posted October 07, 2007 05:24 PM         

(I'll type out what it says in the jacket)

"Initiation is one of those unusual books that transcend all categories - and almost defy description. It is an autobiographical novel about a woman, with its full measure of events and experiences, but its real concern is mystic truth, more especially, the occult teaching of the priesthood in ancient Egypt, Elisabeth Haich is an authority on yoga and the author, with Selvarajan Yesudian, of well-known books on the subject. Here she reveals further workings of life, the law of Karma and reincarnation, and the esoteric doctrine that a few in each generation seek, find and pass on. The girl in her story is prepared for initiation, in an earlier life, by the High Priest Ptahhotep, who leads her step by step, in harmony with her development, to an understanding of the ultimate mysteries. This part of the book has only been matched, in rare vision by Joan Grant's Winged Pharaoh. The story ends, as it begins, in the present, with an exhilarating view of human destiny. It is a book that can be enjoyed at many different levels, as a novel, as a reconstruction of another, stranger epoch, and above all as a liberating experience; for to read it is to share, in some degree, the initiation."

posted October 07, 2007 05:48 PM         

"Author's Note

It is far from my intentions to want to provide a historical picture of Egypt. A person living who is living in any given place has not the faintest idea of the peculiarities of his country, and he does not consider customs, language and religion from an ethnographic point of view. He takes everything as a matter of course. He is a human being and has his joys and sorrows, just like every other human being, anywhere, any place, any time; for that which is truly human is timeless and changeless. My concern here is only with the human, not with ethnography and history. That is why I have avoided using Egyptian sounding words to create the illusion of an Egyptian atmosphere. The teachings of the High Priest Ptahhotep are given in modern language so thatmodern people may understand them. For religious symbols also, I have chosen to use modern terms so that all may understand what these symbols mean.

posted November 30, 2007 02:58 PM         

Just wanted to share that a book-fairy must have noticed this comment:

quote:

---

One day I would like to read her other book titled Yoga Uniting East and West.

---

Because i just recieved the book on my doorstep!!

Can not wait to read it!

Thank you!!!