Love Without Conditions

Rating:
Summary: Love is all you need, Brother
Review: This book read as if I were actually listening to Jesus. Paul does a good job of distinguishing what true spirituallity is and where religion falls short. I have only a few frustrations with this book.

1. he doesn't give as many concrete examples/analogies as I would've liked. (There are some, but usually it's just theories. So I would find myself most of the time trying to figure examples in my own life where these teachings could apply....perhaps, that was his intentions...lol, I don't know)

2. The section on magnetic fields and earth's gravity was a little weird...I don't quite see the corollation. If anyone does, please could you tell me what you pulled from that section?

3. This is probably because I grew up as a charismatic christian. (Though I did become agnostic in college) but they part where he talks about how Jesus saying he didn't die for our sins. and then ask the question. "Why would I die for YOUR sins? They're not mine. What do you expect? That could soak up all you sins like a sponge?" This part really upset me on some levels...again, anyone who got this part let me know!

Overall, the book seems to be a mix of christian, taoism, and zen buddhism thought. I love it.

Rating:
Summary: A straight, to the point book. Fabulous!
Review: Very straight and to the point. I like this one better than the Conversations with God series! It is much more direct and to the point! A wonderful book and a MUST READ for all metaphysicians!

Rating:
Summary: "Healing is your only purpose for being here..."
Review: We all know Jesus's commandment: Love your neighbors as you love yourself. But while we are all taught this, we are often not taught WHY we should love our neighbor as ourself, or HOW to love our neighbors as ourself. Most of us don't even love ourselves. Collectively, we don't do a good job of loving others unconditionally, because we aren't taught to love ourselves unconditionally.

The things that get in the way, are guilt/blame, fear, projection, unforgiveness, and judgment. We use these against ourselves as much as we do others. When we learn that our self worth is not based on how others respond to us, because we are inherently valuable just the way we are, then we learn to value ourselves. When we love ourselves unconditionally, this in turn naturally leads to compassion for others and the ability to remove our "conditions" that prevent us from loving them.

This book teaches that we choose our experiences in our life by how we choose to act or react, moment by moment. There is a profound cause and effect between our thoughts/beliefs and our moods and relationships. How you interpret your experience is important. Thoughts DO create experience. When you don't understand someone's behavior, do you choose the worst possible explanation? Or do you allow yourself to remain open to other possible explanations or points of view? Our interpretations are often false. There is a wonderful prayer in the book which addresses this:

"Father, I am willing to change my mind about this situation. Please help me see this not through the eyes of fear, but as you see it. Help me see this with equal love for myself and others."

This book states that healing is your only purpose here. The shift from judgment to acceptance is the essence of healing. "Love Without Conditions" will cause you to undeniably see yourself and where you need to do the work. It will then guide you to do the work while supporting you. As you work on yourself from within, you will naturally begin to feel understanding and compassion for your neighbors in their struggle to do the same. We are all in this together. We are all one.

I have read probably 50+ books on spirituality, and this book is one I cannot do without. It is in my personal top 3, along with the second book in this series, "Silence of the Heart," and "Seat of the Soul" by Gary Zukov. You will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: reflections for every mind
Review: You can put any word in place of Christ. Me, higher power, love, Holy one, but don't be turned away because of the "christ mind." If everyone lived their life a little more like this mindset, we would all be better off. I have derived great comfort from this book over 2 years. Recently I began craving it again after about a year during which I didn't refer to it. You can turn to any page and see how the wise words can impact your life and perhaps even the situation you are in at this minute.

Rating:
Summary: reflections for every mind
Review: You can put any word in place of Christ. Me, higher power, love, Holy one, but don't be turned away because of the "christ mind." If everyone lived their life a little more like this mindset, we would all be better off. I have derived great comfort from this book over 2 years. Recently I began craving it again after about a year during which I didn't refer to it. You can turn to any page and see how the wise words can impact your life and perhaps even the situation you are in at this minute.