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The Awakening of a Warrior

PAST LIVES OF A NAVY SEAL REMEMBERED

An autobiography of sorts that explores the author’s past lives in several historical time periods.
In his present life, Jaco (The Intuitive Warrior, 2010) is a retired Navy SEAL with an interest in past-life regression. He writes about his past incarnations, ranging from people in important positions in ancient Egypt to inhabitants of the lost continent of Atlantis, focusing not only on who he once was, but what he has learned. Whether sailing with the Argonauts or riding with the Knights of the Templar, he writes that his experiences taught him important lessons in spiritual fulfillment. He represents reincarnation not as a meaningless cycle but as a process for the advancement of one’s soul and for realizing one’s purpose in life: “The way I see it, realizing the divine purpose that is waiting to unfold within us and devotedly allowing that objective to evolve…is the most fulfilling aspect in life we can ever experience.” Aware that many of his statements may seem far-fetched to skeptics, the author maintains a positive tone as he encourages readers to explore their own past life regressions. The fact that such encouragement comes from a former member of an elite military organization will certainly open concepts to readers who might not normally explore them. Whether readers will be interested in some of the more fantastical statements, such as that the pharaohs were “descendants of extraterrestrial races,” will depend greatly on readers’ own preconceptions. It’s unlikely that skeptics will be persuaded that telepathy was a form of communication in the time of Siddhartha, for example, simply because the author says it was. Those who are interested in the ambiguous possibilities of ancient history, however, will find the book worthwhile.

A collection of one man’s past-life experiences that will intrigue readers who believe that ancient history contains much more than we currently understand.

Pub Date: July 10, 2014

ISBN: 978-1497521261

Page Count: 368

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2014

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THE ART OF SOLITUDE

A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.

A teacher and scholar of Buddhism offers a formally varied account of the available rewards of solitude.

“As Mother Ayahuasca takes me in her arms, I realize that last night I vomited up my attachment to Buddhism. In passing out, I died. In coming to, I was, so to speak, reborn. I no longer have to fight these battles, I repeat to myself. I am no longer a combatant in the dharma wars. It feels as if the course of my life has shifted onto another vector, like a train shunted off its familiar track onto a new trajectory.” Readers of Batchelor’s previous books (Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World, 2017, etc.) will recognize in this passage the culmination of his decadeslong shift away from the religious commitments of Buddhism toward an ecumenical and homegrown philosophy of life. Writing in a variety of modes—memoir, history, collage, essay, biography, and meditation instruction—the author doesn’t argue for his approach to solitude as much as offer it for contemplation. Essentially, Batchelor implies that if you read what Buddha said here and what Montaigne said there, and if you consider something the author has noticed, and if you reflect on your own experience, you have the possibility to improve the quality of your life. For introspective readers, it’s easy to hear in this approach a direct response to Pascal’s claim that “all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Batchelor wants to relieve us of this inability by offering his example of how to do just that. “Solitude is an art. Mental training is needed to refine and stabilize it,” he writes. “When you practice solitude, you dedicate yourself to the care of the soul.” Whatever a soul is, the author goes a long way toward soothing it.

A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.

Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020

ISBN: 978-0-300-25093-0

Page Count: 200

Publisher: Yale Univ.

Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019

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ON LIVING

A moving, heartfelt account of a hospice veteran.

Lessons about life from those preparing to die.

A longtime hospice chaplain, Egan (Fumbling: A Pilgrimage Tale of Love, Grief, and Spiritual Renewal on the Camino de Santiago, 2004) shares what she has learned through the stories of those nearing death. She notices that for every life, there are shared stories of heartbreak, pain, guilt, fear, and regret. “Every one of us will go through things that destroy our inner compass and pull meaning out from under us,” she writes. “Everyone who does not die young will go through some sort of spiritual crisis.” The author is also straightforward in noting that through her experiences with the brokenness of others, and in trying to assist in that brokenness, she has found healing for herself. Several years ago, during a C-section, Egan suffered a bad reaction to the anesthesia, leading to months of psychotic disorders and years of recovery. The experience left her with tremendous emotional pain and latent feelings of shame, regret, and anger. However, with each patient she helped, the author found herself better understanding her own past. Despite her role as a chaplain, Egan notes that she rarely discussed God or religious subjects with her patients. Mainly, when people could talk at all, they discussed their families, “because that is how we talk about God. That is how we talk about the meaning of our lives.” It is through families, Egan began to realize, that “we find meaning, and this is where our purpose becomes clear.” The author’s anecdotes are often thought-provoking combinations of sublime humor and tragic pathos. She is not afraid to point out times where she made mistakes, even downright failures, in the course of her work. However, the nature of her work means “living in the gray,” where right and wrong answers are often hard to identify.

A moving, heartfelt account of a hospice veteran.

Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-59463-481-9

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Riverhead

Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016

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