Mystic Masters Speak

Vernon Howard was an author and speaker who taught universal & timeless spiritual principles that far transcend the often inane "wisdom" of today's self-help & New Age methodologies, and which reach a level of insight seldom found within the halls of organized religion. True spirituality, Howard taught, consists of a personal discovery of Divine Guidance and Higher Insight. This comes about through a sincere and persistent effort at objective inner examination and self-discovery, not by superficially ahdering to a set of written codes or beliefs. His greatest asset as a teacher was his ability to convey these lofty principles in a practical, easy-to-understand manner.This is evident throughout The Mystic Masters Speak. Howard presents 1,360 frequently-asked-questions, if you will, of seekers on the Higher path. A sampling of them:"Why do we fail to learn from our mistakes?""It has been said that knowledge is not the same thing as wisdom. Will you please explain the difference?""Why do cruel people often win great prosperity and public honors, and how do they get away with their wickedness?""How does the absorbtion of lofty principles change and refine our physical habits?""I often feel judged by others, which is a form of mental slavery I would like to abolish.""What is an example of self-deception, of believing what we prefer to believe?"May we hear of a spiritual practice for use when meeting trouble of any kind?""Why do many people, including ourselves, hesitate to explore beyond our present boundaries of life?""Can we really escape our anxieties?""What common weakness is remove by self-exploration?"For answers to these and the other 1000+ questions and concerns posed, Howard turns to over 100 of the greatest spritual masters who ever lived: Jesus Christ, Emerson, Thoreau, Buddha, Marcus Aurelius, Nietzche, Lao-tzu, just to name a few. The responses appear in the form of a quote -- ranging from one sentence to a single paragraph -- from one these "Mystic Masters". Each answer, though brief, is concise and authentically helpful.

Because of the title I almost bypassed this remarkable book. After all of these years you would think that I would have learned not to judge a book by either it's title or it's cover. I am glad that I looked inside, for this book represents one of the best expositions of the "golden thread" that runs through all the works of the truly great minds and souls. I noted this some years ago, how the same mystic truths kept surfacing in the works of men from so many different times and cultures. In fact, most of my favorite ideas, quotes, and epigrams from my favorite philosophers are contained between these covers- it was rather like an incredible string of synchronicities. I am awed by the author's ability to assemble all of this wisdom (as opposed to mere knowlege and facts) into a satisfying question and answer format that reads rather like the socratic method.

In this beautiful book, I have met countless Masters from all Ages, all speaking in the same vein, All about self responsibility, Learning how to be " A part of this world, but not of it." AS is spoken in the New testement.To be truely amazed at the accumulation of Wisdom, that Vernon Howard included in this Masterpiece, is beyond imagination. I have loved this book from the day I opened the cover and read the beginning of a 'journey into myself'.It has changed my life and started a new direction for me toward a New Life...Thank You, Vernon Howard !!

We have all heard the statement, "All religions teach the same thing at the core." This book is a remarkable illustration of this fact. It is a treasure trove of inspiring quotations from great writers, many of which will live on in your mind. When you start to see for yourself how Jesus, Buddha, Spinoza, Emerson, the Tao Te Ching, the Sufis and others really are expressing the same thing, the question arises: can I dismiss it?What makes this book different from other compilations is that the author himself seems to have absorbed the contents. It comes from a place not only of repetition but also of awareness. This quality is vital and is lacking in merely scholarly treatments of the same material. This is not to deride valuable scholarship, but something more is needed, and this book has something more.

There is no book quite like this. What the author has done is take questions that people have about life and its problems, and answers the questions with excerpts from the works of some of history's famous thinkers. Writers such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henery David Thoreau, Leo Tolstoy, Immanuel Kant, and at least 100 others are included. What make this book really special is the STUNNING relization the reader comes to while reading this book. THEY ARE ALL SAYING THE SAME THING, in their own words. One has to wonder how this is possible, since most did not have any contact with each other. At any rate, having such a large selection of quotes from so many different writers of history is extremely interesting.