Product Description: [Grof] attacks both his subject and readers like a commission salesman trying to close a much- needed deal. The resulting book is less about the mystical experience than about hubris and betrays the author's willingness to steamroller the reader's judgment.
Great Book Grof has written a super book that describes the many aspects of spiritual development. He aligns his core thoughts along the thoughts of Ken Wilber. This how ever is not Wilberian book and has many original insights, not mere theory. Grof is a gifted psychiatrist with no axe to grind. He, unlike Wilber who believes his theories hold and explain everyone else's theories, is much more open and unthreatened. He brings different viewpoints to his writing, without claiming to be the end all or have the last word. Get this book, you will not be let down.
getting to know you, getting to know all about you. this book is a must read for anyone sincerely searching self knowledge. it covers much ground regarding the magnificence of life and existence itself. breathtakingly deep and broad in its scope: personal experience of "God", ways to find "God". the validity of personal mystical experience, ways of getting there, the reason evil exists, the nature of ultimate good, the list goes on and on. Stanislav Grof is a master of the transpersonal and speaks "as one having authority". i can't possibly rate this book highly enough. buy it! its a feast for the mind as well as the heart.
Amazing The book amazed me up to a certain level. It was very thorough and I found the topics pretty interesting. While searching for some answers about who we are, this book has convinced me that maybe the questions were and are wrong. I recommend everyone interested in parapsychology, reincarnation and issues like that read this book. Especially the chapter about good and evil was full of ideas that had never crossed my mind. Very fulfilling.
A link between science and ancient mysteries Grof tries to answer the basic questions about the nature of reality depending on his 40 year research on psychedelics and consciousness. In his attempt he links the pre-industrial cultural flora with modern scientific findings. An amazing and shcoking book for those who assume to live in a material world.
Grof's "facts" highly questionable While initialy intruiged by this summary of his life's work, I was very dissappointed to see Grof listing as fact a story of coincidence which did not ever happen and, in fact, was apparently first told as a joke by Buddy Hacket. For those of you that buy this book, the story of Neil Armstrong and Mr. Gorsky is not true. This laziness on Grof's part makes me question the other "unbeleivable" passages he casually mentions. Entire careers are ruined on this type of careless error.