The Master Game: Pathways to Higher Consciousness (Consciousness Classics)

First, I should disclose that I am currently living in the house that deRopp built on Sonoma Mountain as the Church of the Earth. I learned this a couple of years after I moved in, when my landlord showed me a copy of the "Church of the Earth"), a book by deRopp with great stories and photos of the process of building this place. That book, which seems to be unavailable currently, also details deRopp's "Three Pillars" philosophy of community: the Garden, the Temple, and the University). It was an experiment to try to create a community united by spiritual principles living in sustainable harmony with the earth. It failed after deRopp drowned on one of his sea kayaking trips, during which he would gather food from the ocean for the community. (disclaimer: the story of deRopp's drowning is based on oral tradition told among long-term residents of the North slope of Sonoma Mountain. I have not fact-checked it.)There was a powerful synchronicity in learning this. After living here for a year--before I learned about the origins of this place--one day a flood of ideas came to me about a new religion; I wrote the ideas as they came in a composition book. The religion was called "The Church of the Earth is God" and it's main premise was that the religion our species needs now should be based on the premise that the Earth is God... and that this should not be held in the way that we think of "ultimate creator God" but instead as a way to cultivate reverence and respect for the earth. Was I channeling deRopp? Who knows. But I digress.I first read The Master Game in the late 1970's. It made a lot of sense to me then. It's been good to revisit it in this new edition. I can see how deRopp's ideas have influenced me over the years. The writing style is very much of the period in which it was written, which to me feels like a sweet contrast in tone with more current pop psychology/spiritual guidance/self-help books (it's all three of those categories, in my opinion). It is hard for me to sort out how much of my enjoyment of it is sentimental, and how much is based on its objective qualities; therefore I have not been recommending it to my friends and students---just quietly enjoying it on my own while I sit under the Oak Tree where the residents of the Church of the Earth eventually learned to make peace with the bees.That said, I acknowledge that Robert deRopp has a place among the ancestors of the various lineages that have guided my development, and for this I am grateful to him.

Great customer service. Used book for education

vaccinated me against religous, guru-spirituality and political BS

He's absolutely right! This book is extraordinarily revealing and provides valuable insight into human psychology and the human psyche. I highly recommend it, although it is not light reading. You can actually look back over human history and see the different, often dangerous games that have been played out. This book provides the insight into those different games humans play and the reasons for those games. More importantly, though, which game do we, as individuals, tend to play? And why?

I picked up the original edition of this book at a used book store in 1975 when I was 19 years old. I read it, and it has had a profound influence on my life ever since! :) I'm pleased it is back in print. I feel all young adults need to read this book to put everything about life in perspective! It is a game changer! I'm rereading it forty one years later, and it is still very enlightening! Highly recommended!

I believe this is worth reading no matter how advanced your practice is. Ideas influencing your practice compound over time and this has become one of my favorite books ever. I've read a lot of Trungpa and his teachings utilized external theater, but i've always had a hard time integrating such teachings due to a resentment of not feeling genuine. This book has given me a better perspective on the subject and one that i can more readily utilize daily.

This is not some stupid new age BS book. It is one of the best books on Creative Psychology. The author knows his subject and presents it in matter-of-fact manner.

Well,I think I need to read this book again!It was good but certain things it didn’t make senses, !

This book is about the different ways in which we can raise our consciousness. De Ropp describes the 5 levels of consciousness as 1. Deep Sleep, 2. Dreaming sleep 3. Waking sleep (aka normal everyday consciousness) 4. Self-transendance (bliss) 5. Cosmic Consciousness.Written in the 1960s, the book does go into a lot of detail into the various ways in which people use pyschadelic drugs to reach level 5. We are left in no doubt, however, that 'Creative Pyschology' is the only way. ie Go into the silence as much as possible and for as long as possible - stops thoughts. Secondly know what you are doing and why - mindfulness.I'll be honest in that I will need to re-read this book several times, but isn't that the case with books that are worthwhile.I would recommend that anyone on a spiritual journey add this to their collection.

For those who have done a little work on themselves, and would like to see how some of the cults, gurus,phoney teachers, tricksters (yes, and even genuine 'teachers') act, this book will be a help. I read it and loved it.The more you discriminate on the different kinds of advice given, the better. Expensive, but in MHO, worth the dosh.Warning. Don't fall for Gurdjieff rubbish. It's years out of date, and the likelihood is, the man lost his way yearsbefore he setled in Paris.

Very good book which ties in with Gurdjieff, Bennett and most other "systems" out there but this is very clear and he writes like he knows what he's talking about! Good Book!!

ok

great thanks