KIRKUS REVIEW
Cari, a yogi, author, and spiritual counselor, has grouped together her reflections on a variety of philosophical and religious subjects.
Although she grounds some of her writings on God with verses from the Christian Bible, Cari carefully keeps her short paragraphs abstract. Neither endorsing nor critiquing any one faith, the book offers general, lofty statements about energy, the universe, and love. The author writes directly of Buddha and Jesus, delicately arguing that religion has clouded the most basic and important concepts these two figures share. “Neither said follow me,” she writes, “though their stories became writings that perhaps have been misinterpreted to gain fellowship. Their truth was—as life is—I AM and you are.” Cari presents many similarly intriguing ideas about spirituality and religion, but confusing rhetoric and circular logic often obfuscate her conclusions. She repeats the capitalized I AM often but doesn’t offer much actionable spiritual advice or ontological arguments on how to deal with the fact of existing. When she draws on science and some vague references to personal experience to explain energy, the results read like puzzling syllogisms: “We are energy. Placed into a physical body we hold this energy as our potential. Always full of the potential that is energy.” The message is surely a loving one, filled with peace and good intentions. At times, the prose achieves beautiful metaphors such as, “When we all learn to play our part as a perfect vibration we will sink into harmony and create the eternal sound.” However, the continual sublime, ethereal tone renders many profound thoughts harder to understand than if she had revealed more of her own story or anchored them to reality with concrete, everyday examples.
A profound, sometimes-perplexing collection of writings on alternative approaches to spirituality.
