Passport to the Cosmos

by John E. Mack

Book Overview

John Mack explored alien encounter experiences deeply, revealing a world of meaning and power that can revolutionize our understanding of who we are and our place in the cosmos. Dr. Mack suggests that... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0007100760
• ISBN13: 9780007100767
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Thorsons
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Enemies? Or Friends?

These many reviews are interesting. It seems that the negative reviewers are offended at the idea - the very idea! - that aliens might actually be helping humanity. No, such reviewers seem more comfortable with the idea that aliens are out to destroy humanity, no doubt about it.To me, these reviews offer a window into the psychology of each reviewer: Those who feel that the unknown MUST be our enemy, and those who feel that the unknown CAN be our friend.For those of the former, THE THREAT is obviously the book for you. For those of the latter, PASSPORT will offer elucidation and comfort.It's been suggested that we each make our own reality...

Rational, provocative and always engaging

In "Passport to the Cosmos," John Mack succeeds in creating one of the most astute, rational narratives ever written about the "alien abduction" phenomenon. Not since Whitley Strieber's seminal best-selling "Communion" have I read a book that addresses the issue of nonhuman intelligence with such humility and restraint (traits lacking in recent books on the subject, such as David Jacobs' insipidly literal "The Threat"). Mack argues that alien encounters, while subjectively real to experiencers, probably reflect a much more sophisticated model of reality than Western empiricism currently allows. In other words, abduction experiences are likely not "real" in the traditional sense of flesh-and-blood extraterrestrial visitors conducting unsolicited health check-ups (an interpretation exploited by skeptics eager to downplay the reality of alleged alien encounters). Mack takes time to address the issue from an indigenous perspective, drawing on testimony from experiencers in Africa and South America. The parallels, he reveals, are as startling as they are productive. In them, Mack concludes that we are indeed coming into contact with a largely (though not entirely) unrecognized intelligence that appears to antedate space-time as we know it. Mack is to be applauded for his skepticism and determination in helping our understanding of what is perhaps the most misunderstood phenomenon in the world today. "Passport to the Cosmos" is a landmark book in a field with too few reasoned perspectives and way too many unbounded imaginations.

More pieces to the Puzzle put together.

I feel Dr. Mack's book "Passport to the Cosmos" is the cutting edge information on what these abductions really are. Dr. Mack has turned to the Native Peoples of the world for their slant on what is happening. He interviews Shamen and Medicine Men from three different continents to relay their stories. The experiences that these men have had are strikingly simular to each other but, unique in their own way also. He also traveled to a small African village where a group of school students witnessed a landing of a craft and were told some things by "Alien beings". He interviews some of the children and really found out some interesting information. If your interested in understanding what is really going on... this book is a must. It is well written and covers alot of ground. He finally was able to start putting some of the pieces of the puzzle together. The ultimate goal is still not realized, however we are getting closer to the final understanding to what is happening to our world. This book is one of a few books that truly is on the right track and all that is needed is an open mind to see that there is alot more to our world than what we have been led to believe.

An excellent look at an extremely difficult topic

Does much to capture the mystery and ambiguity of the close encounter (CE4) phenomenon. It shows that the phenomenon is a true challenge to our concept of reality, while at the same time showing that we must take the phenomenon seriously. To his credit, Dr. Mack does not take sides in the current debates on the CE4 phenomenon, but does a good job of portraying the controversies involved. My overall opinion is that this is Dr. Mack's best book yet. It is a must-read for anyone seriously interested in the UFO/CE4 phenomenon.

An unexpected, inspiring trip across spiritual terrain

Passport to the Cosmos explores a spiritual terrain that I would not have expected to find in a book that on the surface appears to be about something "alien." What is discovered is a profound reconnection with the sacred, provoked by something as yet unknown. Dr. John Mack compares the reactions of people in the West who have faced these experiences to a trio of experiencers from indigenous cultures - Native American, Brazillian, and African. The reactions and interpretations are compared and contrasted, and the value of some indigenous perspectives is considered.In view of his years of clinical work with over 200 people reporting these experiences, Dr. Mack feels that the West suffers deeply when faced with something drastically unknown. But he suggests that if the terror of these experiences is fully faced, even embraced, an expansion of consciousness may take place. "When these phenomena show up in our world in a way that we cannot deny, this powerfully shatters our worldview, and when you shatter a worldview, then new possibilities for human identity and experience emerge. One of the elements that occur when that worldview is shattered is then the earth and everything in the earth and every human relation becomes sacred. And that kind of consciousness, that return of the sacred, of the reverent sense of connection that emerges from this experience transforms our whole relationship to one another and to the planet itself. And it seems to me that's a good thing." How the terror of being provoked by these experiences can transform into something truly grand is the journey of the book, told in the words of Dr. Mack and several particularly articulate experiencers (from the over 200 interviewed), so I leave that journey for the reader to discover. It is a journey worth taking.