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Jolly Roger V.I.P. Sedona, Arizona 1667 Posts |
There has been much discussion about my book on here over the last couple of years. Here is the recent review in "The Linking Ring."
THE SPIRITUAL STAGE: EXPERIENCING ENLIGHTEMENT THROUGH ENTERTAINMENT Roger Blakiston. The world of magic is full of performers with jovial public personas that are loved and respected by thousands, yet are plagued by hang-ups and personal demons that never allow them to find inner peace and fulfillment, no matter how successful they are. Marriages, personal relationships, and careers are destroyed in the wake of what should be a wonderful way to make a living. In extreme cases, like that of Theo Annemann, those struggles led to suicide. Roger Blakiston, a comedy, cruise ship and children’s magician, and a long time contributor to Abracadabra Magazine, has written an extraordinary first person account of his path to becoming a successful professional magician while defining the nature of his true self. His work explores the balance between personal satisfaction and professional success. Presented as a series of essays and excerpts from his personal diary, The Spiritual Stage is a remarkable, thought provoking mix of advice on stagecraft, self-enlightenment and personal growth that examines all aspects of the magician as a performer. He also addresses the inner struggles we all face as human beings, even if we won’t admit it to anyone. His advice also helps define your act and your connection to your audiences. Blakiston begins by asking the fundamental question, “Why did you become a magician?” Using a variety of philosophical concepts, he walks the reader through whether or not that was the right choice. In some cases, finding fulfillment is as simple as changing the branch of magic you are performing and recognizing the pitfalls that create self-doubt and stress. Among the traps we fall into are what he calls the “distortion of time” where the gratification has to be immediate, or we see ourselves as failures. He also discusses fear, how fear is picked up and amplified by an audience, and how all of that can lead to unnecessary stress that undermines our best intentions. One section has to do with whether you are an actor impersonating a magician or a person seeking personal fulfillment by playing the role of a magician. There are no magic tricks in the book. Blakiston relies heavily on diverse philosophical and religious concepts to teach the lessons, but it is not a book that pushes a specific religious point of view. Bizarrists will find the book a treasure trove of story ideas and material to use in their shows. In essence, the point of the book is that the stage, whether large or small, is a sacred place that creates memories for audiences and should create fulfillment for you. Highly recommended ~ Rolando H. Santos Here was the original thread for those who may have missed it: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......forum=16 |
Jolly Roger V.I.P. Sedona, Arizona 1667 Posts |
For those of you who get Magic Magazine, you will see that my book has received an interesting review in the September issue on page 79. The reviewer makes it very clear that he is a scientifically minded individual, and is therefore somewhat skeptical about anyone who believes in a spiritual realm. JR
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Jolly Roger V.I.P. Sedona, Arizona 1667 Posts |
Here is the complete review from Magic Magazine. As you will see, it is a stark contrast to the one it received in "The Linking Ring."
"Roger Blakiston has a long history as a comedy magician and children’s performer under the guise of Jolly Roger. His act has led him around the world and he is also known as a contributor to various magic publications. His new book, “The Spiritual Stage,” is an attempt to impart some of the wisdom he has come by in his many years of experience. The book was written over a period of 45 years, beginning before Mr. Blakiston had become a full-time magician. Being written over so long a time, to say the book’s focus changes is an understatement. The book begins as a memoir covering Blakiston’s searching for work as an actor fresh out of drama school. This memoir style is abandoned, and the book quickly shifts to a self-help tome. Later on, another transition takes place and the text becomes more religious in nature, but this second shift takes place more gradually. Personally, I enjoy memoir as a genre. I am less inclined to enjoy the self-help or metaphysical genres. The self-help portion of the text begins with some solid advice for building a business and becoming a successful performer, but in large part what I found useful was of the common sense variety. Enthusiasm and likeability are important characteristics of successful people in most fields and in these areas the advice is spot on. Blakiston’s metaphysical musings are lightly peppered through the first chapters of the book. We are told multiple times that the record of our lives and actions is contained in an “Akashic record….out there in the ether,” and that we are “unique spirits.” As a scientifically minded reader, I find these topics a bit off-putting. Later in the book the metaphysics become the focus, and the rational thought is put on the back burner. “It is my belief that there was a time before science when there was no need for laws of physics, chemistry, or biology. In this dimension of consciousness, there was no disease, no evil and no pain. Everything was perfect, so scientific principles were unnecessary.” I am unsure what statements like this are intended to mean, let alone how they are to improve my work as a magical entertainer. He seems to be saying that there was no disease before the development of modern medicine and that the laws of physics are simply human inventions rather than characteristics of the universe that we have discovered. I find this line of thinking confusing, dangerous, and ultimately not useful to the alleged purpose of the book. This book proposes to be a guide to achieving personal happiness and fulfillment through performance. I found it instead to function mostly as a soapbox for the author to describe his musings on reincarnation, spiritual matters, and what can best be described as not even pseudoscience. I genuinely enjoyed reading the bits of the book that were memoir. I would love to read a book about Blakiston’s experience in performance, but this one just insulted my sensibilities." John Wilson JR |
Jolly Roger V.I.P. Sedona, Arizona 1667 Posts |
These are indeed two very different reviews of my book. If anyone has any questions about this tome, I will be happy to answer them for you. The book is available worldwide on Amazon, or directly from me at www.TheSpiritualStage.com
Here is the Amazon link with some reviews: http://www.amazon.com/The-Spiritual-Stag......_adppi12 JR |
Jolly Roger V.I.P. Sedona, Arizona 1667 Posts |
I know that many of you already have my book, but there has been a re-printing of the original, and it is now available worldwide on Amazon, or directly from me if you want it autographed. JR
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