What people are saying about Beyond the Illusion
[note color=”#F9CF9D”] Toni’s book is easy to read, yet it’s also full of monumental confrontations, revelations, humor, and surprise, and it’s penned with a brutal honesty you’re unlikely to encounter in much other contemporary writing in this genre. The stories also offer a transparent window into the life and person of Adi Da, and they function as a historical record that carries a feeling of personal relationship and discovery.
— JL Forrester, Writer
[/note] [note color=”#F9CF9D”] This book left me speechless. It is comparable to Irina Tweedy’s book Daughter of Fire. In the sense that it gives a very private insight in the life of someone practicing spiritual life for real.Besides that, in this book you get to know a woman with much courage, humor and an unusual life – this alone would have made a very nice book. I’m personally very happy about the spiritual part though.
A must read!
— Trea Mekel
[/note] [note color=”#F9CF9D”] I feel those who enjoy spiritual autobiography will find this a great book. For me it compares very favorably with other fine books by serious aspirants about their relationships to their teachers, for example Irina Tweedie’s “Chasm of Fire” and “Daughter of Fire”, or Christopher Isherwood’s “My Guru and His Devotee” – except this is more fun! Much more.— Dennis Bumstead, PhD
[/note] [note color=”#F9CF9D”] Why does any Westerner look for a Guru and stay with him for 35 years when she has had just about anything one could imagine in the way of glamour, riches, adventure and different life styles? What could have been lacking? That is the question Toni Vidor asked herself. Her father was a director, King Vidor, her mother a silent film star. Although she seemed never to lack for anything, deep inside she knew something was missing. Like many of us, she searched here and there, trying different Teachers, different Teachings, but they all ended at some point. She was still alone. And then she Found Adi Da Samraj, an American born God Realized Teacher. She had prepared for this meeting, longed for it, and after she discovered His Teaching she struck the match and was with him to the end of his life on Earth. Read more…— Ginger Blymer, author “Flying Into the Sun”
[/note] [note color=”#F9CF9D”] This is a most interesting, entertaining and enlivening book. The author does a beautiful job of describing her early life, with all it’s highs and lows, as the child of two famous movie personalities. She grew up surrounded by money and power and yet it held little real interest for her. As she reaches adulthood, her own life goes in a totally different direction from her parents as she begins a search for the true meaning of life. Her exploration of yoga, alternative healing and her spiritual experiences with various spiritual teachers are fascinating but the real power of the book comes after her meeting with Adi Da Samraj. Her experiences in his company and his instruction to her and to all his devotees will blow your mind. Anyone who is involved in a serious search for God will find this book very illuminating.— J. Martin
[/note] [note color=”#F9CF9D”] Bravo Toni! Yours is an inspiring love story filled with pathos, poetry, and humor. Having briefly considered writing my own I can only imagine your feelings as you contemplated the mountain before you. How brilliant of your teacher to set you to the task and to send you on the seemingly fruitless Shakespeare quest. He knew you well.— Bob Walker, son of Jennifer Jones
[/note] [note color=”#F9CF9D”] Amazingly honest, historically accurate, heart-warming biography in which I felt that I was participating in the spiritual process with Antonia. I couldn’t put the book down!— Nora Fields
[/note] [note color=”#F9CF9D”] This book could have been solely about the glitz and glamour of life as a child of two powerful pioneers of Hollywood, but instead, and thankfully, most of the book is about Antonia’s spiritual journey with her spiritual master. When I first started reading I thought what relevance is this old-bitty going to have with my life, but this is one of the charms of the book. Even though many of the ordeals that the author goes through are personal, they are also universal… part of the human condition. No magic tricks are offered, no secret formulas, no ancient prayers to help through life’s ordeals except for one… resort the the spiritual master, give everything to him.— Astroboy
[/note] [note color=”#F9CF9D”] I highly recommend Beyond the Illusion. The title is perfect. Toni was born into fame and riches but felt the need to go beyond the illusion of that life to find real and lasting happiness and fulfillment. She became a serious spiritual practitioner under the guidance and blessing of her guru and is very honest about the struggles with her egoic tendencies. Her transformation over time is very impressive. Her life is a fascinating story as well as very inspiring.— Judy W.
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