Ascension: Connecting with the Immortal Masters and Beings of Light [Paperback]

Not surprisingly, in view of the title of the book - "Ascension" - I thought it to be a book about ascension, i.e. how to ascend. However, I should have noticed the sub-title - "Connecting with the Immortal Masters and Beings of Light" (but I didn't).

The book thus proved more to be a description of the "immortal masters" of the East and West - ascended masters, avatars and other divine beings -than primarily devoted to being a practical guide to ascension.

According to Susan Shumsky, ascension is "consciously living forever in your body of light". "After you attain ascension, you no longer need to experience birth or death in a human body. You can appear wherever and in any form, according to your will."

An ascended master obtains physical immortality by transforming his or her physical body into "more refined, luminous, subtle material".

The book did get quite interesting in its account of the various divine beings. For instance, there is a lengthy account about Saint Germain who lived for a very long time, though he was apparently not an ascended master. He knew strangers' questions before they were asked, knew minute details of their lives and associates and accurately predicted their dates of death. There is a story about how he appeared to the American founding fathers and was instrumental in their signing the Declaration of Independence, when there was much doubt about whether they dared to do so. The apparition of St. Germain apparently instilled in them the courage to effect the signing.

The book contains a chapter about the masters of India, which includes much information about the many manifestations of Babaji. There are chapters about the "incarnations of God", Buddhist and Taoist Masters, and Madame Blavatsky's teachers.

We hear the stories of the ascended masters Joanna Cherry and Annalee Skarin. The latter ascended and disappeared, leaving her clothes behind. Later on that day she reappeared to her family in a plain blue dress. Before their eyes she "transformed into a shining being in a white garment, with her hair in golden light".

Miraculous visitations by St Germain, George Washington, Master Morya, Master Kuthumi and Fatima, among others, are described.

The book also contains a fascinating chapter describing stories of visitations from divine beings, angels, etc. to various "ordinary" people who sent in their accounts of these visitations to the author.

At long last Shumsky does in fact reach the point in the book where she tackles the matter of our own possibility for ascension in this life-time.

I must admit that I don't really understand why we would need to ascend according to Shumsky's understanding of it. She states "it is not necessary to die in order to attain eternal life". We are "immortal right now". There is no talk of various dimensions, as in ascending into the 5th dimension, for example, as many expect humanity to do at the end of 2012.

We are offered Joanna Cherry's meditation practice for obtaining ascension, which includes various immortality affirmations and invocations.

And in a most interesting and fascinating chapter entitled "Practicing the easy way" we are presented with the full story of a young man the author calls Joseph, which describes how he devoted his life to obtaining ascension. And he apparently fulfilled his purpose. Joesph's main tenet is that the only thing stopping you from ascension or oneness with God is unbelief, and nothing else.

The book concludes with the text of a meditation the author terms "the breakthrough experience". This is the important meditation included in two of her other books, "Divine Revelation" and "How to hear the voice of God". This is a meditation one can use to obtain contact with one or more aspects of God.

In conclusion, though I found this book extremely interesting in places, it also confused me. The author did not explain to my satisfaction the actual need for ascension. Of course, I was confused about the matter to begin with by the various references to "ascension" in other various contemporary texts. But by no means did Shumsky give me any final clarification.

If the matter interests you, you can read the book and take from it what new information you can use. I would not actually recommend it, though I loved the two other books of this author that I mentioned above.