Crenshaw's Books & Decks

ABOUT THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS

The Gospel of Thomas is one of the main non-Canonical texts, a collection of about 150 sayings probably originated amid the Syrian Early Christian Church.This Gospel is contemporary to Mark's but a precedes it, and it was written about the year 62 AD; therefore, some of the sayings, about half of them, can be found in Mark's, Luke's and Matthew's, but they came to be gathered not from the Canonical Gospels but from other sources, and they are in a more primitive or less elaborate state in Thomas'.  You will immediately recognise some of them. Yet, read within the context of this Gospel, they are charged with new meanings, and they are not in the same sequence as they appear in the Canon The main difference with the Canonical Gospels are in the absence of references to the crucifixion and resurrection, they don't present Jesus as the Messiah, the theme of sin-salvation is absent here, and the Kingdom of God is not about the clouds but in the here and now. 

Although usually called a Gnostic Gospel, the nature, format and themes of this Gospel aren't Gnostic at all. However, the fact that was discovered in 1945 with a bunch of properly Gnostic texts made the association easily.

This is one of those texts necessary to understand early Christianity and get a view of Jesus and of his message that is similar to the Canonical texts but essentially divergent from those. These sayings are intended to be cryptic on purpose so as to facilitate believers 's reflection, introspection and initiation into what is supposed to be the real message of Jesus.

 In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus reveals his mysteries obliquely, indirectly, through parables and proverbs and obscure statements. Those worthy of the mysteries, therefore, are those who have proved themselves able to fathom them, seek their meaning, and find their interpretation. Jesus does not reveal his mysteries to you; he reveals the opportunity for you to find the meaning of those mysteries on your own." (p. 82).

THE BEAUTY OF THIS GOSPEL, TO ME

The Gospel of Thomas is very fresh and intimate. The canonical contextualisation we find in the other Gospels is absent from these sayings, so we have a rawer material and a rawer Jesus in a way. One feels as those disciples might have felt when hearing a remarkable man speaking in mysterious but profound ways.

The beauty of this Gospel also relies on the fact that it requires the reader's complete involvement. The aim of this Gospel is not to that of lecturing you on what to do, what not to do, good and evil, the aim is to make readers find our own way to enlightenment.

If one sets aside that these sayings are Jesus', the text still has great spiritual and intellectual juice. One of the most remarkable things about this Gospel, to me, is its modernity, and how can connect with modern spiritual seekers but also with old traditional forms of spirituality, as the wisdom of embedded in this Gospel has a Universal nature.  Agnostics, liberal Christians, mainstream Christians, Buddhists, Sufis and Native Indian Americans, among others, will certainly have no problems with the main messages conveyed by this collection of sayings. Conservative and fundamentalist Christians will have problem digesting these texts, so beware.

As a lover of Zen and of Jungian literature, I thought that some of these sayings are very Jungian; or said differently,  having a general knowledge of Jungian Psychology sheds light on some of the most obscure sayings At the same time, the sayings share some similarity with the puzzling shocking nature of  koans, as are they designed to appear nonsensical, shock and make you question what you are reading or hearing, question reality itself.

THIS EDITION

1/ INTRODUCTION

The introductory part has different parts. Preface, Foreword, About the Gospel of Thomas, Introduction and Cast of Characters.

I personally find the foreword by Andrew Harvey especially inspired, as he's able to connect this Gospel with different spiritual movements. The proper introduction is aimed to the general public, therefore, it covers all the basic one needs to know but without providing details or scholarly stuff to back up some of the things said. Nothing overly complicated is mentioned, but all the basics you know to know about this Gospel are there, and those would be more than enough for most people. I thought that the Introduction was acceptable and helpful.

Issues

 ⤐ I found  all the structure of the introductory part a bit chaotic. To me, it would have make more sense to start with the introduction, continue with the foreword and preface. However, that is impossible because there are at least two people writing the introductory bits, separately and without much communication among them, as some things are repeated. I would have eliminated the 'cast of characters' part (which is superficial and unnecessary unless you are totally unfamiliar with Christianity) and incorporated the part called the 'Gospel of Thomas' into the introduction. I would have also incorporated into the Introduction all the considerations that Davis makes in the notes devoted to the characteristics of the Gospel and not to the saying being commented upon; I would also do the same with the quotes by scholars that relate to the Gospel not to the saying commented, which happen to be included also in the notes.
⤐  It's not clear who has written what. The foreword is by Andrew Harvey while the translation and notes are by Davis, so who wrote the rest? Ron Miller? The Cover of the hard-copy seems to indicate that, but the book I have in my Kindle doesn't mention Ron Miller at all. I found all of this a bit confusing a a total turn off.
⤐ Although the authors mention that they don't want to interpret the sayings for us, as this goes against the original nature of this Gospel, Harvey does the contrary in part of the foreword and Davis does the same, many times, in his commentary.

2/ THE TRANSLATION

The translation presented in this edition was done using the original Coptic and Greek manuscripts, so it is not a translation of a translation, as many others are. That is great. I found the translation acceptable and readable. I am not a translator of Greek or Coptic, of our Early Christian texts, but I'm familiar with translation and I know how difficult and frustrating is interpreting texts with anacolutha and/or destroyed parts of the text when no further context is available. Some of the notes point out the difficulties found by the translator (Davis in this case) to properly translate and interpret the sayings.

3/ ANNOTATIONS AND COMMENTARY

Generally speaking, I found Davis' annotations helpful for the lay reader and for the general public. I especially like those notes that provide cross-references between themes, messages and episodes in the Gospel that relate to others mentioned in the canonical Gospels. I also liked that Davis was able to read the text as a whole, and give some interpretations taking into account the semantic integrity of the text as a whole.

Issues

 I found some of Davis' annotations preposterous, speculative, contradictory between themselves, and off point. Some of the notes extend unnecessarily explaining things that seem to be quite straightforward, while others that are not so as presented as such. Other times the sayings are taken literally and therefore the author finds himself with contradictions where there is none. In other occasions, the explanations aren't satisfactory, perhaps because they seem to be lacking something or perhaps because Davis has in mind something he is familiar with but is not explaining to the reader.

I will provide some samples of comments that I found, just to give you a taste of what you might find:

BAD RENDERING FOR KINDLE

A d-i-s-a-s-t-e-r for Kindle on Android, way better on Kindle Paperwhite or Kindle for PC.
⤐   Kindle for Android. The endnotes  are not linked forward, just backwards, from the note to the text and not vice versa. To check any note you have to go to the general index, press annotations and manually find the note of you interest. As there are 100+ notes, you can imagine how bothersome this can be. Besides, the call numbers in the body of the text appear partially hidden by the text when they are located at the end of a paragraph. In Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle for PC the notes are properly linked, but I cannot highlight or introduce my own notes in the note area! The call numbers appear where they should.
⤐ KA: The whole pagination system is messed up. The introductory chapters have no pagination. The pages with the sayings are all no. 1. The pages with the annotations are numbered, but not according to correlative or natural numeration, as the sequence in pagination is not correct. Location numbers would have been more helpful, but they are nowhere to be found. Terrible! KP: no numeration, just locations, which is fine with me. &PC: locations + pagination, but the pagination suffers from the same problem as the KA.
⤐ All formats: The Lateral menu has a typo, as well, charactrs instead of characters.

I paid 13+ bucks, but this is still ripping off customers who pay for an e-book and get lazy editors doing nothing to convert a normal book into electronic format.

MY SUGGESTIONS

↬ Read the sayings per se, on their own, without any commentary, before reading the introduction and the annotations (endnotes). Do your own digging, spiritual or intellectual that might be on your own, as this is the primal intention of the Gospel. Then, read the book as a whole.
↬ As this book is directed to the general public, it needs to be simple. You might want to get this Gospel properly contextualised in history and see how it fits in the history of Early Christianity.  If that is your case, I highly recommend one of the Great Courses,  Gnosticism: From Nag Hammadi to the Gospel of Judas, which is not only rigorous but very entertaining. On the other hand, as the Gospel itself is a translation, and biblical texts are far from being straightforward or easy to translate, I would recommend reading a work from a biblical translator, who highlights the difficulties and distortions that biblical translations can create; it is not devoted to this Gospel, but worth a read if you are the curious type: The Bible doesn't say that.

IN SHORT

This edition and translation of the Gospel of Thomas is good overall for the general public. If you want something approachable and easy to understand, this edition will serve you fine.  I have a preference for properly scholar books and editions, especially when talking about anything related to religious texts; if this is also your case, avoid this book. The book would have benefited from peer-reviewing before publishing, because it seems the editorial house published the book after basic editorial work. Sadly, some of the criticism is well-grounded. If you are just interested in the sayings per se, without further reading or noting, this will be a good book to start with, as I found the translation acceptable.

Ami, The Child from the Stars, is a spiritual New Age fable disguised as an adventure for young adults and adults.

Pedro, a boy holidaying in a coastal town meets Ami, who arrives in a flying saucer and spends the night with Pedro showing him some planets and teaching him the principles of the Universal love, solidarity and spiritual growth.

The book, initially written in Spanish, has been translated into different languages, English included and has sold millions of copies throughout the world since the year 1989, when first published. The book is part of a series, that continues with Ami Returns, Ami 3,  and Ami and Perlita, the latter being a proper children book.

The Authors

Not much is known about this Chilean-Venezuelan writer Enrique Barrios. I had difficulties finding  any independent professional references about him or his work, except for a short bio in a Spanish New Age site called Nueva Gaia. His website is blank. This being the case, I considered appropriate including a few notes about him, translated from his bio page. Barrios is a traveler by nature, having lived in different countries and traveled the world. He sought spiritual answers since his youth and was the disciple of an unnamed New Age guru or teacher who helped him to expand his consciousness in the 1970s. Eventually, Barrios distanced himself from his teacher and focused more on developing and finding ways of teaching his spiritual philosophy, the spread of Universal love, the principle by which he lives by. Although he always wanted to write, two elements contributed to his becoming a writer and writing the Ami series. The first, was a personal incident occurred in 1984, when he was assaulted by a gang; he was going to be killed, but all of the sudden and inexplicably the delinquents, knife in had, run away and disappeared; Barrios had a sort of epiphany. The second event happened on 17/8/1985, a strange light appeared in the sky in the central region of Chile, and stayed there without moving for several hours until it suddenly vanished; although the Press reported the fact, no satisfactory explanation was ever given. This was, precisely, the inspiration for the Ami series.

The illustrators of the Spanish version (Eliana Judith Temperini  & Marcela García)  created a lovely set of illustrations for the book. There are two defined styled, one that I really like, that is painterly and very ethereal, that applies mostly to the description of the interstellar trip; the other images are  "chunkier" more illustrative than painterly, related the parts where Pedro & Ami are in Planet Earth and  in the spaceship, and they are less of my liking.  Who is who? I don't know! 

The Message

Ami: Child from the Stars is a spiritual New Age fable full of wisdom, which conveys very powerful environmental, social, psychological and spiritual messages for young adults and adults. The message that Barrios conveys is heartfelt, and is as valid in 2017 as was in 1989, probably more so in 2017 because of some of the issues we are having with the environment, social injustice, violence, religious extremism, racism, war, and other sins of our modern world.

This is a very New Age book that presents all the beliefs that New Age Spirituality is known for: ↪ Belief in reincarnation as a path to spiritual evolution and growth, and in Karma (boomerang effect) as part of a cosmic justice. ↪ It has a holistic view of the Universe in which everything and everybody fits like puzzle piece and is intricately connected, and also a holistic view of  divinity that permeates the whole Universe. ↪ It has a powerful environmental, ecological and peace message. ↪ There a strong focus on compassion, solidarity, non-violence, diversity, acceptance, inner growth, and on spirituality not religion. ↪ The ultimate aim is a planetary order based on global unity, freedom and collaboration, self-regulated organised societies where everybody has what its basic needs covered and they can focus on their inner development. That world is not based on economic, social, racial, gender, nationalistic or regional differences but on being humans, "earthians" and part of the Universe.
All of these teachings and views of the world are in  Ami: Child from the Stars. Perhaps Barrios' main contributions are, first, his belief that  God created the Universe, and that any manifestation of love is God, and God infuses everything in the Universe through love. His second main contribution is the emphasis on emotional intelligence, as he pairs intelligence not with IQ but with smart living and relating, with solidarity and inner goodness.

Teaching young adults those things is very important, no matter the reader's religious background. Many of the things taught in the book are principles that I live by myself even though I'm agnostic. Some of the messages in the book, are priceless, these are the pearls of wisdom that resonated with me the most:

⧪ Not everything that one considers ugly is bad, and not everything beautiful is good.
⧪ When the scientific level of a world supersedes its level of solidarity that world destroys itself.

⧪ Life would have no meaning if we knew the future.
⧪ Those things we fight to get will always be more appreciated than those we get without any effort. Those who were born without problems or have had an easy life can't  adequately appreciate what they have.
⧪ Busy yourself in improving yourself not on paying attention or worrying about what other people do or seem to be.
⧪ The belief systems of the past, based on "what is unknown or different is dangerous", are still alive and reflected in laws, customs, social and economic systems that encourage or tolerate division, competition, selfishness, superficiality, dishonesty and mistrust among people, organisations and peoples. (loc. 1300-1303, Spanish version) 
⧪ Feelings need to be enlightened by the intellect to become wisdom, and the intellect needs to be enlightened by the emotions to become true intelligence.
⧪ People harvest what they sow.
⧪ Ami explained to me that when the spoken language is insufficient to express what we feel, we need of other forms of communication; then we resort to Art. (locs 3791-2, Spanish edition)
⧪ We should consider all human beings on this planet, all ethnicities and human conditions part of the same family, the human family and, therefore, we should live like a fraternal family, where everybody participates of the efforts and benefits equally,  and where each one is protected, loved and harboured. (locs 3890-3 Spanish edition).
⧪ The higher the level of evolution of an individual, the more s/he is like a child. Also, the higher the level of evolution the lesser is the power of the ego and he higher the level of solidarity.

I specially loved the Utopia Barrios creates in Planet Ophir. I thought it was very modern, very wise, interesting, peaceful, sustainable and liveable. It is certainly idyllic, but why not focus on invented worlds that are full of goodness instead of those dark, contaminated and full of wars?

✋ Although I like the message of the book, the aim of the story is to spread a spiritual message not to entertain. The book is mostly a series of monologues by Ami with some "ahas", questions and realisations by his disciple Pedro. There is some adventure, but it is more a sort of watched passive adventure than proper adventure. There are ways of conveying philosophical and spiritual messages in a novel and creating a narrative that is engaging and entertaining at the same time; in that regard, I felt that this book hadn't achieved a good narrative balance, and found myself bored at times despite the subject being of my interest. It wasn't engaging enough.

✋ The book insists over and over on the fact that God does exist and God is the creator of the Universe and that those who deny it are somewhat lesser souls. Although Barrios mentions that it is better to be a good person and not religious than a very religious but bad person, the insistence on God as creator annoyed me. It is, after all, what creationists teach, isn't it? If you are one, this would certainly speak to your heart. However, there are millions of people out there for whom this sort of preaching be a put off. 

✋ Although this is fiction, it shocked me to find a fallacy. We are told that the planet Ophir's sun is 400 times bigger than our sun, but then the planet has a similar atmosphere to ours, similar kind of people, beautiful green areas. Really?  It doesn't matter if this is fiction, for fiction to be credible needs to be based on things that are possible or might be possible, this is would be impossible. 

In Short

This a clearly New Age spiritual tale, which wonderful messages for young adults and adults, but certainly not for children, unless it is read by an adult to the child. Despite the clear New Age impromptu, the book reads well no matter your creed, and there is nothing that contradicts the basic principles of any major religion. Overall, the message is constructive and good-hearted. If you are looking for a science-fiction book, this is definitely not for you as this is a spiritual fable, the aim of which is to take you in a inner journey not into an adventure. The aim is to enlighten not to entertain, and that is, perhaps, the weakness of the book, and the thing that prevented me from fully enjoying it. The book, if you read it in Spanish, is well written, with a classic Spanish that would please most Spanish speakers around the globe, although I found some expressions unnatural in certain Spanish speaking areas that might be common in Barrios' native land.

Seeking Wholeness explores the nature of experience, and defines what process, flow, connection and wholeness are. Secondly, the book tries to respond to the question of how we become who we are, and digs into those elements of life that help us to experience life more fully. Finally, the book discusses the basics of living a whole life, regarding, health, job, love, relationships, 'God' and so on.

Life is like a flowing river, permanent in its constant flow and change. Perception is an illusion. We experience the world in a unique and personal way, and try to make sense of it and give meaning to our life. These are the points of departure of Evan's exploration of how through awareness of our experience we can grow and become more in tune with life itself and grow to reach the elusive Higher Self. Evans sees  experience as a process, and organises it in four categories:
> Outer process is the external experience in the world, the surface of the self.
> Inner process is the sphere of subjective experience (feelings, emotions, physical sensations, values, motivations, and reflective thinking).
> Deeper process is the realm of the subliminal and the unconscious.
> Greater process is the realm of spirit, the greater self, wholeness, completeness and connection with the essence of life.

Wholeness is presented as a natural flow of connection between all our processes, the outer and the inner world.  Wholeness is marrying the conscious and subconscious. Wholeness is constant change, transformation and growth. Wholeness is a deep body-mind connection. Wholeness is being in touch with our sensual experience. Wholeness is using pain, trauma and the upsets of life to grow inside and move on. Wholeness is a feeling of being connected to our inner self, other human beings and Spirit. Wholeness is seeing ourselves as a continuum that goes from birth to death in a process of constant mutation and adaptation. Wholeness is fluidity and flow, the contrary of being stuck.

 ***

Evans writes in a very understandable but elegant English, and his writing is intimate and connective, as if he were writing for you specifically. He has a great heart and seems to walk the talk.  He shows a great compassion and clear understanding of what makes humans miserable and happy. Evans shares many examples of his personal life, his feelings, his past struggles, family life, and how he came to be a psychotherapist. Evans also gives us a good insight of what being a psychotherapist is, how he works, the way he approaches his sessions, the sort of diggings he does, the techniques he uses, and what Psychotherapy is. Although there are quite a few references to real cases, they are not too many and they  are right to the point.

***

Evans, as any Jungian psychotherapist, emphasises the importance of dreamwork, synchronicity, and visualisation, and on how complexes and the "ancestral pool" work against us becoming whole. However, he is not a straightforward Jungian as he also practises Process Psychology "a set of tools for approaching experience as a moving, ever-changing flow, a movie rather than a series of still photos" as Ruhl says in the intro.  His practice also includes hypnotherapy and EMDR,

Evans candidly confesses that he came to Psychology and Psychotherapy trough  spirituality not rationality, and some of his take on wholeness is related to Subud, an Indonesian spiritual movement of which Evans is a member. However, many of the those spiritual principles are Universal and can be found on most religions. Although the book is very heavily sided on the Greater Experience (spirituality especially) to achieve wholeness, something, Evans has a sort of relaxed view of spirituality, which can be easily shared by lay people: "To write a completed poem is a spiritual act; to look your child in the eye with love is a spiritual act; to follow an insight to its utmost conclusion is a spiritual act. More than anything, to become more complete, more coherent is our spiritual task. It is not the specifics of what we do, but the realization of a connection inward or outward that makes everything sacred." (loc. 2706-2708). Evans also stresses the fact that connection with Nature or the elevation we feel inside when hearing some pieces of music as a spiritual thing and part of the Greater experience.

***

A FEW ODD THINGS
Although I enjoyed most of the book and I have a great respect and admiration for Evans, there are  a few things that read a bit odd, probably because of the phrasing.
>>> One of the things I find most disturbing in life is finding philosophies, religions of ways of spirituality that clearly consider women sons of a lesser god or simply second-rate souls. This being the case, you can imagine my shock at reading the following paragraph uttered by an Indonesian Subud spiritual leader:

"One young man asked him if there was such a thing as a soul mate and how should he find her. Sudarto got very serious as he replied in broken English: "Yes, you have a soul mate but she is hard to find. There is a woman in every half a million who has a soul, a good match with you. Better to look for that one-in-half-a-million than to keep waiting for your true mate. You can be happy with second best." He looked round at the circle of single and earnest men as we hung on every word, and burst into laughter again." (loc. 1667-1641).

It might be just a bad  translation of the episode, but it seems to imply that all men there had a soul but just some women do. I know that is not what Evans is saying, but you know, why leave the sentencing as is when it clearly has some sort of connotation?

>>> I think the following quote about couple relationships is also dangerous. "Now, you must decide on an appropriate action to reconnect your inner and outer worlds. If it is right for you to part, then be decisive— cut the psychic ties cleanly and unquestionably. If not, you may have to say you are sorry even though you think you did nothing wrong. When we take on the suffering of a whole situation consciously, with open heart, we create more space for connection." (loc. 2642-2645).  After reading it, I thought about all victims of domestic violence, who do just that, ask for forgiveness for something wrong they did not do for the sake of peace and find themselves further punished. Most of them cannot leave their abusers for many different reasons.
>>>The more a person attunes with the Greater process, the more that person seems complete. (loc. 1349). Although Evans is not dogmatic about what the Spirit is, he is a bit preachy on this. After reading the book, it seems that a person who is not spiritual can't ever become whole.  Agnostics and atheists might find not see the point of not focusing on the here and now to be utterly connected with life and the others. I know atheists who are more in tune with life, more ethical, and more whole than many religious and spiritual people I also know. I have seen too many people quoting the Bible and having a cross around their neck, babbling about having a sensitive soul and, de facto, being miserable human beings, bad people, and not attuned with Spirit at all I have seen deeply religious people crumble when their spiritual beliefs did not help them to give meaning to their suffering. For that to happen, you have to have the attitude "life is a valley of tears" and accept any crap that life throws at you. 

***

IN SHORT
This is a great book if you are thinking about having a career as a counsellor or psychotherapist, if you are quite religious and believe in God, or just very spiritual. This book is not for  you if you are deeply agnostic, if you are an atheist and don't think that your life needs of transcendence beyond the right-here right-now to be whole. There are many pearls of wisdom in the book, and a great compassion towards our humanity, so it is a great read. Yet, this is not a self-help book, Evans himself states, "Can you recognize the patterns that keep you entangled? Do you know yourself well enough to find the shape and meaning of your whole being? These are essential questions that are impossible to answer without assistance." (loc. 208-209). 

***

RENDERING FOR KINDLE

>> The book does not have  the notes in the paperback edition.
>> The book does not have  the index in the paperback edition. 
>> The bibliography is outdated  and no book after the year 2000 is to be found.

However, the book is much cheaper than the hard copy, and is a compensation in a way. Yet, I would like authors and editors to be more mindful and produce e-books that are as good as the printed version of the book. Of course, this requires more time and effort, but produces  a final product that is whole. 

Dying to Be Me is Anita Moorjani's candid memoir. It would have been a normal memoir of an Indian immigrant growing up in Hong Kong, if it wasn't because Anita had a remarkable Near Death Experience (NDE). Although there are many books and documentaries on NDE, Anita's story is unique because, unlike most NDEs, it involves a medically checked healing from a terminal cancer (lymphoma stage 4B), which occurred soon after her return from "the other realm". Although she received the first doses of chemotherapy when she came out of her comma, the medical profession cannot explain the way and speed of Anita's full recovery.

Anita's memoir takes us from her childhood dreams, her young self, her cultural and gender issues, and her personal life, to the years of deteriorating lymphatic cancer until she was hospitalised, her organs shutting down, and her family was told that she had a few hours of life left. Anita entered a comma, which was the moment in which she also experienced the NDE. Anita shares with us what she experienced during her NDE (a state of pure consciousness and love, a state of oneness and bent time, in which the Universe is one and many at the same time). She shares with us, in a very intimate way, how her view of the world, life and afterlife changed dramatically, the set of synchronicity events that led to the publication of this book, and why she thinks she got sick and healed in such a remarkable way. The book has a final chapter with some questions and answers from people that are rather interesting.

This is a very fresh, warm and intimate narration of Anita's personal experience. I love that Anita does not preach anything, does not try to convince anybody of anything, and that she does not present herself as a victim or a warrior. She tells us her personal views and beliefs, and does not pretend to be a guru or have the key to "the truth"; she just wants to share her personal story with the world.

Although I don't agree with some of the things Anita says, I have a deep respect for people like her, who do not pretend to be anything and do not preach any religion or try to convert anybody, and, most importantly, walk the talk. I think the reader gets an unadulterated view of who Anita truly is from this book.
 
Anita's narration of her NDE is beautifully evocative and clear to understand, something that is remarkable because her experience is nothing that can be easily put into words. Her heaven is not a heaven that we are familiar with. I also love her comments on how she experienced life differently after her healing (when her focus, attention and priorities just were different), and what her beliefs are regarding the afterlife, past lives, reincarnation, organised religion, sickness, medicine, healing and human relationships among other subjects are. I also like the fact that the narration does not linger on the description of her sickness beyond what it is strictly necessary.

The book reads more like a transcription of a speech at times, unpolished and repetitive. Anita is not a writer, so in cases like this I blame the editor, especially when Hay House is the editorial house and they have the resources to edit a book properly. A better editor would have polished the book, still keeping the message and tone of the book intact, and would have advised the use of references when she mentions the medical investigation and verification of her medical records by oncologists Dr Jeffrey Long and Dr Peter Ko. Otherwise, anybody could say that this is a made up story. Her website has a testimonial of both doctors, but, personally, if a medical report is mentioned, I want it mentioned and accessed in a footnote.

Now, something important. Anita says: "Even criminals are victims of their own limitations, fear, and pain. If they’d had true self-awareness to begin with, they never would have caused any harm. A different mind-set—for example, a complete state of trust instead of fright—can turn around even the most depraved person, the same way" (p. 149). She also adds: "We still judge perpetrators of crime as exactly that—criminals who deserve to be condemned, not only in this life but in the afterlife as well! We’re still unable to see them as victims of fear, creations of a reality that we, as a whole, have built." (p. 152).

I agree that many people become criminals because of their specific circumstances, childhood abuse, poverty, drugs, hanging with the wrong people, mental problems and so on and they have a good nature in essence. I agree that some criminals can rehabilitate and turn their life around. Yet, there are many people surrounded by the same circumstances who have never hurt anybody or done any damage to anybody. It is also true that there are people who had a good upbringing, a good childhood, grew up in affluent environments, were loved by their parents and turned out to be evil. Like psychopaths, like sociopaths, like malignant narcissists, like mass murderers and genocides, among others. These people do NOT have a soul, these people do NOT have empathy, goodwill, or remorse wired into their cells. There are too many examples of people leaving on bail "rehabilitated" to go out jail and kill, cold-heartedly, the first person they come across in the street (usually a woman). Even if the heaven Anita describes exists, and it is the way she says it is, she is a decent human being, so you expect a decent human being to experience afterlife the way she experienced it.  Would a psychopath or genocide experience it the same? We don't know. Perhaps there is no afterlife, and we are all nothing, a bunch of dust with an expire date. That is another possibility. I don't want to be One with women's beaters, children rapists, serial killers, human genocides, mass murderers, psychopaths, or other people who, to me, do not have a soul or a milligram of pureness in them. 

***

After reading this book I checked the Wikipedia's entry on the author. I am not surprised, but in a way I am, that statements from people who seem not to have read the book are presented as a critique on something supposedly said or claimed in the book and by the author. There is nothing I dislike more than "scientists" preaching. That is anti-scientific. Science does not preach, Science convinces with proven facts, and Science is not dogma, Science is learning and discovering, and modifying, and correcting.

You will find these statements in Moorjani's book, I think it is important to mention then, so people who are interested in reading the book do so with an open mind:
> It’s not my style to overtly teach people or tell them how to live their lives, nor do I like advising anyone on what changes they need to make, even if they ask.
> I’m not claiming to know any universal or scientific truths or to be anyone’s spiritual guru. Nor am I trying to start yet another religion or belief system. My only aim is to help, not convince.
> I don’t advocate that if we “believe” a certain way, we’ll eliminate disease or create an ideal life.
> I strongly believe that it’s not necessary to reach the extreme state of an NDE in order to heal or have a great purpose in life, I can see that my personal path has led me to this point.
> I absolutely do strongly believe that we all have the capacity to heal ourselves as well as facilitate the healing of others. When we get in touch with that infinite place within us where we are Whole, then illness can’t remain in the body.
>  I don’t advocate “positive thinking” as a blanket prescription.
>  Sweeping statements such as “Negative thoughts attracts negativity in life” aren’t necessarily true,
> Going out and changing the world doesn’t work for me,
> What flicked the switch, to turn the body around from dying to healing? As for my own situation, I know the answer…but it’s not something that can be found in medicine. (Yet, she accepted chemotherapy and visited regular Western doctors and hospitals during her sickness. She also says that she prefers Aryuveda or Chinese Medicine to Western. Well,  that is respectable, even if it is not our cup of tea).

***

I am a sceptic about NDE. Firstly, I have never had one. Medical science gives reasonable experiences about why people having a NDE experience what they experience. However medical experience is not able to explain how a person who is officially dead can see and hear conversations on the room, or a person in coma can hear conversations that are not taken place in the same room or building, or why people like Anita can heal in record time from terminal cancer. On the other hand, there is an interest among some evangelical Christian groups to turn any NDE into a seal of approval to their specific views on heaven and spirituality, and that is never acceptable (or respectable) to me. In that regard, Anita can be set apart from the rest. Is the NDE experience the result of the firing up of the chemicals in the brain when this is dying or is is a door to the source/heaven? We don't know. There is not reply to this yet. The main proof is out there in the world of the dead. I recommend watching a quite neutral documentary by the BBC with both sides of the coin presented. Then, read Anita's book.
 Dying to be Me is food for thought, and food for the soul even if you don't think you have one. Even if you are an atheist or agnostic, or even if you think that the story is made-up, there is an undeniable wisdom in the book that we all need to remind ourselves of regularly, and many pearls of wisdom and views of the world that resonate with me.

Dreaming Metaphysical is a book for you if you are a serious dream worker, especially if you are into archetypal dreamwork because Bregman is the founder of this field. If you are not interested in dream work but in Metaphysics, the book will give you food for thought as well because it departs from philosophical principles that might be new to you.

If you are a Westerner and you are seriously interested in starting the practice of Zen, or you just want to know what Zen is but feel somewhat put off by the Japanese jargon and the cryptic simplicity of Zen, this is your book. I have been interested in Zen for a long time, and read more substantial books than this one, but I certainly recommend this book to any beginner as it is a stepping stone on which to build up your journey.

The authors use a language that is approachable, entertaining, full of examples, and unpretentious. The book is a bit wordy at times, but really nothing to bother anybody who is into Zen. And mind you, this is supposed to be a guide for idiots, so there is a need for all what it is in it. If you are genius, why did you pick up this book?

Although the authors are two, there is a harmony and consistency in the writing, and the reader cannot tell if they divided the work, or who wrote what, or if they both sat and did it together unless one of the authors mentions the other. I think part of the merit is due to the editor!

The book is really well structured in parts and lessons that go from the Zen Philosophy basics, meditation techniques (how to sit and breath), to the practice of Zen in your daily life, in the good and bad moments in your life, from eating to relating and everything mundane. Each chapter has an introductory list of topics to be discussed, and ends with a summary with the most important things learned in the chapter, which comes handy if you want to re-read the book. Along the book, there are some informative text boxes: Zen-Speak, devoted to explaining the meaning of the most common Zen words (Chinese or Japanese); One Hand Clapping, with pearls of Zen wisdom; Nirvana Notes, offering tips and techniques helpful to live your life the Zen way; and my fav ones, the Monkey Mind boxes, which are warnings about ways of thinking or being that should be avoided and do not help you to Zen.

The book as a list of recommended readings and websites that needs updating as the book was written in 2001, but they are still useful. There is also a glossary with all the nitty-gritti words just in case you forget them (they are also introduced and explained in the text boxes). The book ends with an alphabetical word index with links to references in the body of the book, like old printed books! If this wasn't enough there is a list of linkable contents at the beginning and the end of the book, which is very thoughtful and helpful.

Most recommended and most enjoyable.

This is a perfect audio-book for any person starting zen practice. It lasts about one hour. It gives the listener the basics of zazen regarding basic approach, posture, breathing, bowing and mental attitude and philosophical understanding. The book is very practical but it has many pearls of wisdom that make you understand what zazen is, and how you can apply it to your daily life.

Peter Coyote does a great job a reading the book. I love his voice, intonation, speed, conviction, and the feeling he gives to what he reads.

The short length of the book, about one hour, makes it a perfect tool for spare time listening.

A Classic.

The book is abridged, and it is pity. The hard copy is barely 181 pages, and a longer book would have not bothered anybody. Quite the contrary.

I have the audible version of the book narrated by Chopra himself. It is over 1 hour and really easy to listen anywhere any time, while commuting, doing house chores or just lying on the park. So you will be listening to it quite often, and the "laws" eventually sink in

The book is simply organized and well narrated, right pace, and details these spiritual laws (more principles than anything else):

1/ Law of pure potentiality. 2/ Law of giving and receiving. 3/ Law of Karma 4/ Law of least effort. 5/ Law of intention and desire 6/ Law of Detachment. 7/ Law of Dharma or Life Purpose

I especially liked his definition of the Law of Detachment, which I have found explained too confusedly elsewhere, while Chopra goes right to the point and does so effortlessly. I also loved his definition of Success, and, especially, the conclusion of the book, which is really inspiring and the more spiritual part of it.

I agree with other reviewers on the fact that some of the talking is a bit flashy but too vague, as if Chopra intended this book just for lazy new-agers. Still, the book has many pearls of wisdom and items of advice that are easy to implement in your daily life and to infuse your mind with.

This is a good companion to Ruiz's Four Agreements, and digs further into the Toltec philosophy of life and their idea of spiritual awakening form our dreaming life - a life based on false perceptions and tons of lies.

The book basically calls for you being present, for becoming attuned to your own "being" and feelings not to your mind and thoughts. Ruiz advocates for forgetting all the negative chatter that is driving our lives, and to focus more on our hearts and feelings and less in our head and thoughts.

The basic idea of the book is that our mind is full of lies about who we are, we are not, and about who other people are. Our mind is biased by our social and cultural background, too. Our lies makes us judge ourselves and others, and create stories that are mere fantasies affecting our lives... for the worst. If we accept that we can only access our on perception and we are the creators of our own story and that everybody does the same, we can find a better way of not judging, or seeing the divine in everybody, and not getting triggered by somebody else lies and stories.

In this book, Don Miguel Ruiz mentions many of his personal experiences in his transformation from surgeon/doctor to Toltec master, not just somebody preaching a way of living or philosophy.

I agree with some of the other reviewers on the fact that the book is a bit loopy and that it should be more concise. In fact, the book can be easily summarized and re-read by going directly to the end of each chapter, to the section "Points to Ponder", where the gist of each chapter is succinctly and clearly presented minus the over-talking.

This is a great book that will bring lots of peace to your mind.