Mutant Message Down Under

Rating:
Summary: New Age Trash
Review: "Mutant Message Down Under" describes the secuestration of a medical worker, who apparently bears an uncanny resemblance to Ms. Morgan, by a tribe of Australian aborigines that are unknown to, and whose existence is apparently unsuspected by, the Australian government. They train her in tribal lore, advise her of a message for the rest of us on the outside, and send her back to twentieth century reality. Ms. Morgan states that this is a work of fiction, but makes it clear that she is casting it in a fictional format to protect the identity of the aboriginal tribe that chose her to transmit this sublime message, and that in fact this is a true story. In creating a book of this sort Ms. Morgan has managed to satisfy several audiences.

One audience she pleased is lunatic fringe New Agers who prefer this sort of airy fairy, feel good way of getting in touch with ourselves and Mother Earth, and which unfortunately poses as a serious form of spirituality. An important subgroup within this species is comprised of those individuals that like stories about UFO abductions; Ms. Morgan should be congratulated on coming up with a new and interesting variation on this rather well-worn theme.

Other readers no doubt found satisfaction that her main character was a middle-aged woman, which is a rare species to find as a protagonist on a mission from God in most extant literature. It was no doubt this factor that gave the book appeal to Oprah Winfrey, who included it on her list of recommended reads - that and the fact that although it is a whole 224 pages long, the print is large and there aren't too many long words.

Unfortunately for Ms. Morgan, it also attracted attention from Aboriginal groups in Australia, along with a number of anthropologists that have worked with Native Australians, and it was clear that whatever Ms. Morgan thought she was describing, she had no idea whatsoever what Aboriginal life was like; in fact, the book is a rehash of derivative literature on Aboriginal life, leavened with some Native American spirituality where the details weren't too clear, maybe spiced with a piquant touch of Bushman lore from Southern Africa, and heavily interlarded with a healthy dose of Ms. Morgan's imagination.

That Ms. Morgan should attempt something like this is not too surprising; Carlos Castaneda managed to do the same thing, only he did it much better; in fact, he fooled an entire generation. James Redfield also did something similar with the "Celestine Prophecy".

The difference between Ms. Morgan on the one hand, and Mr. Castaneda and his Yaquis or Mr. Redfield and his Incas on the other, is that these others were dealing with ethnic groups that largely didn't read English and didn't pay much attention to what is said about them; among Australian Aborigines, however, there is an organized, articulate group that are committed to maintaining their property rights and are very concerned with the image projected about them to the rest of the world.

Ms. Morgan has apparently gone on record for "apologizing" the the Aborigines, although her apology has not kept her from writing a second book on this same idiocy. If she really feels apologetic she should consider funding some of her considerable profits for this book to support Aboriginal rights in Australia. It's the least she owes them for exploiting their culture and folkways to pander to the audience for half-baked spirituality.

As is so often the case with this sort of thing, the devil is in the details, and if you're interested in pursuing those details that make this story come apart at the seams you can search for "Dumbartung" on your computer to be taken to an Aboriginal website that has a great amount of detail on the subject.

As for Aboriginal spirituality, if you're really interested in the subject you're better off reading James Cowan's books. As arguably the oldest continuous culture in the world, I believe that the Aborigines have a lot to teach us about spiritual matters. It's a shame that the most readily available way it is being served up these days is in a sideshow caricature like this.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: This is a fantastic book, it is one of the books that lets you reconsider all the superficial things one tends to worry about.

I wanna share some of the quotes I particulary liked in the book.
How would one put a coin in a telephone, dial a number and call someone?? We use mental telepathy...
According to the Aborigines, there are no misfits, or accidents, just mysteries not yet revealed by man.
Everything exists for a certain purpose.
We don't celebrate getting older, we celebrate getting wiser and better.

All in all this book helps you to learn so much more about the culture of this indigenous people than you could ever do through any other book.....

I recommend it highly and hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did!!

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: This book is based on fabrication and falsehood. Do not believe one word written by the author. This is the most culturally insensitive book I have read. It does a grave injustice to the native people of Australia. This is a self-serving book used to propagate a New Age philosophical agenda unconcerned with the culture it purports to exemplify.

Rating:
Summary: A Little Out-there, But Still A Great Story
Review: 50 year old Marlo Morgan is on a job trip to Australia, when one day she is invited to a special ceremony. This ceremony is with the Aborigines, Australia's native peoples. She dresses up, expecting a meal and some form of award, but little did she know that this was not just any ceremony. It was a ceremony to prove herself worthy of going on a 3-month trip across Australia with these unfamiliar faces. Only one, a young man who picked her up for the ceremony, can speak English. He becomes her well-needed translator. Despite her protests, she is dragged along with them wearing only a wrap-cloth given to her when she arrived. Shoeless and in much pain, she soon discovers that in order to live through this journey, she must learn the Aborigines' trade. She must learn to talk like them, walk like them, eat like them, clean like them, and care for herself like them. Miss Morgan comes close to death, or seemingly close to death, quite a few times throughout this journey, but it helps her grow and understand more each time. She flashes back to before the journey when she was sitting in a Psychic Cafe in Australia, waiting for a friend. That friend never shows up and a young man comes out to inform her that she is on this trip because there is someone here that she needs to meet. This message appears to her at the end of her walk with the Aborigines' also, but this time she acts upon it. Although she insists that this story is completely true, I only believe some aspects to it. There are a few things that are quite out there, but we'll never know the real truth. This was a great story, and I reccommend it to anyone who does not take offense to other people's cultures and who is willing to learn and listen to the Message in this book.

Rating:
Summary: as fiction still fascinating!
Review: The author states in her forward that this is not about all aboriginals but a small select group and they are what this story pertains to. It is listed as fiction and that is what it is. Even though it is fiction, it still has an important message to those of us who are open-minded and like to make up their own minds as to whether or not there is any validity in what she has to say.

The author is summoned to Australia and invited to meet with an an aboriginal tribe. She thinks it is going to be a luncheon deal and ends up going on a walk-about with them. What she learned about the nature of these people and their beliefs was fascinating. They were here for over 50,000 years, according to the author (doubtful), one of the first ever.

She said they could communicate through telepathy and didn't need to speak because of the purity in their souls-also said because of their purity they didn't need Jesus (this is where we know for sure it is fiction). We, the mutants, cannot because we have too much in our minds that we don't want others to see and want to hide from others, so we can't open up to telepathy. Possessions are very important to us and to them it is not. The simple life, void of jealousy, greed, stress, hate, etc. has made them a people who live to be a hundred and twenty years old. When they finally decide that they want to move on to a new life and leave this one they have a celebration and then they just shut down their bodies and die and come to another phase in their being. Interesting thought.

The things that they ate are certainly not what we would be used to and would make many of us gag at the thought, but it was interesting that while we tend to get senile and lose our eyesight and hearing as we age, they didn't seem to, they were very alert and healthy. They had there own system of healing that, if true, would be absolutely amazing, but (?)....!

It was interesting also, that, in their secret hide-a-way, they had their history painted on their walls, showing that there had probably been nuclear testing and flying saucers indicating aliens-which at one time I thought could be possible, but upon reflection, I think they would have been man-made and if there were any odd looking characters flying them it would more likely be Satan's demons or the like.

According to her story, they have practiced environmental care for as long as they have been on earth and yet have now decided to not have anymore children because the earth is being destroyed an cannot sustain life much longer unless we take better care of it.

She says she has been chosen to send their message with hopes that enough will listen. I really enjoyed the book and know that there were many truths in it that we would benefit from, if heeded, and then there are some that each individual needs to realize that are subtle propaganda and dangerous to an unsuspecting Christian. It is a book that will make you think. Give it a try!