The Akashic Experience: Science and the Cosmic Memory Field

The Akashic Experience: Science and the Cosmic Memory Field
By Ervin Laszlo
Inner Traditions (February 12, 2009)
ISBN-10: 1594772983
288 pages

Review by Zareen Khan

This book is about an idea whose time comes again and again throughout human history. An attempt at a new interpretation of a concept literally as old as the very skies themselves, the concept of Akashic experiences is believed to be first recorded by the Vedas. In the not too distant past Edgar Cayce also popularized the idea of the “akashic records” making it an almost fashionable concept: outlandish perhaps, exotic even, but certainly possible to entertain a different notion of time and space than that sanctioned by church and state.

Several authors since then have refined the idea of what is essentially a glimpse of these Akashic Records: almost all of them in fact have been personally privy to these netherworlds and have had what are essentially “Akashic Experiences”. These fleeting moments of their lives challenged everything they believed was a known and established fact: and their concepts of space, time (especially linear time), life and (the finality of) death all seemed to morph into a never ending Unified Field. While it seems formidable, almost foolhardy to try to organize in a single book experiences as amorphous and intangible as these experiences this is precisely what has been attempted in Laszlo’s latest book, The Akashic Experience: Science and the Cosmic Memory Field.

The book itself is divided in four sections. They describe the actual “Akashic Experiences”, the productive application of these experiences, the systematic scrutiny to which they are subjected, and finally an overall review of the Akashic phenomenon. Not surprisingly there is some overlap in the four areas, which was almost to be expected in a study of something as intangible as this.

To attempt to document in our present scientific and literary coinage what is actually not measurable with our present day tools is indeed a brave undertaking, if for no other reason than that it makes us aware of the inadequacy of our technology. While the effort may not be entirely successful the book is truly ground breaking in its attempt to give a measure of organization to the known and some sense of identity to the unknown. The human language as it presently exists simply does not have the eloquence to deal with the ‘thought downloads’ that we are dealing with in this sphere of experience.

The accounts certainly gain in credibility from authors: almost all are established authorities in fields as disparate as psychiatry, physics, philosophy, and anthropology. Interestingly while the experiences seem tailored to each individual’s life experiences the underlying symbolism is not just universal but cosmic in its implications. It is difficult if not impossible to ‘interpret’ the meaning of the experiences: they are essentially personal, yet if pondered upon they are powerful metaphors filled with great promise and much optimism. The reassurance of the messages has none of the cut and dried mentality of conventional beliefs. The cosmos does not seem so mysterious anymore nor does death look so final. Mistakes in one life may possibly be ‘fixed’ in a future age and departed loved ones may yet be engaged in conversation. It really brings home a glimpse of the possibility of us being, in actual fact: “… not a human being in search of a spiritual experience…but a spiritual being immersed in a human experience.” That in it self is worth the price of the book.

The greatest value to me in reading this unusual book was a sense of reassurance in my own akashic experiences. (I suspect this will be true for many other readers also). Only until now I never knew that’s what they probably were. I have experienced clear messages from loved ones that have passed on, an unerring sense of déjà vu that has been borne out in due course of ‘time’ or ‘physical reality’ (and who knows what those are any more!). It has spurred me on my own voyage of personal discovery and journaling hoping to uncover other nuggets of insight in my own experiments. Reading this book gives one a sense that more is yet to come, that one may possibly be on the verge of making discoveries that may well stand our present day scientific concepts on their head. Yogananda best expresses this sense of hope and wonder: “everything you have ever wanted to know; very talent you’ve ever wanted to possess every satisfaction you’ve ever wanted to achieve all these already await you in the Akashic field”. What if that really were true?

Zareen Khan is a Nurse Practitioner in training. She specializes in holistic, complementary and integrative medicine with a special interest in the re-interpretation of conventional healing and hypnosis techniques, and the incorporation of prayer in healing. Her current practice is based in Cincinnati, OH.