Ex Libris Geoff Gilpin

Quantum Gods

2009-03-27T07:13:00.001-07:00

My colleague Victor Stenger has a new book called Quantum Gods: Creation, Chaos, and the Search for Cosmic Consciousness. It'll be published in May by Prometheus Books. Chapter 4, The Guru of GUTS, is about TM and the Maharishi Effect. It includes a number of quotes from my work. Prometheus asked me to write an editorial review, which I'm reproducing below. It'll appear on the book's back cover.

"Lots of biologists defend evolution against creationism. Unfortunately, few scientists in the physics community speak up about the pseudoscience in their own field. The public understanding of modern physics is seriously out of whack, thanks largely to pop junk like The Secret and What the BLEEP Do We Know?

"These books and movies promote a bogus version of quantum mechanics—the belief that "you create your own reality" by controlling the laws of physics with your mind. They offer instant wealth and happiness, but they deliver medieval superstition. The sad part is that so many scientists are willing to let the public get their knowledge of physics from celebrity quacks.

"That's why we're so lucky to have Victor Stenger. He knows quantum theory as well as anybody and, unlike most of his colleagues, he's willing to step outside the ivory tower and face those who misuse science. In Quantum Gods, Stenger confronts mainstream theologians and New Age gurus—anyone who tries to link physics to mysticism. He takes their theories seriously enough to examine them in detail and he finds that, so far, none of them live up to the standards of scientific truth. As we accompany him on his investigation, he guides us through the most important concepts in modern physics from relativity to string theory.

"The world has needed a book like this for a long time. If you care about scientific literacy, Quantum Gods is not optional."

Kindle

2009-03-17T07:02:00.001-07:00

The Maharishi Effect is now available on the Amazon Kindle. Details here.

Quantum Failure in the media

2008-03-15T08:12:00.001-07:00

My favorite cartoonist Tom Tomorrow addresses the topic of Republican occultism in the current edition of This Modern World. Notice how the cartoon Dick Cheney explains the low cost of the Iraq war using the New Age mantra "We create our own reality." Is the Vice President a closet fan of The Secret? Does he believe in the Maharishi Effect? The Will to Power? Objectivism? Scientology? In the end, the results are the same—the Law of Quantum Failure always wins.

Interview on NPR’s “Day to Day”

2008-03-04T08:49:00.001-08:00

I just finished recording an interview about Maharishi's legacy for the NPR program "Day to Day." The program will air later today on NPR stations across the country. I don't have a schedule or station list, so check your local listings. The show's web site is here.

Women In Higher Education article

2008-03-02T16:47:00.001-08:00

Along with quantum pseudoscience, there's another topic I wish I'd covered in more depth in The Maharishi Effect. That's the role of women in the Transcendental Meditation movement. Fortunately, I got a second chance thanks to the monthly newsletter Women In Higher Education. My article "Maharishi: 'Delicate Nervous Systems' Prevent Equity" appears in the March issue. You can check out the WIHE web site here.

Republican occultism

2008-02-27T12:11:00.001-08:00

To date, over 2,000 people have downloaded my "Quantum Failure" essay. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, although a couple of readers have questioned one aspect of the fictional "Law of Quantum Failure."

If you've read the essay, you may recall my assertion that Quantum Failure applies to believers across the ideological spectrum. The essay was mainly about those who promote new age beliefs—meditating for world peace and such—who I characterize as the "left wing occult." I mentioned a "right wing occult" in passing, implying that the Law of Quantum Failure would apply to conservatives and neocons as well as new agers and counterculture types. I left the matter hanging there, which prompted one fellow to write:

"It's not clear how the principle of 'Quantum Failure' applies to the neo-cons. They have tried to build their own reality and it's had bad consequences. But I don't think they have realized the goals of their enemies."

This is a fair criticism, which I've addressed in a new essay. The title is "Republican Occultism and the Law of Quantum Failure." It's available here as a PDF file.

BBC “Last Word” program on Maharishi

2008-02-07T12:38:00.001-08:00

This morning I taped a brief interview for "Last Word," a weekly program of obituaries on the BBC. The show will air tomorrow, Friday the 8th, on BBC Radio 4 at 16:00 GMT. They repeat the program on Sunday at 20:30 GMT and they have an audio archive of past shows. The Last Word home page is here.

By the way, I think the idea of a weekly obit show is great. Does anyone know if there's something like that in the US?

NPR’s On Point covers Maharishi

2008-02-06T14:56:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow I'll be appearing on On Point with Tom Ashbrook, a news and current events program broadcast nationally over NPR. They're devoting one hour of the program to discussing the life and legacy of Maharishi. The show originates on WBUR in Boston, where it airs from 10:00 AM to noon ET. I'll be appearing during the second hour of the show. You can find a list of affiliate stations and air times for your area here. The On Point home page is here.

Maharishi dies

2008-02-05T15:31:00.001-08:00

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the Transcendental Meditation movement, died this afternoon at his home in Vlodrop, Netherlands. Believed to be in his early nineties, Maharishi formally resigned as the head of his organization last month. The cause of death is currently unknown.

Maharishi was a major influence in a lot of lives. It will be a time of loss and grieving for many. Peace to them and to us all.

NPR interview available online

2007-12-31T13:57:00.001-08:00

If you missed the interview I did on "To the Best of Our Knowledge," you can hear it online at:

http://www.wpr.org/book/071230a.html

Click the "Listen" button to hear the show. Note that the audio is in streaming RealMedia format, which may not be compatible with your software. If your media player doesn't handle the audio, you can download RealPlayer from www.real.com. I personally use the VLC media player available at www.videolan.org.

Interview on NPR

2007-12-21T14:08:00.001-08:00

I'll be discussing "The Maharishi Effect" on "To the Best of Our Knowledge," a program that airs nationally on the NPR, PRI and XM satellite radio networks. Dates and times vary by station, but most listeners will hear the program on Sunday, December 30th. Click here to see a program schedule and here for a list of stations and air times. I'm the third author interviewed in the first hour of the show, after Satish Kumar and A.J. Jacobs but before Philip Roth.

I'm really pleased with this interview. Of all the media appearances I did to support my book, this was the best by far.

Double slit mysticism

2007-12-13T06:43:00.001-08:00

One of the unexpected joys of managing a web site is monitoring the traffic that comes in through search engines like Google. The web host software gives me a list of the search terms that people use to find my site. Usually, it's just some variation of my name and the title of my book. Sometimes, though, the search engines cough up comedy bits or Zen koans. I've had people searching for "Volvo" and "Paxil," neither of which have anything to do with my site. One person was looking for "Maharishi bullshit." A couple of days after I posted my "Quantum Failure" essay, somebody got to my site by searching for "double slit mysticism." Money can't buy stuff that good.

Quantum Consciousness, Quantum Miracles, Quantum Failure

2007-12-04T17:29:00.001-08:00

The Maharishi Effect has been out for a little over a year. By now, I've had plenty of time to think of all the things I would have done differently. If I had it all to do over again, I'd beef up the scientific material, particularly the sections where I discuss how quantum physics gets filtered through pop culture. I'd also like to say more about the new age belief that "you create your own reality" and the effects it has on believers and the culture as a whole.

I put my current thoughts on these subjects into an essay called "Quantum Consciousness, Quantum Miracles, Quantum Failure." It's available here as a PDF file.

Comments welcome, of course.

TV documentary

2007-11-16T16:54:00.001-08:00

I'm going to be one of the talking heads in a new TV documentary about Maharishi and Transcendental Meditation. The program is "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: A Biography," produced by ITN Factual of London for the Arts & Entertainment network. The program premieres on the History Channel International on Wednesday, November 28, at 8:00 AM and 2:00 PM Eastern. Click here to see the HCI web page with the schedule for the air date.

I assume that the show will go into rotation after that. Also, I've been told that the program will air on the Biography Channel at some point.

If you'd like, feel free to discuss the show in comments to this post.

Radio is a funny business

2007-08-04T16:44:00.001-07:00

My radio tour ends next week with a taped interview on KCBX, an NPR affiliate station in Santa Barbara. It's an appropriate homecoming. In the early 1970s, I was one of the first students at the original Santa Barbara campus of Maharishi International University. Like a lot of other people who were there, I have really good memories of those days. In my book I said that it was "like Hogwarts Academy, except for real."

I recall sitting under the palm trees by the pool listening to a radio station that played the kind of programming I couldn't get back home in Wisconsin. They had stuff like Duck's Breath Mystery Theatre and the King Biscuit Flower Hour and Dear Friends with the Firesign Theatre. I can't say for sure, but there's a good chance that the station was KCBX. In any case, I'm happy that my radio tour is ending where it all started.

After a couple dozen interviews, I see the truth of the old saw that "radio is a funny business." It's all by the seat of your pants and you never know what you're getting in to until you're on the air. If you're an author, you might have to summarize your book in a couple of sound bites between commercial breaks. On another show, you might have to explain it in depth while fending off hostile callers. It's great practice for honing your message. For me, at least, it's also a lot of fun.

Back in June I did an interview with Bob Keeton of the Living Successfully show on Sirius satellite radio. Bob sells CD copies of his radio programs on his web site. You can purchase a copy of my interview with him here. I don't make any money off of this, but I thought that Bob did a good job and I'm happy to support him.

Radio interviews

2007-05-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

In the coming weeks, I'll be doing a number of radio interviews to promote The Maharishi Effect. Check the appearances page on my web site for more information. My first interview was on the Michael Dresser Show on the Lifestyle Talk Radio Network. Click here to listen to an audio file of the interview.

Book award

2007-04-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that The Maharishi Effect won the 2006 August Derleth Book-length Nonfiction Award sponsored by the Council for Wisconsin Writers. You can learn more details on the Council's web site.

Wikipedia entry

2007-01-22T15:00:00.000-08:00

There's a short bio of me on Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia. To see it, use the link on the sidebar or click here.

Discussion questions

2006-12-19T10:50:00.000-08:00

I've heard from several book clubs and church groups that are interested in hosting a discussion of The Maharishi Effect. To get the dialog started, here's a list of ten discussion questions. You can view the document as a Microsoft Word file or an Adobe PDF file.

Review quickies

2006-12-19T10:41:00.000-08:00

Jody at the Guruphiliac blog did a great review of The Maharishi Effect in his trademark fun style. Read it here. Kirkus Reviews did a brief but good summary of my book in their special issue on religion and spirituality. Click here to see the PDF file, then scroll down to the box labelled "Spiritual Memoirs."

Tell your stories

2006-11-25T09:32:00.000-08:00

Now that The Maharishi Effect has been out for a month or so, I'm getting a sense of how readers respond to the book. It's been wonderful hearing from current and former members of the TM movement who say that the book spoke to them. It's helping them find some perspective and closure on an important chapter in their lives. It occurred to me that the process could continue on this blog. If you'd like to share your story about life in the TM movement or with other groups and gurus, feel free to post it as a comment to this message.

Tour notes

2006-11-25T08:32:00.000-08:00

The Wisconsin phase of the book tour included two of the oldest independent book stores in the state. I'm very grateful to the staff at Schwartz Books in Shorewood and University Books Hilldale here in Madison. Thanks for showing us what makes independents so important in the age of big chains. Although the offical tour is over, I'll be on the road for the next few months promoting the book wherever there's an interest. If you'd like me to speak at your store, book group, writer's class, or whatever, send me an email.

Readings

2006-11-08T07:33:00.000-08:00

I'd like to thank the staff of Book Passage in Corte Madera for their hospitality last Sunday. It was great to be there for the store's 30th anniversary celebration. A big community of readers and writers from all over turned out for the event. I got to meet one of my favorite writers--Isabel Allende, author of The House of the Spirits. Congratulations to Book Passage! The book tour continues with a reading tonight at Schwartz Books in Shorewood, Wisconsin. If you're in the Milwaukee area, please come and support one of the midwest's best independent bookstores.

San Francisco area appearance

2006-11-03T07:36:00.000-08:00

I'll be in the Bay area this weekend reading and signing copies of The Maharishi Effect. I hope you'll come see me at Book Passage in Corte Madera at 5:00 PM November 5th. Click here to see the Book Passage web page for the event.

Launch day plus one

2006-10-20T15:01:00.000-07:00

The Maharishi Effect is now available in bookstores in the United States and Canada. If you're near one of the big chains, there's a good chance you'll find it on the shelves. If your local independent bookstore doesn't stock it, they can order it for you. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Thanks to everybody who showed up for my appearance yesterday at the Wisconsin Book Festival. We had a full house of 40 or so people. There was lots of laughter and good discussion.

First media coverage

2006-09-28T18:03:00.000-07:00

The first article about my book is available online here:

Isthmus: Guru Reality

I couldn't have asked for a better article. Writer Frank Bures definitely "got it."

LibraryThing gallery

2006-09-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

I just added a photo to my author profile page on LibraryThing. One cool feature of that site is that you can see a portrait gallery of all the authors in your library. (At least all the ones that have a picture in the LibraryThing database.) Check out the photos in my gallery. Currently, I'm between F. Scott Fitzgerald and Stephen Jay Gould.

Book launch

2006-09-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

The book tour for The Maharishi Effect begins on the publication date--October 19, 2006. I'll be appearing here in Madison as part of the Wisconsin Book Festival. The event is at 5:30 in the Wisconsin Historical Museum on the capitol square. Check their web site for directions. I'll be reading selections from the book, answering questions, and autographing copies for sale by the museum. Please come and join the fun!

Isthmus photos

2006-09-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the photos taken by Mark Sibley for the article about my book in the September 7 issue of the Madison Isthmus.

General discussion

2006-09-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

If you have any comments, queries, or discussion topics, this is the place to post them.

Welcome

2006-09-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

Hello. I'm Geoff Gilpin, an author of literary nonfiction. This blog is devoted to my new book The Maharishi Effect: A Personal Journey Through the Movement That Transformed American Spirituality. To learn more about the book, take a look at my web site. You can use this blog to discuss the book and keep up with ongoing events such as author appearances, media coverage, and book reviews. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.