An informative, if often familiar, manual of spiritual development.
A spiritual guidebook accompanies readers on a journey of self-discovery with a meditative focus on the constancy of the inner self.
The first chapter of this manual of enlightenment posits, “Our lives have both a dynamic quality and a static quality to them.” This notion that human existence is composed of ever changing experience swirling around an unmoving core is present in a number of religious traditions. Biotechnology executive Krenitsky calls this core the “Still Point,” but he points out that it’s also been called “Awareness, Consciousness, Knowing, Being, Holy Spirit, Presence, Tao, and so forth.” Around this Still Point, the author notes, humans experience a number of unhelpful thoughts and emotions that he summarizes as “the insane conditioning of the ego, which has brought you nothing but fear, worry, and conflict.” Chapters such as “The Seduction of Thought,” “The Absolute Need To See the Ego Self as False,” and “The Illusion of Control” expand on the idea that happiness requires one to tune out a cacophony of feelings, desires, and ideas in order to become aware of one’s “true, unchanging nature.” After this, the seeker’s next step, the author asserts, is to expand this moment of consciousness into an “ever-present awareness”—which, in turn, can lead to personal as well as social change. Much of the book is presented in a question-and-answer format, and Krenitsky presents it all in the style of a good teacher; the overall tone is direct and respectful, without pretention or condescension. His evocation of the Silent Point, that thing “you have called ‘I’ when referring to yourself your entire life,” is likely to feel relevant and compelling even to those who are unfamiliar with practices of meditation and self-realization. At the same time, there’s not much new here for longtime practitioners of New Age or Eastern spiritual traditions, but instructions such as “Be the Actor and not the Character in the Movie of Life” may provide seekers with helpful ways to approach enlightenment.
An informative, if often familiar, manual of spiritual development.Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-954968-82-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Waterside Productions
Review Posted Online: Dec. 27, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A conversational, pleasurable look into McConaughey’s life and thought.
All right, all right, all right: The affable, laconic actor delivers a combination of memoir and self-help book.
“This is an approach book,” writes McConaughey, adding that it contains “philosophies that can be objectively understood, and if you choose, subjectively adopted, by either changing your reality, or changing how you see it. This is a playbook, based on adventures in my life.” Some of those philosophies come in the form of apothegms: “When you can design your own weather, blow in the breeze”; “Simplify, focus, conserve to liberate.” Others come in the form of sometimes rambling stories that never take the shortest route from point A to point B, as when he recounts a dream-spurred, challenging visit to the Malian musician Ali Farka Touré, who offered a significant lesson in how disagreement can be expressed politely and without rancor. Fans of McConaughey will enjoy his memories—which line up squarely with other accounts in Melissa Maerz’s recent oral history, Alright, Alright, Alright—of his debut in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused, to which he contributed not just that signature phrase, but also a kind of too-cool-for-school hipness that dissolves a bit upon realizing that he’s an older guy on the prowl for teenage girls. McConaughey’s prep to settle into the role of Wooderson involved inhabiting the mind of a dude who digs cars, rock ’n’ roll, and “chicks,” and he ran with it, reminding readers that the film originally had only three scripted scenes for his character. The lesson: “Do one thing well, then another. Once, then once more.” It’s clear that the author is a thoughtful man, even an intellectual of sorts, though without the earnestness of Ethan Hawke or James Franco. Though some of the sentiments are greeting card–ish, this book is entertaining and full of good lessons.
A conversational, pleasurable look into McConaughey’s life and thought.Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-13913-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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