Initiation

Rating:
Summary: wow.
Review: if you've been given this book, or recommended it by a friend then you've been blessed. this book is bizarre, yes, but if it finds its way to you i'm sure you won't be troubled by that minor detail. thank you Elisabeth Haich, for this book - it's a gift - i can't possibly explain in words the effect this book had on my life, nevermind fathom how the author used words to discuss topics which have traditionally defied discussion. i still can't believe that this book actually exists, but i'm eternally thankful it does.

Rating:
Summary: It brings the reader several steps closer to enlightenment.
Review: It was a difficult decision to rate this as a 10 until I gave up the possibility of reading a book that resulted in immediate enlightenment. This fictional journey into the initiation process in ancient Egypt takes the reader philosophically and emotionally into an expanded state of awareness. Not your average piece of fiction. This is a book that I have read several times through the course of my adult life. I would not want to be without a copy on my bookshelf.

Rating:
Summary: slow builder but get's there in the end
Review: No doubt this is a good book, but be warned that it takes up to about a third of the book to really get going.

The initial part of the story is a bit annoying and quite 'whiney' in tone as the protagonist grows up and feels terribly alone and misunderstood, as she can perceive the spiritual realm, when no one else can. Some judicious editing wouldn't have gone astray here. It could have been condensed to about three chapters.

The middle part of the book deals with the protagonist completely relocating through time and space to suddenly find herself in her previous incarnation of, you guessed it, the queen of Egypt. (Why anyone is never the person who cleaned up the crap after the camel in a previous life, is beyond me.) That being said, this is where the book does get interesting as the protagonist is slowly introduced to spiritual teachings about the nature of the world, including pairs of opposites, sacred geometry, astrology etc. The information provided is thought provoking and interesting but nothing you haven't really heard before if you've studied Hermetic Philosophy. Still, pretty good though. The description of the kind of Astral visions in the sarcophagus are really interesting, especially the ancient archetypal idea of searching for your opposite to complete you, in the Jungian Animus/Anima kind of way. Also the confrontation with the evil shadow is provocatively described.

The last third of the book is still interesting and is a return back into the 'Present' where the protagonist is recognising all the characters in her life as reincarnations of the same mob she hung around with in Egypt all those years ago. (Are we really destined to spend eternity evolving with the same group of people?) I dunno, but you'd think you'd have more chance of challenging your ego boundaries if you met a wide variety of people who cahllenged you in different ways.

Still, all in all, a worthwhile book. I'm not sure that you could call it literature in the true novel, sense of the word. One wonders why a story had to be fabricated and this information couldn't just be presented in a straight forward informative way. Still worth getting though.

Rating:
Summary: INITIATION Elisabeth Haich
Review: Reading INITIATION illuminated my life. I was engaged immediately by the compelling story within a story that reveals profound spiritual truths. I could not put it down, until I finished it. Unsurpassed in the personal impact of the content and catalytic to the point of experiencing the initiation described. A must read for any searcher after mystical truth. The previously unpublished photo of Elisabeth Haich and Selvarajan Yesudian are worth adding this new edition to my library.

Rating:
Summary: What a fairytale!
Review: This book was such a disappointment. It was recommended to me by a yoga teacher, and after reading all of the reviews on amazon.com I thought it would be great. The story of this woman's life is too unbelievable. I felt like I was reading a fiction, rather than an autobiography. Her life story is farfetched and ridiculous. I am sorry I wasted my money on this book. I would donate it to my local library, but I'm too embarassed!

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but no Holy Grail
Review: This is a good, fairly easy to read book for beginners in esoteric spirituality. The few chunks of hard core teachings about concentration and meditation were very good and ring true because they parallel other esoteric systems we have today (buddhism, Tao and advanced yogic practices in particular). Some of the teachings about how Egypt "really was" were very interesting indeed and fun to read about, and probably even true. What to me makes this book not so great is all the romance and emotions thrown in there and the back and forth travelling of time which alters the writting style. I think a lot of that could have been left out or put in a romance or drama novel, not in a book that tries to convey some pretty good esoteric teachings. Because of this emotional fluff, the book to me had the flavour of a "chick novel", if I dare to label it so, and so that aspect wasn't so appealing to me as a man. One other aspect I didn't find so good is that the author tries to emphasize that one's physical characteristics (like race) are related to one's spiritual evolution, and that I think is mostly garbage and *should* have been left out. Lastly, I must also comment that it gives a pretty unique and limited understanding of what Initiation is. I think the version conveyed would scare most people from even going near the topic in their own lives, given the potential reprocutions of failing as the author talks about, and I think that would be very unfortunate. It also takes away from the fact that Initiation isn't so much given as it is earned by one's own esoteric practices, and hey everyone's experience of Initiation is different - it does not require being locked in a coffin or not being able to kiss another person ;-). People who think this is the holy grail of spiritual books must certainly be beginners, because there are far deeper and especially more useful books out there that teach oceans more than this good little book, but let me do say that I did enjoy the book overall, and would even recommend it to certain people starting out, but not without informing them of what I already said above. All in all, a fun, page turner kind of read with some good teachings and without a doubt an emotional roller coaster ride. People who really enjoyed this book and its spiritual teachings will also enjoy "The Way of the Peaceful Warrior".

Rating:
Summary: Initiation
Review: This is the most influencing book of my life I read it frequently again & again-and allways I feel new uplifting knowledge coming to me. I bought this book in many different language-last in Russian--becouse its THE GIFT that I give all whom I love.Where so ever i am this book is with me-no-most of the time I give it to somebody to read-becouse it is a sin if this great book ist standing somewere -It should go from one to the other-and now I will buy it again in english -I have some friends here who can not read it in Russian Danish oder Deutsch-so I'm happy that I can order it in Englisch-think i will first order 'only' 3 of it. And then one more in Deutsch to send it my dear Mother--yes you see there a big storry between me and the book/autor...my e-mail is [e-mail] and sometimes I get letters frome people who love this book/knowledge same like me. Many people I give this book -once they open it they do not stop ontill the last page war readed. So now by it and enjoy--see you in THE SELF-ALLES LIEBE heinz sorry for my bad english

Rating:
Summary: Initiation
Review: This is the most influencing book of my life I read it frequently again & again-and allways I feel new uplifting knowledge coming to me. I bought this book in many different language-last in Russian--becouse its THE GIFT that I give all whom I love.Where so ever i am this book is with me-no-most of the time I give it to somebody to read-becouse it is a sin if this great book ist standing somewere -It should go from one to the other-and now I will buy it again in english -I have some friends here who can not read it in Russian Danish oder Deutsch-so I'm happy that I can order it in Englisch-think i will first order 'only' 3 of it. And then one more in Deutsch to send it my dear Mother--yes you see there a big storry between me and the book/autor...my e-mail is [e-mail] and sometimes I get letters frome people who love this book/knowledge same like me. Many people I give this book -once they open it they do not stop ontill the last page war readed. So now by it and enjoy--see you in THE SELF-ALLES LIEBE heinz sorry for my bad english

Rating:
Summary: careful with such books...
Review: This was a book that I couldn't put down. It is a magical book. If you happen to stumble upon it, don't think that it is by chance. If movies like The Matrix, Vanilla Sky, and The True Man show intrigued and fascinated you, this book is for you. Besides from being entertaining, it gives detailed accounts on the hows of preparing for Initiation with excercises ranging from pin-pointed concentration to telepathy. A Must for anyone who is truly interested in Awakening...

Rating:
Summary: reflecting over Initiation
Review: This was a book that I couldn't put down. It is a magical book. If you happen to stumble upon it, don't think that it is by chance. If movies like The Matrix, Vanilla Sky, and The True Man show intrigued and fascinated you, this book is for you. Besides from being entertaining, it gives detailed accounts on the hows of preparing for Initiation with excercises ranging from pin-pointed concentration to telepathy. A Must for anyone who is truly interested in Awakening...