ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Graham Hancock is a British writer and journalist. He has worked with The Times, The Sunday Times, The Independent, and The Guardian. Hancock has authored many books on alternate and unconventional theories on ancient civilizations. Some of his notable works are The Sign and the Seal, Fingerprints of the Gods, Heaven’s Mirror, Supernatural, and Magicians of the Gods. He has also authored a novel, titled Entangled.
According to Hancock, he is an “unconventional thinker who raises legitimate questions about humanity’s history and prehistory”. His critics dismiss his theories as pseudoscientific speculations.
His book Fingerprints of the Gods was also a source of inspiration for the movie 2012.
He is married to Santha Faiia. She is a professional photographer and has collaborated with Hancock in some of his projects.
SYNOPSIS
Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind is an extraordinary quest to delve into the deep recesses of the human mind. In the book, Hancock explores and investigates the questions that science has yet to definitively answer.
In the first chapter, Graham writes about his experimentation with iboga, a shamanic drug, to connect with his deceased father. He has also elaborated upon his visions after taking part in the session using ayahuasca, a native American shamanic drug.
In the subsequent chapters, he writes about the prehistoric cave paintings, various ancient and present shamanic rituals that rely on the use of hallucinogenic plants. He has explained what “supernatural” actually is and how the human mind has come to perceive the concepts of religion, god, aliens, elves, fairies, and so on.
Hancock has evaluated modern-day hallucinogens in an attempt to see their effect on the human mind and how they alter our perception of reality.
Another interesting topic that the author covered is our DNA, its origins, the history of its structure, and its make-up.
Hancock has also critiqued the neuropsychological model of David Lewis-Williams in the book.
WHAT WE LIKED ABOUT SUPERNATURAL
Supernatural deals with some questions that we all have wondered about at least once in our lives. Hancock’s take on the subject is intriguing. He has put forth his theories with a lot of lucidity. The structure of the book gives continuity to the mysteries that have baffled one human generation after another.
The notions of alternate realms, alien abductions, higher beings and divine entities have fascinated conspiracy theorists, scientists, and laymen alike for a long, long time. Hancock has taken all of them and has presented his version of reality. While one may disagree with his ideas, it is hard to deny some of the arguments he puts forth to support them.
The book is very engaging and stands out for its element of suspense. Each topic leaves some clue for the next one. Graham has fitted all pieces of the puzzle together and has presented his version of what the complete picture should look like. The author has explained the cave arts and the visions in such detail that the readers can almost visualize them. He has also included sketches of those visions and some cave arts to offer a more comprehensive experience.
WHAT WE DID NOT LIKE ABOUT SUPERNATURAL
As riveting as the book is, we cannot stress enough that the theories introduced therein need to be taken with a pinch of salt. This, however, takes nothing away from the author and from how thought-provoking his supposed theories actually are.
QUOTES
Matter and spirit. As above so below. Science teaches us to believe that the material world is the primary and the only reality. But from the ayahuasca perspective, this is absolutely not the case.
A true shaman must attain his knowledge and position through trance, vision, and soul-journey to the Otherworld.
The one constant factor, from the first bacterium more than three and a half billion years ago to the most exalted members of the modern human race, are these little polymer ribbons of self-reproducing “recoding tape” that make up the DNA system.
CONCLUSION
Supernatural is one of those books that need to be read with an open mind. In fact, this is a must-read for all conspiracy-theory buffs. On the other hand, if you are someone who is more into actual, proven science, then this is one book you might not regret skipping.
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