Riding with the Lion

Further ruminations concerning the mysticism, knowledge, and nature of ultimate reality add little to previous volumes by the same author. Cypriot-born Markides (Sociology/Univ. of Maine; Fire in the Heart, not reviewed, etc.) offers this follow-up to his trilogy about the esoteric teachings of two holy men on the island of Cyprus. As the present volume opens, the author has been sought out by Diana, a psychotherapist who has been profoundly affected by his books. Their meeting and conversation form the springboard for the story as he brings her up-to-date. Since his last book, Kostas and Spyros Sathi, the two psychic healers and teachers about whom he wrote, have had a falling out, the cause of which is vague. Furthermore, Markides himself no longer has any association with Spyros. He then, for the benefit of his visitor and new readers, recaps his history with these wise ones. Throughout the remainder of the book, he anecdotally describes his experiences with both these teachers and others at lectures, conferences, and chance encounters. Meetings with clairvoyants and psychic healers abound, as do references to mystics such as Ouspensky, Gurdjieff, Krishna, and the Rosicrucians as Markides discusses a hidden knowledge that is trans-logical and trans-scientific. Seeking to link both Eastern and Western philosophy, he argues for the essential unity of all religions, which at their core carry the primordial tradition. He claims that seekers may find mystical spiritual teachings and practices within their own Judeo-Christian traditions. Non-devotees of the New Age and nonreaders of Markides's previous efforts are apt to be left out in the cold as the current volume approaches its own hidden wisdom in nearly content-free language. (Kirkus Reviews)