Book review – The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield

This was an exciting story that I read over the past year, on and off.  A lot of life happened in my 2017 year, and so the book further captivated me by literally showing me that the content and arch of the books plot, is really a reflection of the happenings in my real life.  More over, in all of our lives.

This book is a novel about a seemingly random guy who gets hold of some information.  Through a series of learning, practicing, and evolving the main character is compelled to go on this epic journey to the country of Peru, and to the ancient cities and monuments there.  His quest and conflict get tied up in this “manuscript” that supposedly holds the keys to religion or spirituality.  The conflicting force in this story is the church, for they feel that this manuscript denounces and de-legitimizes Christianity and uniform religion in general.

However this book is not about religion at all.  Well not in a traditional sense.  This story explores not who or what religion, but HOW one becomes, or already is, religious..  more in the spiritual sense rather than deity worship.  The arch of the story focuses on connection to our surrounding, energy forces in nature and fellow humans, and the coincidences that bring us to learn, grow, and experience life.

This was an easy to read and pretty swift adventure.  Most of the character dialogue content is on the meta-physical, and philosophical level, but it is put into many different scenarios and situations so the story gives literal examples of what the characters were talking about and describing to each other.  It seems complex but it flows really nicely and the language is basic so it is fairly easy to wrap my head around.   There were a couple parts I had to read a second time, to be able to grasp the concept that the characters were talking about, but nothing was out of my sphere of understanding.

I really liked this book because the main character is constantly learning how to see and experience the world around him.  A lot of it has to do with meditation and relaxation.  Really taking in your surroundings.  I love this concept because I have always been a practitioner of meditation and relaxation to calm me when I get stressed out.  It’s good to be reminded of the world around you and to remember to relax sometimes, because there is really nothing we can do in some situations and our attitude really does affect the overall outcome of our life scenarios.

Overall I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes self discovery, growth, meditation, or those who are interested in spirituality on any level.   Again this book is not about religion directly but encompasses the broader notion of personal spirituality.  The reading can be understood by any age really.  I didn’t know what to expect when it was given to me.  After reading it I am surprised by how much I took from it.

From what I understand there are many books in this series I would like to read more.  If I ever do I will definitely review them and if you have read any of the others let me know how they are.

Thanks for reading, feel free to comment and share if you or someone you know needs a good book recommendation.