Citizen Initiative

www.citizeninitiative.com

Publications

Pointed Observations

Critical Reflections of a Citizen Philosopher on Contemporary Pseudomysticism, Alternative Therapy, David Hume, Spinoza, and Other Subjects

Includes a wide-ranging critique of alternative thought, including the workshop vogue of Esalen, the psychedelic transpersonalism of Stanislav Grof, the integralism of Ken Wilber, the occultism of Aleister Crowley, and the compromised ecovillage project of the Findhorn Foundation which has a commercial workshop orientation. Aspects of religious thought are also covered, including Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and the controversial "Sai Baba movement" of India. The ishraqi philosophical tradition of Iran gains a cameo profile. A critical treatment of David Hume is accompanied by some remarks on arts and crafts and the traditional workshop, affording an anchorage in social history. This is followed by a sympathetic treatment of Spinoza, though recognising some limitations in his philosophy. The subject of ecology is analysed from a viewpoint using the reassessed Club of Rome as a point of departure, and the treatment is hard-hitting. The forty-one chapters end with the unique declaration of citizen initiative in the face of bureaucratic, academic, and commercial confusions. Underlying much of the presentation is a citizen sociology, differing from academic theories and constraints, which comes to grips with absurdities and abuses that afflict the public.

Published in the UK by Citizen Initiative, 2005
ISBN 0 9525089 1 5
430 + xiv pages
Price £15 hardback

 

Some Philosophical Critiques and Appraisals

An investigation of perennial philosophy, cults, occultism, psychotherapy, and postmodernism

A wide range of data is compressed into one volume. The opening chapters assess Theosophy, Rajneeshism, and Da Free John (Adi Da) with a critical reserve. The example of Aleister Crowley is repudiated. Recent critical materials on Jung are presented as a counter to the more glamorous portrayals, and in extension to the author’s mild critique of Jung earlier published. A stringent attitude is adopted towards the casual motto of "perennial philosophy," which the author confronts in a spirit of historical inquiry that employs material from specialist scholarship to negotiate popular misconceptions. Richard Alpert (Ram Dass) and the Findhorn Foundation are implied as new age aberrations. The Grof/Wilber overlap is strongly contested, this being very influential in American transpersonalism, which has set a trap for the unwary in many other countries also. The middle chapters chart occurrences in Zen Buddhism, Taoism, NeoConfucianism, Hinduism, and Christianity. The mood is analytical throughout. An in-depth assessment of Plotinus is an extra, and nowadays rare. The last chapters comprise a liberal treatment of Leibniz and Spinoza, followed by a strong critique of Nietzsche and Foucault. The book concludes with a sceptical angle on Sir Karl Popper’s open society, illustrating from personal experience that citizens are obliged to mount their own publishing programme in the face of the closed society operative in Britain. Over 800 notes and 2 indexes.

Published in the UK by Citizen Initiative, 2004
ISBN 0 9525089 2 3
342 + x pages
Price £15 hardback

 

Investigating the Sai Baba Movement

A Clarification of Misrepresented Saints and Opportunism

This study provides a biographical review of three saints who lived in Maharashtra. Each of these figures is shown to have emerged from a different religious background. The most well known in India is Shirdi Sai Baba (d. 1918), now associated with Hindu worship at his shrine. The Muslim identity of this figure is carefully probed, and the hagiology is duly criticised. Upasni Maharaj (d. 1941) is traced as the Hindu disciple of Shirdi Sai who later established Sakori ashram, and who endured orthodox priestly censure for his patronage of nuns who were taught to recite the Sanskrit scriptures. Meher Baba (d. 1969), of Irani Zoroastrian ancestry, is described from his period with Upasni at Sakori and through his subsequent career exhibiting different phases that are not widely known. The author urges that the phrase "Sai Baba movement" is a misnomer preferred by the partisans of Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi, a sensational guru who has obscured the other figures mentioned, gaining an extensive following in India. Three appendices cover the recent dramatic exposure of Sathya Sai Baba by ex-devotees, an exposure which has contradicted the claim of this guru to be the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai. Includes 480 annotations and 16 plates.

Published in the UK by Citizen Initiative, 2005
ISBN 0 9525089 3 1
320 + xiv pages
Price £15 hardback

 

 

BACKLIST OF BOOKS BY KEVIN SHEPHERD

 

Psychology in Science

Towards a Universal Science of Human Progress

An annotated essay on the history of science. Has been described as a kaleidoscopic review demonstrating an unconventional approach. The varied subjects include Roger Bacon, Ibn Khaldun, Kepler, Newton, Einstein, and the neuroscientists Roger W. Sperry and Sir John Carew Eccles. A strong support for the Club of Rome affords an ecological complexion. There is a pointed rebuttal of Paul Feyerabend’s philosophical relativism in the closing pages. It is relevant to locate this work in the context of a nonspecialist engaged in an unofficial study project at Cambridge University Library. The author’s research had no funding, being entirely voluntary, a fact which drew sympathy from some liberal academics. The plain black and white jacket stated “the author feels that some degree of outspokenness is necessary.... it is hoped that specialists will take an interest in it (the essay) even in matters of disagreement.” A number of academics did take an interest, although there were disagreements also. One of those who approved was Glen Schaefer, the Canadian ecological physicist who urged the author to finalise a Ph.D. thesis on the basis of this essay, offering due assistance with protocol. The author declined for philosophical reasons.

Published in the UK, 1983 (now distributed by Citizen Initiative)
ISBN 0 9508680 0 0
205 + iv pages
Price £9 hardback

 

 

The Resurrection of Philosophy

Nine chapters incorporating some of the author’s early research, and written in 1984-5. Offers a revaluation of the meaning of philosophy, and also significances in the history of philosophy. A revisionist in temperament, the author now describes this as “an inchoate work.” The treatment is broad-ranging, and includes mentalist psychology and brain studies, ecology, evolutionism, and metaphysics. Chapter Three, on education, mediates an early statement of anthropography, meaning here the version of social science as formulated by a Cambridge citizen philosopher. “This approach I have chosen to call anthropography; it represents a science of culture that is both scientifically and philosophically motivated” (p. 39). Chapter Four, on ecology, refers to “romantic visionaries in popular ecology” (p. 57), though mechanistic science is also not in favour. Chapter Five is a critique of new age themes and trends that presaged the author’s more intensive rebuttals of a later phase. He arrives at a strong conclusion (p. 88), aiming at both the Esalen Institute and the Findhorn Foundation. Yet he now calls this his “mild critique” and refers to his “relatively indulgent” confrontation. Chapter Five nevertheless dismisses the occultist Aleister Crowley, counters the wily Rajneesh (in the anti-celibate argument), and tackles components of Fritjof Capra’s “turning point” ideology, while not neglecting to make an early criticism of Stanislav Grof’s LSD therapy (p. 84). Chapter Seven dwells on the “philosophy of evolution and human development,” and investigates with empathy a number of concepts that are well outside the Darwinist perspective. Yet the author has since guarded strongly against confusions caused by “new age” enthusiasms. The lengthy Chapter Nine (pp. 165-273) is entitled “the perennial philosophy and perennial folly,” and moves at a strong tangent to the traditionalist commentators Coomaraswamy, Guenon, and Schuon. “The etics of the philosophia perennis are much more complex than is generally assumed” (p. 271).

Published in the UK, 1989 (now distributed by Citizen Initiative)
ISBN 0 9508680 3 5
307 + vi pages
Price £12 hardback

 

 

Meaning in Anthropos

Anthropography as an Interdisciplinary Science of Culture

Written in 1984, this was the author’s first phase explication of his daring alternative science. Some analysts consider this to be the most important of his early works, and linking with his first book Psychology in Science (1983). The format departs from dictionary definitions of the word anthropography, and advocates a polymathic focus to the geographical study of mankind. The author’s investigations into social science conceptualism resulted in his confrontation with cultural materialism, a provocative ideology formulated by the American anthropologist Marvin Harris. That confrontation is clearly reflected in the opening chapters of Meaning, which has been considered unusual for making a response to the challenge of Professor Harris, who insisted that rivals should explicate a due explanatory coherence. The author of Meaning expresses “polymathic anthropography” in terms of a research strategy, which is a phrase evocative of the Harris vocabulary. Part Two comprises “the extension in an interdisciplinary spectrum of critical surveys.” These surveys cover evolutionist thought, anthropological theories, the history of science, the history of religions, psychological theories, mind-brain philosophy, Western philosophy, and elements of sociology. Meaning could not be published for seven years. A new introduction was then added, dating to 1990, and this includes a critique of theories promoted by the Esalen transpersonalist Dr. Stanislav Grof. The author afterwards complained that social science was a closed sector operating on exclusivist principles, frequently talking about interdisciplinary concepts but in practice ignoring these. The limitations of academic attitude and outreach were acknowledged in a general context by a minority of anthropologists at Cambridge during this period. Soon after completing Meaning, in November 1984 the author had commenced the project known as IRCA (Intercultural Research Centre of Anthropography) in Cambridge. This activity encompassed publications and liaisons. IRCA was variously mistaken for an academic department, or for an amateur rival, though it was actually neither of these. That project was terminated in the early 90s, the founder resolving to be unofficial and purely citizen in orientation.

Published in the UK, 1991 (now distributed by Citizen Initiative)
ISBN 0 9508680 6 X
204 + xlvii + IV pages
Price £9.95 paperback 232 x 154 mm.

 

 

From Oppression to Freedom

A Study of the Kaivani Gnostics

Sheriar Mundegar Irani

This book links by association two obscure Zoroastrian phenomena. Part One presents a biography of the Zoroastrian mystic Sheriar Mundegar Irani (1853-1932), the father of Meher Baba who has been obscured by the fame of his son. Part Two describes the Kaivan school of the Mughal era, whose leader was Azar Kaivan (d. 1618). The Zoroastrian circle of Kaivan are still obscure, and are associated with distinctive literature that has been variously assessed. The author’s sympathetic treatment contests the earlier British Empire attitude of disdain for the Kaivan school corpus. The title of the book refers to the oppression of the Zoroastrians in Iran, a situation from which many of them emigrated to freedom in India. The title is also associated, by metaphorical extension, with the execution of Sarmad (p. 134), the radical mystic (an Islamised Jew) who was worsted by theologians at the court of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Various Zoroastrian and Muslim mystics gain mention in Part Two of Oppression, which testifies to the complexity and diversity of Mughal era Sufism and associated trends. Some qualifying information about the Dabistan and other matters relating to the Kaivan school can be found in the unpublished Minds and Sociocultures Vol. Two, Part Three. From Oppression to Freedom was the cue for the recent Wikipedia entry on Sheriar Irani, which was not written by Kevin Shepherd but by two other contributors. The original entry was composed by an academic researcher who favoured the data provided by Shepherd. This researcher duly stated that Sheriar’s care of his well known son (Meher Baba) “may have prepared the ground for the inclusive syncretic teaching for which Meher Baba later became known.” See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheriar_Mundegar_Irani. The original entry has since been amplified by a devotee of Meher Baba to incorporate extensions such as “named in honour of Sheriar Irani.” The commemoration here involves activities within the Meher Baba sect, such as Sheriar Press. In relation to this, Kevin Shepherd has commented: “An influential American devotee associated with two of the Sheriar commemorations was primarily responsible for the suppression of my book Meher Baba, an Iranian Liberal (1988) at the Myrtle Beach centre named after Meher Baba. The suppression occurred on the basis that criticisms of prominent devotees were unacceptable. In contrast, I maintain that capable research must exist outside such preoccupations with sectarian priorities.” The author of From Oppression to Freedom accordingly distances his version of Sheriar Irani from the Meher Baba sect.

Published in the UK, 1988 (now distributed by Citizen Initiative)
ISBN 0 9508680 4 3
185 pages
Price £9 hardback

 

Minds and Sociocultures Vol. One

Zoroastrianism and the Indian Religions

This complex work has two subtitles, and was originally offered to Routledge in the early 1980s at first draft stage. That expanding publisher turned down the prospect without any inspection of the manuscript, which was never sent to them, being considered too lengthy for commercial interest. The contents subsequently underwent amplification from the author’s accumulating notebooks, and were rewritten in the 1990s, at which time a new introduction was composed. The result was published at Cambridge by Philosophical Press. The lengthy introduction (or Part One), pp. 1-202, has been described as a book in itself. This includes a confrontation with Eliade, Jung, Krishnamurti, Leary, Grof, Aldous Huxley, Ken Wilber, Colin Wilson, and others. The publisher wished to offer the introduction as a separate work, but the author insisted upon an integral presentation. This adamance made the project more difficult, as very lengthy books were considered a difficult undertaking even by leading university presses. One of the reasons given by the author to the publisher was his objection to popular theories of the “perennial philosophy,” which had abetted the tendency in new age trends to blank out history and archaeology. The objective was to show up discrepancies, and to revive a spirit of due historical analysis. The project involved clearly relates to the history of religion. The major bone of contention was the Indian religions, which have been contracted extensively in potted versions. An alternative set of references is here provided, deriving from specialist scholarship. The relatively unpopular Iranian religions are also encompassed. Part Two covers Zoroastrianism, reviewing basic scholarly theories and providing some emphases difficult to find elsewhere. The ambiguity in some professional interpretations of the legendary prophet Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) is charted by following different versions of context. The treatment moves from the prehistoric era through Achaemenian uncertainties to the more palpable Sassanian era of Gnostic associations. The data encompasses not only the Mazdean priesthood and Manichaeism, but also the more obscure Mazdakism. Part Three is devoted to Indological research, extending from the Indus civilisation to the Upanishadic era. A basic theme is that of ascetics in conflict with brahman ritualists, which is a feature gleaned from the later centuries. The author is open with regard to chronology, in contrast to the more fixed horizons of some Western scholars (see also Some Philosophical Critiques and Appraisals, pp. 137ff., for the archaeological theory and additional considerations). The behavioural variations are stressed. Part Four covers the six classical systems of Hindu philosophy, and includes the medieval Vedantic exponents Shankara and Ramanuja. Complexities in Shankara are discerned, quite apart from the question of textual authenticity. The author finds some aspects to recommend, but indicates the compromised nature of the Shankara Order. Part Five investigates the Shramana philosophers who included Gautama Buddha. Many aspects of this heritage were obscured by the later assimilation of brahmanical perspectives, which passed so strongly into Mahayana Buddhism, a process still largely unrecognised by contemporary enthusiasts. An analysis of Jainism is included, this being a subject more rarely dealt with. Some pages are also given to the obscure subject of Ajivika communities. A set of appendices include critiques of Jungian theory, the Findhorn Foundation, and Stanislav Grof’s Holotropic Breathwork. There is an index of over forty pages extent.

Published in the UK, 1995 (now distributed by Citizen Initiative)
ISBN 0 9525089 0 7
996 + xvii pages. 2 maps. 16 revised pages in some copies
Price £30 hardback (£20 special discount price to PO Box customers only. Inland postage paid, o/seas postage extra)

 

 

FORTHCOMING PUBLICATION

 

Minds and Sociocultures Vol. Two

Studies in Philosophy and Religion

Zoroastrianism, Ishraqi philosophy, Sufism, Ramakrishna, Tantric Buddhism, Voegelin, and other subjects

Due to an error in computer liaisons, the Amazon website declared this book to be available in July 2006. In reality, there is no definite date set for publication. The book exists in finished format. It was completed some years ago, and during the interim, some revisions were made to the CRC pages. Part One continues the description of Zoroastrianism in Vol. One, and extending to the neo-Mazdakite movements of Islamic Iran. Part Two focuses upon the early malamati tradition of Sufism in Eastern Iran and also profiles the ninth century monistic gnostic Abu Yazid al-Bistami. Part Three covers the ishraqi philosophy of Iran, commencing with Suhrawardi Maqtul (d. 1191), together with offshoots and the "School of Isfahan" emerging in the Safavid era. The Zoroastrian ishraqis of the Kaivan school are an additional feature. Part Four is also complex, beginning with the controversial figure of Ramakrishna of Dakshineswar (d. 1886) in relation to the disputed homoerotic theory and Hindu Tantra. Swami Vivekananda (d. 1902) is also spotlighted. The treatment moves into a critical analysis of Buddhist Tantra as practiced in both India and Tibet, and extending to varied figures including Atisha, Tsong Khapa, Milarepa, and Chogyam Trungpa. Part Five assesses the theories of Eric Voegelin (1901–1985) in relation to Christianity, Judaism, and Platonism. The critical review of Voegelin’s philosophy of history makes this book into an extensive survey of religious and philosophical traditions. Complete with numerous annotations and index. The above is a minimal statement of the content. A new Preface, dating to 2004, describes the author’s current orientation as a "citizen philosopher," and in particular relation to the concept of a science of culture. In specific reference to the analysis of culture, the author here states that "on the basis of population statistics alone, citizens have an equal right to appraise this subject as do academic specialists, especially if they take the trouble to gain a grounding in library studies."

Not Yet Published (no definite date)
ISBN 9780952508946 (ISBN 0 9525089 4 X)
561 + xvii pages
Price £25 hardback (£20 special discount price to PO Box customers only. Inland postage paid, o/seas postage extra)

"Citizen philosophy moves at an angle to citizen scholarship, and may extend issues that can be found in academic books. . . . Even some anthropologists now say that the amateur approach of synthesis is not an evil, though many in that discipline still seem to be part of the old ‘tribes and tattoos’ syndrome. Which school of interpretation in sociology is correct? Are any of them really viable?" (Preface to Vol. Two)

 

 

BACKLIST OF OTHER AUTHORS

 

Hypocrisy and Dissent within the Findhorn Foundation

Towards a Sociology of a New Age Community

by Stephen J. Castro

A graphic report by an ex-member of the Findhorn Foundation about discrepancies in attitude and behaviour. Established since the 1960s in Moray, Scotland, the Foundation claimed to have created a "planetary village," and to be a leader in raising consciousness and producing exemplary new social models. Castro focuses upon events, correspondence, and media reports of 1992–5, and strongly questions the presumed role of "a community demonstrating a way of life in conscious co-operation with God." Chapter Six is an account of the Foundation patronage of Grof’s Holotropic Breathwork, a trademark therapy which was opposed by Edinburgh University. The Foundation staff reacted to this book by suppressing it and vilifying the author. The book was considered by them to be unreadable. Six years later, in 2002 they placed a now notorious item on the internet which declared that Hypocrisy and Dissent was not worthy of review. Even their collaborator David Lorimer expressed (in private) a misgiving that they were here making a mistake. Castro’s book is saliently mentioned in Kevin Shepherd’s Letter of Complaint to David Lorimer and Letter to BBC Radio. Because of Foundation tactics, many onlookers were confused about Castro’s book, being led to believe that it must be wrong. In reality, this book is an accurate record of events, duly annotated and indexed.

CONTENTS: Holistic health centre causes scare; New Age narcissism; Friction with the local Scottish villagers; The Breathwork Problem; Critical Author suppressed; The "mafia cult"; An ill-fated college; Royal refusal for ecology conference. Notes, Appendix, Index.

"The publication of Hypocrisy and Dissent met with an incredible degree of evasion from the Foundation, a fact which further emphasises what the author is complaining about. A responsible organisation would have quickly confronted the issues raised and healed the breach, as was in the power of the Foundation to accomplish with local residents." — Kevin Shepherd, Pointed Observations, p. 168

"This informative book is recommended for the general public, as well as sociologists and mental health professionals. It is essential reading on the dark side of the human potential movement" — Cults and Society, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2001

"Provides an important insight into the disparity between the professed ideals and the actual reality of a New Age community" — Scientific and Medical Network Review

"A sorry tale of how an idealistic group of ecologically-motivated people turned themselves into a typical cult" — The Christian Parapsychologist

Published in the UK, 1996 (now distributed by Citizen Initiative)
ISBN 0 9526881 0 7
240 + xv pages
Price £9.95 paperback 232 x 154 mm

 

 

The Kundalini Phenomenon

The Need for Insight and Spiritual Authenticity

by Kate Thomas

This book is pointedly mentioned in the Letter of Complaint to David Lorimer (booklet pages 7–8). The subject of kundalini, associated with Indian Yoga, is frequently abused and vulgarised, amounting to popular superstition in many directions. This book sets a critical standard in repudiating many crude versions of the subject. Using bibliographic references, the author highlights a theme of potential hazards and counterfeit experiences. The exposition is bold, and unprecedented warnings are expressed about the widespread exploitation occurring in this sector of interest. The critical accents in this book met with disagreement from some members of the Scientific and Medical Network (SMN), though other members did credit the necessity of such an approach. In general, the nonjudgmental outlook embraced by the SMN is cause for alarm, allowing the infiltration of many suspect new age practices and distorted concepts. Thomas was a member of the SMN, but resigned from that organisation in 2004, in circumstances described by Kevin Shepherd in Pointed Observations, pp. 405ff. See also Thomas, SMN Events in 2000–2004, on this website.

"It takes courage for a writer to go against the general New Age trend . . . . Covens, hypnotists, monks, psychologists, sexual therapists, New Age leaders, yoga cults, even academics, all come within her purview . . . . Psychic manipulators need to be exposed, and she does a good job" — Review by Charles Lovell, The Christian Parapsychologist

Published in the UK, 2000 (now distributed by Citizen Initiative)
ISBN 0 9526881 1 5
262 + xix pages
Price £9.95 paperback 232 x 154 mm

 

 

The Destiny Challenge

by Kate Thomas

This book is one of the sources cited in the Letter to BBC Radio and the Letter of Complaint to David Lorimer. It is an autobiographical work written by the author of The Kundalini Phenomenon. Chapter 14 contains a lengthy and firsthand report of the Findhorn Foundation, and gives details not found in Foundation promotional literature. Chapter 14 is ninety pages in extent. That account caused The Destiny Challenge to be suppressed by Foundation staff, though the author had already been stigmatised and slandered for her criticisms of Grof’s Holotropic Breathwork, which is a commercial trademark therapy that was imposed upon the Foundation community by the then director Craig Gibsone. The Foundation staff attempted to impose a legal interdict upon The Destiny Challenge soon after publication. They were not successful, and continued to speak and act as though their organisation had no blemishes.

Published in the UK, 1992 (now distributed by Citizen Initiative)
ISBN 0 9517735 0 X
1003 + ix pages
Price £30 hardback (£20 special discount price to PO Box customers only. Inland postage paid, o/seas postage extra)

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