Spiritual Growth

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Oprah's Book Club, Selection 61)

by Eckhart Tolle

Average Rating:

"This is an interesting book to review because I can tune in and see what is happening to people who read it and get a close up look at the author using his philosophy to answer questions. While I applaud Oprah for this novel approach to bettering the human race, I take issue with both this author and his book.

I read Tolle's first book and found it to be a boring rehash of Buddhism. Because Oprah was so high on his second I figured I'd give him another try and join the book club. I thought it would be interesting to see a book "in action" and discuss it with others. I even sent a copy to my sister who could use a bit of computer recreation since she now lives in a very small town. This book is better than the first in that it is a better compilation of Buddhist thought. However, it rambles constantly, draws conclusions from encounters that are not necessarily justified and the attitude of its author (who sees himself as enlightened and continuously "conscious" and egoless), is laughable. Tolle's vanity is nothing short of astounding. Buddhism isn't a pill, it is a practice and awakening has many layers. In spite of this, Tolle has tons of people saying that they have awakened. On one hand adherents claim to be valiantly battling their ego's while on the other they flaunt their "awakening", telling others who claim to be in serious pain to simply read page such and such or tell their "pain body," to effectively shut up and go away. Yikes!!! While it is true that you can't blame the messenger for what people do with the messenger (Jesus protect me from your followers!) Tolle adopts a similar attitude toward others on the streaming video. His dead pan delivery of jargon in response to questions does not impress me as enlightened or egoless. It might behoove him to remember that those Zen stories he includes in the book were once used by master to deliver highly specific teachings that met the needs of particular students. He has turned awakening into a race....to what I am not sure, but I do know that enlightenment is not a competitive event. A few months from now there are going to be a lot of people with one hell of a philosophical hangover caused by all those subconscious drives they never bothered to examine and thought they'd left in a dumpster somewhere.

I keep waiting for the day when someone writes a version of Buddhism for the working mom. I think that person should herself be a mother with at least one ADHD child. She should be clinically depressed and have a couch potato for a husband. If she manages to help the child grow into someone with a good marriage and a real profession, I'll buy all of her books. Unfortunately what we keep getting are philosophies created by self-satisfied, introverted, childless, hermits like Tolle. There is nothing wrong with an introverted, childless, hermit being self-satisfied. What is wrong is suggesting that his way of being represents THE path to enlightenment for everyone. I would say that all he has found in Buddhism is a treatment for his (self acknowledged) form of depression and suicidal thoughts. I am glad he is well and happy and wish him the best....but I won't buy anymore of his books because they are just Buddhism repackaged and linked to an attitude I am not fond of. "

Publisher: Penguin | More reviews: amazon.com

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

by Eckhart Tolle

Average Rating:

"Before you see my rating of two stars and vote that my review was unhelpful; let me explain. I enjoy spiritual teachings; I really do. I feel that it allows me to enrich my life and see things in a different light. Naturally, then, learning to enjoy the present moment would be something that I really have a desire to do. The implications of being able to put all your worries and fears away (or, should I say, bring them to the surface and then deal with them) would be tremendous. I guess I should also say that I am someone who has trouble accepting the present moment for what it is; I tend to worry too much about what the future is going to hold. That said, I honestly hoped that this book would provide me with a way of achieving that. I realize that in any spiritual teaching, certain concepts are going to be repeated. This is necessary, especially since the concepts presented are probably going to seem new to most readers. However, I felt that the whole book was nothing but a repetition of this general idea: the mind is the root of all problems, because it has taken us over (meaning that we can't control it, but rather, it controls us). However, we can free ourselves from this by becoming totally present. The author then elaborates on this statement using many different phrases, such as, "Feel the power of this moment and the fullness of Being. Feel your presence" (pg. 70). He also uses the typically vague promises that tend to accompany books like this, such as, "...You can be at peace. There may be sadness and tears, but provided you have relinquished resistance, underneath the sadness you will feel a deep serenity, a stillness, a sacred presence" (pg. 148). To me, it seemed as if the author was simply repeating the same basic idea over and over again; which, again, is not necessarily a bad thing. However, it begins to become annoying when the book has as many pages as this does; and after reading all of them you feel as though you could have just read the title and received all the information from that. As I said previously, the idea of this book was very promising. Even the techniques contained within the book, though inspiring, were never very well explained. After reading this book a couple times, I still don't really know how to get to that spot of inner peace. I don't know, either, how to feel the "...still, observing presence itself behind the content of your mind, the silent watcher" (pg. 46). I don't even think there was a technique telling you how to achieve that, actually. Sure, the author has included some meditations, but they're nothing new. The same old "Direct your attention into the body. Feel it from within" (pg. 93) type meditations, which can be found almost anywhere else, even on web pages (for free, no less) are included in this book. Overall, this book did not live up to it's hype. I found it to be long and rambling; the author took the title of the book and expanded it into 191 pages full of the same idea phrased with different words. He attempts to tackle some other subjects too, of course, such as relationships. However, he basically uses the same "power of NOW" approach to these as well; meaning that he suggested a relationship would evolve into true love when both partners had eliminated their respective egos and become completely immersed in the now. That's the solution for EVERY problem, it seems. So he's just using the same message for different problems, which seems to be more of a "pie in the sky" promise to me."

Publisher: New World Library | More reviews: amazon.com

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, A Toltec Wisdom Book

by Don Miguel Ruiz

Average Rating:

"Don Miguel Ruiz is known as a nagual, or shaman, of the Toltec tradition. The Toltecs were an ancient group of scientists and artists that was formed to explore and preserve the practices and spiritual knowledge of the ancient ones. It is not a religion, but a way of life that embraces spirit and honors all the spiritual masters who have taught on the earth. Toltec wisdom arises from the same essential unity of truth as other sacred esoteric traditions that are found all over the world.The Four Agreements are very simple, but very profound. To embrace and live each of the Four Agreements is to find yourself experiencing personal freedom--possibly as never before. The Four Agreements are:Be Impeccable With Your Words
Don't Take Anything Personally
Don't Make Assumptions
Always Do Your BestFrom the cover of the book:Be Impeccable With Your Word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.Don't Take Anything Personally: Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.Don't Make Assumptions: Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.Always Do Your Best: Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret. This book may be small in size, but it packs a hefty punch in terms of shattering personal illusions and opening up a path to personal freedom. I consider this book a must-have for anyone wanting to become more conscious and wanting freedom from personal stories and agreements that cause suffering."

Publisher: Amber-Allen Publishing | More reviews: amazon.com

Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao

by Wayne W. Dyer

Average Rating:

"We're all so busy these days. And distracted. Who has time to pause and ponder on much of anything beyond what we're grabbing for dinner after school or work? That is, if we even have time for dinner. So at first glance this almost-400 page book with its obvious philosophical leanings appears a little daunting. But dig in and you'll quickly see that it is not a book to be read in one concentrated time period, but rather taken a step at a time as a meditative process.

Each chapter is based on one of the 81 verses of the ancient Chinese wisdom and philosophy of the Tao Te Ching and beckons the reader to stop and think before moving on with his/her busy life. Dr. Dyer studied numerous translations of the Tao, meditated on his own interpretations, and observed how each verse influenced his thinking (and life) for the day. Each chapter begins with the actual verse from the Tao, followed by a title which summarizes the chief learning, followed by Dr. Dyer's comments and interpretations. Each chapter ends with a short instruction on a way to "Do the Tao Now." The instructions are deceptively simple ranging from thoughts to hold in your mind to actions you can take. Some actions can take all day (such as a suggested fast for a day); others can be done in minutes, such as expressing kindness toward another.

The notion that changing your thinking can change your life is found in almost all cultures and writings since early civilizations. This philosophy is at the heart of the most successful psychological treatments for depression, anxiety, and other disorders. The Tao provides one more example of this powerful philosophy, and Dr. Dyer nicely walks us through it.

If I had to summarize this book in one word it would be "peace." There is something about the writing which demands that you slow down, focus for a moment on the present, and take just a few minutes to detach from the chaos of your life into a true "moment of Zen." Keep it by your bed, read a chapter before going to sleep or when you first wake up and notice what begins to change in your life.

REVIEW UPDATE: As I continue to spend time with this book, I continue to be impressed. Because each chapter is only 4-6 pages long, my initial impression was that one could read a chapter a night. And you can- but the thoughts in each chapter are so intriguing and interesting that I find I wanted to linger over them for several days. This book deserves to be savored. There's also an interesting mystery in the epilogue. Dr. Dyer closes with a brief discussion of a personal incident that very much challenged his beliefs and work with the Tao. He writes, "I was presented with the greatest personal challenge of my life." He goes on to describe his great hurt and pain. I assume he had his reasons for not explaining the event in greater detail, but it leaves the reader wanting to know more- and specifically how he applied to Tao to overcome his feelings. Perhaps he will enlighten us in a future book or CD.
"

Publisher: Hay House | More reviews: amazon.com

The Secret Gratitude Book

Average Rating:

"I'm an author who specializes on the subject of Law of Attraction. In fact, I have a book, The Great Secret of Gratitude: Why Being Grateful Will Change Your Life, specifically on the subject gratitude.

So I'd like to think I know a little something on the subject. :)

Yes, this book is mostly blank pages, but that's because YOU are the author. The purpose of this book is for you to make a physical manifestation of what YOU are thankful for...and that is extremely powerful.

Yes, you could go buy a blank notebook and save a few bucks, and I'm sure it would work as well for getting things out of your head and on paper, but it's my opinion that having something specifically made these thoughts, something that differentiates them from the everyday tasks that you'd use a blank notebook for, is worth the few dollars being charged.

While you certainly don't need this book to write down what you are grateful for, I feel that it's definitely a nice place to do it.

It's not easy to tell from the photo on Amazon, but this is a small book, about 5x7 inches, with a magnetic closure and a red ribbon page marker. The recommended process for using the book is enclosed and the pages within the book contain thoughts on gratitude to inspire and motivate.

Again, I'm sure a blank book would work just as well, if you put the same energy into putting down your thoughts. But I feel this will help you in the process."

Publisher: Atria Books | More reviews: amazon.com

A New Earth 2009 Wall Calendar

by Eckhart Tolle

Average Rating:

"Anything that reproduces the wisdom that comes forth from Eckhart Tolle is great! I can't get enough of this practicable wisdom that he shares to the world."

Publisher: Amber Lotus Publishing | More reviews: amazon.com

Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment

by Deepak Chopra

Average Rating:

"In his preface to Jesus, Chopra is very straightforward about his purpose in writing the book, saying "[there is] a Jesus left out of the New Testament - the enlightened Jesus. His absence, in my view, has profoundly crippled the Christian faith, for...making [Jesus] the one and only Son of God leaves the rest of humankind stranded...What if Jesus wanted his followers - and us - to reach the same unity with God that he had reached?"

`Crippled' is a strong word, and this book will undoubtedly anger many. Yet Chopra's Jesus maintains the divinity at the heart of mainstream Christianity - he is not just some average Joe who happens upon God. Nor is he simply a spiritual teacher or `guru', as other Eastern teachers have characterized him. The novel mostly covers the 'lost years' of Jesus' life left out of the Bible - the years in which he transforms from a serious and insightful young man into the son of God - and throughout that period he is surrounded by signs of his future divinity.

Chopra's Jesus himself is not comfortable with these signs, but they draw others to him. The early part of Jesus' spiritual journey is dominated by his relationships with Mary Magdelene and Judas - both of whom of course feature prominently in the later part of his life, as told in the New Testament. Chopra's earlier versions of these figures each have delusions about Jesus, and want to possess him for their own purposes. It is through them that he comes to understand the human condition, and the forces - both external and internal - that prevent many from pursuing a deeper relationship with God.

After leaving Mary and Judas, Jesus studies with the Essenes, a mystic Jewish religious community now believed by many to have authored the Dead Sea Scrolls. Ultimately he disappoints them also, as he will not conform to their view of him as King of the Jews. After leaving them, Jesus travels to a mysterious holy man in distant mountains, also the story's narrator, and it is here that the path of Chopra's Jesus most closely resembles that of his Buddha (as told in his novel of Buddha's life.) Both struggle with their concepts of good and evil, and both are tempted by demons with promises of greatness. They both come to understand they must abandon all concepts and personal identity to truly allow God to work through them. As Jesus' mysterious teacher tells him, "Only someone who can see the demons as part of God is free. Good and evil dissolve. The veil drops away, and all you see is divine light - inside, outside, everywhere...Your soul is the world's soul. In your resurrection will be the resurection of the world."

Jesus' awakening is powerfully told, and the new Jesus returns to his homeland as an agent of enlightenment. Encountering Judas and Mary once again, he transmits a grace that literally wipes away their past. Or, as Mary puts it when asked `what has he done to me' by others who receive Jesus' grace, "He killed who you were, so that who you are can be reborn."

Chopra's Jesus is not a perfect book. Scenes change rapidly, and many conversations seem stunted in a way that occasionally left me disoriented. But it conveys a profound message in an accessible and passionate voice (something I can't always say about Chopra's nonfiction.) If you are interested in considering a new vision of Christianity, and of all religions, give it a read, and consider reading Buddha as well."

Publisher: HarperOne | More reviews: amazon.com

Practicing the Power of Now: Essential Teachings, Meditations, and Exercises from The Power of Now

by Eckhart Tolle

Average Rating:

"This book is about packaging a poorly abridged version of a truly great spiritual guide. I am not a reader of "spiritual" guides but found the original "Power of Now" to be a deep, rich, and incredibly clear book of a Truth about life that nothing in me can refute. It has become a truly important experience for me - life changing. I have purchased many copies for friends and they in turn have done the same. This book "Practicing the Power of Now" is a watered down version of the original and in my reading of it, much less powerful. I have read the original twice and it remains strong for me, but this book is very, very abridged, strangely formatted, and does not feel to contain the essence of the original. The words that are in it are EXACTLY the same as those in the original and although I am sure there are exceptions, I confirmed this by choosing four pages at random and then found the text in the original. Much is left out and the formatting is distracting.Tolle and the publishers can be very, very proud of the original, but frankly, they should be deeply ashamed of this book. Although there is a need for a book that is to be used as a tool for practice by readers of the first, this book is most certainly not it.I will be seeking a refund and I hope that others do as well."

Publisher: New World Library | More reviews: amazon.com

Oneness With All Life: Inspirational Selections from A New Earth

by Eckhart Tolle

Average Rating:

"The first thing I noticed about Eckhart Tolle's Oneness with All Life: Inspirational Selections from a New Earth, is that it is a beautifully bound hard cover book (ribbon bookmark included,)with an old-time feel. The inside is beautifully laid out with flower illustrations. It actually conveys a feeling of peacefulness to hold the book.

"Your inner purpose is to awaken," says Tolle. This is the essence of the book, and what my own spiritual teacher tries to instill in her students. Each chapter works on this lofty spiritual plane.

Tolle recommends that you read A New Earth before Oneness with all Life, as this book is a distilled version of the first and contains fairly advanced spiritual lessons. He suggests reading a random section or single chapter at a time. The point is to read, reflect, and allow the messages to resonate within your soul.

"The informational content of this book is of relatively little importance," he writes. "You read it not so much to learn something new, but to go deeper, become more present, awaken out of the stream of incessant and compulsive thinking."

This sums up the book for me: "If you come across passages in this book that you feel are powerful, I want you to realize that what you are feeling is your own spiritual power. That is to say you are in your essence."

This book is like having your own spiritual teacher to turn to whenever you need some clarity.

A typical passage: "How to be at peace now. By making peace with the present moment."

Highly recommended.

By the author of the award winning book, HARMONIOUS ENVIRONMENT: BEAUTIFY, DETOXIFY & ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE, YOUR HOME & YOUR PLANET.


"

Publisher: Dutton Adult | More reviews: amazon.com

The Road Less Traveled, 25th Anniversary Edition : A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth

by M. Scott Peck

Average Rating:

""Life is difficult", is M. Scott Peck's opening statement to "The Road Less Travelled". Well, duh.

Peck is a psychiatrist. He is also a born-again Christian who has found salvation in religion. In this book he seems to be trying to create a new kind of therapy which is a fusion of religion with psychiatry, which sometimes leads him into some very muddled thinking which could possibly be detrimental to the patient.

The book is organized into four sections: Discipline, Love, Growth and Grace. In Discipline, Peck emphasizes the necessity of living a disciplined life compared to a disorganized one, doing what you need to do when you need to do it instead of living for the moment for the gratification of your own whims and humors. Sound advice which hardly needs repeating. A selfishly disorganized life with yourself at the center of your own personal universe creates mayhem for everyone around you. Not a good idea.

Section 2 is about Love, which Peck feels is the driving force behind Discipline. One lives a disciplined life not only for one's self, but to provide nurturing and stability for those whom you love and who depend on you. Giving part of yourself to other people helps to build their spiritual growth as well as yours.

So far, so good. But in Section 3, when he discusses Growth and Religion, and in Section 4, when he writes about Grace, Peck muddies the waters up. Peck insists that self-awareness and religion are one and the same; since everyone has some understanding of himself (a shaky premise in any event), everyone has religion, and it is incumbent upon everyone to use religion to facilitate their personal growth. And in Section 4, he expands on this by saying that our personal growth must be assisted by a higher power other than our conscious will; i.e., there can be no personal growth unless we subjugate our wills to God's.

Peck has incorporated a good deal of Erich Fromm's ideas about "malignant narcissism" as a factor in emotional illness. Reduced to its fundamentals, this means people are out of sync with emotional health if they willfully refuse to accept a higher power as pre-eminent. He expands on this a great deal more in "People of the Lie", his study of human evil. What Peck appears to be saying in "The Road Less Travelled" is that everybody will be just fine once they subjugate their own will to the will of God. Otherwise, forget it.

This, of course, raises the question of how are we to know the will of God? It's always struck me as the most mind-blowing arrogance that anyone can state what is God's will. But Peck apparently has no problem with this. He's perfectly comfortable with this concept, just as he conveys the impression through this book that in the patient/therapist relationship the therapist holds a god-like position and that if therapy fails it's because the patient refuses to subject his own will to that of the therapist. Please. As a mental health professional, I've seen enough successful and unsuccessful therapy to have learned that failure in therapy is not always the fault of the patient and there are some therapists out there who shouldn't be practising. Peck's unloading responsibility for failure of the therapeutic process on the patient is blatantly unfair to the patient and could produce a lot of unnecessary guilt in the patient. It also neatly absolves the therapist from any responsibility for the failure of his treatment.

Peck gave me a genuine "WTF" moment in the first edition of "The Road Less Travelled", when he stated on page 175 of his book that he would have sex with a patient if he thought it would be beneficial to the patient. Whoa! No way. He didn't really say that, did he? I blinked, read it again, and almost hit the floor. (After the inevitable controversy, he said he would remove it from subsequent editions of the book.) I was still shaking my head in disbelief for ten minutes afterwards, wondering how in the world could any reputable psychiatrist believe that a sexual relationship with a patient, which is generally recognized as so damaging to the patient that it is grounds for disciplinary action in almost every state in the union (usually suspension of the therapist's professional license) could possibly help the patient. But this illustrates the fundamental problem of Peck's difficulties in observing the traditional boundaries of the patient/therapist relationship, when he attempts to inject a religious component into treatment. It's one thing to hold deeply religious views, and Peck is certainly entitled to his. It's another thing altogether to foist these views off onto the patient under the guise of psychotherapy, and then hold the patient responsible for the failure of treatment if the patient does not accept the therapist's religious views.

What Peck has presented us with here is basically a "feel-good" book for people searching for easy answers to life's problems. It's been said in other ways, such as "Let go and let God", and through the Serenity Prayer ("Lord help me to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference"). But these have an element of humility in them that is missing from Peck's book. By the way he has injected religion into therapy, Peck appears to be saying that he has found all the answers to life's problems through religion, and too bad for anyone who refuses to do the same.

Sure, life is difficult, as Peck so glibly states in the beginning of his book. The problem is that Peck wants us to think he's found all the solutions. If Peck had been able to keep a better balance between his religious faith and his psychiatric practice, he would have produced a much better book. When he mixes the two up to the point that you can't tell where one ends and the other begins, the book degenerates into one more religious tract, presented as a self-help book. If you're searching for superficial answers to life's problems, you may find some here. If you're looking for real answers, you will already have realized (or will, at some point down the line) that no book, including this one, can give them to you.

Judy Lind"

Publisher: Touchstone | More reviews: amazon.com