Book Description
In Thought as a System, best-selling author David Bohm takes as his subject the role of thought and knowledge at every level of human affairs, from our private reflections on personal identity to our collective efforts to fashion a tolerable civilization.
Elaborating upon principles of the relationship between mind and matter first put forward in Wholeness and the Implicate Order, Professor Bohm rejects the notion that our thinking processes neutrally report on what is `out there' in an objective world. Bohm carefully explores the manner in which thought actively participates in forming our perceptions, our sense of meaning and our daily actions. He suggests that collective thought and knowledge have become so automated that we are in large part controlled by them, with a subsequent loss of authenticity, freedom and order.
In conversations with fifty seminar participants in Ojai, California, David Bohm offers a radical perspective on an underlying source of human conflict and inquires into the possibility of individual and collective transformation.
Customer Reviews:
Remarkable.......2007-10-17
Everyone interested in psychology would do themselves a favor by reading David Bohm, to keep themselves grounded.
Ill-served by dialog format.......2006-07-25
I found Bohm's general thesis compelling but didn't like the dialog format of the book. The back and forth between Bohm and the questioner(s) is often disconnected and aimless and many times left me wondering if the two sides were really taking the time to understand one another.
from 5 stars to 2..........2006-01-25
On my previous review here, I had read very little of the book. Now I've delved further into it.
Where I had initially seen reason to feel hopeful about the meanings discussed, I now see fundamental error.
Bohm should stick to physics. His basic error is in anthropomorhizing the elements under examination.
A crucial book for understanding thought and its effects.......2001-09-24
I was introduced to Bohm through his video dialogue with Krishnamurti in The transformation of Man. He is one of the most honest, clear thinkers I have ever read. This book is really a transcript of a group discussion of thought with Bohm at the head. If you ever wonder why you get angry for "no reason" or why people get so upset over ideas, then read this book. And if you have an insight into the way thought works, you'll never be the same.
Bohm Off Running With Krishnamurti's Ball.......2000-06-01
This book is the result of Bohm's collaboration with Krishnamurti, which lasted for over twenty years. David Bohms background as a proven physicist enables him to explain K.'s thought to the West in a more systematic, clear fashion that even K. could. This book was put out after Krishnamurti's death, and so it represents the results of their collaboration from Bohm's point of view. The implications of this analysis of thought are profound. It out does phenomenology in depth as well as it's avoidance of the hideous academic jargon. The only other thinker to take as in-depth a look at "Thought" is Rudolph Steiner (see 'Intuitive Thinking As A Spiritual Path'). This book brings a focus and clarity to a subject that never quiet graduated beyond the experimental dialogues between Bohm and Krishnamurti. Bohm also took the dialogue format (very similiar to Socratic) as his methodology (see his book on communication). Bohm felt that Krishnamurti's greatest contribution was his ideas about the "observer and the observed" and the nature of thought. Bohm had already had intimations of these ideas in sub-atomic physics. Excellent stuff!
Amazon.com
Gordon S. Wood--winner of the Pulitzer Prize and professor of American history at Brown University--had no idea what he was getting into when he began this 653-page book. Innocently, he wanted to write a "monographic analysis of constitution-making in the Revolutionary era." Little did he know he would discover an intellectual world where a complete transformation of political thought was occurring, one that would create "a distinctly American system of politics." As Wood explains, "Beneath the variety and idiosyncrasies of American opinion there emerged a general pattern of beliefs about the social process--a set of common assumptions about history, society, and politics that connected and made significant seemingly discrete and unrelated ideas. Really for the first time I began to glimpse what late eighteenth-century Americans meant when they talked about living in an enlightened age." This original study of the American political system is a strong contribution to the scholarly studies of the events surrounding the nation's independence.
Book Description
One of the half dozen most important books ever written about the American Revolution.
New York Times Book Review
During the nearly two decades since its publication, this book has set the pace, furnished benchmarks, and afforded targets for many subsequent studies. If ever a work of history merited the appellation 'modern classic,' this is surely one.
William and Mary Quarterly
[A] brilliant and sweeping interpretation of political culture in the Revolutionary generation.
New England QuarterlyThis is an admirable, thoughtful, and penetrating study of one of the most important chapters in American history.
Wesley Frank Craven
Customer Reviews:
"a true, enduring classic".......2006-08-10
Gordon S. Wood is one of the deans of the so-called "intellectual historians" of the Revolutionary era. I just finished reading this book for the third time in the last 15 years, and I am struck by the sweeping nature of it. Wood's thesis is essentially that Americans' thinking about government and politics underwent a remarkable change in the 11 years between the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the framing of the Constitution. In short, through a series of piecemeal changes during this brief period, Americans largely put together a new mode of political thinking. The key to Wood's argument seems to be his discussion of the changes that occurred in the locus of sovereignty, and the separation of political from social authority. "The people" play the key role here. They went from traditionally being "embodied" in one branch of the gov't (the House of Commons in England, for example), to being the source of all governmental authority. This change brought with it changes in the understanding of representation and of separation of powers, and made possible Americans' unique concept of federalism, and the development of an "American science of politics". Wood uses a dazzling array of sources to support his arguments, and in doing so, shows how many hands and brains were involved in this work. The book is long and the general reader may find it a bit difficult, but anyone interested in the development of American political thought cannot neglect it.
Truly Great Book.......2006-06-20
I agree with the observations of all of your other reviewers, though I read this book in graduate school and didn't have trouble staying awake. I think R. Albin of Michigan comes closest to the gist of Wood's central thesis, but I would like to elaborate. The Founding Fathers were steeped in 18th century hierarchical society and resented the inherited privilege of Europe's aristocracy because they believed themselves to be the equal of the gentlemen who ruled England. A hallmark of such a society was a requirement that the elite assume the reins of government and exercise power for the benefit of everyone in society. They were required to act "Virtuously" in 18th century parlance. They did not really intend to change this hierarchy with the Revolution and they fully expected that the common men they mobilized as their ground forces would govern the country virtuously. The common man certainly being capable of governing his own affairs, Adams, Madison and the others found that the rustics who controlled the state legislatures during the Revolution and after had no inclination to govern for the larger society. They pursued their own interests and gave little thought to the greater issues at hand, such as the need for organizing a national government and integrating the economy. Because of that sour experience with "direct" democracy, the Founders created a constitution, based on what they saw as the structure of "checks and balances" implicit in the English constitution, that they hoped would restrain the common man and his lack of virtue. Wood's book is the history of their transition through, and adaptation of, highly sophisticated political theories to arrive at that result. Because of their superior understanding of politics and how to control the forces they unleashed, the US passed through its revolutionary era without the full-blown civil war that plagued both the French and Russian Revolutions.
Amazing book, and great sedative too!.......2006-04-09
This is a wonderful book that any student of the American Revolution should read. Gordon Wood does a great job of highlighting the fact the our founding fathers were brilliant scholars and historians. I also love how they are placed in the context of the Enlightenment and the Glorious Revolution and how their knowledge of these events shaped American history. Gordon Wood is brilliant, as are our founding fathers. Gentle warning though, this book doesn't have that great of a rhetoric style to it and is rammed full of details, so expect reading it to put you to sleep after a while.
Nation building at its best.......2005-04-03
The Creation of the American Republic is a stunning testimonial to the spirit of Revolutionary era political thought. It is Gordon Wood's tracing of the ideas, ideals, and beliefs that went into the founding of The United States as a political entity by the men who would lead it in its first decades.
The Founding Fathers, as we tend to call those men of the late Eighteenth Century who led the Revolution and the first attempts at national government, were well versed in the political theory of their day. As citizens of the empire, they were well acquainted with British law and government, and became familiar with modern and ancient political philosophy as practiced and promoted elsewhere. This was, for them, the central issue facing their times. How, they asked, could a new government function for the benefit of all? How could it remain stable in the face of opposition, in the face of chaos and uncertainty, and under pressure from man's natural mistrust of higher authority? Wood guides us through the assumptions, experiences, and learned beliefs that guided our national leaders as they moved closer to and into revolution. They had, to say the least, a lot to think about. It was a given, after their long and lately unsatisfying experience with British power, that they would prefer that authority exist as much as possible at the lowest levels of society, typically in a state legislature or even a town council. But even this issue was fraught with questions over the nature of representation (bicameral versus unicameral legislatures, the power of governors etc.). Wood takes a lengthy topic-by-topic approach that precludes any breakdown of subjects here.
The situation that developed after the Revolution, as the people found, was that all their planning and debate on the nature of good government had failed. The state legislatures did not bring out the best in people, and often they attracted the worst sorts of men. This, as many people agreed, was a problem in search of a remedy. And so the spirit of strong national and constitutional government was born, with essentially another long round of philosophical thought about the nature of a constitution and debate about the strengths and weaknesses of central government. And so the story goes.
Looking at Wood from a practical perspective, the reader should be aware of what is included. The text exists almost entirely within the space of political theory. Though quotes are numerous, relevant, and well cited, they exist almost in a historical vacuum. There is virtually no mention made of any kind about actual events going on in the world. The reader unfamiliar with revolutionary history will be at a serious disadvantage in trying to figure out what happened that led the Founders to hold the opinions they did. How did the state legislatures fail? Greedy and mischievous men filled them. What exactly did they do? That, alas, is somewhat vague. Any mention of how events unfolded (like the war going on outside) is invisible within these pages. This is not strictly a problem by any means, but it is certainly worth mentioning to potential readers. This is political theory in a historical context, but physically in a bubble.
The least you need to know after reading Wood is that enormous time and energy went into justifying the Revolution and building a proper and functioning nation afterwards. Whatever other benefits may have come to those mostly well-off men who framed the debate and made the decisions (and they were certainly aware of their own financial and practical social differences with the bulk of the population; it formed a sizeable subset of their theory), they were well informed and generally desirous of building the best society they could, for everyone. This book alone is a good answer to historians recent and not-so-recent who have posited that other considerations make up the primary impetus behind the Revolution and the Constitution. This is simply not the case. Rather, revolutionary politics and nation founding attracted the attention of the brightest and most motivated men of the age. Though often in sometimes fierce disagreement even over fundamental issues, their goal remained honorable and beneficial to all.
Creation of the American Republic.......2004-08-24
This is one of those rare books that comes along once in a generation. No one prior, and no one since have come close to explaining the political ideology of the American Revolution and "Critical Period" so thoroughly. Gordon Wood picks up where Bernard Bailyn (who shows how American colonial governments evolved)leaves off and provides keen insight into how our present government came to be.
Wood makes no apologies for his subject, he simply does a superb job of providing the reader with evidence from which conclusions can be drawn. The Constitution is the culmination of the Revolution, but somehow it has allowed for our government to become the largest purveyor of entitlements the world has ever known. One wonders how the Articles of Confederation could have done much worse. Wood explains that Americans were freer under the Articles, but the politcos of the day saw an opportunity to grab a hold of the government and make people think they are actually a part of the decisions being made. Somewhere along the line, the original purity of American democracy became perverted into the monstrous federal government we see today.
But it wasn't always this way. Americans, according to Wood, saw themselves as the standard bearers for the English constitution once they saw how the English themselves had lost sight of their constitution's intent. They fought the war and crafted individual governments. Then along came the men of ambition who could not strive within the confines of a state government and needed something that would allow for greater achievement. Imperium in imperio became the obective of the new federal government.
Wood's book is excellent. This should be required reader for anyone serving in Congress (though most would not understand what Wood is saying and the rest would be too stupid to grasp the real meaning of how our government came to be and who it was meant to serve). Somehow special interests spanning the political spectrum have come to be and most common Americans are forced to make decisions being informed mainly by the bombardement of political advertisements we see on television.
If one desires to understand what the American Revolution meant for our political system, this book is a must read.
Book Description
This workbook for human and planetary survival is based upon a resonant field paradigm that transcends the Newtonian materialistic model. Argüelles, the author of The Mayan Factor, postulates a planetary design that envisions the evolving field of Earth in relation to the galactic whole.
Customer Reviews:
Transformative!.......2005-11-21
Likely to prove the most important book ever published. Imagine Plato's Timaeus updated for the information age with full-page illustrations & graphs & you have a good idea of Earth Ascending.
Unifying cultural artifacts from around the world in a whole-systems perspective, Earth Ascending offers the possiblility of transformation from a planet of war and misunderstanding, to a single unified Earth.
It is highly doubtful that the mayan-calendar / 2012 movement would have progressed beyond such mundane topics as GMT correlations and mushroom-induced fantasies if not for this incredibly illuminating textbook on the re-orientation of the human mind & the return of the psyche to its natural state of harmony.
highest possible recommendation for all earthlings.
Most seminal book published in the 20th century.......1999-01-01
EARTH ASCENDING illustrates the mathematical correlations of the binary computer code, the I Ching hexagrams, Ben Franklin's magic square, the DNA code, the Mayan Sacred Calendar, the fluxuations of the Van Allen radiation belt, historical epocs, pristine civilizations, the terrestial seasons, and the governing geomagnetic features of the planet, among others. The author's noetic vision has a density like Mahler's music and Finnegans Wake. This reviewer dares venture that it will prove to be the single most seminal book published in the 20th century. Do yourself a favor: buy it, read it, let yourself be enlightened by it. Not to know it is a sign of intellectual backwardness. Not to ponder it is to walk in spiritual darkness. Not to own it is a mark of cultural poverty.
THIS BOOK IS DOPE!.......1998-08-27
I read this book when it first came out, and it's the bomb!
If you liked that movie PI, you should peep this.
It looks into the cybernetic feedback loop between the microcosm and the macrocosm/art and nature.
It looks into the way humans transpose microcosmic "pure" math onto nature in order to better understand chaotic macrocosmic natural systems.
for example he corralates the I Ching Hexagrams, Binary computer code, DNA, and the polarization fluxuations of the Van Allen Radiation belt.
It has kind of a steep curve at first, but once you get it, the book is very profound.
Customer Reviews:
political dreams and furiously evolving theology.......2006-03-01
Mudimbe does philosophy like a talk-show host or a parliamentary speaker. His benches are packed with hundreds of religious leaders, political thinkers, anthropologists and philosophers who have moved African self-understanding. Their discussions are most eloquent, but unfortunately there is scarcely a woman in the auditorium.
In these pages Carl Sagan undertakes to test Dogon cosmology. Zulu Chief Buthalezi and F. Eboussi-Boulaga debate the directions of African religion. The "Bantu Philosophy" of Belgian priest Placide Temples is chewed over by ethnophilosopher Alexis Kagame. Mudimbe himself continually pulls the lines of thought together and sets the stage for our next adventure.
Interesting but not extremely groundbreaking.......2001-12-19
First of all, this book doesn't quite live up to its title - I expected Mudimbe to write about the invention of the concept of Africa, which he chose as a topic for his book 'The Idea of Africa.' It also doesn't really attempt to establish any sort of theory of how African philosophy has developed and exists today. Rather, he draws heavily on Foucault (as to be expected, of course) plus Levi-Strauss and others to critically examine eurocentric approaches to African philosophy and point out how African philosophy emphasizes the 'alterity of the subject' and 'the passion of subject-object that doesn't vanish.'
Yet this method is faulty in several ways. First, as the above quotes reveal, Mudimbe is a big fan of academic jargon. His writing could be a lot clearer when he's trying to get a point across as opposed to merely skewering eurocentrists.
Second, Mudimbe could have spent more time surveying African philosophy rather than just criticizing eurocentric misinterpretations and misreadings. He does devote a chapter to the pan-Africanist Edward Blyden but is unwilling to delve into a systematic history of native African philosophies prior to colonialism. Indeed, part of the problem of this book is an unwillingness on Mudimbe's part to move away from European-educated Africans and their application of Marxim, post-modernism and other European philosophical movements to African philosophy. If he did examine more native philosophies like he does with Alexis Kagame's work on Bantu philosophy, the reader might actually gain some insight into the varieties and diversity of African philosophy. Of course, such a discussion might (and probably would) invalidate any use of the word 'African' to describe one system of thought as Mudimbe continually uses here.
Third, Mudimbe seems to be critical of everyone except his heroes like Levi-Strauss and, especially, Foucault. While very important for anyone writing about contemporary philosophy, Foucault has his faults as well, yet Mudimbe has no interest in critically examining Foucault's use of epistemes to describe the history of knowledge. I as a reader would have enjoyed an African criticism of Foucault, especially one that deals with Foucault's relentless reliance upon French sources with little regard for non-Europeans' own native or original epistemes.
This is all unfortunate because Mudimbe obviously has the skills to write a great book on African philosophy (or philosophies). Too bad this is not that book.
Book Description
THOUGHT POWER
I want you to know right from the beginning that this is blatant pitch to get you to buy a special book.
When marketing people have suggested that I use my editorial space as a 'bully pulpit' to do just that, I have resisted the idea, but this book is too important and potentially too valuable to you for me not to make this extra effort. This book can give you:
1. One of the most powerful techniques to change your life and bring you enormous practical benefits.
2. One of the most powerful techniques to transform your life and bring enormous spiritual benefits. 3. The discipline to accomplish almost anything you can dream of.
* * *
Think of your favorite dessert.
You saw an image of it. That's a Thought Form, and if you are salivating for that dessert now you realize how powerful it is. But that's insignificant in comparison to the power of a well constructed magical thought form and it is that skill that will bring you the three benefits listed above. All action starts with a thought form, but most thought is ineffective because it lacks the conscious technique and intentional discipline taught in this book.
* * *
This book, "The Magical Use of Thought Forms" is sub-titled:
A Proven System of Mental & Spiritual Empowerment.
It is not merely a book "about" seemingly miraculous power but a detailed course of instruction with training exercises that is extraordinarily enjoyable to read and easy to put in to practice. You can call what is taught here any number of terms, but I prefer to call it "magick" because that very word stirs the imagination and it with a disciplined imagination that the Human Mind is brought to full power.
In simply reading this book you will learn many things:
· How to use a magical mirror to double the power of desire, the first step in building a magical pyramid, followed by Imagination, Visualization and Organization.
· The Importance of Pineal Gland. · How to create an effective Astral Body. · How to create an astral assistant. · How to build "God" Forms. · How to construct and use a unique Memory Palace. · The real secret to "Drawing Down the Moon." · How to create a Household Guardian. · How to work with your Guardian Angel.
And many more practical matters once held to be "occult secrets" too powerful for any but initiates to know. But these matters are too important for your growth, survival and spiritual development to remain secret. Some of them have been published elsewhere, but here you have it from two authors who are trained initiates able to give the important exercises to actually train you and develop these skills. It takes work to become a magician, but being a magician is exactly what you are here to do.
You will learn about the true natural of reality as perceived both through the Ancient Wisdom and Modern Quantum Physics. You will learn all about the Astral Plane, and how important it is to everything that manifests in the Material World in which we live.
· The Astral Plane is Key to Magical Results.
· The Astral Plane is the Foundation of the Physical Universe. · The Astral Plane is the Imagination of the Universe. · The Astral Plane includes the Manipulation of Thought Forms.
You will be trained in the building of Occult Forms, and you will gain understanding of how they function and interact, how they can gain strength and endure or how they can be erased when no longer needed. You will access special instruction in the use of the Hebrew letters to draw upon their inherent power and meaning from their long established magical usage. You will understand the nature and use of prayer. You will learn about Astral Guardians and their use. You will be taught to construct, and guard, an Inner Temple for your true magical work. You will be given an actual ritual to create a Golem and the HTML code to create web pages with which to experience the concept of cyberspace. And you will be given a series of exercises that will transform all your reading and study into practical and workable skills you can employ anytime anywhere.
YOU WILL BE EMPOWERED!
That's the point I want to make. This is not a book "about" magick, nor is it a book that requires a life time of work for results. This is a Llewellyn Magickal Arts Book that I personally endorse. Use it, follow the instruction and practice the exercises, and you will gain expertise in the building of magical thought forms and learn how to use them.
Customer Reviews:
It's all in yer head!!!.......2007-05-14
If you've ever practiced magick and felt that there was maybe some minor detail missing from the experience, something more you could do to make it more effective, some secret that's been kept from you but you knew was just under your nose, this is the book for you!!! The exercises and ideas in this book will help you to realize your full potential! I'm not giving away any of the details of the book, but I am telling you that if you're serious about your art, then you should pick this up...If you learn just one single thing that's new, it'll be worth the price!!
Thorough survey of Thought Forms as well as a Complete Practice.......2006-02-25
This book is, in my opinion a treasure and offers a comprehensive study that would provide a newcomer to energy work and visualization enough food for thought and practice to carry them for quite a while. It is a program, a reference, and very complete. It is also indispensible to the seasoned practitioner as well; full of previously unheard anecdotes and ideas that will offer fresh material to those already informed about magical thought.
I disagree with others' criticism that book is too chatty and here is why: If you do know about the mind, you know that some parts of the mind learn and remember best when stories are used to facilitate. This book creates thoughtforms for you, to help you learn about thoughtforms, and it does so with interesting stories and histories thrown in as examples in-between practical work.
This is not a heavy reader, so don't let the other warnings of length deter you, it is enjoyable, easy to understand and still full of depth.
Here are some of the things you will learn about if you read this book:
The nature of astral matter, how it behaves and how you interact with it regularly, and how you can interact with it consciously to cause results.
Basic and easy instructions to complete advanced thought forms.
What it is like to visualize and create objects on the astral plane.
Methods for improving your skills at visualizing.
How to create astral dwellings.
How (and why) to dismiss a thought form once it's use is finished.
You might benefit from taking notes on the page numbers of any practices in the book that you want to try, though there are exercises listed separately in the appendices.
A brilliant text for the neophyte.......2004-05-22
I don't know what the other reviewers are complaining about, there are numerous texts on magic in print and many of them are for the more adept student (why not try Julius Evola's work), but I found this to be one book I recomment most highly to beginners. It covers the most important aspects of what is fundamental to all magical workings: concentration and visualization exercises. This book, in conjunction with Peter J. Carroll's Liber Null & Psychonaut, lay down the groundwork using semantics that are easy to grasp and not overly burdened with ritual, dogma, and other baggage from magic's past. Highly suggested.
Turgid Babble.......2002-05-09
I have no idea what these authors are trying to put across. They do spend a lot of time trying to put a scientific explanation to what an imagination is and giving the reader thier "occult expertise". The fact that one of the authors claims that astral projection is impossible to achieve at will implies that they are most likely one of Israel Regardies' "Cosmic Foo-Goos". The reader, if they take this work to heart, may come from the experience a less effectual person. It is sad that [garbage] like this gets sold and marketed when there is so much more valuable stuff out there.
Cogito ergo sum.......2002-02-13
Truly magical. This book comes under the heading of "I wish I had read this years ago". These two authors write seamlessly, you can hardly tell where one leaves off and another begins. They interact very well. On the theoretical side there is a wealth of knowledge to delve into and thimk about. This part alone kept me alternately reading and thinking for almost a week. I did not want to miss a word. Then I got to the practical side and had to keep re-reading paragraphs because I kept getting new insights.
All in all a remarkable book . I hope they write more. The combination of scientific and practical information is stunning, and so down to earth, unlike the airy fairy stuff that is published nowadays.
Customer Reviews:
THE BOOK on data modelling.......2007-04-26
In his own data modeling consulting, David Hay discovered that for all enterprises, there were common patterns of entities and relationships in various topical areas, whatever the organization. So he set about capturing those ideas in very high-level data models, and he put them together in a book.
This book is quite an intellectual accomplishment, because he has boiled down many different areas into their essentials and has captured those essentials. If you face a data modelling problem, it's likely that one or more of his patterns will work for you and jump-start your efforts.
These are high level models, and don't take you all the way to database design. You'll still have a lot of design decisions to make. But the framework given in these models will help you explore your own problem to discover if you've covered all the eventualities that Mr. Hay considered in his work.
Good introduction to data modelling.......2006-11-07
If you have any interest in modelling domains, then you've probably already read, or are planning to read, Martin Fowler's Analysis Patterns. The models here share some overlap with that book, but this is a gentler introduction, so I would recommend this book for a beginner, before they read the Fowler book. A more experienced modeller should probably consider this as a catalogue of off-the-shelf models.
This book covers modelling enterprises - e.g. businesses and government agencies, and the relationships between their employees, organisational structures and the products and services they provide.
The fundamental models applicable to enterprises are covered here: the business itself, its employees and their positions; the products they produce and the equipment used to produce them; the activities carried out to produce the products; and the contracts between a buyer and seller that deliver the products and services. Later chapters cover some more specific examples, including accounting, laboratories, and manufacturing.
It is true that the models aren't very detailed, but that's the point of the book - for pretty much any enterprise, these models can be used as starting points, while covering most of the relationships that are likely to be encountered. It's true that you won't get any advice on actually converting the models to a database or an object oriented design, but that's beyond the scope of the book.
While an expert modeller won't find the in-depth treatment they might be looking for, I would definitely recommend this to a beginner. Unfortunately, there's no insight into the process of decomposing a domain, although the last chapter demonstrates wide applicability of the models by applying them to a theatre. What you do get are lots of simple examples of the finished output, which will provide inspiration, even if you have no particular interest in the enterprise domain itself.
From Starters to Main Course.......2006-03-05
Very satisfying reading experience. Starting off rudimentary and keying into a maturity withing 5 chapters - hats off to David.
I am looking forward to his new book on meta data.
Potentially valuable, but primarily as a reference........2005-06-01
I've done some data modeling, and much more process modeling, so I was familiar with Mr. Hay's objectives with respect to data and restricting the model to logical representations of data, whatever that may be.
About six chapters into this book, I realize that while I could continue through to the end, I would likely find this more useful as a companion to a problem. I think the majority of non-academic readers, software practitioners if you will, will extract the necessary value from owning this book given a specific objective, i.e. I have to develop a work management model from scratch, and these are my (current) business rules.
The book covers so many kinds of models that it's entirely possible a reader will have no practical frame of reference, such as the chapter on accounting. Modern accounting software is primarily off-the-shelf, so developing a data model for it isn't something very common today. However, the smart developer understands that living "in the spaces between" software is a very good line of business, so to that end knowing what an ideal data model might have is certainly valuable ammunition when weighing vendor claims and evaluating solutions.
Because it lacks that sort of accessible readability, I am withholding a star. I'd have withheld a half-star if it were possible; I believe the book has great value to a developer or analyst.
Fred
Learn to think like a data modeler.......2005-02-26
I can understand why this book has gotten some mixed reviews. The author addresses many common modeling problems. But readers looking for instant solutions to those problems will probably be disappointed. Those looking for oop patterns are reading the wrong book. And anyone looking for a beginner's introduction to data modeling will be completely lost. But if you've been feeling as if your database designs could be better, but you're not sure how, you need this book.
Mr. Hay covers many real-world modeling problems. His discussions of these problems give incredible insight into the thought process of a professional data modeler. That is the true value of this book.
I first read this book about three years ago and now I am totally embarrassed by every database I created before. I've re-read it many times since and my copy is beaten and dog-eared. Thankfully, it's a hardcover book.
Make sure you read all the footnotes in the book. Some of them are hysterically funny.
Product Description
In the depth of every human being, there is a profound need for answers to the fundamental questions of existence. Is there a God? What is Truth? What is Reality? 'The Knee of Listening' has transformed the lives of thousands of secular and religious seekers since it was first published in 1972, because it answers all of these questions.
This autobiography shows, with incomparable wisdom and clarity, a life moved by the Divine, and a being of such unheard-of greatness that many readers are left amazed and touched by this book.
Adi Da s spiritual autobiography tells the miraculous story of his unique Incarnation and Revelation in the West for the sake of liberating all beings. To read it is to find the very Heart of Reality--tangibly felt in your own heart as the deepest truth of Existence. It is the great mystery that you are invited to discover.
This newly expanded edition includes an expanded description of Adi Da's early-life, leading up to his Divine Re-Awakening in 1970 and the secrets of his birth in 1939. It also has new revelations about the spiritual work of the great Realizers in his lineage, and Adi Da's unique demonstration of the Seventh Stage of Life. The profound events of "Yogic death" (in 1986, 1999, and 2000) that occurred after his Divine Re-Awakening--events that completed his process of Incarnating the Divine Conscious Light are new as well to this new edition.
From Amazon readers of a previous edition:
"... a kick a** book - that really gets to the core of what life, suffering and God Realization is all about.
"... an amazing story of the an actual and real spiritual awakening and transformation..."
Adapted from the introduction:
From time to time, there is a book that challenges, and eventually changes, the entire perspective of a civilization. 'The Knee Of Listening' is such an epoch-making book. Appearing at the beginning of the third millennium of the common era, it carries a Revelation that has the potenti
Customer Reviews:
A profound spiritual autobiography.......2005-04-29
The Knee of Listening by Adi Da Dawn Horse Press 621p (1995)
This is one of many editions of the spiritual autobiography of the unique American mystic
Adi Da. The first edition was 1972 and new editions with more material and much advertising about the group continue to appear. I also got the latest one(2004) which was about 3 times the size and weight but the hundreds of pages of new material was more of the opaque prose and advertising. So, I recommend one of the earlier paperpack editions like this one.
The sticker on the cover says `The most profound spiritual autobiography of all time` and this might well be true. I am in my 60's and have read thousands of books and this if one of the great ones. Certainly it is by far the fullest and clearest account of enlightenment I have ever seen. Even if you have no interest at all in the most fascinating of all human psychological processes, it is an amazing document that reveals a great deal about religion, yoga, and human psychology and probes the depths and limits of human possibilities.
As I have read and experienced alot in various religious traditions, I naturally compare his writings with those of others, particularly with the great Indian mystic Osho. Though they clearly agree on the major points of how to prodceed on the path, letting go of the attachment to the spiritual quest etc. their styles are vastly different. Both are highly intelligent and well read(Osho could speed read and read over 100,000 books) and were at home in the spiritual literature of the major religious traditions. However, most of Da's books are essentially unreadable as he struggles to express in language the ineffable realms of the enlightened mind. Even in this, by far his most readable book, he often veers off into pages of opacity as he tries to explain the unexplainable. Osho by contrast is the clearest, most jargon free expositor of the spiritual life who has ever lived. He wrote very little and nearly all of his more than 200 books are transcriptions of spontaneous talks he gave-- with no notes or preparation. They are nonetheless unexcelled masterpieces of spiritual literature. His amazing àutobiography`(actually compiled after his death) has been published by St. Martins by the full version is available online at www.oshoworld.com and other places. Unfortunately, he has very little to say about the exact details of his spiritual progress.
Most of Osho's talks were videotaped and are available on tape and DVD. As Da lives most of the time in seclusion on an island in Fiji it is not easy to get to hear him but the Dawn Horse Press sells a few videotapes on their web page. Da is not a very engaging or facile speaker, unlike Osho who is by turns amusing, shattering and hypnotic. But, as both of them understand, it's what the master is and not he says that is important.
Both of them were utterly honest and uncompromising in their life and teachings and Da omits nothing of relevance, including his youthful adventures with sex and drugs as well as his exposure to LSD, psilocybin and mescaline as a volunteer in government experiments. However, as with many or perhaps all of those destined to become enlightened, he was different from birth and experienced the Shakti energy (which he calls the Bright) from childhood. And, when he entered college, he said his primary interest was to discover what living beings are and what is living consciousness. Clearly not your typical freshman.
A major problem in describing advanced spiritual states is that no criteria or language for them exists in common discourse so mystics have to try to bend language in mostly vain attempts to capture their experiences. It is far worse than trying to describe seeing to a congenitally blind person since they at least have the cognitive structures and experience of the world. But mystics are quite rare and most of them have left little or no description of their mental states.
Unlike Osho, who rejected miracles, paranormal phenomena and all the other nonsense that commonly accompanies religion, Da seems to lack any science background at all and embraces precognition(p120), reincarnation(p555),`meditating` other persons, living on air(p287) etc., and regards the phenomena that I would say are happening in his brain as being `out there`. From comments included in newer editions it is clear that many of his disciples believe he can perform miracles like stopping a raging forest fire at their California retreat. Nevertheless, most of the time he is amazingly levelheaded, going thru over a decade of stress and psychic terrors that would drive most from the spiritual path. Millions of years of evolution have solidified the ego and it does not leave peacefully.
Interwoven with the spellbinding account of his spiritual progress are the details of the minds interaction with the body described in the East in terms of various forms of Yoga(eg., p95-9, 214-21, 249,281-3, 439-40). These few pages are worth more than a whole shelf of yoga books if you want to get to the heart of the mind/body relation in spirituality.
Unlike most who have become enlightened, he had a thorough grounding in Christian practice and made a major effort to become a protestant and then Greek Orthodox minister. Even years later, after he was far along the path with Muktananda, he had an amazing and totally unexpected series of visitations from Mary and Jesus that went on for weeks(p 301-3 et seq.).
Regarding drugs, as is nearly universal among spiritual teachers, he notes that although they may remove certain barriers at times, they do not provide a shortcut to understanding. However, nearly everyone is now aware that they put many on the path to higher consciousness.
He describes in detail the many stages in his ego death or self realization(eg, p72-4, 198-200, 219,20, 238-9, 245, 249, 258-9, 281, 355-65, 368-72, 406). Along the way, he realized the ultimate disutility of all practices and all traditions(337-9) including yoga(281-3) which are all attached to seeking and goals, ultimately winding up in the present. He discovered, as have many others, that seeking and meditation became obstacles and gave them up for devotion to his guru Muktananda(p420-22). His detailed accounts of his interactions with the famous Swami Muktananda and his ultimate realization of his limitations are of rare insight and honesty.
He constantly encounters his attachment to his ego(Narcissus-- eg, p108-110) and asks himself--`Avoiding Relationship?` by which he seems to mean avoiding the divine or ego death with spiritual seeking.
After enlightenment he teaches the 'only by me revealed and given Way of the heart`, finding all other paths to be `remedial` and 'egoic' and merely pursuing God or reality(p359 +) but after a careful reading of this and several other books I never got any idea what that way consists in. Undoubtedly being in his presence helps alot but in other places he has complained about the fact that his disciples just won't let it happen and one wonders if even one has been able to follow him. Of course the same considerations apply to all traditions and teachers and though some of Osho's friends(he disavowed the master/disciple relationship) have claimed enlightenment, nobody of his status has emerged. It looks like you have to have the right genes and the right environment and a very advanced and preferably enlightened guru to stimulate you. The world desperately needs higher consciousness and I hope that someone comes up with an easier way very soon.
Eye-and-Heart Opening.......2005-02-10
Adi Da Samraj reveals his life and work in the pages of this autobiography, and as that revelation unfolds, a simple fact emerges: he has gone through an extraordinary ordeal to give us all a way to be happy, even right now. It is a fascinating and moving account of how that way came to be, full of both the ordinary trappings of human existence and incredible spiritual awakenings. This book opened my eyes and heart to a rare being. Definitely worth the read.
The most illuminating autobiography you will ever read!.......2005-01-18
This is the most illuminating autobiography you will ever read! It will change your whole idea of life. When I read Adi Da's words, I can feel amazing clarity and bliss pervading my mind and heart. Troubles, seeking, and problems seem to instantly disappear.
I have always loved the prologue to the Knee of Listening, which speaks about the real possibility of freedom from fear of death:
"Death is utterly acceptable to consciousness and life. There has been endless time of numberless deaths, but neither consciousness nor life has ceased to arise. The felt quality and cycle to death has not modified the fragility of flowers, even the flowers within the human body. Therefore, one's understanding of consciousness and life must be turned to That Utter, Inclusive Truth, That Clarity and Wisdom, That Power and Untouchable Gracefulness, That One and only Reality, this evidence suggests. One must cease to live in a superficial and divided way, seeking and demanding consciousness and life in the present apparent form, avoiding and resisting what appears to be the end of consciousness and life in death.
The Heart Is Real understanding. The Heart Is Real Consciousness and Real Life. The Heart Is What Merely and Only Is, but Which Is also Appearing In and Behind the conditions of mortal life and its death. Therefore, it is said of old, the One That Is Is neither born nor come to death, not Alive merely as the limitation of form (itself), not Itself (or Entirely) Rendered in what appears, and, yet, It Is the Living One, than Which there Is no lesser other (and no Great or Greater Other), Appearing As all of this Play of changes, but Eternally One, Unchanging, and Free.
There is Only the Constant Knowledge and Enjoyment of the Heart, moment to moment, through the instant of all conditions of appearance and disappearance. Of This I Am Perfectly Certain. I Am That."
Profound beyond Limit.......2004-07-31
I have just started reading this newly updated book, having read an older version several years ago, and I am even more speechless reading this book - with the profundity, the sacrifice, and the recognition of the One Who speaks through The Knee of Listening. This is spiritually historical, but also very human.
I am newly impressed on each page and each chapter, with the depth of Adi Da's Realization, and with the sacrifice Adi Da has made and continues to make for the sake of returning to the "Bright" not just himself, but as his gift for all humanity, for our liberation and Happiness. The relentless willingness he has to go beyond all limits blows me away! Also, the relationship he had to his teachers is very instructive, especially talking about Nityananda and Vivekenanda. I think this book is a must read for anyone interested in God, Truth, Religion, or anyone on their own spirutual path.
Book Description
One of the world's premier business consultants and personal success experts, Brian Tracy has devoted more than 25 years to studying the most powerful time management practices used by the most successful people in every arena. Now, in Time Power, Brian reveals his comprehensive system designed to help readers increase their productivity and income exponentially -- in just weeks!
Filled with hundreds of powerful, proven tools and techniques, this book shows readers how to:
* gain two more productive hours each day
* make better decisions, faster! * set clear goals and focus on higher-value activities * manage multitask jobs more efficiently
* overcome the people problems that can sap their time
* use the five tools and techniques that will make them more productive for the rest of their lives
* and much more!
Overflowing with quick and effective time-saving strategies, Brian Tracy's Time Power lets readers in on the secrets to being more productive, earning more money, and getting more satisfaction from life.
Customer Reviews:
Just Too Familiar.......2006-03-28
I see alot of familiar material from other authors in this book. Time Power by Dr. Charles Hobbs is alot better and closer to the truth without the padding. Dr. Hobbs was published in 1974. I wonder at the uncanny resemblence of book titles.
Best Book Ever Read.......2005-08-19
This is the best.
U will be sucess in every prospects after you adopt all the techniqes in this book.
A lot of repeated material.......2005-06-26
Time Power by Brian Tracy is about taking control of your schedule so that you free up more time to do more and more. Using strategies like using a organizer, figuring out what your goals and priorities are, and things like refusing to take coffee breaks are examples of what can be found in this book.
The advice in this book is solid. I especially liked the chapters on organizing your tasks by priority, developing excellent work habits, and overcoming procrastination. The ideas presented are logical and beneficial to maintaining a highly productive lifestyle, while they remain practical and easy to implement.
However I felt I had read this book before because many of the ideas presented in this book are repeated in his other books. I found very little content in the book that was actually new. I also thought the chapter "Time Management Techniques for Salespeople" didn't belong in this book. That chapter should have been in a book directed to salespeople rather than a general audience, and which made me think it was just added for the sake of adding material.
This book is a good read if you never have read Brian Tracy material before, or if you would like to review Brian Tracy's material again. But if you are looking for new material, best to steer clear. 3 out of 5 stars.
Highly Recommended !.......2005-03-17
From your morning commute to your late-afternoon coffee break, your daily travel through time may be filled with costly detours and countless obstacles. Are your days typically disrupted by disorganization and delays? Do you spin your wheels on the dirt paths of life? Fortunately, Brian Tracy offers a concise map around the daily roadblocks. His text provides a toolbox of effective time-management techniques, ranging from New Age-style visualizations ("mental rehearsals") to concrete 15-minute planning blocks. Tracy provides solutions for reprogramming a self-defeating subconscious and for retooling aimless corporate meetings. He suggests useful exercises and summaries, including action steps at the end of each chapter. Tracy apparently designed the book in a way that enables you to digest individual chapters as self-contained units. For this reason, it has redundancies, but this weakness is also a strength. Through repetition, Tracy really drives home important time-saving concepts. We recommend this highly useful, highly applicable anti-time-theft device to road weary executives and staff members who are lost in space and time. This book is a keeper for ongoing renewal.
Take Control of Your Life!.......2005-01-31
This book has dramatically improved the way I live. Most of the ideas are very practical: Actions This Day List, Time planning, Long View and then backward regression to plan your current strategies, Feel Good psychology: eg: Please Yourself, live long and prosper, etc... Character building psychology eg: self-control, self discipline, self-mastery.
While I understand that Brian is trying to look at each aspect of the ideal life in isolation, there are recommendations in the book that may not be practical for your line of work becoz I am in Sales, and our time is almost equally spent on and off the presentation/negotiation table in dinners and drinks with not just prospects/customers but also co-workers and industry people. So Golden Hour, while is excellent for others may be difficult for us salespeople. Where else could we then find the rest required to recover from networking the night before?
However, I would still recommend Time Power to anyone who has trouble managing stress as a result of trying to do too much in too little time of our corporate lives.
Average customer rating:
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Environmentally Conscious Mechanical Design (Environmentally Conscious Engineering, Myer Kutz Series)
Myer, Ed. Kutz
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Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing (Environmentally Conscious Engineering, Myer Kutz Series)
ASIN: 0471726362 |
Book Description
The first volume of the Wiley series, Environmentally Conscious Mechanical Design focuses on the foundations of environmental design - both understanding it and implementing it. Coverage includes the important technical and analytical techniques and best practices of designing industrial, business, and consumer products that are environmentally friendly and meet environmental regulations. Topics covered include, Optiizing Designs; Design for Environment (DFE) practices, guidelines, methods and tools; Life Cycle Assessment and Design; Reverse Engineering; ISO 14000 and Environmental Management Systems (EMS) standards and others.
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