Book Reviews

Speaking of this one, it is a detailed account, to make the readers familiar with the evolution of instincts over time. The book opens by mentioning the Jim Corbett senses, familiar to me as I have read the Maneater of Rudraprayag. I could very well connect the instinctual encounters mentioned by Colin. We often refer to it as the gut feeling. He then goes on to question the limited understanding we have about instinctual powers. Some of the most impactful examples I seem to remember are the effect of symbols on the human mind, used in I-ching and Tarot. The Jungian theory is also based on symbolic archetypes.

He goes on to mention other organisms of the animal kingdom that show certain behaviors that cannot be explained if we overlook the depths and powers of instincts. Two of them are Ammonophilas wasps and a species of turtle. He then compares these impulses to that of a modern man who is distracted and self-divided trying to fulfill the needs of the consciousness. This is why he even refers to will and purpose as being dangerous as they hinder us from getting in touch with our deeper powers.

These powers have been pushed too deep into the reservoir of our minds as they remain unused throughout evolution. They have become vestigial to the present man as we are now focused on sharpening the potential of the intellectual mind. He, therefore, mentions the need for freedom from personality to discover the real abilities humans have. He then goes on to build an account to illustrate how human civilization has insulated instincts through superstition and belief systems. He mentions different timelines and states how these powers were transformed throughout history. He starts by pointing out early evidence of a correlation between sex, magic, and rituals. He mentions the advent of astronomy and astrology in the city of Ur. He also talks about the early texts that mention the moon (feminine energy) as a depiction of power and goddess in ancient texts and slowly humans have transformed this into stating the sun (masculine energy) as being supreme. It’s the lunar energy that precisely depicts hidden powers like intuition, reflection, and wisdom. This in my view is a deep observation by Colin and has increased my curiosity to understand the reason for this progression. After mentioning several examples of people who could reconnect with their instincts and had premonitions of the future like Agrippa, Paracelsus, Nostradamus, Alister Hardy, Carl Jung, and many more, he goes on to mention the downfall of magic in the 18th century after extreme fabrication and multiple incidences of charlatans.

The book then goes on to demonstrate several schools and dogmas that were formed from different beliefs. Some examples that I seem to remember are Freemasonry, Arya Samaj, Romanticism, and Rosicrucianism, Theosophical society (significant role of Helena Blavatsky) One significant co-occurrence, Colin brings our attention to is the death of Archduke Ferdinand and Rasputin on the same day leading to the First World War. This could not have been a mere coincidence. A lucid account of transformations that belief in witchcraft has undergone has been given with examples and possible explanations of the powers of the devil over the women’s idle minds, emphasizing the need to come out of the mundaneness of the consciousness. The role of the church has also been highlighted. Colin also mentions vampires that were known to draw out blood actually thrived on drawing out energies.

The book comes to an end by mentioning the communication that takes place with spirits through a medium. A medium is a person capable of using his instincts to come in contact with the world unknown to human consciousness. Powers of projection, reincarnation which is the transmigration of souls from one birth to another, Parapsychology which refers to sightings of flying objects in the sky (UFOs), Astral projection (out-of-body experience), the effect of magnets and crystals on energies of the human body and meditation to raise the vibrations of the body have also been expressed as evidence of occult faculties. The role of the pineal gland in the release of serotonin and melatonin is linked to sexual development and faculty X. This is the reason why some Hindu mediation techniques revolve around focusing mainly on the pineal gland. To conclude, Colin has mentioned that our pursuit of knowledge will be towards sharpening the faculty X. This is the same faculty that was put to utmost use for our survival in the wild but now it lies dormant and has exorbitant power to transform our future.

The book overall has made a successful attempt to encapsulate vast amounts of knowledge and some extremely convincing examples. I believe this book requires a good amount of openness from the reader. As mentioned by Colin himself we have been conditioned to intellectualize everything around us and that in turn has made us incompetent to dive deeper. If read with an open mind, the book offers a very satisfactory narrative with good documentation that leaves the reader pondering, ‘What if this was all true?’. To me personally, Colin Wilson has made a lot of sense and I am unquestionably convinced to read his masterpiece, ‘The Outsider’.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5719339398

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