Rating: 
Summary: A Must Read for all Energy Workers
Review: This book is so much about THOUGHT MANIFESTING everything and the very special powers which lie dormant in all of us. This book tells and explains the physical realities of where these pwoers lay stored and makes much mention of how people are able to tap into these powers and use them to change their lives. It is full of information on auras, seeing with the minds eye, chakras and takes all of this and mixes it with physical evidence and how the body workes to make all of this not only a possibility but a fact for all of us. Why we see the way we do (and all that is before us that we unconsciously are choosing not to see), etc. It is an incredible book, really, and anyone doing Reiki, hand on healing, aura work, psychic work or practicing to be a Shaman NEEDS to read this book to fully understand their potential power.Don't let the title fool you.. while it is full of information on holograms and how we see what we want to see, I believe that the book is more about our own powers and manifestations and how powerful we are/can become. The author clearly believes and shares so much of his own journey in this book. It is fantastic. One of the best books I've read all year. Buy it - read it and change the way you see the world!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but it takes a lot of liberties...
Review:
Talbot begins by summarizing the basic theories of renowned physicist David Bohm (the universe is a hologram) and neurophysiologist Karl Pribram (the brain stores memories holographically). The basic implication of this is that the universe and everything in it (including us) are not seperate "things" but one great, big, multifaceted, interacting thing - and that our current views of nearly everything are entirely wrong because of our basic, underlying misunderstanding thinking of things as seperate entities unrelated to everything else - and our insistence on seeing things as separate things. Once he establishes that, framework, which is firmly based on Bohm's non-local universe theory - then he takes a flying leap and explains how this theory could explain UFOs, ESP, ghosts, near-death experiences, astral projection, stigmata, and any other "supernatural" phenomina. In that sense he pushes Bohm's theory well beyond the limits that even Bohm would feel comfortable with (if he were still alive). Nevertheless, his discussions of the various supernatural phenomina and interesting and reasonably well-presented, although you get the impression that "he never met a phenomina he didn't like" - i.e. he's clearly biased and this book isn't going to convert very many skeptics but will provide an interesting scientific tie-in for those who already are sold on the reality of these phenomina. Plus he makes some good points about the arrogance of some in the sciences who (just as he does) begin with a firm belief in something and then won't consider evidence that goes against those firmly held stances. Good book for those who are open-minded and like pondering the nature of this thing we call reality, for lack of a better word.
Rating:
Summary: LOVE THIS BOOK
Review: The book not only provides a perspective of looking at the universe as holographic, but also provides an avalanche of very interesting stories. As a Clinical Hypnotherapist, and a firm believer that there are no limitations to what we can experience and the changes we can create in our bodies and in our lives, even on genetic level, I wanted to share one of the stories from this book: "Brocq's disease involves a horribly disfiguring hereditary condition. Victims of Brocq's disease develop a thick, horny covering over their skin that resembles the scales of a reptile. The skin can become so hardened and rigid that even the slightest movement will cause it to crack and bleed. Brocq's disease was incurable until 1951 when a sixteen-year-old boy with an advanced case of the affliction was referred as a last resort to a hypnotherapist named A.A. Mason at the Queen Victoria Hospital in London. Mason discovered that the boy was a good hypnotic subject and could easily be put into a deep state of trance. While the boy was in trance, Mason told him that his Brocq's disease was healing and would soon be gone. Five days later the scaly layer covering the boy's left arm fell off, revealing soft, healthy flesh beneath. By the end of tend days the arm was completely normal. Mason and the boy continued to work on different body areas until all of the scaly skin was gone. The boy remained symptom-free for at least five years, at which point Mason lost touch with him. This is extraordinary because Brocq's disease is a genetic condition, and getting rid of it involves more than just controlling autonomic processes such as blood flow patterns and various cells of the immune system. It means tapping into the masterplan, the DNA programming itself. So, it would appear that when we access the right strata of our beliefs, our minds can override even our genetic makeup."
Rating:
Summary: "Out of this world"
Review: An inspiring read. Absolutely fascinating. Got me especially interested in the work of David Bohm, and what reality really consists of.
Rating:
Summary: The Wonders of What's "Real"
Review: This is my faverite non-fiction book of all time.As this book illustrates,sometimes truth IS stranger than fiction.It even gives a convincing chain of logic supporting idealism by talking about the special features of hypnosis. This reasoning is given on the chapter, "A Pocketful of Miracles." I also liked reading about the many wierd and wonderful miracles that SEEM to violate the laws of nature.What's really interesting is that most of them were authenticated by upstanding men of science.This book might change your view of "reality."
Rating:
Summary: Best book in 2002
Review: I read average 2 books a week, and this was hands down the best I read in 2002 - very inspiring without being esoteric.
Rating: 
Summary: Preaching to the choir
Review: If you are a skeptic looking for some real scientific backing for claims of paranormal phenomena, this is NOT the book for you. If, however, you already accept stories of levitation, faith healing, and psychic abilities as the gospel truth, you will find ample pseudo-scientific gobbledygook within this tome to back yourself up when talking to gullible and/or uneducated people. Talbot, an excellent writer, begins with the work of Karl Pribram, who does research into how the mind stores and retrieves memories. At some point, Pribram became aware of holograms, and found that the way the refracted laser light of hologram construction spreads out on its way to the film reminded him of the way a nerve impulse fans out at the end of a neuron. This, apparently, was enough to convinve Pribram (and Talbot) that not only is memory holographic, but so is the entirety of existence merely a holographic construct created by our brains. From there, Talbot moves on, in a series of extremely well-constructed and well-reasoned arguments, to show that IF this theory of the nature of reality is true, then everything you ever saw in the Weekly World News and "The Matrix" could have more than enough scientific backing to convince any reasonable person of their reality. Diseases, even cancer, can be cured by merely willing them away. Levitation, pyrokinesis and ESP are there waiting for you to start doing them. It all makes a kind of sense, assuming, of course, you buy the premise of the book. The real problem is that Talbot seems to accept these phenomena as true WITHOUT Pribram's hypothesis. At times, he almost seems to argue that because (for him) all of these mystical goings-on are well-established fact, then Pribram MUST be right. Whether or not these things really happen, the whole book is based on an untested hypothesis based on an analogy drawn by one researcher. Does the analogy stand up when examined? How does the refracted light projected onto a film have anything to do with signals passing between physical neurons? Talbot never asks. For me, the analogy falls apart as soon as I take one step past noticing a correlation between the two events. This is more than Talbot (or, apparently, Pribram) ever does at any point in his book, so great is his enthusiasm. Talbot (who I do not for a minute believe has any malicious designs in writing this book) has designed, down to the fine details, a beautiful castle in the air with no foundation. The world of possibilities he describes is truly wonderful and inspiring. I personally would love it if all the things in his book could be true. Of course, I thought the Tooth Fairy was a neat idea too, until I had experienced enough of the world to realize there was nothing substantial supporting my belief. Go read something by James Randi and clear your head. Talbot gets the first star becuase Amazon does not allow a "zero stars" option, and earns the other star for attempting to deal in layman's terms with concepts of twentieth century physics. This is more than most schools do, leading too many people to accept premises such as Talbot's on faith alone.
Rating:
Summary: in response to the skeptic from Jersey
Review: I just wanted to say that rating a book you have never read is presumptuous and unfair. People come to these reviews for the opinions of those who have actually taken the time to read the material. This is a wonderful book with some astonishing information. If you would like a more scientific slant (but in easy to understand language) to the paranormal, read this book. Keep an open mind and be amazed.
Rating: 
Summary: everything can't be true.
Review: This book is well writen. If I agreed with the content I would give it a five. However, an author that beleives in psychokinesis, miracles, faith healing, levitation, ghosts and a million other unsubstantiated phenomena cannot be taken seriously. Someone who uses stigmata as an example to reinforce an arguement is not credible. This book, although it presents an interesting idea, kills it with [ridiculous] beliefs. Nebuchadnezzar?
Get Real!!
Rating:
Summary: Out there
Review: Holy smokes, Mulder, the truth really is out there--wa~y out there!
I found the first few chapters outlining the book's theoretical basis absolutely fascinating. I'm not a physicist, so I am in no position to judge the validity of the author's position, but as a layman I found the possibilities truly inspiring.
Then I came to the chapter on 'miracles', in which Talbot cites an extensive list of so-called well-documented incidents of bonafied miracles (religious zealots being hit in the stomach with a sledge hammer so hard it cracks the mortar in the wall behind them, with no sign of injury; people walking through fire without being burned; a girl who could make an entire forest appear and disappear at will; and so on) and my willingness to give him the benefit of the doubt began to falter. So, I decided to check up on just one of his miracles, just to see what I could find.
Case in point: Sai Baba, an Indian guru who claims to be the incarnation of God. According to Talbot (who only bothered to consult one source) Sai Baba can produce holy ash out of thin air, create precious gems with the wave of his hand, pluck fresh fruit from baren trees out of season, heal the sick, and so on, etc. And he's alive today. Eager to find out more about this actual living God in our midst, I did a quick Internet search. Well, it took all of ten minutes to dig up enough dirt on this guy to fill a dump truck: eye witness accounts by people who had seen him palming objects or hiding them in his chair (backed by video tape evidence), testimony by young men who had been sexually molested by him, a suspicious multiple murder at the ashram of people who had fallen out of favor with Sai Baba, and so on. Some God! Yet Talbot refers to Sai Baba uncritically throughout his book as evidence to support his more outlandish claims.
Talbot says that if science is to develop a more complete model of the universe, it must be willing to accept subjective experience as valid evidence. But does this include being terminally gullible? His thesis seems to be that if you are willing to believe anything you hear, than anything is possible. Sorry, but in my universe, that just don't wash! This book is pseudo-science: it adopts the language and posturings of real science, without any of the intellectual rigor that lies at the core of scientific understanding.
That said, I must add that it is very good pseudo-science, interesting and intellectually provocative. I've been through a few doors myself in my life, and the theories presented in this book do give me a fingerhold for trying to understand these experiences. So, for all you Scullys out there, my advice is this: leave your shinola detector in the drawer and treat yourself to a little intellectual fantasy. It might even change your perspective on a few things.
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