| Well, our guest is still visiting but hasn't been around. I thought I would
give an honest shot at reading some of his books, with his permission.
The first book I looked at was _Opening to Channel_. I found it so convoluted
in its "reasoning," however, that it made difficult reading. I'll try again.
Next I thought I'd give _Windows of Light_ a go. I should have known better.
This book is so chock-full of pseudoscience and half-truths that I wonder
how we are supposed to take it seriously (OK, I'll say something nice: it
has a pretty cover). This book touts itself as being "scientific." It
is a far cry from that. The book starts off with unfounded claims and faulty
reasoning from the very beginning. Here's a sample from the preface:
"...quartz is the crystal connection to the infinite octaves of Light;
it is a spiral staircase to crystalline perfection. Just as water
freezes into ice and yet can be transformed into the higher-energy
state of steam so too can pure White Light "freeze" into quartz
crystal, yet retain the potential to be activated into a window for the
higher-energy states of Light to shine through to the earth-plane."
This statement is apparently the foundation upon which the rest of the book is
based. Even the most casual perusal of this paragraph will reveal that a bunch
of unsupported claims have been made with a few high-sounding terms such as
"octaves of light " and "higher-energy state" thrown in for good measure.
Here are more high-sounding "facts" from chapter 1, Historical Perspectives,
on what alchemists did:
"...Through combining various gemstones and metals in conjunction with
crystals in highly specific and complex ways, "power wands" were
created that would serve as powerful amplifiers, modulators and
projectors of focused thought-forms and cosmic energies. Essentially,
these wands were highly tuned, very responsive scientific devices
attuned to the individual-specific thought frequencies of the operator.
In this way, these devices became an extension of the self, acting like
a radio receiver, tuner, and transmitter of focused thought-energy."
"Scientific devices?" Give me a break! This paragraph is a monument to
nonsense that attempts to impress the reader with words taken from electronics,
such "modulator" and "amplifier." The paragraph goes on to give us a somewhat
bizarre historical tidbit as well:
"...the bejeweled crowns and staffs of kings and queens were no
accident, being made by the more skilled craftsmen-alchemists as
powerful energy generators.
The more precious stones one wears, the more strongly will they be
charged with cosmic forces, which they will radiate out into their
surroundings. That is why a monarch used to wear so many jewels, in
order to turn himself into a living battery of power for the nation."
I wonder what brilliant research brought them to that conclusion? Now I know
why the crown jewels of England are so valuable....they are England's source of
power.
_Windows of Light_ is full of such paragraphs. Some of them point to a very
basic lack of knowledge on the authors' part regarding the physics of crystals.
Since I began to feel that reading this book was just a waste of time, I
decided to sort some books I am going to sell. One of them was _Helping
Yourself with Foot Reflexology_ by Mildred Carter. I began to read it and
immediately found the very same kind of pseudoscientific explanations and
nontruths as in the crystal book. Here are some examples:
"The massaging of these reflexes [how does one massage a reflex? J.M.]
in the bottom of your feet is like opening up a new power within you.
Nearly everyone today knows that we are filled with a great power
likened to T.N.T--yes, even the atomic bomb, which is merely atoms
exploding for the will of man."
Everything is in a state of vibration. There is nothing in absolute
rest; from the greatest sun to the tiniest atom, there is motion and
vibration, just as the atoms of the human body are in constant
vibration and change. Do you know that if one single atom were deprived
of vibration it is said that it would wreck the universe? Matter is
being constantly played upon by energy and countless forms result, and
yet even the forms are not permanent; they begin to change the moment
they are created and from them are born new forms, which in turn change
and give rise to newer forms, and so on.
The atoms in the human body are in constant vibration. Changes are
occurring unceasingly. There is almost a complete change in the matter
composing the body within a few months. There will scarcely be a
single atom now composing your body, found a few months from now.""
[p.164]
These paragraphs would not be found in even the worst science fiction. They
would be laughable but for the earnest of the author. In later paragraphs this
woman goes on to describe how massaging one's feet sends bursts of energy to
atoms in specific parts of the body, causing the atoms to vibrate in rhythm.
I wonder if one can get them to do the conga?
Frankly, healing crystals, foot reflexology, and the like would be more
digestible if their spokesmen simply said "we don't know if this works; we just
believe it does" and left the pseudoscientific explanations out. I guess all
this gos to show that for those who *want* to believe in something, any
explanation will suffice, no matter how foolish or fantastic.
John M.
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