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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sumptuous exploration of the hinterlands of consciousness, June 13, 2009
This review is from: Tryptamine Palace: 5-MeO-DMT and the Sonoran Desert Toad (Paperback)
Based on an advanced copy of the book:
Okay, let's first dispense with my pesky subjective impression of "negatives" within this book. He too endlessly rips on Tim Leary when, in my view, Tim was a pioneer of human consciousness and just the right type of neuronaut to set the groundwork for authors like this to truly go their own way. Secondly, the author disturbingly informs the reader about three-quarters of the way through the book that he has used a pseudonym the whole time. I was frustrated to discover that it would be difficult to quickly access the author's other contributions in the field of extreme sports and perhaps other topics. Once you get a taste of this book, you want to keep on truck'n with him! I can understand a man trying to protect his "identity" when sailing the seas of entheogens; however, I think the higher message of promulgating a special community (and raising consciousness on this planet through a special vehicle) would have been better served by the author using his real name. The toad's name was outed, wasn't it?
Enough negative. This book is fantastic! I had trouble explaining to my friends what brilliance was contained in its pages while we were all watching basketball and sipping Cabernet on the couch. They took a glance at the cover, scratched their heads and looked at me like I finally had gone off the deep end. Perhaps I have, but what a way to go!
In this bizarre and wondrous work, the reader is catapulted into the strange, substantial and mind-blowing world of 5-MeO-DMT, what seems to be one of the most powerful entheogens ever consumed by humankind. As the author entertainingly recounts his brave journey into this magical world, we are awestruck by the contention that he is coming face-to-face with "God." You'll have to look inside to explore his various definitions of God. How many could really handle this experience? Really?
Like many of the wonderful works published through Park Street Press, this one starts off with a specific theme and ends up taking you through that subject comprehensively and then into other infinitely pleasurable and diverse realms. It assertively and intensely explores cutting edge realms of philosophy and psychology with great energy and insights. It's like reading twenty revolutionary books in one. The book is a smorgasbord of psychedelia that ultimately proves unifying by creating a sense of harmony among various seekers and the interesting paths they take. From the paradisiacal realm of Burning Man, to the hallowed and controversial corridors of medicine and religion, we are treated to an enriching and eye-opening treatise on unique soul exploration. Fear-inducing and exciting stuff!
There are warnings throughout this work on taking the mysterious serum. The reader is advised to read the entire book before grabbing the nearest bufo alvarius, squeezing it senseless, and smoking its magical potion into your system. Be aware and smart! Please be informed, and studious, in approaching any powerful chemical.
The author's style is highly readable while he remains erudite and eager to uncover every possible leaf in the quest for truly higher knowledge. I was thoroughly entertained, utterly shocked and mesmerized beyond belief (and I've read tons of weird books). I am thoroughly intrigued by the potion, but I am not sure if this is the trip for me. I still want to read this author's other works. Some kind Burning Man aficionado should e-mail to me his real name or other pseudonyms. I'd like to follow his intriguing mind adventures into other areas...as we let the toads rest and perhaps regain some of their own anonymity. Let us all preserve their appealing and stimulating possibilities.
This delightful and innovative work, whether you imbibe mind-altering substances or not, proves a powerful philosophical/intellectual cocktail that will blow your mind wide open. If you crave the extraordinary, this stunning book satisfies at many levels...
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book that truly delivers!, August 25, 2009
This review is from: Tryptamine Palace: 5-MeO-DMT and the Sonoran Desert Toad (Paperback)
I've been reading a few books on the subject of entheogens such as DMT before. Two that stands out most are Graham Hancock's Supernatural, and of course Rick Strassman's DMT the Spirit Molecule. But this however, is in a league of it's own, in explaining the nature of the whole reality, as we see it. Hancock's Supernatural is a brilliant book, as is Strassman's Spirit Molecule, but if you only want to buy one book on the subject of entheogens/nature of reality and consciousness...then mark my word, it is this one! I say this without a hint of exaggeration...this book will blow the top of your head to the orbit around the earth, and your brain will follow!
This guy, who writes under the pseudonym James Oroc, has definitely been in places, and reached some sort of enlightenment for sure. It really makes me wonder how big of an opportunity has the human kind lost, when it's institutions made these substances illegal. And what an incredible change could occur on this planet, if all the members of all the earthly governments would try a piece of 5-MeO DMT for themselves. I'm sure the way we run these governments on this planet would never be the same anymore. And people would really realize how interconnected we people, animals, plants and this whole universe really is. Gaia tries to talk to us, using it's plants as a communication device, and some people just have the audacity to come and tell us that it is illegal to listen. My highest recommendations! This is by far the best book I've read in years!
I especially recommend this book for atheists and skeptics...read this and try to hold on to your convictions tightly...if you can! This book is not only about one man's psychedelic experience, no no, it's also about the findings of the leading edge in science, and particulary that of quantum physics. I'd give this book 6 stars, if I only I could.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Attention: Truth Seekers - this book is a must have!, August 10, 2009
This review is from: Tryptamine Palace: 5-MeO-DMT and the Sonoran Desert Toad (Paperback)
In my pursuit of knowledge, truth, and of 'gnosis', I have read many books; books on mythology by Joseph Campbell; on synchronicity and the collective unconsciousness, by Carl Jung; books on modern quantum physics like "The Dancing Wu Li Masters" by Gary Zukov and "The Holographic Universe" by Michael Talbot; the list goes on and on. But, of all the many books I've read, given the unique nature of its subject matter, this one, "Tryptamine Palace" by James Oroc is, I have to say, my personal favorite and the best I've ever read.
Setting aside any preconcieved bais I may have had due to the subject matter (the use of entheogenic substances), I could not help but intuit, deeply, from my own studies, contemplation, and meditative work, that Oroc's journeys and explorations of the deepest levels of consciousness and reality, are much more than mere drug induced 'hallucinations', but are, in fact, the "real deal", the true, and wholly authentic, "Samadhi enlightenment" experience of the Tao by Eastern mystics, the "Holy Grail" and the fountain of eternal life, of Arthurian lore, the true Gnosis of the Christian mystic.
Oroc's personal quest to validate and fully integrate his experiences by examining their correspondance with the findings of the modern science of quantum physics, was more than intriguing, it was utterly astounding!
As I read on, I was increasingly filled with a sense of wonderment and awe, and had many "ah ha" moments which validated my own somewhat limited encounters with "G/d" as Oroc refers to "The One", a God which I think of as the "spirit of the Universe", as "the light of life".
Just reading this book can produce a minor enlightenment experience, not unlike an "acid flashback", based on a deeply intuited understanding, that the conclusions Oroc has drawn from his own quest to reconcile spiritual experience with reality, are indeed valid. Terrance McKenna would be proud of this work, and the persistent acts of courage by the author which produced it.
Like I said, this book is among the very best I've ever read if not THE best, given the subject matter being explored (contact with the Godhead), and what it is that's being experienced by the author only to be then made available for subsequent "grokking" by the reader. And, although the 'thing itself' cannot be reduced to any final description employing mere words, Oroc nevertheless makes a valliant attempt to do so and almost pulls it off.
One need not even have an interest in or be involved with the entheogenic experience to fully appreciate what this book has to offer.
If you are, like me, a real Truth seeker and a God seeker, then this book is for you and a definite must have. I cannot recommend it enough.
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