The Sad State of Spiritual Literature, Part 1

February 20, 2016
I doubt that there is a better-read mystic than yours truly. Moreover, I doubt that there is a living mystic with my overall knowledge and understanding of mysticism and spiritual philosophy. As I read book after book, it is apparent to me that I have no peers in the field of spiritual exegesis and elaboration.

I wish this weren’t the case. I wish that I could point people to living spiritual masters and great spiritual writers, but all I see is a vast wasteland of mediocrity (and less-than-mediocrity). There are some high-integrity spiritual teachers, and a few teachers who are true experts in a specific tradition – but no one, other than me, seems capable of putting it all together, in forging a deep and wide esoteric perennial philosophy.

In the forthcoming weeks, I will, for both fun and educational purposes, be commenting on some of these teacher-writers (as well as some dead ones, too). Dale Carnegie is probably turning over in his grave right now, wondering why I would “stir up a hornet’s nest” by “digging into the Dharmas” of these teachers. But unlike me, Dale Carnegie didn’t have Scorpio rising and five planets in the eighth house.… Read the full article

The Greatest Story Ever Told?

January 23, 2016
My just-published novel, Kill Jesus: The Shocking Return of the Chosen One, is a mind-blowing story if ever there was one. The story may or may not be the greatest ever told, but it is certainly a sui generis thriller that will not only entertain readers, but educate them as well. Beyond its entertainment value, the book proffers profound spiritual and political philosophy that is sure to make you think differently and ponder deeply.  

Now, a word of caution: If wild sex and violence offend you, then you might find some of the contents of this book objectionable. But if you are neither a pacifist nor a puritan, you will doubtless take delight in surely the most spellbinding story in ages.


[Note: The Kindle version of "Kill Jesus" just became available at Amazon, and will be on sale for just $2.99 for the next week. Please write an Amazon review of it if you like it. And share your enthusism for it with everybody in your social network. If you don't have a Kindle device, you can download free software from Amazon, and read it on your PC. And if you don't mind paying more, the book is also available as a paperback.]… Read the full article

Awakening to Your Invisible Inner Reality

January 22, 2016
[This is an excerpt from my book "Beyond the Power of Now."]

Q: You’ve said that identification with the physical form prevents enlightenment. So how can this body, this physical form, lead to a realization of Being?

A: According to Tolle, “The body you can see and touch cannot take you into Being.” But even though the gross physical form cannot enlighten you, Tolle insists that the “invisible inner body,” the “animating presence within you,” can bring you to a realization of Being. Tolle states that this “inner body lies at the threshold between your form identity and your essence identity, your true nature.” Tolle considers this inner energy field so important to the enlightenment process that he enjoins us to “never lose touch with it.”

What, exactly, is this “invisible inner body” or “animating presence” that Tolle is directing us to? Very simply, it is what Hindu yogis term the prana-maya-kosha, the second of the five hierarchically ordered (from grossest to most subtle) koshas, or “sheaths,” that encase or envelop (and veil) the indwelling Being-Consciousness. In his monumental text The Yoga Tradition, Dr.… Read the full article

Eckhart Tolle, J. Krishnamurti, and What Is

December 26, 2015
[This is an excerpt from my book Beyond the Power of Now: A Guide to, and Beyond, Eckhart Tolle's Teachings.]


Eckhart Tolle is hardly an original thinker, and much of his spiritual teaching is derived from the late J. Krishnamurti. Like many of the simplistic New Age and Advaita Vedanta gurus on the scene nowadays, Tolle loves to emphasize the Krishnamurti maxim that “all effort [or resistance] is the avoidance of what is.” Thus, Tolle’s Dharma “mantra,” in effect, is: “surrender to (or accept) what is.” But this mantra has multiple problems, which I will touch upon.

First, the hypocrisy of those, including Krishnamurti himself, who push it. If you listen to gurus like Tolle and Krishnamurti—and I used to regularly participate in Krishnamurti groups—you soon realize that they are filled with the same kinds of resistance, or judgments, as the rest of us. Whether it’s the insane political system, the conventional religious establishment, or whatnot, they constantly rail at the all-pervading madness in the world. There is nothing wrong with this—I do the same thing myself—but please don’t push complete acceptance of what is if you’ve got a closet full of axes to grind.… Read the full article

Kundalini Psycho-Babble

November 27, 2015
[This is my just-written review of C.G. Jung's book "The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga."]

The iconic C.G Jung was no doubt a psychotherapist for the ages, and when I practiced astrology professionally, I made use of his seminal insights on the shadow, the anima/animus, the collective unconscious, psychological types, and archetypes. But as evidenced by this text, Dr. Jung was clueless with regard to Kundalini – and he makes a complete fool of himself i...n the seminar from whence this book derives.

First off, the title of this book is misleading, because the book focuses more on the chakras than on Kundalini, but Dr. Jung is equally ignorant regarding both subjects. Because this is just a book review and not a book, I cannot expose all of the Kundalini psycho-babble that Jung is guilty of, so I’ll merely point out some of his balderdash.

Dr. Jung opines: “The anima is the Kundalini.” This statement is beyond ridiculous. The Kundalini is the accompanying force-flow of of awakened consciousness. The “lower” Kundalini is cosmic and pranic in nature, while the “higher Kundalini is uncreated, Divine Light-Energy, experienced as Shaktipat, and upon En-Light-enment, as Hridaya Shakti.… Read the full article

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