The Secret History of the World
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The Secret History of the World
Narrated by:
Paul Matthews
Buy Now for £17.74
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Narrated by:
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Paul Matthews
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By:
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Jonathan Black
From the esoteric account of the evolution of the species to the occult roots of science, from the secrets of the Flood to the esoteric motives behind American foreign policy, here is a narrative history that shows the basic facts of human existence on this planet can be viewed from a very different angle. Everything in this history is upside down, inside out and the other way around.
At the heart of The Secret History of the World is the belief that we can reach an altered state of consciousness in which we can see things about the way the world works that are hidden from us in our everyday, commonsensical consciousness. This history shows that by using secret techniques, people such as Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton and George Washington have worked themselves into this altered state - and been able to access supernatural levels of intelligence. There have been many books on the subject, but, extraordinarily, no-one has really listened to what the secret societies themselves say.
The author has been helped in his researches by his friendship with a man who is an initiate of more than one secret society, and in one case an initiate of the highest level.
©2007 Jonathan Black (P)2008 WF Howes Ltd
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Fantastic book just listened for second time
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He clearly conveys that there is another way of understanding history and ourselves. This other way is as he describes it a kind of upside down miracle. It is present civilisation living in a mirage not the past.
I call it teasing because despite the many connections he makes, he frequently does not indicate the real meaning. Take for example his description of Gilgamesh diving below the surface of the water to recover a specific plant that is the secret of life which is then stolen from him by a snake when he falls asleep on the shore. This is one of those stories that is so easily reified by the reader or listener. They think that something like this really happened, that it is describing an actual material event. That there was a Sage who knew of a specific plant, but Black is asking the reader to think.
He rightly described how the human life body, which he caused the plant or vegetable body, is connected to pure thinking and a certain type of consciousness. It is also associated with water. So to dive into the water to retrieve a special plant is to is to achieve spiritual concept and insight. It is the tale of an initiation to understand reincarnation as a process of recurring or eternal life. To fall asleep on the shore or threshold is to lose consciousness of this, whereupon a snake, a symbol of lower animal consciousness steals understanding: the Fall repeated.
There are many stories and micro biographies that will also tease because the whole story or its significance is not developed. Perhaps the reader will be inspired to search further.
It’s important to realise that these traditions aim to describe events that have no material counterpart. Just as you can’t take your thoughts and put them in a paper bag, being is an aspect of our existence that cannot be reduced to material existence. Our present materiality, as we know it, is an effect of sensory organisation. it is a construction.
There is somewhat too much willingness I think to accept every version of esoteric tales and legends and every commentator. Black indicates leading guides especially Steiner. He is more reliable in part because he teaches the reader to think. But this work may provoke a search for the ‘true truths’.
Paul Mathews, the reader, has a good clear voice, but proceeds slowly, perhaps to allow ongoing reflection, Many listeners will prefer listening perhaps 25% faster than the standard.
Teasing erudite telling of secrets with variable accuracy
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More than a new perspective
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Is it true? Well, it's quite fantastical and you have to leave your skepticism at the door when listening to it. But bear in mind that the 'history' that you are listening to is not history as we know it, but history as perceived by people in the past (and perhaps present).
Think about it; it is only in the 20th century that people have believed the world to be 4.5 billion years old. Electricity, antibiotics, the internet, space travel - these were concepts alien to people throughout much of mankinds history. People thought about the world differently. They interpreted events using different psychological models to those we use today.
In this book, the author argues that certain, 'illuminated' groups throughout history, have possessed knowledge, ideas and practices that were 'hidden' from the people at large. That important and powerful people alive today are initiated into organisations that carry the beacon of this knowledge. And that this knowledge is utilised through an understanding of the multi-layered symbolism and meaning of the practices it prescribes.
That's not to say this book is some kind of intimate expose of a veiled reality. More, an interesting sideways look at the historical narrative.
Listen with an open mind
A peep through the looking glass of history
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