I read this book ten years ago. I find Amazon customer reviews very valuable, and see the need for one here. This will best serve as an indication of the book's memorability. I remember fewer details of this book than I do for books I have more recently read.

I have only read one other novel-length account of the near death experience, and have read several accounts that have appeared in magazines. This book echoes some aspects of the near-death experience, and introduces other aspects that were new to me.

One of the images from this account that has stayed with me ever since reading the book is that of the torment of leaving a physical body when one has become attached to experiences that require a fleshly body to participate in or sense the experience. Examples could be eating, physical contact with other living beings, dancing, think of your own examples. Ritchie's spiritual guide explained to him that those who have become dependent on such activities in substitution for spiritual satisfaction feel that they are burning as they crave physical sensation shortly after leaving their bodies behind.

There were descriptions of spirits who linger near the earthly plane, that were striking to me. The scene that remains in my mind is one of the patrons of a tavern.

I am currently reading another book of this type by Betty J. Eadie. This book would make a good companion to the Eadie book. This type of account invites comparison reading.

One topic is the struggle with misleading statements about the Eight Sphere, put forth through Sinnett. H.P.Blavatsky knew what Sinnett wrote was false but she was in the hands of those desiring false teachings to be inculcated. The book talks about the suppression of the teaching of repeated earthly lives , and the relation of Spiritualism to the hiding of those true teachings of life between lives.

You get a basic outline of spiritual science. For me, there were certain areas that are difficult to understand (eg the evolution chapter). This book introduces you to think in a way that you are not used to. Sometimes you feel like saying, this guy is crazy - but he's not. So read this book - it gives you a good general introduction to spiritual science.

Steiner's great achievement in this book is to imagine himself into the minds of Western philosophers from Plato onwards.He is thus able to come to the conclusion that philosophers before Augustine in the 5th century A.D., and probably all of humanity, had not acquired the full consciousness of individuality.Philosophers like Plotinus, who lived two centuries before Augustine,assumed that thoughts and concepts were the lowest boundary of the spiritual world, which was revealing itself through them to the direct vision of mankind.It is only in later centuries that man became conscious of himself as an individual and would say to himself, "It is we ourselves who raise ourselves from the things of the senses up to that level where there are other realities, more or less abstract, yet also derived from our own experience".

When man became conscious of himself as an individual, he could no longer experience the direct spirit-vision previously enjoyed by philosophers such as Plotinus. Instead, Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century (the Scholastics), brought down the world-problem of the nature of spirit-reality into the sphere of thought and of reason.

This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the interface between philosophy and spirituality. Western philosophy from William Occam in the 14th century onwards has, in general, tended to separate the two and Steiner's book is a valiant attempt to swim against this tide. It is unsurprising that it has not found favour in academic circles. He points out, for instance, that for Descartes in the 17th century philosophy is no longer directed towards an understanding of life or the discovery of some secret of the universe for human consciousness. It is entirely concerned with the nature of knowledge itself and how we can gain certainty.

Steiner' cogent and clear reasoning has re-awakened my interest in philosophy as a means of seeking spiritual truth. The Redemption of Thinking is easily accessible to those with no formal training in philosophy, and I would go so far as to say that it is one of the most important and also most neglected books of the last century.

The title of this book tries to be comprehensive in describing 6 very different public lectures by Rudolf Steiner, the philosopher, scientist, seer and educator who died in 1925. They are somewhat difficult to read, but very well worth it. The titles of the lectures are illuminating: "Free Will, Immortality";"The Historical Evolution of Humanity";"The Supersensible Being of Man";"The Nature of Anthroposophy";The Mystery of the Human Being";The Scinece of Spirit and the Social Question." Of all the lectures it is the last one that may be the most important one for today. It explains the failure of Robert Owen's social experiment in New Harmony, Indiana. To be practical, Dr. Steiner explains that the main social law must be understood and followed. The success of civilizations (and ours) depends upon to what extent people follow this law.

Rudolph Steiner presents evidence based on history that is duplicated by evidence in recent brain studies. Children's brains develop over three distinct time periods in their life in three different ways. Education would improve vastly if teaching methods were designed to help children learn in ways that are consistent with the way children learn. Joseph Chilton Pearce states similar views based on biological studies. All educators and education policy makers should read this book.

This book is out of print and no longer available. However, if you require an electronic transciption, please contact: johnrpenner@earthlink.net for more information.

A.J. Cronin depicts a tale of a simple advanced teenage boy. Perhaps some of it is autobiographical . . . Cronin is deeply in love with the story, it is told with such affection for each character. The young boy grew up through out the British isles he, Laurence Carrroll, meets some very engaging persons. Terence, the dashing swindling cousin; Pin the teacher; Nora, his second love and cousin. His mother is Laurie's first love, pushing him in all sorts of things, with great admiration for it all.
Miss. Greville, is the most interesting and astonishing of all. Upon Laurence and his mother losing their house, Miss. Greville takes them in. With Miss. Greville's lunatice antics and empty promises coupled with some of the most enthralling experiences, Laurence becomes infatuated with everything she has to teach him.
The story grasps you immediatly when Laurence and the reader experience two very disheartening deaths and he is moved shortly thereafter to live with his odd Uncle Leo. Experience the game of cricket and a summer of botany he begins to love himself and the world.
A Song of Sixpence was not what I expected. I was expecting a parody or an advanced version of the classic poem but it was neither. In fact, nothing of the nursery rhyme was mentioned. Clever, indeed! Although Cronin never wrote about pockets full of rye or black birds, Cronin's tales is just as silly and engaging as one could imagine!!

It is a wonderful story with the idea of cats as aliens come back to earth to collect their cousins. (earthling cats) It is a wonderful story where a boy and girl hear them thought-speak to their cousins to come home and learn too much. It is a MUST READ.

Try this book if you are curious about Waldorf schools as a healthy, happy alternative for your child. It covers Steiner's view on child development and educational theories, and how they are reflected in the lessons.