Homo Spiritus: Journeys of Our Magic

Review Homo Spiritus is a comforting and deeply spiritual book about the search for inner peace. It is a finely-crafted patchwork quilt composed of hundreds of swatches of material drawn from numerous and diverse sources. Some swatches are the old, utilitarian sayings "of the ancient peoples." Others are the intricate works of the more publicly-acclaimed philosophers, such as Socrates, Kant, and Schopenhauer. Psychologists also offer their contributions to the quilt, from Freud's rather enigmatic patterned designs to the anonymously-donated, but easily recognizable pastel patches of the humanists. Still other swatches represent the scientifically-exacting creations of the latest researchers from around the world. Ms. Cinca has carefully and elegantly stitched these diverse segments together with Biblical wisdom and her own strong faith in God and people. Homo Spiritus, though remarkably consistent and smoothflowing, provides numerous surprises. Perhaps the most pleasant surprise is that the somewhat ominous--sounding armotation on the fi-ont cover, "the most powerful key for mind control," actually reflects a benevolent guide to finding inner peace and, through this inner peace, a non-intrusive interdependence both with other people and with nature. A second major surprise is that, although Ms. Cinca introduces many psychic concepts such as fortune-telling, astral projection, and reincarnation, her presentation is such that skeptics and non-skeptics alike can feel comfortable. Interspersed with information about an almost mind-boggling array of sources are anecdotes from Ms. Cinca's personal life as well as practical suggestions on achieving relaxation and a feeling of fulfillment. Finally, there are the occasional humorous jolts---such as Ms. Cinca's dramatic pause during a discussion of sadness to comment that music, which normally soothes the soul, may, in certain instances, produce "not regret for those who had forsaken us, but regret that the singer himself still existed in this world." It is difficult to determine whether the richness of language and thought exhibited in Homo Spiritus required the uniqueness of its author's cultural background or only her intellectual and creative abilities. The fact remains, however, that the book is truly an engaging and comforting work, the perfect quilt to pull up around oneself for a cozy and peaceful period of meditation. -- From Independent Publisher