The Isaiah Effect: Decoding the Lost Science of Prayer and Prophecy [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Isaiah Effect: Decoding the Lost Science of Prayer and Prophesy draws on new discoveries in quantum physics, as well as a variety of spiritual traditions and religious documents--including Tibetan, Mayan, and Hopi prophecies; Nostradamus; and the Dead Sea Scrolls. From these sources, author Gregg Braden believes that he has recovered "a lost science with the power to bring a lasting end to all war, disease, and suffering; initiate an unprecedented era of peace and cooperation between governments and nations; render destructive patterns of weather harmless; bring lasting healing to our bodies; and redefine ancient prophecies of devastation and catastrophic loss of life." Mass prayer is the technique that will allow all of these goals to be achieved, Braden says: "the choice of many people, focused in a specific manner, has a direct and measurable effect on our quality of life." The book includes careful readings of ancient texts, prophetic pronouncements, and mini-travelogues (Braden leads groups to visit sacred sites around the world), and its arguments may strike some readers as far-fetched. But Braden's basic idea--that hope can change the world in concrete ways--is a very good one.

From Publishers Weekly

Braden, author of Walking Between the Worlds and Awakening to Zero Point, examines one of the ancient texts found in the 1947 discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Nag Hammadi. Braden contends that scholars have misinterpreted the Isaiah Scroll, which opens with apocalyptic visions of massive global destruction followed by a time of peace. The author claims that the scroll contains the key to a lost scientific tradition that promises to end war and heal our bodies. Indeed, he contends, Isaiah's prophecies can help us make sense of recent changes in climate and weather, changes that, according to Braden, have perplexed Western scientists untutored in the ancient prophecies. He suggests that we may be living in the era that precedes the destruction Isaiah predicted. But we are not destined to fulfill the prophecies: prayer, writes Braden, "allows us to choose which future prophecy we live." Not just any prayer, of course: Braden finds traditional Western prayer inadequate to the task, so he introduces readers to a (somewhat garbled) lost mode of prayer where the supplicant does not ask for something but acknowledges that somehow the prayer has already been fulfilled. Spiritual seekers in America have long and venerable traditions of trying to match up the general prophecies in ancient texts with specific contemporary events; Braden's bizarre attempt may not, in the end, prove to be more accurate than those that identified Gorbachev as the Antichrist. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harmony; illustrated edition edition (March 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609605348
• ISBN-13: 978-0609605349
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #262,761 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

115 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times, May 19, 2001

By	Cynthia Sue Larson "www.realityshifters.com" (San Francisco bay area, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Gregg Braden's infectious enthusiasm is evident in every page of his book, THE ISAIAH EFFECT, as he describes his quest to find ancient wisdom in sacred places around the world. Braden covers some big ideas in THE ISAIAH EFFECT, including: how ancient spiritual writings have been removed and/or altered in much of our modern western education; the tremendous significance that those ancient writings have for us today; and how these teachings explain ways that we can rediscover how to choose the outcomes and possibilities in our life. Braden takes us on an exciting spiritual adventure to Egypt, Tibet, Peru, and the American southwest as he ponders these questions and shares his epiphanies along the way.

I find the single most powerful section in THE ISAIAH EFFECT to be Braden's explanation of how to regain the lost language of prayer by learning to align one's thoughts, feelings, and emotions. This "fifth mode of prayer" is not anything like the more common categories of prayer noted by prayer researchers (Colloquial, Petitionary, Ritualistic, Meditative). Those of us who have experienced times of being at one with everything will be thrilled to see this way of praying being adequately described in some detail.

I am also fascinated by Braden's assertion that several different religions and cultures describe prophecies of apolocalypse side-by-side with an alternative path of peace and cooperation. Both possibilities may seem to be contradictory, yet they are likely helping to show us how we can actively participate in selecting the future we prefer.

This book renews my sense of optimism that together, people of Earth can join in prayer to make a choice between greed, comfort and profit... or love, strength, and balance.

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This "new" method of prayer works!, February 23, 2001

By	Mark (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

After reading the book, I decided to put this "new" understanding of how to pray to the test.

Instead of praying "for" something, with the implied understanding that it does not currently exist in my life... I decided to focus my prayer on the outcome I wanted... and feeling what it felt like to have my desires manifested.

Two things happened to me: 1. I started feeling really good. Even though that might not seem like very much, I noticed that by experiencing my desires, in advance, in my mind's eye, in detail, I felt really good and confident that something good would happen. Things have started happening in relation to my prayers. If nothing else, it definitely is changing my outlook for the better... and I am more motivated to receive the desires of my heart.

2. The second thing that has happened to me is that I have experienced a LACK of willingness to visualize in my mind's eye, as sometimes, it is hard to accept that it is I who am responsible for the quality of my life.

I mention this second part, because it has also been my experience and I cannot discount it. From a religious perspective, one could say that it is the devil trying to sabotage me (although I have a hard time believing in a literal devil). From my own perspective, though, I simply feel that it is a matter of replacing old habits with new ones.

What Gregg Braden writes about, I am living. Please review these parts of his book (hardcover edition): Page 160, 2nd paragraph: "The secret of our lost mode of prayer is to shift our perspective of life by feeling that the 'miracle' has already happened and our prayers have been answered."

Pg 166, para 3+ : "When I (the Indian guy, David) was young, our elders passed onto me the secret of prayer. The secret is that when we ask for something, we acknowledge what we do not have. Continuing to ask only gives power to what has never come to pass... I began (praying) with the feeling of gratitude for all that is and all that has come to pass, I gave thanks for the desert wind, heat, and the drought, for that is the way of it, until now... Then I chose a new medicine. I began to have the feeling of what rain feels like. I felt the feeling of rain upon my body... Our prayer becomes a prayer of thanks for the opportunity to choose which creation we experience. Through our thanks, we honor all possibilities and bring the ones we choose into this world.

This works! The only hard part is simply being disciplined enough to "slow down" and do the work (e.g. envisioning the prayer, feeling it through in detail, and believing that this is for real).

111 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The other side of Doom & Gloom, March 31, 2000

By A Customer

An excellent book dealing with topics such as quantum physics, prophecy, and the dead sea scrolls written in a language anybody can understand. This book gives new perspective to many of the doom and gloom prophecies of both Edgar Cayce and Nostradamus. It's nice to know after reading this book that we have an opportunity to positively impact the many forecasts of catastophe that we read about. The section dealing with what Gregg calls the lost mode of prayer is very powerfull. For those not into religion for whatever reason, reading about this lost mode of prayer will feel right to most everybody. This book is well researched, and very well written. A must read.