Divine Interventions: True Stories of Mystery and Miracles That Change Lives [Hardcover]

Dan Millman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1999

From Dan Millman, author of the classic Way of the Peaceful Warrior, comes a collection of awesome true stories attesting to the presence of the divine on Earth.

Throughout recorded history miracles have happened. Many brilliant leaders and thinkers--presidents, scientists (including Einstein), philosophers-have attested to the power of intuition and the existence of some universal mind to which we are all connected at times. Dan Millman is the perfect person to document such stories; his 10 previous books have more than 2 1/2 million copies in print. He is uniquely qualified to describe these unwavering testaments to the belief that faith is rewarded, that supernatural things happen, and that God and spirituality are regularly proven in everyday life. Divine Interventions will validate faith, affirm the existence of the supernatural, and inspire true believers with stories that are nothing short of miraculous.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What does "divine intervention" mean to you? Authors Dan Millman and Doug Childers define it as "a form of extraordinary guidance, revelation, or grace that transforms human lives by leading to a higher path, courageous choice, inspired creation, or call to service in the world." Millman, a world-class athlete and author of the bestselling Way of the Peaceful Warrior, was first touched by the divine in an unlikely way--a serious collision with a white Cadillac. The accident disrupted his athletic career and during his recovery he began to question his life's purpose, leading him to understand his athletic accomplishments as preparation for another path of "teaching, writing, and service." Doug Childers had an extraordinary experience with the power of love in the face of an attack by two thugs, one armed with a steel pipe.

In Divine Interventions: True Stories of Mysteries and Miracles That Change Lives, the authors have collected stories detailing disparate encounters with the divine, from the story of how a camel herder named Muhammad became a prophet, to the birth of mysticism in the writings of Carl Jung and Walt Whitman, to Bill Wilson's journey through alcoholism and the beginnings of Alcoholics Anonymous. The stories are short and easily readable, and while Millman and Childers are careful to address issues of historical accuracy, they are not out to prove anything, letting the stories speak for themselves. There are a variety of truths in this collection of miracle and mystery, bound together by the power of the divine to change ordinary lives into extraordinary ones. --Jodie Buller

From Publishers Weekly

Millman, author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior and Everyday Enlightenment, and editor Childers have gathered about 50 eclectic stories of miraculous events that altered the lives of those who experienced them, each story comprising a brief chapter. The volume includes the stories of diverse prophets (Muhammad, the Ba'al Shem Tov and Joseph Smith) as well as of other famous persons, including Joan of Arc, Peace Pilgrim, Carl Jung and Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. The authors do not espouse any particular faith and provide examples of miracles from many traditions. Accounts of apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Fatima, Lourdes and Guadalupe alternate with the enlightenment of a Buddhist emperor in India and a Japanese soldier's development of the martial art aikido. (Some of the details of these public figures' lives seem poorly researched; for example, Joseph Smith's wife is incorrectly identified and the LDS church he founded is listed as having four million instead of ten million members.) Many of the stories are about ordinary, 20th-century individuals, both authors among them. The key to almost all the stories is not necessarily the spectacular nature of the miracle but its life-changing effect: in the authors' view, a miracle's effect is evidence of its validity. After the last story, several blank pages offer readers a place to write about their own "divine interventions," accounts they are encouraged to submit to the authors for another book. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 298 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Pr; 1st edition (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579541003
• ISBN-13: 978-1579541002
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,781,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Most people who've read Way of the Peaceful Warrior (or seen the movie) already know a few aspects of my life. But here are some personal notes: I love to teach; so over the years I've honed writing and speaking skill in order to share what I've learned with others. I consider myself blessed to have my books embraced by so many people around the world.

Joy and I have been married for 35 years and we grow closer each day, it seems, as we gain perspective and cultivate a sense of humor (about ourselves and one another). I'm a proud dad of three grown daughters and two grandsons so far.

I believe you'd find me a good (but not perfect) example of what I teach; I continue to learn, grow, and practice. I have my head in the clouds but feet on the ground.

For more info about my books and seminars, please visit www.peacefulwarrior.com, sign up for my eList, follow me on Facebook or Twitter, or just google peaceful warrior.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Many will be helped by this fine book., December 12, 1999

By 

Michael Nelson (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Divine Interventions: True Stories of Mystery and Miracles That Change Lives (Hardcover)

Dan Millman's latest book DIVINE INTERVENTIONS is perhaps the most immediately readable book he has ever done and is very well written. I read most of it in one sitting. It is the kind of book that holds your interest from the beginning and inspires you to just keep reading until you are finished. On the other hand, since it consists of many short chapters expertly woven together, it is also an ideal book for those busy readers who prefer to read a book in segments at those moments when their time permits.

When writing a dissertation that develops and supports its thesis by means of short biographical essays, It is difficult to do justice to each biographical segment you have researched and yet keep all these well researched biographical elements readable and succinct. The biographical essays must harmonize together so as to as to be on point and work together as a whole to achieve the larger purposes of the book. In this, Dan has succeeded beautifully. This book is the most immediately readable book Dan has ever written and the prose seems to me almost seamlessly perfect for its purpose. (I will hazard a guess that the first draft was longer than the final draft and that the editing was not always easy.) Dan and Doug Childers have done some really good writing here. Since the writing is so immediately readable and the potential appeal is so wide, I predict that this book will be very widely popular and that many readers will be inspired and helped by it. The people in this book and their true stories are so interesting you just don't want to put the book down. Those readers who may have found some of Dan's other books enlightening and empowering (but also perhaps requiring some focused attention on the reader's part) will love this book because it is in many respects an easier read. I say this because it teaches by a series of true short biographical narratives (each of which is highly interesting reading in its own right) rather than through the more demanding (for some readers) writing styles of straightforward philosophical exposition or philosophical exposition through imaginative parable.

My personal favorite was the segment on Bucky Fuller. I had always admired what I knew of his work but did not know anything of his personal struggle until I had read this book. I also liked the stories of the preserved bodies of the saints and the documentation about Paramahansa Yogananda. But every story in this compelling book is fascinating and well worth reading both for its own sake and for the contribution it makes to the thesis of the book as a whole which seeks to demonstrate, through carefully researched biographical evidence, the likelihood that we can all draw from resources beyond that which are generally considered to be natural and normal--especially in times of great personal need. I strongly recommend this book to everyone and especially to those who have enjoyed other books by Dan Millman or Doug Childers.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery and Miracles Can Still Happen!, October 25, 2003

By 

Susan Kramer (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Divine Interventions: True Stories of Mysteries and Miracles That Change Lives (Paperback)

Open to any page; after reading a paragraph you're hooked on the fantastic experience another has had in the out-of-the-ordinary.

Dan Millman and Doug Childers have included 50 stories in 50 short chapters about real experiences that inspire the reader to realize there is more to understand than science currently knows.

These life-changing events happened to people of all ages, including those as young as 8 year old Lucia dos Santos, one of the 3 children of Fatima, Portugal, in 1915.

This 5-star book reinforced my value on virtues, while giving me a boost of energy!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book!!, February 10, 2001

By 

Glen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Divine Interventions: True Stories of Mystery and Miracles That Change Lives (Hardcover)

This collection of people and their life transforming experiences is simply excellent! Each chapter, which summarizes the experience of a different individual, is just the right length (not too long, not too short, and very well written).

My favorites here are the very interesting stories of Byron Katie, Valerie Vener, and Peace Pilgrim.