A captivating exploration of divine wisdom that will appeal to readers seeking deeper spiritual connections.
A memoir examines a woman’s profound spiritual experiences on her journey to enlightenment.
Nolan reveals her first religious experience in which she witnessed a group of people, including her parents, levitate a table. Gifted with the “Second Sight” that runs in the women of her family, the author became aware of the consciousness of animals and trees and, later, people. After drifting away from spirituality as a teenager, she rediscovered “the divine Presence” with the help of LSD and became heavily involved in the Eastern yogic meditation path during the late 1960s. She made a life-changing journey to New Delhi to meet her guru, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti: “When I met his eyes, they were not ordinary but large and otherworldly, brimming with Shakti or divine energy. I was engulfed by his gaze, a powerhouse of spiritual force. Then Shakti shot from his eyes into me. I was stunned. My mind became immobilized by bliss, unable to think.” Tasked with being the vessel in which he infused the essence of his consciousness “in seed form”—a responsibility Nolan struggled with at first—she eventually embraced her role and helped train a new generation of meditation teachers and students in the ways of her guru. Clear and descriptive prose elevates this memoir, delivering a story that readers dedicated to the metaphysical will find enthralling. Raw and uninhibited in these pages, the author never shies away from addressing the thornier issues of spirituality—even frankly acknowledging her parallel journeys to mental health and enlightenment. Her own belief that such an important spiritual burden “doesn’t happen to ordinary people like me” makes her experiences all the more relatable, even if readers haven’t come close to walking the kind of divine path that Nolan describes. Her ultimate message of realizing “the One in everything, in pleasure and in pain, in happiness and in sorrow” transcends religious affiliation.
A captivating exploration of divine wisdom that will appeal to readers seeking deeper spiritual connections.Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2024
ISBN: 9780999387399
Page Count: 306
Publisher: Ananda Gurukula
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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