Customer Reviews

Friendship With God: An Uncommon Dialogue

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I know there are many skeptics who don't believe God is speaking to us through Neale. As both Neale and God say in the first 3 books, if you don't believe it then that's ok, but at least read with an open mind, apply the principles to your life and experience a greater spiritual awareness. That is what I have done and it has had a profound impact on my life. Friendship with God is without a doubt Neale's finest work so far. It pulls together for the reader, many of the concepts explained in the CWG trilogy at a level that makes them practical to every day life. Additionally, it is very helpful (in my humble opinion), the hear about Neale's life, how he has evolved to where he is today, and how the "divine coincidences" played such a key role in getting him there. I believe if all of us take the time to think about similar coincidences in our lives that at least got us to the point of picking up the book and reading it, we will not be able to deny there is a true reason as to why we find ourselves here at this time. That in my view is what has helped me apply much of the teaching in this book to my life. If you read other books ie. Manifest your Destiny by Wayne Dyer, Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav and others it is clear (at least it is to me) that we are being taught a different way to "view" God in our lives. This view of a truly loving and nonjudgmental God differs greatly from many of the teachings the christian churches. I for one find this view very refreshing and can accept this as the real view for me. Again, I believe this book and others is simply showing us the way. And I thank Neale for taking what I believe was a risk to bring these teachings to us.

It is strange to see people still tripping over the idea of whether it is really God writing these books or not.

In my perspective it is a meaningless distinction. By the series own definition God is All That Is- everything which exists, both seen and unseen and neither. By this logic, it is God talking whether Neale is getting answers from a bird at his window, making it up himself, is chatting with his next door neighbour, or the messages are really coming from a source which would be equivalent to God for us.

The bottom line is that *any* source of information, however he received it, could be said to be God. So in the context of the books themselves, it is a non-issue.

Truly though, can the question be answered in any meaningful way? I don't think so because it just boils down to one person's opinion vs another's with no way of ever proving it objectively one way or the other. The question will have no satisfying answer, so why bother ask it?

For me the question is not "Is this God speaking?" but "How high is the quality of the information?" and "Is this useful?"

Personally I have found these books to be tremendously helpful in my life and I feel that if it is taken to heart it has the potential to not only transform ones life but enhance the lives of everyone on the planet beyond what most people can imagine. So for me the answer is "Yes, it is definitely useful."

A more subjective opinion is the quality of the info and how high its source is. My personal criteria for how "high" a source is how loving it is, how useful, how consistent, wise, open, honest, how much it resonates with my inner knowing, and how much sense it makes (there may be more but that's all I can think of at the moment).

From my reading of all the books in this series and other metaphysical/spiritual literature, this is in the top 3 for me- one of the 3 highest external sources of wisdom I've encountered anywhere.

Lets quit with the God-issue already =) Its been beaten to death. If you think the material isn't useful or doesn't come from a high source then say why. Be specific. This would be far more helpful to people deciding whether or not to buy the book than just saying "It is/ain't God."

Now, as for this book- I loved it.

For me it was the "missing link" from the other books- the one weak link I found with the previous books was that as they weren't practical enough. I just didn't know how to apply some of the broader concepts to my life.

Unlike the other books which focused on questions of the nature of life and the universe, Friendship with God primarily focuses on cultivating a personal spiritual path.

Some of highlights of the book: It (finally) goes into the 5 attitudes mentioned in the first book (joyful, loving, accepting, blessing, and grateful), explores further the "triangular code" from the second book (awareness, honesty, responsibility), 7 steps for a friendship with God, meditation, 3 "love-enders" (neediness, expectation, and jealousy), guidelines for living (living deliberately, harmoniously, beneficially), and an important discussion of the attitude of superiority (that "our path/god/way is better than yours").

I loved hearing more about Neale's life and his encounters with other "giants" in the field. I found his tone and attitude to be wonderfully refreshing- humble, genuine, honest, vulnerable, transparent. I truly admire this in him and he serves as a model for me in my own movement towards personal authenticity and visibility in dealing with others.

The book feels more personal than the others- it touches home more for me, and it came into my life exactly when I needed it to.

Other recommendations: If you like this material you might also like "Living with Joy" by Sanaya Roman and "Emmanuel's Book" by Pat Rodegast. These are the other 2 of the 3 highest sources I mentioned earlier. While they are not as well known as the CWG series I feel that they equal it in quality. They are among my all time favorite (and most influential) books.

The audio cassettes for CWG are also wonderfully done. Very lively, entertaining, and passionate. If listening to tapes are your cup of tea, be sure to check out volume 2 of the third book (there are 3 tape volumes per book)- the way they did Neale and Nancy's marriage ceremony is one of the most touching and beautiful things I've ever heard.

It is interesting to me in reading all of these reviews that many of the people writing them are doing exactly what "religions" and "demonimations" do in the name of "truth"--condeming and judging one another. The people who hate the books are "narrow-minded" fundamentalists, and the people who love them are godless "New-Agers." Surely the "contention" between people in these reviews must be disturbing to Neale, considering the fact that one of the basic premises of his books is the fact that there is no one true path but many ways to God, whether we choose to embrace fear in reaching God, or we choose freedom and love. I personally relate to everything everyone has written in these reviews, having been at each place at different points in my life. Ten years ago, as a fundamentalist Christian, having never studied anything except the Bible and the teachings of one or two mainline demoninations, I would have been completely unable to "receive" what Neale had to offer and would have, myself, condemed him as being an "Apostle" of Satan. In the fundamentalist churches, I was warned and taught to fear and hate the "Charismatics" who are too attuned to the "spirit" and are definitely receiving their information from Satan. Eventually, I embraced the Charismatic Church, where I was taught to be deathly afraid of Shirley MacClaine and any of her "New Age" mumbo jumbo, unless, of course, I wanted to end up in the fiery pits alongside her. However, having a searching heart and a desire for truth all my life and also a rather rebellious spirit, I sneaked a peek at her "forbidden" novels and found her to be fascinating and a woman with a sincere and honest desire to discover true meaning in life. This led to an earnest study of all world religons, and I realized what a "little" world I had lived in before and what a "fear" I had of opening my mind and letting go of my "self-hatred" and my "need" to be punished by an angry God. Bottom line--there is some truth and some error in every religion. I think the "Conversations" and "Friendship" books are wonderful, but I don't accept every word as being straight from God's mouth. Neale freely admits that he is a "filter" the same as were the writers of the Bible and the Talmud and every other Holy Book in history. The secret is in doing exactly what Neale has written about in these books--going to God and letting Him reveal His truth to you. God will not deny anyone who has a true desire to know, but that desire has to come with a willingness to admit that maybe you don't possess all the "truth" coming in and a willingness to "hear" truth that may not agree with what you have been taught all your life. God cannot reveal anything to someone who already has his mind made up!

I thought that these books were inspired, now I KNOW! This latest book came at exactly the right moment. After reading the first 3 books, I at first felt exhilerated, then deflated, as they seemed to bring into my awareness the state of unconciousness that I could now see/feel the the world living in, and then I "found" Friendship with God, and that all changed. It resolved the last of my mind's questions, and helped to provide more practical ways of applying the concepts to my life. I read this one(the first time around ) in two days, and if you thought your life changed after the first three books, wait 'till you read this one. We can no longer hide from the truth, we will all re-member it some"time"˙. After finishing the first books, I bought/read about 30 books, looking for the "right" way for me to achieve the awarness I was looking for, and I finally found my answer here! The search is over, let the experience be ours together. I would have to say that I strongly recommend this book!

One of the things I have notice about divinely inspired information is an extraordinary command of the language, and an ability to say a great deal with few words. You will find that within this book.

You know... there are no accidents... It is not an accident that you are reading these words. It may have different meaning relative to you, but it is no accident.

There is no doubt in my mind that FWG is from a divine source. And even if it is not, I don't care... I'll take brilliance and genius wherever I can get it.

There may be those of you who doubt whether these could actually be the words of God, and I have no quarrel with that. A valuable addage is "Know a tree by it's fruits" And the fruits of this book are Love, and Understanding, and Happines, and Connection... And that's good enough for me.

If you only read one book this year, this is the one.

Frank B.

Having read the first three books "Conversations with God" 1,2 and 3 I was totally impressed and grateful for them. I didn't read any other of Neale/God's books for some time. I continually returned to these books for inspiration, guidance and upliftment and they are a great source to help one remember who we really are, particularly at times when life seems a little heavy. I was fortunate to hear Neale speak on his visit to New Zealand and he masterfully reinforced all that he and God had written in books 1,2 and 3. Even after that event I still wasn't motivated enough to read their book "Friendship with God". It wasn't until my wife bought the book home from the library for me unexpectedly that I read it. I must of subconsciously thought that because the first three books were so unbelievably magnificent that "Friendship with God" couldn't possibly be better or contain anything new. Well, it wasn't better, (you can't better the plain truth). But just as inspirational? Yes. Just as helpful? Yes. Just as enlightening? yes. "Friendship with God" is right up with all his other books, simply unmissable if you are seeking the truth about existence. As a bonus their are some really useful tools explained by God to assist us getting in touch with ones true self. And the best of all, God's wit is still there. He has a keen sense of humour which pops up occasionally, and makes this book a fun read. These books have a habit of appearing in your life at exactly the appropriate time. Well done Neale. Well done God. Good effort from both of you. Keep it up.

Nothing new will you find here...only ancient wisdom brought forth in the language of today. No discoveries will you find here...only things you may wish to re-member. "The One True Path" you will not find here...for such a path does not exist. And if seek you a God, who is vengeful, and jealous and desirous of your worship, go away! Your book is elsewhere.

If, in your heart of hearts, you know that Love and Joy and Forgiveness and Understanding are all a path to God, then what you are seeking you have just found. Welcome! Your timing is perfect.

This book, as well as the 3 that preceded it, gave me back "God." For almost 20 years, I didn't even use that word anymore. Having grown up Roman Catholic and then embarking on a search for the "One True Path," I was jaded, to say the least. I didn't know what to think anymore. Yet still, I knew my answer was out there. And I knew it would show up at just the right time. It did.

In my heart of hearts, I always imagined a God with a terrific sense of humor, kindness like I've never known, candor that I could respect, answers that made sense immediately and words of eloquence that would bring tears to my eyes. Haven't you? Guess what? That God exists!

For it is not a question of who God talks to, but rather, who listens. Are you ready to listen? Really? Then order this book and thank yourself. For this book is one of the Grandest gifts, you will ever bless yourself with. Indeed, it is one of the Grandest gifts you will give to Us All. Thank you!

I always find it amusing to read the 1 star reviews for all four books. They are clearly from "Born Agains" who need to vehemently dispute any other idea as an attempt to promote their way, if only to themselves. I also observed most 1 stars are from the South. Being from the South myself, I can make that statement not as an insult to southern intelligence but as an observation of the predominance of close-minded (Southern Baptist) thinking in the South.

I also don't like some of the 5 star reviews that blindly replace one unquestionable Bible with another. If there is one thing to be learned from this series of books it is to question everything and let the truth come to you. Of course please question that as well.

These books are great at giving an alternate view of God than we have generally been taught throughout our lives. Take each idea for what it is and incorporate what you like while leaving out the rest. I personally agree with most, but not all of it.

Like Lisa who wrote a couple days ago, this book came at exactly the right time. I had read the first three books but put them aside. I had since been reading different types of books in this genre, trying to find the exact answers to my questions - and this book appeared at the exactly right moment. I bought it a week ago and have tried putting the principles into action - and words cannot describe the change in my outlook on life, God, love, everything. I can only give thanks to God for the beauty and fun life is becoming. It was exactly the right book for exactly the right time. Mr. Walsh, you are so blessed to be the messenger of these good tidings. Thank you.

Fantastic! Having read all of the extraordinary international best-selling Conversations With God books several times over, Friendship With God remains my favourite. The majority of the content is a reiteration of the first three books of the series, but as the title suggests, the tone here is more informal. This is, literally, how to have a friendship with God.

Most of the book is in dialogue form. However, Neale Donald Walsch shares considerably more of his background and life history than in other books in the series. I found this added to my already profound appreciation of all the CWG books. Not surprisingly, Mr. Walsch has had a very, very wide range of life experiences, including working with the dying with Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, involvements with radio, television, advertising and a period of time spent virtually living on the streets.

The last few chapters are particularly well written and build up to an enlightening climax that is well worth repeated reading. In Friendship With God, Walsch has continued his mission to "give people back to themselves" superbly. The New Gospel of "WE ARE ALL ONE. OURS IS NOT A BETTER WAY, OURS IS MERELY ANOTHER WAY" is yet another example of the deceptively simple, powerful, revolutionary truths presented in all the Conversations With God books.