The One Year Manual: Formerly Twelve Steps to Spiritual Enlightenment

Rating:
Summary: .......NOT just for occult folks, by ANY means !!!
Review: I have only read the first two chapters of this book, but I wanted to put some feedback where there is none. The book is written for you to read one chapter with its specific exercize per month. Isreal Regardie is usually very WORDY as was typical for the time period and being a serious occult writer, BUT this book is not wordy at all. This book is a small quick and from what I can tell excellent place to start actually practicing the occult. For instance the first chapter and exercise is to just sit/lay and work on being sensitive with what your feeling. The second exercize is on breathing. The rest of the book seems to be very practical and from what I can tell I would recommend to any student on spiritual practices. This book is written not to exclude anyone with any particular religious belief but only to start a practical approach to spiritual practice.

Rating:
Summary: Great Start
Review: I have only read the first two chapters of this book, but I wanted to put some feedback where there is none. The book is written for you to read one chapter with its specific exercize per month. Isreal Regardie is usually very WORDY as was typical for the time period and being a serious occult writer, BUT this book is not wordy at all. This book is a small quick and from what I can tell excellent place to start actually practicing the occult. For instance the first chapter and exercise is to just sit/lay and work on being sensitive with what your feeling. The second exercize is on breathing. The rest of the book seems to be very practical and from what I can tell I would recommend to any student on spiritual practices. This book is written not to exclude anyone with any particular religious belief but only to start a practical approach to spiritual practice.

Rating:
Summary: .......NOT just for occult folks, by ANY means !!!
Review: This little volume is, quite simply, one of the best brief health books one could possibly own.

Embraced within Regardie's intelligent perspective, are a few chapters on breathing, relaxation, and body 'awareness'(you'll have to read the book to find out how useful this is, and how its done,) that are the best little, astute guides to health practices outside of diet, exercise, and advice from a regular, reputable physician.

The care and precision with which Regardie pursues his ideas, contribute to the overall personal sense of intelligent caution that readers should have towards their own health matters in general. Regardie conveys this necessary attitude admirably to the reader.

To top it all off, Regardie includes an excellent, concise version and guide to the basic meditation he utilizes in his highly useful book, "The Art of True Healing," currently available in an inexpensive edition, but little modified from its original form, by Marc Allen. I won't even bother to go into how supremely useful this little essay is: just go read the Amazon.com reviews yourself, and you'll see.

Anyone looking to do well with Regardie's "Art of True Healing" would be wise also, to procure his "One-Year Manual." The tips in it on breathing, relaxation, etc., should greatly augment and enhance the "True Healing" meditation technique for many.

(New Falcon Press also markets useful recordings - of Regardie himself ! - that assist in the performance of the breathing, 'middle pillar,' body awareness, and relaxation exercises that he pursues in "The One Year Manual."

Regardie was a chiropractic by profession, and no doubt utilized many of the simple techniques ofered up in the "The One Year Manual" with his clients. He also gave lectures and such on relaxation.

The title is really a reference to the fact, that any unified technique or set of techniques designed to improve health and life, generally take about a year to fully master.

The only area this volume falls short, perhaps, is in the value of psychotherapy for both physical, as well as mental health. Regardie elswewhere is a great believer of such, for the beginning occultist, facing the stress of 'alternative' practices.

(I would go further, and add that anyone serious about their physical health, would do well to invest time and resources in some suitable counseling/therapy, as well as pursue physical practices, nutrition, exercise, and meditation.)

I won't even go into how excellently Regardie's methods have come to make me feel, or how they have improved my entire life. I will leave it to you to imagine ...

Regardie's intelligent perspective? Yes - twenty-plus years experience with Regardie's techniques, have shown me that Regardie was even smarter than I thought he was.

There are other Regardie books, by Aquarian Press and New Falcon, that are also useful for health/meditation purposes. However, they are currently out of print. No doubt they will be re-released soon.

It is my understanding that Weiser/Red Wheel will be re-releasing the "One-Year Manual" for its current catalog.