Rick Stanley My Song of Life & the Maharishi Years

5.0 out of 5 stars "Read this Book It's the One "ByHalley's Cometon July 5, 2018Format: Paperback" This book is a little gem - thank you Rick Stanley At a time when the "Old Timers" are starting to publish a flurry of memoirs of their years with Maharishi, most are sorry excuses for writing, many are ax-grinding exercises from disgruntled or disaffected Utopians, and some are outright attempts to cash in on any association with a famous teacher they can muster. Trust me, my husband and I have read too many of them, and we can help. Buy and read Rick Stanley's account, and you won't need to waste time on badly written "others." First of all, Rick can write. Yay We learn that Rick earned a Masters degree in Creative Writing along the way, so that is good to see, in addition to his being a chief Troubadour in Maharishi's entourage in the early days in the West. The book is compelling, entertaining, evocative, and intelligent - let's mention the latter adjective again - this book is intelligent There are lots of nifty inside stories involving everybody's favorite T.M. characters such as Charlie Lutes, Jerry Jarvis, and a host of other notables and not-so-notables. The usual stories (were there any real sex scandals?) get their due and are duly dispatched with a keen eye for what was really going on with the people involved, and the general shenanigans of young Westerners on long rounding courses in India and Europe are given meticulous attention with a first-hand report. That's an important point too: there are books coming out with nothing but second-hand reports from people who were not there and write entire books of hearsay That's a travesty. Rick's book is not that, so fear not, this is the real deal."This entertaining memoir is the 32-year personal Odyssey of a 60's era singer-songwriter searching and finding fulfillment and the Truths of Life. Rick relates the unusual stories of his life from birth to realization of the Divine. From his magical, Huckleberry-Finn childhood, to his adventures in the Navy, surviving 80-foot waves in a Typhoon over the Mindanao Deep; a merging-with-the-afterlife-experience as he lay on the deck of the capsizing ship; witnessing the real "Tonkin Crisis" in Vietnam, and a giant waterspout that nearly sank his ship. Then on to his life as a traveling folk singer, (Near-Death at the hands of Hell's Angels) and the fulfillment of his childhood dream to be signed to Columbia Records. Even better, to have the good fortune to record with the greatest American producer of the time; Terry Melcher, producer of "the Byrds" and "Paul Revere and the Raiders." Terry made magic with his group the "Gentle Soul." The album and singles were collector's items until "Sundazed Records" recently re-released the entire "Gentle Soul" discography on CD. Rick experienced Divine Realization at 24 and went on to spend seven years of living, performing and traveling with the greatest spiritual master of our age. He reveals his most intimate experiences in guileless, no holds barred, personal prose. After a life-changing transcendence from mundane 3D to Divine 5D consciousness and intimate communication with invisible Divine Love, with God on a California beach; Rick sacrificed his commercial music career, he left Columbia Records and became the musical expression of the Truth of Life with "The Song Of Life" album, written in India at the feet of His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. "Maharishi inspired me to write songs infused with his knowledge and even gave me his teaching in poetic form so that I could more easily craft the lyrics and music." John Sorflaten, PhD5.0 out of 5 starsUnvarnished means undisguised. June 27, 2017Verified PurchaseWhile reading this memoir-book I had the feeling of talking to Rick and hearing his stories as unguarded, true, guts to the wall experiences. His talent as a song-writer of feelings and epiphanies supports his memoir.