Conversations With God

I've already mentioned the Conversations With God books by Neale Donald Walsch on this blog, but they made such a remarkable impact on me when I first read them that I thought they deserved a post to themselves.

Walsch started writing CWG Book One by writing an angry letter to God about how awful his life had become. At that point, he was not intending to write a book but simply to vent his spleen. So what happened next took him completely by surprise. He found himself still holding the pen, and writing an answer which apparently came from God. The book then developed along the same lines, with Walsch and God in conversation: Walsch asking questions and God providing surprisingly clear and straightforward answers.

I have to say that to a cynic like me, this didn't seem like a very good idea for a book, yet I found to my astonishment that it all made sense to me. I'd never found any religion which really spoke to me, yet here was this little paperback from some apparently crackpot guy which was setting out an explanation of God and us and the universe which resonated deeply within me. As I read, a little voice inside me kept saying "yes!" I felt that, after all this time, I was finally starting to understand what was going on.

A lot of the ideas which I have been writing about in this blog were ones which I first encountered in Neale Donald Walsch's book, and if you haven't already done so, I urge you to go and read it. The first book, Conversations With God Book One was the one which made the most impact on me, though I've also read the rest of the original trilogy, i.e. CWG Books Two and Three. Many others have followed, though I am not familiar with these. If you've read them, please feel free to leave comments on any views you may have on them.

I think it's important to note that Walsch makes no claim that these books of his are the absolute word of God. He fully accepts that they have been filtered through the very human brain of Neale Donald Walsch. I hope it will not shock you if I state my belief that similar limitations must inevitably be present in all religious texts.

If I have a criticism of the first three books, it is that they are very good at describing what is going on with God, the universe, and the human condition, but not so good at suggesting what we should do about it. For this, I have turned to other books, such as those I have previously mentioned by Eckhart Tolle and Nick Roach, and practices such as meditation. This does not, however, detract from the worth of the Conversations With God books - they are, to my mind, a magnificent achievement - and more practical information may be available in some of the later books which I haven't so far read. Any recommendations you may have of these are welcome.

I would also like to give special mention to Walsch's children's book, The Little Soul And The Sun, which is a wonderful parable of the human condition and how it arose - developed from one of the chapters in Conversations With God Book One.

I have now placed links to Conversations With God web sites in the sidebar.

Now on to a Public Service Announcement. If, after reading my recent post The Revenge Of The Slime Monster, you are eager to have a clothes valet experience for yourself, UK readers can now purchase one at a bargain price here. But don't delay - the opportunity to get hold of a clothes valet doesn't often arise! (I wonder why not?)

And don't miss out on taking a look at the comments on these posts. The conversation on Special Green Plates was particularly interesting. See it here.

 

This may also be of interest:

The Ultimate Purpose Of Life?

Comments

[Barry Mahfood]

Sounds like an interesting book. I just might check it out. Thanks for sharing about it.

[sunflower Optimism]

Wow. The library just called me today. The book I requested from another branch last week, is available for me to pick-up. The book? "Conversations With God."

Like I always say, there are no coincidences ;-)

[Secret Simon]

I nice piece of synchronicity, Sunflower - and I think you'll like the book. You too, Barry, and thanks for dropping by!

[Mark]

Thanks for the insight on "Conversatitions with God". I rememebr picking this up a few years ago, leafing through it and putting it back on the shelf. I was probably not in the right state at that moment to read it. I will make it a point to re-explore this book. Thank-you.

[Cosmic Sunshine]

Here's some more info on the CWG books. The books so far in the series are Conversations With God (books 1-3), Friendship with God, Communion with God, The New Revelations, Tomorrow's God, and What God Wants. His newest book, Home with God: In a Life That Never Ends, was released on March 29, 2006. Every one of the books is written in an easy to understand style, with many lists we can use in our daily lives. There are also books directed at us helping ourselves to put this material to use (save that for another post!)

After the first 3 books, God and Neale get into the more nitty gritty of how to live our lives. Friendship with God is really good in giving ways to use God to our benefit.

Communion with God is actually simply God speaking directly to every reader (rather than the dialogue format of the previous books) and is very warm in giving love from God and help in how to live.

The New Revelations talks about how the God of most religions is defined in very different terms from how God would like to be described, and gives Nine New Revelations, which are worth taking a look at. See them here: http://www.wordtouch.com/hthouston/new_revelations_hous.html

Tomorrow's God actually is similar in that it discusses how we can understand what God is like for the future, using these revelations.

This is followed by What God Wants which is incredible when we find out that God does not want anything from us! What we are doing here is remembering that we are part of God and that everyone and everything is part of God and therefore We Are All One. The message is loud and clear by this time.

His final book of the CWG series is Home with God in a Life that Never Ends, where Neale discusses death and dying fully and completely in such a way that the comfort offered is profound and exquisite. It happened that a friend and I finished reading this book in April and she died in May! Having the understandings from that book gave me absolute peace about death and answered so many little questions I had in my life.

My dad was the one to suggest I read CWG1 when it first came out in 1995. After I had finished it, he suggested that we have a discussion about things we didn't agree with in the book. I said to him that there was NOTHING I didn't agree with! I found the concepts to be true for me. They bolstered up my belief that we are all made from God (the only raw material at hand when the universe was created!) and thus are all part of the same. I have been a pantheist since I was about 10. I have found that unconditional love is so much easier than trying to judge who I will love and who I will not love! I believe that since we are all part of the same, no one should be the underdog. No one should be inferior to anyone else. No animal or insect should be harmed (knowingly) and so too for inanimate objects. We can create Paradise Earth if we want to!

[matthew]

sounds interesting, something I might want to read.

It sounds somewhat similiar to "perks of being a wallflower" its in letters form, the boy writes letters to some guy randomly I guess...

have you read that?

[Simon]

I hope you like the book, Mark - and thanks for all your info, Cosmic Sunshine! I haven't read the book you mention, Matthew - thanks for bringing it to my attention. I guess that although Conversations With God starts off with a letter, it's more like a phone conversation as it progresses - with more of 'to and fro' than you'd normally find in an exchange of letters.

[Narziss]

Simon, I just searched on the web for blogs writing about this because this book has had an amazingly string and a beautiful impact on me.

And you have done an amazing job to summarize the book, something I have been trying to do for my blog but was failing miserably!

[Secret Simon]

Many thanks for your comment, Narziss - great to hear from you!

[Rev. Richard]

I read the bible, attend church, pray etc., but I don't take everything the bible says at face value. If we did, there would only be one bible and religion. Although what happens only does one way, perceptions of what happens very.
I enjoyed these books. Could he be a false profit? Could it be that what we think we know may not be true or only partially true or may not be true at all. If I believe one thing and you do another which is fact and which view is false? I definately recommend these books.

[Simon]

Welcome to my blog, Rev Richard! It's great to hear from you. My view is that we have to search within ourselves for the answers. We can listen to the teachings of others but we need to listen to what resonates for us. A lot of the time, I suspect, it all points to the same truth: different interpretations of something which, ultimately, can be 'known' but not put into words.

[Rev. Richard]

Exactly. I got the same from the books as you did. Clarity to areas of confusion. The message, easily understandable as if you knew the answer, but through the CWG book, the answer was validated.

I recently watched the movie, "The Secret." This made sense as well. We, by our thoughts, develop our reality. Focusing on something negative, although seeking a positive result will enhance the opposite because of the topic of focus. Such as their example: Being anti-war will enhance the continuation of was because that's where the focus lies. Where pro-peace would create the opposite of. Same desired outcome, but how it's presented at a universal level will determine the actual outcome.

I've noticed from your blog and others, that there is a real trend going on. People no long accepting what they thought they knew as being of absolute truth, and more and more people are seeking truthful answers.

I believe as the end times come closer, our connection with God becomes clearer, even in those who are not seeking answers.

[Simon]

Hi Rev Richard - Many thanks for dropping by and leaving a message. As you say, I think more and more of us are seeking the truth. We may seem to be searching *outside* for it - in this book or that book - but when we find it, we recognize it by the resonance we feel *inside* us, where it has been waiting to be discovered all along.