Reviews / Recommended Books – Breakaway Consciousness

Book Review: Battlefield America – The War Against The American People by John W. Whitehead | #SmartReads

TheBreakaway | BreakawayConciousness
Zy Marquiez
June 14, 2017

“We know where you are. We know where you’ve been. We can more or less know what you’re thinking about.”
– Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt

“You had to live—did live, from habit that became instinct—in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.”
—George Orwell, 1984

Over the last decade, American has been sinking deeper and deeper into a totalitarian landscape. Battlefield America by John W. Whitehead not only catalogues many of the tyrannical events that should have never taken place against the populace in America, but soberingly warns about the further incoming tyranny that’s slowly seeping in America and will certainly continue if the people don’t wake up to these.

The overall pattern of tyranny in America has been covered by much of the alternative media, but rarely the mainstream media. That’s why a book like this is so important, because it brings clarity to such a sobering and disconcerting topic.

That said, what does the “Police State” encompass? For starters, it involves hyper-criminalization of many events. How do we know this is taking place? For incisiveness and accuracy, let’s cite the author in his own words:

“…it is estimated that the average American actually commits three felonies a day without knowing it. In fact, according to law professor John Baker, “There is no one in the United States over the age of 18 who cannot be indicted for some federal crime. That is not an exaggeration.”[1][Bold emphasis added.]

Such is the foundation of a tyrannical police state.

Citing dozens and dozens of examples, the author catalogues a Marine having been detained for criticizing the government on facebook, a reporter persecuted for not revealing his sources, many instances of SWAT teams bursting into homes unannounced to investigate minor crimes [or sometimes none at all!], and more. Examples of police brutality are also covered, as well as invasive searches with no warrant where they have stripped searched people, drawn blood, probed people intimately, charged people for feeding crows, charged individuals for living off grid, charged others for watering a neighbor’s yard, or for installing solar panels, or raising chickens in the back yard, and even carrying out the heinous crime! of growing vegetables. It is no coincidence that much of what the government has criminalized are things that allow self sufficiency to individuals. Self-sufficient individuals take care of themselves and rarely if ever need the government. The less and less people need government, the more the Government power seeps away. It’s a simple formula. As such, forcing people to tyrannically have to be dependent on the corrupt system is part of the plan. It’s crystal clear.

And yet, do we really need all of this policing? The number of violent crimes in the country is down to the lowest rate in 40 years.[2] Violent crimes are going down, but the power of the police continues to increase. That’s called a paradox. That’s the opposite of what should be taking place.

As the author notes:

“You are 17,600 times more likely to die from heart diseases than from a terrorist attack. You are 11,000 times more likely to die from an airplane accident than from a terrorist plot involving an airplane. You are 1,048 times more likely to die from a car accident than a terrorist attack. You are 404 times more likely to die in a fall than from a terrorist attack. You are 12 times more likely to die from accidental suffocating in bed than from a terrorist attack. You are 9 more times likely to choke to dean in your own vomit that n die from a terrorist attack. You are 8 times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a terrorist.”[3]

Even actual police officers are more likely to harm individuals than terrorists – that’s an incredibly frightening prospect, and one that is oft-overlooked in the age of distraction and sound-bites.

In conjunction with that, the desensitization of the police state is also covered by the author. As the author notes, TV shows, movies and video games, accustom the mind to seeing a police state as normal, while schools now criminalize child behavior, all of which is leading to the next generation seeing as normal something that the founding fathers clearly warned about. To the next generation growing up in a police state will be normal because that is all they have ever known. That will make this disturbing trend even harder to reverse.

Battlefield America also delves into the ominous growth of Big Brother and it’s endless surveillance machinations. From the ubiquitous presence in spying by the NSA, as well as the disturbing connection between Google and the government in facilitating spying on citizens, the author sifts through a wide range of modalities that are employed against the populace.

Also exposed is coming age of drones (that will also aid in spying, by the way), which has already begun, and also the ceaseless growth of DHS. The enormous scope of the Big Brother & Police State expansion covered by the author branches far and wide showing, and it shows many of the components that undergird such this growing totalitarian system.

The author even goes on to juxtapose the current pattern of tyranny with similar patterns in history, while also drawing parallels from fiction such as 1984 and Brave New World.

Comprehensive in its aim, and disturbing implications, this is a book that should be read by everyone. The Police State affects all of us, and it’s only going to get worse given the complacency and ignorance that a sizeable portion of the population retains. Whatever future manifests, it will come about through the action, and inactions of individuals from all over. If you value freedom, you should ponder about this issue, because not only does the system already show everyone as a criminal (remember the first quote), but worse, history has shown, time and time again that those that value freedom, and yet don’t act to keep their freedoms end up in a life of servitude.

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Footnotes:

[1] John W. Whitehead, Battlefield America, p. 3.
[2] Ibid., p. 63., citing Richard A. Oppel Jr. “Steady Decline In Major Crime Baffles Experts,” The New York Times (May 23, 2011), http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/us/24crime.html
[3] Ibid., pp. 43-44.

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If you find value in this information, please share it. This article is free and open source. All individuals have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez and TheBreakaway.wordpress.com.
___________________________________________________________
About The Author:

Zy Marquiez is an avid book reviewer, inquirer, an open-minded skeptic, yogi, and freelance writer who studies and mirrors regularly subjects like Consciousness, Education, Creativity, The Individual, Ancient History & Ancient Civilizations, Forbidden Archaeology, Big Pharma, Alternative Health, Space, Geoengineering, Social Engineering, Propaganda, and much more.

His other blog, BreakawayConsciousnessBlog.wordpress.com features mainly his personal work, while TheBreakaway.wordpress.com serves as a media portal which mirrors vital information nigh always ignored by mainstream press, but still highly crucial to our individual understanding of various facets of the world.

Book Review: The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri | #SmartReads

TheBreakaway | BreakawayConciousness
Zy Marquiez
June 2, 2017

The Divine Comedy is one of those timeless pieces of literature that everyone should read, if at least once. In fact, if public schooling followed any type of common sense and had appreciation for High Culture, The Divine Comedy would be part of a strong school curriculum along with classics such as The Iliad & The Odyssey, The Lord Of The Rings, The Aenid, and others.

Each of those books makes learning about virtues, and countless other themes vastly more interesting than the nonsense that is espoused in education today. Furthermore, it would strengthen the public schooling curriculum that is rather lacking in depth, although not in ‘method’.

Due to those reasons, and others, thought it prudent to avail myself of The Divine Comedy as the prospect of reading the book has always resonated with me, especially after having read Dante’s Inferno a few years ago.

The Barnes & Noble Edition of The Divine Comedy is as demanding a read as it is satisfying. Moreover, the book is peppered with dozens of Gustave Dore’s illustrations, which saliently add a more vivid and engrossing journey for the reader. At times, the neophyte reader might need a dictionary handy to clear up some confusion, but otherwise it’s readable at least.

In contrast, Dante’s Inferno, the version that was translated by Stanley Lombardo, is a much more reader-friendly version of this piece, which is modern in its diction and poetic in its presentation. That said, that is only book one of Dante’s triumvirate, but I am mentioning for those that might be interested merely in the opening salvo of Dante available in a much simpler format.

The Divine Comedy really is an adventure to be intellectually enjoyed, and everyone who chooses to set out in a fictional foray would benefit greatly from it.

As an allegorical account of his spiritual journey being guided by his lover Beatrice, Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy is timeless for a reason. Not only is the book unique, but it stokes the embers of imagination in ways most other books do not, while also offering readers ample intellectual considerations to ruminate upon.

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Book Review: The Illuminati – The Secret Society That Hijacked The World by Jim Marrs | #SmartReads

TheBreakaway | BreakawayConciousness
Zy Marquiez
June 2 2017

In his initial foray, Crossfire – The Plot That Killed Kennedy, Marrs cemented himself as a top-tier caliber researcher not afraid to question the official narrative, and rightly so. From there, in Rule By Secrecy, Marrs followed suit connecting the dots between the secret societies known as Freemasons, The Trilateral Commission with the mysterious Great Pyramids, and even more. Marrs’ insatiable thirst for mystery showed us with The Rise Of The Fourth Reich that there were not only malignant fascist elements embedded deep within America, but they remain unchecked, as the blatant rise of fascism is taking hold will show. Population Control showed us that the comptrollers have a completely different plan that doesn’t involve most of the global populace.

Now, in The Illuminati, Marrs continues his high level of research exposing what is arguably the most well known secret society of them all: The Illuminati.

The book delves into (1) the Origins of the order in a rather extensive overview. It also covers how (2) Germany, (3) Zionism, (4) Freemasons, all connect. From there, how the (5) Church connects into this is given a cursory glance. The (6) Methodology employed by the Illuminati is covered in reasonable fashion, while the (7) Suppression of the order is also examined. What role the Illuminati played in the (8) Revolutions of France, America and Russia is reviewed, while the (9) Modern Illuminati and its influences in (10) Pop Culture as gone through as well.

Overall, the evolution of the order is catalogued quite well by Marrs, as well as many of the implications therein. Many avenues of information are examined, some more than others, but a vast array of information is brought to bear for incisive individuals to follow upon.

Given that humanity is at a crossroads between a tsunami of fake news and a vortex of deception with many hidden agendas behind the scenes, one of the main values of this book will be in individuals coming to realize that there is in fact veracity to some of what they hear about the Illuminati.

Even so, there is one fact that needs to be underscored. Given the myriad sources that Marrs used, one noteworthy contention regarding the book is that Marrs did not actually use his usual footnote system as he always did in the past. In previous books, at the end of the chapters, Mars would cite with utmost precision where a particular quote or piece of data was sourced from. Unfortunately, here, that isn’t the case. That felt like a huge let down considering that anyone who wishes to verify the veracity of such a convoluted topic, or follow it up with additional research won’t be able to know with precision where the information was collated from. That is also one of the leading reasons why Marrs is so respected. As such, it was very unlike Mars to do as much. For what it’s worth, Marrs does have a “Further Reading” and an Index in the book. But that doesn’t even come close for not putting exact sources in the book of this magnitude.

Be that as it may, The Illuminati will be an indispensable resource for understanding our current world and how many of the systemic issues have come about. Anyone who has ever contemplated how this has historically taken place needs to read this book. All who have read any of Marrs’ work know what to expect. For those that haven’t, this is an excellent starting point. But realize the trails that the author has shed light upon are merely starting point.

Book Review: Love Is Stronger Than Death By Peter Kreeft Ph.D. | #SmartReads

TheBreakaway | BreakawayConciousness
Zy Marquiez
May 15, 2017

I read two of Kreeft’s book in the past and found his writing to follow a very direct non-nonsense approach, regardless of topic. That being the case, thought it prudent to avail myself of more of his work, given the quality and insights.

Compared to some of Kreeft’s other books which I recently began reading, this book didn’t’ sound as alluring. However, knowing that Kreeft shovels pearls of wisdom by the truckload in his books, it seemed prudent to proceed open-mindedly – as one always should – into this new book.

Love Is Stronger Than Death by philosopher Peter Kreeft Ph.D. is an in-depth gander into love, death, life through five lenses: death as an enemy, death as a stranger, death as a friend, death as a mother, death as a lover. Curious chapter titles no doubt, and yet, each offer more than ample insights to ruminate upon.

Examining this curious conundrum, Kreeft takes a very methodical and deft approach into attempting to take the taboo out of death. Following many thought-provoking considerations, Kreefts undoubtedly leaves the reader not only with a fresh new understanding of death, but a new reassuring point of view of life.

The profound ruminations that Kreeft embarks in are quite meaningful, as they tend to add color to the strands of life that are often fraught with greys and blacks. For instance:

“On the one hand, death is loss of self; on the other, loss of death is loss of meaning, of identity, of self. On the one hand, death takes is loss of meaning, of identity, of self. On the one hand, death takes from me my self, and immortality would give me my self snatched from the jaws of death of nothingness. On the other hand, death gives me my self, as we have discovered in this chapter, and the “Immortality pill” would snatch it from me. Death both unmakes me and makes me.”[1]

Passages as such leave the reader much to ponder upon.

Employing a multi-pronged approach, Kreeft deftly uses logic, analogies, biblical lessons, as well as philosophy to strip away much of the mystery that has confounded humanity since time immemorial.

In fact, Kreeft at one point speaks honestly about the subject:

“My concocting and writing this book about death has sharpened my appreciation of life also – beyond all my expectations. The thought of death has made my life exactly the opposite of “morbid.” But why passively read about this experience in other people? “Look thy last on all things lovely” now. You have something infinitely better to do than to continue reading this book. Meet your friend. Lay the book down for ten minutes and ask yourself what you would think, feel, say, and do if you knew this was the last ten minutes of your life. And then do it. For the very good reason that it might be the last ten minutes of your life, and for the equally good reason that some ten minutes certainly will be your last.”[2]

Whether one agrees with his religious views or not, how can someone not appreciate a mind, and individual, with such an honest and caring point of view?

Throughout his books, seeing Kreeft employ logic and philosophy in a sound manner has made me appreciate the value of keen mental faculties that much more. That said, Love Is Stronger Than Death has made me appreciate life even more so. Not because I did not appreciate life, because I did, especially having had many bouts with serious disease and hospitalizations. The issue is that I myself, as others, often find myself busy with life’s intricacies and would forget to slow down and smell the roses so to speak Not just slow down, but really slow down, in every second, in every breathe – really take the totality of life in. This insight has allowed me to begin living life to an extent previously undone.

Not only does this last passage by Kreeft make me ponder about the roads of life we all take, but it also sheds light into the darkest realm of the individual psyche – the end of the road as individuals. And the intriguing possibility is that this endroad – or is it beginning? – is not paved in darkness, but in light. That is just my take on it, yours may vary, and rightly so.

Either way, after reading this book, one can’t help but subsume Kreeft’s ideas into your mind but also ponder them at length, share them, and perhaps even grow from them. This not only removes the scaffolding to the fear surrounding death, but it leaves one prepared to tackle life with a newfound sense of meaning. And that, my friends, makes life that much sweeter, and in fact, more lively.

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Sources:

[1] Peter Kreeft Ph.D., Love Is Stronger Than Death, pp. 56-57
[2] Ibid., p. 48.

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This article is free and open source. You are encouraged to share this content and have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez and TheBreakaway.wordpress.com.
___________________________________________________________
About The Author:

Zy Marquiez is an avid book reviewer, researcher, an open-minded skeptic, yogi, humanitarian, and freelance writer who studies and mirrors regularly subjects like Consciousness, Education, Creativity, The Individual, Ancient History & Ancient Civilizations, Forbidden Archaeology, Big Pharma, Alternative Health, Space, Geoengineering, Social Engineering, Propaganda, and much more.

Book Review: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand | #SmartReads

TheBreakaway | BreakawayConciousness
Zy Marquiez
May 7, 2017

There are writers. And then there’s Ayn Rand.

Ayn Rand was a very unique individual; an individual that isn’t afraid to stand by her convictions, no matter what anyone said. That’s what made her so beloved and hated. Even more so, that’s why people were so bifurcated about her books.

Knowing that, then it isn’t shocking to realize that The Fountainhead was written with her very own ideals embedded within every page, within every character, within every thought. In that sense, she is rather unique because not only did she create an amazing story, as many authors have, but she went a step beyond and used the book with the essence of her philosophy, which was, and will always be, a truly daring endeavor for any writer.

The Fountainhead has been described in many ways, but at its core it is about The Individual vs. The Collective; about Freedom vs. Conformity.

With characters that are gripping, settings that are par excellence, and dialogue that displays incredible depth, the book is a well rounded synthesis about the nature of individualism and what it means to be human.

The leading characters all flow through their roles seamlessly, and whether you love them or hate them, you can feel the realism in them, even if at times they are the epitome of Rand’s ideal.

Anyone who values individuality will value this book. Those that seek to conform will undoubtedly hate it. That’s the nature of the beast, and always will be. What Rand did though, perhaps better than anyone else, is show both sides of the coin – Individualism vs. Conformity – in a manner that nobody else had brought about through fiction. This is why the book is so engaging, because you hate the villains as much as you love the characters you gravitate towards. It is rare when a book has you personally invested in nigh every character failing or succeeding, but this book accomplishes that in spades.

Ayn Ran went to war for the Individual against The Collective in a torrential manner in a way almost nobody does. Through her characters, Rand did a salient job of showing the wide range of latitudes within human nature. All of this was, of course, was to highlight the importance of Individualism.

As Rand herself elucidates in the following passages, the last of the three which is in her own words, the prior two through her characters:

“Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their vision. Their goals differed, but they all had this in common: that the step was first, the road new, their vision unborrowed, and the response they received – hatred. The great creators – the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors – stood alone against the men of their time. Every great new thought was opposed. Every great ne invention was denounced. The first motor was considered foolish. The airplane was considered impossible. The power loom was considered vicious. Anesthesia was considered sinful. But the men of unborrowed vision went ahead. They fought, they suffered and they paid. But they won.”[1]

“From this simplest necessity to the highest religious abstraction, from the wheel to the skyscraper, everything we are and everything we have comes from a single attribute of man – the function of his reasoning mind.”[2]

“And for the benefit of those who consider relevance to one’s own time as of crucial importance, I will add, in regard to our age, that never has there been a time when men have so desperately needed a projection of things as they ought to be.”[3]

Rand stated those words decades ago, and they apply even more so now. Given that humanity keeps snowballing down a hill in a world where morality, common sense and virtues keep getting swept under the rug, such statements and their ramifications should be pondered at length.

Whether you love the book or you hate it, it will give you much to ponder about, especially if you value Freedom and Individuality in any way shape or form.

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Sources:

[1] Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead, p. 710.
[2] Ibid., p. 711.
[3] Ibid., p. vii. Written in the Author’s Introduction to the 1968 Edition.

Book Review: Origins of the Sphinx – Celestial Guardian Of Pre-Pharaonic Civilization by Robert M. Schoch Ph.D. and Robert Bauval | #SmartReads

TheBreakaway | BreakawayConciousness
Zy Marquiez
May 7, 2017

Written in a cogent, easy to follow, and yet daring manner, the renowned scholars, Shoch and Bauval, are at it again. In Origins of the Sphinx the authors challenge Egyptology at its core: at the Great Sphinx.

Methodically, the authors sift through a wide assortment of data, which seeks to ascertain a more precise dating of the ancient monument.

Split up into two parts, the first half of the book covers seven different topics, which includes an epilogue, while the latter half covers nine different appendixes that finalize the last half of the book.

Each of the initial seven parts is written solely by one of the two authors. At first this choice seemed odd, but it probably was best in order to differentiate who’s bringing about what particular commentary and argument.

Sampling a wide data set, the authors take a cursory glance at the architecture, which includes the Valley and Mortuary Temples, with multi-ton megalithic blocks, as well as more. A gander is also taken at a few of the visitors and researchers that excavated and sampled the sight, such as Colonel William Howard Vyse and Giovanni Battista Caviglia, who had a penchant for the mysticism, the occult, and more. But the authors don’t stop there. Also covered are issues with the fragments of the beard of the Sphinx, geophysical techniques to view below the surface of the Sphinx enclosure, considerations on water erosion on the Sphinx, as well as an in-depth analysis of the Sphinx’s possible construction date.

Regarding the date, Shoch, after some extended analysis in the chapter Sands Of Time, infers:

“…using a linear “conservative” calibration and assuming a date of 4,500 years ago for the western end (which in my assessment is a minimum date; it could be older), then the original core body of the Sphinx is minimally 2.7 times older than 4,500 years ago, giving a date after rounding of circa 10,000 BCE. All in all, I suspect that the proto-Sphinx was in existence prior to the end of the last ice age (that is, prior to 9700 BCE) and was contemporaneous with other structures, such as the oldest portions of Gobekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey. Put simply, the seismic data are compatible with an initial date of circa 10,000 BCE (or even a bit earlier) for the core body of the Sphinx. There is no doubt in my mind that the seismic data alone, independent of any other evidence – such as the surface weather and erosion, which I discuss in chapter 7 – strongly support the hypothesis that the origins of the Great Sphinx predate dynastic times by many millennia.”[pp.78-79]

Such an assertion will undoubtedly send shockwaves through the orthodox Egyptology communities. Then again, such a hypothesis will not surprise many of those exploring other avenues of research in the alternative research community.

Be that as it may, another salient component of this mystery discussed by Bauval is whether Khafre couples with the Sphinx as conventional Egyptology dictates, or whether some other theory might make more sense. Also discussed is what took place with the Dream Stela, the inscription of the Great Limestone Stela of Amenhotep II, the Edfu Temple Texts, and much more.

This book really features a lot more intriguing information than that mentioned. The authors are not only erudite in their research, but make the information accessible for the lay person. That also doesn’t even begin to delve into the nine appendices, which also give a deeper glance that’s a bit technical, but helps shed light onto the situation. Each of the appendices is essentially its own article, and yet couple to the rest of the book rather seamlessly.

If you’re looking for an open-minded foray into the mystery of the Sphinx, that’s meticulously researched while also offering the tools for incisive individuals to come to their own conclusions, hesitate no longer. The approach taken by the authors, although unorthodox, should be considered at length, for if what they say is true, then the history that we’ve been brought up with is drastically different than what we’re being told. Time will ultimately tell, but my bet’s that the authors are pulling on a thread that goes a lot deeper than merely the Sphinx.

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Footnotes:
[1] Robert M. Schoch Ph.D. and Robert Bauval, Origins of the Sphinx – Celestial Guardian Of Pre-Pharaonic Civilization, pp.78-79.

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This article is free and open source. You are encouraged to share this content and have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez and TheBreakaway.wordpress.com.
___________________________________________________________
About The Author:

His own personal blog is BreakawayConsciousnessBlog.wordpress.com where his personal work is shared, while TheBreakaway.wordpress.com serves as a media portal which mirrors vital information usually ignored by mainstream press, but still highly crucial to our individual understanding of various facets of the world.

Book Review: J.R.R. Tolkien – A Biography by Humphrey Carter | #SmartReads

TheBreakaway | BreakawayConciousness
Zy Marquiez
May 4, 2017

With his high fantasy literature, J.R.R. Tolkien has provided the tinder that stokes the imagination of millions. His books are known around the world, and for great reason. Having read some of his work myself, thought it prudent to see what events provided him with the impetus to create a whole mythology to boot.

In that sense, J.R.R. Tolkien – A Biography by Humphrey Carter, which was featured in the March Book Haul, provides some illumination into the underlying reasons that drove Tolkien to write what he wrote and create what he did.

The biography is split up into 8 parts, some of which are more interesting than others. Admittedly, autobiographies can run quite dry many times, but this still did a reasonable job of showing us Tolkien in his most authentic form.

Tolkien’s growth, his early years, his friendship with C.S. Lewis, and even his penchant for countless revisions are all catalogued within the book. It was particularly interesting to see what a perfectionist Tolkien was. In a sense, this allowed Tolkien to fine tune his writing process while at the same time expanding his Legendarium.

The Legendarium was created by Tolkien to serve as the fictional mythology about Earth’s remote past, and is composed by The Simarillion, The Hobbit, Lord Of The Rings, The History Of The Middle-Earth and more. This however, is not discussed in the book. I only mention it to supply the fervent reader for additional avenues to explore Tolkien’s unbounded work.

My favorite parts of the autobiography were about the creation of his books. Be that as it may, Tolkien’s skill in poetry, in conjunction with his relentless passion as a philologist to pursue the roots of language and learn everything about it was also highly intriguing.

In fact, regarding his penchant for writing Lord Of The Rings and linguistics, Tolkien had this to say:

“One writes such a story not out of the leaves of trees still to be observed, nor by means of botany and soil-science; but it grows like a seed in the dark out of the leaf-mould of the mind: out of all that has been seen or thought or read, that has long ago been forgotten, descending into the deeps. No doubt there is much selection, as with a gardener: what one throws on one’s personal compost-heap; and my mould is evidently made largely of linguistic matter.”[1]

In its entirety, the book provides ample latitude of background while still providing enough fascinating components of Tolkien’s life. Each reader will undoubtedly gain different insights, but regardless, it’s intriguing to note that Tolkien himself was not an avid fan of biographies.

Tolkien believed that biographies wouldn’t provide the truest nature of the person, and perhaps he was right. Just like movies, which are based on books, provide merely a facsimile of the depth which is entirely superficial of what great books provide, autobiographies will likewise never capture in full breadth and scope the life of an individual. Still, readers are lucky that Tolkien wrote phenomenal fiction because it allows us to see Tolkien’s soul as it is infused within pages. And there’s no more authentic biography than a writer’s words.

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Source:
[1] Humphrey Carter, J.R.R. Tolkien – A Biography, p. 131.

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Suggested Book Reviews and video:

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien
Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit by Corey Olsen Ph.D.
On The Shoulders Of Hobbits – The Road To Virtue With Tolkien & Lewis by Louis Markos Ph.D.
The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
How To Read J.R.R. Tolkien [Video]
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This article is free and open source. You are encouraged to share this content and have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez and TheBreakaway.wordpress.com.
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About The Author:

Book Review: UFOs For The 21st Century Mind by Richard Dolan

TheBreakaway | BreakawayConciousness
Zy Marquiez
April 4, 2017

In UFOs & The National Security State: Chronology Of A Cover-up – Volume 1, Richard Dolan carried out his opening salvo into the field of UFOlogy. Seeking a veritable encyclopedia of verifiable UFO sightings and never finding one, Dolan wrote a book based upon all data he collated from all the previous research he had undertaken. In essence, he wrote the book he was looking for in UFOlogy, but wasn’t available.

In UFO’s & The National Security State – Volume 2, Dolan further cemented himself as a genuine historian by buttressing his previous work with another landmark piece. Like his other books, this book is sourced to the hilt, which is appreciated for those seeking to venture further into the abstruse. Moreover, this book is also the book in which the term “Breakaway Civilization” was coined. A notable point to be sure, because that idea has been used by others seeking truth within this field and others, and it’s helped shed light into darker areas in this field. What’s more, the ‘encyclopedia’ that Dolan began in volume one continued.

Thence, in A.D. After Disclosure, Dolan and his author Bryce Zabel sought to examine how the day after “the Others” are announced might play out, and they carry out the examination in salient fashion. This book features a very sober analysis to many of the probable scenarios that will play out in a post-disclosure worked. Anyone seeking to understand the possibilities such a sobering day will bring should ruminate upon getting this book.

Now, in UFOs For The 21st Century Mind, Dolan wrote a book to grapple the mind of newer generations and readers, the unexposed minds, the interested minds that have long sought to dive into “the phenomenon” but didn’t know where to start.

Along this stream of thought, this book strikingly brings about a fresh new look at UFOs, with modern eyes, employing a much broader perspective and dataset than the average UFO book. Dolan doesn’t simply stick to classic sightings, abductions and declassified documents, but goes beyond to ruminate upon the realm of consciousness, quantum entanglement and more. This book really is an up-to-date assessment of the situation from a multiplicity of angles.

Dolan begins the book by examining what UFOs could be by guiding the reader closer to the subject thoughtful and yet trenchant manner. This helps the reader familiarize themselves with the subject and come to realize that there are a variety of explanations for UFO phenomena, many of which do not get considered at length, if at all. Additionally, this is also crucial because many individuals still continue to experience the phenomena in a variety of ways, and yet there aren’t any official channels to seek help from.

In Dolan’s own words:

“Whether or not you consider UFOs to be nonsense or of great importance, people are seeing things that are affecting them deeply. Because there are no institutional structures for them to report or discuss what they see, they often keep silent, and try to forget or only secretly cherish one of the most incredible experiences of their lives.”[1]

Dolan, however, doesn’t shy away from the fact that this is a very serious issue. While ruminating deeply upon it, he ponders reasons both pro and con that will help bring lucidity to a situation often bathed in shadows. In fact, implications in the fields of economy, politics, religion, culture and science are given a cursory overview early on, and then are covered at length later in the book. Dolan doesn’t merely stop there, though.

Journeying back in time, Dolan goes on to explore this phenomenon all the way back into ancient times and attempts to separate the wheat from the chaff. This is important because it shows UFOs aren’t merely a modern phenomena. In addition, salient subjects such as pyramids, lost civilizations, and ancient images goes to show that there probably is more than meets the eye within this field.

Interestingly, we know that some pyramids contain astronomical data. This is particularly interesting because when this information is taken in conjunction with much of the lore and myths that abound those structures, and the fact that there’s hundreds of pyramids around the globe, and the fact that many of the core of the myths echoes nigh carbon copy traditions, it should bring one pause. Granted, it’s not proof, but very suggestive evidence nonetheless.

What’s more, some ancient writings seem to have what could be descriptions of ancient technology, such as the passage from Ezekiel, from the Bible, which Josef Blumrich, former NASA employee, sought to debunk.

Ironically, in the book The Spaceships of Ezekiel:

“Blumrich presented technical specifications of the spacecraft that he argued, fit Ezekiel’s description perfectly. Of course, we should remember that Ezekiel presumably was describing something well beyond his experience for his time 2,500 years ago. If he did see a descending spacecraft, he would have lacked the language or technological understanding to describe it in any way other than he did.”[2]

Later in the book, Dolan brings the reader up to more modern times when he examines a distinct array of sightings and issues from the time. These include ghost rockets, the Airship mysteries, which are rather fascinating in fact, the Minot case, the Malmstrom case, airspace violations and more. Subsequent to that that, Dolan grapples with the issue of pervasive secrecy which he ruminates upon at length, and all that that entailed. Many of the classics – Kecksburg, Aztec, Roswell – are also given a cursory glance.

But it doesn’t stop there. Other significant incidents of “High Strangeness” get examined, such as some famous sightings around the globe, encounters with these beings, abductions [i.e. Travis Walton & Betty & Barney Hill] and even some crash retrievals. All of this coalesces to allow the reader to note that there’s more than ample evidence to show that the phenomena not only existed for many decades, but was taken extremely seriously by those in the upper echelons of society.

Dolan also makes sure to hone in on quite of few aspects of the early period within UFOlogy’s history. Here he covers everything from the blatant cover that took place behind the scenes, FOIA requests, the penetration of UFO groups by intelligence agencies and even touches upon the need for more people to get involved in a more serious manner.

This call to arms isn’t to be taken lightly because, as Dolan intimates:

“…a proper study of UFOs is a revolutionary experience. It shatters old belief systems and forces us to look at our world in a completely new way. Everything is affected: history, politics, economics, science, religion, culture, and our ultimate vision of who and what we are as human beings.”[3]

This subject seeps into all aspects of life, which is why it should be taken seriously. When all collated information Dolan has amassed is pondered at length and given a fair shot, it is impossible not see something is going on. Deeper truths lie locked-up within the rabbit holes of the field. Undoubtedly, whenever some of these truths arise they will change the face of the world over night. Those that are researching this field will be ahead of the pack in understanding the phenomenon and much of the disinformation that will also come regarding it, in the future. That is another point to consider why this book should be read.

This subject is too important to overlook, and if humanity is ever going to prepare itself to live in a post-disclosure era, it is important to know the history of this subject and its implications. If you’ve never read a book on this subject in your life, make this your first one. You will not regret it. As someone whose read over three dozen books on the subject, nothing else comes close to be this comprehensive while also being sober and realistic. Simply stated, if you want a book that is accessible to lay person, but also stimulating enough to get your brain cells churning, get this book.

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Footnotes:

[1] Richard Dolan, UFOs For The 21st Century Mind, p. 9
[2] Ibid., p. 55.
[3] Ibid., p. 2.

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This article is free and open source. You are encouraged and have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez and TheBreakaway.wordpress.com.
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About The Author:

Dialectical Thinking – Zeno, Socrates, Kant, Marx by Tommi Juhani Hanjijarvi Ph.D.

TheBreakaway
Zy Marquiez
March 10, 2017

This particular book is a great foray for those beginning to delve into dialectics.

In Dialectical Thinking – Zeno, Socrates, Kant, Marx by Tommi Juhani Hanjijarvi Ph.D., the author seeks to show how valuable dialectical thinking is as he examines the minds of former dialecticians.

To accomplish this, Hanjijarvi sifts through critical data points spoken by the likes of Socrates, Kant, Zeno and Marx. The author does make it a point to supplant additional data and couple it to specific dialectics discussed when the need arises.

For instance, while analyzing Marx’s foray into dialectics, the author delves into information brought about by Engel, Bernstein, Lenin and such.

As the author makes clear, dialectics have extensive uses. More importantly, as the author argues “Dialectics are always about the dynamics of the self.”

Being someone who is delving into formal dialectics for the first time, it was quite mentally invigorating seeing the different dialectics employed by the great dialecticians. Moreover, it was also interesting to note where some of their ruminations dovetailed and what paths it led them on. That said, there were times that the text demanded a bit more from the readers as its complexity increased some. Still, what the book offers is plenty even if it might be intricate at certain junctures.

These days, the benefit of thinking from opposite spectrums, as dialecticians do and this book showcases, would be a great skillset for individuals to learn. Rarely do people put themselves on both sides of an equation; people usually end up just simply fostering their points of views without taking the other person’s view into consideration. For instance, the mainstream media is the greatest purveyor of this and shuns anybody who wishes to think outside the box or question anything that is passed off as fact. And if they show two sides to a coin, it’s always to stoke the flames of the divide and conquer left right paradigm that we see manifesting in countless forms.

Of course, in reality, there are many sides to countless issues. This reason is why this type of book is vital, since it helps lay a solid foundation as an introductory volume into the discipline of dialectics.

Thinking unilaterally about incisive issues won’t help people think critically, nor will it help people to think outside the box. Predictably, this prevents individuals from grasping crucial issues at their core.

For those reasons, and many others, this book is definitely to be considered for the inquiring individual. In fact, am even going to suggest this book to some friends for homeschooling. Look forward to reading more books like this.

As an introduction to the dialectical thinking employed by some of the greatest dialecticians, this book carries out its premise rather well.

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This article is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez and TheBreakaway.wordpress.com.

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Suggested resources reviewed below for those seeking ideas to self-teach and become autodidacts:

Socratic Logic V3.1 by Peter Kreeft Ph.D.
The Trivium – The Liberal Arts Of Grammar & Rhetoric by Sister Miriam Joseph Ph.D.
How To Read A Book – The Classic Guide To Intelligent Reading by Mortimer J. Adler & Charles Van Doren
Philosophy 101 – An Introduction To Philosophy Via Plato’s Apology by Peter Kreeft Ph.D.
The Complete Workbook For Arguments – A Complete Course In Critical Thinking [2nd Ed.] by David R. Morrow & Anthony Weston
The Imaginative Argument – A Practical Manifesto For Writers by Frank L. Cioffi

The following books reviewed below cover the disturbing issues within the public schooling system:

Rotten To The Common Core by Dr. Joseph P. Farrell Ph.D.& Gary Lawrence
Dumbing Us Down – The Hidden Curriculum Of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto
A Different Kind Of Teacher – Solving The Crisis Of American Schooling by John Taylor Gatto
Weapons Of Mass Instruction by John Taylor Gatto
Drilling Through The Core, by Sandra Stotsky & Contributors

Book Review: Alien Agenda by Jim Marrs

TheBreakaway | BreakawayConciousness
Zy Marquiez
March 21, 2017

Jim Marrs has been putting out high quality work for some time. Backing his hard work with extensive research of over 30 years experience, Marrs has set the research bar high with books like The Rise Of The Fourth Reich, Rule By Secrecy, Our Occulted History, and Popular Control. This book is no different.

Alien Agenda – Investigating The Extraterrestrial Presence Among Us is definitely one of the most seminal and top-tier no-nonsense books on UFOs out there.

In a realm of research that that is littered with countless books with not much sourced material, and even more witness and whistleblower testimony, this book is definitely near the top tier.

As a book for someone just getting in, this book is really top notch. The only book I would recommend more personally would be Richard Dolan’s UFOs For The 21^st Century Mind: A Fresh Guide To An Ancient Mystery.

Taking a thorough and methodical approach which is signature in all of his books, Marrs brings the reader along the journey of all things UFOlogy. Notably, this book covers a wide breadth of the information within the UFO field. From issues with NASA, to The Moon, Ancient Astronauts, to Roswell, and even intricate subjects like Area 51, Crop Circles, and some of the most widely known UFO accounts, Marrs sought to leave no stone unturned. The book really is a veritable encyclopedia of much of this elusive and thought-provoking phenomena.

If the book only covered those above topics, that would still make it a great book, knowing reliance on sourced material Marrs employs. But there’s more. Marrs also covers abstruse subjects such as abductions & missing time, the CIA, MJ-12, cattle mutilations, remote viewing, and even takes a metaphysical gander into ‘the phenomenon’ that’s quite unique. This book really employs a wide range. Marrs even ventures into the role of big finance in this abstruse subject.

Another salient point is that this book is footnoted to the hilt! That ALONE takes this to a whole different level, which is rarely achieved in UFOlogy except only by the best researchers. That is one reason why my respect of Jim Marrs has only grown overtime, because he doesn’t just connect dots that people can’t verify themselves.

For everything it offers, this book offers a lot of value. Anyone really interested in the subject would be doing themselves a great disservice by overlooking it. This book is a must have.
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This article is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez and TheBreakaway.wordpress.com.
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About The Author:

Zy Marquiez is an avid book reviewer, researcher, an open-minded skeptic, yogi, humanitarian, and freelance writer who studies regularly subjects like Consciousness, Education, Creativity, The Individual, Ancient History & Ancient Civilizations, Forbidden Archaeology, Big Pharma, Alternative Health, Space, Geoengineering, Social Engineering, Propaganda, and much more.

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