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Saturday, July 9, 2011

The Intuitive Book Review: Whitley Strieber's "The Key" (1)


 Marcus T Anthony's new web site and blog can be found at: www.mind-futures.com.

A few week’s ago Trish MacGregor wrote an excellent book review of Whitley Strieber’s book The Key on Trish and Rob MacGregor’s Synchrosecret’s blog. The book sounded fascinating, so I went straight to Amazon and downloaded a copy to my Kindle.

This post and the following one will comprise the first of my intuitive book reviews (see here for an overview of the process I employ). This review is quite long, so I am posting it in several posts. Part 1 is an overview of the book and an intuitive reading of the author and book. Parts 2 and 3 will address specific truth claims of the book. Part 4 addresses some limitations of the text as welling as drawing final conclusions.

In these reviews I am going to go beyond standard book reviews, which outline a book’s contents, analyse contents and evaluate its worth. With these intuitive reviews, I will add my intuitive insight into the book and writer’s psyche.

Although this is my first official intuitive review, I have previously done many intuitive readings of people’s Soul Issues and karma, mostly face to face, but many have also been long distance. It’s part of the work I do as an intuitive. Readers might be interested to know that I have previously posted a similar intuitive reading on Julien Assange of wikileaks fame, who came out looking slightly less rosy than Whitley Strieber does!

Almost any creative work will have implicit information contained within its “energy”, and part of this review will involve tapping into that energy. Many years ago I learned how to channel the human psyche and consciousness fields in general when I worked with a group of like-minded spiritual adventurers in New Zealand.

General overview
The Key is a fascinating and eminently readable book written in lively and personable style. Strieber is not afraid to share some of his own fears, weaknesses and confusions. He develops an intimate relationship with the reader, and it almost seems as if we are eavesdropping in on his very strange experience with the man he calls The Master of the Key.

The Key details the story of how, at two-thirty in the morning of June 6, 1998, Strieber was awakened by somebody knocking on his hotel room door. An unknown old man enters the room. At first Strieber thinks he might be a slightly deranged fan, and tries to get rid of him. But eventually, as the old fellow begins to talk, Strieber realises that the stranger has some very important things to say. The author then begins to transcribe notes onto a pad. The stranger stays for a period of half an hour (but perhaps as long as two hours – the time is uncertain to Strieber). Somewhere in between the stranger says his name is Michael, and that he is Canadian, but Strieber eventually comes to consider that, although human, he is not human in the ordinary sense, but some kind of spiritual messenger.

The bulk of the relatively short book comprises the narrative of what happened that night. The Master has a clear agenda in revealing the information to Strieber. This is to help free mankind from its delusions. The stranger forecasts a grim future for mankind and the Earth if it cannot do this. The essence of the message is that the Earth is dying, and that humankind will soon be extinct if it does not acknowledge what is happening and rediscover its spiritual roots.

All this probably sounds just as “loony” as Strieber’s other books, such as Communion, where the author recounts alien abduction experiences. However, as an intuitive myself, quite a lot of the information in the book resonates with what I have seen and experienced intuitively. For this reason I believe that the book is well worth reading. However it should be read in the context of the overall consciousness field which is part of Strieber’s psyche.        

Before I detail specific truth claims within the book, let me address this.

My intuitive reading of the book and author
Any channeled or prophetic work will inevitably contain elements of the beliefs and energies of the channeller or prophet. What aspects of Whitley Strieber influence this work? Before I proceed with this, let me emphasise that I have never met Whitley Strieber, and this is the first book of his I have read in full. I skimmed through his book Communion many years ago, but did not actually read it in depth. I have visited his web site one time a few days ago, and left before reading anything. So, I actually know very little about him.

Using complete transparent enlightenment as a 100% gauge mark, what level of consciousness does The Key resonate at? What follows are my intuitive readings, and I am not asking you to accept them without question. They are not infallible by any means. Consider them to be reflections put to you. Energy readings are a crude and simple measure, but useful in getting a general overall sense of where a work or creator is coming from.

You can use your own intuitive system to sense whether you think my readings are correct. If you are interested in the intuitive process I use to come up with these figures, you can find them in my book Discover Your Soul Template.

The Key resonates at a consciousness level of between 30-40%. The Master’s level of consciousness is about 60%, which is very high, considering that humanity’s average level is around 2-3%. These figures in themselves suggest the work presents information capable of moving humanity forward.

Of course Whitley’s Strieber’s level of consciousness, and the Soul Issues which he possesses, influence the knowledge contained within the book. I am not going to give a specific reading of Strieber’s consciousness level here. I do not feel this is quite the right thing to do. All I will say is that it is considerably higher than average.

Let me turn in more detail to Strieber. What follows might appear negative, but this is the same for any reading of Soul Issues. If I were to detail my Soul Issues here it would also appear "negative". Do not make the mistake of judging these as bad or wrong. We all have Soul Issues, or we wouldn't be on this planet. They represent the delusions that stand between us and God.

Whitley Strieber is essentially doing his best to serve humanity. I do not sense any great drive for power and control, which are the egoic drives which are a magnet for dark energy. In short, he’s one of the good guys. At the end of my last post, Simon Buckland posted a link to a New Age author, Arthur Ray, who allowed his energy to be possessed by darker motives. I wrote about the unfortunate case of Ray on on my old blog. The contamination of a spiritual teacher’s energy field by dark energy is not at all uncommon. Much of the New Age movement is affected by such energy, as are many religious teachers and religious leaders across the world.

The Soul Issues of Whitley Strieber that have affected the writing of The Key include a strong sense of personal guilt, mistrust of humanity, a certain personal pessimism, and strong Christian influences. Whitley Strieber, like many people, has not quite fully accepted himself, and at a certain level sees himself as “bad” and inadequate. There is the strong idea of “sin” and needing to atone for wrongdoings. There is the essential view that humanity is bad, fallen from Grace.

These are very common human psycho-spiritual motifs, especially in the Judeo-Christian world. Streieber carries within himself a strong judgment, frustration and anger at humanity. He is angry at God for allowing the world to become the way it is. This shows itself as a kind of spiritual frustration at the Creator and ‘his’ universe: “Why can’t it all just be simpler?” He wants to know the answers to the big questions at the level of mind (as do we all), but is not quite sure how to bridge the gap between his mind and the mind of God. This reflects a widespread human dilemma. There is a sense of despair and depression at the hopelessness of it all.

Strieber is also questioning why he has been ‘chosen’ to do this kind of work. Part of his soul purpose is to be a medium for this kind of spiritual information, and he has been chosen because it is a good fit for his karmic issues. The idea of rejection - and being made the pariah or outcast - are strong themes in his karma. His task at a spiritual level is to perceive the current delusions of humanity without judgment and anger. In short, to forgive humanity.

One strong karmic idea for Strieber is that of “chains”: being strongly constrained and not allowed freedom. Again, this is an archetypal human soul issue (and one of the strong narratives that runs through my own karma). Interestingly, one fascinating insight provided by the Master of the Key is that “The new man will live in ecstasy, even though he lives in chains.” (at the 25% mark of the kindle edition – I have no page numbers). This suggests that it is not necessary to resolve all Soul Issues in order for a person reach full spiritual realisation. I am not quite sure what to make if this, but it is well worth reflecting on.

All these unresolved Soul Issues of Strieber influence the book and give it a slightly pessimistic feel. In a sense Strieber’s worldview contaminates the message of the Master, rendering his message in imperfect form for the reader. What this means for you as the reader, is that you need to allow yourself a space to sense when these energies are coming through the text, influencing what is written, and perhaps influencing you – for the act of reading a book opens one to the consciousness field of that book and its author.

As one prime example, a common theme in the Key is that the world is dying, and that the human race is in strong danger of becoming extinct.  How much of this is a projection of Strieber’s own fear and pessimism?

Having said this, unfortunately many of my own recent intuitions suggest that Strieber may be on the right track. Strieber says that humanity is being placed under pressure by spiritual forces in order to accelerate its spiritual evolution. There is the suggestion that the dark forces at work in the world are actually helpful in the greater picture. This is an understanding that I share. Yet those same dark forces could also destroy us.

In Part 2 of this review  (click here), I will address some of the specific truth claims contained within The Key, in particular the question of whether the aliens are really here. Click here for Part 3. And you can read the fourth and final part here.

19 comments:

  1. What an intriguing way to review a book, Marcus. Many of the points you hit seem quite pertinent to Whitley himself. A good man (and terrific writer) who is a vehicle for this kind of spiritual information.
    Trish

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  2. I have been reading Whitley Strieber and following his website since his book "Communion" came out. Everything you say about him here seems quite accurate.

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  3. Great review. I have followed Whitley's work for 25 years, and The Key always has a place on my bookshelf. Thank you for writing this.

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  4. Thanks, Trish, there will be more reviews like this in future.

    Lisa and Leafinthewind I'm glad the review has not dented your enthusiasm for the book and Streiber. My intention is merely to help facilitate a greater awareness of how we can all move forward.

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  5. i have read Communion and The Key, and I follow Streiber's website on occassion. I think this was very accurate. I'm not sure how I feel about The Key, mostly because I have a hard time believing someone can remember a conversation in such detail after not even starting the project until several months after the event. I also felt much of his own issues coming through. That being said, I did feel there was some accurate information to be had, especially concerning weather changes.

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  6. According to the literary industry, I read somewhere that its acceptable to use a conversation, even if its not an exact word-for-word quote, but in the same vein. The reason is because a book without direct conversation quotes would be kind of dull and pointing out to the reader that the conversation is an approximation of what was said would be kind of tacky.

    I'm interested in reading this book now. I've been resisting it, based on some idea that was discussed on the Synchrosecrets blog. I forget what I had a problem with.

    My question, though, is how to help bring about a spiritual culture? I feel like this is part of my calling for this life, but I have a hard time meeting others who are interested in the development of a spiritual culture. Any advice on how I can get this going would be much appreciated. Great post!

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  7. what is blowing my mind is that neither the reviewer or any comments mention the absolute stunning new picture of god, ourselves and our souls the master of the key offers here. I have been reading and re-reading the key since it's first release over a decade ago. The ideas presented here have profoundly changed my ideals and beliefs in a most positive way. I now see my self and everyone reading this as one, connected by existence itself, separated only by the density of molocules from being to being. It's all god, and all us

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  8. Thank you so very much for reading his book. i'm glad to have learned this connection to U and others that may follow

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  9. Sansego and Natalie, i think it is a reasonable query about writing book from memory and the notes that Whitley Streiber had. As my review suggested, there is a drop of in consciousness between what the Master said, and what was finally written in the book, which might reflect issues of memory and understanding.

    Sansego, about building spiritual communities, it is a very good question. I think I will write a post about this in the coming week or two. It's also a concern for me.

    Marcus

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  10. Sorry, that should have been "Nancy", not Natalie!

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  11. "Anonymous", the way The Master and Streiber depict God is very interesting. It's more in line with my own understanding, which is one reason why I was drawn to review what was written in the book too. My own sense of the experience of God is that which is the connectedness, non-judgment and peace felt during deep presence, when the thinking mind ceases. Whe you step out of that state, the idea of God turns into a belief, as it is concept the left brain constructs.

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  12. I just read and re read the KEY. I am amazed at how I am feeling. Almost like I knew some of this information on a deeper level. Like this was familiar. Then on another level, a frightening wake up call. Sure changed my mind and thinking about a lot of issues. I will be looking at evryone and everything in a different way. I am trying to wrap my mind around this. Victoria

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  13. I find your process fascinating. Do you do reviews by request? I would be interested in your review of a book I wrote.

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  14. Hmm, usually people run the other way screaming when I threaten to do a reading on them ;-). What is your book?

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  15. Marcus, I found your process and review fascinating, and right on. I am a big fan of Whitley's, have read several of his books, listen to him on shows like Coast and follow his own website. He seems like a truly decent person with tries at a really deep level to understand Man, God, and the World, no matter where it takes him. He's one of those I consider "genuine".

    That said, I think the Key is absolutely fascinating and rather frightening. I do think that the book is filtered through Whitley's POV and consciousness - some of which, as an intuitive like you, I agree with, especially with the direction humanity is facing. However, I also wonder if the Master of the Key was/is a "trickster" figure who tells us only part of the truth - enough to get us to believe, but the end result for many would be despair. Despair at the thought of humanity's extinction, despair at the thought of personal extinction. I also think that the aliens that Whitley experiences are basically negative creatures, from whatever place they emanate, as they do not treat God's creation with respect...and as intellectually or scientifically advanced as they seem to be, they are lacking a spiritual dimension of compassion.

    As for the Master of the Key, he presents himself as omniscient. My own belief is that NO ONE knows "everything", not even the angels. We all see things from a POV, and experiences, and sometimes, agendas. So no one can depict THE future...only possibilities. and no one call tell us exactly how God or the after life works because there is always an element of mystery. To me the mystery is preserved through the element of "surprise" - nothing works according to any kind of perpetually maintained schedule - there is always a "surprise" or twist or something out of left field that shakes things up. Otherwise, Creation would be a machine, instead of the organic, living thing that it is.

    I also dislike the fear that the Master spreads by the idea of soul capture (as well as elimination of individuality by absorption into the all), especially into the workings of intelligent, or living, machines. I think this is an idea from the Dark Forces (as I might term them) that cannot perform the organic creation of God, and so attempt to duplicate it through the creation of "machines". People can be tricked into serving the machines, or maybe even being part of it, but I don't believe that anyone can be eternally enslaved to such a working, any more than I believe that souls can be truly "captured". They can be TRICKED, until they are awakened until understanding - in their deepest parts - that they are ALWAYS part of the Creator force and that CANNOT be eliminated. We are all and always part of Creation....we can only lose it or deny it to ourselves, or be tricked by others. Those who are truly connect, cannot be enslaved....and we can teach others too. No one is lost forever, even the most evil (to us) will be cleansed and purified and rejoin us some day.

    I also dislike the emphasis upon science and the use of the mind as the primary tool of understanding God. I don't believe this is true or even possible. God is understood and felt as a connection - being a drop of water in the great stream of consciousness. A drop of water doesn't sit back and analyze the river and its place in it....it experiences it. So for me, the essence of religion and spirituality is about the personal, direct, connection and experience of God of each person, animal, and thing. I guess this is how a shaman sees the world....

    I guess I have to divide this post into 2 parts so I'll follow with the rest.

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  16. The rest of my post : )

    Science and the mind are useful tools, but they cannot explain the essence of Creation to us as they are only tools of this physical dimension. They simply don't apply anywhere else. And if we think back to the words of Christ, he tells us to be as children....children do not process the world primarily in an intellectual fashion, that puts distance between the experience and the experiencer....they FEEL IT DIRECTLY IN THEIR SOULS.

    So, I have many problems with the Master of the Key, and while I feel some of his ideas may be true, and his predictions, correct....I don't trust him.

    By the way, did you know that the first edition was changed and censored in some bizarre way unknown to Whitley? There are significant changes in the 2nd edition that Whitley describes on his site. The first edition was even bleaker, LOL.

    Thank you for the wonderful gift you've given us all by your analysis of Whitley and this great work.

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    1. Thanks, Joan, for your long response. I don't write on this blog anymore, so don't check in much and only just noticed your post, so sorry about the delay.

      You make some really relevant points, I feel. We all filter information, from whatever source, through the limits of our own minds and understandings. That includes spiritual guidance.

      With the aliens Whitley Strieber mentions, they do seem to be rather dark in intention, from what I have seen - but I certainly haven't written everything that Whitley has written or said about his experiences.

      Whitley and his partner were at one point going to have me on their radio show. They invited me. I sent them a few of my books. But they then stopped responding to my emails. I have no idea why. Maybe they thought my four blog posts on The Key was an attempt to exploit them or something. Or maybe they just didn't like my books! Either way I have never heard anything from them since, and that must have been two years ago now. It's too bad. I would have enjoyed the opportunity to discuss these things with them.

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  17. Hi,

    I enjoyed the key very much and I feel it is the type of book you could read more than once and still enjoy it. You have a very good blog too.

    I2Q

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  18. www.ink2quill.com

    http://www.ink2quill.com/the-key-a-true-encounter/2/


    I2Q

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