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Beneath the Pyramids: Egypt’s Greatest Secret Uncovered By Andrew Collins 4th Dimension Press An Imprint of A.R.E. Press 215 67th Street Virginia Beach, VA 23451-2061 2009, 262 pages, $18.95 ISBN-13: 978-0-87604-571-8 Reviewed by Brent Raynes This book is destined to rock the field of Egyptology and may well come to ignite and lead to one of the most explosive discoveries since the legendary King Tutankhamun’s tomb was uncovered by Howard Carter back in 1922. Ancient Egyptian mythology has always revolved around powerful legends of magnificent supernatural beings residing in a vast subterranean realm. Within that mysterious underworld were tales of the tomb of Osiris through which the souls of the departed would traverse before journeying forth and taking their eternal resting places among the stars, as well as the Arabic legend of Hermes Trismegistus (founder of the hermetic tradition) said to have been buried with the legendary Emerald Tablet in a cave-tomb near either the Great Pyramid or the Second Pyramid, while the famous American “Sleeping Prophet” Edgar Cayce described in psychic readings a cave entrance near the Sphinx’s right paw that led to an ancient “Hall of Records.” Andrew, with the help of his colleague Nigel Skinner-Simpson, an Egyptology researcher, uncovered old and long forgotten accounts of how Italian explorer Giovanni Caviglia and British explorer and diplomat Henry Salt entered this cave system themselves back in 1817, and reportedly explored them for a distance of several hundred yards. Andrew, his wife Sue, and Nigel located and explored this site themselves beginning in March 2008, and later again the following month, locating the cave entrance at a seldom visited site that has become known as the Tomb of the Birds, because of bird mummies that had been found there some years earlier. Andrew states that his conservative estimate is that they themselves penetrated some 100 yards into the cave system, but due to not having the proper breathing equipment (at one time, they suffered the effects of oxygen starvation) and other safety gear, and the presence of colonies of bats, venomous spiders, and fallen rock debris, they were only able to go so far without seriously endangering their own lives further. With such a report of an actual entrance into a massive underground cave system beneath the Giza plateau, it’s not easy to contain the excitement and the fire of ones own imagination as one wonders what profound and mind-boggling discoveries future explorations may uncover as this cave system is further explored. This book contains numerous illustrations and photographs (many in color) and the complete details of their painstaking research and investigative findings are fully disclosed therein. Unfortunately, Dr. Zahi Hawass, the secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities has, for the time being, placed further investigation at the site on hold, stating his skeptical opinion (reportedly without personally visiting the site himself) that there is any such cave system, and simply dismisses Andrew’s claims and the hundreds of photographs taken by Andrew and his team (which geologists state are pictures of a genuine cave system). Until this stalemate is resolved, the incredible details and photographs set forth by Andrew in this thoroughly fascinating, important and controversial book will have to satisfy us for now. I have a strong sense that we will certainly be hearing much more about this intriguing matter before long, but until then this book will bring you up to speed on what we do know at this time and just what the implications are for what we may discover in the future as a result of what has thus far been uncovered. _____________________________________________________________________ Cosmic Conversations: Dialogues on the Nature of the Universe and the Search for Reality By Stephan Martin New Page Books A Division of The Career Press, Inc. 3 Tice Road, PO Box 687 Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417 2010, 287 pages, $16.99 ISBN-13: 978-1-60163-077-3 Reviewed by Brent Raynes The author of this book, Stephan Martin, is an astronomer who has taught astronomy and physics at colleges and educational centers nationwide for more than twenty years. Though a specialist in what is described as extragalactic astronomy, as well as the study of dark matter, Martin pursues a more philosophical and creative approach here. He seeks the viewpoints and insights of both leading scientific researchers and spiritual wisdom keepers from around the world. His interviews are deeply thought-provoking, hypnotically mesmerizing, and highly informative. I believe that many of you will experience a genuine delight to your intellectual senses and be downright awe-struck by the startling parallels emerging between quantum physics and the metaphysical insights of the Native Americans, the curanderas of the Peruvian Andes, the Buddhists, and countless other ancient wisdom keepers the world over. For example, you will read of how in the Kabbalah it states that after creation has occurred and God has left that space, light then enters that void and a series of worlds manifest (one of which ends up being our own universe), which sounds rather suspiciously like the zero point energy field. Also the ancient Wari of the Peruvian Andes perceived the cosmos as containing a limitless flow of energy, spiritual intelligence and power. They saw time, space and matter as malleable through language, music and ritual, whereas modern Western science views the universe as an interaction between matter and energy, governed by predictable physical processes. To the Tibetan Buddhists there was the belief system known as Vajrayana in which multiple worlds within worlds and vast universes were all part of an infinite and eternal consciousness. Of this book, it was written that one could imagine themselves sitting around a warm camp fire as the spell-binding men and women that Martin interviewed share their compelling wisdom and insights, and how even the stars could be imagined bending down from their places in the heavens to ease drop in on the magical dialogue. _____________________________________________________________________ Is Your Child Psychic? A Guide to Developing Your Child’s Innate Abilities By Alex Tanous and Katherine Fair Donnelly Tarcher • 2009, 224 pages, $15.95 ISBN: 9781585427383 Reviewed by Brent Raynes Dr. Alex Tanous, the psychic superstar in paranormal laboratory work (best known for his out-of-body abilities) participated in numerous experiments conducted by the esteemed parapsychologist Dr. Karlis Osis of New York’s American Society for Psychical Research. Tanous wrote Is Your Child Psychic? to educate us about the psychic abilities and potentials of our children. Co-written with Katherine Fair Donnelly, the authors offered techniques to test and to awaken children to their so-called sixth sense, presenting documented case histories that demonstrate how common and useful those abilities can be. Dr. Tanous also provided glimpses into his own childhood psychic development and experiences, and the book quotes our long-time friend, pioneering parapsychologist and acclaimed psychiatrist Dr. Berthold Eric Schwarz on his own studies of psychic abilities among children, including his own son and daughter! Originally published back in 1979, the book has just been republished again thanks to the determined efforts of Maine’s Alex Tanous Foundation to keep this knowledge and information alive and available to the public. This book explodes with such exciting and thought-provoking chapters as The Child from Conception to the Sixth Year, Imaginary Playmates, Out-of-Body Experiences, Educating the Two Sides of the Brain, Instructions and Tests for Telepathy, Clairvoyance Tests, and more. There are 50 pages of game-like tests created for children to test for various kinds of psychic ability and sensitivity. These pages were also prepared to act as a guide to both parents and teachers wishing to help children to evolve psychically. _____________________________________________________________________ Making It on the Inside (So You Can Make It on the Outside!) A Survival Guide for Making It Through Prison By Rev. James C. Bevis PUBLISHAMERICA, LLLP 2009, 137 pages, $19.95 ISBN: 978-1-60672-124-7 Reviewed by Brent Raynes Written by a long time friend and co-worker who has worked in the mental health counseling component of the Tennessee prison system for twenty-three years and the Christian ministry for twenty-eight years, Rev. Bevis is able to share a great deal of information and insight into the experience of being incarcerated. Reading this book you can get a glimpse of what prison life is like and what it’s about. He explains what happens when an inmate enters the system, about classification and orientation, about useful things (that an inmate hopes that they’ll never have to actually take advantage of) called Protective Services and the Prison Rape Elimination Act. He gives you a quick run down on jailhouse jargon, an appendix with legal definitions, and he reviews important psychological concepts that can help an inmate to break the “revolving door” cycle that befalls so many. He discusses Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, that includes references to such basic and important human needs as self-esteem, love, belonging, a sense of safety and security. The author also discusses the importance of attitude and of our coping skills to deal with life’s daily challenges, and how to set and work toward positive future goals. There is also information provided on the history of prison systems. Rev. Bevis also leans heavily on Christian values and Biblical lessons and insights. If you’re an inmate this book could prove to be a very useful resource. But even if you’re not, we all have “revolving door” cycles and patterns in our lives that we’d like to break free from. Rev. Bevis puts forth spiritual concepts and suggestions that could benefit anyone. “One thing I have seen work over and over is when there has been a genuine change in a person’s heart,” he writes. “Change the heart and the body will follow. Change the heart and you will change the thinking.” | ||
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