Product Description

This book has long been known as a classic in the study of human consciousness, having been praised by such luminaries as P. D. Ouspensky and the psychologist William James. The author puts forth and supports the idea that human consciousness is evolving and that we, as human-kind, are moving toward a much more enlightened state. People who have experienced such states and who have appeared at certain times to move humanity forward are covered in the book including such figures as Jesus, Mohammed, Francis Bacon, Socrates, Spinoza, Emerson, Thoreau and many more. Bucke also writes from first-hand experience, having had his consciousness briefly awakened at age 35. According to the author the evidence is clear-all people at some time in the future will have far more wisdom and intelligence than we do today.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #556285 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

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Customer Reviews

Be careful which edition you buy.
Bucke's memoir of his friend Walt Whitman alone is worth getting the book for. But please be careful--even though there's no indication given of any abridgement, the Applewood edition represents only about a quarter of the book as it was originally published--it only includes the introductory and concluding chapters, and leaves out all the examples of enlightened people throughout the ages. The Dutton edition is the whole 400 pages, whereas the Applewood is about 120 smaller pages of larger type.

How Fortunate That We Have this Book In Print
How fortunate that this book is in print! Despite the fact that I do not totally agree with Richard Bucke , the main ingredients of his analogy is extremely convincing! At this point of time, I rate this book as one that have changed my life as it changed my line of thought.

He illustrates and "evidently showed" that the great teachings of Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad, and other philosophers and poets, were the same. That the ultimate goal of Buddha's "Nirvana" and Jesus's "Kingdom of God" is in Bucke's language, "Cosmic Consciousness."

I will introduce this book to anyone who is frantically searching for Truth, as an addition to his library. To fellow mates who immerse themselves in the topics of metaphysics, mysticism, religion, and psychology. And to anyone else as a form of knowledge.

Richard Bucke's optimism gave hope to humanity and spirituality. I introduce his book alongside with Evenlyn Hill's Classic - "Mysticism" - for keen students of Christian Mysticism, although I truly believe that the communion with God does not exclude itself outside the circle of the aforementioned religion.

Roadmap into the labyrinth
Despite the outdated information from the first two chapters, there will be a few readers who will find the book truly useful. The writing offers a "roadmap" into the labyrinth for individuals who have questions that are hardly tapped by any science or philosophic currents today. The rich biography presented at the beginning of the writing is more than a commitment that the very few readers will do, because the life-time event of illumination it's more than a perceived reality that should be explored, it's a mission.

Churches and religious currents have banned the book at the beginning of 20's century for "good" reasons; unadvised or unexposed readers could misinterpret the writing easy. Yet the truths depicted from the illumination excerpts offered by Dr. Bucke prove today that the book stands still before any misconceptions or interests.

The book from "Arkana" publisher is not easy to follow due to the three different types of font blocks presenting excerpts from various authors that were exposed to illumination, or Dr. Bucke's explanatory notes, which are extremely small and would require a magnifying glass.