Gift of Gabe ; A Novel ExperienceBrian JosephAventine PressWithin the world of
spiritual and ‘alternative’ publishing it is often the case that similar ideas and material are rehashed, rebranded and repackaged. Since about the mid 90s there seems to be a niche market of books which seem to offer the same soundbites of so- called wisdom in a rather generic format. And then every so often something genuinely original comes along and Brian Joseph’s Gift of Gabe is one such work.The story begins with the narrator recalling his first encounter with Gabe, a seemingly eccentric old man. Gabe
claims to be a retired teacher and has a fascination with 1960s music, especially the Beatles. It is from here that Gabe talks us through the hidden meanings of Beatles lyrics, for example he explains that in the song
Yellow Submarine, the submarine represents the Sun. This leads him to a discussion of Joseph Campbell and his exploration of world mythology.Gabe claims to have
known Campbell and other figures of major historical significance
including Albert Einstein and Aldous Huxley. Throughout the
book Gabe’s conversations link together diverse spiritual, scientific and philosophicalIdeas including, but not limited to Gnosticism, Gurdjieff, the Sufis, near death
experiences, Buddhism, quantum physics, altered states of consciousness and the research of the scientist Rupert Sheldrake. Along the way he gives some fascinating facts and insights about the meanings of many well known song lyrics, as well as the origins of customs and rituals such as baptism, which Gabe claims was used by the Gnostics to induce near death or out of body experiences.Brian Joseph has done an excellent job in filling what is a relatively short book with so much information and metaphysical thought. In my view
Gift of Gabe stands alongside such works as Elisabeth Haich’s
Initiation and the
Red Lion by Marie Szepes as a classic piece of spiritual literature.
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