clay. All of us awakening together from the shared dream of the planet will mark the birth of our species out of our current global nightmare of decline into a limitless future literally beyond our present ability to imagine, even in our "wildest dreams," indeed.
Customer Reviews:
Way Beyond "Socrates Revisited".......2007-08-22
After reading the commentary attached to the one star rating given by the young man from Texas, I feel compelled to step forward in defense of this very fine book. With only one exception, every point made in that negative review is simply wrong. Just not factually correct. The reviewer identifies himself as a young man (... "to my young mind"), and since all of his other Amazon reviews are of TV episodes on DVD, video games and rock music CDs I take him at his word. Well, I am an "old man," closing in on my sixty-third birthday, and I came to Mr. Casspriano's book after six decades of life experience, the last three of those decades a zealous practitioner of Zen Buddhism. I say this not to "brag," but simply to qualify myself as a reviewer before beginning.
I'll start where the one star reviewer closed his argument, with his statement that the simplest path reduces to two Socratic concepts: "Admit that you don't know anything" and "know yourself."
The first part is nominally true (the exception). Like Zen Buddhism, a central tenet of the simplest path is working to release the false notion we all hold that we know ourselves, other people, the world around us. But identifying and releasing our attachments to our illusions is a life's work, not some brash "I don't know nothin'!" as the young Texan seems to imply. Under normal circumstances, we go about our daily lives with no idea we are deluded about anything, as Maya (the illusion of the phenomenal world around and even inside us) is so convincing that most of us never even think to question its validity. Casspriano did not invent the notion of human beings being trapped in illusion, as this truth was known to the timeless authors of the Hindu Vedas and is central to all schools of Buddhism (not just Zen). But his scientific/spiritual exploration of the mechanism by which Maya ensnares our minds and can, with effort, be overcome is among the best "plain English" explanations of this process I have read. There is no "inscrutable mystery" in the simplest path (a criticism that has been accurately leveled toward Zen Buddhism, as a lot of Eastern thought truly does come off as "inscrutable" when translated into English and/or the metaphors of Western culture). Casspriano lays out in no-nonsense American English exactly what our brains are doing when they create the illusion we mistake for reality, then shows the reader in the same clear terms how to train his or her brain to break free of illusion and taste reality as-it-is. In just 216 pages, that is no mean feat. After thirty years of Zen practice and numerous kensho experiences (of varying depths and intensities), I can say from personal experience that Casspriano is correct. Enlightenment comes as the fruit of a long, incremental process of retraining the mind to touch reality in a new way, and the process described in the simplest path is the same as that followed in Zen practice, especially Rienzi Zen koan study (I'll have more to say about this in a later paragraph). Casspriano's approach and language is very different from traditional Zen (more "scientific," and no sitting meditation is required), which I think would appeal to Americans and other Westerners seeking to experience "awakening" without necessarily committing themselves to a religion like Buddhism, but the internal mental/spiritual process and final destination are the same.
"Know yourself," on the other hand, is not in this book at all, at least not in the way the young reviewer, or Socrates for that matter, uses the phrase. As in Buddhism, Casspriano takes pains to demonstrate that "self" is as much of an illusion as our misapprehension of the phenomenal world, and is a byproduct of exactly the same mind process that creates outer Maya. A core teaching of Buddhism is that our "self," our personality/ego, is nothing more than an aggregation of outside influences that cluster together in our minds like shiny stones gathered into a pile, and which we mistake not only for something "real," but tragically, for our essential selves. Yet this "pile" has nothing really to do with who we are at all. Buddhism teaches "no-self." Belief in the illusion of a unique and independent "self" is our greatest obstacle to enlightenment. Wasting time and energy getting to "know yourself" in the Western sense is foreign to Eastern thought. Casspriano again does a great job of translating the Buddhist concept of "no-self" into Western scientific/spiritual terminology. He shows the process by which our ego/personality aggregate "piles up," as well as how to take the pile down, stone by stone. Enlightenment is what the pile was covering up, and so it naturally appears as soon as the pile is removed - but oh how we cling to our personal pile of stones! "Self" is what we must trade for enlightenment, what must be surrendered, and Casspriano returns to this truth many times in the simplest path. My point is that the one star reviewer's reduction of the simplest path to "know yourself" has no basis at all in the actual book.
As to the book being "gimmicky": Yes, the words "The Simplest Path" recur frequently throughout the book, but not in reference to the book itself (at least that's not how I took it), but rather to the system of understanding the mind and working toward "awakening" Casspriano is describing - and it is a complete system that deserves to be considered as a whole, on its own. At times the repetition does have a feel of "branding" in the commercial sense, so I understand where the reviewer may have taken his impression. But the simplest path, while resonant with Zen Buddhism (and apparently, according to Casspriano, with the Toltec philosophy espoused by Carlos Castaneda, of which I have no personal knowledge, so I'll have to take the author's word for that) is far enough different that it needs its own "name" to set it apart from other schools of similar but not identical thought. The reviewer's criticism is like saying that every use of the term "Zen" in a book called "Zen Buddhism" should be taken as a reference to the book, and not to the larger practice of Zen Buddhism as a spiritual discipline that the book is describing. Casspriano's point in repeatedly linking The Simplest Path, Zen Buddhism and Toltec Shamanism throughout the book, at least as I understood it, is to highlight these three spiritual practices as related reliable paths through a dark forest of illusion, a forest in which many apparent (and more popular) paths, including most (all?) religious beliefs, actively vie to mislead travelers toward deeper ensnarement in the dream, rather than leading them toward "awakening."
I want to say a word about koan study in Rienzi Zen and how it relates to the simplest path. Koans are those quirky Zen sayings and stories like "what is the sound of one hand clapping?" or "what was your original face before you (or your parents) were born?" that have no rational answer, and which Zen students turn and turn in their minds like the tumblers of a combination lock until their imprisoned psyches "explode" in a "super-rational" experience of reality beyond the illusion ("irrational" would be the wrong term, as that implies "nonsense"). That "super-rational" vision of reality is called "kensho." I have experienced it myself, more than once in my lifetime. I have come to think of Casspriano's "Key Questions" in the second half of the simplest path, especially the later seven of the ten, as "cultural koans" designed to trigger "collective kensho" for the whole human race at once. Like "what is the sound of one hand clapping?", unflinching consideration of the value of human life, of how our beliefs about the future shape the present, of the true origin and destiny of life on Earth, etc., especially as seen through the lens of Casspriano's "Key Question Technique," reveals that none of these questions have rational answers, yet all require our active and immediate response. Successful resolution of these larger riddles that impact everyone will require us all to eventually "explode" into reality, together, in a "super-rational" way. We'll have to break through the illusion and wake up together, as one (which has been the goal of Mahayana Buddhism, of which Zen is a sect, since around 200 BCE). That is the "Planetary Awakening" addressed in this book, and I believe Casspriano's "Key Questions" are a concrete step in that direction. I'm glad I spent my fifteen dollars.
This is my "old man" take on the simplest path, having encountered it after 30 years of Zen Buddhist practice (I'm not veering off my chosen path here, just bowing respectfully in passing toward Casspriano's). From a Buddhist perspective, the simplest path is true Dharma, though I do not get the impression from reading his book that Vincent Casspriano is himself a Buddhist or a follower of any religion. That to my mind makes his book all the more interesting.
True, but gimmicky.......2007-08-09
Casspriano's book is scientifically and philosophically sound as best as my young mind can tell, but I don't recommend this book. Its scattered with numerous pages of advertising about how his "program" works and how it compares to other religions and spiritual movements. Why must this author physically write out "The Simplest Path" in reference to his book every other page, and talk about his second volume? Perhaps because he's not out for pure truth, but for our money.
All this book comes down to after you strip away the nonsense is two things. First, admit that you don't truly know anything. Second, know yourself. Do those two things (they essentially both mean to question EVERYTHING), and you'll have Casspriano's "Planetary Awakening," with 15 bucks still in your pocket. And you'll be following the fundamental truths already said by Socrates.. so do yourself a favor and pick up Plato's "Apology" and read up on the Socratic dialogue on how to live a good life. And don't stop there, because you can't be sure he's right.
And I have 10 bucks that says these other couple of reviews were written by the book publisher. In any case, ignore the hype.
A Unique and Inspiring Wake-up Call.......2007-05-15
This is one of the most clear-headed books I've read in years on the subject of real, nitty gritty, get your hands dirty spiritual development (as opposed to the fru fru New Age variety). So much of what passes for "spirituality" in our time amounts to some author, celebrity, priest, philosopher or self-appointed guru telling us what to "believe," sight unseen, if we want to reach heaven, attain enlightenment, achieve "ascension," etc. Casspriano takes an at times startling opposite approach. For Casspriano, such unquestioned/unquestionable beliefs are not only NOT the path to spiritual awakening, they represent the chief obstacle blocking our realization of higher consciousness. And it's not just religious beliefs ("faith") he's talking about, but all our beliefs about reality, especially those that enclose our thinking in "boxes" that limit our freedom to find solutions to real-world threats like Peak Oil, overpopulation, Global Warming, etc. Though much of the book focuses on individual enlightenment, for Casspriano, these larger planetary issues are "spiritual," as well. Whether the issue is our personal inability to find happiness or Humanity's collective rush toward physical extinction, the cause is the same - our wrong-headed beliefs about what's real. The solution is the same, as well - continuous, deep questioning. Using Richard Dawkins' concept of "memes" as a central metaphor, Casspriano first breaks down the basic process of belief, showing the mechanism in our brains by which beliefs misdirect and control our psyches, then he walks the reader through an exploration of a series of ten "anti-meme questions" aimed at breaking down the walls of our mental "boxes" and setting our minds free. With each question, he supplies an exercise designed to allow the reader to attain a personal taste of reality "beyond the box," especially as flavored by that chapter's "Key Question." For the most part, this formula works very well (with a few rare moments of over-exuberance on the author's part, as already described in other reviews, though as a card carrying vegan environmentalist, I can't say I particularly minded), delivering a cumulative series of death-blows to some of the most basic "pillars" of our present human consensus reality. Beyond the walls those pillars supported lies real reality, where we are all interconnected and interdependent, and, in Casspriano's view, mutually destined for greatness, if we can just wake up and grab the reins of our runaway culture in time. This is not a book for spiritual "feel gooders" seeking soft assurances that they're perfect just they way they are and everything's going to be all right, no matter what. This is a wake up call, a tool kit and a concrete action plan for becoming individually enlightened and collectively saving the world, all rolled up into one. That, I think, is a cause well-worthy of exuberance.
Challenge Consensus Reality!.......2007-05-10
This is a thoughtful book that addresses how we may go about developing a process to question our everyday consensus reality. I suppose if I have learned anything in 49 years of life, it is that all personal and social problems stem from our fundamental views on the nature of reality itself. Vincent Casspriano uses the concept of a "meme" as a fundamental unit of ideas, assumptions, etc. that often block our understanding of reality itself. One such meme, for example, may be that we have to "fight for our freedom" or the world's a "fearful" place and hence, we have to be ready to kill to protect ourselves. I suppose you could also use the word "paradigm" here as well, but the essential point of this book is that we "unconsciously" function in our life with many limited points of view that block our ability to solve problems on both a personal and a social basis.
While Vince Casspriano is to be congradulated for producing a book that presents both a methodology and a motivation for personal transformation, there are a few pitfalls here that the potential reader should be aware of before tackling this material. The author has some rather strong views on fossil fuel consumption, meet consumption, and the role of humans in the cycle of procreation. While I generally agree with his analysis on fossil fuel consumtion and meat consumption (as I have viewed large tracks of deforrested grazing land in developing countries), these viewpoints can distract the reader from the essential point here which is to rigourously question consensus reality. Since I am single, and have no motivation to have children, I definitely disagree with his views on the necessity of human procreation on this planet, but here again, it is important to extract the essential meaning rather than get caught in the specific political/social debates that these issues may spawn.
If you are serious about personal transformation with the potential for changing our global consciousness, than this book can be an invaluable tool. I do agree with the Author that a world population of "high functioning" people can resolve every planetary problem we face today. As we systematically question our consensus reality, we will see our problems in new ways, and with this new perspective, problems can often be quickly resolved or transcended.
A Simple Cure For What's "Eating Us".......2006-11-13
I considered titling this review, "Stop Whining, Wake Up and Get Busy Saving the World," but decided "Eating Us" would be more attention-grabbing - which matters because I believe Vincent Casspriano, Jr.'s "The Simplest Path, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND" is an important book, and I want to do whatever I can to draw your attention to it. Pick the title you like best. Both very fittingly describe what you will find within the pages of this remarkable new release from New Paradigm Press.
I have selected three short quotations to explore in this review that I think best summarize Casspriano's overall message:
From Chapter One, "The Boxes We Dream In":
"Right now, this very moment, you are asleep... Even if you are reading these words in broad daylight - sitting at your desk or beside the kitchen table, your feet firmly planted on the floor, eyes open, senses alert, feeling the weight of this book in your hands as sounds of life rise and fall rhythmically around you - you are deeply asleep, and dreaming furiously"
Now, the idea that Humans are sleeping, and must therefore "awaken," is by no means unique to Casspriano's "Simplest Path" spiritual system, being the root observation underlying pretty much all Eastern religion, and a lot of Western Occultism and New Age metaphysics, as well. In fairness, Casspriano makes no claim to this as an original insight, openly supporting his assessment of the human predicament with quotations taken from Animism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. He then flows seamlessly into a list of complementary illustrations from the secular realms of Quantum Physics, brain/consciousness research, and most to-the-point, the study of memes and memetics, ala Evolutionary Biologist and world's best-known cheerleader for scientific atheism, Richard Dawkins.
If you've never heard of memes or memetics, a quick Google of those terms will reveal hundreds of serious, information-rich websites devoted to this now thirty-year old science. In a nutshell, a "meme" is a sort of contagious thought-form that spreads between people by way of imitation. Obvious memes in our environment include advertising jingles, fads and fashions, etc. Casspriano somewhat radically extends the concept to include just about everything that makes up the contents of our individual brains and shared human culture. While he resists redefining the word "meme" wholesale, he decidedly expands its definition to make memes and "memeplexes" (what you get when a number of memes band together into an organic, relational unit, like a religion or cultural or political movement) the basic, fundamental building blocks of everything we habitually label "real..."
And then he demonstrates, in at times excruciating detail, the complete emptiness of the "apparent-reality" that is a byproduct of memetic activity in our brains. What we call "real" is not real at all. It's an illusion spun up by our memes. And our memes are not original to us. They are "viral invaders" assailing our minds from without. Worse - and, while even this thought is not wholly unique to Casspriano, he certainly gives it his own very effective spin - memes are by no means mere passive beliefs or simple "harmless ideas." They are, Casspriano believes, actively predatory psychic parasites whose survival depends on our buying into the illusions they create in our minds. Think of illusion (Samsara, Maya, etc.) as a web we're caught in. Memes are the spider. We are the fly. Gotcha.
One thing I like very much about Casspriano's book is that he never asks us to take anything on faith, least of all this rather ugly depiction of the human psychic/spiritual condition. He not only challenges readers to test his hypothesis firsthand in order to experience what is real and true for ourselves, he spends a large chunk of the book outlining specific exercises anyone can do to escape memetic interference and personally experience reality as-it-is. The exercises in Part II of the book are powerful medicine... But this is a digression, so let me return to the point.
Memes are the spider, and we are the fly. A better metaphor might be that memes are the farmer, and we are the cow. Domesticated and docile, we allow memes to milk us daily, to extract from our minds the potent human psychic energy which, if reclaimed by us and put to proper human use, would quickly and positively transform our lives and our world. This transformation is awakening, ascension, enlightenment, metanoia, the Buddha-like change of consciousness most religions and spiritual systems on Earth hint at, but few ever actually deliver to followers. In this analysis, Casspriano's "Simplest Path" is very much in line with Gurdjieff's "Fourth Way," Carlos Castaneda's Toltec sorcery, and a few other well known spiritual practices inhabiting a somewhat darker, though perhaps more realistic corner of the New Age. But unlike most of those other systems, Casspriano's prescription for escaping illusion and awakening to reality is remarkably, well... simple.
From Chapter Three, "Waking Up":
"The simple truth is that we are sleeping because we lack sufficient energy to wake up."
And later in the same chapter:
"The real work that brings about awakening, rather than merely granting the external appearance of "being spiritual," while actually embroiling us ever more deeply in the dream, is a rigorous, daily commitment to the identification and elimination of every self-serving belief from which our personal dream-lives are constructed."
For "belief" in the quotation above, read "meme/memeplex." Casspriano certainly does, treating the terms as largely interchangeable. In the end, this genuinely simple - at least in the sense of being uncomplicated and pragmatic - spiritual practice amounts to discovering reality as-it-actually-is less by searching for a glimpse beyond the illusion, than by systematically withdrawing our participation in, and identification with, the dream. When we disentangle our psyches from memetic illusion, only reality remains. We don't have to chase it; to a meme-free mind, reality just appears. This is "Satori" in Zen Buddhism. This is "stopping the world" in the Toltec sorcery of Castaneda and others. Casspriano's genius lies in his talent for exposing the core mechanism behind such complex and often inscrutable spiritual systems, and for putting into plain language clear instructions for unraveling the dream and achieving personal awakening. The virus-like process by which memes take over and control our human minds, as described by Casspriano is, to my mind, very complicated (but well worth struggling through). What is genuinely simple about "The Simplest Path," however, is Casspriano's prescription for breaking those bonds, once you've made the effort to understand how they are created and maintained. For Casspriano, remaining a victim of spiritual sleep and energetic exploitation by memes is a complex activity in which we unconsciously invest enormous amounts of psychic energy every day of our lives. Awakening is the product of a simple act of withdrawing that investment, which automatically re-energizes of our minds and lives. Or as Casspriano cleverly phrases it when closing Chapter Three, "Waking Up":
"Unweave the tapestry of the dream, and awakening happens."
Anyone can do this. Spiritual awakening, in Casspriano's view, may be hard work, but it is not complicated work. The path to enlightenment is really rather shockingly simple. Fall out of love with the dream. Reclaim your psychic energy. Wake up to reality.
The ten "Key Questions" Casspriano explores in the second section of the book are designed to put the theory laid out in Part I to practical and immediate use. Essentially, I think Casspriano sees these ten issues - why we treat enlightenment as an "airy-fairy" ideal instead of a measurable transformation of brain functioning, the excuses we make for avoiding personal responsibility and integrity along the lines of Castaneda's "impeccability," the fallacy of belief in a "separate self," etc. - as pillars of both our personal and collective human dreams. They are by no means an exhaustive listing of the memes twisting our minds. But they are primary keystones on which layers upon layers of the grand illusion are built. Topple these ten baseline pillars and the larger structure crumbles.
Casspriano explores some "Keys" more successfully than others. One downside to the book is that, especially in the "Keys," Casspriano's own memetic prejudices shine at times rather glaringly through, as when, in his discussion of the American "What Would Jesus Do?" religious fad, he characterizes the Evangelical Christian purveyors of WWJD as, "ultra-conservative, right wing ideologues." Even should the reader personally agree with such pronouncements, its hard to resist thinking, "Hey Vince! Your memes are showing!" But where he nails his point, Casspriano's prose can be downright inspiring, as with the "Key" cosmological study "Is Earth the Center of the Universe?," which explores the gap between what we know, scientifically, about the Universe and what our daily choices and behavior says we really believe, about the cosmos and about ourselves. His closing "Key" "Are We Alone?" so poetically frames the true stakes of our global human predicament - species survival VS extinction - that its hard to imagine anyone keeping their gaze glued squarely to their own self-involved navel in the wake of reading it. Of course we are not alone. There are six and a half billion of us on Planet Earth, and whether we awaken to what's best in us or follow our darkest drives over History's cliff into oblivion, we do so as one. One planet, one fate.
This notion of "oneness" and of a common, intertwined human spiritual and biological destiny is a core theme in The Simplest Path, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND that sets it apart from any spiritual book in recent memory. My final quotation from the book returns us to the opening lines of Chapter One, "The Boxes We Dream In":
"We are all aware of the challenges facing us as we enter together into the 21st Century:
· World oil supplies are running out.
· Global warming is transforming the Earth into a steamy greenhouse.
· Even as our technology connects the world, ideological extremism, terrorism and militarism divide us as never before.
· Headlines bombard us with news of war, famine, pestilence and death until we feel overwhelmed and unable to respond.
· Time is running out..."
Vincent Casspriano, Jr.'s "The Simplest Path to Personal and Planetary Transformation, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND" does not offer easy escape from these very pressing real-world human ills, but rather, a down to Earth, workable prescription for their cure. Yes, we must awaken as individuals, and, rest assured, "The Simplest Path" shows spiritual seekers exactly how to do that. But a prime message of "The Simplest Path" is that, for personal awakening to have meaning, it must occur within the context of a complete re-visioning of global culture, and a mass wrenching away of the wheel of History from the control of viral memes, that we might create a common cosmic human destiny worthy of our highest potential as a species.
Now that's a meme worth feeding.
Book Description
The relationship between a mother and daughter is often fraught-but never so much as during the preparations for a daughter's wedding. Who better to offer a fresh perspective on weddings than the mother of the bride? And who better to describe it -- the agony and the ecstasy -- than Ilene "Gingy" Beckerman, who's married off three daughters and remembers it all very clearly.
--The high cost of wedding cakes: "I could have had a lifetime supply of Entenmann's chocolate doughnuts!"
--Bridesmaid dresses: "What do five girls-one short, one tall, one buxom, one flat, one who gave birth a month ago-have in common? A bridesmaid's dress they hate."
--Mother-of-the-bride dresses: "I tried on green velvet. A Rodney Dangerfield line came to me: 'If that dress had pockets, you'd look like a pool table.' The dress had pockets."
--And, finally, the sight of her daughter walking down the aisle: "My daughter was Cinderella, Snow White, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, and Jacqueline Kennedy. But better."
Gingy looks at the bride-to-be and sees the teenager who wanted Bo Derek braids, the little girl she taught to dance to the tune of "Me and My Shadow," the beautiful baby, the miracle she gave birth to decades earlier. And now, en route to the aisle, their relationship is tested in ways Gingy never imagined.
Beckerman simply and brilliantly describes the highs and lows of life with an adult daughter. What emerges is a poignant and telling story.
Customer Reviews:
humor for mother of the bride.......2007-07-23
I got this book for my mom. The title caught my eye because she had a horrible time finding a dress for my brother's wedding and now she has to look once again for my wedding! She loved it and found it very humorous, basically read it in one night. The only thing I wished is that it would have had a checklist or something like that for the mother of the bride. Overall, great book!
Mother of the Bride: The Dream, the Reality, the Search for a Perfect Dress.......2007-07-05
What a great book to give the 1st time mother of the bride at the bridal shower. It puts things in perspective! I recommend they read it a couple of days before the wedding.
Survival guide for M.O.B!!.......2005-05-20
This book was great. It is written with humor and insight, and I probably would not have appreciated it before this adventure we call "being the M.O.B". It is definately worth every penny.
You'll laugh, you'll cry -- you know the drill =).......2003-06-18
This is basically an autobiographical comic short story, with wacky illustrations to add to the fun. I bought it as a Mother's Day present for my mom right after I got engaged, and we read it aloud together in our favorite spot on the front porch, passing the book when one of us was overcome with laughter -- or tears. Ilene Beckerman can really write, and she does it with devastating humor and tear-jerking poignancy as she explores -- from the front row view of the mother of the bride -- the fun, the fights, the work, the tears, the trials, and often the complete insanity that all contribute to the creation of a beautiful wedding. At the same time, she critically (and beautifully) examines the complex relationship between a mother and her daughter. This short little gem will help you remember the things you appreciate most about your mother, your daughter...or both.
A Great Gift.......2000-10-12
When my daughter became engaged, I got three copies of this book as gifts. I loved it so much that I have given away the two extra copies that I received to friends who will soon be MOBs!
The book is so real, so funny, so poignant. It succinctly summed up the relationship between mothers and daughters as it detailed the intricate and involved planning process for today's weddings. I loved the way Beckerman gave us glimpses of her daughter's growing-up years.
I felt every feeling the author was feeling --- I laughed, I cried, and I called my daughter to read portions to her.
And today....I found the perfect dress!!!
Books:
- Prophets Without Honour: Freud, Kafka, Einstein, and Their World (Kodansha Globe Series)
- Regression Methods in Biostatistics: Linear, Logistic, Survival, and Repeated Measures Models (STATISTICS FOR BIOLOGY AND HEALTH)
- Schaum's Outline of Partial Differential Equations (Schaum's)
- Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution
- Solving Tough Problems: An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and Creating New Realities
- Stokes Beginner's Guide to Birds: Eastern Region (Stokes Field Guide Series)
- Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership
- Team Rodent : How Disney Devours the World
- The 48 Laws of Power
- The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living
Books Index
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