Michael Grosso – författare

Everyone has seen the popular television programmes featuring mediums who speak with those in the 'beyond'. According to author Michael Grosso the spirits they are communicating with aren't only real, they are capable of being reached without the help of James Van Praagh or Johnathan Edwards. In EXPERIENCING THE NEXT WORLD NOW, Grosso proposes that the reason channelers are able to contact the dead is the 'Next World' is inexorably intertwined with the physical world. In addition to discussing compelling evidence for the afterlife, Grosso shows how common features of existence, such as creativity, are really bridges to the plane inhabited by the dead. Leaving the body, communicating with loved ones who have passed on and 'tasting' the power of light are all tried-and-tested experiments that are open to anyone. This book provides readers with the framework for using them to explore what was once thought unexplorable. Showing us that whatever survives death is just as reachable as it is close, EXPERIENCING THE NEXT WORLD NOW is a gateway to the ultimate adventure of consciousness.

Current mainstream opinion in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy of mind holds that all aspects of human mind and consciousness are generated by physical processes occurring in brains. Views of this sort have dominated recent scholarly publication. The present volume, however, demonstrates_empirically_that this reductive materialism is not only incomplete but false. The authors systematically marshal evidence for a variety of psychological phenomena that are extremely difficult, and in some cases clearly impossible, to account for in conventional physicalist terms. Topics addressed include phenomena of extreme psychophysical influence, memory, psychological automatisms and secondary personality, near-death experiences and allied phenomena, genius-level creativity, and 'mystical' states of consciousness both spontaneous and drug-induced. The authors further show that these rogue phenomena are more readily accommodated by an alternative 'transmission' or 'filter' theory of mind/brain relations advanced over a century ago by a largely forgotten genius, F. W. H. Myers, and developed further by his friend and colleague William James. This theory, moreover, ratifies the commonsense conception of human beings as causally effective conscious agents, and is fully compatible with leading-edge physics and neuroscience. The book should command the attention of all open-minded persons concerned with the still-unsolved mysteries of the mind.

St. Joseph of Copertino began having mystical visions at the age of seven, but it was not until he began practicing his faith as a Franciscan priest that he realized the full potential of his mind’s power over his body—he was able to levitate. Throughout his priesthood St. Joseph became famous for frequent levitations that were observed on hundreds of occasions and by thousands of witnesses, including many skeptics. Michael Grosso delves into the biography of the saint to explore the many strange phenomena that surrounded his life and develops potential physical explanations for some of the most astounding manifestations of his religious ecstasy. Grosso draws upon contemporary explorations into cognition, the relationship between the human mind and body, and the scientifically recorded effects of meditation and other transcendent practices to reveal the implications of St. Joseph’s experiences and abilities.

Not long after obtaining his Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University in 1971, Michael Grosso had an extraordinary experience in Greenwich Village, New York, that led him to realise he needed to balance his overly intellectual life with music. He met Swami Nada Brahmananda, a former court musician for the King of Mysore, famous throughout India for being a master of Taan music and sound yoga, as well as for his supernatural control of his body. Grosso began studying with Swami Nada and found his life profoundly changed.Sharing the lessons of Swami Nada Brahmananda, as well as painting a vivid portrait of New York City in the 1970s--and its vibrant and chaotic underground arts and music scene--Grosso explores Swami Nada’s Indian yoga of sacred sound in depth. He reveals how the tradition centres on the sound or vibration that created the universe, its personal cultivation, and its power to heal, enlighten, and offer insight about how to live in the Kali Yuga, the Age of Conflict. Grosso also examines the siddhis, or extraordinary powers, that can arise from this work, detailing the otherworldly abilities of his master. The lessons that Grosso shares centre on three life-enhancing themes: controlling the mind, which provides the very essence of a happy life; diet and practices conducive to healing and perfect health--Swami Nada himself never knew a day of sickness in all of his 97 years; and how music in all its forms can be used to transform consciousness and enrich our spiritual life.Revealing Swami Nada Brahmananda as the very embodiment of a Celestial Songman, Grosso shows how, by practicing the yoga of sound, we can embody Swami Nada’s greatest lesson of all: that we can all learn to make music from the discordant notes of our lives and sing our way out of the Kali Yuga.