Chaos, Creativity, and Cosmic Consciousness (Paperback)

~ (Author), (Author), Ralph Abraham (Author), Jean Houston Ph.D. (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

Review

. . . represent[s] a very innovative and exciting new way of understanding life as we know it. -- Gunnel Minett, breathe issue 89 - Sept., Oct., Nov. '02

A book for all those who seek to quest beyond the limits of the ordinary. -- Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing

One finishes Chaos, Creativity, and Cosmic Consciousness with a sense of heightened awareness and wonder. -- ForeWord, 2003, Volume 6, number 2

Records the exciting intellectual friendship of three amazing minds . . . a new consciousness blending scientific observation, mythical imagination, and visionary speculation. -- Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice and the Blade

Review

"A book for all those who seek to quest beyond the limits of the ordinary. Three fine thinkers take us plunging into the universe of chaos, mind, and spirit. Instead of leaving us lost, they bring us back with startling insights and more wonder than we knew we had."
( Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing )

" Records the exciting intellectual friendship of three amazing minds pushing to the edge of history in search of a new consciousness blending scientific observation, mythical imagination, and visionary speculation."
(Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice and the Blade )

"Should be required reading for anyone who believes that science and spirituality cannot and should not interact."
(Larry Dossey, M.D., author of Space, Time and Medicine )

"One finishes Chaos, Creativity, and Cosmic Consciousness with a sense of heightened awareness and wonder."
(ForeWord, 2003, Volume 6, number 2 )

" . . . represent[s] a very innovative and exciting new way of understanding life as we know it."
(Gunnel Minett, breathe issue 89 - Sept., Oct., Nov. '02 )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Park Street Press (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892819774
• ISBN-13: 978-0892819775
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #42,530 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cutting-edge Cosmology, October 1, 2002

By	Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This is a gripping series of conversations between the three authors discussing various aspects of the psyche, the universe, the role of chaos theory in the dynamics of creation and the rediscovery of ancient wisdom. The authors, all three of whom stood at the cutting edge of their respective disciplines, challenge the reader about our current views of reality, morality and the nature of life. The sometimes breathtaking insights emerging from this will not fail to move the reader. The chapters on creativity, the imagination and chaos are amongst the most compelling, and deal with theories like the cosmic imagination as a higher dimensional magnet that pulls the evolutionary process to itself, the Omega Point, and imagination arising out of the womb of chaos. Other fascinating topics include indeterminism in nature, nature's organising fields as mathematical representations, and the encoding of information in crystals and in written language. The chapter "Light and Vision" is one of the most poetic, dealing as it does with physical light and the light of consciousness, the theory that one's thoughts are a measurable field emanating from the eyes, the similarities between electromagnetic and mental fields, the concept of a world soul, and morphogenetic fields as a medium of divine omniscience. Incorporeal intelligence and non-human entities are discussed - are the latter merely inhabitants of the psyche or do they have an independent existence? Scientists and inventors like Kekule, who received answers in dreams, are referenced here. The book concludes with a glossary, bibliography and biographical information about the authors. It is a stimulating text in which the power of the mythical imagination, scientific observation and innovative speculation combine to create a thought-provoking reading experience.

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Enlightening, Intellectual 60s style, May 11, 2003

By	"bl1204" (USA) - See all my reviews

I read this book while on jury duty. Because I ran out of reading materials, I went back over it and decided to write down some of my favorite quotes. Here is one example, by Ralph Abraham. "I find the whole idea that the world's soul is confined in a space/time continuum of four or ten dimensions extremely claustrophobic." So, you all get the idea. This was not a book to summarize, so I kept writing down quotes and buzz words. What gave me a lot of chuckles were the interspersed references to psychedelic drugs and various qualities of mushrooms, and the use of mushroom examples and so forth. I don't know much about mushrooms, but it helps date these guys, even while they are talking about ten dimensions being claustrophobic. I will say this-- they must have had some good trips.

I don't pretend to understand a lot of their references, mushrooms aside, but it is an easy book to read as long as one doesn't feel the need to follow up every lead and reference. Their approaches seem to be kind of cutting edge, but dated, if there is such a combination. I am particularly interested in Sheldrake's morphogenetic fields, which is what led me to the book. My attention span tends to be a little short, so I wanted a kind of breezy overview. Although I enjoyed the book a lot, I don't think I got much out of the morphic fields discussion. So I will look elsewhere for that.

I lent this book to my daughter, who is enthralled by it, particularly since she just took a bunch of final exams, some having to do with statistics and econometrics, so their discussions of modeling were most interesting to her.

And who wouldn't go for the idea of creativity coming out of chaos? Aren't our lives in chaos most of the time anyway? There must be a purpose for it. That's it. I get more creative after every chaotic event!! The discussions about beginnings, endings, various attractors, etc. were really fun to read. Not sure which ones came from their imaginitive minds (resulting from chaos), or their super intelligent brains, and which ones were from the mushrooms.

Oh, here's another Abraham quote I absolutely loved. "As the waves pass the rock, their shape is changed. There is a hologram of the rock within the wave that comes forward and crashes on the beach, then there's a reflected wave back."

Ok, that was cool!! All things considered, if you have some extra time (either on the beach, or on jury duty) read this book. They weaved in references from all aspects of experience-- mythology, mushrooms, science, waves, psychology, philosophy, history, etc. I love that!! I consider a book a success for me if I get one good idea from it. And I got more than that from this one, although I am not any more inclined to take psychedelics than I was prior to reading the book.

42 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars TRICKY MARKETING BY PUBLISHER- + Dishonest, February 6, 2002

By A Customer

Well I just received my book and come to find out it is the exact same book I already own under a different name + graphics. This book is originally titled "Trialogues at the edge of the west".
I would not have bought this book if I knew I already owned it. I find the publisher, Park Street Press, completely dishonest for not informing the "would be buyer" what this book really is.
I was friend's with one of the authors, Terence mckenna, and I find this to be just another way for corporations and individuals to capitalize on his death-
such a shame.