Occult Tibet: Secret Practices of Himalayan Magic

Rating:
Summary: Good, but uneven in its accessibility.
Review: I must first state that I have only completed an initial reading of this book, and I have not yet attempted to practice any of the exercises. At times, I found this work to be profoundly informative and engrossing. However, it seemed to me that the author did not keep a steady focus on the identity of his audience. Too many of the relatively few pages of this book were written in an effort to convince a skeptic of the powers of, say, visualization or the existence of past lives. I think these were wasted pages as Mr. Brennan could have easily assumed that his reader needed no convincing. Further, a few too many pages strayed from the Tibetan systems of mystical practice to detail Western techniques and practices, which are widely available elsewhere and detracted from the focus of the book. My final criticism is that a lot of the material is somewhat inaccessible. While Tibetan mysticism may well lay largely beyond the grasp of the Western mind, there are simple things the author could have done to ameliorate this somewhat. For example, in the section about Tumo, he could have suggested a course of study similar stating when you should move on from one exercise to another. I have no idea whether I should complete all of the preliminary exercises in one sitting or seperately, and whether they need to be practiced in conjunction with the remaining exercises each time, or whether they can be perfected and then replaced with the advanced exercises. In addition, perhaps he could suggest alternatives to visualizing complex Tibetan letters, which I doubt have any inherent power other than the cultural significance attributed to them over time, which most Western readers will lack. I plan to draw the letters over and over while meditating on their alleged significance before attempting any of these visualizations. The value of this book would have been augmented had Mr. Brennan suggested similar techniques for making the visualizations meaningful and accessible.

That said, this book contained very interesting information about karma, Tibetan mystical practice, and the history of Tibet. The segments on sound and the Tibeten understanding of the body's subtle energy systems and chakras were particularly informative. I also found the summation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead to be succinct and informative.

In all, I was not dazzled by this book, but it contains a lot of potentially useful information, provided you have the skill, time, and perseverence to find ways to make it accessible to you personally.

Rating:
Summary: I thought David-Néel was DEAD
Review: Okay. So I get this book. I read it.

I'm stupider when I finish than when I start.

As a student of Bon & Buddhism and of the languages and cultures related to it, I can confidently say that this book is a load of rehashed Orientalist crap. What is the point of this idiotic, new age crap? There is nothing in it that has value. It's regurgitated old mumbo-jumbo by 19th century spiritualists and a good third of it has NOTHING TO DO WITH TIBET.

If you want to learn something about "occult" Tibet, read Tibetan books. The ones that aren't classed as "spiritually dangerous" are available in translation.

But don't use the recommended translations from the book. Like most fundies, the author thinks aged translations (i.e. like the supposed superiority of the King James Version of the Bible) are intrinsically better. Skip Evans-Wentz and read the "Life of Milarepa" translated by Lobsang Lhalungpa.

Ooh, let's take an archaic, outdated translation by an Orientalist occultist over the widely accepted and long-standing translation by a native speaker with actual Buddhist and linguistic training. Yeah, right. Kinda sums up the book in general.

My advice? Find a TEACHER. It's not rocket science.

Rating:
Summary: I thought David-Néel was DEAD
Review: Okay. So I get this book. I read it.

I'm stupider when I finish than when I start.

As a student of Bon & Buddhism and of the languages and cultures related to it, I can confidently say that this book is a load of rehashed Orientalist crap. What is the point of this idiotic, new age crap? There is nothing in it that has value. It's regurgitated old mumbo-jumbo by 19th century spiritualists and a good third of it has NOTHING TO DO WITH TIBET.

If you want to learn something about "occult" Tibet, read Tibetan books. The ones that aren't classed as "spiritually dangerous" are available in translation.

But don't use the recommended translations from the book. Like most fundies, the author thinks aged translations (i.e. like the supposed superiority of the King James Version of the Bible) are intrinsically better. Skip Evans-Wentz and read the "Life of Milarepa" translated by Lobsang Lhalungpa.

Ooh, let's take an archaic, outdated translation by an Orientalist occultist over the widely accepted and long-standing translation by a native speaker with actual Buddhist and linguistic training. Yeah, right. Kinda sums up the book in general.

My advice? Find a TEACHER. It's not rocket science.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Read, Not a Book for Practising Magic
Review: The information provided is rather skimpy but the "light" treatment makes it an entertaining read for those who have no idea at all of Tibetan magic. If you want a better exposure of the practices, look for books on the Six Yogas of Naropa and also books written by Alexandra David-Neel.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Read, Not a Book for Practising Magic
Review: The information provided is rather skimpy but the "light" treatment makes it an entertaining read for those who have no idea at all of Tibetan magic. If you want a better exposure of the practices, look for books on the Six Yogas of Naropa and also books written by Alexandra David-Neel.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but uneven in its accessibility.
Review: Though we may harvest for paper all the Earth's trees, and on them print every known datum of Tibetan spiritual systems, the ultimate cavernous depths remain secluded. Even having the procedures of the ancient rituals written in detail gains us nothing without the ability to properly digest and experience the wisdom internally. J.H. Brennan knew well these barriers, yet he proceeds to offer a functional glimpse into, and a taste of the Tibetan spiritual experience within the pages of Occult Tibet: Secret Practices of Himalayan Magic. In this work, Brennan unfolds the history, philosophy, and mindscapes of the humans that grew upon the icy, wind whipped rocks of the Tibetan plateau.

Much of the book consists of a brief, concise overview of the historical and philosophical aspects of the intricate Tibetan magical protocols. Brennan goes the extra mile to offer correlations between ancient paranormal rituals and modern scientific experimentation. I particularly enjoyed his musings on the physical power of sonic energy and have applied much of his theory in my own use of ritual harmonics. Brennan even supplies the reader with several basic, yet powerful, protocols which allow direct experience of Himalayan Magic. I found the procedure for raising basal body temperature, known as "Tumo," effective even in the abbreviated form that Brennan offers within this short book. Also, in the chapter on reincarnation, the author offers effective suggestions for initiating and structuring past life regressions. The book also touches on methods of lucid dreaming, and dream yoga, and methods to employ Tibetan meditative symbology.

I have added to my own personal grimoire several of the magical exercises presented in this work. This book allows a surprisingly deep philosophical and experiential understanding of Tibetan magical systems. Brennan's ability to weave a skillful pattern of theory and practice makes the spirituality of this book easily digestible, and therefore, ultimately, useful. Due to this balance of philosophy and protocol I consider this book an important and functional part of my library of magical systems. I have only one complaint: I wish Brennan had written two or three thousand pages of theory and exercises instead of just under two hundred. Otherwise, I consider Occult Tibet an important and worthwhile read.