Conversations with God.

[luvtoto]

Who is familiar with the books by Neale Donald Walsch called "Conversations with God"?

 

I have books 1, 2, & 3.

 

They are extraordinary books. I am amazed.

 

I've been glancing at them a little this weekend. Now, I am going to read them cover to cover.

 

This book is seriously changing my views on life.

[luvtoto]

I guess no one here has read these books.

 

Well, read 'em dammit!

[tanbark813]

I'm going NC on God.

[melodymatters]

I DID read them lovetoto, or at least the first one. Basically everything in there was what my gut ALREADY told me God was about. I didn't belive however that the author was having a dialogue with God and that kind of ruined my enjoyment. Whenever we read spiritual books, whats most important is what WE get out of them, so if it's helping you look at God in a new way ( not the catholic angry God I grew up with for example) then it's all good, enjoy !!!!!!!

[Pyro]

I guess no one here has read these books.

 

Well, read 'em dammit!

 

Kind of hard to read them if I have never heard of them.

[luvtoto]

I DID read them lovetoto, or at least the first one. Basically everything in there was what my gut ALREADY told me God was about. I didn't belive however that the author was having a dialogue with God and that kind of ruined my enjoyment. Whenever we read spiritual books, whats most important is what WE get out of them, so if it's helping you look at God in a new way ( not the catholic angry God I grew up with for example) then it's all good, enjoy !!!!!!!

Well, these books have completely lifted any guilt I've ever had in life. I am getting along with my daughter now even.

 

I've carried alot of guilt around about not being part of any organized religion. People have looked down on me because of my belief system. Whenever I would go to church, I would just feel fear...not love. All that guilt is gone now.

 

By the way, melodymatters, did you read the part about your spirit leaving your body while you sleep? Fascinating!

[the_alchemyst]

Do they teach you how to talk to god?

 

I've never had a real conversation with him. He hates me.

 

But I've had a nice conversation with Santa, though. That was nice.

[alphamale]

your life isn't going to change in any drastic way by reading a couple of books.

[the_alchemyst]

did you read the part about your spirit leaving your body while you sleep?

 

Isn't that called "astral projection"? Don't Pagans do that to go to the Astral Plane to cause mischief?

[quankanne]

your life isn't going to change in any drastic way by reading a couple of books.

 

you never know alpha – sometimes the right book or article or set of words can help your perspective fall into place after you've mentally run circles in your mind because you couldn't coherently do it yourself. Kinda like talking to a sage, but a different mode of conversing.

 

luv – give "The Alchemist" a read, if you've got time. It takes a little time to sink into Coelho's style of writing, but there's a lot of good deep thinking in that simply written book. Or, Anthony de Mello has some excellent collections of writings, mostly short, insightful pieces that get your mind chugging along.

[luvtoto]

your life isn't going to change in any drastic way by reading a couple of books.

Your life doesn't change. Your perspective on life does. At least for me it did drastically.

 

How was it...a man despair sat down one day, in total despair. He was a writer/author who had a bout of writer's block. He, then, wrote an angry letter to God. Then, his pen started writing for him. It was God writing through him. The author would ask a question, then God would answer.

 

The book received so much controversy, that it was banned by the Roman Catholic Church.

[Pyro]

your life isn't going to change in any drastic way by reading a couple of books.

 

Actually, two books have contributed to my life changing for the better. You'd be surprised.

[alphamale]

Actually, two books have contributed to my life changing for the better. You'd be surprised.

i said drastic changes...what were they? two Dr. Seuss books?

[Pyro]

i said drastic changes...what were they? two Dr. Seuss books?

 

Why? You interested in reading them? Dr. Seuss may be too advanced for you.

[melodymatters]

My new rule on books :

 

If I find myself, ever again, buying something with a title " How to deal with the verbally abusive man" OR "How to deal with the passive aggresive man", I will simply NOT BUY THE BOOK, AND DUMP THE DUDE !!!!!

[Pyro]

In all seriousness, just one book has had a DRASTIC effect on my life, while the other has helped me change my perspective on life.

 

"People Skills" by Robert Bolton was an excellent book that helped me mature and to cope with my first break-up. This book drastically changed my life for the better.

 

The other book is the bible.

[alphamale]

My new rule on books :

 

If I find myself, ever again, buying something with a title " How to deal with the verbally abusive man" OR "How to deal with the passive aggresive man", I will simply NOT BUY THE BOOK, AND DUMP THE DUDE !!!!!

Agreed MM....there are thousand of self-help books out there on many subjects. You got a specific problem and theres probalby a number of books on it. But everyone is still messed up so these books don't work!!!

Mainly cause people read them but don't implement anything.

[bluetuesday]

yes, i've read these books.

 

of course you have to use your own discernment in these matters, but while i found the first book interesting - fascinating even - the material in the second and particularly the third became increasingly worrying to me.

 

here's why.

 

the 'god' in these books claims to be telling the world, through mr donald walsch, that anything goes as far as what a person gets up to. the premise is that human beings are just god experiencing itself in the material realm. and while i believe there is some truth to that, i don't believe in any measure that our actions don't have consequences, which is truly the message of these books.

 

while the books have, i believe, been delivered from a higher realm, they are not from god, IMO. there are many spiritual beings in this universe, and others, with a higher spiritual attainment than humans. and some of them find it amusing to communicate with us for a variety of reasons, mostly mischievous. you will see if you read the books that the 'god' the third book doesn't in fact seem to be the same 'god' who dictated the first book. the feel of the voice changes. ask yourself whether that would be the case if god had dictated them.

 

so by all means read the books and make your own mind up. i'm not saying there is not some truth in there. just beware that a very subtle and persuasive way to get people's attention is to mix a little falsehood with your truth, thus perverting the whole message but making it seem, at least to the spiritual beginner, as if it's a true message.

 

ultimately i found the books a good way to sharpen my discernment in what is from god and what is not from god. but i would approach them in the same way i'd approach ANY spiritual text and test them out for yourself. just because someone has published something that claims something spectacular doesn't make that claim true. neither does it make it true that other people believe it too. lots of people are looking for answers, so be careful. there are a few blind alleys out there.

 

and ask yourself why god would create a universe where what you choose to do doesn't ultimately matter because there is no pay back. so if you kill someone it doesn't matter, because that soul from the body you kill will go into another body and the action of killing is okay because you were justified in wanting to experience what it's like to kill someone.

 

ask yourself if that feels true to you. ask yourself why god would have created a universe in which you aren't required to learn and grow as a result of your actions, because no actions have consequences. in that universe what is the meaning of life?

 

yes, it's a tantalising argument that actions don't have consequences and that good and bad don't exist because every action is equal - because every action is you fulfilling god's desire to experience things. and of course the most persuasive bit of all is that the teaching tells humans that they're not responsible for their actions because they're just doing god's work. many, many people want to hear that. they want to hear it doesn't matter. they want to hear it's not their fault. they want to hear they couldn't help it.

 

just tread carefully and keep your radar turned to high. there can still be lessons for you to learn with these books, even in a teaching that's not the purest one around.

[luvtoto]

Agreed MM....there are thousand of self-help books out there on many subjects. You got a specific problem and theres probalby a number of books on it. But everyone is still messed up so these books don't work!!!

Mainly cause people read them but don't implement anything.

Alpha, the books I am referring to, in this thread, were never intended to be self-help books.

[crystalclear]

Over the past year I have been on a deeply spiritual journey. It began originally, out of sheer curiousity and winter boredom, by reading others' near-death experiences (tons of them on the web) and becoming curious by the things they were saying they experienced and learned. These accounts in themselves are fascinating reads (go the the 'NDE archives' on this page: http://www.nderf.org/ )

 

This snowballed into reading everything I could find on the topic of spirituality. I did read all the Conversations With God books, they were one of the first books I picked up. When I read them, I was amazed by them. He has a certain style of writing, which sometimes can be off-putting, but they are full of interesting ideas. I enjoy reading them, but as I've gone along my 'journey', I've found other books that appeal to me even more.

 

The best, most powerful book I have ever, ever read is "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle (and his other one "A New Earth" is also very good - but the entry point is "The Power of Now"). In addition to reading it, watch him speak on YouTube.com (they have several 10-minute clips) to give yourself your own sense of his authenticity. He may not appeal to you if you don't already kinda know what he's talking about, so I do suggest reading the book first.

 

BTW, I was pretty much atheist before this 'journey', although I knew quite a bit about religion and philosophy.

[luvtoto]

yes, i've read these books.

 

of course you have to use your own discernment in these matters, but while i found the first book interesting - fascinating even - the material in the second and particularly the third became increasingly worrying to me.

There are only three books?

 

the 'god' in these books claims to be telling the world, through mr donald walsch, that anything goes as far as what a person gets up to. the premise is that human beings are just god experiencing itself in the material realm. and while i believe there is some truth to that, i don't believe in any measure that our actions don't have consequences, which is truly the message of these books.

The book said that the only rule in life is that "what comes around goes around." Using Karma as our disciplinarian in life. That God is not vengeful, vindictive, or keeping track of our every wrong. Waiting to punish us on judgement day. God is love. It's man that has taught us to be fearful of God. So the book states.

 

while the books have, i believe, been delivered from a higher realm, they are not from god, IMO. there are many spiritual beings in this universe, and others, with a higher spiritual attainment than humans. and some of them find it amusing to communicate with us for a variety of reasons, mostly mischievous. you will see if you read the books that the 'god' the third book doesn't in fact seem to be the same 'god' who dictated the first book. the feel of the voice changes. ask yourself whether that would be the case if god had dictated them.

I hear ya, BT! I am trying to make up my mind as I read. It's tough though. It was my understanding that God spoke through him. God's word was filtered...so to speak by the man's inability to truely comprehend what was being said to him. It was a bit hard to understand the capacity of what was being said. Kinda like trying to understand eternity. Many times througout reading the books, my mind was just get so jumbled up with awe, that I had to step back and refocus.

 

so by all means read the books and make your own mind up. i'm not saying there is not some truth in there. just beware that a very subtle and persuasive way to get people's attention is to mix a little falsehood with your truth, thus perverting the whole message but making it seem, at least to the spiritual beginner, as if it's a true message.

Geez. Am I being brain-washed? Kinda scary. I am being careful and not taking everything at face value. I kinda understand the reasoning of those people in Waco that sacrificed themselves for God. I mean, the book puts very little value on human life.

 

ultimately i found the books a good way to sharpen my discernment in what is from god and what is not from god. but i would approach them in the same way i'd approach ANY spiritual text and test them out for yourself. just because someone has published something that claims something spectacular doesn't make that claim true. neither does it make it true that other people believe it too. lots of people are looking for answers, so be careful. there are a few blind alleys out there.

I don't know for sure the validity of these books. Having said that, I still must say I believe alot of what is being said in them. I have never believed in organized religions using fear to keep people paying to go to their church's.

 

and ask yourself why god would create a universe where what you choose to do doesn't ultimately matter because there is no pay back. so if you kill someone it doesn't matter, because that soul from the body you kill will go into another body and the action of killing is okay because you were justified in wanting to experience what it's like to kill someone.

From what I understood from the books, is that if we would kill and our soul was damaged per say...we would not be growing in God's love. We would alienate ourselves from God's love. That is what the book describes as purgatory. That would be our punishment.

 

ask yourself if that feels true to you. ask yourself why god would have created a universe in which you aren't required to learn and grow as a result of your actions, because no actions have consequences. in that universe what is the meaning of life?

The impression I got from the book was that God is not necessarily all too concerned with our growth as a human being. But, more as a spiritual being. Life as a human is such a small part of our spiritual growth in the realm of eternity. Life is just an opportunity for us to grow spiritually.

 

yes, it's a tantalising argument that actions don't have consequences and that good and bad don't exist because every action is equal - because every action is you fulfilling god's desire to experience things. and of course the most persuasive bit of all is that the teaching tells humans that they're not responsible for their actions because they're just doing god's work. many, many people want to hear that. they want to hear it doesn't matter. they want to hear it's not their fault. they want to hear they couldn't help it.

I don't think God is trying to convey that it doesn't matter. It does. But, let's say...we are born and grew up without any human influence. Would we still have the same values? Would we even know the difference between right and wrong. Probably not. The book then states we are taught by human to fear the wrath of God.

 

just tread carefully and keep your radar turned to high. there can still be lessons for you to learn with these books, even in a teaching that's not the purest one around.

Will do!

[luvtoto]

I did read all the Conversations With God books, they were one of the first books I picked up. When I read them, I was amazed by them. He has a certain style of writing, which sometimes can be off-putting, but they are full of interesting ideas. I enjoy reading them, but as I've gone along my 'journey', I've found other books that appeal to me even more.

So, are these books what started your spiritual journey? After reading these books, I no longer fear God. Anything that draws me closer to God for whatever reason, has to mean something. Legitimate or not.

[bluetuesday]

There are only three books?

 

no i believe there are a whole series now. i read them when there was only three.

 

yes, the books to do contain some truth. god is love is one of those truths. god is not fearful is another. i too was bowled over by the first book. but by halfway throught the second things were starting to not add up for me.

 

Geez. Am I being brain-washed? Kinda scary. I am being careful and not taking everything at face value.

 

no, you're not being brain washed. you're being exposed to something new and exciting that might or might not be true.

 

I kinda understand the reasoning of those people in Waco that sacrificed themselves for God.

 

NOW you're being scary. :eek:

 

I mean, the book puts very little value on human life.

 

yeah. that ring any alarm bells? what does your instinct tell you?

 

From what I understood from the books, is that if we would kill and our soul was damaged per say...we would not be growing in God's love. We would alienate ourselves from God's love. That is what the book describes as purgatory. That would be our punishment.

 

but the books also state that you can choose to re-embody at any level of consciousness. in other words, after this life the lessons your have learned are not taken with you into your next life, making growth at best a nice temporary experience but at worst a complete waste of time. so there is just a series of lives when you get to experience different things and none of it means anything because there is no overall path of growth. does that seem logical?

 

so is the universe simply about god doing what it wants through you and you getting nowhere? how loving does that seem to you? if you believe god created you, the very fact of your creation should show you that god values human life extremely highly because each human has a unique purpose. every last one of us is precious and loved unconditionally. human life IS spiritual life. why else do you think it exists, if it's of so little value to god?

 

let's say...we are born and grew up without any human influence. Would we still have the same values? Would we even know the difference between right and wrong. Probably not. The book then states we are taught by human to fear the wrath of God.

 

if you dig a little deeper into this statement, you will see that the book is telling you the values you have been brought up with are arbitrary and there IS no right and wrong other that what humans designate to be right and wrong. this is a clear case of dual thinking - in other words, defining something only in relation to its opposite. so if there is no bad there is no good.

 

which places the opposite of god (satan) on the same level as god, albeit at the other end of the spectrum. that's a lie. god has no opposite. if god had an equal opposite, god wouldn't be god. it's flawed thinking. god is above our human interpretations of good and bad. god just is.

 

but don't take my word for it. you need to decide for yourself what you think - this is your journey, not mine. and have fun with it! it's meant to be an adventure. and you will learn something, which is never a waste.

[crystalclear]

I 'fell' into my spiritual journey by reading literally hundreds of accounts of near-death experiences on the internet. It started as mere curiosity, but ended up being so fascinating that I couldn't stop reading them!

 

I have never understood why more people interested in religion and spirituality haven't explored these accounts very much, if at all. What NDE experiencers report learning, seeing, and experiencing after their brush with death is absolutely FASCINATING. Read them for yourselves! We can start a Near Death Experience thread! I put a link to a great NDE page on my post above.

 

After reading all those accounts, then I started looking in the bookstores for spiritual books. First I was interested in Conversations with God, then some psychic stuff, but a lot of the books seemed too New-Agey and ....fake, or hokey. A cheesy book someone wrote to make a dollar. There's a lot of spiritual crap out there.

 

Then I ended up on Eckhart Tolle, who, to me, seems absolutely genuine. "The Power of Now", if I may say so, is my Bible. It is the most deeply changing, profound book I've ever read. He explains Jesus' teachings in a way that just makes so much more intuitive sense to me than any organized church has ever taught it. Has anyone else read it?

[UCFKevin]

I read these books years ago.

 

True or not, I love what God in the book stands for.