Book Reviews

Book reviews have been written by:

1) Tom Dettman, Truth Seeker, and Algonquin College (Ottawa) Business Professor
2) Jack McLean, Baha'i Scholar and Author (Dimensions in Spirituality, 1994), jack-mclean.com
Book Review by Jack McLean
3) Beverley A. Young, Author (Secrets in Qumram; Where Angels Gather), www.ghosttalkblog.com
Book Review by Beverley A. Young

1) Book Review by Tom Dettman of
"On Truality: A Forgotten Idea About the Source of All Creation" by George J.V. Kokich.

From 1990 to the early new millennium, George Kokich was the Founder and Coordinator of Spiritual Frontiers Canada (SFC), an open-minded educational forum to promote a deeper spiritual understanding about life and the search for universal truth.

Before he retired from SFC, two SFC members (Lesley Cooper and Andy Viciulis), wrote the following about George’s future plans in the 10th Anniversary Issue of SFC’s newsletter univers/e (January 2000). “He (George) is devoted to writing a book, tentatively entitled Truality (a new and innovative spiritual science concept about understanding the nature of God in more depth), based on his spiritual transformation experiences.”

George has written his first book on Truality (only 32 pages), and has posted it as a free download on the internet. His book focuses on “Truality”, a forgotten synonym for “God”. The original idea was given to humanity’s first parents to teach and guide the human race about the Creator, the world, life and spiritual living. The idea was lost by our first parents, however, most likely because they did not fully understand it. In his book, George discusses the general nature of Truality, and his reflections on a number of related issues, as different traditional views of God, truth, reality, life’s spiritual path, consciousness, etc.

The book On Truality is a masterpiece, using simple and concise organization and diagrams to make a complex “spiritual” topic easy to understand. The brief walk through the process of deeper understanding of a ‘forgotten’ idea is enjoyable to read and thought provoking in content. Quite an accomplishment for a new author.

His approach is reminiscent of James Redfield in his ground breaking The Celestine Prophecy. George follows a unique process, by organizing his book to present single page descriptions of each topic, use thoughtful quotations to precede each topic, and elaborate on the context. The reader is led through the journey of personal evolution which took years to experience, but is conveyed in a manner that compels. I couldn’t put it down until I had followed the process.

Profound thoughts on Truth and Reality are made understandable with clear and concise discussion. It is easy to read, and easy to follow the deeper thinking, knowing the organization is predictable. This eases my thoughts from simple to complex. By using the process of clear sequential reasoning, the book takes a profound topic and leads the reader through the process step by step. The use of personal experiences and slow progression over time left me with the impression I was getting assistance taking the journey in quick steps.

As an introduction to a new and complex topic, the book will attract most to ask for the full story when George releases his second book (later this year or in 2016), about his life’s experiences in searching for “truth” during changes in his evolving consciousness. Tentatively, the book is entitled “How I Discovered Truality”. The further expansion of the “forgotten idea”, will lead us all on to more spiritual understanding about our Creator!

Book review by Tom Dettman.
Truth Seeker, and Business Professor, Algonquin College (Ottawa). August, 2015.

2) Book Review by Jack McLean of
"On Truality: A Forgotten Idea About the Source of All Creation" by George J.V. Kokich.

George J.V. Kokich, the founder of Spiritual Frontiers Canada (1990), has produced an original monograph that will be of interest to those who follow perennial philosophy, the spiritual path, theosophy, philosophical theology, comparative religion, or inter-religious dialogue. Kokich has taken a novel approach in setting out the concept of Truality. He investigates this forgotten idea that holds much potential for defining a common core of the world’s great religions and an evolutionary path of individual spiritual development by inserting Truality within the context of his own spiritual journey. This approach gives Kokich’s investigation a personal dimension that enlivens what otherwise could have been a dry, intellectual exercise. His personal yet studied approach adds credibility to his exploration of Truality, for religion and spirituality were never intended to be a strictly left-brain theoretical activity, but rather a lived experience.

Truality is a revised—or more precisely— a renewed concept of God that Kokich has applied to the world’s independent religions and to the individual’s spiritual evolution. Truality is in every sense a big idea. With the possible exception of non-theistic Buddhism, it will appeal especially to those who hold to the belief in a personal God as Creator and a common foundation of the world’s great religions. (Nonetheless, a metaphysical connection can be established between Truality and Buddhism).

Kokich believes that the metaphysical concept of Truality was taught to humankind at the dawn of our spiritual history since the time of Adam, but in the intervening eons the knowledge of Truality has faded from human consciousness. Although he does not provide evidence to support the assertion of Truality’s antiquity from ancient texts, it can be assumed from the statements that he has amassed: the ancient, perennial existence of Truality is derived from the very nature of the concept itself.

Kokich’s study serves well as a first look and attention-getter for further study. Chapter heads feature a thought-provoking quotation from various philosophers, scholars and current writers on spiritual life. Each chapter provides a bibliography of additional sources that list consistently four books. Thirteen summary tables are provided as well as appendixes that include acknowledgements.

Some of the big ideas that are featured in Kokich’s monograph are as follows. (This is not an exhaustive listing):

Truth and reality are synonymous. The True is the ultimately real and Reality is Truality.
Truth is one although its interpretations are many. A fundamental unity persists throughout the religious and spiritual diversity of human and divine thought.
There is no exclusive way to salvation: the founders of the world’s independent religions are all acknowledged as revealers of truth.
The names of the 10 prophets and sages that he lists are all “personal names” of God. (5) God is the source of all creation. Creation includes not only the immensity of the physical universe, but the world of the mind and spirit, cultures, societies, science, religion, philosophy, history are all connections with and manifestations of the Source.
God is revealed most completely though various “names and attributes.”
Spiritual life, viz. the individual’s consciousness and lived experience, is a dynamic, evolutionary process that progresses through various stages into an ever-expanding realization. He traces the evolution of spiritual consciousness through four “stages and states.” (His own spiritual transformation began in the 1970’s with a Kundalini experience, but continues today in the last stage; “evolving cosmic consciousness.”)
The purpose of life is to undertake a spiritual journey which presupposes that the life of the soul and the development of the spirit are the ultimate purposes of human existence.

Kokich’s monograph certainly succeeded in kindling my interest in Truality. As Kokich presents it, Truality consists of a manifold of powerful ideas that—to the extent that they are accepted and lived by those who espouse them will aid in the transformation of our world. The peaceful coexistence of the world’s great Faiths as well as the further expansion of individual-and-world-consciousness may just be the result.

Book review by J.A. McLean
Baha'i Scholar and Author (Dimensions in Spirituality, 1994), jack-mclean.com

3)Book Review by Beverley A. Young of
"On Truality: A Forgotten Idea About the Source of All Creation" by George J.V. Kokich.

George Kokich’s book On Truality: A Forgotten Idea About the Source of All Creation" takes a complex and intellectual subject and breaks it down into an organized and readable work. But don’t look for an immediate answer, rather Kokich presents his insights into the nature of God along with referenced backup material in a logical manner and leaves it to the reader to digest and draw his/her own conclusions along the journey.

This is the author’s first book and the amount of research and life experience behind the book is impressive. Any scholar, student of religion, or spiritual truth seeker will appreciate the detailed references used throughout the book as an important study piece. I especially enjoyed Kokich’s accounts of his personal experiences and how they led him to a deeper understanding of “Truality” on his quest for spiritual truth.

Kokich refers to this first book as an introduction to truality. His second book, currently a work-in-progress, promises to provide more detail and background on how he discovered truality during his evolving, life-changing spiritual journey. I read all 32 pages of Truality in one sitting because the book is compelling enough to keep the reader engaged to the end—which is really the beginning of the next phase of the journey, and one that I eagerly anticipate in Kokich’s second book. The fact that the author is offering free downloads of Truality on his website at www.truality.ca is truly a gift to the world.

Book review by Beverley A. Young (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada).
Author of Secrets in Qumran (2007) and Where Angels Gather (2014), and Creator/Host of www.ghosttalkblog.com