The Secret Life of Genius

NEW AGE / SPIRITUALITY "John Chambers has found that the core of human genius has less to do with raw intelligence than we previously assumed. The two dozen extraordinary individuals he examines all share something in common--the application of spiritual experience to life. Chambers thereby unveils the most empowering secret available to every man and woman." --Frank Joseph, author of The Lost Civilization of Lemuria and The Destruction of Atlantis "Rare and penetrating glimpses into the paranormal dimension of 24 famous artists, scientists, and politicians. From Benvenuto Cellini to Winston Churchill and Carl Jung, this book offers fresh perspectives on the achievements of greatness. Written with grace, wit, and quiet erudition--heartily recommended." --Michael Grosso, Ph.D., author of Experiencing the Next World Now and The Millennium Myth What role did the esoteric thought of Swedenborg play in the creative output of Honore de Balzac? Did a supernatural encounter prompt Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley to focus her work on the theme of immortality? Building on his earlier research on communications with the spirit world that Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables, experienced while in exile on the isle of Jersey, John Chambers now looks at the role occult knowledge and supernatural experiences played in the lives of 24 geniuses. His investigation spans the life and work of William Blake, Helena Blavatsky, and W. B. Yeats, whose esoteric interests are well known, as well as those little suspected of such encounters with worlds beyond ours, including Doris Lessing, Leo Tolstoy, Norman Mailer, Yukio Mishima, and Winston Churchill. Chambers presents more than a collection of anecdotes and newly revealed secrets. He chronicles humanity's changing relationship with God, nature, and spirituality--from the 16th century, when nature and spirit are one, through the 19th century, when spirit is fragmented by technology, to the 20th century, when man has nearly abandoned spirituality altogether. He provides insightful historical context of how the collapse of Prague, the occult capital of Europe in 1620, was emblematic of the rise of a more scientific and technological worldview over the esoteric traditions that had flourished until that time. The magical and occult world shown in the lives of these 24 great men and women offers us a glimpse of what could still be ours--a world that though it is now overshadowed by modern scientific and technological principles is yet still visible on the horizon through the visions and paranormal experiences of these geniuses. JOHN CHAMBERS is the author of Victor Hugo's Conversations with the Spirit World and has contributed essays to Forbidden Religion: Suppressed Heresies of the West. He lives in northern California.