The QUALIA Revolution - from quantum physics to cosmic qualia science
"Wilberg's 'Qualia Revolution' is easily one of the three (maybe four) most monumental, moving, stupendous works I have had the privilege of reading ... I could go on and on, but will spare you. I let the book sit for a week or so after reading, to let the edge of my enthusiasm settle a bit."
Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of 'Crack in the Cosmic Egg', 'The Biology of Transcendence', 'The Death of Religion and Rebirth of Spirit'
Amazing book. True philosophy for the modern world. It's starting a new chapter in the life of this old mind.
George Gorman
The Science Delusion - why God is real and ‘Science’ is religious myth
1
If we consider that the paragon of the true scientist is the person willing to inquire into the very presuppositions upon which his or her view of science is based, then this may well be one of the most essential books about Science that a scientist or non-scientist could read.
With respect, I would suggest Vahan Setyan needs to bone up on how Physics has developed since Einstein, Bohr and Heisenberg. Wilberg's brilliant deconstruction of the 'mythic' premises upon which empirical science, including Quantum Physics, is based is informed by an epistemological acumen breathtaking in its rigor and scope. Nowhere in the entire book does the author resort to anything remotely resembling a 'concept of God' as some entity. His argument is far more sophisticated than that, inviting us to inquire into and see through limitations of conceptual thinking responsible for our unfortunate, and often blind, adoption of explanatory premises which cannot withstand the profound scrutiny of a mind that deeply comprehends what Heidegger called 'authentically free thinking.'
To 'get' Wilberg's argument is at once challenging and exhilarating. I guarantee, if you read this book with a fair and open mind, not only will it radically affect the way you view so called objective science, it will put objectivity itself in a context that redefines our relationship with the world we live in and which lives through us and 'as' us. That's a huge claim, I know, but this is a hugely important book. Read it. You won't be disappointed!
C.W. Yardley
2.
This book, together with a book with the same title by Rupert Sheldrake, should be `vade mecum' for all those who are genuine truth-seekers. In this book Peter Wilberg is prepared to challenge the `generally accepted truth' of the day, as promoted by the scientific establishment. He and Sheldrake are advocating fresh perception and evidence based enquiry, challenging the modern science which is really not science in the true sense of the word, but scientism - dogmatically sticking to its theories, which, as history has shown again and again, get outgrown with new realisations that result from the growth of human consciousness. The attitude of the mainstream scientific establishment towards them shows surprising similarity with religious fanaticism. And, whilst, as a result of their 'heresy', they are not burnt on a stake, they are ridiculed, ignored and ostracised.
3.
...this book is a critique of the way in which science takes its own quite 'supernatural' mental and mathematical constructs as more REAL than the tangibly experienced natural phenomenona they are used to 'explain'.
In reality the whole edifice of science cannot 'explain' a single QUALITY aspect of our actual 'empirical' experience of nature - colour for example.
As for the question of 'God', the author makes it quite clear that the real question is not whether God does or does not exist as some sort of 'supernatural' being, but rather what is meant or can be understood by the word 'God'. He argues that God can best be understood NOT as some type or supreme or supernatural being that happens to 'have' consciousness but rather as identical with consciousness - not a consciousness which is 'yours' or 'mine', the private property of bodies or beings of any sort - but universal consciousness of which every being and body in space and time an individualised portion, expression and embodiment.
The basic argument of the author is more RATIONAL that what than the root assumptions of physical 'science'. This is the argument that the most fundamental scientific 'fact' of all is not the 'objective' existence of a universe of bodies in space and time but a SUBJECTIVE AWARENESS of that universe. Yet awareness or consciousness AS SUCH cannot - IN PRINCIPLE - be reduced to or explained by any phenomomena or concepts we happen to be aware or conscious OF. To attempt to do so would be like attempting to explain dreaming by some thing that we happen to dream of.
The Awareness Principle - a radical new philosophy of life, science and religion
1
I would like to express my gratitude to you for the invaluable role your writing on The Awareness Principle has played in my journey of self-enquiry. I discovered your website on The New Yoga of Awareness (www.thenewyoga.org) about two years ago and have constantly returned to the essentials of ‘The Awareness Principle’ - which have greatly helped me in both recognising and stabilising in my true nature of Awareness.
I have found particularly useful your basic introductory mantrams:
- The awareness of a thought is not itself a thought.
- The awareness of a sensation or emotion etc. is not itself a sensation or emotion etc…
Also the one that suggests that instead of using the word ‘I’ and thinking to ourselves that ‘I’ think, feel or experience ‘X’, we instead simply say to ourselves ‘There is an awareness of thinking, feeling or experiencing ‘X’. These are all very practical ways to discriminate between awareness and its contents as well as a powerful aid for dissolving potential identifications.
2
Who should read this book? Anyone who is seriously interested in fulfilled living, by any name: wholeness, liberation, enlightenment, realization, holistic consciousness, non-dual awakening, and so on. By "seriously interested", I mean that the reader is willing to put the book into practice. Readers interested in incisive philosophical views will likely find it worth reading. Readers who are willing to put it into practice may well find it life-changing.
In The Awareness Principle, Peter Wilberg manages a feat that few authors have even attempted: articulating the keys to awakening to fulfilled consciousness in direct experience, in a manner that is simply and clearly stated, and which is verifiable by direct testing. The essence of the Awareness Principle itself, as Peter writes, is as follows: "The Awareness Principle is based on this primary distinction - drawing a line between anything we experience and the pure awareness of experiencing it." This may seem interesting, or philosophical - but it is actually an essential truth that is at the heart of spiritual traditions, but which has never before been stated so clearly and succinctly.
I co-lead meditation retreats, and work with people 1:1 as well, and this simple truth (the Awareness Principle) has been downright life-changing for at least a few of the people with whom I have shared it. Unlike so many other so-called spiritual books, this book doesn't replace or supplant other books or systems per se -- it actually helps to clarify what they're trying to say, and can help to bring them alive. I highly recommend this book and all of Peter's books - and if you're new to the work of Peter Wilberg, I recommend The Awareness Principle as the perfect place to start.
The Illness is the Cure - an introduction to Life Medicine and Life Doctoring
I became familiar with Peter Wilberg's work by searching online for "existentialism" and "medicine" after I read a book by Irvin Yalom, "Staring at the Sun". I am an oncologist in Baltimore, Maryland and I have been fascinated by my patient's reactions to their illness and death, as well as my own existential dilemmas. We are so removed from illness and death as a commonplace and expected part of life. And, I think that this leads to unconscious, self-destructive behavior on most of our parts that can otherwise be ameliorated by a more aware meditation on our own finiteness.
We so rarely want to contemplate our own non-existence. There is a need for refuge in religiosity and materialism. I believe that much of the crassness of our society, our lack of care for each other and our environment, overpopulation, the medicalization of so many things that were considered normal in times past and the explosion of psychiatric diagnoses... that most of these are tied in with our disconnect from the angst at the core of our being. That without a deep feeling into the nature of our Being and the concept of our non-Being, we are doomed to try to escape it by adding unnecessary pain to inevitable pain.
Mr. Wilberg's work in his books and on his website, Existential Medicine, both strike at the heart of this. That our depression, our anxiety, our illness, our travails... they are the gateways to our freedom. That we must listen to our depression more than we listen to Prozac. That there is meaning in the failures of our bodies and minds, and that, in many ways, they are not "failures" at all... they are representations of the totality of Being itself.
The Tibetan Buddhists often advocate a daily meditation on our death as a means of liberation. I have to agree. By pondering our limits in body and mind, we tap into our limitlessness and connection to the continuum of life and nature.
We are more free, finding the freedom of the unlimited in the finite nature of our corporal body.
Phillip J. Nivatpunim
Great book for understanding your illness.From the book: “Through giving ourselves time to simply feel our symptoms more intensely rather than less-we can come to understand them in a new way-not as signs of some possible disease but as symbolic expressions of a felt dis-ease relating to one or more aspect of our life-and also constituting a distinct state of consciousness, ‘self state’ or ‘body identity’ in its own right.The key to self healing is to feel and sense symptoms we experience in a new way-not just as localized physical sensations or mental-emotion states however,but as self-states – as ways of feeling oneself and one’s life.Any symptoms, if fully felt and followed in this way-meditated rather than medicated – will lead inevitably to healing insights into one’s life and to a renewed and transformed sense of self.This is not because we are curing ourselves without biomedical treatment,but because it is our very existence –our relation to life –that is what is most essentially calling for healing.’’
You will be able to learn how to do this practically in more detail in this book.There are lot of teachers who talk about not running away from emotions and experiencing them fully but the book goes much deeper than that.This book can be understood better if you read other books of the author. All his books are perfect balance of deep philosophy and exciting practical meditations.
Ajit Soman
I highly recommend The Illness Is The Cure, as I do literally all of Peter Wilberg's books. One of the most inspirational aspects to his work and writing, for me, is that he takes essential truth, whether from sources ancient or modern, or from his own inner wisdom - and he demonstrates clearly and articulately how that truth applies in essentially every area of human living, whether in terms of direct inner experience, relationships, social and economic dynamics, and so on.
Now, with his latest book, Peter addresses how this understanding applies to overall health, as well. Even more importantly though, Peter Wilberg's application of timeless wisdom to these different aspects and areas of living shines new light, and brings important new information and perspective, to the topic areas themselves, and this new book is no exception. This approach often supplants misunderstanding, and/or fills in gaps and blind spots which currently exist in these topic areas, per the incomplete approaches of so-called conventional wisdom.
Doug Sandlin
I highly recommend this book. It encourages a person to look at their lifestyle and make changes that promote health. Wonderful book for insight into one's own life.
Dreams, Music and the Many Faces of the Soul - a memoir of metaphysical experiences
If you have taken the time to go through my Review Profile on Amazon you will be able to tell that I am a huge fan of Peter Wilberg. The reasons for this are numerous and more often than not I use adjectives of praise along the lines of "concise" "witty" "comprehensive" (etc.) concerning the topics (regions) he surveys; and he surveys quite the wide range of these, to be sure.
I am a fan of his material partly because of the breadth of topics he presents upon; many I've studied myself for reasons professional, academic, and - more often than not - recreational. Also, He presents with authority on all of the subjects he covers; juxtaposed with his capacity to hold questions to that authority for consideration, as well as the authority of others.
SIDE NOTE: I respond well to this style of writing - being posed a question before being deftly maneuvered through a thoughtful consideration of that question in an authoritative way - so there is a bit of cognitive bias I should admit to now!
He "thinks" about the questions himself, actually considers them thoroughly through; explores the question from a variety of angles, and (or so it seems to me) allows for each to be "weighed" in his thinking. Then taking these thoughts and he holds them within the "light" of awareness; held until an answer is unveiled from within the question, through the filter of his "thoughtful considerations" :).
Here in Peter Wilberg's Memoir of Metaphysical Experiences, this comes through differently than in other books of his that I have read... truth told, I haven't read this book specifically. I HAVE however read the part/draft of it published on his blog... several times actually.
This presents an autobiographical reflection of Peter's life from childhood until now with respect to his subjective 'spiritual/inner' development. I absolutely love it!!!!
With this publication Peter Wilberg gives readers a glimpse into his past and his present in a way that is unique from other bios and auto-bios I've read. He provides insightful accounts of "Spiritual" experiences that seem almost poetic, if not for being down right straight forward verbatim descriptions of tangible experiences. His accounts of events themselves are global reflections upon stages of his life in youth through adulthood, and don't suffer any loss of intimacy.
A great deal but not all of these experiences naturally develop into and as a result of practicing what he has come to term the Tantric Pair Meditation (previously termed morphing, resonance, mesmeric resonance, etc each change fitting with the context of the new ways this PRACTICE is Performed). It consists of two people sitting face to face, each attending to the awareness of the other as an awareness attending to each others' awareness.
We are provided with a complete history of how he and his friends first began to experiment with what has grown to become the Tantric Pair Meditation; all of the stages of growth and development that it (and they themselves) evolved through as a result to commitment to the practice. We are also introduced to others for whom Peter has formed companionships on his journey, along with his reflections upon those experiences worked in deftly.
PLEASE consider giving this book a chance, even if you have not found yourself resonating with Peter's other work. This is different from those. It is a piece of art and an intimate journal and a scientific analysis; all rolled together as one, redefining the standards by which one might choose to review their own life, or how they might choose to change their life, or simply as an insightful and inspirational example of how one Man has learned to "come to terms with Non-Being."
Head, Heart & Hara - the soul-centres of West and East
1.
As I picked up his book I felt as though this was writing and thought for which I had been looking my entire life. It is not only an utterly profound and ingenious exposition of the very inwardness that I feel and sense as a human being (particularly as a musician and artist), it also addresses and clarifies in a completely cogent and highly insightful way, the many doubts and dilemmas that New Age spirituality, conventional medicine and psychiatry, and the materialistic standard have left me with.
Although on initial reading I found some of the prose to be quite densely written, I came to value Wilberg's style as the very expression of that soul world of which he so obviously partakes. In some books I underline a word here or there. Others I mark out an odd paragraph or two. In Head, Heart and Hara I had to resist the temptation to underline every joyous word Wilberg has written. It is brilliant writing and brilliant thought.
2.
So, this review is a long time coming. I have read and re-read this book. I pour myself over it's pages, only to re-collect my reading, and want to re-view it yet again. Here in lies the most sophisticated response to trends in the new age, in humanistic psychology and philosophy, to the many variations on eastern meditation practices and the many appropriations by modern westernized social sub-cultures, of generations old, methods and theories of eastern philosophical progress. I have not come across such a well researched, and articulated, method for the realization of the primacy of awareness over matter, energy, etc. Though to be fair, I myself have been following the path to the observations made by the author through numerous authors, and techniques, for almost a decade, never quite making sense of what I'm listening for. The Hara is no "energy center" it is the 'center' of Being, and as such, is the extension point of Awareness of Non-Being. This is grasped through identification with the Field-Dynamic Aware Center of Being, within the subjective space experienced as the abdominal space, termed hara in traditional Japanese culture. The ease with which what this implies is communicated, has peaked a great amount of personal interest in the corpus of Mr. Wilberg, and in Mr. Wilberg himself. I look forward to posting more reviews of other works of his.
Tantric Wisdom for Today’s World
Peter Wilberg is an original guru in the spirit of Non-dual Kashmir Shaivism. ‘Tantric Wisdom for Today's World’ represents a small part of his vast creative output. This text is a powerful collection of lived understandings, fresh historical insights, awareness practices and sutra-type transmissions which are inspired by a precious and ancient lineage. At the same time, the author breathes new life into these teachings and his direct realization comes through clearly. Non-dual readers and practitioners alike will find here countless opportunities for the transformation of experience and perception.The author has devoted his life to writing about and teaching what he terms `The Awareness Principle'. The book of the same title is also highly recommended and it contains very practical ways to `apply' Awareness in everyday situations such as illness and other therapeutic/healing contexts. You could visit www.thenewyoga.org to discover many gems of his authentic and profound teachings and writings.
Tantric Wisdom for Today’s World
I'm very familiar with Peter Wilberg's work. In my view, he is one of the more brilliant voices of our time, for several reasons. One of these reasons is that his views, and his work, have been developed from a basis of the philosophy-science of Kashmir Shaivism, specifically its subset Trika Shaivism. These are religious-sounding terms for the most sophisticated philosophical-scientific system ever developed by humankind. For a variety of reasons, Kashmir Shaivism is little-known, even inside India. It was synthesized and articulated primarily by Abhinavagupta and Kshemaraja, arguably two of the greatest philosophical teachers in all of history, in the 10th and 11th centuries. However, per the esoteric nature of much of the content, and the fact that many of the deeper teachings of Kashmir Shaivism remain available solely in the original Sanskrit, its great potential value to the world remains largely unrealized.
Enter Peter Wilberg.
Peter Wilberg's value as an author and philosophical-scientific voice resides not just in the fact that he freshly and clearly presents the truths articulated by Kashmir Shaivism, although he does so well and effectively, but that he obviously understands that Kashmir Shaivism comprises a system - a template; a framework - a science. A science with which any person can come to experience the depths of consciousness on all levels, for themselves.
The true power of Peter's wisdom, though, comes from the fact that he directly experiences these deeper aspects of consciousness, and that he thus offers his insights on the basis of his own experience, and the insights that his experience provides, rather than on the basis of conjecture and/or reason, alone. I don't know Peter personally; I just know that his writings are based in experience, because I have similar on-going experience, and so I can see this experience reflected in Peter's writing and thought.
Utilizing its toolsets, and obviously benefiting from the clarity provided by long-term use of its practices and methods, Peter Wilberg is further utilizing Kashmir Shaivism as a toolset to shine light on some of the key areas of science, of social, political and economic thought and life, and of religion, in ways that can advance each of these areas of life dramatically, if, when and as they are applied.
Tantra Reborn - the sensuality and sexuality of our immortal soul body
The essence of Hindu Advaita, Shaivam (Shaivism) and Shaiva Advaita is the 'Science of Awareness'. This science is as old as humanity itself but has taken many forms and many names. In the 10th century it took the form of the holistic 'threefold' science of awareness (Trika Shaivism) through the grace of Acharya Abhinavagupta. This tradition lived relatively secluded in the valley of Kashmir for many centuries and its teachings were very much considered secret. It was not until modern times (in the 1970s) that this teaching was given to the world through the grace of Swami Lakshmanjoo. I have been studying 'Trika' Shaivism for some years now and have benefited from it greatly. What I find attractive in it is its extraordinary ordinariness and its freedom and respect for the individual (that I suspect comes naturally when you see and respect every particle in the universe as a manifestation of the Divine Awareness). Yet many of the Trika teachers I have managed to find seems to be more in the field of 'Pay Me-Bless You'-business. Through the teachings of Swami Lakshmanjoo my heart has been filled with more peace, more freedom and more bliss. Yet Swami Lakshmanjoo is gone, and there is no one that walks the talk . Yet then I discovered Peter Wilberg's books and website, and upon reading more and more of his teachings my heart is filled with inspiration, joy and hope. Acharya Peter Wilberg has really updated this age-old tradition of Tantrism in a way that makes it totally applicable for a modern mind and a modern humanity. Peter Wilberg speaks from a place where he not only express understanding if the Trika but also seems have such in-depth knowledge of it that he have made it his own and is able to express it in a creative way. I find it interesting that Swami Lakshmanjoo was considered by many of his devotees as the incarnation of Acharya Abhinavagupta's teacher. How appropriate then, that the guiding light of the revived Trika Shaivism and Tantrism of Acharya Peter Wilberg embodies so strongly the spirit of Acharya Abhinavagupta himself.
Visarganath (Associate of the Universal Shaiva Fellowship)
Event Horizon: Terror, Tantra and the Ultimate Metaphysics of Awareness
1.
I have had a great pleasure finding the works of Mr Peter Wilberg, and am very pleased with this treatise on the qualitative creation of Being, from Awareness, out of Non-Being. He does a masterful job conveying the role terror plays in this continuous expression. It deserves respect not merely for the profound ease with which Mr. Wilberg glides through concepts which are so very hard to verbalize, but for his ability to bring the listening reader into the folds of his own discovery. At least this has been my experience. This book bridges a modern genre of deconstructing popular film with many variations on philosophical ontology (from material and spiritual reduction-isms to material and spiritual phenomenological scholarship), in simple yet profound strides which I find the attention manoeuvers through almost effortlessly, once the words are fully 'heard.' Bravo!!
2.
By using currently accepted scientific terms and the imagery behind the Event Horizon movie as metaphors the book offers a new metaphysics of Awareness. It is Awareness as absolute in its threefold dimensions - as awareness of Non-Being or potentiality, as awareness of Being or Actuality, and as the constant process of `Be-coming' - whereby latent potentialities of awareness become actualized through the very awareness of those potentialities - through the awareness of `Non-Being'.
The author explains his aim was to use such scientific terms as »event horizon« to potentially offer a new and powerful metaphors for metaphysical truths still ignored by science and to a large degree old theistic theology itself. But what is that which they both still ignore and perhaps fear??
The attempt in explaining the beginning of the known universe with a ‘Big Bang’ or a theological ‘First Cause’ assumes that in the beginning something »was« and with this both ideas bypass the simple mystery of anything having been at all. As we contemplate the mystery of being we are lead to a new domain of thinking, transcending all possible »hows«, beyond the entire question of whether there is or is not a God, where we are confronted by what Heidegger saw as the primordial question of Being. Arising out of the fundamental distinction between anything that »is«, any particular »being«, and the very "being-ness" as such, this questioning or should I say mood leads us to the terrifying thought that everything imaginable, including God and universe - might never have been, i.e. the terror of absolute non-existence. A commonality exists between physics and theistic religions, these opposing paradigms, they function as resistance and defence against the ultimate existential terror of non-existence.
Here Wilberg suggests an alternative vision of this terrifying void, as he narrates the ‘creation myth’ from a book by Jane Roberts, where the nature of non-existence is not depicted as literal nothingness, a space devoid of actual existence, but a womb of unactualised but ever-expanding potentialities. In the beginning was terror, the author writes, in the most absolute sense - awareness of the possibility of the infinite potentialities of awareness not coming-to-be, along with the agony or pain of finding a way to release them into being. The birth of universe in this myth did not occur »in« time but paradoxically it is constantly occurring. A Beginning that is paradoxically still becoming.
This brings us to a question concerning the reality of this »prior« to Being or God that came to be in advance of releasing into Being all potential beings from the realm of pure potentiality or Non-Being. The reality of this »prior« is identical not with a »Pure Being« or an extraordinary physical event such as »Big Bang«, but with awareness as such. And since there is no being to begin with, what is, in this primordial sense, is awareness of Non-Being.
This realm of pure potentiality is a realm of unbounded inwardness that cannot be perceived by looking out from a localized point in space but from an infinite periphery or »horizon« of awareness. A realm made up not of extensional material bodies in »space-time« but pure intensities of awareness in an unbounded »time-space«. A radical idea that the author suggest is that from a metaphysical point the apparent outer surface of every visible body in space is also an »Event Horizon« or black hole with a singularity - a singularity of awareness. This is a radical new understanding of what any body IS in actuality. The singularity is a hidden core that links every material unite with the realm of inexhaustible potentiality that constitutes its unbounded inwardness. Wilberg suggests that it can be experienced from a meditative place of inner stillness.
The actual and virtual are co-resonating systems. Every choice we make and every event we experience, for example, emerges from a field of alternate possible actions and events. As the author says "...The actualization of any one possible path or pattern of manifestation from out of the realm of unmanifest potentiality with its infinite density of different patterns of intensities however has three results. Firstly, that any manifest pattern - for example a molecular pattern - is stabilized through self-resonance with its own unmanifest, potential or `virtual' reality. Secondly, it contracts a particular domain of the actual by exclusion of other possible or alternate patterns of manifestation. Thirdly, it dilates or multiplies the domain of the possible per se, for every action or event of actualization generates countless further possibilities of action."
While writing this review for some reason I was contemplating the famous painting by Caravaggio - 'The calling of Saint Matthew', and it made me think of the question asked by the Pharisees - "Why does your master eat with Tax Collectors and sinners? ". An original and a subversive metaphor, in the spirit of this book, can be made of the figure of Christ as a metaphor of Love of that primordial realm which in perpetual terror, i.e. will-to-be, constantly seeks to release all potential beings. Sickness of these poor, sinful and ill is a metaphysical sickness of those who in agony seek in their spirit the will to release the still unrealized potentials of their being. The very being of individuals is the will-to-be of latent potentialities of Awareness. Here poverty is not some moralized humbleness before God, but quite literally the inability of expressing this »gift« of Being. The hellish imagery from the Event Horizon movie is a powerful metaphor for the world we live in, where individuals engage in acts of bloody self mutilation and sadistic violence, in order to transcend the loss of wonder of Being through worldly terror. As the author beautifully puts it evil comes not from this terrifying power of Non-Being, but from fear of it, and only by facing this ultimate Terror of Non-Being and transforming it into awareness of power, constant becoming and "mattering" of awareness, is this terror replaced by sheer wonder at constant thinging of things, their Be-ing. The world of wonder is a place where nouns have been banished and we are left with pure verbs, or »verb-ing«, leaving things not simply »there« present to awareness but as a constant emerging or presencing from and within awareness - their Be-ing.
O.Miletic
3.
This is the most convincing understanding about creation for me among whatever I have read and I have read a lot about it. I am utterly fascinated by the depth with which author has gone into each topic.What I mean by creation in Author’s words – Awareness is ultimate event horizon within which all events take place. This is the book about how from this awareness, differential aspects of so called physical actuality and individualized dimensions of consciousness arise. What I liked is in beautiful section in book titled New Answers to Ultimate Questions in which author has answered most of the questions you can think of, he has clearly mentioned that nothing can explain the existence of awareness as any thing or being we might think of as a cause or explanation for it ,already assumes an awareness of that thing or being.So book clearly defines that which can not be explained.
The comparison to the movie called ‘Event Horizon’ has given a beautiful poetic touch to deep philosophy.
The thing I am impressed with most is author has referred to Seth’s (Channeled by Jane Roberts) ideas of creation appreciated them and explained them beautifully by adding his own deep understanding to it and has presented them beautifully. This thing is even more striking where he has taken ancient concepts in Indian tradition like Kali, Bhairava, Shiva, Param Shiva, Spanda and Anuttara. He has appreciated those concepts and re-defined them with his own deep understanding. This is great and very difficult work because for that he has gone deeply into the heart of those ancient teaching and modified them and updated them with his own unique understanding and experience in such a way and language that modern man can understand it.
I will write in short what the author has written about creation. In the beginning, there was no being, but simply a primordial or ultimate awareness which found itself dreaming. Only as the selves that were being dreamt became more diverse and differentiated did that dreaming awareness first become an awareness of being – of being a dreaming God (Shiva in Indian terms or All that Is as Seth calls it) distinct from the selves it was dreaming. Initially in the primordial state of dreaming awareness neither God nor the potential selves it was dreaming fully were. Instead they both belonged to state of non being or potential being. After coming to this awareness of being the primary dilemma and agony of that God rose. The source of this agony was on the one hand, desire of potential selves it was dreaming for their own free self - actualization and on the other hand an intense desire, on the part of god to release them into actuality. God solved this primary dilemma through realizing that it did not own or possess its dreams and releasing them into actuality. It could only do so, by realizing at the same time that it too was the expression of more primordial dreaming awareness or ultimate awareness (called Anuttara in Kashmir Shaivism) that preceded its own district awareness of being.
Now important part that is about all of us is that all individuals beings recall the Agony and Primary Dilemma of God. Each individual being has its own internal awareness of and relation to non-being as realm of potentialities. Yet if it takes these potentialities of expression or dreams as its own then it can not release them into actuality. It can only do so by becoming aware of itself as part of the awareness field of a larger Awareness and ultimately as part of the ultimate awareness field (Annuttara). We have our connection of the womb of inner potentiality through hara center. If we bring our awareness to that womb we do not need to physically actualize all our human potentials. Instead all our life potentialities are constantly being actualized through inner channel and dimensions of awareness. In simple words, in realizing that all my dreams are not mine but are dreams of God, as I am part of God is the way to actualize them.
Finally I want to write about mood of wonder which author has termed as fundamental mood or quality of awareness and explained that beautifully. I have experienced beauty of experiencing this wonder. It is not wonder of how advanced technology is or how efficient human body is. It is wonder that something is there and it is continuously being known and felt. It is wonder that Awareness is there and as I have written previously presence of awareness can not be explained by anything, so that basic wonder will be always there. In a way it is simple to feel this wonder but I do not think lot of people feel that wonder. I myself missed it for many years. But if you can feel it, it’s the most beautiful thing.
So finally I will say that this book is not for casual reading it has to be studied. I have read it three-four times with few days in between and with each reading I could understand it better but there are still many thing, which I have not understood completely yet.
Ajit Soman
From New Age to New Gnosis: on the Contemporary Significance of a New Gnostic Spirituality
From NEW AGE To NEW GNOSIS may be the most informative and valuable document of Modern Gnosticism available. Author Peter Wilberg presents a historical analysis of early Gnosticism as being an ethical and revolutionary spiritual movement opposed to all forms of State Religion and political hierarchy. From there he proceeds to propose a New Gnosis encompassing the Early Gnostic scriptures combined with the teachings of Jane Roberts (SETH SPEAKS), Karl Marx, Martin Heidegger, Gurdjieff and others. The main theme that recurs throughout is an uncompromising critique of the myriad eclectic and materialistic 'New Age' cults and shallow philosophies. Peter Wilberg also takes on such Modern Gnostic icons as psychologist Carl Jung with the same brilliant and unrelenting reasoning that characterizes the author's criticism. One of the remarkable aspects about NEW GNOSIS is the depth of material presented in an easily accessible book for the general reader-combined with solid theoretical investigation that should satisfy even the most ardent Gnostic researcher. The format is presented in an engaging series of interrelated short articles that can also be read separately."
"This book is written with passion and knowledge. Such diverse threads as Marxist understanding, teachings from the Nag Hammadi manuscripts and the history of religions, are woven into a breath-taking narrative. A great delight when reading "From New Age to New Gnosis" was that quotes originating centuries ago seem to be fresh and contemporary. Perhaps because we are introduced to an uninterrupted flow of the underground stream of Gnosis, whose most recent springs are recognised as Martin Heidegger, Buber, Steiner, Seth (a channelled entity) and Eugene Gendlin. The emerging story points forcefully to the emptiness of second-hand experience and the fallacy of "believing" rather than allowing experience and reflecting on it. The comfort of being part of the general consent and fashion rather than the living experience of layers of reality, and the deadly grip of individualism rather than an experience of the interconnectedness of living beings and their environment, are important themes. We have become consumers of life-styles; including new-age philosophies and personal development strategies - to experience myself in this way was an entirely different story than nodding brightly in the direction of the post-modern agreement. This book could be polemic, but it is not; it could be a mournful longing for a better past, but it is not; this book could be a challenging and provocative read, and it is, but the pulsing and nourishing voice that seems to underlay much of the book, encourages the reader to take action and dare to find another world - an inner dimension of wordless and timeless inner knowing.
Being and Listening - counselling, psychoanalysis and the ontology of listening
1.
I have finished reading Being and Listening ... though I'm sure I will be dwelling in and with the resonance of their evocations for lifetimes to come.
Peter Wilberg's writing speaks to my core being. It is incredibly articulate. And it provides and enacts a vocabulary that I look forward to essentially translating. This would have been enough, but that you express such awakening ideas within a Heideggerian idiom feels particularly fortuitous. He has modeled and described for me many of the reasons that I have been drawn to Heidegger's thought and continue to 'stay with' it. And the final passages of Being and Listening (where Wilberg talks about listening to language, about how the appreciation for the musical/affective dimension of words can turn our awareness of being-in-the-world into an awareness of being-in-and-from-the-womb) re-call me into the regioning of (my) being.
He shows the connection between poetry, philosophy, ethics, and mysticism to reside in listening, and, following Heidegger and Buber, have shown how listening is not an operation committed by a solitary ego upon a severed object, but is simply what happens when we let the hyphen hyphen, the world world, language language, presencing, presence ... reading Peter Wilberg's work has been a joy; but more significantly, it has been an Event, which means its reverberations are still underway.
2.
I am still enthralled by reading Being and Listening. There is not a page that hasn't been underlined, with so many sentences and paragraphs that are written with such analytic precision that they simply astound. Reading certain words and sentences left me spellbound in states of complete silence that for brief moments I had to stop reading just to ruminate the silent spaces I began to wonder in.
Deep Socialism - a new Manifesto of Marxist ethics and economics
1.
DEEP SOCIALISM is without a doubt a New & Gnostic Manifesto of Marxism.
At a time when The New Rome (Corporate State Capitalist Imperialism) is drawing the noose ever closer around the throats of the Working Class & other World Citizens, DEEP SOCIALISM appears on the scene as a Gnostic Revolutionary Text of the greatest significance to all who would rationally oppose The New World Order.
DEEP SOCIALISM, in the tradition of Marxist literature, predicates one debatable assumption: the average person (Marx’s “Proletariat” or Working Class) is not only capable of, but actually concerned about creating a better world (Marx would call this “class consciousness” and “class struggle”). Most people are either so over worked or, conversely, underemployed that they feel they have little or no time or are too stressed out for self-education or political activism.
This is understandable.
And what about the masses of beer guzzling, sexist, female-abusing boneheads or Rodeo Drive, liposuctioned, Botox®-brained spoiled princesses oblivious of all except a narrow, egocentric reality?
DEEP SOCIALISM speaks to the first group with clarity and honesty. As for the self-involved & self-destructive, readers are cautioned to recognize those aspects in our-Selves before throwing stones. The Social Revolution involves a deep revolutionary process, a radical transformation of both the inner and the outer reality that affirms both personal relational change & the global transition to socialism.
2.
Anyone interested in socialism-cum-Marxism, phenomenology, and also meditation theory, will find themselves in masterful hands reading this text. Wilberg introduces the concept of 'simference', or 'similarity within difference', by way of arguing for a less polarized, yes-no, good-bad, mode of approaching politics, business, and human affairs in general. But this is only one of many fascinating and well thought-out aspects of the book, which also serves as a cogent summary of Marx's original ideas
3. The subtitle of DEEP SOCIALISM, “A New Manifesto of Marxist Ethics and Economics”, could be seen as presumptuous—if it didn’t describe the simple truth. Author Peter Wilberg has an impressive talent for communicating extensive increments of potentially complex information in a non-intimidating format that is both motivating and readily accessible to the general reader. Although building upon a traditional Marxist structure, he not only explains that structure to non-students of Marxism, but also expands & revitalizes that structure to make it relevant to the current era. The author’s analysis & renovation in this regard recommend his work as must-read material to all committed Marxists as well. Wilberg demonstrated this literary ability in FROM NEW AGE TO NEW GNOSIS, and proves it again with DEEP SOCIALISM.
The New Spanda Karikas
Never has been explained with such beauty, sharpness and clarity the quintessential composition of what we call creation and reality....
D.A.R.D
From Psychosomatics to Soma-Semiotics - felt sense and the sensed body in medicine and psychotherapy
After discovering Mr. Wilberg's Head, Heart and Hara, I felt like I had finally found someone whose perspective I intuitively resonated with. That my own conceptions of reality could be articulated so as to render them logically sound and not be bogged down in complex systems and linguistic over-specialization. No matter the topic, he manages to unearth new aspects of interpretation and meaning, so as to inspire renewed passion for new discoveries. From Psychosomatics to Soma-Semiotics is no different. It has rarified my understanding of the modern medical dilemma, and the fallacy of 'alternative medicine,' within the context of implicit embodiment, as laid out by E. Gendlin. He draws from multiple sources, a score of theories and methods, weaved together by his fundamental Principle of Awareness, in order to designate the position a truly Fundamental Medicine would place the patient-therapist dyad. Sinking deeper, and with more commitment, into the essentially subjective nature of both disease and treatment.
Heidegger, Medicine and ‘Scientific Method’ - on the unheeded message of the Zollikon Seminars
Heidegger, Medicine & `Scientific Method' applies phenomenological thinking to psychiatry, medicine and scientific method in general. It is inspired by the Zollikon Seminars which Heidegger conducted at the home of the existential psychoanalyst Medard Boss between 1959 and 1969. The critique of scientific thinking and its medical-psychiatric application may be shocking to those who have never questioned their commitment to the mainstream paradigm. Peter Wilberg is clearly deeply familiar with and appreciative of the topics covered and his writing is exceptionally lucid in a field notoriously opaque. Indeed, this book could well serve as a general introduction to Heidegger, whose much discussed personal failings have detracted from appreciating his philosophical originality and brilliance.
Gordon Globus
The Little Book of Hara
It is good to get acquainted with the principles of meditation. The exercises are easy to follow and inspiring. Recommended.
Adriana Pereira
This book was exactly what I needed.
Awareness, Abuse and 'the Bad Subject' - Kleinian, Lacanian and Neo-Tantric Perspectives (Kindle Book)
Dehumanizing interpersonal encounters and their consequences is the subject of this well thought out book on the subject. There are not that many new insights, as by 2007 many of Wilberg's themes have already been revealed. In particular, Object Relations theorists have been talking about self-object relationships and the affects which pattern them, for years. When a person is treated as an object, writes Wilberg, his sense of himself is eradicated or dis-located into another. Wilberg's style and tone and detailed explanations make this book an important read. Therapists who want to heal the victim of exploitation of his terrifying sense of alienation, must be aware that they may inadvertently reinforce the very pathology they are there to heal.
Phyllis Antebi
This radically NEW approach to psychiatry is based on true "psychology" based on awareness,soul, identity, self and practice of awareness.
Jiri Krutina
Excellent. Highly recommended.
Michal Dockal
Business English - an individualised learning programme (Peter Wilberg and Michael Lewis)
Abstract: Business English is the core course for ESP (English for Specific Purposes) programs which empathizes the effectiveness and pragmatism. Feasibility is the crucial element for business English programs especially for in-services business people. Business English - An individualised learning programme is an effective and radical business English program, while its content is mainly learner-provided. It is a flexible learner-centered ESP program basing on two sharply different principles. Firstly, the students provide the content. Secondly, the book is designed from the perspective of a business person rather than the language teacher. With the help of sophisticated formats provided in this book, students can re-access, revise and use the information to fulfil their needs. Business English is suitable for the students from post-beginners to advance for the sake of the three characteristics—social language, formula phrases and word partnership (Wilberg & Lewis, 1990). This program depends on the lexical approach emphasizing the collocation and word grammar.
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