Beyond the Occult: A Twenty Year Investigation Into the Paranormal

by Colin Wilson

Book Overview

Dive deeper into the mystical, the paranormal, and the occult--from ESP and clairvoyance to poltergeists and spirit possession--in this follow-up to the international bestseller, The Occult After... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0881846503
• ISBN13: 9780881846508
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers
• Length: 381 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Excellent

This was an excellent follow up, although it can easily stand on its own. All of Colin Wilson's books have been readable as well as well documented. Calvin Poole

Beyond the best...

Since I thoroughly enjoyed reading the first book in this series, I was really looking forward to reading `Beyond the Occult'. I wasn't disappointed... it was, again, well written and interesting: hopefully it will also get you thinking about occult subjects in a different light and understanding their common thread. After reading this book I feel that Colin Wilson does an excellent job in examining `topics that are beyond the realm of our current comprehension'. Colin Wilson has written a wide variety of titles and is one of the most prolific, versatile and popular writers at work today. Books on subjects such as philosophy, the occult (obviously!), crime and sexual deviance as well as many novels have been written. After he had spent years working in various industries his first book The Outsider was published in 1956. It became an immediate bestseller. Wilson's work has been translated into many languages. To give you an idea of the breadth of `Beyond the Occult', some of the chapter titles are: Mediums and Mystics, Memories of the Future, Minds without Bodies?, The Truth about Magic, Visions, and plus many more. There is an enormous amount of information covered in this book that will interest anyone with even the smallest interest in the unusual. Considering the breadth and depth of the topic that Wilson covers in this title, I think he has done an exceptional job of weaving in many differing fields and subjects in a cohesive way. The end result is a finely crafted theory that has been well thought out and researched in depth. Once again, the author has done an exceptional job in bringing together the many different fields under the umbrella of `the occult' successfully, and helping the reader to understand the similarities that bring these together: rather than the differences that set them apart. The Occult is a title that will appeal to the reader who is even remotely interested in the mysteries of life. Whether you intend to purchase it for yourself or as a gift it is sure to please the reader who is looking for a very thorough investigation of the supernatural aspects of life and/or unexplained aspects of our lives. This is DEFINITELY a must have for your library if you are interested in occult subjects.

Consciousness, cosmology and spirituality

This book was published 20 years after the author's bestseller The Occult and reveals the results of his further research in a grand treatise on the complete spectrum of the paranormal and the mystical, including ESP, clairvoyance, psychometry, precognition, psychokinesis, dowsing, poltergeists, spirit possession and reincarnation. He expertly links the latest scientific thinking in the fields of physics and cosmology with fascinating experiences and phenomena in the realm of the paranormal. To my mind, he succeeds in formulating a coherent general occult theory that holds water. He echoes the thoughts of other writers in the field of consciousness and cosmology, that we are evolving and are fast approaching the edge of a quantum leap into a vastly expanded human consciousness. I loved his discussion of mystics, writers and artists like Gurdjieff, Graham Greene and Sartre. In particular, I enjoyed his dissection of existentialist writers like Sartre and their negative view of the world, as a case of experiencing a reduced consciousness. The peak experience on the other hand, is the result of expanded consciousness and can be cultivated successfully. I was fascinated by many of his ideas, like the one that human beings are colonists in the world of matter, like a vanguard sent in to explore this reality. There are fascinating speculations on the nature of time, parallel universes or other dimension and the question of whether we are only dealing with aspects of the human psyche or whether conscious entities are real. The work of scientists like Niels Bohr, David Bohm and Kark Pribram is discussed, including theory of the hologramatic universe. His research is quite rigorous and sometimes the text may appear a bit repetitive as he returns again and again to earlier examples from literature of from real life experiences to make a point or a connection. Ultimately this is necessary for the book to work as well as it does. His conclusion is that the majority of mankind accepts mental stagnation as a norm (ordinary consciousness being stagnation) and makes no effort to build its insights into a pyramid. When this situation changes, humans will enter the next stage of evolution. The book concludes with a vast bibliography and a detailed index. Beyond The Occult remains a stimulating and mind expanding read and I recommend it to all people who are interested in cosmology, consciousness and spirituality.

What if it's not "paranormal" after all?

Colin Wilson investigates the world of the "paranormal" by adopting a scientific approach to the issue. For those that might off hand think this is not possible this book is highly recommended. The author begins by pointing out the overwhelming quantity of evidence on what is called paranormal and that includes telepathy, time travel, astral projection, spirits, poltergeist and in general anything that conventional science refuses stubbornly to deal with on the grounds that "it can't happen". But, it does happen and it's been happening for 10s of centuries, indeed since the beginning of recorded history as we know it. The premise that our brain possesses hidden powers upon which some people "stumble" by accident while others practice on after they discoverthem is dominant in the book. In that respect Wislon attributes normality to the paranormal, after all our brain is tremendously inexplored and the notion that anything we dont understand (or dont know about) is not happening is absurd and has caused embarrassment to mainstream scientists mainy times in the past. It should go without mentioning that such an undertaking as this book here should be approached by the reader with the utmost state of openmindedness. If there is anything to be discovered and understood about realities we dont seem to accept yet we must first consider them as a possibility to begin with. "Beyond the occult" is written (as are most C.Wilson books) with a very philosophical aspect to it without at any point being inaccessible or difficult. In fact, this book will engulf you no matter what your stance is on the subject alone on the charismatic way it is written, laid out in its contents and explored. Wilson succesfully binds "conventinal reality" with that of the paranormal without insulting the intelligence of those who tend to think on more "down to earth" terms. There is no issues being shoved down anyone's throat and the author's own scepticism and questioning is also involved as he has for years investigated this extremely interesting area. If you want to start your reading on this area but feel spooked and don't know where to begin then this is definately your door into the other side. Approach without fear.

excellent reading

THIS BOOK IS VERY ENTERTAINING READING.ONE OF THE BEST THINGS ABOUT IT IS THAT IT OFFERS VIEWS OF SOMEONE WITH AN INTEREST IN THE OCCULT THAT IS A TRAINED SCIENTIST.AMONG THE TOPICS COVERED ARE COINCIDENCE/SYNCRONICITIES,ESP,DOPPLEGANGERS,MAGIC,THE SPIRIT WORLD,AND THE MYSTERIES OF THE HUMAN BRAIN.BUY IT,YOU WON'T DISAPPOINT YOURSELF.