Rating: 
Summary: a raised eyebrow
Review: i grew up thinking that such things existed .what young asian boy fed on the stuff of huang fei hung legends hasn't dreamed of such things ?! as i got older , i relegated such beliefs to the realm of kungfu hocus pocus . i still think there are more charlatans out there then real masters .i am still skeptical . this book hasn't changed that . it's a good read , but not enough to convince me to make that mental leap of faith . i found the writer's attempt to couch mopai theories in scientific nomenclature ( notes/appendix section ) speculative at best . this is an enterprise doomed to failure at its very outset . to be fair to him , he confides that these are merely his opinions . all the same , you will raise your eyebrows quite a few times during the course of this book . if you are the type who likes to have your eyebrows raised , you will not be too disappointed .
Rating:
Summary: Is Danaos Putting us on?
Review: I have a background in the Martial Arts and inner energy work, I am also a little cynical by nature. Danaos book is a great read, BUT is it the truth? Is the author pulling a Casternada on us, with another questionabe Shaman who says and does amazing things?The book is part fact, part mythology, about equal portions of each. Danaoas exaggerated a little too much and got my BS meter going, "72 levels of training, spirits that can predict soccer games and Masters dueling to the death with lightning bolts". Puh-lease!Yet I believe John Chang, the Magus can heal, can burn paper with Chi, is probably a formidable Kung-fu practioner.Danaos next book on Neikung is due this month. How much he will reveal to us that is not all ready out there from other Masters is the question.I recommend the book, but do not take it all as reality. Common sense tells you otherwise.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally - Some Answers
Review: I hungrily read this book. I've known these things were real, but have only been able to gather limited information, knowledge and training. As a Reiki master, I have familiarity with chi. I am treated regularly by an acupunturist who uses chi gung. Yet, before I ever read the ancient myths, I knew all these things were possible. I just didn't understand the how...until now. It helps to have read "The Holographic Universe," "The Dancing Wu Li Masters," and other books about quantum physics. I've understood what was behind this power long before someone could finally explain how to access and harness it. Kosta did a phenomenal job with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Finally - Some Answers
Review: I hungrily read this book. I've known these things were real, but have only been able to gather limited information, knowledge and training. As a Reiki master, I have familiarity with chi. I am treated regularly by an acupunturist who uses chi gung. Yet, before I ever read the ancient myths, I knew all these things were possible. I just didn't understand the how...until now. It helps to have read "The Holographic Universe," "The Dancing Wu Li Masters," and other books about quantum physics. I've understood what was behind this power long before someone could finally explain how to access and harness it. Kosta did a phenomenal job with this book.
Rating:
Summary: This is all true stuff, for those that don't believe
Review: If you really want proof, I actually have seen this man and also know students of him. All the claims in the book are true and this teacher really can do what he claims. One thing is that Kosta is not respectful though because he has not paid back this sifu from what he has made from these books, not in the form of gifts, since he can't accept money. All I can say to those who don't believe and think it is not real, why would the teacher have to show you anything for, it has been a secret for thousands of years and how can you expect him to back up the claim if you can't even meet him? If you meet him one day, maybe you can see if it is true. The only way I can see a person meeting a teacher is if it is his Karma in this life, then you will meet the teacher and if you are ready. There are a lot of fakes out there, that is true and it is hard to discern the real ones these days, but all I have to say is this teacher doesn't charge money as most of my teachers that taught me haven't.
Rating:
Summary: A book whose time has come...
Review: In the tradition of Carlos Castenada, Kosta Danaos introduces us to a totally human being who has transcended the "normal" laws of reality. With objective skepticism, Mr Danaos seeks out Chinese internal master John Chang and is accepted as his disciple. The resulting book reveals the lessons and experiences that challenges Mr Danaos beliefs and eventually changes his whole reality. This is a very good book that reveals the hidden abilities and teachings of the immortals. This is a must read book for anyone interested in the metaphysics, spirituality and healing of the Chinese art of Nei Kung. This book presents a tremendous model for expanding human potential. My students will definitely be seeing this book on their reading lists. I also found it a very interesting coincidence that this book was published the same year as The Immortal's Gift: a Parable for the Soul. I think there is something that the Immortal's want us to know as we enter this new millennium.
Rating:
Summary: The Awesome Creative & Destructive Power of Yin & Yang
Review: Kostas Danaos' story about THE MAGUS OF JAVA became possible when he started out on a quest to track down the man he saw in a documentary film called, "Ring of Fire", who could start fires by intently focusing yin and yang energy onto a small pile of papers. I also saw this spectacular film footage, and was quite impressed by it -- it was the most memorable and amazing part of the whole film. Danaos was so moved by seeing the film of the mysterious man with the pyrokinetic powers that he set out from his homeland in Greece to find him, and ask if he would accept Danaos as a student. Fortunately for us, Danaos succeeded. His book tells the story of how the amazing Chinese-Javanese acupuncturist and martial artist John Chang came to be "The Magus of Java", and includes some highly personal accounts of his early training with his neikung master. Many people will be skeptical that there are individuals who can train themselves to levitate, be telepathic, and have precise control over telekinetic abilities. If you cannot suspend your disbelief, this book might be unsettling to you. Since I have personally experienced a wide range of rather amazing incidents (including putting my hand through several layers of clothing I was wearing to touch my own bare skin underneath), overwhelming doubt is not an impediment to my keeping an open mind about the remarkable claims made by Kostas Danaos of John Chang's abilities. What sets THE MAGUS OF JAVA apart is the way Danaos presents the concept of learning to work with yin and yang energy as being the key to mastering one's ability to extend the powers of one's mind beyond one's body. Only limited results are possible when we work with just yang energy -- while incredible things are possible with a combination of yin and yang. The yin and yang are much like polar opposites, and when energy is intentionally allowed to flow between the yin and yang designated areas, miraculous things can occur. I especially loved the many stories of the "Taoist Immortals" sprinkled liberally throughout this book, as they helped to point out that humans with god-like powers can sometimes cause as much damage as they can bring healing and good to the world. While many martial arts and bioenergetic schools work exclusively with yang energy (and a few work with yin energy), there are precious few who appreciate and integrate a combination of the yin energy with the yang. The system of neikung that John Chang teaches contains 72 levels of mastery, and the reason that only the first four are rudimentarily covered in this book is that it is extremely dangerous to practice these meditations without a teacher's guidance. Several people died as this form of neikung was being developed by trial-and-error, since the two energies of yin and yang when compressed and placed side by side have tremendous power to destroy. I give this book my highest recommendation to any serious student of spirituality, metaphysics, or the martial arts. Reading it with an open mind will show you a world of new possibilities, and might just change your life!
Rating:
Summary: Very stimulating book
Review: Mr. Danaos is very sincere in his desire to relate his experiences to the world. This book is basically a relation of his experiences with the neikung master John Chang, and a discussion of theory on yin and yang energy. The author does his job very well with the exception of the epilogue, where he basically rants on and on about what a terrible state the world is in due to greed and the spoiling of nature. It's kind of an anticlimatic end to a very good book. (Also, he mentions the Jedi too much) Fact or fiction? It does not matter!
Rating: 
Summary: Authentic Taoist Immortal???
Review: Perhaps Danaos' teacher is authentic... like Don Juan, you may never know... When someone writes with the non-critical enthusiasm of an Eric Hoffer "True Believer", it is hard to take it seriously. Danaos implies his own greatness with his association to the teacher, John Chang, despite the fact that on the surface he plays down his accomplishment. This book, for me, along with Nei Kung: Secret Teachings of the Warrior Sages, has little or nothing of useable value except for an interesting fantasy story about powers and abilities that apparently almost no one can attain. There is very little mentioned about moral or ethical development or subsequent ethical responsibility, in relation to the so-called levels in the Mo-Pai tradition of Nei Kung. I'm sorry to say that the scholastic research is dubious as well. Look at the references that Danaos gives and you will see that he is relying primarily on the work and research of other writers. As far as the meditation instruction goes, you will get more useful information studying the books of BK Franztis or Thomas Cleary. Sorry Danaos, nothing personal. I wish you the best.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Spiritual Book
Review: Practising Neikung is as joyful as it is difficult. Kosta Danaos has added another joyful dimension to it with this book. The practitioner will find this book as instructive as it is inspirational. The lay person from the west will not believe most of it. I would encourage the average Joe to pick it up and read it anyway and know that it is 100% accurate and true. I have witnessed the power of chi and have seen and felt yogis discharging this mysterious force. I have also been to the part of the world in which this fantastic book takes place. I have been to Borneo numerous times, as my wife hails from that strange and remote wilderness and have witnessed the spiritual realities that do exist there even though we in the west think of them as fancy. I have seen oracles talk to the spirits and have seen their predictions come true and in one instance with deadly results! Danoas opens our eyes to the fact that reality is what we make it to be. He also gives us plenty of his broad-minded spiritual insights and should not be taken lightly. This book is a mysterious trip into the unknown past that gives the reader startling insight of what it is like to be human.
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