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THE BUCKLAND ROMANI TAROT KIT reviewed by Madeline Weise
THE CULTURAL CREATIVES reviewed by Mirra Lee
The impetus for this book came from a phenomenon that Dr. Ray identified as a sidebar to a variety of unrelated surveys his firm had done over a period of 13 years: approximately a quarter of the adults polled followed an unusual, consistent pattern. These people cross every known boundary, and are creating a massive social transformation throughout Western culture. (The same results show up in European research.) Based on their beliefs and values, they were recognized as a subculture and designated as "the cultural creatives." Since they don’t yet know that they exist as a definitive group, the authors wrote this book for purposes of fostering that awareness.
ELECTRICAL NUTRITION reviewed by Steve McCardell
My own means to grasping truth is returning to the root energy of all things and advancing my theories from there; I was delighted to come across a title that does just this for nutrition, joining first principles with the science of how bodies work. However, as the Hiestands approach in this way, they interpret the scientific aspects differently because they view the entire nutritional process as an energetic or electrical one.
SEPHER REZIAL HEMELACH reviewed by Steve McCardell
No, I won’t quite buy that myth — the text too clearly walks a Judaic path. The book is often attributed to Eleazer of Worms, who may have compiled it in the 13th century, but whether he wrote the thing himself or compiled it from earlier texts is unclear. What is certain is that it’s a collection of important esoteric teachings, ranging from angelic hierarchy and astrology to Kabbalah and Gematria (numerology of the Hebrew alphabet). If Eleazer did write it, he was thoroughly versed in the mystical thought of the day.
SOCRATES CAFÉ reviewed by Steve McCardell
This is the very purpose of Socrates Café. In 1996, author Christopher Phillips made a bold decision: life for him was falling apart, and he decided to start anew. He hit the road and began to travel, taking his idea of resurrecting Socrates to jails, nursing homes, schools, coffeehouses — anywhere he thought he could pull people together for bringing philosophy to life. That dream appears to be working — and spreading.
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As a young boy, Raymond Buckland watched in fascination as his full-blooded Gypsy grandmother spent hours doing tarot readings. He learned to read the cards himself as a young adult, and used many different tarot decks, but he always wanted to produce a deck that would capture the "full flavor" of Gypsy life that he was exposed to growing up in England after World War II. He was very proud of his Romani (Gypsy) cultural heritage, with its own language, its own hierarchy, its own religious beliefs, and its nomadic way of life. He wanted to counter the negative stereotypes of Gypsy life and portray the positive aspects of a proud, colorful, independent, mysterious people. He felt that the rest of the world could learn from their inventiveness, their closeness to nature, and their seeming ability to put life into its proper perspective.
Dr. Paul H. Ray is the executive vice president of a market research and opinion polling firm specializing in surveys based on the lifestyles and values of Americans; Dr. Sherry Ruth Anderson is a renowned psychologist, now in private practice, who is also co-author of The Feminine Face of God.
One time before I have reviewed an older title for The New Times, and then because the book was such an interesting journey. Now I do so again because this older title (first published in 1999, updated printing in 2000) appears a most important read for anyone interested in understanding or advancing our approach to health. This title is Electrical Nutrition.
Amidst all the books I have for review, this one grabbed my interest so thoroughly that I set all else aside to peruse its pages. And what was the immediate draw? This appears to be the first English translation of a Hebrew magickal text dating back at least into medieval times. According to myth, it is in fact the first book ever, given to Adam by the archangel of wisdom, Rezial.
Are you into philosophical inquiry, into answering life’s big questions — which can also be the smallest questions of all? Are you one among the crew trying to "Know Thyself"? Have you ever imagined being part of a group that gets together for the sole purpose of philosophy?
This month’s column will hopefully help you understand much more about earthquakes and preparedness. I know that preparing it has helped this former East Coaster!