Celestine Prophecy, The

Rating:
Summary: If I could rate this a Zero I would (Yes, it's that ghastly)
Review: This book is absolutely awful. It passes itself off as some sort of mystery book on the outside, but then turns into a jumbled collection of [material] that does a disservice to the New Age movement with which it is associated. It's not that it's just bad New Age literature; it is quite possibly one of the worst books ever written. Not only does it struggle to maintain some semblance of a shred of cohesion, but characters and "plot" devices just magically appear from thin air when needed. I would advise anyone who is looking for some sort of guidance in the New Age movement to look elsewhere. I would advise anyone who's looking for a good mystery/thriller with elements of the supernatural and archaeology to look anywhere but here. You could probably write a better story yourself, and you won't end up feeling less intelligent for the effort.

Rating:
Summary: it helped me and maybe it'll help you too
Review: i just finished reading the celestine prophecy! the knowledge within the book completely fit in with my knowledge of love, nutrition, alternative/wholistic medicine, psychology, history, chi, new age of aquarius, quantum physics, magick, my own dreams, group dynamics, meditation, ecology, relationships, addictions, etc... i could relate very well to much that it revealed. the 9 insights are very simple truths, easy to grasp; although Redfield occasionaly makes oversimplified generalizations. reading the first few insights of the Celestine Prophecy repeated to me much of what i had already discovered and i was mainly excited to see someone else having put into words what i'd already been thinking. the later insights also incorporated much of what i already understood, but they definitely gave me a new way of looking at everything and they assembled lots of pieces that've recently been floating in my head into something very clear. it all seems so obvious now. i like the way the insights build upon eachother sequentially and they are told in parable form. i looked at the reviews on ... and most all of the negative reviews were critiqueing his writing style, but i think they were missing the points, or insights i should say. yes, the way in which he reveals them and tells the story may seem slightly corny, but it wasn't meant to be a great peace of literature; it was meant to help people find meaning and to evolve spiritually.
my final word on The Celestine Prophecy is that it is a powerful vision that synthesized previous knowlegde to give me a more precise direction in my spiritual evolution. i'm sure that a year from now, i'll consider this book just another influential stepping stone on my path and not "the best book i've ever read" as i consider it now. nonetheless, if you are ready and open to these insights, then i think you can benefit greatly from them. below is someone else's review of the book that i found to be particualrly short and sweet.
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The Celestine Prophecy is not the best novel ever written, in fact to some it may seem hookie. What was great about this book, and in my opinion any book, was that it helped me grasp many of the ideas that had been swimming around in my head but could not be put into a working formula. Its one of those books that makes you say "yeah, I knew that, but I couldn't find the words." As the story unfolds so do aspects of the reader's self. Each chapter, or insight, revealed something new about who I was and who I wanted to be.
Many of the ideas discussed in this book are nothing new. They are at the core of many eastern philosophies and are heavily influenced by mysticism. But who cares! Each interpretation of these ideas is in its own way unique. Its like listening to a radio station that plays a certain jeanra of music: each song has a common feel and yet each has its own personality.
All in all, it may not be a literary masterpiece but The Celestine Prophecy is a must read. It will move you in places that have been forgotten, ignored, or that have been suffocoated by the monotonies of western culture and idealogy.
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So simple, you might miss it. I want to say that this book was incredible, but it IS credible. Unless you live in a cave somewhere, and you never interact with anyone, then you will find yourself saying, "Wow, this guy makes sense. Why didn't I notice that before?" I think the reasons that this book is either rated as absolute garbage or absolutely mind-blowing, is because it's so simple. It's often the simple, basic ideas that we overlook. This book changed my way of thinking. It addresses a great number of issues that affect all of us everyday. YES, it is fiction, but that doesn't mean that you can't apply it to your nonfiction life. From the way you see yourself, to the way you interact with people, to the way you deal with problems, this book offers basic, simple insights to our complicated, frustrating lives.
Don't let this chance for enlightenment pass you by.

Rating:
Summary: Read it to experience real magic
Review: I can see that these days THE CELESTINE PROPHECY doesn't have as many fans as it used to. And I don't want to change anyone's opinion about it (you may like it, you may not), but in this review I'd just like to share my personal experience with this book with readers who are looking into buying a copy or borrowing one from the library.

Technically, THE CELESTINE PROPHECY may not be the best-written book ever. There have been many comments from disgruntled readers regarding the way author James Redfield wrote this book. In my case being a picky reader has not affected my reading experience when it came to this book. The novel (sometimes dubbed a "spiritual parable") is written using language that's quite simple and easy to follow. Maybe other readers wanted something a little more "grown-up" or "mature" in terms of the writing style, but the simplistic way that this was written worked very well for me. There are a lot of spiritual principles in THE CELESTINE PROPHECY that might be difficult to understand if they weren't explained as simply as they were.

And those spiritual principles--outdated though they might be for the advanced student of metaphysics--could be very inspiring for someone new to exploring their spirituality, or someone terribly down in the dumps. In my experience, reading this book in my college years (around 5 years ago) certainly helped me see beyond our physical world so that I could better understand the purpose of my life and not get stuck thinking negatively.

I'd like to share, too, that while I was reading the book, whatever spiritual principle was being discussed, I was experiencing acutely in my life. I got to see CLEARLY the energy around plants, and it was also at this time that I began to see the auric field surrounding humans.

For those only beginning to explore the spiritual world, you might want to give this book a try. I recommend it to you with love. :)

Rating:
Summary: This "Book" "Changed" My "Life"
Review: Where to begin? This book just works on so many levels: the riveting plot development, the penetrating attention to detail, the masterful characterization, and of course, the earth-shaking, bone-rattling, mind-jarring philosophical ideas for which the story is merely a vehicle, though without which this novel of ideas would still earn a rightful berth in the canon of American literature. It is rare to read such a fine piece of fiction that has such amazing applications in daily life. After several years of practice I have gained quite a reputation for my "invisibility trick" at parties. It would also have allowed me quite the leeway with the ladies had I not been scared poopless of them being able to read my lustful thoughts.

Some reviewers have panned Redfield as a money-grubbing hack. Well, would you say the same of other modern giants like L. Ron Hubbard? Huh? Would ya?

I would have given this book 9 stars (for each of the 9 "insights"), but instead I'll give it one. One star for James Redfield, genius, giant, pornstar.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent soul searching book!
Review: This is an excellent soul searching book! If you're looking for a book on spirituality that will breath life back into you, this is the book for you. It gives us insights about our life experiences as you follow a great adventure story. The explanations are perhaps a bit oversimplified but it still carries an inspiring and powerful message. A more comprehensive but nevertheless "easy to understand" book on these types of things is "Rhythm, Relationships, and Transcendence" by Toru Sato. It is full of even more interesting insights about our experiences!

Rating:
Summary: Possibly the worst book I've ever read....ever!
Review: I take no issue with the content of the book, but rather the weak story and lame writing style. It's a little too convenient that *everyone* met in Peru speaks perfect English. The tone, word choice, and style read more like a college term paper in "creative writing" than an actual book worthy of print and sale. I'm shocked this thing made it to print and the editor didn't laugh the manuscript out of their office.

Rating:
Summary: Synchronicity is real: An exoteric look at the esoteric
Review: James Redfield's "The Celestine Prophecy" is essential reading for all spiritual seekers and anyone searching for truth in the most unlikely places.

One reviewer of the book said something along the lines of "and I thought this book was supposed to be fiction!"

In one respect, the book is indeed fiction. It is an allegorical tale written in the first person perspective. Curiously, the author's name is never mentioned, and the reader assumes that the main character is James Redfield.

As far as I know, Mr. Redfield did not actually undergoe the adventures described in his book, at least not physically. It is possible that he did receive the insights described in the Peruvian manuscript while in a drug-induced trance state, during transendental meditation, or while in a dissociative gray void.

Either way, the insights are remarkably accurate in describing human spirituality and the nature of human bio-energy and its interactions. And yes, people can and do see energy fields. For more information I suggest reading "How to See and Read the Aura" by Ted Andrews.

As a follow up to this book, I would suggest David Icke's "I am Me, I am Free: The Robot's Guide to Freedom." It is much more advanced and has more spiritual meat than Redfield's books; however, Icke's work can be anywhere from slightly to overly distressing to those unfamiliar with esoteric information.

Peace and love to all.

Rating:
Summary: Judge a book by its Critics and Supporters
Review: I'll keep it simple.

Read at least 50 reviews of this book on Amazon, and you'll see something interesting. Almost every unhelpful and grammatically-poor review you'll read is written in praise of this book. I'm not saying that this book is bad because the people who love it are poor writers, but I do believe it reflects poorly on the book.

As for me, I don't like New Age literature, but this one is okay. On the positive side: it's hopeful and interesting to read (despite the flat characters). It makes you feel good about yourself and the world.

On the negative side: Although this book will pat you kindly on your back when life is stressful, it won't teach you how to turn your stressful life around.

Try Steven Covey's 7 Habits of Successful People for something like that.

Rating:
Summary: Changed my life
Review: Read it and you'll see, there's a reason why you were meant to read these reviews. Just buy it, you'll have no regrets.

Rating:
Summary: A nice thought but not very realistic
Review: The Book The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield has a nice message on how you can change your life, but isn't really based on any facts. Redfields' premis is that if you follow nine simple steps your life can be completly different and you can find the true meaning of your existance. The first insight is that nothing happends by chance everything that happends is supposed to happen. Redfield fails to include ant type of probability into his argument. Mathmatically speaking the coencodences that he speaks of happen all the time and it isn't rare for strange things to happen. Another insight speaks about how people can see energy fields. This maybe true, but I can't see them nor can anyone else I have talked to about this book. Then the author goes on to talk about how all we need to do is let go of the past and stop our "control drama" to stop dominating other people. The author states that depending on peoples parents. If feel that that statement makes a hasty generalization. To say that all people are going to be the same because of their parents is totally false. Next the author talkes about how we need to stop sucking other people out of there energy and rely on nature to give us all the energy we need. One can't prove that we suck energy from other people or that looking at mountains and trees make people have all the energy they will need to live. To make a long story short none of the insights can be proven, and many go against common sense. Though overall I enjoyed reading this book and think that it has a nice message. The author layed out his argument well and the I feel the book was well written. The insights do make sense on a surface level there is something about each insight that could be true for everyone and apply in some general way but I feel that it should be taken with a grain of salt. I wouldn't take off to Peru just yet.