Deep Spirit [Paperback]

Christian de Quincey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 2008

It's early in the 21st century. Visions and dreams of millions are about to become reality with a shift in global consciousness. The key: a worldwide quest for the "noetic code," a new way of knowing that builds on the ancient wisdom traditions of shamans, the perennial philosophy of mystics, and the profound insights of modern science. But the quest is threatened by a powerful force determined to keep the Great Dream down. Corporate greed and consumerism have pushed the planet to the brink of ecological collapse. Something needs to change, and fast. 'Jurassic Park' brought to life the power of the genetic code, and scared us with 60-million-year-old dinosaur genes. Now, 'Deep Spirit' inspires us with a 14-billion-year-old echo from the Big Bang, and opens up the secrets of the noetic code-the way to higher intelligence and a sane and safer world. There's no bigger story.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: The Wisdom Academy Press (November 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615215572
• ISBN-13: 978-0615215570
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,343,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christian de Quincey, Ph.D., author and international speaker, is Professor of Philosophy and Consciousness Studies at John F. Kennedy University; Dean of Consciousness Studies at the University of Philosophical Research; adjunct faculty with Wisdom University. He is also founder of The Wisdom Academy, offering private mentorships in consciousness.

Dr. de Quincey is author of the award-winning book "Radical Nature: The Soul of Matter" and "Radical Knowing: Understanding Consciousness through Relationship." His latest books are "Consciousness from Zombies to Angels" and "Deep Spirit: Cracking the Noetic Code."

Samples of his writings on consciousness and cosmology are available at:

www.TheWisdomAcademy.org

www.TheWisdomBlog.wordpress.com

www.deepspirit.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'Deep Spirit'--Fact or Fiction? A Personal Revelation from Christian de Quincey, February 6, 2009

By 

Oblio (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Deep Spirit (Paperback)

In my new novel "Deep Spirit," a wise and highly informed dolphin, called Darwin, communicates with scientists, helping them to "crack the noetic code" -- a new way of knowing that could pull humanity back from the brink of chaos. It's a story about the evolution of consciousness -- and how to realize our visions for a viable future.

One of the first people to finish reading "Deep Spirit" asked whether I have any evidence for dolphins communicating with humans. "What," she wondered, "makes you feel that is either plausible or real?"

What an interesting -- and challenging -- question! I wasn't quite sure how to respond. But her question was heartfelt, so I wanted to try.

First, I don't expect readers to accept that communication between species, in human language, is either plausible or real. I simply leave that possibility open. However, I do hope the dialogue makes sense within the story.

That said, the question of "evidence" is complicated, subtle, and complex. One of the key themes in "Deep Spirit" is the value of cultivating alternative states of consciousness -- beyond our everyday rational minds. I don't expect much, if any, successful interspecies communication, or evolution of human consciousness, can occur without it.

By far the most compelling source of evidence I have for feeling confident that the narrative device of a telepathic dolphin is more than a mere "narrative" or a "device" arises from personal experience. (Here comes the revelation . . .)

An Unexpected Encounter
A few years ago, after I had completed the first draft of "Deep Spirit" (in a two-week creative burst, more than 400 pages poured out), I participated in a shamanic journey with a bona fide South American shaman. Without going into details, I can report that during a session lasting between 8 to 12 hours, with profound shifts in consciousness, I experienced communicating with a dolphin. (For obvious reasons, as someone who values my role as a philosopher and academic, this is not an experience I have readily shared. But the question posed by my reader has prompted me to tackle this issue head on. It's time to take a stand for authenticity and non-ordinary ways of knowing.)

What I discovered during that session has changed my life. "Darwin," the dolphin character I thought I had created, seems in some inexplicable way very real indeed and exists independently of my invention. In our dialogue, he revealed he was using me -- because of my openness, caring, and compassion for the plight of cetaceans (and other animals) -- as a "mouthpiece" for the cause of dolphins and whales. I came away from that session with a strong conviction that rather than being a character I invented, Darwin was working through me to communicate something he and his species wanted humans to know.

Because it was an alternative state, much of the detail of that session is accessible now only as fragments in my "normal" state of consciousness. However, one point remains crystal clear: Darwin expressed deep grief for the plight of dolphins and whales, a sorrow shared by all of them. It's not just that humans are hunting and killing these highly intelligent species, or even that we are poisoning their oceans. No, what concerns them most of all is that humans, with very few exceptions, are no longer open or interested in communicating with them.

They need us to connect with them to evolve to the fullest of our collective intelligence. (I'm sure this applies to other species as well -- the great apes, elephants, parrots, octopus, and, dare I say it, coral -- but that's another story). In a phrase: Humans are preventing dolphins and whales from being fully who they are, or could be. We are keeping them stuck. We are a drag on evolution. Of course, this deeply impacts our own development, too. We carry the collective grief of alienation deep in our psyches and in the tissues of our bodies.

Now, in my "normal" state of consciousness, I am very aware how "off the chart" this can sound -- especially to my colleagues in philosophy and science. I should add that during that session I didn't actually see Darwin, or even hear him. I felt his presence, and all the meaning of our communication flowed from that. It was palpable, exceptionally clear, vivid, and real far beyond anything I have ever experienced before or since. In that state, this mode of consciousness had the quality of a shallow dream. By comparison, that experience was veridical, deep, and authentic.

Before publishing "Deep Spirit," I considered describing my encounter with Darwin in a Foreword, but decided against it. I wanted the story to stand by itself. However, I now see that I need to stand behind the story and its unusual origin because, as my reader implied, it raises important questions about the nature of knowledge, and the difference between reality and illusion.

How Do We Know What is Real?
My shamanic experience does make me think twice about the nature of evidence. Of course, neither what I experienced, nor my report of it, can count as objective evidence that Darwin really exists. However, we cannot simply dismiss it as subjective fantasy, either.

Without exception, every piece of so-called objective evidence must be experienced, first of all, in someone's subjective mind. All evidence must be experienced by someone. What, then, makes some experiences "real" and others not? Shouldn't all experiences count as evidence?

What about hallucinations? How are these different from visions? I do think it is useful to be able to tell the difference between a visionary experience of reality and a mere hallucination. Conventionally, hallucinations occur in the privacy of someone's mind -- and only there. We may believe something exists beyond our own experience, when in actual fact it does not -- at least, not according to what other people report.

Hallucinations are private experiences misinterpreted. By definition, their content has no other existence. But how can we test that? How do we decide which interpretations are likely to match reality?

Well, quite simply, we communicate. We share our stories. We discover what, collectively, we hold in common. We test our stories against shared experience. This is precisely how science works.

However, beyond sharing our stories through the medium of language, we can also share experiences directly -- through shared feelings, through engaging each others' presence in intersubjective communion. In short, telepathically. This, typically, involves alternative states of consciousness. And this is precisely how shamanism works.

Was my conversation with Darwin "real" or a kind of hallucination? Well, at that time, it came with remarkable clarity and conviction. But, right now, I cannot be so sure. One of the most disconcerting, yet liberating, realizations we can have is that the feeling of certainty does not mean something is true. Private conviction is not the same as truth, and does not count as evidence.

On the other hand, just because no-one else witnessed or shared my encounter with Darwin doesn't mean he isn't real. Remember this important scientific slogan: "Absence of evidence is not the same as evidence of absence."

Ultimately, all we ever have to go on are our own experiences -- and it is wise to share and compare them with others'. The best we can do is pay attention as openly, as honestly, and as authentically as we can. And then examine our experiences using the "Four Gifts of Knowing" (senses, reason, feeling, and intuition) to see how they coalesce. Guided by experiences with the greatest clarity and coherence, we arrive at what seems to be the most "likely story" -- our best shot at expressing what is real.

If I have learned anything in life it is this: Uncertainty pulses in the heart of every certainty. Beyond the light of knowledge shines the dark luminance of inexhaustible, always beckoning, mystery.

I invite you to read "Deep Spirit" and discover for yourself the mysterious interplay between reality and dreams -- one man's (or one dolphin's) "best shot" at the power of story to transform the world and create a brighter future.

Intelligence seeks expression. Expressing it is wisdom.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forces of Nature, March 16, 2009

By 

Ken Ebert - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deep Spirit (Paperback)

Being familiar with Christian de Quincey's work, through his earlier books, I was delighted to be notified by a friend that this novel was finally available in print form. I ordered it right away! Once the book was in my hands I put aside other reading to delve into this adventure story.

The scope of this book is immense, yet the ease of the storytelling provides ready access to these mind-challanging ideas. In considering that we humans may be and become more than we are conditioned to believe we are, the implications of such expansive vision can be daunting and intimidating. Christian de Quincey's compelling writing style portrays these ideas of human evolution, as well as our reconsidered place in the grand schemes of Nature, in a way that lends the power of a well-told story to something that may otherwise be overwhelming. The result is a burgeoning depiction that draws forth our innate wisdom in considering the immensity of Nature, mind, and evolution. It is also deeply entertaining!

I once heard a Native American saying that "All things new are hidden in the past". That's what this book is about: the timeless knowledge through wisdom that seems to direct our course behind the veils of reason. The timelessness that comes from beholding beauty, meaning, and spirit, evokes breathtaking feelings of the realm where dreams and the material world flow together, and intermingle, in a call to regard the well-being of our world.

I recommend this book highly, especially if you want to grow a little while reading a work of fiction. This book speaks to and from the heart of humanity, while celebrating the embrace of Nature. It is a gem worth examining.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate intrigue, February 27, 2009

By 

Papillon (Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deep Spirit (Paperback)

I read this book. And then I re-read this book. And then, I read this book and took notes, and then I think I took notes on the notes that I took. It became my mission to find out what was fact and what was imagination. (Most of this book is based on fact.) This book has depth, and layers of meaning, and beautiful themes, and sublime truth. It is a good read in and of itself, but it can also be the beginning of a rich and meaningful journey. What a pleasure to sink into Deep Spirit.