Rating: 
Summary: BUY, BEG, BORROW, OR STEAL THIS BOOK!
Review: All I can say is, WOW! What a great slice of visionary fiction! Jan Longwell-Smiley has done her homework, as she beautifully, cleverly, and hilariously debunks many, if not all, of the metaphysical myths that besiege the New Age movement. Wimps need not apply. If you're not willing to take a good hard look at yourself and your philosophical beliefs, you're not apt to survive this take-no-prisoners, straight-to-the-point metaphysical masterpiece. But, if you have an open mind and really WANT your mind to be ((((OPENED)))) even more, then this is the book you've been waiting for! The "Space-Time Principles" alone are worth the price of the book, and "We-Be" will end up being the most loved, most unforgetable character you've ever encountered in a metaphysical novel--including Don Shamoda from Richard Bach's ILLUSIONS. Do yourself a favor and buy this book. Read it. Learn from it. Live it. And share it with a friend. This book needs to be turned into a movie--and probably WILL be someday. Hey, I think I'm going to go read it all over again. It's THAT good!
Rating: 
Summary: The Missing Piece - this book cuts the new-age bull
Review: Congratulations! You've made it here!Seriously, O Manifestor, I'm not being patronizing. Let's try a quick experiment: Pick up a book -- any book -- and open it. Leave it open on your table. Affirm and visualize the turning of A (ONE) page three times a day. Hypnotize yourself into a trance first if necessary. I wonder if the page would turn first, or the book rot first... Or you'd revert intelligently to your common sense after 15 seconds, and use your finger to flip the page. Let's face it, 'manifesting' has picked up steam since the 1930s as what Arjuna Nick Ardagh calls 'a West Coast sport' mainly because it APPEARS to offer a lot for nothing except some regular, albeit focused, day-dreaming. That brings us to my own doubt: Before I buy a book written by an 'authority' on baseball, I'd want to know his batting average. Why does none of these 'get-rich-quick by affirmation' books contain the account statements of their authors? What happened to abundance being limitless, and 68 seconds of visualization being equivalent to millennia of work? If I could have billions by simply 'feeling it first,' I'd easily and gratefully GIVE AWAY millions of pamphlets of how I did it to everyone on Earth; not charge you [money]. Check out the excerpt of this book, you may well see yourself in the few pages. If you've tried 'manifesting' something that's important to you for a few months and your life still [is bad], buy this book. You won't need another. PS: As much as Ms. Longwell-Smiley's got the hero, Andrew Morgan, dead on, the missing star is because her writing is not the easiest on Earth to wade through. Shorter, cleaner sentences would have done this book a real favour.
Rating:
Summary: WOW! WHAT A BOOK!
Review: I haven't read a book like this since ILLUSIONS! The "Space-Time Principles" are a gem, and I really like the way the author clears up many of the misconceptions in New Age thought. Frankly, I couldn't put this book down. It's a quick, enjoyable read. Don't let the ugly cover fool you: MASTER OF DISASTER is one of the greatest metaphysical books of all time!
Rating:
Summary: WOW! WHAT A BOOK!
Review: I haven't read a book like this since ILLUSIONS! The "Space-Time Principles" are a gem, and I really like the way the author clears up many of the misconceptions in New Age thought. Frankly, I couldn't put this book down. It's a quick, enjoyable read. Don't let the ugly cover fool you: MASTER OF DISASTER is one of the greatest metaphysical books of all time!
Rating:
Summary: WOW! WHAT A BOOK!
Review: I haven't read a book like this since ILLUSIONS! The "Space-Time Principles" are a gem, and I really like the way the author clears up many of the misconceptions in New Age thought. Frankly, I couldn't put this book down. It's a quick, enjoyable read. Don't let the ugly cover fool you: MASTER OF DISASTER is one of the greatest metaphysical books of all time!
Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC METAPHYSICAL FICTION!
Review: I remember finishing James Redfield's poorly written, sorry excuse for a metaphysical novel, THE CELESTINE PROPHECY, and wondering why someone couldn't come along and write a book like Richard Bach's ILLUSIONS--something that wasn't so ho-hum. Who would've known that shortly thereafter I would stumble across MASTER OF DISASTER, an engrossing yet fun ILLUSIONS-like novel that I just couldn't put down. How come there aren't more books like this? New Agers who want to hear the same old metaphysical mumbo-jumbo that people like Redfield are writing about (and getting rich over!) needn't bother with this book, for MASTER OF DISASTER has clearly been written BY someone intelligent FOR someone intelligent. There's so much "good stuff" in this book that I don't even know where to begin. All I can say is that if you're into the metaphysical and want something that really tells it like it is, then MASTER OF DISASTER is the book for you. Andrew Morgan's crazy dream-creature friend, We-Be, left me wanting more, more, more! And the fact that she didn't reveal to him all of her cool "Space-Time Principles" let's me know that a sequel to this fine book must be in the works. I can't wait!
Rating: 
Summary: Good book but I'd reserve the word great for Illusions
Review: I see that many here have compared this book to Illusions. Perhaps in style but I would stop there. They both have a "master" who teaches a student through the use of wise "quotes". Smiley's master is extremely verbose in comparison to Bachs. Part of Illusions appeal is the economy of word. There is so much said in such a little book with so few words it's incredible. "Master" seemed to tilt the scale on the other end with full paragraph descriptions of very inconsequential items. The "wisdom" offered in this book wasn't demonstrated by the characters as much as it was given verbatim in the "Space-Time" principles. Jane Robert's Oversoul Seven books are an outstanding example of using fictional drama to illustrate the Seth concepts instead of merely having your characters speak what they should be enacting. Smiley also used her book to lash out at meat consumers and other groups she has philosophical differences with. Anyway, for the adequate job that this book does presenting many Seth ideas it might be a good introduction to the Seth material for the fiction based reader.
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: I sped read through this book in about three days. It was a wonderful story, and you could tell this author had read her Seth. I wished there was more fiction like this out there, and I look forward to anything else this author writes.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and Intriguing
Review: I sped read through this book in about three days. It was a wonderful story, and you could tell this author had read her Seth. I wished there was more fiction like this out there, and I look forward to anything else this author writes.
Rating:
Summary: Enlightenment via "Space-Time Principles"
Review: In MASTER OF DISASTER, Jan Longwell-Smiley sets out to teach metaphysical principles, in the guise of fiction, through the humorous and sometimes preachy medium (no pun intended) of We-Be--a wise-cracking, cigarette-smoking, shape-shifting, female future self of the book's almost-hero, Andrew. Andrew's life has been a series of unsuccessful jobs, living hand to mouth, lost apartments, and borrowing from friends. He responds by trying to manifest his desires using all the visualization techniques he has been taught by his metaphysical teachers. So, why do things keep going from bad to worse? "What's it all about?" he asks. In answer, he begins a series of out-of-body communications with We-Be. MASTER OF DISASTER is a fun, provocative read. We-Be teaches Andrew with a series of "Space-Time Principles" geared to explaining why and how he got into whatever trouble he is in. I particularly found interesting her discussion of how the manifestation process works. "Space-Time Principle Number 16: It isn't that you get what you concentrate on so much as you end up where your energies are concentrated." Meaning that you create constantly with your thoughts and energies. A few minutes of creative visualization is a drop in the ocean of all your combined thoughts and actions. "Space-Time Principle Number 30: If you look at most negative aspects in your life closely, you'll realize that you didn't wish for them . . . you worried for them." MASTER OF DISASTER will have you laughing, agreeing, disagreeing, and looking closely at all you have created in your life to figure out just how it got there.
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