Richard Rose (3) (1917–2005)

Picked this up during one of my few appearances at a Self-Knowledge Symposium meeting. I remember thinking the group sounded great for a young college student looking for answers, but I think the focus of the SKS had been lost by the time I first went to a meeting. It was just a hang-out session. That's why I bought the books (this one and Richard Rose's "Meditation," which I've already reviewed), figuring I could learn more from them than I could the group. It just took me a while to get around to them.

Here we have a collection of poems and essays that cover much of Richard Rose's philosophy of life. The poetry is great; strong visuals and great wording. There are also two excellent essays, one on love (written as an experience Rose had while visiting Niagara Falls) and the other on the "Definition of Truth."

The rest of the book, after the poems and two fully-formed essays, seems to be half-formed thoughts. It's as if this was all the material he had finished and the rest just came from random scribblings in a journal. There are some interesting ideas, I just wish they were fleshed out a little more.… (meer)

When I was in college, the first time, I briefly joined a social club on campus that was aimed at exploring new age practices. I only went to a few meetings, and I don't remember the name of the group, but at one meeting there was reading material for sale. This book was one of the items available. The fact that I still have it, but can't remember the name of the group should tell you something about the group itself.

Anyway, it's been a whole lot of years since I read through Meditation, so I figured I'd give it another shot. Rose goes into some large concepts regarding meditation, visualization, and the origin of thought itself. Some of it can be a little heady, but I find myself intrigued and wish to learn more (although can be counter-intuitive to somatic thinking according to Rose). Definitely interesting.… (meer)