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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
challenging
inspiring
medium-paced
It spent 20 years on my bookshelf, but I finally read it.
I don’t even know how someone can be upset enough by this book to rate it 1 star. Except for a really confusing amount of unnecessary(?) descriptions of exact distances between trees, it is a very nice read with some low-key adventure novel to it.
Sure, someone making money off a “made up religion” (ah yes, the irony) can be a thorn in people’s eyes. Better then to make money of...yes, what?
Is it “true”? Well, that depends on how you chose to see the world.
Is it money, hate and fear driven?
Or love, energy and light driven?
Something in between? And if so, why?
You’ll probably be more happy with this book if you check you cynicism before cracking it open.
After the year 2020, and many of the incidents that have come to light in the last few years, I think we all need to reassess what world we want to be a part of. Personally, I’m hoping for more love & energy, how about you?
I don’t even know how someone can be upset enough by this book to rate it 1 star. Except for a really confusing amount of unnecessary(?) descriptions of exact distances between trees, it is a very nice read with some low-key adventure novel to it.
Sure, someone making money off a “made up religion” (ah yes, the irony) can be a thorn in people’s eyes. Better then to make money of...yes, what?
Is it “true”? Well, that depends on how you chose to see the world.
Is it money, hate and fear driven?
Or love, energy and light driven?
Something in between? And if so, why?
You’ll probably be more happy with this book if you check you cynicism before cracking it open.
After the year 2020, and many of the incidents that have come to light in the last few years, I think we all need to reassess what world we want to be a part of. Personally, I’m hoping for more love & energy, how about you?
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Bene, dopo Coelho mi sono tolta la curiosità di leggere anche questo libro.
Ho alternato momenti in cui volevo riportarlo in biblioteca a momenti in cui pensavo che comunque parlava di cose interessanti ma le affrontava in modo ridicolo e per niente credibile.
Ho alternato momenti in cui volevo riportarlo in biblioteca a momenti in cui pensavo che comunque parlava di cose interessanti ma le affrontava in modo ridicolo e per niente credibile.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The insights were interesting, though the clunky execution of the story frequently pulled me out. Blocks of conversation were sometimes difficult to follow & track who was speaking, and at times established characters were referred to as "the other priest," making me wonder if I missed an entrance or if someone had snuck in the window.
The story here tells us how people can connect with the energy of the Universe, its source being available to everyone to evolve into a higher consciousness and to relate to people in a more compassionate and revelatory way, which would then help humans evolve even further. This is done through energy vibrations that we all possess and can strengthen within ourselves and through the Universe. I'm familiar with the concept through The Secret and this book was an interesting way to introduce it to the masses.
I just question the simplicity behind the ideas near the end that talk about automation of everything to allow for more time efficiency so that human evolution can take place. People will stop spending so much time working and use that time to connect with the Universe and each other to evolve their consciousness. But won't there always have to be a "lower class" relegated to working and being denied access (free time) to evolving? Will "evolving" become an elitist privilege only?
And what about reducing the population consciously? We have had exponential human growth for the past 70 years all around the world, but maybe it's because this consciousness hasn't been reached yet. Can the desire to evolve outweigh the desire to have children? I do know many educated and spiritual people who are less worried about reproducing and more concerned for the state of the world, so maybe it's starting to happen.
And what about greed? Will greed and the desire for power always exist as part of human nature, and don't we need small doses of this in order for civilization to sustain itself? What are the characteristics that we would need as humans in order to successfully continue to thrive? Maybe due to some sort of consciousness evolution, this is how every 5,000 years civilization destructs and has to start over. I think I read a story about this potentially happening in Timothy Ferris's book Coming of Age in the Milky Way, how a prophet kept coming to Earth after several millennia to find civilization in various stages of progression: to thriving and rich, to just starting out, to wiped out and barren, to being on its way up, to thriving, then to falling apart. I need to find that story again.
"'You would have looked out on this vast undefined universe and you would have thought, as did the thinkers of that day, that we needed a method of consensus-building, a way to systematically explore this new world of ours. And you would have called this new way of discovering reality the scientific method, which is nothing more than testing an idea about how the universe works, arriving afterward at some conclusion, and then offering this conclusion to others to see if they agree.'" pg. 25
"'Experiments have revealed that when you break apart small aspects of this energy, what we call elementary particles, and try to observe how they operate, the act of observation itself alters the results--as if these elementary particles are influenced by what the experiments expects. This is true even if the particles must appear in places they couldn't possibly go, given the laws of the universe as we know them: two places at the same moment, forward or backward in time, that sort of thing.'" pg. 42
"To what extent does the physical universe as a whole--since it is made up of the same basic energy--respond to our expectations? To what extent do our expectations create all the things that happen to us?" pg. 59
"This is what human conflict has always been about, at every level: from all the petty conflict in families and employment settings to wars between nations. It's the result of feeling insecure and weak and having to steal someone else's energy to feel okay." pg. 89
"The realization was present that my life did not, in fact, begin with my conception and birth on this planet. It began much earlier with the formation of the rest of me, my real body, the universe itself." pg. 98
"'When you appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of things,' he explained, 'you receive energy. When you get to a level where you feel love, then you can send the energy back just by willing it so.'" pg. 113
"Once you become conscious of the questions active in the moment, you always get some kind of intuitive direction of what to do, of where to go. You get a hunch about the next step. Always. The only time this will not occur is when you have the wrong question in mind. You see, the problem in life isn't in receiving answers. The problem is in identifying your current questions. Once you get the questions right, the answers always come." pg. 154
"He said that the idea of an addiction, as used in the Manuscript, explains why power struggles arise in romantic relationships. We've always wondered what causes the bliss and euphoria of love to end, to suddenly turn into conflict, and now we know. It is a result of the flow of energy between the individuals involved. When love first happens, the two individuals are giving each other energy unconsciously and both people feel buoyant and elated. That's the incredible high we all call being 'in love.' Unfortunately, once they expect this feeling to come from the other person, they cut themselves off from the energy in the universe and begin to rely even more on the energy from each other--only now there doesn't seem to be enough and so they stop giving each other energy and fall back into their dramas in an attempt to control each other and force the other's energy their way. At this point the relationship degenerates into the usual power struggle." pg. 191-192
"You see, the problem with this complete person, this O, that both people think they have reached, is that it has taken two people to make this one whole person, one supplying the female energy and one supplying the male. This one whole person consequently has two heads, or egos. Both people want to run this whole person they have created and so, just as in childhood, both people want to command the other, as if the other were themselves. This kind of illusion of completeness always breaks down into a power struggle. In the end, each person must take the other for granted and even invalidate them so that they can lead this whole self in the direction they want to go. But of course that doesn't work, at least not any more. Perhaps in the past, one of the partners was willing to submit themselves to the other--usually the woman, sometimes the man. But we are waking up now. No one wants to be subservient to anyone else any longer." pg. 194
"Oh, we can still have romance. . . But first we have to complete the circle on our own. We have to stabilize our channel with the universe. That takes time, but afterward we are never susceptible to this problem again and we can have what the Manuscript calls a higher-relationship. When we connect romantically with another whole person after that, we create a super-person. . .but it never pulls us from the path of our individual evolution." pg. 194-195
"By resisting the 'love at first sight' feeling for a while, by learning to have platonic relationships with members of the opposite sex. But remember the process. You must have these relationships only with people who will reveal themselves totally, telling you how and why they are doing what they are doing--just as this would have happened with the opposite-sexed parent during an ideal childhood. By understanding who these opposite-sexed friends really are on the inside, one breaks past one's own fantasy projection about that gender, and that releases us to connect again with the universe." pg. 195
"Chance encounters do not exist. But how we respond to these encounters determines whether we're able to receive the message. If we have a conversation with someone who crosses our path and we do not see a message pertaining to our current questions, it does not mean there was no message. It only means we missed it for some reason." pg. 200
"The effect on the individual of this projection of energy is immense. . . Right now, for instance, you're filling me with energy. I can feel it. What I feel is a greater sense of lightness and clarity as I'm formulating my thoughts to speak. Because you are giving me more energy than I would have otherwise, I can see what my truth is and more readily give it to you. When I do that, you have a sense of revelation about what I'm saying. This leads you to see my higher self even more fully and so appreciate and focus on it at an even deeper level, which gives me even more energy and greater insight into my truth and the cycle begins over again. Two or more people doing this together can reach incredible highs as they build one another up and have it immediately returned. You must understand, though, that this connection is completely different from a co-dependent relationship. A co-dependent relationship begins this way but soon becomes controlling because the addiction cuts them off from their source and the energy runs out. Real projection of energy has no attachment or intention. Both people are just waiting for the messages." pg. 201
"Can you visualize human encounters that have this much meaning and significance? Think how it would be for two people meeting for the first time. Each will first observe the other's energy field, exposing any manipulations. Once clear, they will consciously share life stories until, elatedly, messages are discovered. Afterward, each will go forward again on their individual journey, but they will be significantly altered. They will vibrate at a new level and will thereafter touch others in a way not possible before their meeting." pg. 223
"[T]he Manuscript would clarify many religions. And would help them fulfill their promise. All religion, it says, is about humankind finding relationship to one higher source. And all religions speak of a perception of God within, a perception that fills us, makes us more than we were. Religions become corrupted when leaders are assigned to explain God's will to the people instead of showing them how to find this direction within themselves." pg. 239
Book: borrowed from Ferrier L.
I just question the simplicity behind the ideas near the end that talk about automation of everything to allow for more time efficiency so that human evolution can take place. People will stop spending so much time working and use that time to connect with the Universe and each other to evolve their consciousness. But won't there always have to be a "lower class" relegated to working and being denied access (free time) to evolving? Will "evolving" become an elitist privilege only?
And what about reducing the population consciously? We have had exponential human growth for the past 70 years all around the world, but maybe it's because this consciousness hasn't been reached yet. Can the desire to evolve outweigh the desire to have children? I do know many educated and spiritual people who are less worried about reproducing and more concerned for the state of the world, so maybe it's starting to happen.
And what about greed? Will greed and the desire for power always exist as part of human nature, and don't we need small doses of this in order for civilization to sustain itself? What are the characteristics that we would need as humans in order to successfully continue to thrive? Maybe due to some sort of consciousness evolution, this is how every 5,000 years civilization destructs and has to start over. I think I read a story about this potentially happening in Timothy Ferris's book Coming of Age in the Milky Way, how a prophet kept coming to Earth after several millennia to find civilization in various stages of progression: to thriving and rich, to just starting out, to wiped out and barren, to being on its way up, to thriving, then to falling apart. I need to find that story again.
"'You would have looked out on this vast undefined universe and you would have thought, as did the thinkers of that day, that we needed a method of consensus-building, a way to systematically explore this new world of ours. And you would have called this new way of discovering reality the scientific method, which is nothing more than testing an idea about how the universe works, arriving afterward at some conclusion, and then offering this conclusion to others to see if they agree.'" pg. 25
"'Experiments have revealed that when you break apart small aspects of this energy, what we call elementary particles, and try to observe how they operate, the act of observation itself alters the results--as if these elementary particles are influenced by what the experiments expects. This is true even if the particles must appear in places they couldn't possibly go, given the laws of the universe as we know them: two places at the same moment, forward or backward in time, that sort of thing.'" pg. 42
"To what extent does the physical universe as a whole--since it is made up of the same basic energy--respond to our expectations? To what extent do our expectations create all the things that happen to us?" pg. 59
"This is what human conflict has always been about, at every level: from all the petty conflict in families and employment settings to wars between nations. It's the result of feeling insecure and weak and having to steal someone else's energy to feel okay." pg. 89
"The realization was present that my life did not, in fact, begin with my conception and birth on this planet. It began much earlier with the formation of the rest of me, my real body, the universe itself." pg. 98
"'When you appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of things,' he explained, 'you receive energy. When you get to a level where you feel love, then you can send the energy back just by willing it so.'" pg. 113
"Once you become conscious of the questions active in the moment, you always get some kind of intuitive direction of what to do, of where to go. You get a hunch about the next step. Always. The only time this will not occur is when you have the wrong question in mind. You see, the problem in life isn't in receiving answers. The problem is in identifying your current questions. Once you get the questions right, the answers always come." pg. 154
"He said that the idea of an addiction, as used in the Manuscript, explains why power struggles arise in romantic relationships. We've always wondered what causes the bliss and euphoria of love to end, to suddenly turn into conflict, and now we know. It is a result of the flow of energy between the individuals involved. When love first happens, the two individuals are giving each other energy unconsciously and both people feel buoyant and elated. That's the incredible high we all call being 'in love.' Unfortunately, once they expect this feeling to come from the other person, they cut themselves off from the energy in the universe and begin to rely even more on the energy from each other--only now there doesn't seem to be enough and so they stop giving each other energy and fall back into their dramas in an attempt to control each other and force the other's energy their way. At this point the relationship degenerates into the usual power struggle." pg. 191-192
"You see, the problem with this complete person, this O, that both people think they have reached, is that it has taken two people to make this one whole person, one supplying the female energy and one supplying the male. This one whole person consequently has two heads, or egos. Both people want to run this whole person they have created and so, just as in childhood, both people want to command the other, as if the other were themselves. This kind of illusion of completeness always breaks down into a power struggle. In the end, each person must take the other for granted and even invalidate them so that they can lead this whole self in the direction they want to go. But of course that doesn't work, at least not any more. Perhaps in the past, one of the partners was willing to submit themselves to the other--usually the woman, sometimes the man. But we are waking up now. No one wants to be subservient to anyone else any longer." pg. 194
"Oh, we can still have romance. . . But first we have to complete the circle on our own. We have to stabilize our channel with the universe. That takes time, but afterward we are never susceptible to this problem again and we can have what the Manuscript calls a higher-relationship. When we connect romantically with another whole person after that, we create a super-person. . .but it never pulls us from the path of our individual evolution." pg. 194-195
"By resisting the 'love at first sight' feeling for a while, by learning to have platonic relationships with members of the opposite sex. But remember the process. You must have these relationships only with people who will reveal themselves totally, telling you how and why they are doing what they are doing--just as this would have happened with the opposite-sexed parent during an ideal childhood. By understanding who these opposite-sexed friends really are on the inside, one breaks past one's own fantasy projection about that gender, and that releases us to connect again with the universe." pg. 195
"Chance encounters do not exist. But how we respond to these encounters determines whether we're able to receive the message. If we have a conversation with someone who crosses our path and we do not see a message pertaining to our current questions, it does not mean there was no message. It only means we missed it for some reason." pg. 200
"The effect on the individual of this projection of energy is immense. . . Right now, for instance, you're filling me with energy. I can feel it. What I feel is a greater sense of lightness and clarity as I'm formulating my thoughts to speak. Because you are giving me more energy than I would have otherwise, I can see what my truth is and more readily give it to you. When I do that, you have a sense of revelation about what I'm saying. This leads you to see my higher self even more fully and so appreciate and focus on it at an even deeper level, which gives me even more energy and greater insight into my truth and the cycle begins over again. Two or more people doing this together can reach incredible highs as they build one another up and have it immediately returned. You must understand, though, that this connection is completely different from a co-dependent relationship. A co-dependent relationship begins this way but soon becomes controlling because the addiction cuts them off from their source and the energy runs out. Real projection of energy has no attachment or intention. Both people are just waiting for the messages." pg. 201
"Can you visualize human encounters that have this much meaning and significance? Think how it would be for two people meeting for the first time. Each will first observe the other's energy field, exposing any manipulations. Once clear, they will consciously share life stories until, elatedly, messages are discovered. Afterward, each will go forward again on their individual journey, but they will be significantly altered. They will vibrate at a new level and will thereafter touch others in a way not possible before their meeting." pg. 223
"[T]he Manuscript would clarify many religions. And would help them fulfill their promise. All religion, it says, is about humankind finding relationship to one higher source. And all religions speak of a perception of God within, a perception that fills us, makes us more than we were. Religions become corrupted when leaders are assigned to explain God's will to the people instead of showing them how to find this direction within themselves." pg. 239
Book: borrowed from Ferrier L.
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked it enough to finish it, but I must say, this book made me laugh.
I realise it's a staple for New Agers, but to me, it was a mediocre adventure novel combined with a mediocre New Age self help book. These two things mashed together, The Celestine Prophecy was readable: I just wanted to find out what the 9 insights were from the 'Manuscript' that our hero is trying to discover in Peru, but I didn't want to cheat by skipping ahead. So I ploughed through it.
I've long heard the myth about the dawn of a new age where spiritual gurus begin to 'vibrate' at a level that we suddenly disappear (or ascend, to use the Stargate term). But the way the author described it in the book in the last chapter, together with his vision for the utopian society, was positively comedic.
I loved the way the protagonist would tune out all the time when another character was explaining something important to him, and then the other person would take his 'tuning out' seriously and ask him what he was thinking. This just made me lol. The jerk just freeloaded off a bunch of others who saved his life and stuff, and from what I could tell didn't really contribute anything, or thank them from what I could remember! No wonder they told him to "leave Peru and never come back".
I would recommend this to others, particularly those of a spiritual leaning, to read it, just so they can tell people who constantly recommend it to them that they have already read it. However, as this is an early 90's book, it will most likely be nothing new. It is enjoyable but I found it a bit of a cop out in some ways. Basically, try to see the energy in things, wake up to yourself, and be nice to people like Jesus said, then you get to 'ascend', like he did. But please, hold out for the ending as it is quite hilarious.
I realise it's a staple for New Agers, but to me, it was a mediocre adventure novel combined with a mediocre New Age self help book. These two things mashed together, The Celestine Prophecy was readable: I just wanted to find out what the 9 insights were from the 'Manuscript' that our hero is trying to discover in Peru, but I didn't want to cheat by skipping ahead. So I ploughed through it.
I've long heard the myth about the dawn of a new age where spiritual gurus begin to 'vibrate' at a level that we suddenly disappear (or ascend, to use the Stargate term). But the way the author described it in the book in the last chapter, together with his vision for the utopian society, was positively comedic.
I loved the way the protagonist would tune out all the time when another character was explaining something important to him, and then the other person would take his 'tuning out' seriously and ask him what he was thinking. This just made me lol. The jerk just freeloaded off a bunch of others who saved his life and stuff, and from what I could tell didn't really contribute anything, or thank them from what I could remember! No wonder they told him to "leave Peru and never come back".
I would recommend this to others, particularly those of a spiritual leaning, to read it, just so they can tell people who constantly recommend it to them that they have already read it. However, as this is an early 90's book, it will most likely be nothing new. It is enjoyable but I found it a bit of a cop out in some ways. Basically, try to see the energy in things, wake up to yourself, and be nice to people like Jesus said, then you get to 'ascend', like he did. But please, hold out for the ending as it is quite hilarious.
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated