Customer Reviews

In the Spirit: Conversations with the Spirit of Jerry Garcia

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I expect you either believe that you can talk to dead people, or that you can't. And based on that choice you'll be predisposed to believe that this clap-trap exploitation is genuine or that it's an attempt to cash in on as much residual Jerry-mania as possible. I am a Deadhead, I cherish their music and have hundreds of shows on tape. I saw them live repeatedly, and if I were sent to a desert isle with only one type of music, it would be The Boys, hands down. Jerry was a phenomenal intellect and a towering talent. I think he is one of America's greatest composers. So it is from that vantage I tell you that I think that Jerry would have laughed his head off at this book. Read it if you like, but check it out at the library. Don't send you money to Weir just so she can cash in on the death of such a personage. And yes, I read it, at the library. I took the money the book would have cost and bought a Dick's Picks CD, where Jerry really IS still alive and truly DOES speak, from the one podium he always chose...behind that guitar.

Over the years I have channeled the spirits of such musicans as Jim Morrison, Pigpen, and Lowell George. It was something I prefered to keep to myself, due to the fact I knew some people would question the validity of such claims, as well as my sanity. But it was the spirit of Jerry Garcia, that came to me with an agenda for me to work toward helping with the healing of the Earth. Wendy Weir's book "In the Spirit" describes similar channeling that I have been receiving from Jerry Garcia, since 1997.

It took some great courage for Wendy to come forward and write about her pyschic experience with Jerry. She knew that people would have many negative things to say about her decision to write the book, and the validity of the material inside. She wrote the book in spite of what some people would think, and there is a lot to be said about her courage for this. This book has helped people such as myself begin to be more open about our own experiences with Spirit Channeling.

The message of the book could best be described by quoting the words of Ken Kesey at Jerry's Funeral. "We've got a world to save."

So let's get on with the business of saving the World. The spirits are waiting to help us.

W. Dire Wolff

This is one of the most insulting books that I have ever read in my life. To think that Bob's sis would dare cash in on Jerry's name for a few bucks is absotively despicable. The book itself is nothing but new age garbage with little respect for the common sense of the reader, whom I'm sure Wendy thinks are little 14 year old fashion hippies that couldn't form their own opinion to save Jerry's soul. Hey, I'm a spiritual cat too, but I don't claim to be able to channel the spirit of Jerry Garcia. I don't care if you're his soul mate, I don't buy it, literally and you shouldn't buy it financially. It disgusts me to think how many family members or wannabe family members are making money off of all these Jerry books and songs and God knows what else. I can't wait till this stuff dies down and we're back to an underground thing again. Jeez!

Ms. Weir has given us a far worse distortion of the life and legacy of Jerry Garcia than possible by any Dead-hating rock critic. She claims to channel a "spirit guide" called "Jerry's Oversoul" (JO) who spouts out the same old tired pseudospiritual newage (rhymes with sewage) prattle about chakras, energy bodies, karma, "light", etc. that we've heard too many times before. If she insists on creating some kind of revisionist look at Garcia's life, at least she could try to be original. Methinks this is a product of Ms. Weir's very active imagination and her seemingly desparate need to deny Garcia's humanness and individuality and cram his memory into her own metaphysical/religious belief system--rather than her tapping into some higher frequency in the universe as she is so utterly convinced. What else could one expect of someone who proudly reveals that she talks to crystals? Anyone who knows a thing about Garcia's life is aware that the man's take on life was rather more earthy,pragmatic, and ironic. And he would never speak so conscendingly to someone as to call her "Little One". Like many newage writers, Ms. Weir diminishes the complex, tragicomic reality that is human life by comparing it unfavorably with a "higher", more "subtle" dimension. This is a position that would have been completely anathema to the real Mr. Garcia. Sorry, Wendy, but I'll take Garcia's flawed human life, with its rich aesthetic fruit, over the "higher wisdom" of your sanitized "Jerry Oversoul" anytime. I doubt that this book would have ever made it to print had Ms. Weir not been the sister of former Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist/vocalist Bob Weir. This is a completely shameless exploitation of Ms. Weir's family circumstance. I urge all Deadheads who were in any way touched by Jerry Garcia's life and creative work to avoid this ripoff like the plague.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Weir at a local booksigning event. The audience, like that at a Grateful Dead concert, included people of all ages and walks of life in a friendly and open exchange. Clearly many were moved by Weir's words, and perhaps even more by her honesty and courage in speaking openly about such culturally taboo topics as communication with the spirits of the dead.

The original tale of the grateful dead, from which the name of the band is derived, suggests that departed spirits may indeed be able to assist us in our collective quest to heal the soul of the land, which is clearly suffering from the callous disregard for life and the short-sighted, self-centered greed that characterize our contemporary culture. Most indigenous cultures regularly communicate with their ancestors (not to mention animals, plants, and even rocks) in the guise of spirit guides who help them in very concrete ways. Perhaps as a result they tend to treat the natural world and each other with far greater respect and consideration than we do.

Over the past thirty years, I have attended many Grateful Dead concerts and have consistently been amazed and delighted by the transformative power of their music; as Ms. Weir points out in her book, "their music wove a wondrous spell around all who heard it and brought each and every one together." Many myths speak of the power of music to enchant the soul and the music of the Dead has certainly been a healing balm to many. Even more significant is its capacity for opening other dimensions of being to direct experience. There is a palpable sense of magic, of "something new waiting to be born," that pervades the culture of the Grateful Dead, instilling feelings of deep peace, love, joy and kindness in all who share in the experience.

Thus I am surprised at the level of intolerance and hostility expressed in some of the earlier reviews of this book. Each of us experiences truth through the filter of our own life's journey, but that hardly justifies the wholesale rejection of one person's perspective. As another reviewer has pointed out, the experience of the Grateful Dead was all about experimenting and learning from each other; about tolerance, acceptance, and inclusiveness. I am deeply grateful to Ms. Weir for sharing her experience with us, however strange and unfamiliar it may seem; there is a lot to learn from what she has to say if one can listen from the heart. I myself plan to keep listening to the music "till things we've never seen will seem familiar."

This book is unbelievable nonsense. Jerry's spirit allegedly calls Wendy Weir, "little one." As the SNL Church Lady used to say, "Well, isn't that special." Jerry was a Beatnik not a Boddhisattva and he never talked like this in life, so why should he after death? Wendy Weir needs a pyschotherapist. Either that or she is consciously committing a big hoax for bucks, which would be utterly contemptable. What I would like to know is how this thing actually got published in the first place. Avoid, avoid, avoid!

There are some people that have minds that are so closed they cannot accept a rare talent. These critics saying that Wendy Weir is cashing in on Jerry's death are missing out. They are too quick to write off communication with spirits as a hoax. They only focus on their negative opinions, and therefore missed out on the important messages from this book that teaches to love and accept. Whether or not you can appreciate the validity of a medium's talent, there is a good message from the words that are translated from Jerry's Higher-Self in the spiritual realm. READ THIS BOOK! The world will be a better place if we could all heed these words. If you are one of those people who refuse to believe communication with those who have passed on is possible, then at the very least read this book with the approach that it is a novel. That way your won't have to battle your mind as you read it and you can truly learn the amazing lesson that Wendy Weir delivers.

The one thing that Jerry Garcia hated the most was the tendency of some of his fans to elevate him into some kind of guru. With the publication of Ms. Weir's book Ol' Jer's ashes must be spinning in the Ganges.

This book has nothing to do with the life of Jerry Garcia. It's about Wendy Weir, whose life as a hard-core newager/occultist/whatever isn't anywhere near as interesting.

I looked through this book at a bookstore, so I don't claim to have read it all. But come on! Jerry never spoke like this in his life! What puzzles me is why Wendy thought disseminating HER beliefs through the oversoul character would work. I'm not judging her channeling ability at all. I am a Buddhist (not a New ager) and I believe in the continuation of life but how would Jerry's intelligence and personality turn into a new age potpouri? My greatest feeling about this book is sadness that someone so connected to the Dead family could do this. The great thing about the Dead thing is the songs weren't dogma. The music and show experience allowed for different people to make discoveries on their own. Why would the man with the greatest handle on individual freedom turn into a dogmatic eastern mystic overnight?

Very highly recommended to those interested in the essence of Jerry Garcia or, even more, for those intrigued with the power of spirit. Wendy makes no attempt to sell either her beliefs or her understandings, but freely shares them warmly and generously. She makes no attempt to deify Jerry, but rather acknowledges that he was a gentle man with a living spirit; his time of man has passed, his time of spirit has not. Tacitly, the reader is challenged to recognize that most of us tend to refer to the spirits of those gone before us in our attempts to understand the events of our own lives. One need be neither a spiritualist nor a new age advocate to be enawed by the wisdom and ongoing influence of the spirits of those now gone. Wendy has the courage and heart to share her experience of communicating with Jerry Garcia's "oversoul", despite the obvious cynicism she is likely to attract. While her love for Jerry is made evident, the central lesson of her writing is of the purity and significance of spirit - alive or dead.