Book Review--Immersion Mastery (Zack Jezek)

Immersion Mastery by Zack Jezek was a hard book for me to finish. I abandoned it several times since starting to read it in November. I only finished it though sheer force of will.

One of my problems with the book is sheer amount of bragging that the author engages in; he is proud of the fact that he became a Reiki master and Mayan shaman at age ten, and that he is also a NLP master and a professional skate boarder. Jezek wrote this book at the ripe old age of nineteen. Yes, this book brought back flashbacks from earlier in my esoteric career, for I acquired a high degree far too young and said some damn stupid things earlier in my life believing that I actually knew what I was talking about. Maybe Jezek will be different, but I personally find my earliest writings as an esoteric leader and teacher to be almost physically painful to read.

While I agree with Jazek's opinion that his generation are the leaders of the future, I do not necessarily agree with him that his generation is any more unique than any previous generation. Sure, they have their own set of brand-new problems which young adults have never seen before, but a lot of generations have been able to say that statement.

So is there anything worthwhile in this book? And will it appeal to teen and twenty-somethings?

Yes, it will appeal to his own generation who will believe that they are somehow special and that their problems and disadvantages are actually assets and special abilities. And yes, I do believe that attention and compulsive disorders can be assets--history is full of famous people who today would be labeled ADHD/ADD and/or OCD. In fact, I would probably be labeled with an attention disorder if I would have went though high school five years later than I did (ADHD was just being a bad kid when I was in school)--not that I will ever be famous, yet these things are a daily part of my own life to a certain extent. But Jezek lays it on so thick, it is like a commercial to remain immature forever.

And maybe the book does have some worthwhile stuff in it. But it is buried deep in feel good talk aimed at making teen and twenty-somethings believe that they are perfectly ok just the way that they are. I am not sure Jezek is going to feel the same way when he is forty.

As for esoteric techniques talked about in this book (after all, I review esoteric and New Age books), there is a version of the "grounding as a tree" mediation, some game console based mental reprogramming techniques, a watered down version of the immersion method (my regular readers will know this better as magical boot camp or power week), and a hint of the chaos magic technique of interchangeable personalities. But they are all so caked in happy talk that quite honestly, I can't imagine anyone over the age of thirty being able to tolerate this book; or for that matter, any parent that has been exposed to the techniques in a different setting. And there are better sources for each and every one of the exercise and techniques, or at least better written ones (Jezek is far away from being a good writer).

I am giving this a weak two stars out of five.

[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book though a Goodreads First Reads drawing.]

Jumping on the New Age and LoA Bandwagon

Hear ye! Hear ye!

Let it be known that Morgan Drake Eckstein, the slimest type of writer (one that would like to occasionally get paid for his writing), has jumped onto the New Age and Law of Attraction Bandwagon. All should avoid reading his ebooks. His expulsion from the ranks of honest occultists and decent Golden Dawn leaders will happen on the next slow Golden Dawn news day.

Message ends.

Or so it will go as soon as some critic decides to get upset with me because I said something that they did not like. Let's be honest, I have several strikes against me.

First, I am one of those writers who occasionally would like to make enourgh from my writing to pay for my cats' food bill. This desire to be paid has only increased this semester, thanks due to a major foul-up in the student loan system.

(In fact, if you would like me to quit writing short occult ebooks for the rest of the semester, please help the rest of my loan money get to my bank account. Heavens knows I would rather be focused on finishing up my senior year, so that I can move on to the masters program. If I am busy in school, I will not have time to annoy you.)

(And if you are one of my friends, help me get the rest of my loan money into my bank account. That way I do not have to go begging to feed my cats.)

Second, I am one of those occultists who did not burst into flames when I read The Secret. In fact, I can see how it would relate to magical work...through I will admit that I do not completely agree with how most people view the Law of Attraction.

Third, I am one of those people who tends to treat the various forms of magic as variations on a scheme. For me, Golden Dawn, Wicca, and the New Age are kissing cousins.

Fourth, and worst of all, I honestly think I know what I am talking about. And let's be honest being an opinionated loud-mouth is the greatest crime of them all.

Five Reasons Why Magic Fails now available on Smashwords.