Journey Beyond Words (Miracles Studies Book)

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!!!!!!
Review: If you are "A Course In Miracles" student, this is the clearest (and most profound) book I've found on this material. And if you're not familiar with the Course but wish to be introduced to the Course's basic principles in an elegant way, look no further. My most cherished book (next to the Course) in my rather extensive spiritual collection.

Rating:
Summary: Misses the meaning of ACIM (r)
Review: If you are led by your ego, and afraid to trust Jesus as he teaches you in the Course, you will find this book interesting I guess? Personnally when I hunger for the Course, I read the Course, and when I thirst for water I drink water. I admit that I am not looking for a hodge-podge spirituality, so I may be a bit biased. But please understand what you are saying when you say that the words and meanings of Jesus need clarification. Who would do that-The Holy Spirit, or the ego? Peace.

Rating:
Summary: Spirituality for the layperson
Review: My friend Fifi and I have been students of ACIM for several years. She stumbled across JBW and let me borrow it. She is usually very generous with her books but would NOT allow me to highlight this one. So I ordered my own through Amazon.com. After being "in my head" for so long with ACIM, JBW is like a breath of fresh air. Brent Haskell has brought a down to earthness to the Course and everything now seems so refreshingly simple with examples of practical application that bring about instant..."Ahas" and lots and lots of laughter. This is a brilliant work on ACIM and I heartily recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Beyond Words
Review: Since this book was initially intended to be a study guide for "A Course In Miracles", there is a tendency think that to buy this book would require an involvment with the Course. On the cover it is clearly labled as "A Companion to The Workbook of The Course" and is also designated as "A Miracles Studies Book". As a result I feel that this book has not yet reached a wide enough audience. This book and one that came after "The Other Voice" are more than just adjuncts to the Course.
The speaker of these teachings, Jeshua (Jesus), uses the word "extension" to denote the difference between the true Creation of God and the world that we experience, which he says comes from projection, an activity of the ego, and therefore not true creation. Extension is God's expression of His Love. The word informs us of the profoundly important fact that True Creation can in no way be anything that is outside of God. All creation must be simply God extending Him/Herself. That means that if all True Creation is simply God, and God is omnipotent and omnipresent, then all True Creation must be the extension of That. And God's Will, by definition, must be perfect, so there can be NO will in Creation that is separate or opposed to That Will. Think about the implications of that. Then get this book.
My life and intention has been irreversibly changed by this material. It is more than just a clarification of previous material. I believe that it can be thought of as an "extension" of the Course, in the larger meaning of that word. It is the profound Love of the Course extended in Love. The words are very clear and straightforward and easy to understand from the point of view of language, but these lessons live up to the title, "Journey Beyond Words". It may be 1,000 years or more before we can really begin to understand everything that is trying to come through here, but I strongly suggest that if you live with these words, rather than just read them, your journey to perfect joy and peace, where death is merely a transition, will be much more direct. There are many paths to that, but I feel that this is perhaps the most profound. The importance of this book and all of the words of Jeshua cannot, in my estimation, be overstated.

Rating:
Summary: Beyond Words
Review: Since this book was initially intended to be a study guide for "A Course In Miracles", there is a tendency think that to buy this book would require an involvment with the Course. On the cover it is clearly labled as "A Companion to The Workbook of The Course" and is also designated as "A Miracles Studies Book". As a result I feel that this book has not yet reached a wide enough audience. This book and one that came after "The Other Voice" are more than just adjuncts to the Course.
The speaker of these teachings, Jeshua (Jesus), uses the word "extension" to denote the difference between the true Creation of God and the world that we experience, which he says comes from projection, an activity of the ego, and therefore not true creation. Extension is God's expression of His Love. The word informs us of the profoundly important fact that True Creation can in no way be anything that is outside of God. All creation must be simply God extending Him/Herself. That means that if all True Creation is simply God, and God is omnipotent and omnipresent, then all True Creation must be the extension of That. And God's Will, by definition, must be perfect, so there can be NO will in Creation that is separate or opposed to That Will. Think about the implications of that. Then get this book.
My life and intention has been irreversibly changed by this material. It is more than just a clarification of previous material. I believe that it can be thought of as an "extension" of the Course, in the larger meaning of that word. It is the profound Love of the Course extended in Love. The words are very clear and straightforward and easy to understand from the point of view of language, but these lessons live up to the title, "Journey Beyond Words". It may be 1,000 years or more before we can really begin to understand everything that is trying to come through here, but I strongly suggest that if you live with these words, rather than just read them, your journey to perfect joy and peace, where death is merely a transition, will be much more direct. There are many paths to that, but I feel that this is perhaps the most profound. The importance of this book and all of the words of Jeshua cannot, in my estimation, be overstated.

Rating:
Summary: Be aware
Review: Subtitled "A Companion to The Workbook of The Course," JBW distills the lessons of the Course's Workbook section down to their purest essences and presents them in a series of chapters that parallel the "daily" format of the Workbook.

Combining about 6 to 8 lessons of the Workbook into sections with such headings as: "Holiness," "Happiness," "Oneness," "The Kingdom of God," and "The Ego," etc., Journey Beyond Words condenses the somewhat discursive approach of A Course In Miracles into sharp, focused sentences that does away with, what many students of the Course consider to be the, at times, opaque, almost baroque, language of the original, dictated work.

As stated in the Introduction, the purpose of JBW is to get the sincere students of the Course past the idea that they are are to "learn" anything, especially in the analytical, academic sense, but rather to experience for themselves the Truth and Reality that the words of the Course can only hint at, or at best, point to. "Lived," not "learned," is the rallying cry and the leitmotif of the entire work.

As a text, this is Advaita (non-duality) at its top-notch, comparable to the "best" of Ramana, Nisargadatta, the Yoga Vashistha, etc. Pure, non-dual Reality (God) comes through every chapter and page. An exhilarating, liberating experience awaits those who seek to move beyond mere arid and intellectual categories and concepts and plunge into the "living water" of Jesus' revelation.

Speaking of Jesus, the one potential stumbling block here for Course students may be the fact that the "voice" of Journey Beyond Words identifies himself as Jeshua and the implication, of course, is that this is the very same personality (i.e., Jesus) who dictated the original Course to Helen Schucman, beginning in 1965.

Whether or not this is actually the case is left, of course, to the reader to decide for herself. But since, ! in fact, the whole purpose of both ACIM as well as JBW, is to get beyond all dualities and distinctions, particularly "specialness" ( a very key concept in both sets of material) of any kind, then I think it will only be the quibblers, the fundamentalists, and the Course In Miracles gurus and "big names" who may take issue with Jesus/Jeshua since JBW will probably threaten their own "specialness" as "official" interpreters of the Course to their often struggling, "dualistic" students.

I submit that if and when the Journey Beyond Words is actually completed (i.e., experientially, of course, and not merely conceptually), then any and all questions as to who "really wrote" either or both of these two completely enlivening and enlightening books, will be dissolved in the pure Oneness of That which (alone!) is.

One final note: I don't think the Journey Beyond Words should be approached before the reader is confident in his understanding of what the Course In Miracles is all about, i.e., Sonship with God. I may be off here, but I feel that to do otherwise might short-circuit the impact that the Journey Beyond Words can have on the sincere student of the Course and also may cause the reader to miss out on the richness of the original work (ACIM), as contrasted with the razor-sharp penetration of the Journey's "beyond" words.

Yes, 5 stars indeed!

Rating:
Summary: Spirituality for the layperson
Review: There are many spiritual books in the market today, most of which contain contradictory information about the nature of the universe, the nature of man, and the nature of God. However, this book is perhaps the most hopeful and truthful message I have come across in my spiritual journey so far. The language is clear, simple, and easy to understand -- enough to get a layperson such as myself started on the inner journey very quickly. The message itself is one of hope and promise -- that we are all one and that the universe, including ourselves, is a single undivided whole that we can experience with the help of God. This book is refreshingly free of the cultural and gender bias that is present in many "new age" books today.

This book is highly recommended for those looking for a positive path to daily living.

Rating:
Summary: Familiar with ACIM or not,,, this book is great...
Review: Welcome.
If you are familiar with A Course In Miracles it is quite likely you'll find this book to be a very eloquent, accessible, and beautiful reminder of the message within ACIM. In my experience it addresses the underlying theme of ACIM in ways that differ from ACIM (which may mean they will touch you in new ways) whilst doing the topics at hand just as much service and perhaps more as ACIM did.

If you tried to read ACIM and essentially liked it (i.e.. you didn't put it down in total disfavour) but found it inaccessible or hard to get through then I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book. I am quite certain it will bring an element of joy and love into your world.

Now, I trust that many reading these reviews will NOT have read ACIM. Is that you?
If it is... I would say that the value of this book will depend very much on what you are looking for (which is the case with most books right?). So, if you are looking for a book that will provide you with: a gentle, clear, and easy to read reminder of what's True; a wake up call; a loving yet potentially transformative journey into releasing that which is holding you back within your view of the world/life/creation; something you can pick up at any time and read a few pages of to bring yourself back to a place of centred peace and Truth; a spiritual cosmology that is free of much of the "fluff" present in many "New Age" teachings, and free of the dogma of most religious paths... (the list goes on) then again, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK.

Of course if you are firmly rooted into a particular organised spiritual dogma / concept that relies heavily on spiritual rules, regulations, hierarchies, etc then this book may simply piss you off, rub you up the wrong way, and leave you feeling dissatisfied. (Although that may not be such a bad thing... only a closed mind would react in such a way, so perhaps this book will be just the thing to jolt such a mind open)
But hey... perhaps you've come from and through a background story such as this and now wish to let a great deal go... freeing up the necessary "space" within your mind to experience deep, true, and lasting peace?

Whatever the case may be... may Love extend into your world in this moment... and if you buy this book may you enjoy the ride.