Customer Reviews

Beyond Duality: The Art of Transcendence

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Beyond Duality is a compact presentation of some very complex metaphysical topics. I recommend it mainly to people who have some background in metaphysics, the occult, magick or a similar path. Newcomers to the field can too easily pass right over some of the material without recognizing its value. Alas, it is all to easy for those with far more experience to do the same, as knowledge of this sort can only be partially transmitted by the written word. That is, of course, the meaning of the first paragraph of the Tao Teh Ching, which is usually translated, "The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao..." Although Galian refers to the Tao in Beyond Duality, his techniques are rooted in the Western occult tradition, especially Hermeticism. A good companion volume to this book is the Kybalion, by Three Initiates, which discusses in some detail the theory of duality and how to transcend it. Galian is more concerned with practice than theory in this book, and he gives some very useful and original techniques. He calls his system, "the way of power." It's quite likely that other systems have similiar, if not the same name (there being such a multitude of groups, schools and courses out there today), but names aren't very important. The most important technique Galian teaches is the Triangle of Manifestation, where he instructs readers on how to create something by making use of duality rather than having it work against you. As he puts it, "the secret of the Triangle of Manifestation is that we equilibrate our desired thought by thinking of its inherent contradiction." This is an extremely complex idea (dealt with by Aleister Crowley among others), and I wish he had gone into more detail with it. Still, it gives the reader a lot to think about and it forces you to come up with some of your own interpretations rather than relying entirely on the writer for answers. Perhaps this was his intent. Galian gives credit to a long list of people in the first chapter for having influenced him, and his approach to magick is quite eclectic. This is a good book for anyone interested in the problem of duality, perhaps the most basic philosophical question of all, and for those looking to enhance their ability to manifest what they want in their lives.

Beyond Duality was a very disappointing book for me, primarily because to me it seemed that the title itself was very misleading. I should have looked more closely at the cover photo, which expressed the actual content of the book far more eloquently, more closely. It depicts a fairly disenchanted looking woman and man on the cover, each eyeing the other with apparent non-comphrehension. Which is exactly what this book is about - rather than going *beyond* duality,it seems to embrace it. It is my understanding that to truly evolve we need to confront and transcend concepts as male, female, top, bottom, and instead realize that there are simply people with different traits, needs, and personalities. This book is too quick to fall back into excuses and cliches that sound more like metaphysical rhetoric for "it's a _______thing." The other exercises fall more into a just too obvious kind of catagory. Of course stairways go both up and down, and neither is better than the other (an actual example from the book.) I didn't find this insightful or useful. I suppose my disappointment in Beyond Duality stems from the fact that I expected transcendent, groundbreaking metaphysical ideas, and I got pop psychology of the "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" variety, and that was just the kind of outdated thinking I was trying to avoid. I prefer not to give negative reviews, but I also believe that people should have the opportunity to go into a book with a better knowledge of what they're getting. I hope this helps someone.

This book is wonderful! Well written & well researched! There is a great deal of information in this book to transform your life! Not only is it interesting, direct & easy to understand,it is a remarkable work of art! The author is truly brilliant!! I hope he comes out with many more books! His talent for writing is truly amazing! I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to expand their knowledge in the spiritual realm & bring balance & harmony into their lives, this book is a must! The author teaches the reader how to heal, transform & bring balance & harmony to their lives through the buried treasures of magical traditions! You will learn about your arua, how to create "thought form" , how to raise energy/power, sigils & talsimans, as well as healing & balancing yourself & your desires into a higher state of dimension in your spiritual life!

This book is really for practicing Chaos magickians. When I first read it, I was disappointed and thought the book was light and simplistic. Repeated reading - and using - revealed the following: this is a book full of advice and techniques for using polarity, paradox, and the synthesis of opposite energies and thoughts in order to create results (magickal and otherwise). If this is what you need in your work and life, then this is the book you're looking for. Keep working with it - as I said, it took me awhile, but now I treasure this text.

I think that the utility of this book went "over the head" of the previous reviewer. Yes, the methodology in this book is simple; but not everyone has been practicing magick for 20 years as I have, and even I am not averse to simplicity. However, this book does present something unique to any skill level in its scheme of transcending duality through the Triangle of Manifestation. The Triangle is used to balance a concept with its inherent contradiction or antithesis and move through that conflict into a synthesis that expresses desire more purely. I question whether the previous reviewer actually read the book properly. Perhaps their idea of transcending dualities is to deny them. I recommend this book to all practitioners.

Advanced and practical information on magick, the occult, metaphysics and
visualization. Very well written and easy to do for either the novice or
the advanced student. The author put much effort and caring into writing
this wonderful book. Highly recommended.

Outstanding and concise information. Cuts to the chase in simple and powerful writing. Information without putting it into practice is useless. Read and do.

Its finally here and every serious seeker needs this book.Galian's combination of intensity and clarity are thoroughly impressive.His sources are stepped in arcana,but unfortunately most of us have little time to go to the original texts.We owe Galian a good deal for having done the hunting and gatheringThis is NOT a New Age fluffy Bunny instant read-rather,it is a clear distillation of the operation of the third force-the dialectic method is be applied in this present instant.It is rare to find such a systematic and important text-New Falcon gathers the cream once again.-Galian is an essential book in any library designed on the Hermetic corpus and the contemporary revival.

This is definitely one of the best books on magickal theory and practice that I have ever read! One of the great strengths of this book is that it is not a simple cookbook like so many other books on the subject... instead it provides the reader with easy to use tools to gain THE FRAME OF MIND neccessary to perform magickal operations! I have bought several copies so that as one wears out, I'll have others handy. The style of the book is such that one can pick it up at any time to read and gain! A fine book that not only teaches the art of magick, but the art of living in harmony with life's currents as well.