Divinely Inspired (Paperback)

~ Jerry J Pollock (Author), Barbara Coster (Editor)
Key Phrases: primal therapy, preverbal feelings, yetzer hara, Divinely Inspired, Fourth Way, Ten Commandments (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A touching narrative that reaches out to the reader and proves that it is never too late to find God. The author believes and rightly so, that the original Ten Commandments are not only to maintain order in a chaotic world, but they are also in their essence, the source for any human efforts at self improvement. A thoroughly engrossing narrative style and almost conversational tone makes this an easy, fast and extremely satisfying read, yet one that leaves the impact of a gentle loving wallop, if there is such a thing. Denise M. Clark, Denise's Pieces Book Reviews Most people thank goodness only know insufferable stress from the accounts of others, but those who know it from personal experience will take comfort from the ways in which the author has contrived to find a peaceful way to handle his battle with anxiety, manic depression, migraines, and that sense of emptiness and sadness. Ian Tattersall, Ph.D., Curator of Anthropology American Museum of Natural History The author writes from a Jewish perspective on spirituality and admits that it would perhaps best serve a Jewish audience, but I have to disagree. No matter what faith we carry, if any at all, we can all learn something from this book. Its honesty is both liberating and refreshing. Elizabeth Batt, Elizabeth Batt Book Reviews Jerry Pollock has discovered what very few men of science like him have. We each have available to us, if we recognize and seek it out, a loving and supportive force, an organizing intelligence that in reality is the being of all of us. Steven Hawlings Martin, Author of Keys to the Kingdom The reader cannot but be impressed by the honesty and courage of the memoir. The author aims to help people attain inner peace. I hope that the author succeeds and achieves his purpose. Chaim Seymour, American Jewish Libraries Review Through primal therapy, he exorcised his painful youth and then his feelings guided him to his spiritual rebirth into the paradigm of the Judeo Christian tradition. That the author is able to provide intellectual, psychological, historical and spiritual content is impressive. A Tilt-A-Whirl of a biography. Audrey De LaMartre, Steps for Recovery In his provocative book, Divinely Inspired, Dr. Pollock details his personal journey to his discovery of God that helped him overcome more negativity than one person should suffer. Here is a story that begins in the depths of despair, physical and mental illness, uncaring and cheating parents and a deep sense of inadequacy; and ends with an understanding of not only spirituality but of faith. Richard Fuller, Metaphysical Reviews The strength and uniqueness of this tale is its sense of reality, even grittiness and steaminess, not found with most books dealing with personal spiritual growth. Pollock's book is of interest to anyone suffering and looking for spiritual guidance and how spirituality and related beliefs are incorporated into one's life. Henry Berry, The Small Press Book Review Courage, wisdom, and strength and the unrelenting desire to teach rather than preach are what the author arms himself with. This book has had a profound effect upon me. I'm not only considering what is written among these pages as a description of experiences. I'm considering it a handbook for those seeking to get on the right path. Jennifer Hollowell, J.M.H. Creative Solutions Divinely Inspired: Spiritual Awakening of a Soul by microbiologist and biophysics expert Jerry Pollock is the story of his personal journey beyond Bipolar Disorder into the embrace of God's love. Professor Pollock has written a candid and moving spiritual guide to accepting the wisdom of God. The pages of this published testimony are aptly written to accurately reflect Pollock's faith, and offers unforgettable guidance and encouragement to fellow seekers to shed emotional negativity and devastation to search out --Kam Aures, Rebecas Reads

Product Description

Since the beginning of time, humans have tried to understand God's Essence. However, not even the most brilliant and enlightened minds among us can comprehend Him because simply put, "God is." If we understood the mystery of God, then why would we need to have faith? Perhaps the best we can hope for is to recognize when we are visited by God. We then have the opportunity to bring real change and meaning to our lives. Divinely Inspired is one man's story to lift himself out of the despair of Bipolar Disorder, near suicide, migraines, anxiety, neurotic behavior, and scientific cheating to emerge on a path to God. Jerry Pollock's transformation from a damaged and ravaged soul to merging into God's Light, as outlined in Divinely Inspired: Spiritual Awakening of a Soul, is seen through unusual miracles of Divine intervention that initiated the author's spiritual journey. Jerry's climbing of the spiritual ladder is a very gradual and personal process as he tries to improve his flawed character. He comes to realize that God is the master scientist responsible for both Evolution and Creation. As his story unfolds, readers are inadvertently empowered to embark on their own spiritual journey, as best as they can, by adhering to the Creator's original self-help plan, The Ten Commandments. The author contends that the Ten Commandments are the basis for all self-improvement. This memoir represents the author's first steps to stand in God's place of Holiness. His own journey of belonging to God is continued in his new novel, the Messiah Interviews, to be published in paperback form in January of 2009 along with a printing reissue second edition of Divinely Inspired.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Shechinah Third Temple, Inc.; 2nd edition (January 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0981721257
• ISBN-13: 978-0981721255
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,014,916 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing spiritual journey, January 21, 2009

By	RebeccasReads.com "Rebecca's Reads" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (1/09)


Having previously read Jerry Pollock's book, "Messiah Interviews," I was very interested in going back and reading his first work, "Divinely Inspired: Spiritual Awakening of a Soul" to gain more insight into the biographical events that I found so interesting in the second book. Once I started reading "Divinely Inspired," I literally could not put it down.

In the Prologue, Pollock states that the purpose of the book is not to be an autobiography but to be about spiritual change. I, however, think that the book fits neatly into both categories. The first part of the work focuses more on the memoir aspect whereas the second part is more focused on spiritual change.

I found Pollock's childhood and adult life to be very intriguing and I applaud him for the courage and strength that it must have taken to put his life experiences down on paper for the world to read. As a child, Pollock was not shown love by his parents. One particular incident that sticks with me is him as a young child at his first wedding. He saw other children dancing with their mothers and so he went over to his own mother who was already out on the floor, and indicated that he would like to dance with her. She spun him once, let him go, and then ignored him for the man she was dancing with. Left standing in the middle of the floor alone, he was overwhelmed with sadness and feelings of being unwanted. These types of instances were a common occurrence in his childhood.

As an adult, Pollock suffered with severe depression, anxiety, paranoia, and mania. He describes a pretty frightening chain of events that occurred in his life during this time. To find relief, he tried many things including medication, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and Primal Therapy. Of these, the most success came from Primal Therapy. "The aim and principal of Primal Therapy is to feel the hurtful feelings and sensations of early childhood and birth. The repression or nonfeeling of these feelings triggers stored suffering and pain, because essential needs of the fetus, infant, and child are not met. Feeling and reliving the pain causes the pain to disappear, and frees us from a life of neurotic behavior that otherwise robs us of the essence of who we really are." (p.150)

Watching Pollock's personal spiritual journey and growth was very fascinating and inspirational. His spiritual insights presented in the Epilogue of the book are also very thought provoking. Once again, as with "Messiah Interviews," I enjoyed the stimulating discussion surrounding The Ten Commandments. I think that anyone can benefit and take something away from "Divinely Inspired: Spiritual Awakening of a Soul" and I highly recommend it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spirituality provides the road to peace!, December 29, 2008

By	Reader Views "www.readerviews.com" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (12/08)

"Divinely Inspired" is written about one man's spiritual path and how his life experiences brought him through a great deal of spiritual change. It is written from a Jewish perspective; however, I feel that people of religious backgrounds, who respect his belief system, will relate to Dr. Pollock's story. For myself, I enjoyed learning more about the Jewish faith.

Each of us progresses down our spiritual paths at different paces. Dr. Pollock tells his personal story with a great deal of honesty and self-revelation. I appreciated his willingness to share both his personal successes and failures with us. It gave me greater insight into his story. He had to deal with both an emotionally damaging childhood and manic depression. By reading "Divinely Inspired" it will help us further our own personal journey and provide us with a great deal of motivation.

As a child, Dr. Pollock held his feelings in. He did not get the nurturing that he needed from either parent. He had a lifetime struggle of trying to win recognition and love from his parents. He learned to use pills to deal with the pain. It wasn't until he was in his forties that he learned to work through these issues through therapy. Then he began to learn to express his emotions. He found a great deal of success using primal therapy. This actually seems like an unusual form of therapy for a research scientist; however, he found that it worked for him.

Because Dr. Pollock is a scientist, I really appreciated how he blended his scientific beliefs into his spiritual beliefs. He offers one of the most fascinating discussions on creationism and evolution that I have ever read. He covers a variety of interesting theories in this section.

Dr. Pollock tells us, "When you totally trust in God, you do so because you feel confident enough that when you do it, God will be there to assist you." Accepting this belief awakens our souls to a higher state of spiritual being and provides us with inner-peace, self-confidence, self-respect and self-worth. What more can we need for ourselves? I highly recommend reading "Divinely Inspired," and Dr. Pollock's other book which I really enjoyed, "The Messiah Interviews."

5.0 out of 5 stars Connie Harris- TCM Reviews, October 16, 2009

By	TCM Reviews - See all my reviews

Divinely Inspired published originally in 2003 and written before Messiah Interviews is a prequel of sorts for Messiah Interviews but can also be read as a stand alone. Jerry J. Pollock has an extensive background in science and is currently Professor Emeritus in the Oral Biology and Pathology Department in the School of Dental Medicine at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Jerry J. Pollock began his vague yet unwavering belief in God in his teenage years. However he was spiritually bankrupt and devoid of aspiring to a higher meaning in his life. When he found himself at the crossroads of either continuing on the wrong path or choosing the path that would be the beginning of his ascension on God's spiritual ladder he choose God's spiritual ladder and thus began his spiritual journey.

Divinely Inspired is the personal story of Jerry J. Pollock. Having come from a traumatic childhood and dealing with a mental illness he gives hope to others who have endured the same trials in life. This book is written from a Jewish perspective but is an inspirational read for anyone of any religious background. I found Divinely Inspired to be a well-written, honest, and thought provoking book to read and recommend it to others.