Guest Review--Revelation, by SMP52

Revelation is available on Apple iBooks, Amazon Kindle and paperback, GooglePlay, GoogleBooks, and Academia.edu. 

A friend on SOCNET (SMP52) posted this review of Revelation. 

I am delighted by this feedback. 

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I scanned through Revelation: A Screed on Dreams and Worlds Without End. As a result of your open book approach, I also purchased it. I read/purchased your first book too and will be getting the others. 

As a compendium Revelation puts forth a genuinely novel position. It needs to be archived somewhere in the Library of Congress or National Archives as a treasure.

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First off, I agree with Yon's position and believe your auto-ethnography is ahead of its time--though not so far off as some may think. 

I'm not sure many will get it immediately; however, I believe the timing is at the cusp of potentially some major shifts/evolution in humanity (next industrial revolution, AI, evolution of the human brain/consciousness, etc.). 

The universe finds mysterious ways to communicate in times of major shifts and the synchronicity is powerful. 

1) The concepts you've woven together in a written form, which can be limiting to what you're doing, are incredible. Life experiences, philosophy, religion, science, sociology, psychology, etc... Very difficult to do.

2) Your integration across the external and internal realms is masterful. Few can dip into the ephemeral collective and individual unconscious and come back out of the rabbit hole. 

You have live-access to non-linear constructs in a way I don't think I've ever come across. Psychologically, the way you negotiate going into the primordial shadow (shadow isn't bad) of yourself, the collective, and your brotherhood is visceral and flows with spirit. 

3) At minimum, your writing should be taken from how you make meaning of the world through lived (conscious or unconscious) experiences and how that informs your relationship with yourself and the world around you. 

This journey honors those that have shared your experiences, shaped you, and the lives that carry on within you as a keeper of memories. 

It is a heavy burden to hold with a physical and psychological toll, but also one that has strength, generosity, dedication, and cares. It is the true burden and privilege of leadership.

4) The auto-ethnographical account in terms of meaning-making experiences follows what Robert Kegan outlines in his book, The Evolving Self, where life is a series of tilts, and negotiating those tilts/truces is how we grow. 

Getting stuck or not having an opportunity to live/negotiate a "stage" due to traumatic events or just skipped experiences creates a skewed developmental growth. 

With post-traumatic stress also comes spiral post-traumatic growth. Equilibrium rarely exists and it usually signifies that a change in direction is near (an apogee). 

Other psychologists, theologians, and philosophers have similar concepts that you capture. 

As a learning exercise, I am thrilled with all the reference material as I'm seeing stuff that I haven't seen or that I am just topically aware of. Not a criticism, rather an affirmation. This goes to my last point...

5) You could have gotten a Ph.D in Philosophy or interdisciplinary studies with the level of detail, research, conceptual integration, etc. put into this--though I understand that is not what drives you nor should it. 

The quality of the material is that good, in my humble opinion. Not everyone will agree with you or your conclusions and that's ok--the way your thoughts are constructed has a logical novelty to it. 

Many may not yet get it, as it requires deep comprehension of psychology, religion, and lived experiences in a way that few have right now. Maybe in the future.

Thank you for putting non-linear experiences that you have been subjected to into words that can be accessed as objects by others. 

Truly complex, really rich work. I can only imagine that my struggle coming up with words for this review is challenging. 

Building what you have done is monumental.