I Found the tape did help you take time to relax and escape reality for a few minutes.The most calming exercise for me was one called special place. The narrators voice was very soothing .My only complaint was that on some of the meditations (especially the moving band meditation) were rushed through too quickly, but the tape does teach you the exercises so that once you have learnt them you can adapt the time spent on each one to suit you personally.

His mental imaging seems a little out of place from time to time but overall it is good for relaxation and a good night's sleep. Side 2 of the tape is identical to Side 1. I don't recommend an Auto Reverse tape player for this one (The tape intro voice is very distrubing after having listened to one side of the tape).

fyi. Their are several references to God by the speaker.

This edition of the Emerald Tablet which in which Hortulanus gives commentary of the thirteen "stanzas" of the Hermes most famous work. The translation by Patrick J. Smith is readable with explanatory notes. There is a short introduction which attempts to give a concise history of the Emerald Tablet, then proceeds from there to read the Tablet in full, while thereafter is the commentary then notes. Not a long book, however the dialect of the times is enough to slow the reader down a bit, not to mention the dense subject matter. Its not an entirely entertaining book, but fascinating in itself is the Emerald Tablet. The notes are without references, however well written in a dry, scholarly form. Reccomended for the student of alchemy and occultism.

"Technologies of the self" contains essays by Foucault-scholars and Foucault himself. It concentrates on Foucault's later works, where there is a shift of focus from the power/knowledge axis to the axis of ethics. This collection of should be of interest to anyone who are interested in Foucault's work on ethics and subjectivity. I found one essay particularly illuminating; "Foucault and the Liberal View of the Individual" by Alessandro - something.

Fanning has chapters for basic visualization techniques with many exercises. Further chapters contain detailed visualization for specific problms such as weight loss, anxiety. I found the material very practical and straightforward. I am using it to record relaxation audio tapes.

While Bovenes has a very soothing voice, the content of the tape just isn't very good. I've used a number of tapes by various authors for sleep, relaxation, etc. This one is one of the least helpful.

Of four tapes I received recently, this was one of the two useful ones! Two were failures and a waste of money. The speaker's voice is soothing and distracting. Music is pleasant. I have a real sleep problem and this tape WORKS! FORGETsubliminations or so-called "brain sync" (so called delta waves inducement) and subliminals. Also FORGET repeated affirmations that become tedious and boring. I like a good narrative line and positive message that diverts me. I recomed this tape very much. It will lull you to sleep.

This is a great sleep/relaxation tape. I highly recommend it. Michaiel Patrick Bovenes has an incredibly relaxing voice. I listen to this tape nearly every night through headphones. A very soothing experience. I also purchased another of his tapes, the "Rainbow Meditation", and found it to be just as good.

...or almost.

Fact is, this very well-designed book is divided up in small chapters - one for each Invisibles issue. Every chapter is in its turn composed of small interviews (the bulk of them being with artist Jimenez), two separate fan-like comments from the curators and an occasional small quote from Grant Morrison himself.
Finally, in the sidebars of each page, there is a very detailed comment to each relevant panel or phrase. "Very detailed" meaning that the authors even go to the lenghts of reminding the reader that "Marylin Monroe was a big sex symbol in the late Fifties and onward..." etc etc.

I actually liked this "take nothing for granted" approach, but with it come a number of problems. First and foremost, there are no visual references, so you have to keep the orginal Invisibles book at hand to follow the notes. Then, this much detail means lots of text, which in turn had to be printed very small to fit on the sidebars - reading it might be tiring to many.

The final interview with Grant Morrison is priceless, altough it replicates much stuff that you can easily find on the sites devoted to The Invisibles.

So is this book worth the buying? My answer is maybe not if you're already heavily into fringe counterculture, as you'll already know about everything there's to know. In any other case, go for it as it can make your Invisibles reading experience much more layered and interesting.

A bit too shallow at times, but the amount of information in the book make it a definite must-read for anyone planning to crash-land into The Invisibles. The annotations are fabulous, the interview with Grant Morrison is a head trip and a half, and, generally, it's a delight of a book.

What a fun book! Other series guides seem to be pompous, overly reverent affairs, but a cheeky tone (on the part of both the writers and their interviewees) make 'Anarchy for the Masses' a breath of fresh air. 'The Invisibles' is a series open to many interpretations, and wisely the authors shy from providing one, opting instead to provide tools for fans to make up their own minds. The interviews are good, tracking the creation of the comic book with a sometimes-unexpected honesty. If you're a Grant Morrison fan, you've got to read the huge interview here. The definitive look at 'The Invisibles!' If only these guys had written that ponderous 'Sandman' book...

In the "General Introduction" of Grim's book, the editor starts his work by presenting the paradigm in which he works from. He asserts that the "philosophy of science is a paradigm of contemporary intellectual rigor." After he asserts his paradigm, he goes on by presenting his overall values and assumptions toward the blending of the occult and science. With the author's description of occult traditions, it is evident that he finds the occult very intriguing, mysterious and possessing an aspect of wisdom. For Grim, the issue at hand is intrinsically complex in nature and with a philosophical emphasis, takes the position that supporting logic presented in both within the scientific view and the paranormal view tends to be limiting and self-refuting. Alternately, Grim makes the point that the conceptual criticisms of paranormal beliefs tend to be compelling and worth review. His overall purpose is clear; to bring together the philosophy of science with the tradition of the occult. Grim introduces the philosophy of science by examining the problem of pseudoscience, discussing particular "occult" beliefs. The author also begins his work with two quotations, one of which is a quotation by Carl Sagan, from Broca's Brain. The quotation epitomizes the proper use of the art of critical thinking. He says, "They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." Here Sagan recognizes a potentially faulty system of argument but does not necessarily correct the view to fit his own bias/perspective/worldview. Sagan merely suggests that the system of argument, in itself, is flawed. This type of critical analysis is most productive for either it may prompt a reexamination of the original argument or may force the purveyors of the original argument to use a more accurate argument to represent their position. Unfortunately, the authors in the text, do not remain consistent to the sentiments expressed by Sagan in their thought. Consequently, just as Sagan contradicts his brilliant notion over and over in his thinking, the authors tend to repeat his basic idea, that the notion of the totality of truth is inherently flawed, over and over again. One gets the impression that the truth can never be attained - unless, of course, one subscribes to the laws of scientism where only scientific claims are meaningful and that which does follow scientific thought is not meaningful. This type of critical thinking can become quite counterproductive as expressed in Pasqual S. Schievella's article, "Science, Proof, and the Ancient Astronaut Hypothesis," when commenting on the tendency for the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal to be "more preoccupied with denouncing . . . than with investigating." This type of "science" results in hindering science. This type thinking is popular in Grim's book. It seeks to provide equal representation joining science with parascience but falls short of the mark. This thought-provoking book is well-written, nonetheless, and is a good exercise in critical thinking.

This is a solid review of the issues in demarcating Philosophy of science and the various psuedosciences. The second half of the book is an excursion into philosophy of science, with selections from many of the major names, while the first half is a collection of articles, some funny, some serious, on various pseudosciences. It is extremely useful as a reference.

If it has any weaknesses, is that it fails to clearly present a coherent way of demarcating one from the other.

Michael Turton

What is it not about? : Gossip, lies, boasting, turning the truth upside down, praising one-self (particularely by using pseudo-names and writing reviews about ones own books, yes, that happens very strongly with Patterson). I could go on and on.

"The Gurdjieff-work" has been quite protected until now, but now it seems, that since most of the great followers have died, the the old saying can be applied: When the cat is out, the mice are dancing. Well, here we have quite a big mouse, rather a...

The reviews under the name of Ivan Butovitch and under R. Cazares have the same style. I do not trust these reviews.
The reviews of "Eating the I" by the same author stronly
suggest that this problem is repeating itself here again!

I was very curious about this book, but after reading it, I found that it is basically advertisement for Pattersons workline, and trying to put down others. Clever attempt, but
not for the serious. Patterson gives in to the fascination of
the "rainbowpress", reducing readers and writers to this sort of "sharks, thriving in pecking in the serious work and suffering of people, who are far above them"!

Nothing about transformation, only self-love, self-importance,
condescension towards women and lots of hidden advertisement.

It's hard to believe that the same man who wrote the brilliant "Struggle of the Magicians" also wrote this thing. We can only assume that Patterson evolved very much both as an individual and as a writer in the intervening years (this is the earlier work). The book is an inelegant string of shameful incidents in the author's life; he merely presents them with a sort of glee at his own ability at objective (in his mind) self-disclosure, without ever mentioning in any detail about how Gurdjieff's ideas ever helped him to use these incidents in transcending himself. You can get that much from daytime talk shows, if you want it. It seemed at the very end that the book had a happy ending, when Patterson seems to be leaving those antedeluvian "masters" like Gurdjieff and Jung behind (having discovered a true anti-guru in Sunyata), but unfortunately for him and perhaps fortunately for readers, it didn't turn out that way. To this day he continues to propagate the Gurdjieff cult in a series of wonderfully well-written books that are easily the best of their dubious kind.

This is an esoteric book that most people won't recognize as such. That's because of the picture most people have of what constitutes an esoterically spiritual person. The pursuit of an ultimate reality beyond the cacophony of mundane life is connected with images of serene meditating monks, of wandering recluses, of wide-eyed dreamers and spooky mystics. To read instead a book full of parties and socializing, office politics, career moves, flirtation and adultery, and ego posturing seems odd. "Real" esoteric and spiritual people are expected to get away from petty socializing, to take vows of poverty and chastity, and to put their all into the pursuit of some strenuous austerity or achievement, as do monks, yogis and fakirs. But this book is about the Fourth Way, in which mundane life is grist for the mill of self-development.

It covers a period in the adult life of William Patrick Patterson. He's a writer and editor in the cutthroat milieu of New York City. He's also married, and tempted by bold, modern women. He rises like a meteor and is shot down by an office competitor. He knows wealth and poverty, arrogance and fear. He finds and honors a rare spiritual teacher. More than one in fact. There's cussing, drinking, verbal clashes, and relationships gone bad.

It's not the bald subject matter, but the insights and principles that illuminate it that distinguish this book from an ordinary memoir. Here is one of many examples: Patterson faces an ugly truth underlying his employment situation concerning the way a boss is using and mistreating him. He withdraws his cooperation from the boss at a critical moment, knowing full well the it will at least create extreme unpleasantness at the office if not result in his ultimate dismissal. He has upset an equilibrium that needed to be upset, yet what will the consequences be? Can he get control and set the situation right or not? There is no way of knowing this at the moment his decision must be made. He is on a fatal trajectory that continues when the co-worker confronts him and demands an explanation for Patterson's absence from an award dinner. Should he appease his adversary by making a phony excuse? "These two "I"'s inside me debate. The one, very rational, mature-sounding. The arguments are so reasonable, sensible. So what if I lie - so what? But then, just at the last instant, a feeling comes of total disgust - disgust for what stood before me, disgust with that whole way of life. And inside that feeling a silent voice declares: I-am-not-going-to-lie-to-him.

I tell him: "No excuse."

"What!" he screams and sags, a look of horror, bewilderment, frozen to his face .......

And something falls away and I know right then: I have broken free of him."

Later he tells his wife that he'll apologize if she really wants him too but is not optimistic about doing it, because: "I feel like there's you know, a big movement going on. Big wheels are turning. I'm at the interval in the octave. all this has to happen. I'm being moved on now."

How right he was. At the end of the book he had moved on and found some peace. With his wife, with his departed teacher the formidable Lord Pentland, and with a new career. No this is not a book claiming that the Fourth Way will make one rich, sexy, happy, or lucky. But it is about what the study and practice of the Fourth Way looks like from the inside of a modern man in modern society, which is where it was meant to be practiced all along.