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sciencensorcery 's review for:
The Celestine Prophecy
by James Redfield
I first read this as a teenager when a copy was gifted to me by a coworker at my summer job. That was a long time ago and I really didn't remember very much of it at all. I don't think a lot of it must have stuck the first time, probably because I didn't have enough life experience to apply these ideas to and truly understand them. It's fiction, but the story is really just a vehicle for presenting spiritual ideas, which does help with giving some context to these often somewhat abstract concepts. There is some light action and adventure, but I recommend not expecting too much from the narrative and just treating it like a parable where you understand that the message is the real focus.
Some of the ideas presented in the book are weird and even creepy (there's a whole thing about how males and females are drawn to each other to complete their masculine/feminine balance, with some weird Freudian stuff thrown in about how kids connect with their different-gendered parent. I know this was written in the '90s, but wow is it hetero- and ciscentric and kinda gender-essentialist). However, there are a lot of other ideas which really align with things I have learned elsewhere or through my own experience that I think would be thought-provoking or enlightening to a lot of people. My recommendation is to not take the book too literally and just glean from it some of the ideas that speak to you and stay open to the ones that may not. Even in the weird stuff I just mentioned that mostly turned me off, there were aspects I could think about or learn from. You don't have to accept it all equally to get something from it.
If you're a cynic who thinks anything "New Age" or "spiritual" is automatically trash, then don't read this book. You'll hate it. If you're interested in opening yourself to new ideas that might help you connect better with yourself, other people, and the external world, then give it a try.
Some of the ideas presented in the book are weird and even creepy (there's a whole thing about how males and females are drawn to each other to complete their masculine/feminine balance, with some weird Freudian stuff thrown in about how kids connect with their different-gendered parent. I know this was written in the '90s, but wow is it hetero- and ciscentric and kinda gender-essentialist). However, there are a lot of other ideas which really align with things I have learned elsewhere or through my own experience that I think would be thought-provoking or enlightening to a lot of people. My recommendation is to not take the book too literally and just glean from it some of the ideas that speak to you and stay open to the ones that may not. Even in the weird stuff I just mentioned that mostly turned me off, there were aspects I could think about or learn from. You don't have to accept it all equally to get something from it.
If you're a cynic who thinks anything "New Age" or "spiritual" is automatically trash, then don't read this book. You'll hate it. If you're interested in opening yourself to new ideas that might help you connect better with yourself, other people, and the external world, then give it a try.