Something New
Pauli and Jung: The Meeting of Two Great Minds, David Lindorff, PhD, Quest Books, TPH, Wheaton, IL 2004, pages 299, $29.95
I was an undergraduate student when I first learned of Wolfgang Pauli (1900-58). It was in my first quantum mechanics course. By the time I finished my PhD, I knew a lot about the Pauli Exclusion Principle, This is not to be confused with the strange phenomena of the Pauli Effect which provide many amusing stories at various professional meetings (more later on this). He also was the recipient of a Nobel Prize in physics for his prediction of a particle we today call a "neutrino".
Pauli lead an extensive dream life and realized his dreams were in some manner related to his study of the atom. Because he was a theoretical physicist he worked and thought in terms of mathematics; hence symbols. It seemed that Pauli was destined to become friends with Carl Jung who recognized the importance of dreams. This book is the story of how this unfolded over a long period of time (20 plus years), and how both men grew in knowledge of the hints that matter and the psyche were interrelated in a dimension of reality that was to be explored.
I felt the importance was how the "Theory of Synchronicity" connected all of this on a different plane. My life has had interesting events that were clearly synchronicity events and I've learned to pay attention. If this thought resonates with you, this book is for you. It is very theosophical.
I have often thought that the " Pauli Effect" was really example of synchronicity, but not recognized as such. This effect was noted when Pauli was in the vicinity of experiments and unusual things happened. Many stories back up these happenings. I personally always thought that this was examples of paranormal phenomena occurrences.
The author is the perfect person to tell us this story. He is a PhD in physics and he is a certified Jungian Analysist. The book is weighted toward physics, but there is no math nor math symbols. I will note that I was one of the editors on the manuscript and attempted to keep the reading level toward a non-scientist.
Something Old
The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice, Deborah Adele, On-Word Bound Books, LLC, Duluth, Minnesota, pages 192, $12.95
I have been practicing yoga for about 25 years now. I started because I was getting old enough I wanted something that was gentle on my body and would provide a philosophy for my belief system. This is in part what attracted me toward theosophy. When I first started, yoga teachers were not very abundant and most had been to India for their certification. Today, I see yoga (especially in America) as a business and a clear emphasis on the poses. Very little information is given that Classical Yoga is really eight limbs that comes from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. I have discussed this in a previous Notable Books review by Dr. Marlynn Wei #35, click HERE
It is the 3rd limb that you practice when you do the poses. It has often bothered me that we skip the 1st and 2nd Sutras almost entirely and focus on the physical aspect.
This book under review fills this gap. It is NOT a long read. It is clear and it adds value to your poses. Of course this information is on the internet and can easily be found. I just think this book is better and provided numerous examples of right living with others, and right living with our inner minds and thoughts. Like theosophy, it provides a lifestyle based on a philosophy.
Notable Books is a series compiled by Dr. Ralph Hannon
