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Anybody read this book by PD Ouspensky? It is basically a primer of eastern mysticism as interpreted by GI Gurdjieff. A friend of mine who loves the guy recommended it to me, but i can't seem to get into it. I read the first 70 pages, but it seems way too far out to be graspable. It deals with how we as humans are complex machines that cannot "do" anything, and how only a small portion of people are "real" humans that can make real choices. He claims that only through intense pain, search of knowledge, and spirituality (the ways of the Yogi, The Fakir, and The Monk), which almost noone achieves by the time their life is done. However, once all three fields are completed "crystallization " of the soul occurs, and reincarnation is possible. Another field of his is the alignment of the planets and how it effects humans. Apparently when planets come closer to earth they cause tension between the planets, which in turn causes strife on earth. He compares this to how when a human walks too close to another human, you feel that intense moment of tension. I thought this was interesting because it reminded me that last year when the war in iraq was in full swing, i was looking at mars through a telescope when it was its closest. Coincidentally, mars was the god of war in Roman mythology. Pretty wierd. Well all in all, i think the book is interesting, if not a bit far fetched. Your thoughts?

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Prospero

I had similar problems with the book. I guess I don't have much insight to offer though...

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"The poet judges not as a judge judges but as the sun falling around a helpless thing." -Walt Whitman