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The Reviews for Wisdom’s Soft Whisper

“A very wise book; you don’t meditate, you just ARE. Your book reveals you as very practical in your approach to Reality. In fact, sages are the most practical people. They are not dreamers. They come out of sleep and dream. They are wide awake, totally alert and attentive. In that attention, the myth that we call samsara ceases to exist. You strike a deep chord in my heart and evoke fellow-feeling, when you come clean as a self-confessed rascal. This is true self-knowledge. There are two kinds of people, one the hypocrite, the other a rascal. Many have called me a rascal in my life, and I felt fulfilled.” ~KVS~

“‘WISDOM’ in words” – is a paradox that Sages and Saints alone could successfully ‘tackle’! Fortunate is a seeker that drowns himself in this “Pool of Wisdom” and survives ‘headless’ happily re-established in the unseen Heart! The world labels him: ‘mad’, ‘beggar’, ‘Wizard’; thereby unsuccessfully attempting to identify him, push him into the non-reality of ‘moving’ movie frames! A true seeker rejoices in the ‘NOW’ of the reality of movement-lessness – that a ‘madman’, a ‘beggar’, a ‘Wizard’ is portraying only the non-noticed ‘Screen’ in every projected moving movies – “Millions of body-’I'-s dissolved in one ‘I AM’-Eternity!” ~V. Ganesan~

“I can’t even say! Reading it WAS ‘Darshan,’ a state in which words simply fail (but I will try, anyway). It’s BRILIANT! It’s BEAUTIFUL! It really, really ‘does the job.’ This modest little book has the potential to touch and wake up a whole LOT of folks. It has just the right amount of balance of text and art to create a fully felt experience of ‘Darshan’. The images are EXQUISITE: aesthetically superb, they powerfully radiate the Realer-Than-Real-As-We-Know-It qualities these beings appear here to convey. Some of the quotes had me laughing out loud for their pithy elegance! Lao Tzu really nailed it with ‘More words count less.’ The converse certainly shines forth in Darshan.” ~Carolyn George~

Dear John, just had the impulse to share this one with you…Wisdom’s Soft Whisper… the book (beyond book) touched me to the depth of heart, I felt a Yes within, to every whisper shared, and a recognition..and was touched beyond words when I saw V.Ganesan in the book… As he appeared unexpectedly in ‘my story line’ twice in Jan 2009 after I had been invited to Tiru after the French-subtitling of Blueprints for Awakening after Ramana had been appearing in my life too… unexpectedly.

The first time, I met his eyes and Heart immense, while he was waiting for us to enter his dining hall at Ramanashram then two weeks later at his home, where tears were rolling in hearing his words of wisdom. A gift of Grace, that never left me. Also, the Wizard of Oz has never left me, ever since I was a child…like an invisible thread in the heart… So I laughed when I also saw that in your gem of a Book, so felt, within the gratitude of meeting you and reading you that this picture was to be shared…A Loving Embrace dear Wz… And many Blessings of Gratitude. Your book is on my night-table… and whispers often…. ~Hélène Lalaire~

“I am so happy that you recorded your wisdom for posterity. It is not hyperbole to say it is a gift to humanity. Few have been blessed with the capacity to abide in the truth AND express it so well. I am incredibly blessed by your friendship and spiritual wisdom. Everything you have shared with me has become part of me and brought peace. I have paid attention to NOTHING in this life like I’ve paid attention to your teachings. I recognize that peace is an individual matter and not a competition; however, I must say that when I look around me I don’t see very many people as ensconced in the truth as I am. I credit you with most of that as you have taken your precious time to edify me with powerful, penetrating words and images that provided a window into that which can never be expressed in words. And your sat sang has been the direct experience. All of this you have given freely.

“First and foremost you are my friend. While you may have more spiritual experiences than I, more business acumen, and greater financial resources you have not let that go to your head and placed yourself above me or anyone else. You have modeled the truth that we are all one. Your transparency is the living proof that you walk your talk. You take no offense to any question – no matter how personal. I have known you for seventeen years now and I have not found a single inconsistency in your walk and your talk. That is rare. You are an utterly confessed realized being and I will cherish you always. The non contractual love that you share with Carol has also been a model for me. Carol’s steady, simple, generous loving ways have given me an appreciation for living quietly in the truth without a lot of fanfare. And of course, you are both rascals, misbehaving with sufficient regularity to guarantee that I may also be completely human without apology. What more beautiful, generous, complete, awakened “pair” of sweetie pies could there be?!!!” ~Trip Overholt~

I downloaded the book, “Wisdom’s Soft Whisper” and read the whole thing in one go. The book is a beautiful expression that takes one straight to Jamesy Man, showers us in the torrential downpour, fills us to the brim with the manna that John ever enjoys and leaves in our mouths a never-ending taste of the nutritious healthy gastronomic cuisine of Oneness that John’s companies ferret out.
Heartfelt thanks to you [Jerry Katz] for bringing it to the notice of your readers and thanks also to John for melding us all in that One Calabash.
Truly Remarkable and I wish everyone will read the book. Good things are really priceless – no price, just free!!! ~Ramesam~

Words may be able to truly reflect knowledge, but not wisdom. Wisdom dawns suddenly and results in awareness that renders redundant all words. Rather than any statement, it is a ‘state’ that builds its own vocabulary and expressions. This state leads to true understanding.This is when a person becomes a sage. Not the one who gives up every thing and heads to the hills and forests, but one who has an unusually practical approach to Reality. Such sages may appear out-of-touch with the real world; they are always wide awake, totally alert, and very aware. Not that they have broken away from samsara. They Are Wizards.

These sages, saints and seers are not magicians or tricksters. They are aptly depicted as wizards of whatever tradition. Thus, Moses, Jesus, Lao-Tzu, Buddha and other ancients were wizards and sages who dropped pearls of wisdom in their own time and way. Wizards understand that insight is essential in revealing who we are.

In Wisdom’s Soft Whisper, a modern day sage, Wizard Baldour, lays out the roadmap to the land of the wise. Extracting wisdom from knowledge, the Wizard provides a path to enlightenment. His way of introspection reveals the inherent peace of one’s true Self.The Wizard delves into the usually mistaken ideas associated with wisdom and those dwelling in that state. For instance, the commonly interchanged terms– wisdom and knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom, for it is of the mind, while wisdom is prior to the mind.

In Two Parts

Wisdom’s Soft Whisper is set in two parts. The first is here and now –a vertical paradigm, as it were. It is deep and paradoxical. It assumes and affirms the reader’s awakening from the mortal storyline. The second part is the Wizard’s own horizontal growing to be Wizard Baldour. Tending towards the mysterious, Wisdom’s Soft Whisper says with words that which is beyond the word; pure wisdom, after all, transcends the capacity of language, concepts and the mind even. Softly, but firmly, whispers challenge long-held beliefs and everything else that a person has grown accustomed to as being real. The Wizard urges the reader to open his mind to the very foundation of his own being and thus realise wisdom. Baldour, along with other Wizards, believes that this wisdom is the key to peace.

John’s Transformation

The second part that constitutes John Troy’s storyline is more a shifting paradigm, and written appropriately enough in the third person. In the haze can be traced John’s transformation into the sage, Wizard Baldour. The realisation, when it came, was spontaneous and rapid–what the Hindu philosophy calls Nirvikalpa Samadhi. But John terms it quite simply “turned inside out”. For John, the full-fledged yogic experience came with initiation by Swami Muktananda, though that did not stop him from pioneering a natural and organic food business. Then came an introduction to Sri Ramana’s teachings, and soon a vision of the sage too. From there to meeting V. Ganesan, who had grown up in the presence of the Maharshi, was but destined. And the pilgrim progressed…

Each page of Wisdom’s Soft Whisper demands time to reflect and ponder, and not be just read. For, the Wizard does not want to just pass on knowledge as much as he wants the reader to pursue and attain Wisdom. Depending on one’s state of awareness, the words may make sense, or they may not. Non-understanding should be no cause for frustration, but a challenge to open one’s mind to the wisdom behind what one knows now. The true seeker rejoices in the ‘now’ of the reality of ‘movement-lessness’.

In response to a prevalent longing for peace and wisdom, the folk wizard of North Carolina offers a means of discovering our inherent wisdom. ~J. Srinivasan, Book Critic from Tattvaloka Spiritual Magazine, India~

“We love your Wisdom’s Soft Whisper, Wizard Baldour—you are such a sweetheart for sending two copies. I know the young Wizard Charles will be amazed there is an actual wizard in NC. And you know what? He’ll read your book from cover to cover. He’s a reader. Gifted, really. Thank you so much!” “Medicine Tribe” profile. ~Zoe Helene~

John Troy is quite simply in a league of his own. His effortlessness is established in bliss. He claims to be a rascal. If so, let him remain One!

~Vicki Woodyard