Customer Reviews

Take Me To Truth: Undoing the Ego

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is it! Finally, the difference between seeking enlightenment and actually living it. I have been a student of ACIM for many years, and the philisophy of this great great book seemed to remain somewhat elusive, to me. After reading both of Gary Renard's books, the meaning became a delicious surprise and finally, I found the God I was looking for, yesss!!! (Also, very important to me, I did not want to morph into some kind of new-age, born-again, in your face Christian, screeching my philosophy, while not living the truth. And amazingly enough, that did not happen. My family, friends and acquaintances just keep noticing that I have become much kinder, calmer and happier, not such a bad thing.) I am now on my 3rd reading of Take Me To Truth and am delightfully amazed that every single time, I am led to a new level of not only awareness, but how to take that awareness into the world we are now existing in, and live it. I believe I have read almost every self-help, spiritual, new-age book that has been published, and thank every one of those authors for leading me here. They are all speaking the truth, but, as you will learn, there is another level that needs to be accessed, before a permanent change becomes possible, and this is just so refreshing. Wait until you discover what forgiveness really means! And, how about everything is predestined, so anger is never justified, plus discovering everything you don't like in someone else is really just you projecting that onto them! (Hah, you'll learn to have fun with this one) And, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Believe me, your ego will rail against just about every word you read, but Nouk Sanchez and Tomas Viera have managed to not only put ACIM into a practical application but have incorporated firm and gentle guidance as you go though each phase. Understanding seems to come quickly, and then, ahhh, the peace. And there is so much humor (life becomes fun again!) as you learn to become an interactive observer. This book is for everyone that has always known there has to be a better way, and finally, there is. A personal note here: my children are spaced very far apart and we still have our 16 year old at home. The first time I started reading TMTT, the two older ones returned home (uh, there are no accidents), so for the first time in many years, I had all my kids back under one roof. This has proved to be a delightful experiment for all of us. What I always secretly wanted and did not even realize until I read TMTT, was to have a magnificent relationship with my family. Poof, after 33 years of marriage, and three children, it is here. Thank you, thank you, thank you Nouk Sanchez and Tomas Viera! There is a much more exciting and loving way to live, as we learn to change our minds about the world, and learn that eventually, that is what really changes the world. Louis Armstrong knew what he was singing about: "It's a Wonderful World."

I echo the previous reviewer's sentiments. I, too, am a long time student of A Course in Miracles and it remains my central spiritual path. However, as every ACIM student knows, this massive tome, albeit a spiritual masterpiece, can be a bit unwieldy and obtuse (ya think?). How refreshing it is to discover a book which presents solid Course teaching in a new and much more accessible form. While I'm sure that the authors of this book would agree that there is no substitute for in-depth study of the source material, it is nonetheless a welcome respite to have these timeless principles restated in plain english. That is not to imply a "watering down" of the Course material. In fact, just the opposite is the case. Reading this book has given me fresh insights that I am anxious to take back to my study of the Course.

All in all, it's a wonderfully thought out and very well-written introduction to ACIM and to the newly emerging Wisdom Tradition as well.

Bravo to Nouk and Tomas. I hope this isn't the last work we'll see from these two exceptional teachers!

While it's clear from the many five-star reviews that this book is valuable to many people, I would suggest that it may not be "right" for ACIM purists. The authors avoid many of the key terms in ACIM in an apparent attempt to remove any traditional "religious" references. In addition, it interjects several techniques, such as the Enneagram, that reinforce the perception of separateness and individuality.

With all that is good about the book, if you are put-off by restatements of ACIM principles in more "acceptable" (and therefore less accurate) language, Take Me To Truth probably isn't for you.

Disappearance of the Universe and Your Immortal Reality address many of the same everyday issues, while staying true to the language of the Course. Books and CDs by Ken Wapnick work directly with the words of the course to illuminate their meaning in our lives. I would recommend these for those who wish a more direct route to understanding ego's control over our lives.

I'm a student of A Course in Miracles. I've also read Gary Renard's books several times. This is another take on the pure and truthful message from ACIM, as are Gary's books. It just boils it down a bit differently. There were no "aha" moments for me, but there were several "cementing" areas that brought the courses teachings even closer to my "right mind" and when I feel instant peace and comfort that we are all perfect and none of what we experience is a coincidence, then that is my higher power informing me that this is really, really good stuff. This is really, really good stuff regardless if you're on a spiritual path, student of ACIM, or even read books on the subject. I believe everyone will take something useful from this book.

As a "nut and bolt" man one of my criticisms of the genre is that most spiritual books tend to be ethereal.

"Aye" that is all very well I would think "but how do we bring it into practice?"

One way which I discovered from the experience after a major loss in my life, was through PROCESSES.

Discovering the "Grief Process" and appreciating how it related to my circumstances was a major source of help in accepting the loss.

Then in The Enneagram, which is part of the processes Take Me To The Truth embraces, I found a process for first self discovery and then development. My spiritual searching also brought to my attention "The Forgiveness Process Model" as defined by The International Forgiveness Institute. I found that all of these Processes provide a vocabularly that enables down to earth communication with others of important spiritual matters.

However one set of spiritual ideas that I found very hard to get a grip with are contained in A Course of Miracles, (especially Forgivess as ACIM presents it) and it was through my interest in this that I came across Take Me To The Truth.

For me anything that could demystify ACIM was worth reading, particularly as it promised me, a process fan, a way to do so by setting out spiritual development as a series of processes that life constantly presents at our door.

In that respect TMTTT more than hits the mark. It actually embraces, under one overreaching TMTTT process, (which is itself set out in stages), a parallel series of processes that anyone can relate to their own life and spiritual experience, either as a result of passing through them or even being stuck in them.

At least that was my own experience as I read each chapter. "Wow, that reflects my own (spiritual development) experience" was a thought that came to me constantly as I read TMTTT.

So to any one trying to make sense of it all, trying to establish what Life is actually telling you about life (which HAS to be the only truth) I thoroughly recommend Take Me To The Truth.

It will get you thinking about what you think and why. It will make you question WHO is actually doing the thinking and will introduce you to (or confirm) ideas which, although they will turn how you see everything on its head, will nevertheless leave you more firmly at one with real Love than before you discovered what the Truth in Take Me To The Truth is.

Rings of Truth all the way through.

The description of the (negative) ego logic system -- and the inevitable existential consequences -- is right on the button. Once described, it is much easier to see it for what it is, let it be, and move on.

I found myself wondering what our world might be like if we were exposed to such powerful Teachings at about age 10.

I felt grateful to have the opportunity to read such a clear, profound, yet practical Spiritual Transmission -- so obviously written by two people that are walking their talk.

I HIGHLY recommend this book.

First, let me say that I am not a follower of ACIM - so, perhaps, my review is tainted by having insufficient background in the subject. First, I really loved and learned so much from this book. Its discussion on ego had so many helpful points. For that alone, this book is important reading for anyone struggling with awakening, persistent sadness, anxiety, and just overall dis-ease. It's really one of the better books in the field.

But here is my problem with it, and it's not a trivial one - it sustains the current of negation of people that I have found in so many books with roots in eastern philosophy. The message suggest, that while all of creation is perfect, human beings are flawed. By making what the authors define as ego (essentially any motivation, thought or emotion experienced) as the enemy, this book contributes to the ever-growing literature that perpetuates the myth that we need to wage a tireless war on the ego. In my own view, this is not only simplistic, it is untrue. We are the spark of creation ourselves - just like everything in the universe. If anyone has any doubts about that, I suggest they try reading Osho, Pablo Neruda, Walt Whitman, or even Ralph Waldo Emerson. Unlike Nouk Sanchez and Tomas Viera they don't assail our humanity, but celebrate it.

So, while there is much to value here, there is also the old, and I believe, worn out (and even dangerous) Christian view of our innate "wrongness" and sinfulness. Unless I am misinterpreting this book and ACIM, this is not a message that serves many of us all that well.

Gives an extremely helpful outline of the process that a Course student will go through.

This is a wonderful book for anyone wishing to connect to Source. As we move towards our divinity, finding this step by step approach is very helpful. Recognizing the ways we are led by ego and how we have reacted makes a good argument to return to serenity. The book is written simply yet each paragraph begs to be pondered. These are pages for our times.

Take Me To Truth: Undoing the EgoSometimes one just needs to see a picture from different angles. I have read and re-read Gary Renard's books and benefitted exponentially; I was reluctant to read this one except that Gary recommended it. As a Spiritual Awareness Life Coach, I am delighted by the "flavor" of the use of secular words to express ACIM terms; to help more people one must begin where they are. "I am here to be truly helpful. . ."