Customer Reviews

Mind into Matter: A New Alchemy of Science and Spirit

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(4)

 

 

Fred Alan Wolf's done it again! His latest book, MIND INTO MATTER, is a masterpiece of insight into the hidden workings of our magical, mysterious universe. As I read this book, I felt exhilarated to join Wolf on his journey "to find our mind" on the frontier of the imaginal and the real.

MIND INTO MATTER is structured around Wolf's explanation of the significance and meaning behind the first nine letter-symbols in the Hebrew alphabet, with a separate chapter devoted to each Hebrew letter. The book begins with the concept of Spirit within the Void, and continues onward to Creation, Animation, Resistance, Vitality, Replication, Chance, Unification, and Structure. We witness the new alchemy at work in the process of Animation, where we notice how we Think, Feel, Sense, and Intuit the world around us.

I love Wolf's playful way of describing thought experiments throughout his book, alongside fascinating research material from physicists and neurophysiological researchers that suggest how our conscious minds form memories of events. On a deep level, we are aware of all possibilities available to us, and the one we remember as being real is the one we choose to observe. Since information flows from the future to our present time, we have what we need to select the path we most desire.

To everyone who wishes to more fully grasp the breadth, depth, and height of who we truly are and how we interact with the universe, I give this book my highest recommendation.

Fred Alan Wolf has removed another brick in the wall separating us from the realization of our true, divine nature. Even skeptical readers will grasp the line of reasoning that always accompanies Fred Alan Wolf's joyous speculative leaps. As our scientific community continues to advance our understanding of the underlying nature of things, we are also realizing the wisdom in the mystical traditions. Fred Alan Wolf is one of the best writers alive today in the area where advanced physics and mysticism converge. The Unity of all things is a fact, and we are all indeed One. Every time I read a book of this caliber, I am bolstered in my ability to sustain this quiet awareness for a little bit longer in the course of my life, when the noise and competition of mundane awareness distracts me and misleads me into believing otherwise. Those of us who cannot accept faith as a means of navigating through the mystery that is everywhere can take heart in the primacy of experience...the experience that comes from genuine open-minded inquiry, the experience that comes from many meditative states, from intuition, sudden glimpses of clarity that we occasionally stumble into, and the experience that comes from following the mind of someone who knows more than we do.

I'm very picky about books that deal with the relationship between physics and consciousness, but this one I like. In books of this sort, the understanding of physics is often too limited, while on the other hand there is frequently very little appreciation for the depth of ancient metaphysical traditions. This book does a very good job of working with both sides in a highly intelligent yet readable manner.

For anyone into Hermeticism or Kabbalah, it is especially noteworthy that Wolf has organized a signfiicant portion of his book around an esoteric understanding of the Herbrew letter-numbers. The particular system he uses was developed by Carlo Suares, a little known yet influential mystic, author, artist and somewhat unorthodox Jewish Kabbalist. Wolf met Suares and began learning about his ideas in the 1970s. Suares' greatest contribution to Kabbalah was an interpretation of the letter-numbers as representations of recurring dynamics and patterns in terms of both consciousness and physics. Suares' book, The Cypher of Genesis, would be a good introduction to his theory and practice of Kabbalah, and an excellent companion to Mind into Matter.

Of course, Wolf's own qualifications in theoretical physics are well established. For more than two decades he has been a consistent leader in challenging the long worn-out mindset that existence is best experienced, explored and explained as essentially an accidental and random interaction of quanta. In this book Wolf allows himself to dive a little deeper into the spiritual implications of his work. Perhaps the best thing about Wolf's writing is that it is more than scientifically sound and philosophically poignant, it is actually inspiring literature! Wolf artfully weaves together insights from a wonderful scope of human inquiry - physics, depth psychology, mysticism, and alchemy - in a way that is head and shoulders above the slipshod speculations common to authors of the "New Age" genre.

Fred Alan Wolf's works will stand the test of time, and this one should be included among his essential readings.

As a student of the path away from worldly conditioning, I have been challenged to understand that I have created the world that I live in; MIND INTO MATTER makes this understandable. Mr. wolf leads the reader to his or her limits of reality by observations such as "As we pour our desires into thought, we become time". Fred Questions Darwin's laws of evolution on the basis that new information is not generated from the past but from the future. MIND INTO MATTER deals with concepts like creation and anti creation easily and clearly. The reader is lifted out of the system that we are all thrust into and indeed we aregiven an understanding of everything around us. If you really want to see the world thru new eyes, I recommend MIND INTO MATTER.

It was a thrilling to read this treatise on the "new alchemy," which combines insights from the sciences of physics and psychology to reveal the force between matter and mind. In describing the seemingly distinct regions within the known universe--the real and the imaginal realms of mind and body--he points out that we sense ourselves as individual beings, feeling alone and separate, locked inside a body which brings us the experience of lack (the Buddhist dukkha, or suffering). He says that we must learn to move our intent between the two realms so we learn to become aware of the mind/body split and the point at which our unconscious mind influences our body. To do this we need to become aware each time we feel resistance arising within ourselves.

Using Hebrew letter symbols--"Aleph" (energy/primal consciousness), "Bayt" (the material/consciousness recognizing itself), "Ghimel" (movement/motion of all matter containing spirit), "Dallet" (resistance/the response to movement)--he explains that for movement to exist, space-time is necessary, which is impossible without energy and matter, and that resistance appears as the interactions between material objects in states of motion. So, for me, the key is in our awareness of these physical laws and their connection to the way the unmanifest becomes the manifest. It transforms muddy metaphysical perceptions into clear and scientific reality.

If you're interested in how we create our reality, this book gives us the clues. I'll read it again, each time with a clearer understanding of the mind/body connection.

A little tough to understand the first few chapters, but the later half of the book was well worth the wait. Dr. Wolf has a unique way of decribing complex quantum physics concepts, such as the nature of mind, including "scripts" that represent the movement of the conscious observer through parallel worlds. A good book to take on a retreat when you want to get away and think about the deep questions of consciousness in relation to "mind".

Dr. Wolf has done a wonderful thing in giving us his gift of MIND INTO MATTER. He reminds us, dares us, to go into the future, and using our sense of imagination, to CREATE our destiny. To BE the 'dreamer of the dream.' How The Universe Works would have been a great title too! This book is as close as science is ever going to get to the MYSTERY of creation. Dr. Wolf describes how one goes about 'Asking', in order that 'Ye Shall Receive' manifests. Stated quite frankly and to the point Fred shows you HOW TO MAKE YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE! Gadzooks doesn't even begin to describe how wonderful this work is. Thanks Dr. Wolf, now get on with the next one, I can't wait.

Dr. Fred Alan Wolf has once again pricked our consciousness in order to awaken us to realities already within our grasp. In Mind Into Matter he explains in lay terms how thought transmutates into the material, and how we can therefore truly create not only our world, but the world we leave to our children. In essence, a "you-niverse" Recent centuries of scientific development have attempted to understand and describe all creation strictly as objective science, to the detriment and ignorance of the subjective. It's time the pendulum swung back a bit. By melding the ideas of the old alchemists with those of the new scientists, Wolf uses the language of quantum physics to describe what the alchemists and Qabalists have long called the Magnum Opus - the Absolute Realization.

I was fortunate enough to meet Dr Wolf to discuss his work in the company of an eclectic group that included local physicists, physician and mind-body guru Deepak Chopra, as well as musician Dave Stewart. All of this diverse and highly creative assemblage were mesmerized. As we dissolved into reading Rumi, quoting Newton, and evaluating neurophysiologic experiments, it became increasingly clear how Wolf's concepts collate all of that wisdom. Wolf's work should be studied by all who wish to develop consciousness to a higher level not only to contribute to their own well being, but that of the planet.

Highly recommended for anyone, regardless of scientific background.

Fred Alan Wolf, Ph.D. has a unique style of writing about very difficult topics in a fashion similar to Isaac Asimov--his examples can help "anyone" to grasp a meaning. I have read many of his other books and in MIM he continues his journey of Soul consciousness via the new alchemy and quantum physics. To anyone who is familiar with the teachings of Carl Jung, an exposure to the art of Tai Chi and yoga, MIM is a must read. I look forward to Mr Wolf's next offering. Should you have further questions/comments, you can always drop him an e-mail: "Have Brains / Will Travel"

I found the book to be rather difficult to follow through the first few chapters. The middle and end of the book were easier to understand; however, there could have been more examples to clarify some of the rather complex concepts. I have recently purchased another book along the same subject line and it presents the material a little more clearly. I may reread this book later or at least compare Wolf's explanations of quantum physics to those in the other book for clarification. I don't have a physics background (except in high school), so that may have been the problem too.