109 of 114 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Are You Ready?, April 22, 2006
This review is from: The Disappearance of the Universe: Straight Talk about Illusions, Past Lives, Religion, Sex, Politics, and the Miracles of Forgiveness (Paperback)
Every so often, a book comes along that has the potential to completely transform the way people think about a subject. In the business world, In Search of Excellence, the One Minute Manager and From Good to Great come quickly to mind. In the people development world, books like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and Emotional Intelligence have been transformational.
In the spiritual development circle, the Disappearance of the Universe has moved to the top of my list. The book is quite simply, amazing. AND you have to be ready for it.
I have been especially blessed by the clear explanations and the clarity given to the role of forgiveness in our own salvation. And Gary Renard's humor and wit help to make it a very easy read. Let's start with the basic premise and storyline for the book.
THE PREMISE: When you dream at night that someone is chasing you, in the dream it feels very real and no one in the dream could likely convince you that it was not real. But in truth you are home in your bed. When you wake up, the dream disappears, because it was never real in the first place, and you find you were in your bed the entire time. Well, the basic premise for the Disappearance of the Universe is that we are really home in God, but dreaming a dream that we are bodies living this life. Of course our true home is out of our awareness. Yet when we wake up, the universe will disappear, because it was never real in the first place, we were at home in God the entire time. This is indeed an incredible and hard to believe premise. But what if it is true?
THE STORYLINE: Gary Renard, a self-admitted slacker whose major goals in life were to "move to Hawaii, commune with nature, and drink beer - not necessarily in that order," is visited 17 times over the course of nine years by two "ascended masters." They tell Gary that the reason for the visits is to answer the many questions he has about God, Jesus and this world, and to assist him in writing a book that will help facilitate the disappearance of the universe. His visitors tell him that he has asked in his prayers to know what it was like to walk with Jesus 2000 years ago and that they have come to tell him because they were there, as Thaddeus and Thomas. The entire book consists of the conversations during those 17 visits, with occasional commentary by Gary. The conversations are simply mind blowing. Of course this is an incredible and hard to believe storyline. But what if...?
ARE YOU READY? Are you ready to have your view of life, spirituality, religion and sex turned upside down? Are you ready to have your questions answered about why you are here, how you got here, why God "allows good people to suffer," and how you end this seeming craziness? Are you ready to learn with crystal clarity how you experience "the peace of God?"
When I introduce the Disappearance of the Universe to my many Christian friends who are unfamiliar with A Course in Miracles, I remind them, that if I were around when Jesus walked the earth, and if I were a strong believer in the Book of Moses, I would have had to reject Jesus. Why? Because I would have been looking at Jesus through my Moses "glasses" and what Jesus said in many cases didn't fit with what I already believed. The only way I would have been open is if I could have found a way to take off my glasses and ask, "Does this resonate as true? Does this answer the questions in my soul? Does this turn me to God?" Only then might I have had a chance to truly learn from the Master.
In the same way, anyone who reads The Disappearance of the Universe with the glasses of Christianty will have to reject the book, because it does not support all that we've been taught. But if you are ready, and if you can take off the glasses and ask those questions, you will likely find answers that transform your thinking and transform your life.
If you are already familiar with A Course in Miracles, this book is a must-read. I had studied the Course for over a decade, and even served as a group facilitator for several years. I was humbled by how little I understood and truly practiced non-dualism and how I had missed the critical message of practicing forgiveness every moment of every day as THE key tool for making the "journey without distance." The conversations in the Disappearance of the Universe make crystal clear the purpose of practicing "advanced" forgiveness, the steps in how to do it, and the way to live in this world as a teacher of God. Perhaps most importantly, the message is completely consistent with A Course in Miracles, which is quoted over 300 times by Gary Renard's special visitors.
So read this book if you are ready to have many of your beliefs challenged and if you are ready to learn how to truly experience and express the peace and love of God.
Are you ready?
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207 of 233 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Word to the Wise, February 9, 2005
A good friend of mine recently became consumed in The Disappearance of the Universe, and has now moved on to A Course in Miracles. I have had an increasingly difficult time talking to her without getting a glazed smile and an earful of her new philosophy. As a clinical psychologist and concerned friend, I decided to read Disappearance to see what could possibly have such a hold over this person. After reading the book, I have some concerns. Although a story like this can seem like the perfect answer to a person searching for meaning, such a totalitarian philosophy can have damaging effects on a person's life and relationships. I have watched otherwise bright, social, independent thinkers become increasingly fixated, disturbed, and isolated after diving into a thought system like this. They often have difficulty relating to the "unenlightened" or coping with the mundane "physical world." I'm not here to bash the book. It certainly is entertaining and imaginative. But I would caution anyone considering this book to keep a level head about it. These "advanced" philosophies can be very consuming to a person's mind, and are often times intentionally designed that way. Remember, no matter what your spiritual beliefs, you still have a body and a world to take care of, at least for a while.
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464 of 531 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended reading for all serious ACIM practitioners, July 22, 2003
The Disappearance of the Universe is a must read for every modern day disciple of A Course In Miracles. The reader's passion for the Course is completely revitalized, and his or her practice of forgiveness is turbo-charged to a new and all-encompassing level. "Sooner or later, it always comes down to some kind of forgiveness and how willing you are to do it. How willing are you to accept that it's all your dream? How willing are you to release your dream and choose God?"
With over 400 pages, The Disappearance of the Universe is a fairly long book, but author Gary Renard has an honest and irreverant way of expressing himself, which makes it enjoyable and interesting to read. Renard doesn't hide behind the pretense of always getting everything just right along the spiritual path. Many examples of his own petty thoughts are fearlessly shared. Renard also has the welcome and rare ability to smartly restate some of the more complicated Course ideas in plain language that everyone can understand and apply. No mumbo jumbo. No compromising of spiritual principles to conform to popular psychology. No spiritualizing of money or sex. It's all so refreshing.
But I've saved the best for last. Gary Renard simply cannot resist wisecracking his way to God. Here are a couple of my personal favorites: "Love is letting go of beer," and "...it's possible to have both an erection and a resurrection." Maybe one of the best reasons to read this book is simply because it makes you smile.
Don't worry about whether you'll like this book or not because you will. Click on the "buy" button and get it today!
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