The Awakening West: Conversations With Today's New Western Spiritual Leaders

Rating:
Summary: Huge Disappointment
Review: As someone who has been on a spiritual quest for a number of years now, I looked forward with great anticipation to this book hoping for new insights and practical wisdom from today's new western spiritual leaders. Unfortunately, I was to come away disappointed.

The Lumiere's book suffers from one major problem: it's boring. Little more than a litany of interviews with various spiritual gurus, it quickly took on a bland sameness that failed to either enlighten or educate; imagine locating twenty people who all share essentially the same outlook on life and then ask each the same dozen or so powder-puff questions and you get an idea of what I'm talking about. Had the Lumiere's been a bit more objective and even skeptical in their approach, it might have made for a more lively discussion. As it was, their obvious adulation for the people they interview ensures that nothing of great interest was ever likely to be said.

Not that the people being interviewed have much to offer by way of practical advice on pursuing one's spiritual quest in any case. They don't seem to live in any world I'm familiar with, and so their responses to the Lumeire's questions are more confusing and mind-numbing than helpful (obviously evidence of my own lack of spiritual maturity no doubt.) They remind me of krishnas at the airport who give out flowers and books to harried passengers: they're obviously happy in a distant sort of way, but incapable of translating that joy to the unwashed masses. In effect, they're too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good.

Additionally, I have no idea who any of these people are. Despite five years of reading on the subject of spirituality, I've never come across a single one of these folks, yet these are the new western spiritual leaders? Why no Deepak Chopra or Neale Donald Walsch or Gary Zukov or somebody someone might have heard of? I'm afraid that despite their best intentions, if these are America's spiritual leaders (who suspiciously seem to conglomerate in the San Francisco area) then spirituality in this country will remain something only for the fringes of society, much as it has for the last forty years.

And this is a shame, for the world is clamoring for spirituality and spiritual leaders to guide them. This book could have given them that, but instead it proved to be little more than another rehash of Buddhism. What a pity.

Rating:
Summary: I liked it
Review: I am really enjoying this book. I find the sympathetic approach to my liking. The teachers interviewed are among the hottest of the emerging Westerners. Having been on some type of spiritual path for the last 30 years, the issue of moving from the occaisional glimpse to an on-going state of 'presence' quite compelling. Demythologizing the state of 'self-realization' and bringing it into clear accuracy is of great service.
As to whether a particular teacher appeals to one's sensibilities or genuine or not should be left up to the critical faculties of the seeker. This book points to something beyond belief systems and gurus. If one of these teachers appeals to you, check them out, read their books, go to their satsangs, etc. Judge for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Uncritical rapture
Review: What prevents me to appreciate this book is the servile base flattery which is penetrating all over the pages. Each and every teacher is praised by the authors in a complete uncritical way. This makes the interviews monotonous, and the portrayed persons somewhat unpleseant since everybody seems to accept this keen servility and praise. Furthermore: the authors's questions and remarks, printed in full lenght, which makes readings boring, give a "me too"-impression: "Me too, I've had deep insights, me too, I've already found wisdom, me too"...
I recommend the very honest and captivatingly written book by Paula Marvelly: partly the same teachers but a very different quality. After reading it gets clearer whom of the teachers one would like to listen to and whom not. This makes it far more interesting and helpful than "Awakening in the West": Easily available via the British Amazon site.

Rating:
Summary: Uncritical rapture
Review: What prevents me to appreciate this book is the servile base flattery which is penetrating all over the pages. Each and every teacher is praised by the authors in a complete uncritical way. This makes the interviews monotonous, and the portrayed persons somewhat unpleseant since everybody seems to accept this keen servility and praise. Furthermore: the authors's questions and remarks, printed in full lenght, which makes readings boring, give a "me too"-impression: "Me too, I've had deep insights, me too, I've already found wisdom, me too"...
I recommend the very honest and captivatingly written book by Paula Marvelly: partly the same teachers but a very different quality. After reading it gets clearer whom of the teachers one would like to listen to and whom not. This makes it far more interesting and helpful than "Awakening in the West": Easily available via the British Amazon site.