WAY OF THE WEIRDOBy Jason Gregory |
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You would have to be living on another planet not to have noticed the thousands of books, Internet blogs and chat-rooms dedicated to the impending end of the Mayan long count calendar in December of this year.
For many New Dawn readers who have been on their spiritual journey for a number of years, the apparent hoopla over “new” insights such as possible world-government conspiracy theories or the “dark side” of technology might seem a little naïve, yet it is always insightful to see how young, generation X or Y people approach these conundrums.
One such promising young author is Jason Gregory, a self-professed “spiritual explorer” and Australian author of Way of the Weirdo. The author begins by pointing out that humanity has reached a collective crossroads where we must make a choice to continue our perilous course – that culminates in the destruction of our world and thus physical life as we know it – or choose an alternative path. This path, of course, is to explore our true essence or nature.
Faced with these facts such as global warming or the GFC, the thinking person turns inward and begins to explore the spiritual realm. This very act, states the author, indicates that he or she is taking the “way of the weirdo” and exploring the truth behind the role and effect of money, religions, separation, as well as a deeper understanding of the role models of Jesus, Krishna and Buddha.
The author takes the reader on a journey from a place of choice, which is our current crisis, and then outlines the world as he sees it, complete with well known conspiracies, such as world government, perpetuated by those he terms the “magicians.” These people include the Queen, various royal families of Europe, and their link to American presidents. Apparently every US president since George Washington has royal blood ties, and this includes Barack Obama who is related to the Bush family as well as Winston Churchill.
He then reveals the “messengers” who try to counter-balance the magicians. These include such luminaries as Martin Luther King who, according to the author, “lost his life to the wand of the Magicians,” because he stood for the common good of all humans and everything humane. He touches on various well-known individuals, as well as the infamous Illuminati.
The author then turns his sights to the inner realm of the ego-mind where he believes the greatest conflict is waged. “Most people around the world do not know that the majority of their day is lived within the falseness of the ego,” Gregory writes.
As we awaken, and discover that in fact we are at the mercy of the false ego-belief system, we then search for true teachings and true wisdom that will not so much change the outer world but the inner realm. The teachers would include Manly Palmer Hall as well as the ancient masters, such as Jesus and Buddha.
The author then approaches what is for many, the final frontier of inner spiritual wisdom, the comprehension of the ancient truth that the world, and everything you see, is an illusion. Jason Gregory rightly points out that a major step in our understanding is to realise that all and everything we see and experience, including ourselves, is just a dream.
Jason Gregory explains what he labels the “Call.” He suggests that we do this by reaching out to another in a “unified gesture of oneness” to bring about unity, and then a steady diet of forgiveness and meditation. This leads us back to the Self with a capital S, which is not the self you believe you are, but the eternal inner being, or the Overself, to quote Paul Brunton. This being is often called the Watcher because we only become aware of this state when we can view life from a higher vision and look at the ego-machinations as a parent looks at an uneducated child.
Way of the Weirdo is a book written as a journey. It has several grey-scale traffic signs used to make choice points clearer and to reinforce the journey that we each undertake in this world. It is written for young readers and might frustrate older students of spirituality.
It is refreshing, however, to see a book aimed at the Gen X and Y markets in the typical easy-to-read style of that “Facebook” generation. Most New Dawn readers will be familiar with the famous conspiracy theories, but for young people asking questions and wanting answers, this book will be an inspiration.
I am happy to recommend this book to any young reader who is beginning to ask the questions about why our society is the way it is and how we can find a way towards gaining inner peace.
Jason Gregory is clearly an ardent and impassioned young author who has the courage to write about the “illusion” and the spiritual dilemma that faces us all. Many writers dismiss it as “counter-intuitive” and often refuse to even discuss it.
We must remember that the journey of life occurs whether we are conscious or not, and each and every journey has value. The journey of the morning of our life is very different from the journey we take in life’s afternoon. During the early years we hold hope that this world can be transformed yet so often when we reach the afternoon of our journey we recognise, no doubt with some relief, that the masters were right. In the end we discover that this world is here to be simply overcome and personally transcended, because everything else is an illusion.
– Reviewed by Lesley Crossingham in New Dawn 132
