Rating: 
Summary: A Spiritual Journey
Review: Many of you have heard about this book, but may be wondering... what exactly is the Celestine Prophecy? Some type of church or new age mumbo - jumbo? This book tells a story of an American, who is adventuring in the rain forests of Peru, and discovers a set of nine manuscripts. These manuscripts, referred to as "insights", offer ways of discovering a new sense of life. The story is told in 9 chapters, as our American adventurer discovers more information and interprets the meaning of these hidden "truths" (insights).The first two insights reveal how mankind is currently undergoing a new spiritual awakening and touches on how coincidences in each of our lives may be more than mere coincidences after all. The next three insights reveal that many of us may see the world we live in, as a material universe, when in fact our universe is one filled with dynamic energy. The book goes on to explain how this energy is the cause of most verbal/physical confrontations between humans as well as how to understand the power struggles that occur in most relationships ( son-father / daughter-mother / husband-wife / boyfriend/ girlfriend, etc. ). There is a great section on how each of us can learn to avoid the people in our lives who are continually manipulating or "draining" our own personal energy and how each of us can find a good source of constant positive energy! The last four insights help you to begin discovering what your our own personal, spiritual "mission" in life may be and how each of us can contribute to the world around us. There is a great section about becoming personally aware of our own energy manipulations towards other people, and how overcoming these manipulations as well as allowing "coincidences" in our lives to take place will help guide us in fulfilling our own personal "missions" in life. Why has this book been so life changing, and praised by millions of people worldwide? Because, in a way, it is getting each of us in touch with something we knew already, but didn't realize we knew. You begin to recognize your own half - conscious ability to follow hunches, taking advantage of coincidental opportunities that arise. Most importantly, without preaching anything religious at all, this book fills a spiritual void most people have had, by helping each of us determine what our own spiritual mission in life is. The Celestine Prophecy is not really about making a change in your personal philosophy, as it is about simply shifting our approach to life and how we sense the lives of those around us. Truly, as the back cover claims, "a book that comes along once in a lifetime, to change lives forever". Overall, an extremely important book, with something for everyone. A truly priceless addition to your personal library...( well, not really priceless... Amazon.com has it for only about 10 bucks, and it ships in 24 hours! )
Rating: 
Summary: third reading
Review: I have to agree with some of the other reviewers - If you are not ready to read this book - it will not make sense to you. I just finished reading TCP for the third time since I first read it about 10 years ago. I am amazed at how much more I have learned from this reading. If you feel that you are playing the same life scene over and over, and that you want to make a change for the better - this book is for you. If you do not feel that something in your life is missing, don't read the book! I have to say, this book has helped me learn what my control drama was - why I repeated my same mistakes, and how to stop the cycle.
Rating: 
Summary: My prophecy is thumbs down!
Review: I can't think of a book I've read recently that I've enjoyed less than this one. How could anyone (not smoking something) possibly take these "insights" as serious. I found it difficult to belive that the main character became so "rapidly" experienced in each insight to the point of what I'll call, the "a-ha" moment. If you truly want to see how events in your life are an influence in your future life, you may as well call the psychic hotline. You'll have better luck with that than with this book. I picked this book up at a used book store because it had been highly recommended. It was highly over priced at $1.00.
Rating: 
Summary: To the cynics and the sycophants
Review: I would like to start out by saying that I am neither an advocate nor a critic for this book. I am an English Literature major and, generally speaking, I prefer to read books by such authors as Nabokov, Joyce, Tolstoy, etc.; however, I do not prefer to read books by these authors because they are "acclaimed and renown" in the literature community, but rather because their style of prose exemplifies what the art of writing a novel represents. I read The Celestine Prophecy because it was given to me as a birthday present by a very close friend of mine; and so, in a sense, I was compelled to read it out of a respect for my friend; however, despite the fact that my reading of the book was not voluntary, I can veritably say that I was not completely displeased with it. Fact: Redfield's writing style is very unimaginative and simplistic, but it is so in an Occam's Razor type of sensibility. Fact: The concepts discussed in the novel are quite pragmatic and rudimentary, however, to some they may be enlightening and helpful, as, on a certain self-assuring level, they were for me -- though on a much lower plane of thought than that which I am accustomed to experiencing from works of Literature. With that said, I would have to say that I would reccomend this work of fiction to most readers, because regardless of the intellectual capacity of The Celestine Prophecy, or any novel for that matter, furthering your knowledge of what lies within the walls of your local bookstore will always result in an aggrandizement of your understanding about humanity and its convoluted realities....even Nabokov read petty prose from time to time just as a means of knowing what was out there. And as for those one star cynics, I only have one comment: If you are going to write a bad review about an author, at least use proper grammar. After reading this book, I decided to peruse some of the bad reviews of it on this website, and I was matter-of-factly astonished at the number of solecistic improprieties used by these so called "scholars" who were writing horrible reviews of this book, claiming how stupid and elementary it was. If you ever even grace the possibility of being a published author, I empathize with your editor. In synopsis, it's a descent book, worth reading at least -- and if you are going to debase it with a cynical, shallow-minded one star review, please at least check your grammar, punctuation and spelling......you are only insulting your own intelligence, not that of the author.
Rating:
Summary: A pleasant, enjoyable and insightful read
Review: I truly enjoyed this book; somehow the bad writing, as if it were written by your gifted high-school student friend, student or child, made it that much more endearing and added a level of natural authenticity to the feelings if not all the experiences meant to be consumed as facts. My dearest hope is that people take a "Celestinian prophetic" approach to the riches of life that we already enjoy after reading this, and take another look at the classics of art, culture (Western and Eastern) and philosophy with new eyes- not to mention (dare I say it) the Bible. Today's New-Agers are so quick to claim the latest re-invention of the wheel as the Newest Testament to bring us out of the ignorance of six millenia of what we call civilization that they miss one simple fact: EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN. This can even be missed among the followers of Redfield themselves. I invite all who enjoyed this book as much as I have to look again at the writings of Spinoza, the inventions and discoveries (and for God sakes the ancient influences) of Newton, the music of Bach, the archetypes and anima/animus theories of Jung, THE BOOK OF JOHN- and maybe, oh I dunno, try picking up a book or two by some radical Egyptologists like Bernal or Dr. Ben-Jochannan and see where the Mayan culture connects with cultures even more ancient, and where these profound, "revolutionary" thoughts of the nine insights have been around for several thousand years- and successfully ignored by much of today's world (that is, until now).
Rating:
Summary: An Energized Adventure
Review: I'd put this book on the other end of the bell curve as compared with Deepak Chopra's "Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire;" they both in essence speak to the same message, one a very simply written, allegorical fiction, the other a rather complex read. (see that Amazon review.) It's the message that counts! We are all connected. We must realize this connectiveness that extends to the energy of the universe and includes the forests that we are quickly eliminating because we cannot see this connection with our eyes. The answer to peace is to seek it from within and utilize the remaining bits of nature to help show us the way as the character in this book does. I will continue to believe in the power of human potential for constructive rather than destructive greatness and you can too by examining your own contributions or detractions from the whole. Even for me this story line is arguably a bit far fetched but it still echoes the dangerous patterns of behavior that lead us humans the wrong direction and offers some solutions on the journey that you may have heard before but maybe this time it will stick (like eat your vegetables for energy!) This book is worth the very quick read that it affords, to see what insights you might garner, or just to stop for a moment under a shady tree, read and drink in the energy, before you continue on the adventure of life!
Rating:
Summary: re: To the cynics and the sycophants
Review: I don't know much about this book -- it intrigued me a few times while it sat on a few coffee tables. It caused the sort of intrigue one has when watching someone eat a bowl of live earthworms; the intrigue one has when staring down another psychology major on campus. It seems about as useful as either.
I write this review, not because of the many gratifying moments when I realized I didn't buy this book, but because of the referenced condescending review. My first suggestion is for you to put the thesaurus down for a minute -- you aren't impressing. Secondly, before you criticize about grammar and so forth, cut the run-on sentences and proofread decently, not descently.
Rating:
Summary: Okay
Review: My mate Derick recommended this book. He said it was good, so I bought it. Its okay. Its not great, it's just okay. Derick likes broccoli and peas, mind, which I don't like. So I suppose we have different tastes. Yes. That explains it.
Rating:
Summary: 11 years and still evoking comment
Review: I came to this section of Amazon while following the directions of class I am taking.. Introduction to Database Development.
I was instructed to search for a book I had read and then scroll to the reader comment section... I can not believe people are still commenting so strongly on this book. Personally it was very inspiring and life changing for me when I read it 10 years ago when I was thirty. This information was just coming into main stream America. It's important to put it into historical perpective based on your location in America... As would be expected from people in California this information in 1993 would not be new.. but to some of us in the northeast it was shattering. What I love about the celestine prophecy is that you can take from it what you wish.. it's a parable.. just like the parables from the bible. Just a simple story to convey some ideas.. take it or leave it. It was an easy read that I enjoyed one winter weekend while it snowed. It makes for fun conversation when you talk about energy exchanges and energy vampires. It's been useful when understanding how different people react to the same situation. So if you are looking for light adventure story with a great self publishing story.. enjoy the book.. if you feel the need to compare to great works of literature and that is entertaining to you then open you mind and enjoy.. or if you are so inclined take a red pen and mark it up like an english teacher... it's your life.. enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: My prophecy is thumbs down!
Review: I can't think of a book I've read recently that I've enjoyed less than this one. How could anyone (not smoking something) possibly take these "insights" as serious. I found it difficult to belive that the main character became so "rapidly" experienced in each insight to the point of what I'll call, the "a-ha" moment. If you truly want to see how events in your life are an influence in your future life, you may as well call the psychic hotline. You'll have better luck with that than with this book. I picked this book up at a used book store because it had been highly recommended. It was highly over priced at $1.00.
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