Celestine Prophecy

Aerin

I read this book around ten or so years ago when I was making a huge attempt to open up to things I would have previously dismissed. At first I was quite engaged by the story, and then as time went on I got frustrated by what I saw as a plot device. But - it was quite interesting so I got the second book 10th Insight. That REALLY annoyed me; I don't like feeling I am being preached at and I don't like "The One True Way". I also felt used.

I got rid of both books.

I decided that all he was interested in was starting an industry to make himself a lot of money. That's how I felt. I am probably wrong but it left me feeling yucky. Too "cult" for my tastes.
 

KafkasGhost

I remember reading it and being completely taken by it. I wanted to vibrate myself out of the room!

This was years ago, however, and I may be in a more "critic-"cal phase in my life so I'm not sure if I would get the same excited feeling reading it now as I did back then. I question more things these days (like ideomotor movement for pendulums, but that is totally OT :D).

I think that the spread introduced by Teheuti (and inspired by Celestine Prophecy) is very interesting, and one I would definitely explore, as I don't see it having any direct relation to the book.

LippyCathedral: have an experience and read the 2nd book. There is nothing more powerful than exercising Free Choice, after all is considered, pro or con.
 

Milfoil

LippyCathedral said:
It really opened up my eyes to a new way of looking at the world, it taught me a lot and i recommend it to everyone.

Many things have opened my eyes to new ways of looking at the world, all are usefull in some way, however, sometimes my beliefs have been based upon the missunderstandings, propoganda or lies of others! (Just look at the evening news each day) It is worth viewing all information, whether in this book or from any other source, with a healthy degree of open mindedness. Wholesale acceptance of anything seems to blind us to greater possibilities and books are always written from the agenda of the author.

I read part of the book some years ago. It was in the library and I wondered what all the fuss was about. After a strange niggling doubt about 'Why Peru' and how similar some of this stuff was with other, WAY older beliefs, I browsed briefly through the rest of the book, picking up the key points, which also seemed to be garnered from several traditional sources so I took it back.

Some of the book merits comment if only to point readers to the original sources/inspiration for the concepts but this is not given in the book which attempts to put these spiritual insights across as unique and new. That I find difficult to swallow.
 

Teheuti

What I find curious in this discussion is that it seems to have polarized around two perspectives.

1) This (or any) book (whether deemed good or bad) may offer something worth while to the right person at the right place and at the right time.

2) This book has nothing of value in it because it is based on a lie, such that it's better to stab yourself than to read it.

No one likes to be lied to, but I wouldn't hurt myself over it.

I remember early discussions on tarotl where some people felt the occult tarot should be condemned because it originated with lies (stated origins in Egypt or Kabbalah, the Golden Dawn cipher manuscript and the founding myths of that society, etc.). If a lie is a reason for someone to absolutely condemn all things related to that lie then I suppose the whole field of occult and divinatory tarot should be condemned.

Most occult and magical societies through the 19th century and some today perpetuate a founding myth of their origins that was presented to members as truth.

Yet a book that is clearly labeled as fiction (twice) on the copyright page is condemned because it is assumed to be true only to discover that it's fiction. A similar complaint was made about Dan Brown's novel, The DaVinci Code. How dare he present his material as truth? But, Brown didn't—it was fiction! Did both authors want to make people think outside the box? Yes.
 

Teheuti

Milfoil said:
Some of the book merits comment if only to point readers to the original sources/inspiration for the concepts but this is not given in the book which attempts to put these spiritual insights across as unique and new. That I find difficult to swallow.
This was my biggest problem with this book—saying that this knowledge is exclusive to this source. I find it even more so with the film "The Secret." In a story/parable it's not part of the story to list all the sources of the ideas (and how many people even know where an idea first reared it's head?). However, "The Secret" is not presented as fiction but rather claims to reveal what was hidden—without telling us where the ideas come from. Still, I'm sure that for many people this will be a jumping off place to further and deeper studies.

I was talking to a young man recently about some new Human Potential workshop program that he belongs to. He is sworn to secrecy about the powerful techniques they are learning—that will "revolutionize human consciousness." Since he couldn't tell me anything specific I started telling him about processes I had learned through the years that I thought might be similar to what he was learning. His mouth dropped open as I revealed all their "secrets." I then told him the sources in everything from EST to Silva Mind Control to Rebirthing to Enlightenment Seminars to theatrical acting exercises and New Thought "positive thinking." He was astonished that his group's secret practices were common to all of these (more or less).

Mostly, I find all this posturing silly, but there is also magical power to be found in the fourth classic principle "to keep silent." I even felt a little bad to be bursting his bubble.
 

Lillie

You copy must be different to mine.

I admit, it's been a while since I read it, and I am not in the house with it, so I am unable to check.

However, from what I recall the copy I have is labelled philosophy or spirituality, or something like that on the cover, on the small print on the back where the ISBN number is.
And nowhere that I could find does it say fiction.

I remember looking.

Of course, when I get home I will check. And if it does say fiction on it, in any place where it is at all likely that I would have seen it before I started reading the book, I will ritually sacrifice myself on the alter reserved for people who are so unbelievably stupid they deserve everything they get.

My son bought a copy of a film caller Inglorious B******s at Christmas.
On the cover it said (in large words) that it included an interview with Quentin Tarantino.

OK, it never said that it was in fact the Quentin Tarantino film, but the implication was most certainly there.

It wasn't.
It was some weird old film from the 70's...

Long story, and OK, my son is a retard, and Tescos ripped him off, but it was a piece of tricksy labelling.

That was almost entirely irrelevant, wasn't it?

Anyway, whether it was due to their tricksey labelling, or my own stupidity, I felt they had lied to me and deceived me, and I really, really hate that.

I'm going to have to check..
Sigh...
If I'm wrong I am going to feel so foolish.

Mind you, even if I am stupid, I still maintain that it's crap.
I stand by that.
 

Teheuti

Lillie said:
You copy must be different to mine.
I don't have a copy. I read the self-published edition, given to my brother-in-law by his friend the author. Redfield never thought it was going to become the mega-seller that it eventually became.

Here's what the current edition on Amazon has on its copyright page:

"1. Manuscripts—collectors and collecting—Peru—Fiction. 2. Spiritual life—Fiction. 3. Adventure stories."

These labels are placed there to guide booksellers in placing the book in the appropriate sections of a bookstore. I check these out if I am in doubt about a book's category.
 

Lillie

Well, I'm 100's of miles away from my copy.

So we shall all have to wait in trepidation to see if I end up having to immolate myself upon the moron alter.

When I find out I shall be sure to post, even if I have to hang my head in shame.

Oh!

I know!

I'll wear the cone of shame...
 

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Aerin

:D @Lillie

Yes, I think the thing that ended up making me feel most annoyed was the lack of references to previous ideas (I like to know, I like to read the source rather than what someone else has made of it). And that's where I got the impression I got, ESPECIALLY with the 10th Insight book. I began to feel patronised as well as used.

I remember a trainer once getting very annoyed about "secret" knowledge he felt should be open to everyone, and not made as hard as it was to acquire (he did run a training company though so had an interest in selling his stuff, although he was very up front about this). He used to do Transcendental Meditation training and stopped because of the mystique and secrecy agreements surrounding it.

Anyone IMO who claims to have:
THE solution no-one else has thought of
THE answer
THE route to spiritual awareness

is suspect...

I know, that's me.
 

Teheuti

"Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth."
--Pablo Picasso