Customer Reviews

The Twelve Conditions of a Miracle

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One of the hallmarks of a creative mind is the ability to reframe the ordinary and familiar, to rethink the things we are certain we know well, and represent them in new and intriguing perspectives. Todd Michael has the gift of creativity.

In "The Twelve Conditions of a Miracle," Michael reconsiders the story he calls the Alpha Passage. It's a story any Christian can easily recount - the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. Michael asks if Jesus, a great teacher who said we would do more than he did, demonstrated a clear and concrete method we could use to become miracle workers. He answers his question compellingly by returning to the original Greek to reexamine the miracle from the perspective of the original writer. We learn much from this not-so-simple exercise. A wealth of meaning appears in the original that has been lost in the versions we are more accustomed to reading.

Michael's twelve conditions are merely a literary device, for each condition is expressed in a larger number of stand-alone actions. Having mastered them all, the reader would indeed become a miracle worker. But by simply beginning, I have seen miracles occur in my own life.

The cadence of "The Twelve Conditions of a Miracle" is uneven and even unsettling. Michael draws the reader into his subject slowly, systematically building the evidence for his case early on. By contrast, latter portions of the book seem rushed, less well-considered. However, it's easy to overlook such flaws because this is a book to savor - slowly, deliciously.

Will it work for you?

Depends.

Just reading this book is not enough to change your life. Your results depend on whether and to what extent you put its principles into action.

It could take a lifetime to master all that's in this little book. It's well worth your time.

Phyllis Staff, Ph.D.
author, "How to Find Great Senior Housing"
and
"128 Ways to Prevent Alzheimer's and Other Dementias"

I picked this book up at a book sale and really didn't know what to expect. The title was catchy so I decided to start reading it. Being an avid reader of new age books, I had to take a glimpse. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. The author explains how to create miracles in your life using tools such as meditation, generosity, and compassion. This is going to be one of the books that stays on my bookshelf that I will refer to repeatedly. Don't even question buying this book, you won't be disappointed. The only question I have is...where has Todd Michael been hiding and what further readings does he have available?

Todd Michael takes the very familiar New Testament Story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 and outlines the 12 conditions that made this miracle possible and then takes those conditions and explains how to apply those conditions to create miracles of your own.

The tone is that of a well-loved teacher or guide. I am thinking of some of the movies I have scene with a teacher from an exclusive school in New England - Mr. Hundert from the Emperor's Club comes to mind. Michael bolsters his discoveries with references from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and has obviously spent a lot of time really digging deeply into the material.

His focus is on the greater good of others, strong on a service attitude. His advice in the Receiving Chapter is to releases something - anything - thus activating an opening for you to receive.

He outlines the 12 Miracle Conditions and then takes it one step further (of critical importance) and that is activating the miracle conditions through application and meditation.

Here is my favorite quote from the book, since it strongly supports my own belief:

"The less a vacuum contains - the emptier it is - the more powerful the attractive force it exerts on the surrounding world." (This explains the releasing in the receiving chapter I mentioned earlier.)

The weakness of the book is the lopsided content within the Conditions. "Engaging" contained only 6 pages (!) It is one of the later chapters. Earlier chapters were 16 pages, 12 pages, with the opening chapter being a whopping 32 pages.

It almost felt like he was pushing a deadline - so the later and equally significant chapters were comparatively rather shallow. They still had great information, I just would have liked to have had more.

I know this is a book I will return to many times over and over. It is a "how-to" that will continue to have an impact on your life.

Choosing to read - and apply - and meditate on the words within will impact your life. Michael says it this way "It's funny, but that's how cause and effect is: the difference in one step, one choice, one word, one little thought form at the point of origin can make a literal world of difference as the flow sweeps us downstream, inexorably amplifying our intent."

See what I mean? Great stuff.....

This is a beautiful book describing the 12 conditions for a miracle to happen. Each chapter uses plain language and illustrates why each condition must be met as a stepping stone to the next. It's back to basics with Divine Will. When you start to pray and spiritually surrender the concept, notion, and manifestation of a miracle is underway. Trust, Accept, Be Wise, and Know that communion with the Divine is miraculous. Remember ... God parted the Red Sea in Exodus ... NOT Moses... Only God. And remember ... The Pharaoh of Egypt tried in vain with his Sorcerers to stop Moses from freeing the Israelites but they drowned in a sea of defeated ego. My point is .... miracles are what turn your life around ... magic is well ... manipulation at best ... and natural law always reverses and corrects it with consequence.

step by step insight on how to look within, to go forward into seeing and believing that indeed we can still see miracles today.

This was the most interesting book. The author breaks down the miracle of the loaves and fishes in such a way that I never considered. There are so many details that I had overlooked. Although I have theological issues with some of his explanations, on the whole, definetely eye-opening!! Recommended reading!

I have read many inspirationional books over the years and I loved this one. I particularly like the suggestion to meditate on a daily basis. I know for myself meditation has brought miraculous transformation into my life many times. When I was trying to purchase a restaurant one time I was meditating daily and the cafe sold before I could negotiate terms to another buyer. I wanted it for 1/2 of what it was being sold for. I continued to meditate and went and got a job (before the new owner opened) working for the new owner as his chef. Within two weeks he backed out of the deal and the seller phoned me to talk. We negotiated a deal for 5,000. less than I had wanted to pay! Half of the original asking price. Visualization DOES work. Be steadfast. Keep faith. I personally believe in more specific focus than the author of this book, but that's me. Just keep focused with excitement and emotional intensity. Be happy. Your dreams will come true.

Love the book and how it take a deeper look at the Loaves and Fishes story and brings such practicalness to it for our modern lives.

I keep this well-worn, thumbed through little gem by my bed and consult it periodically when I feel the need for a small dose of wisdom. There are no earth-shattering revelations here; the book is a compilation of personal successes and matter of fact prescriptions of nothing more than good common sense acquired over a life time of contemplation. For that reason it is a useful tool to keep handy.

However, the book follows the bibilical story of the loaves and the fishes as related in the Gospel of Matthew and postulates that hidden within the subtleties of the original Greek lies the true source for each of the twelve conditions of a miracle. For me, at least, this just doesn't wash and is completely unnecessary. Dr. Michael is a former medical director of an emergency room and a writer of many books, none of which I've read, but at least I can understand his attempt to ride the path into academia. It is the need for a flimsy foundation of religiosity that appears to me to be strained.

The wisdom of the twelve conditions should be sufficient: Alignment (most of us living in the world of self help, Yoga, and all the current programs extant today, know what that word implies); Gratitude; Giving, Grounding, Visualization and so on. It's a prescription for living an honorable and decent life filled with dignity and respect for others and teaches that one must become a habitual giver in order to receive. But these and other aphorisms of goodness are not strictly Biblical in origin; they come from many of the ancient religions, Budhism included.

In spite of these few reservations, I loved the book and all that it represents. And while we're on the subject of the Bible, it just proves to me once again, that "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9-14).

I cannot say enough about this book. If I could see the author face to face I would kiss him. I had to really rethink things, and get o a place of peace and contentment. I dissected it and realized that I wasn't really living in peace, and once I decided to just put these things into practice things were quickly changing. Within two weeks of reading the book, I more than doubled my income, and I was making connections with people in so many ways. The book isn't magic, but the information that's in it is real and valuable. If you don't read this book, you are missing out on life.