Customer Reviews

The Shining Ones: The World's Most Powerful Secret Society Revealed

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

 

 

The physical book itself is very nice and well made with a fascinating cover image. The inside front and back covers are entirely black which further ads to the mystery.
While the subtitle of this book promises to reveal "the world's most powerful secret society", surprisingly, less than 20 pages of this book deal with the present-day power players. The majority of this book deals with history, prehistory, and myth covering Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Palestine. However, the individuals that are the Shining Ones neither form a society nor do they act in secret or are unknown. One would be inclined to think that the authors will reveal some secret group one has never heard of or will shed light on some of the better known secret societies and unmask them as the most powerful one. But none of this happens. Near the end of the book the authors do single out one group as being particularly powerful and I was surprised at their choice because it doesn't come up anywhere else in the book. But it is also somewhat of an obvious and bad choice really, as that particular group continues to lose power and members over time. Morover, once identified, the authors don't spend more than a small paragraph mentioning it. But the present is only a concern as symbols remaining of the Shining Ones's activity in the past.
As with all these type of works, connections are made too easily and too quickly, which is a problem here since the authors emphasize events that took place and characters that may or may not have lived millennia ago. Recurring themes are shamanism, kundalini, and altered states of consciousness. So any mention in history of light, serpents, wisdom is taken to be evidence of the Shining Ones.
The writing style is utterly boring. Perhaps this is due to intellectual honesty that the authors know that they're standing on shaky ground that they can't get themselves to be more enthusiastic about the issue, but if they have a thesis and they think that they can provide some reasons for it, they might as well just run with it.
The worst is the lack of scholarship. Things start off problematally from the beginning. Early on there's a quotation from the Bagavat Gita referring to the Shining Ones. However, if you were to pick up the BG, you wouldn't find such a quotation where the authors claim it is. Unless, their translation is so utterly different from the more accepted translations. There are far too many Internet sources of dubious origin. On top of that the authors frequently fail to cite their sources. It's not uncommon to read things like "...it is said by some that..." or "...as many believe..." etc. we never find out who it is that is making these claims.
I can't recommend this book for anyone other than someone starting to be interested in mysterious aspects of the ancients and even then, there are better works out there.

If I could give the book a negative rating I would.
It is probably the worst book on the subject that I have ever read. The authors make huge leaps of logic (and I don't feel inclined to spend time elaborating simply because it is not worth it) and make unfounded assumptions linking kundalini, kabbalah, shamanism, rehashed Zacheria Sitchin material, Rosicrucian concepts, near-death experiences etc, etc, in spurious links to their 'shining ones'. I got the impression that they were pandering to a 'new-age' market and that the idea was conceived simply to sell a book.
Don't buy the book. If the kind of concept the book purports to deal with interests you, read "The Monkey and the Tetrahedron" by David M Jinks

The Shining Ones a supposedly advanced culture with a great deal of wisdom are mentioned not only in this book but also in many other writings, ncluding in the Bible. The authors have traced their influence to the major religions wich are anchored in history. Gardiner and Osborn link the Shining Ones to the Knights Templar, the Rosicrucians and the Freemasons of our present times which they claim influence our modern science, religion and politics. Gardiner and Osborne have reseached their project well and the books cover is an eye catcher. It is an intriging story, at times a little slow, but makes good reading as it reveals, they had knowledge of the ancient spiritual truth we need to rediscover and start living by, of which many are not ready to do so because humanity is too concerned with the accumulation of physical wealth rather than in striving for their spiritual salvation.

Hans Liszikam, author of "The God Code in the Seven"

While launching interesting hypotheses about the occult brotherhoods, the book is not bringing any clear and structured insight on the original enlighted race. A good intro book for beginners, but useless and debatable for readers already familiar with the subject.

In today's society the fragmentation of populations into various religious encampments is fuelling violence and extremism while extolling adherence to outdated social concepts, superstitious ignorance and unquestioning obedience to faith leaders and the supposedly enlightened.
Apart from the obvious destructive physical consequences of this behaviour there is also a loss of knowledge and deliberate obscuring of how we arrived at this perilous situation. For most people, especially those who depend upon their `faith' for moral and, indeed, political guidance, the concept of accepting that all religions began as an individualistic and non-dogmatic spirituality is something that creates a sense of vertigo and panic.
To believe that God is found within and doesn't depend on priests and `religion' in the first place has been turned from a liberating and empowering possibility into an isolating and rebellious naivety.


Osborn and Gardiner have spent years searching for the origins of this enlightenment concept and in doing so have discovered what, for some, may be a very controversial truth: almost all religions and secret societies share the same roots.
Although there is a grudging acknowledgement from Christian scholars that a lot of the Old Testament is a replica of earlier Mesopotamian myth, this is usually not general knowledge and the parallels between Noah and Ziusudra, for example, still remain unknown to the vast majority of Christian worshippers.
But where did the Mesopotamian myths originate and what were they trying to say?

As Osborn and Gardiner take us back through history we discover that religions that today seem diverse and unrelated, have, through the centuries, through cultural and political effect and `guidance', all deviated from an initial belief system.
The symbolic embedding of this primary source remains, however, and today can still be `decoded' through a grasp of artistic principles, spiritual awakening and an ability to look beyond the surface of religious motifs and ritual.

To explain what the authors believe regarding the goal and technique of this original spiritual concept is difficult in such a concise review but Osborn's neutral point theory is an attempt to convey the notion of all things being cyclical and within these cycles are neutral points, where one can become conscious and unconscious at the same time. This hypnagogic state of being is the secret behind the notion of the androgynous symbols of the alchemists, the Shen ring of the Egyptians and the unity of opposites in such symbols as Yin and Yang.
Osborn also connects the state of enlightenment with the practice of Kundalini awakening and the eternal flux of the birth and destruction of all things, and our ultimate quest to become aware and unaware of this ouroboric reality.

In one sense, this book is an overview of the origins of almost all of the worlds major religions and spiritual traditions but it is also an attempt to convey how even the most notorious and reclusive societies and off-shoots have successfully obscured the very same knowledge.
Highly recommended.

Being an Author and Researcher myself, I appreciate the depth of this fantastic book.
Philip Gardener and Gary Osborn have turned over every stone to uncover the greatest
kept secret in all of human history....at least history here on earth!
Do a search on google for "Gary Osborn" he has a follow up with more information to
this subject on his web site. You will be amazed!
I can see how some people may have a hard time following some of this info if your new
to it. It helps to have some extra research and knowledge of the subject. They do make
it clear through the book who the Shinning ones really are, from the beginning to the end
of the book. I will cherish this book. Good work fellows!

Jimi

The Star of David or Seal of Solomon that is on the cover of the book is a much older symbol than when the Jews started using it. And knowledge handed down orally was also a practice of pre-Jewish peoples, notably of the "Druidic" designation. The term, now used with a limited definition of white-hooded faeries from Ireland, is a historical misstatement. You will find that it was not a racial or ethnic designation at all, but designated "the learned". And it was they who had set up or assisted in instructing those that created the early colleges and universities. It wasn't until their persecution and elimination that later groups, like the Jews, merely adopted their ways as their own and falsely claimed they were its originators. As did Christianity also adopt and morph many of the pagan and gnostic beliefs into its new paradigm of belief. The Jews, or the original "Yews", as there is no letter "J" in the Hebrew alphabet, were an earlier people prior to the Jews known as the people of the Tree (as in Yew Tree). These would be the pre-Celtic "Druids" or "learned Shining Ones" and one can begin to access into their worldwide spread and influence by studying those that regarded a tree or the "World Tree" in their writings. Many different stories will include "The Tree" or Yggdrasil. You will also find connections that the Kabbalah, thought to be Jewish in origins, is older and ascribed to an earlier people who were not Semitic in their origin. Much of this gnosis was actually acquired, and sometimes stolen, during the elimination of these "Shining Ones" by Rome and then acquired by Rome's court "Jews". What was "Druidic", a term needing to be restored to its rightful and accurate meaning, was then absorbed into that which is now considered Judaism. Much was done to cover up the influence of these originators, so that no historical connections or credit could be given them for the contribution. You will find that modern freemasonry is a Judaic institution and was first set-up in the United States by Jews with Bnai Brith also being an apex organization. Freemasonry is Judaic with, sometimes Christian overtones, and therefore utilizes much of the knowledge and secrets of the pre-Judaic "Druids". These "Druids" were the original keepers of the gnosis and transmitted it orally. There is even debate that some of the Essenes were not necessarily Jewish. One may also consider that Jesus may not have been a Jew as was later defined, but a "learned one". The later, Rabbis, or Koanim priesthood, are a group that sequestered and hoarded the gnosis for themselves through the conquering vehicle of Rome, claimed they were its originators and then further altered the teachings to be strictly for ethnic and religious "Jews" also referred to as "God's Chosen". And a monopoly on the gnosis kept from those who are now considered non-Jews by this very definition. If you think the Kabbalah, the real Kabbalah in its entirety, is something you can acquire through books, videos or classes outside the inner portico of the Rabbis...you are sadly mistaken. And there is not access to those who are non-Jews to its inner meaning. As far as this book, I have not read it. Should you wish to understand the perspective I have presented above...then check out the Irish Origins of Civilization by Michael Tsarion. You will find accompanying appendices and information to the book on his website.

The cover reveals more truth about the most powerful secret society, than anything between the pages. The most powerful secret society in the world is Judaism! Believe it or not, "oral law" is the mechanism by which they can communicate in secret (which is what makes them a secret society).

This is a great book and I recommend it highly. It's a good read. It's actually quite mind-blowing if Gardiners right, however we all know shamenism and kundalini energy are key techniques for going beyond the boundaries of ordinary living. I apply the principles in my practice and try to balance my patients bodies and minds with the central concept of earth and sky energies / acid and alkaline balance / yin and yang etc.
My patients respond very well. That's what has interested me the most.