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Dark Red: The Beginning of the End
Everyday existence in modern societies increasingly involves continuous engagement with the trivial and mundane. We have emails to send/read, calls to take and make, fantasy sports teams to create and manage, pornography to peruse, sitcoms to laugh at, video games to play, bargains to shop, sports to watch, movies to digest, text messages and tweets, and endless talking heads elevating meaningless events on the ubiquitous 'news' outlets. This addiction to mindless scurrying has an unimaginable price. The consumption of infinite streams of triviality have produced a world full of sleep walkers incapable of recognizing and attending to the profound issues that have always confronted humanity. This state of affairs cannot persist forever, and the wake up call is coming. It is being formulated by the most sinister being in existence. Who will provide the counter point that will yield true perspective?
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 1, 2018
Thoughtful and Enjoyable
This was a very thoughtful, and in that sense, also a very enjoyable read. Argo, the protagonist, a seeker and a therapist by profession, had spent most of his adult life trying to understand man on earth. Specifically, having lived through the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, he wishes to understand what motivates good and evil -is it absolute or is it a question of perspective, and through this quest, he finds himself exploring man's very purpose on earth. The problem is that, as man, he is finite and no matter how many spiritual texts he studies, and how many thoughtful labyrinths he pursues he never seems to arrive at satisfactory answers. He knows he is trapped. Life itself does not yield its secrets to someone who is part of that life. Therefore when Satan, in human form, appears he strikes a bargain. In exchange for whatever purpose Satan has, he is willing to treat this 'person' in therapy in exchange for the otherworldly knowledge that Praggles, Satan's Nom de Guerre, as a spirit from another realm, surely possesses. The dialog is fascinating.
Argo knew that he could not treat Praggles alone but that he needed the support of someone versed in extraordinary matters. He remembered John, a priest friend of his from the past, and someone who, at the time, had left an impression upon him. Together Argo and John begin to elucidate the meaning of Satan's sudden appearance on earth. While discussing all of this, Argo realizes that John, himself seems to possess some hidden knowledge, and that John is more than he seems to be, a simple parish priest. Finally, open to a source of knowledge that he had been seeking his entire life, we are left with Argo dismayed and joyous, as an understanding seeps into him, about the source of all knowledge and how he could participate.
Like Dorothy in the fable 'The Wizard of Oz', who could have gone home at any time during her arduous journey, and only had to click together the heels of her ruby red slippers, but had to be truly ready before it was all possible, so too Argo, after his early fruitless quest for answers and his extraordinary experiences, first with Praggles and then with John, had found his way forward.
This was a very thoughtful, and in that sense, also a very enjoyable read. Argo, the protagonist, a seeker and a therapist by profession, had spent most of his adult life trying to understand man on earth. Specifically, having lived through the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, he wishes to understand what motivates good and evil -is it absolute or is it a question of perspective, and through this quest, he finds himself exploring man's very purpose on earth. The problem is that, as man, he is finite and no matter how many spiritual texts he studies, and how many thoughtful labyrinths he pursues he never seems to arrive at satisfactory answers. He knows he is trapped. Life itself does not yield its secrets to someone who is part of that life. Therefore when Satan, in human form, appears he strikes a bargain. In exchange for whatever purpose Satan has, he is willing to treat this 'person' in therapy in exchange for the otherworldly knowledge that Praggles, Satan's Nom de Guerre, as a spirit from another realm, surely possesses. The dialog is fascinating.
Argo knew that he could not treat Praggles alone but that he needed the support of someone versed in extraordinary matters. He remembered John, a priest friend of his from the past, and someone who, at the time, had left an impression upon him. Together Argo and John begin to elucidate the meaning of Satan's sudden appearance on earth. While discussing all of this, Argo realizes that John, himself seems to possess some hidden knowledge, and that John is more than he seems to be, a simple parish priest. Finally, open to a source of knowledge that he had been seeking his entire life, we are left with Argo dismayed and joyous, as an understanding seeps into him, about the source of all knowledge and how he could participate.
Like Dorothy in the fable 'The Wizard of Oz', who could have gone home at any time during her arduous journey, and only had to click together the heels of her ruby red slippers, but had to be truly ready before it was all possible, so too Argo, after his early fruitless quest for answers and his extraordinary experiences, first with Praggles and then with John, had found his way forward.
November 3, 2015
It was on the line between a 3 and 4 but I gave it a 4 because this is the author's first and only book and I am the first and only review. This book was clearly influenced by the Work of GI Gurdjieff and I am quite sure he has also read "Talks with the Devil" by PD Ouspensky. It was also influenced by September 11th, Psychotherapy (Jungian I think but it has been a long time since I have studied psychology), and a love/hate relationship with a Christian upbringing. None of this is a bad thing and none are overdone.
The basic concept is that a psychotherapist that switched gears mid-career on Wall Street after September 11th to help heal people end up with Satan as a client. The circumstances are mysterious, the goals and outcomes are unclear, and slowly but surely using psycho-therapeutic technique he must work with his client to allow the truth to unfold. All the while meeting with other clients and getting support from a stigmatized Catholic priest.
I dug deep in the Amazon lending library to find this one and it was worth the hunt with so little to choose on that front. Recommended for therapists, those interested in psychology in general, and mostly for those that are concerned about how our over-stimulated modern world (internet, phones, tv, advertisements, etc) needs to quickly find a better path.
The basic concept is that a psychotherapist that switched gears mid-career on Wall Street after September 11th to help heal people end up with Satan as a client. The circumstances are mysterious, the goals and outcomes are unclear, and slowly but surely using psycho-therapeutic technique he must work with his client to allow the truth to unfold. All the while meeting with other clients and getting support from a stigmatized Catholic priest.
I dug deep in the Amazon lending library to find this one and it was worth the hunt with so little to choose on that front. Recommended for therapists, those interested in psychology in general, and mostly for those that are concerned about how our over-stimulated modern world (internet, phones, tv, advertisements, etc) needs to quickly find a better path.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews