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Written while Leary was visiting India in 1965 and finished the following year, Psychedelic Prayers is an adaptation of Book 1 of the Tao Te Ching. With a new Introduction by Ralph Metzner, Leary's Harvard colleague, this book of poetry and meditations is being published in its first new edition in 25 years.Amazon.com Review
Timothy Leary--Harvard University psychologist, social changeactivist, psychedelia enthusiast, and cyberspace pioneer--died on May31, 1996, as this edition of Psychedelic Prayers and OtherMeditations was in progress. Translated "from English topsychedelese" in 1965, these 56 poems were inspired by the Tao Te Ching (Way ofLife), ancient spiritual writings of Taoist philosopher Lao Tsu. Learybelieved Tsu's writings would serve as an excellent guidebook forpsychedelic sessions, so--armed with nine English translations--he satunder a tree in India and attempted to distill the works' essentialmeanings (from a drug-induced perspective, of course).

Asmeditation is to Eastern spiritual traditions, psychedelic drugs wereto Timothy Leary. The counterculture guru encouraged people totranscend ego-centered perspectives of ordinary human consciousness,go beyond the dualities of right and wrong, and liberate themselvesfrom their limitations.The Tao Te Ching fit these purposes quitewell, he thought, and Ralph Metzner, who wrote the book'sintroduction, agrees: "These meditations on the art and scienceof consciousness expansion are serene, sensuous, funny and wise. Theyare among the most inspired writings by one of the outstandingvisionary geniuses of the 20th century." ... Read more

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Fried rice
An astoundingly arrogant and ridiculous rendering of Lao Tzu's major philosophical treatise - Leary can't be considered a decent poet, let alone capable of apprehending Lao Tzu's awareness from his own purple haze.

"No one has ever done Lao Tzu better."
Tim Leary first introduced Lao Tzu to me in the late sixties.He translated the Tao Te Ching into American from the English."No one has ever done it better." Tim's version of"Psychedelic Prayers," still stands as essential Tao.The Tao many of us will travel forever.

The I Ching came to me in a completely different way.I had read the introduction to John Blofeld's translation of Richard Wilhelm's version of the I Ching; not knowing it could me used as an oracle. That night a few mystifying ladies from Yale University campus, took me home and in an incense & candle lit session, showed me how to enter the mysterious consciousness of the Tao.

My concern then as now has been the philosophy of Tao.Book two ofWilhelm's I Ching teaches of the philosophical background of the pattern of change.Everything changes but change has a design.

This probably led to my trading Commodities Futures for a living.

Recently I found Richard Wilhelm's similar magnificent masterpiece "Tao Te Ching: The Book of Meaning and Life by Lao Tzu."

Anyone who has had an interest in Psychedelic Prayers, these last thirty years may want to consider Wilhelm's views on Lao Tzu's consciousness.

Just as in Book Two of the I Ching, Wilhelm dives right into Lao Tzu's mind with clarity like no one else.

"Tao Te Ching,"
"How does muddy water become clear? Muddy water becomes clear through stillness. How does one become still? One becomes still, by moving with the stream.".... With these words Timothy Leary set the cornerstone of Hippie philosophy in Eastern Mysticism.The hidden influence of "Psychedelic Prayers," will come to light in the passage of time.It's influence on music ("All things must pass." Beatles), TV ("Kung Fu," series), Film ("Easy Rider"), Hollywood, ("Star Wars"), just reflect the imprint on our collective consciousness... The general acceptance of the Tao's "I Ching," (High Priest), " The Tibetan Book of the dead," (The Psychedelic Experience) and later "The Art of War," (Sun Tzu), all you can see, trace there acceptance by the Hippies and later the baby boomers to this great work... In a search led by Harvard Scientists and students of religion.They looked for ways to map and understand awareness.Map Consciousness in ways that would empower people to program there own lives... Suppressed by many forces the "Tao Te Ching," is now, in the wake of Dr. Leary's death being re-released.This is only the second printing.Of what may be looked upon as one of the earliest, if not the first prayer book of the unnamed, unseen, as yet unformed philosophy of the group of people who have grown out of a tribe called Hippies.This was the first translation into American... Released as One of two guide book on how to explore higher con-sciousness before the prohibition."Psychedelic Prayers," expanded on knowledge of set and setting, learned by the "Hashish Club of Paris," a century ago. They linked these techniques to ancient sacred texts of consciousness exploration... While it appears on the surface that these manuals are guide books to temporary trips.They are really guides to the use and abuse of consciousness.The first effort the "Psychedelic Prayers," offered here, was based on the "Tao Te Ching.""The Psychedelic Experience," based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead was the second more serious text book version... How you can be fulfilled, enlightened, more aware.How to wake up to live.How you can have anything you want, whenever you want it, wherever you want it. with whoever you want to have it with... Amazon books please sendme a copy as soon as its re-released.You have my order. My 30 year old copy has been my constant companion. "...In the best sessions one does not know there is a guide..." ... Read more

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The goal of the O’Leary Series is to give students a basic understanding of computing concepts and to build the skills necessary to ensure that information technology is an advantage in whatever career they choose in life. The O’Leary Microsoft Office 2003 texts are crafted to be the true step-by-step way for students to develop Microsoft Office application skills. The text design emphasizes step-by-step instructions with full screen captures that illustrate the results of each step performed. Each Tutorial (chapter) combines conceptual coverage with detailed software-specific instructions. A running case that is featured in each tutorial highlights the real-world applications of each software program and leads students step-by-step from problem to solution. ... Read more

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This brief, straightforward text covers computer concepts for the introduction to computers course and is revised annually.A CD-ROM is packaged with each text, corresponds to the chapters in the text, and offers exercises and activities , animations, audio, video, and photographs to enrich the student learning experience.Students will gain compentency in computer-related knowledge and skills by becoming computer literate, familiar with commercial software packages, and grounded in fundamental concepts. ... Read more

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Loaded with new material--a new introduction, additional interviews, as well as new photos and artwork--the second edition of Mavericks of the Mind also includes the transcripts from the events that brought together interviewees from the book to debate philosophical topics in roundtable discussions. This stimulating collection features in-depth conversations with accomplished thinkers, such as Terence McKenna, Laura Huxley, Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary, John Lilly, Carolyn Mary Kleefeld, Rupert Sheldrake, Riane Eisler, and Robert Anton Wilson. The interviews explore such fascinating topics as the frontiers of consciousness exploration, how psychedelics effect creativity, the relationship between science and spirituality, lucid dreaming, quantum physics, morphic field theory, interspecies communication, chaos theory, and time travel. ... Read more

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Confessions Of A Hope Fiend, by Timothy Leary
Here's a book that went through a lot of byzantine channels on its path to publication, a book Timothy Leary received an advance of $250,000 for (though apparently he didn't receive much of the money), a book that went straight to mass market paperback to get to as many people as quickly as possible.A book that shortly thereafter went out of print and has remained so since its publication in 1972.

I want to get something in the clear before we dive into the meat of the review: this book was co-written by Brian Barritt.A fellow psychedelic traveler and Leary's pal in the early seventies, Barritt published his own bio decades later, 1996's "Road Of Ecstasy" (only published in the UK and mega rare and expensive these days).He's not credited anywhere in "Hope Fiend" (though of course he's featured as a character in the book itself), but parts of this book are so similar to the writing in "Ecstasy" that I asked Barritt via email if he had in fact ghostwritten a lot of "Hope Fiend."He kindly responded that he had.

But I wonder how much so.The thing is, this book is very well-written.It's almost too artsy for its own good.Parts of it seem cribbed from William Burroughs, other parts from James Joyce.Oft times the narrative breaks out into flight-of-fancy literary turns of phrase that I assume are meant to convey the rush of ideas awarded by LSD, and there are word tricks straight out of Joyce (ie "Eye sprang to the window.").According to Barritt's book (and "Hope Fiend" itself), Leary's early drafts of this book (all now lost, according to Barritt) featured even more of the Joycean puns, but I'm convinced the Burroughsian writing is Barritt.

Barritt's influence (or just Barritt himself, ghostwriting) can also be seen in the metaphysical/magickal connotations.This first shows itself in Leary's references to his wife Rosemary Woodruff.Never once does Leary refer to her by name.Instead, she is always mentioned as "She" or "Her," with the first letter capitalized.The same way a mystic would refer to the Goddess - the same way Barritt refers to her (uh, I mean "Her") in "Road Of Ecstasy."

Detailing the years 1970 to 1971, the book opens with Leary jailed in a minimum-security prison in California, busted for possession of a minor amount of marijuana (which according to lore actually belonged to his then-wife, Rosemary, though Leary doesn't state this in the book).He bides his time, meeting his fellow prisoners, one of whom in a literary wink is named Burroughs.Leary skews reality by introducing Barritt into the narrative early, even though the two really didn't meet him until Leary had escaped prison and fled to Algeria.But books need to be more fantastic than bare reality (right?), so Barritt here shows up while Leary's in prison, helping Leary plan his escape and giving him a copy of his manuscript "Whisper."Only...it's not really Barritt!No, in a weird "surprise twist" that's never explained, this Barritt turns out to be an imposter, an albeit well-wishing stranger who just wants to help Leary escape for the kicks.

Leary was really escaped by the Weathermen, which he acknowledges in the book, but the money for the escape was provided by the LSD-as-sacrament group The Brotherhood of Love, something Leary does not acknowledge in the book.Anyway, the book presents the escape as it supposedly happened, Leary climbing the high fence during a minor break in security - all shortly before his fiftieth birthday, an admirable feat in itself.From there he's whisked away incognito by a group of Weathermen, all of whom Leary rhapsodizes about in the most idealized "freedom fighters for the soul of America" style possible.He briefly meets Weathermen leader Bernadine Dohrn, another recipient of Leary's gobsmacked idolatry (he describes her like some raven-haired beauty from a Hollywood blockbuster...after consulting a photo of Dohrn I can't say I agree with the good doctor).

Under an assumed name and wearing a disguise, Leary flies to Algeria, where Eldridge Cleaver, co-ruler of the Black Panthers, awaits him in his kingdom.The idea is, Leary, with his counterculture clout and heavy support from the white kids in the colleges of America, will unite with Cleaver, with his streetwise power and heavy support from the black kids on the streets of America, together engendering a nationwide insurrection in the US, leading to a better tomorrow.Unfortunately (?), it didn't happen.

If a movie's ever made out of Leary's life, then this chunk of it, with Leary and his wife ensconced within the paranoid confines of Eldridge Cleaver's Black Panther palace, would make for excellent material.It wasn't so excellent for spineless Leary, though.No, he allowed the increasingly-sullen Cleaver to harass and eventually imprison him - Cleaver, a lifelong con, had trouble getting away from the "cops and robbers" game, and there in his Algerian kingdom, realizing he was the ruler and no longer the "robber," decided he'd need to play "cop."It was the only game he knew, and Leary's LSD methods had no effect on him; Cleaver disdained drugs.So as you can see, this was not the dream-team that would bring about a new, psychedelic era of peace and love.

But yeah, Leary was spineless.We read dumbstruck as Cleaver bullies Leary to no end, and Leary offers no resistance.He puts up with it, offering us the lame excuse that Cleaver's people were imprisoned by whites for 400 years, so why should Leary get upset about being confined to lockdown in his hotel room for 4 days?But it justbuilds and builds, Cleaver outright threatening Leary, telling him what to do and when to do it, even installing a female Black Panther in Leary's apartment to keep an eye on him.Meek Leary accepts it all.You can't help but wonder how that other acid guru of the sixties, Ken Kesey, would've reacted.I figure Kesey would've taken Cleaver to the floor with a chokehold, forcing LSD down the Panther king's throat.

The real Brian Barritt shows up, having driven to Algeria to meet Leary and get him to pen an introduction for his book "Whisper," written while Barritt was imprisoned in England for carrying drugs.This is something else Leary doesn't mention, having presented "Whisper" earlier in the narrative as an already-published book.A few others come by to visit the safeguarded Leary, among them a reporter who apparently sells out to Cleaver, blaming Leary and his wife for ruining Cleaver's trust.It all comes off as a rather dry and rote political thriller, only the Burroughsian drug-trips in the desert saving it from total boredom.

The book ends right when it gets interesting.Leary escaped from Cleaver to Switzerland, where he became involved with the German krautrock scene.This is yet another fascinating period in Leary's life, recording the album "Seven Up" with German rockers Ash Ra Tempel and Brian Barritt (who provided his own view of these days in his "Road Of Ecstasy").At the same time Leary and Barritt became fascinated with Aleistar Crowley, with Leary even thinking he was Crowley reincarnated.But Leary's narrative features none of this, save for the title, a witty combination of Crowley's "Diary of a Drug Fiend" and his posthumously-published bio "Confessions."

Regardless, "Hope Fiend" cuts off with the arrival of "Goldfinger" (who literally shows up in the last sentence of the book): a millionaire drug dealer/arms financier who got Leary the $250,000 payment for this book...though in exchange Goldfinger himself retained the rightsto it (just check the copyright), as well as the rights to all future Leary publications.

It would be great to have a republication of "Hope Fiend," with an afterword detailing what happened to the major players.After his brief tenure with krautrock (and "Seven Up" is one of my favorite albums), Leary was caught by US Feds and imprisoned again, this time in solitary confinement.Upon release he was more of a Robert Anton Wilson-type than his former "Tune In" self, talking about outer space colonization rather than inner space exploration.Barritt supposedly went into a decade-long heroin binge which provoked a falling out between he and Leary that wasn't repaired until Leary was on his deathbed in 1996.And Cleaver had the strangest of all fates, from a Black Panther leader crying out for Communist revolution to a staunch Republican in his final years.

Truth is stranger, and all that...

We Need More Hope Fiends instead of the Brainless P.C.
This is a little known period piece describing one of Tim Leary's stints in prison.His son Jack happened to be in the same prison at the same time.Besides a rather terse but accurate psychopolitical exposition of the times, Leary's own way of handling incarceration is a must-read for anyone who happens to be incarcerated in a prison of ANY type.Disinformation to the contrary, this is entirely a nonfiction work.The worst criticism that could be levied against the book is that sections of it appear slightly disorganized when viewed from a linear perspective. Otherwise, it's a fascinating view of one irrepressible Harvard Irish Catholic rebel. He never makes allusion in the book to the fact that he was once employed by The Firm. ... Read more

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The goal of the O’Leary Series is to give students a basic understanding of computing concepts and to build the skills necessary to ensure that information technology is an advantage in whatever career they choose in life. The O’Leary Microsoft Office 2003 texts are crafted to be the true step-by-step way for students to develop Microsoft Office application skills. The text design emphasizes step-by-step instructions with full screen captures that illustrate the results of each step performed. Each Tutorial (chapter) combines conceptual coverage with detailed software-specific instructions. A running case that is featured in each tutorial highlights the real-world applications of each software program and leads students step-by-step from problem to solution. ... Read more

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The goal of the O’Leary Series is to give students a basic understanding of computing concepts and to build the skills necessary to ensure that information technology is an advantage in whatever career they choose in life. The O’Leary Microsoft Office 2003 texts are crafted to be the true step-by-step way for students to develop Microsoft Office application skills. The text design emphasizes step-by-step instructions with full screen captures that illustrate the results of each step performed. Each Tutorial (chapter) combines conceptual coverage with detailed software-specific instructions. A running case that is featured in each tutorial highlights the real-world applications of each software program and leads students step-by-step from problem to solution. ... Read more

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Great tutorials to get you where you need to be in Excel
This book was a necessity for a course I'm taking through an online campus.While I already know Excel pretty well, it has great models, process writing and techniques that are truly helpful to anyone who wants to enhance their knowledgebase of excel. ... Read more

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SERIES TAGLINE: The O'Leary Series is the true step-by step way to develop computer application skills.Its design emphasizes the step-by step visual approach with screen captures for every concept. ... Read more

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The goal of the O'Leary Series is to give students a basic understanding of computing concepts and to build the skills necessary to ensure that information technology is an advantage in whatever career they choose in life.The O'Leary Office 2000 Enhanced and Office XP texts are crafted to be the true step-by-step way for students to develop Microsoft Office application skills.The text design emphasizes step-by-step instructions with full screen captures that illustrate the results of each step performed. Each Tutorial (chapter) combines conceptual coverage with detailed software-specific instructions.A running case that is featured in each tutorial highlights the real-world applications of each software program and leads students step-by-step from problem to solution. ... Read more

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Adopting a readable, keystroke approach, this lab module offers brief, hands-on introductory coverage of Borland's Paradox database software. Students will learn to create, modify, edit and sort a database, and create a professional report. Written in simple, straight-forward language it includes a case study (used with all O'Leary lab modules) to emphasize concepts and provide realism, and shaded boxes and commands, which provide effective "action-result" methodology. Also available is a Paradox teaching materials set (0-07-911559-4). ... Read more

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This beginner's guide provides students with a complete look at the Web using Internet Explorer 4.0.The easy-to-follow, highly visual approach introduces helpful tips and resources related to Internet usage while incorporating the new and enhanced features of the latest version of Microsoft's Internet browser (I. E. 4.0). ... Read more

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This lab module offers brief, hands-on introductory coverage of the WordPerfect 5.1 word processing software. This revision includes new exercises and coverage of hard disk computers. ... Read more

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Written in straight-forward language, this laboratory module offers hands-on introductory coverage of Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows. It adopts an accurate, readable, keystroke approach, and students should learn to create a spreadsheet, manage a large spreadsheet, and create graphs within the Windows operating system. The use of shaded boxes and commands result in an effective "action-result" methodology, and there are review and practice exercises, and a case study which emphasizes concepts and provides realism. Also available is a "Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows Teaching Materials Set" (ISBN 0-07-911555-1). ... Read more

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"The O'Leary" Series is one of the most trusted and effective resources for teaching and learning software applications and computer concepts. With strong concept reinforcement, relevant research motivation, and visually appealing chapters including current trends, the "O'Leary Computing Essentials, 18E" is a favorite among students everywhere. ... Read more

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Best Book Ever
Computing Essentials 2007, is a good book. It is a book for anyone who needs to learn how a computer works and the language that is associated with computers. I enjoyed this book, and I learned so much from it, because there were a lot of things that I did not understand when it came to the computer. I recommend this book to anyone who needs to know about computers. I also use it as a reference, when I am not sure about something. ... Read more

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The O'Leary Series is the true step-by-step way to develop computer application skills.The new design emphasizes the step-by-step visual approach with screen captures for every concept introduced throughout the text. ... Read more

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The O'Leary Series is the true step-by-step way to develop computer application skills.The new design for Office 2000 emphasizes the step-by-step visual approach with screen captures for every concept introduced throughout the text. ... Read more

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The O'Leary Series is the true step-by-step way to develop computer application skills.

The new design for MS Office 2000 emphasizes the step-by-step visual approach with screen captures for every concept introduced throughout the text. ... Read more

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The O'Leary Series, Microsoft Office 2000 - T & L O'Leary
A well-illustrated book with eye-catching graphics that make it "unputdownable" by any computer learner.It is also useful to the professional who wants to familiarize himself with Microsoft 2000version. ... Read more

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SERIES TAGLINE: The O'Leary Series is the true step-by step way to develop computer application skills.Its design emphasizes the step-by step visual approach with screen captures for every concept. ... Read more

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The "O'Leary" series is the true step-by step way to develop computer application skills. Its design emphasizes the step-by step visual approach, with screen captures for every concept. ... Read more