Haunted Universe - by Steven Norquest

[jimmytantric]

Has anyone read this book. If so could you be kind enough to give your critique. Peace Om

[serenity]

Sadly not.
Could be another one to add to my list.

Serenity.

[oathsoblivion]

I just read this book not too long ago (actually read it in full for the second time today) since i've had it placed in these hands. It's not what you would expect from a book on enlightenment... we'll just say.. it's exactly what the title says...

It still haunts me, its very enjoyable and i suggest it be read. It also gives a method near the end of the book in which is suppose to invoke the feeling, which I have not dove into yet, but the fact that there is no observer, is stated and pounded into the mind in this book. even the observer is a faculty of the mind, that there is nothing outside of consciounsess, the experience experiencing without an experiencer. You can sit down and read this book within an hour or two comfortably, it isn't very long... short and sweet, and gets to the point, to the point at which enlightenment should get to (whatever enlightenment actually means, as there is no one to be enlightened).

I hope this helps.

[skyblue]

Jan 22, 2010 0:02:46 GMT -5 @oathsoblivion said:

I just read this book not too long ago (actually read it in full for the second time today) since i've had it placed in these hands. It's not what you would expect from a book on enlightenment... we'll just say.. it's exactly what the title says...

It still haunts me, its very enjoyable and i suggest it be read. It also gives a method near the end of the book in which is suppose to invoke the feeling, which I have not dove into yet, but the fact that there is no observer, is stated and pounded into the mind in this book. even the observer is a faculty of the mind, that there is nothing outside of consciounsess, the experience experiencing without an experiencer. You can sit down and read this book within an hour or two comfortably, it isn't very long... short and sweet, and gets to the point, to the point at which enlightenment should get to (whatever enlightenment actually means, as there is no one to be enlightened).

I hope this helps.

Sounds interesting. Thanks OO.

[Steve White]

I found a website that does video reviews of some good books on enlightenment. They did Haunted Universe and gave it a 10.

www.enlightenmentdudes.com/all_video_reviews

[what the]

I have serious concerns about this book.
It seems to be the kind of thing that anyone who has read a bit about non-duality could write.
The other thing is the almost total lack of anything positive or redeeming in it. It seems this person is stuck in a world of gloom and doom, a kind of Kurt Cobain enlightenment LOL
It seems there is a very negative reaction to whatever has been realized, call it what you will.
I have heard this kind of thing called a partial awakening where the heart center is bypassed. I don't know anything about this person, but I would be very carefull about "believing" or absorbing or assuming there is any truth in this.
Sorry, but I think this is very very poor, probably missleading, and possibly a fake.
Proceed with discernment.

[shannon]

I discovered this guy with his quite famous (in the net) essay, something like "what´s enlightenment. No really, what is it like?", or some similar name.

I agree with the last poster. I don´t think this is fake, but the problem with Steven Norquist is that he´s stuck in the first moments after the ego has fallen down. When this void comes, you feel like all the objects come out of nowhere and go back to nowhere. That´s true, but he seems to imply that there´s no intelligence in that void, but just an alleatory and spontaneous emergence of images, like a universal machine gone crazy.

This is a very poor approach, and I think his present state may actually evolve into something much more positive, but perhaps he "became a writer" too soon, before this whole thing has matured. I think he went to a similar "no-self" experience to the one Bernadette Roberts had, but she finally discovered her concept of resurrection, while he seems to be stuck in the incarnation part of the process.

[matt]

www.spiritualteachers.org/norquist_article.htm

[sherry]

I would very much like to read Haunted Universe. My question is how could anyone possibly afford to read it? Is it available in libraries or does one seek a friend to borrow it from??? I almost fainted when I put it on my Amazon wish list before noticing the cost of the book. Any advice on how to 'get my hands on' the book?

Thanks,
sherry

[shannon]

May 15, 2010 5:34:59 GMT -5 sherry said:

I almost fainted when I put it on my Amazon wish list before noticing the cost of the book.

Almost one thousand dollars a copy!!!! ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Jesus, people have gone nuts!!

[zendancer]

Norquist's articles and books are good reminder that all body/minds are unique, and that all spiritual writings should be taken with a grain of salt (including this one, obviously). I remember reading one line in the first paragraph of his essay that said, "enlightenment tends to make one quite lazy." He should have written, "enlightenment made me--this particular body/mind-- quite lazy." Other people have had a radically different response. many people become more active than in the past because life becomes so much more fun than in the past. The drama of the past tends to drop away, the search for meaning and understanding has come to an end, and what remains is a kind of infinite playfulness in the present moment. I was a busy beaver before I realized who I was, and I was a busy beaver afterwards. If anything, I became busier!

Of course, Norquist's basic point is correct; personal selfhood is an illusion, and seeing through the illusion is what ends the search for enlightenment. Many of his other statements, however, are questionable because he seems to believe that his experiences are more valid than those of other body/minds that have seen through the illusion. Nisargadatta and hundreds of other well-known spiritual teachers have a completely different take on love, compassion, and interactions with people. I have never heard another spiritual teacher imply that reality is "creepy" or "machine-like" in its emptiness.

In his essay Norquist wrote, "I can see why some enlightened ones have become hermits. ......this has been an issue I have personally struggled with. How to know the truth and continue to interact with the world as if you believe it? You basically have to employ a little Orwellian 1984 doublethink. You have to pretend to believe...."

Wow! Not much clarity there! LOL. Methinks he needs to quit pretending and see-through his thoughts about being a hermit. I'd recommend a 100 day silent retreat.

AAR, the Amazon price for his book is obviously a joke, and anyone who pays more than $15 must enjoy wasting their money. LOL.

[Shawn]

Steven is working on getting a new Amazon link for the revised edition of his book. In the meantime, you can order the new edition from Createspace -- www.createspace.com/3452992

[sherry]

Thanks for the info and link, Shawn. much appreciated.....

truly amazing and perplexing to see that the revised edition will apparently be available for $14! granted that it is less than half the number of pages AND in black and white. STILL $14 and $976 are very far apart.

[Steven Norquist]

Hello,
I am the author of “Haunted Universe.” I have just released a “Newly Revised Edition” which will be available for sale on Amazon in a week or so. The revised edition of “Haunted Universe” represents a major refinement and purification of the original book. While the first edition had some humor and followed a basic personal narrative theme that allowed the reader time for contemplation, a moment to catch their breath, the revised version takes the form of an impersonal unrelenting dark prose. It is designed to challenge the reader from page one, to grip them emotionally and never let up. The revised edition also includes new material not in the first edition. They really are two entirely different books. The revised edition now represents my definitive statement on Enlightenment. The concerns voiced in this forum about the “first moments of awaking” “the fallen down ego” and the “resurrection, incarnation part of the process” are addressed clearly now in the Revised Edition. I encourage you to explore it. I have recently changed publishers which has allowed me the opportunity to lower the list price to $13.99 to make the book affordable for more people. I am just as puzzled as you about these sellers trying to sell the last of the first editions for these ridiculously high prices. I would advise you ignore these sellers and wait a week or two until the “Newly Revised Edition” is available on Amazon or you can buy it now at this Createspace link:

www.createspace.com/3452992

I also wanted to let you know that my book designer Jesús Olmo has just completed a full color high resolution version of Haunted Universe. He put his all into this design. You can preview it at my website. It is available in Hard cover and Soft cover. We are publishing this through a different publisher. This book is the Newly Revised Edition greatly enhanced graphically. Reading it is now a true textual and graphical experience designed to reach deeply into the reader.

You can read about the book here:

www.hauntedpress.net/Full_Color_Revised_Edition_Haun.html

See a full screen color preview here:

www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1366191?ce=blurb_ew&utm_source=widget

I welcome your feedback on the “Newly Revised Edition of Haunted Universe.”

You can send me an email at – [e-mail]

Thank you,

Steven Norquist

[Myself]

May 21, 2010 19:31:37 GMT -5 @Steven Norquist said:

The revised edition now represents my definitive statement on Enlightenment.

Sure thing. As definitive as the first edition.