The Spectrum of Consciousness (Quest Books)

I ordered this book for my dad, he loves it,explains a lot and to understand he loves this book

I hope another author interprets Wilber's writing in a way that is more accessible to the average reader. If the insightful information he addresses in this book is going to be read and comprehended by the typical reader, someone else is going to have to make it more accessible to them. Perhaps someone with a teaching credential will put this material in a form that could be taught and understood so it could be presented to the general public.

Very well detailed and equally as well sourced which adds a great deal of credibility. I can only speak for myself but I think reading this book should be preceded by reading other books that lead you into understanding the practicality what is being presented....such as possibly Immortal Diamond by Richard Rohr and The Grace in Dying by Kathleen Dowling Singh for example. One would think this subject would be easier to grasp just because it appeals to human instinctive values; however, my particular Western mind is constantly throwing up road blocks. Ken Wilber does an excellent job of addressing the blocks as well as describing the basic principles by approaching them from a universally accepted group of authorities. This book will be one of those few that I will read several times.

The subject is utterly important. I have read a number of the books that Wilber quote, e.g. Allan Watts, Teilhard de Chardin, Jung etc. However, I found this book by Wilber to be repetitive, speculative and without appropriate references to the literature. To give an example. Wilber discusses the idea of a dualism between the Mind and an objective word. He describes this idea as "Western". However, there is a long tradition in the "West" which denies this dualism. In this tradition, only the mind is accepted to exist while any objective reality is understood to be an illusion. This tradition is often named Solipsism. This concept is not mentioned in the book. One of the leading thinkers that belong to this tradition is George Berkeley but no direct reference is given to any of his publications. The handling of ESP (Extrasensory perception) is another example. Wilber describes the experiments that disprove the existence of ESP as "elaborate hoax" while only giving reference to his own conceptual framework.

This book is very interesting. I chose to buy this because it was recommended to me by a friend. I have just begun reading it so I wouldn't know what to say about the whole book. However, I would definitely recommend this book to the "open-minded" people.This book may bring many skeptical thoughts to mind but if you are open minded you won't let it get to you. I wouldn't recommend this to people with a low level vocabulary. My vocabulary is pretty respectable but I to found myself going to Dictionary.com to search up some difficult words. Then again, this book was copyrighted in 1977.

“Spectrum has intrinsically different characteristics—different needs, different symbols, different modes of awareness, different motivations, different compensations, and so on. When a particular level is rendered unconscious, so are the major features of the characteristics of that level. Thus, the unconscious is stratified, and for the very same reasons that the Spectrum itself is stratified.”

Whew !! This book is beyond my best words of description! The information is not necessarilly new, but shouts out ancient wisdom integrated with all relevant knowledge and experiments of modern life, leading to how life is truly fufilled. Brace yourself ! Spectrum of Consciousness IS Better AND Different the second time around, I'm going for thirds. Ken Wilber has a gifted way with words, but I recommend the 8" thick dictionary.

Wow, what an incredible book! If you are at the right place in your spiritual path to be open and able to hold a space of meditative consciousness.........this book will fit pieces together that will help you integrate and solidify your awakening. Imagine, Ken Wilber wrote this when he was 23 - sheesh. Highest Recommendation for the person at a resonant level of consciousness.

A well written book that could probably be the answer to many who are trying to identify how to balance the duality one experiences. The 4 stars are for the quality of the content of the book.Quality of print and paperBeing an ardent reader, I felt a little upset with the quality of paper. Such a book should be printed in better quality paper with better print quality.

I have read all his books. This is the last of my choice chronologically though the first for the author. In his foreword he had warned in advance how he interchanged the meaning for terms involution and evolution. So I could avoid confusion. The general scheme of his ideas is still valid though now greatly refined. I would choose the same rating to all his writing. His writing never leaves anything for guessing.

What only two stars for Ken Wilber, intellectual titan and the greatest living philospher? Surely some mistake? Remember though, two stars simply means I didn't enjoy reading it; it doesn't make it a bad book. In fact it's not. Quite the opposite but I found it a real slog to read.This book is about, inter alia, the nature of reality. Absolute Reality being a product of universal Mind. It cannot be seen,described or pointed at (hence it's pointless). It's function is whatever we choose to ascribe to it (pointless). Since it is beyond words it cannot be spoken of and to do so resembles medieval debates about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin (also pointless). As you might expect, none of this is lost on Wilber, who appreciates the irony of attempting to make any definitive statements on the matter. Nonetheless this book is about the journey not the destination and he has many wonderfully profound insights to make along the way. Fair dues, he really can be brilliant at times, though he's not infallible and for example, his understanding of Jungian matters was, at the time the book was written, a little superficial.My only beef is that the book is overly intellectual and frequently totally impenetrable. I've read a fair number of the source works he draws upon and they're a breeze compared to this. I can't understand the logic behind writing a book that is incapable of being understood by 99% of the population. It's pointless. If some of the greatest minds in human history are able to communicate their ideas in an accessible manner, then Wilber should do no less.

This book was probably the hardest but most rewarding book I've ever read. As someone who brought up on science and not religion, this book helped to merge the two

Ken Wilber's extensive understanding and his ability to communicate this is remarkable.