Moses and Jesus: The Shamans Paperback – December 16, 2011

"We therefore look back on the vague superstitions of past ages and congratulate ourselves wryly that we have been rescued by rational thought and the scientific method from such follies, comfort blankets we clung to in our childhood of the human race against a host of inexplicable natural disasters occurring in a strange and terrifying world," Professor Archie E. Roy writes in the Foreword of this book, going on to point out that such an attitude dictates an instant dismissal of any article or book on comparative religion and to view the whole subject matter of shamans and mediums with ignorant disdain. I cannot improve upon Professor Roy's summary of this book. He states that "this book is one in which the phenomena of mediumship are explored in order to answer the question whether there is a relationship between the sensitive psychic faculty associated with mediumship and that of the spiritual experience." Thus, to some extent, the title is a bit misleading. Jesus and Moses are discussed as original or pioneering shamanic mediums, but the author goes well beyond Jesus and Moses. Several chapters of the book are devoted to the mediumship of Emanuel Swedenborg, the 18th Century scientist and mystic whose primary mission was, the author states, to liberate people from religious dogmas. "Regarding the post-death, non-physical landscapes, Swedenborg taught that non-physical animals, human and non-human, plants and minerals are experienced in accordance with a spirit's inner nature," she writes. "He taught that over time, spirits can achieve spiritual progression, some ultimately become angels." Chapter 1 of the book goes into the definitions and complexities of mediumship, discussing the difference between the various forms of mediumship. Dr. Jones-Hunt explores the founding and organizations of the Spiritualist movement and the beginnings of psychical research. She mentions some of the difficulties that spirit communicators encounter in getting their messages through. "A picture received on the screen of the medium's mind or an audible phrase, in the case of clairaudience, can be misunderstood or partially received," she states, adding that some information received by the mind of the medium can be derived from the mind of the sitter. This seems to vary with the quality of the mediumship. Jones-Hunt mentions the case of "Philip," an imaginary spirit conjured up by a group in Canada during the 1970s, an example of how the mind of the sitter can influence or create communications received by the medium. However, the fact that sitters can create communication does not, she explains, discredit communication from actual spirits of the dead. "Many mediumistic demonstrations have included the medium transmitting family and other information that is not contained in the minds of the sitters," she observes. In Chapter 2, the author goes into the various theories or hypotheses advanced as alternatives to the spirit hypothesis. They include, fraud, lucky guesses, personation plus cryptomnesia, and Super ESP. "In its strongest form, the super-ESP theory supposes that the medium's subconscious mind has access not only to the memories of every living human being on the planet but to every physical record in existence - book, newspaper, tombstone, registry office, and so on." Chapter 3 discusses many famous mediums of yesteryear, including Joseph Smith, whose mediumship gave rise to the Mormon religion, Allan Kardec, W. Stainton Moses, Leonora Piper, Robert J. Lees and others. The author further explores mediumship in Chinese, Egyptian, Japanese, Indian, Greek, and Middle Eastern culture. In Chapter 7, we meet many of the Old Testament mediums, such as Abram, Hagar, Jacob, and Joseph and in Chapter 9 we read about Judge Deorah, Judge Gideon, Judge Jephthah, Samuel, and King David. I found Chapter 13 to be one of the most interesting. Dr. Jones-Hunt discusses how misinterpretations of the Bible have resulted in many irrational beliefs and practices. "These occur due to innocent but mistaken human error, misunderstandings through various forms of ignorance of the facts, and manipulation of the biblical narratives due to the social, politico-religious leaning of the leaders of the institutionized church," she asserts. "Biblical narratives have also been misinterpreted due to the fact that they have been interpreted by individuals whose understanding has been shaped by the historic epoch in which they lived and their personal level of spiritual maturity." Overall, I found this to be a very interesting, informative, intriguing, and inspirational read. Even though I have read scores of books on the subject matter or related subject matter, there was much in this book that was new to me and much that served as refreshers of material I had read but forgotten. This book is now on my primary reference shelf.

This book is an amazing achievement that takes much that is familiar in the Bible and places it in a new context. Showing a deep understanding of contemporary controversies in psychic research, Jackie Jones-Hunt takes us on a fascinatingly wide journey which examines mediumship throughout the ages. Then in Chapter 6 she turns her attention to the world of The Bible about which she claims "it is vital to expose suppressed, mistranslated and misrepresented biblical records". For those of us like me who were brought up in a culture in which Old Testament stories were trotted out without understating, it's as if a light has suddenly been switched on. Over and over I found myself saying "of course". Her analysis the insights of Swedenborg whose teachings on the sacredness of all life are being progressively verified by contemporary research are a valuable inclusion. But for me the highlight of the book is her final chapter "The Bible's Power as Perennial Bestseller" where she draws together all the threads of the book and makes an impassioned plea to end organised cruelty to animals, a theme that she develops more fully in her later books.

I recommend this thoroughly researched book to all those enquiring into knowledge about life after death. Based on my 50 years of personal experience of psycho-energetic phenomena and humans manifesting same, their origin is not in space-time though they yield correlates that have space-time manifestations. Over these years, I have had dozens of interviews/sessions with mediums and sensitives, about half a dozen were truly remarkable, perceptive and correct in the details of their predictions except in the area of timing of events. It makes one think that they were communicating with beings existing in realms beyond space-time and had no significant experience with time. My working hypothesis is that the information derives from the hierarchy of spirit operating in the 'unseen' realms and the best of that hierarchy would not refer to themselves as 'God,' but would think of God as their 'Source.' From my personal experiments with these non-space time realms,the physics is real and lawful but if follows rules quite different than those of our traditional space-time physics. Thus it is extremely easy to misinterpret such information when one follows only the rules of space-time physics.Professor William A. Tiller, Professor Emeritus Stamford University, USA, Author & Founder of the Tiller Foundation.

For those interested in mediumship and the afterlife this book is a real eye-opener. It covers the Shamanic origins of mediumship, its development in Ancient Egypt, China, Japan and Greece and its development through the ages. Then of course it contains the most fascinating in-depth analysis of mediumship in the Old Testament through Abraham. Hagar, Jacob, Moses and Josua, Samuel and King David. Then in Chapter 10 the author looks at the mediumship of Jesus. Of special interest to readers who face accusations that the Bible prohibits mediumship is a discussion of the mistranslation of the Endor. Fascinating and a must read for anyone serious about understanding mediumship in all its forms.

Moses and Jesus: The Shamans, book by Dr Jackie Jones-Hunt is a very inspirational, and thought provoking book that delves deep into the ancient writings of mediumship writings that in turn developed religions. With her inate knowledge of religious scriptures and differing mis-interpretations, Jackie transforms us into thinking more about different stories in the bible and in how things can be misconstrued by mis translations, with the true meaning being lost. She has an ability, through mediumship to tell the tale as it was then all those years ago, and to give the true picture of Jesus Christ, as a family loving man, who was indeed a great healer of animals and humans, and who sacrificed himself for all he loved. An inspirational read! Nadia and Natasha Lawless.

This was a great book for those who are interested in the truth. It is scholarly and yet at the same time readable and it should be required reading for every student of biblical and psychic interest. It is very well researched and the author was able to bridge that awkward gap between having the knowledge and being able to put it over in a non academic fashion. It reads very easily and is fluid. I am so glad that I have got my own copy.

Clearly thoroughly and comprehensively researched by an expert in this field and endorsed by luminaries such as Professor Rupert Sheldrake, this is an indispensable book for those interested in all aspects of spiritual and psychical research.

I was surprised by the content of this book as it offered a perspective that I had not ever seen tackled before. There is little doubt as to the contribution this book will make for that reason and for that reason its well worth reading.

This is update of author's original version and the amount of research she must have done before she could get this book to print is staggering. An engrossing read.