65 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lighten Up for Better Spiritual Connections!, October 3, 2000
Ms. Cameron gives an excellent introduction to this book when she says, "You may not find this book you hold in your hands very spiritual -- but you'll probably find it spirited." She has tried to make the book "hardheaded, softhearted, and playful." For example, in one section she wonders if God likes to cha-cha. Some may find her approach irreverent, but I found it informal rather in a way that will make spirituality more accessible to those who spirits are already burdened. For me, the book was very successful and expanded my spiritual awareness.
The book is organized into a series of brief essays, sometimes combined with excellent poems, and followed with experiments, exercises and/or explorations. Each of these sections could have easily been expanded into a whole book. So there is enough material here to keep you spiritually engaged for years. I did a number of exercises and found them to be both helpful and inspiring. Many of these exercises provide ways to recapture your spirituality by better connecting to what is going on around you. As she points out, since we have left rural living, we have become disconnected from nature . . . which normally serves to keep us spiritually grounded.
Ms. Cameron has been through some pain in her life, which she shares openly. She often disputed what her teachers had to say in parochial school, and spent lots of time in the principal's office as a result. At 29, she was divorced. Now, she is a sober alcoholic. So her advice to lighten up comes from someone who knows the heavier sides of life quite well.
To me, the best part of the book is the magnificence of a single summary phrase that she embeds in every essay . . . that totally encompasses the essay. For example, she likens coming closer to God in "Blind Date" to having to "suit up and show up" as you would to start off a blind date. In "Higher Companions" she introduces you to "believing mirrors." In "Kindness" she tells you that "good is present and active." In "Dope-Dealer God" you are encouraged to "ask for some help." "Family" is expressed as "I believe in helping hands." "Faith" is "oversold" because "Saints commit." In "Parent Bashing" she points out that "Honoring our lineage honors ourselves." I wrote down one or two such phrases from each essay, and will keep them with me to remind me how to rekindle my spirituality. These phrases are great gifts within a great book.
The book is neatly summarized in her final poem, "Roots and Wings." She asserts that all of our various spiritual practices have more in common than we realize.
"The listening heart is home.
If you take that word apart,
You'll find it's built on 'om.'"
(The "om" reference is to the sound that many use during meditation in Eastern methods of connecting to God.)
"We -- each of us -- are traveling
Our own way back home,
We are all unraveling
The mystery of 'om.'"
I especially enjoyed this book for exposing many of my assumptions about God and spirituality that I had never examined before. I suspect that I am one of those people who takes this whole area a little too seriously for the good of my own spirituality.
After finishing the book, I walked out to discover a magnificent sunset that pointed me in the direction home. That experience was clearly a message to me that I will heed for some time to come. As Ms. Cameron says in "Conscious Contact," "we just need to be more open."
After you have finished this book and done its exercises, experiments and explorations, I encourage you to write an essay like one of these that expresses your inner sense of spirituality. Include your own exercises at the end. Then share what you have written with a friend. Hopefully, the friend will later do the same for you.
Have a wonderful spiritual journey!
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, insightful and thoughtful, September 15, 2000
Past fans of Julia Cameron's work should not be surprised at the subject of her latest book. An artist who has a gift for articulating the spiritual side of writing and the creative process, Cameron tackles the subject head on in this wonderful volume. She approaches her subject not with irreverence, but with an open mind and a playfulness that characterizes her writing style. The book contains a collection of short essays on a number of subjects whose common thread is exploring and experiencing personal spirituality. Experiential learning is very big with Cameron, and throughout the book she posts various experiments and exercises that challenge and inspire readers to think and do things for themselves. This is a very well-written, fun and insightful book. I recommend it to anyone who is moving on their own journey toward spirituality and seeking to feed their soul.
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23 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious and right-on!!, January 3, 2002
This review is from: God is No Laughing Matter: Observations and Objections on the Spiritual Path (Paperback)
Finally, someone has put into words what I've always felt about God...and until now, felt secretely ashamed. Ms. Cameron reminds us that God can't be all that Very Serious (if you look at the octopus and the "baboons, with their bright red butts.") Her irreverent but sincere take on spirituality is a breath of fresh air that I really needed. So what if we don't pray the exactly correct words and couldn't win an open-book game of bible trivial pursuit? Do we believe what we believe because we truly believe it, or because that's what Sister Very Nasty drilled into us in school? Ms. Cameron urges us to let our religious hair down and stop berating ourselves for not being "spiritual" enough. Her message is clear; one's relationship with his/her creator should be warm, accessible, comforting and a two-way street...rather than one based in fear, guilt and overly-solemn discipline.
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