What Are You Reading Now?

[NJCher]

Let's share book ideas on our related interests! Maybe we can all squeeze in another good book before the summer is over.

All summer long I've been reading my usual fare (books about extraterrestrials and UFOs), but I recently finished Soul Survivor by by Bruce and Andrea Leininger. This is the book about that little boy who came into this world remembering his past life, a terrifying one where his plane was shot down in WWII in Japan. There is also a writer who helped them (Ken Gross). The story was featured on 2020, and if you want to watch it, I've put the youtube links at the end of this post.



There are facts and circumstances this little boy (James) knew about WWII airplanes that no child would ever know. For example, he insisted that he flew a certain type of plane off the Natoma aircraft carrier. All of the existing documentation says that this type of plane never flew off that carrier but eventually the father, someone who takes pride in being a hard-nosed disbeliever in "New Agey" stuff, turns up a photo of his son in his previous life, standing by the plane on the aircraft carrier. This point is especially meaningful as Bruce Leininger held on to that fact, maintaining that this proved his son's recall was factually deficient and therefore suspect as a true reincarnation memory.

In addition, little James remembered that this plane often had flat tires and veered in one direction when landing. Now how would a five-year-old kid access such information?

Oh and btw, this story developed about the same time that popular access to the web was developing. So even if little baby James was able to access the internet, such information would be next to impossible to uncover, even for an expert researcher.



The story starts off with James (who is a very good looking little boy who resembles his previous handsome self quite remarkably) having nightmares. Every night he would awake, screaming and crying. At a certain point, when he is able to talk, his mother Andrea distinguishes his speech to say, "Little man down! Can't get out! Fire!" They do not in any way relate this to James' developing interest in airplanes.



One day Andrea presents James with a wooden toy airplane and shows him the "gasoline tank" on its underside. James corrects her, telling her it is not a gasoline tank but a "dwop tank." (Drop tanks for bombs.)

Bruce took James to an aviation museum and he could hardly get the child out of there. Again, James demonstrated an unnatural fascination for such aircraft. And more "expertise" emerged, too.

Such incidents continue and soon the father becomes obsessed with researching the history of the Natoma Bay in an attempt to prove to Andrea and her family that this is NOT a case of reincarnation. Andrea and her mother and sisters had already come to this conclusion. Bruce, however, is a RW Christian fundie and has a BIG problem with reincarnation. His intention with the research is to prove them all wrong but of course he just proves himself wrong.

We probably wouldn't like Bruce much at this forum, with his work being a union buster and all. He kind of annoyed me throughout the book by being so obstinate and by clinging to his religious beliefs so fanatically. I mean, get real! Such beliefs are every bit as far out as reincarnation, so what's the big deal.

Eventually, however, Bruce comes around.

One of the best parts of the book is when little James goes to a reunion of the Natoma Bay pilots and recognizes his old buddies. And he also meets his sister! They are now old, and this makes James momentarily sad.

All in all, the book held my interest throughout. I have to really admire Andrea and Bruce as parents, as they handled this situation remarkably well. They were good, patient, loving parents who cared very much about doing what was best for their son. Those of us who are interested in what happens to the soul after "death" owe Bruce and Andrea Leininger a tribute for their incredibly detailed research.

2020 segment hosted by Chris Cuomo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGixKr3Y-NA

Read some of the book at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Survivor-Reincarnation-World-Fighter/dp/0446509337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1250001400&sr=8-1#reader


Cher

p.s. oh, one critical comment. The writing in the beginning of the book annoyed me. It had so many cliches: "...screaming bloody murder," for example.

This, however, got better as the book went on.

[Mnemosyne]

1. Parallel Worlds - Michio Kaku

Good read, but tough going as have been distracted for a bit.

I love these threads NJCher! Thanks! :hi:

[MorningGlow]

2. Great idea for a thread, Cher

After reading through many, MANY books on 2012 for my upcoming article, I decided to shift gears and read something entirely different, but I didn't know what. Then I came across Doreen Virtue's The Miracles of Archangel Michael in my pile of unread books. I'm always a little bit iffy about stuff like this, but it's really captured my attention. Recommended.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rY2ck-tYL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg

I remember this story of the little boy who was a pilot. I totally believe it--but it caused a ruckus or two in other areas of DU a little while ago. :eyes:

[bigmonkey]

3. I've been reading books by Drunvalo Melchizedek.

They appeal to me, but they're pretty far out there. I guess they appeal to this belief I've always had that there's a technology of consciousness that has been lost, and needs to be regained or remembered. I have this feeling that it's a method that has a safety built in: that practitioners need to be coming from love and not the ego to attain any great degree of aptitude.

It turns out, much to my surprise, that I've now read all of his books:

The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life, parts 1 and 2 (on sacred geometry)
Living in the Heart (a small book with some powerful meditations in it)
Serpent of Light; Beyond 2012 (largely anecdotal, but what stories!)

He's presenting a technology of consciousness of the kind that appeals to me, but which I never seem to have the determination to follow in a disciplined way. Part of me is always afraid that I'll take the wrong path.

He seems sure of what he is saying, yet open to other possibilities, and accepting of individual perspectives. Anybody know his stuff, or have an opinion? I'd recommend Serpent of Light to start with, that's the one I began with. Actually, my first introduction to him was in one of the free interviews on the Conscious Media Network.

[MorningGlow]

4. I LOVE the Flower of Life books

Yes, you're right, it's a challenge to take it at face value, as a lot of what he has to say is definitely "out there", but I realized that everything I ever wanted to know, every esoteric subject that was ever hinted about, every mystery that I've wondered about since I avidly watched In Search Of when I was a preteen, is ALL contained in those two volumes. It was like several hundred pages of "You're Not Crazy" and "Here Are All the Answers You've Been Looking For."

I must admit that if I turned off my "yeah but" mindset and just read what he had to say, it all rang true--it all hung together and I could practically hear the puzzle pieces clicking into place.

Of course, my right-brain-dominated mindset was sent spinning with the second volume, when he delved more deeply into sacred geometry (ow! brain cramp! ow!), but I soldiered on through all of it and was grateful that I did. I keep both volumes in my bedside-stack-o'-reading at all times. I keep meaning to reread them, cover to cover, again. Hope to get to that sometime soon.

[GliderGuider]

5. I have memories of being a Spitfire pilot during the Battle of Britain

The Battle happened ten years before I was born. I've always been fascinated by WWII fighter aircraft, especially the British Spitfire. I was about 20 when the memory came: I remembered sitting in the cockpit of a Spitfire in battle, and looking back over my left shoulder just in time to see a German fighter open fire on me. The machine gun bullets ripped through my canopy and one struck me in the neck or left jaw, killing me. I also remembered a name at the same time. I remembered it as: "Pilot Officer Blayne, with a 'y'", and a squadron number: 609. Some time later I found a book in the library that detailed the Order of Battle of the RAF in August, 1940. Assigned to Squadron 609 during the Battle of Britain in August, 1940 was a Pilot Officer A. J. Blayney (Blayne, with a 'y'...) I don't know what became of him, though I've tried to track him down. I don't know if he lived or died.

Anyway, right now I'm reading "The Hidden Spirituality of Men" by Matthew Fox. I'm into the second of the ten metaphors he explores to help men reclaim the Sacred Masculine. It's exactly what I've been looking for.

[Fire Walk With Me]

6. "When Things Fall Apart" by Pema Chodron and "Smilla's Sense of Snow".

Always wanted to read the latter. I'm going after "Zen Mind, Beginniner's Mind" next, by the venerable Suzuki-Sensei.

[teenagebambam]

7. "Landscape and Memory"

by Simon Schama. It's SO dense, I've been trying for like ten years to get through it, as I INSIST to myself that's "light summer reading".

On the lighter side....I read through the 1980's-90's series of "Swamp Thing" comics this summer....really fascinating stuff. Deals with the nature of consciousness, sexuality, the natural world, Godhood....really great stuff!

[rosesaylavee]

8. The Evolution of God by Robert Wright

Saw him interviewed by Bill Moyers a few weeks ago and knew I had to read it. Not a fast read for me as I read before I go to sleep and this week has been tiring. But a good book from what I have read so far. It chronicles the way humans have created their god at different times in history and why he and others think they did it that way. Still at the hunter/gatherers level so don't have much else to report yet.

[BlueIris]

9. "A Little Book on the Human Shadow," by Robert Bly.

Which is hard. Shadow work is hard.

[GliderGuider]

10. Thanks for that. I'll pick up the book.

I'm just starting my shadow work. Good luck with yours.

[BlueIris]

12. It could be a tough one to find (unless you want to go Amazon.com).

Shoot me a PM if you can't find it and I'll send you my copy when I'm done.

Oh, and if the Bly book doesn't work out for you, you could try "The Dark Side of the Light Chasers," by Debbie Ford. That one is even more daunting than the Bly one, but it is specifically designed for people doing the "work" part of shadow work. Ford's book has actual exercises in it and such.

[GliderGuider]

13. Aha. I already have Debbie Ford's book.

I'm going to be working through it with a coach.

If you think Ford's book is heavier and more specific than Bly's I may pass on getting his. Thanks for the info.

[Why Syzygy]

11. Seven books are on my current reading list ..

Five of them are new and two repeats.


Opening to the Infinite by Stephan A. Schwartz


http://www.nemoseen.com/books.htm

http://www.stephanaschwartz.com/home.htm

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The Divine Matrix: Bridging Time, Space, Miracles, and Belief by Gregg Braden

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DmTjJqNYL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401905730/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

***

The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness
by Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, Jon Kabat-Zinn
I've read part of Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn; but the new book includes a meditation CD

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Xh-LzcRiL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593851286/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

***

Evolve Your Brain: The Science of Changing Your Mind by Joe Dispenza

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NmoUxC14L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0757307655/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

http://www.drjoedispenza.com/
I really like Joe in What the Bleep (II). However, I agree with these folks that the Ramtha school is most likely a cult.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9124849147412897371
http://www.enlightenmefree.com/
What the Bleep Do We Know, Down the Rabbit Hole (complete film)
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B13F881195866370&search_query=what+the+bleep

***

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/418YQ86A2KL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385480016/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

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Repeats
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Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4110C1D7T3L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/Being-Peace-Thich-Nhat-Hanh/dp/188837540X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250263360&sr=1-1

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The Tao of Sobriety: Helping You to Recover from Alcohol and Drug Addiction by David Gregson, Jay S. Efran, G. Alan Marlatt

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41AGYGAFB5L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Sobriety-Helping-Recover-Addiction/dp/0312242506/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250263538&sr=1-1