Why
did you choose
to visit this Web site today? Or more specifically, why did you choose
to read this book review? On the surface the answers may seem simple,
almost trivial, but even the smallest choices we make at each and every
moment have important meaning for our lives. This is one of the main
ideas explored in James Redfield’s The Celestine Prophecy and
The
Secret of Shambhala: In Search of the Eleventh Insight.
James
Redfield is possibly a #1 New York Times bestselling author not because
of his writing style (at times I found his writing a little too wordy
and technical), but more because of the thought-provoking ideas he
writes about. Once you’ve read the book you can’t
help but
apply “The Insights” to your life and encourage
someone
else to read the book and do the same. Our very own Lady P turned me on
to these books and hopefully I can extend the same gift to you.
The
Celestine Prophecy is the first book in Redfield’s series and
it’s in this book that we’re introduced to the
first nine
Celestine Insights (there are 11 insights to date; the 12th has yet to
be discovered). The basis of The Insights is that a new spiritual
awakening is occurring in society and this shift in thinking brings
individuals closer to following their destiny and fulfilling their life
purpose. The main character, John Woodson, haphazardly finds himself on
an international adventure to uncover the truth of these insights and
his journey becomes our own. John’s adventure helps us to
understand that all people have energy and it’s this energy
that
connects us all. Does that sound a little too New Age? Too hard to
swallow? Well, can you think of a person that you can’t be
around
for longer than five minutes because they just have a way of bringing
you down? It’s like, their negative energy jumps from them to
you? Or, have you ever been to a dinner party and there’s
always
that one person who comes in and all eyes turn to them and their
presence radiates the room? If so, you’ve experienced the
power
of energy. The Celestine Prophecy shows us a new way of thinking about
energy and using it for our higher good.
The
Secret of Shambhala builds on the ideas presented in the The Celestine
Prophecy and of the two this book is my favorite. John Woodson is led
to Tibet and in the course of running from Chinese officials he
discovers the secret of Shambhala. He finds that Shambhala is not a
fantasy, but an actual place…a state of being…a
way of
life. In his journey we learn the importance of energy and also of
positive thought. Our thoughts, whether they are positive or negative,
are like constant prayers looping over and over in our heads. These
thoughts help to create our reality. If you expect the best outcome to
happen, more than likely it does. And equally true, if you expect the
worst that’s what you’ll get. This book really
helped me to
monitor and put a check on the thoughts I’m putting out into
the
world. Again, this may sound too New Age for some, but just try
monitoring your thoughts for a week or even one day and see what shows
up in your life as a result. It may surprise you.
These
books, although spiritual in nature, are not tied to any particular
religion. The ideas expressed are open to all and can be used by all.
Regardless of your belief (or lack of) in The Insights,
there’s
no harm done in people holding themselves and others in high esteem,
meditating on positive thoughts and sending positive energy out into
the world. Maybe if we all did a little bit more of this
there’d
be no need to search for Shambhala. Peace on earth would be enough.
Sandria
M. Washington is a freelance writer living in Chicago.
