Book 2 Review

OLD AND NEW EVIDENCE ON THE MEANING OF LIFE (VOLUME 1)

BOOK REVIEWS

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Fate Magazine Book Review.

OLD AND NEW EVIDENCE ON THE MEANING OF LIFE

Old and New Evidence on the Meaning of Life by J.H.M. Whiteman, Colin Smythe, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England, 1986, 267 pages.

Although thousands of books on mysticism have been written, few have broken new ground. Thus it is a great pleasure to read J.H.M. Whiteman’s magnum opus Old and New Evidence on the Meaning of Life which not only covers unexplored territory but also sets forth one of the first scientifically appropriate studies of the mystical dimension.

Unlike most works of its kind (which simply cross-reference each other), Whiteman deals with mysticism in a precise and rational manner, defining his terms cogently and setting up a rigorous methodology for interested seekers to test the reality of transmundane experiences. I am not indulging in hyperbole when I say that Old and New Evidence on the Meaning of Life, subtitled “Volume 1; An Introduction to Scientific Mysticism,” is one of the best books ever published on the subject in English.

Divided into four main sections, the book begins with an explanation of the five chief types of stabilised nonphysical (SNP) states of consciousness (focusing particularly on separative experiences where mind and body seem apart from one another) and the requisite skills, like active and continuous recollection, necessary for releasing and controlling these forms of awareness. Whiteman then proceeds, in Chapter Three, “A Scientific Evaluation of ‘Other-World’ States,” to develop an ingenious rating system for measuring the relative degree of reality in any nonphysical experience: an assessment schema (for what) he calls “The General Index of Reality (GIR).”

In Part Two he tests his rating system on a variety of otherworldly experiences, including out-of-body experiences of Muldoon and Monroe, the fantasy excursion of Jung and the questionable accounts of reincarnation memories. The result is an impressive objective criterion for gauging the reality of mystical encounters.

Whiteman, like other pioneers in the field such as Harvard University ’s Aaron Talsky, has noted that there is a hierarchical spectrum of nonphysical experiences, each with an ascending degree of vividness and certainty. Thus it is vitally important not to dismiss all nonphysical experiences as fantasy, since there are fundamental differences between lucid dreams, OBEs, NDEs and conscious meditation transports. As Whiteman reports of his own mystical excursion, “Suddenly I was carried into full interior wakefulness –into a real state with clear consciousness of separation. By this term I mean the waking of the reflective consciousness in an interior space and time, existing in its own right, independent of physical space and time, but not out of touch with it.”

Whiteman completes his study with a rich, suggestive overview of mystical transformation and a provocative reinterpretation of 20^th- Century physics.

A watershed text in the history of paranormal research, Old and New Evidence on the Meaning of Life deserves a wide reading.

The book is being distributed in this country by Samuel Weiser, Inc., Box 612 , York Beach , Maine 03910 .

David Christopher Lane .

From reviews of “Old and new evidence on the meaning of life”, Vol 1 1986

“No review can do full justice to this remarkable book. It should be studied attentively, and be consulted again whenever one’s spiritual life makes noteworthy progress.”

(E. Lester Smith, FRS,

The Theosophical Research Journal)

“I am not indulging in hyperbole when I say the The Meaning of Life … is one of the best books ever published on the subject in English … A watershed text in the history of paranormal research.”

(David Christopher Lane, Fate, USA)

“Michael Whiteman’s magnificent book … should be on the shelf of every parapsychologist, every psychologist, every scientist and indeed everyone who wishes to achieve a better understanding of life with the aim of living it better and with greater meaning”

(Professor A.J. Ellison, Journal of the S.P.R.)

“Keen observation and precise description combine to produce one of the most detailed maps of altered states of consciousness; these qualities are allied to the necessary technical skills of release and opening into altered stated … no serious student of mysticism and psychical research can afford to pass [this book] by.”

(Scientific and Medical Network)

“[Part III] is an extremely successful attempt to set forth the nature of the highest type of mystical experience … The author’s knowledge of the vast literature of mystical traditions and his ability to put this together in such clear and systematic writing is truly remarkable.”

(Prediction, U.S.A.)

“Old and New Evidence on the Meaning of Life will surely make an impact on the reading public and become a must on the serious reader’s bookshelf. Having discovered it, it would be the last book I would be without.”

(Dalmain Untiedt, the Johannesburg Star)