More eclectic advice on how to release the boundless resources that lie within, from the prolific Dyer. According to Dyer (Real Magic, 1992, etc.), each of us possesses a higher, invisible self in addition to the more familiar (but false) ego. Our essential task is to discover and act from the higher self, which is untouched by the fears, prejudices, and insecurities that normally control our existence and cause us so much unhappiness. Dyer suggests that we can do this in four steps: banishing fears and doubts; observing and distancing ourselves from our body and surroundings; shutting down the inner dialogues of our frenzied thoughts; and consciously following the guidance of our higher self instead of the ego with its illusions of separateness. He goes on to discuss the conflicts that arise as we move into the higher self, and he concludes with a vision of a transformed world as an egoless collective of sacred selves. Dyer draws on many sources, and his favorites include Carlos Castaneda, Emerson, the Course in Miracles, Transcendental Meditation, and Krishnamurti. He blends the Hindu doctrine of non-dualism and the higher self with stock American themes, such as how he has passed from a sinful past to a happy (and prosperous!) present and the need to keep saying to ourselves, ``I know I can do it.'' Dyer has some good things to say on his basic theme of distancing oneself from the ego, but he repeats himself and often lapses into Stoic bromides (``Only the person you imagine yourself to be suffers''). In New Age fashion, Dyer draws on the wisdom of different religions without reference to their unique spiritual and metaphysical assumptions, as if they were all the same or the distinctions irrelevant, and he fails to defend and explain his main assertion that the higher self is somehow God. Practical, though unoriginal, insights for seekers. ($150,000 ad/promo; author tour)
Pub Date: April 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-06-017786-1
Page Count: 320
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1995
An erudite and artful, though frustratingly restrained, look at Old Testament stories.
The Book of Genesis as imagined by a veteran voice of underground comics.
R. Crumb’s pass at the opening chapters of the Bible isn’t nearly the act of heresy the comic artist’s reputation might suggest. In fact, the creator of Fritz the Cat and Mr. Natural is fastidiously respectful. Crumb took pains to preserve every word of Genesis—drawing from numerous source texts, but mainly Robert Alter’s translation, The Five Books of Moses (2004)—and he clearly did his homework on the clothing, shelter and landscapes that surrounded Noah, Abraham and Isaac. This dedication to faithful representation makes the book, as Crumb writes in his introduction, a “straight illustration job, with no intention to ridicule or make visual jokes.” But his efforts are in their own way irreverent, and Crumb feels no particular need to deify even the most divine characters. God Himself is not much taller than Adam and Eve, and instead of omnisciently imparting orders and judgment He stands beside them in Eden, speaking to them directly. Jacob wrestles not with an angel, as is so often depicted in paintings, but with a man who looks not much different from himself. The women are uniformly Crumbian, voluptuous Earth goddesses who are both sexualized and strong-willed. (The endnotes offer a close study of the kinds of power women wielded in Genesis.) The downside of fitting all the text in is that many pages are packed tight with small panels, and too rarely—as with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah—does Crumb expand his lens and treat signature events dramatically. Even the Flood is fairly restrained, though the exodus of the animals from the Ark is beautifully detailed. The author’s respect for Genesis is admirable, but it may leave readers wishing he had taken a few more chances with his interpretation, as when he draws the serpent in the Garden of Eden as a provocative half-man/half-lizard. On the whole, though, the book is largely a tribute to Crumb’s immense talents as a draftsman and stubborn adherence to the script.
An erudite and artful, though frustratingly restrained, look at Old Testament stories.Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-393-06102-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Internationally renowned because of his earlier books, among them tape Letters, Surprised by Joy, Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis making religion provoking, memorable and delightful is still more latest Reflections on the Psalms. Though he protests that he writes learned about things in which he is unlearned himself, the reader is likely thank God for his wise ignorance. Here especially he throws a clear lightly or not, on many of the difficult psalms, such as those which abound with and cursing, and a self-centeredness which seems to assume' that God must be side of the psalmist. These things, which make some psalm singers pre not there, have a right and proper place, as Mr. Lewis shows us. They of Psalms more precious still. Many readers owe it to themselves to read flections if only to learn this hard but simple lesson. Urge everyone to book.
Pub Date: June 15, 1958
ISBN: 015676248X
Page Count: 166
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1958
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