My uncle recently passed away and we had very similar reading interests. Knowing this, his daughter stopped by the other day with a huge box of books and told me to take what I wanted. I thumbed through several books on celtic tree magic, numerology, eastern mysticism, and dream interpretations and selected a bunch.
I found this book in the box. It's not my normal read. I have read other titles by this author and enjoy his work. Ironically I think this is a case of the right book showing up at the right time.
As soon as I seen the book something told me to grab it. Several people had suggested I read this book so it was also the first one I started reading. As I began reading I immediately realized why I had been so eager to grab it.
Now in my 50s I've been asking myself, "what does it all mean?" "What's it all about?", "Where's my place in all this?" and several other questions.
I spend most of my days working from home, trading crypto and have been contemplating personal growth and development. This really was the perfect read for my current mindset.
If you're not familiar with Deepak Chopra I think his work is about personal development and self help mixed with a little spirituality and mysticism.
For the most part, I'm not going to go into great detail about each chapter of the book. Instead, I thought I'd touch a little on what I took from it and my personal thoughts.
The cover really says it all.
The Book of Secrets
Unlocking the Hidden Dimensions of Your Life.
In my humble opinion the title is perfect. It's a book about re-finding ourselves and becoming who we are now in this moment. In the usual metaphysical sense, the past no longer matters and the future hasn't happened yet. It's about being in the moment and maybe even reinventing ourselves a bit.
I AM THE UNIVERSE EXPERIENCING ITSELF
That was in the book somewhere and a good friend of mine used to say that all the time. I love that phrase.
The book really takes a non-denominational approach to spirituality and I could appreciate that being very eclectic in my own spiritual pursuits. Deepak Chopra tends to replace terms like God with Universe and also talks a little about spiritual sobriety removing spiritual dogma that may be hindering our own personal development.
Here's what I took from it. The book is about analyzing the reality of how things are. The past is over, the present moment is all that matters and the future in it's current state is fiction... The future is a thought. It's not real, it doesn't exist yet. The only real thing is the moment.
This take is really nothing new in this genre of reading. However, it is a truth many of us tend to overlook. We spend far to much time worrying about the past and obsessing over the future and we forget to enjoy the moment. This book reminds you of that and how important it is to stay in the present but break out of our current patterns of development or lack thereof.
One of the things I did like about this take is the concept of Karma as Action. If all that matters is the moment, each decision and action carries with it a karmic ripple into the future. Our choices in each moment matter. Combining the concepts of karma and living in the moment it's important that we make good decisions because the decisions we make now will affect our future happiness.
The book also focuses on our own personal self improvement and development. It touches on opening ourselves up to possibilities, trusting in ourselves and the universe, and quieting our inner voices.
So many things in our lives hamper our own personal development. We worry what others may think of us. Maybe take directions in life to please others instead of doing what we truly want. Many parts of the book remind us to let go of what others think and only concern ourselves with how we truly "feel" about it.
It's about deciding what we want in life and opening ourselves up to a universe of possibilities. Those possibilities and opportunities can only arrive if we open ourselves up to them and allow them to manifest. When they manifest we have to be prepared to step into that potential and not worry about the social anxiety of what others think, or how we'll be perceived.
I guess it can be summarized into, if you want to be a fashion designer, start doing fashion designer stuff. Get involved, put yourself out there, don't worry what others think and watch the universe unfold before you. It could also be said about an auto mechanic, crypto trader, blogger, web designer or anyone trying to change their career or lifestyle. It's about moving forward and making a positive impactful change in your life. Changes that will improve your future happiness and self.
One thing I really liked about the book is that it talked a lot about dissolving ego and embracing the reality of our new endeavor. Letting go of our own preconceived notions of ourselves. It asks us what we want, then sets out on telling us what we need to bring that to fruition while breaking out of old cycles and constructs that trap us.
I am a child of the universe and embrace all that is.
When we take chances and step out of our comfort zone the universe opens up to us. Living life, life opens up to us. We have to put ourselves out there and step out of our comfort zones in order to truly flourish and succeed.
One analogy I really enjoyed was about fear and the analogy of a baby learning to walk. Fear tends to stop us in our tracks. A baby learning to walk, doesn't worry about falling down. It instinctively knows it will probably fall and it will probably hurt a little. Regardless, the baby makes several attempts to walk, falling down several times until finally the baby takes it's first step. The baby instinctively knows that this is the only way to learn to walk. Regardless of how many times it falls down, it doesn't worry about those standing around watching, it doesn't worry about looking stupid, it doesn't concern itself with the pain of each fall, it's not concerned with a burst of laughter or concern from onlookers. The babies only concern is to take it's first steps! Nothing else matters. This lack of fear was preprogrammed into us at birth. Throughout life we developed and feed our fears. Some real, others figments of our imagination. Regardless, we have to face and overcome our fears in order to move forward.
I really enjoyed just about everything in this book. One concept I didn't like or had a hard time with is the concept of "it's all on you". The idea that YOU, your choices create your environment.... I get it, and I partly agree. This was the 1990s version of me. Positive thoughts and positive actions will change the world around me. I believed that whole heartedly. The 2020s version of me is much older, much more tired, and much more skeptical of that concept. Sure my choices and my actions affect my life. However, it can't be all me... I wouldn't choose this system of government, world hunger, 9/11, wars, my fathers cancer, disease, homelessness, corporate greed, and all my warm fuzzy thoughts and well wishes aren't going to change most of these things.
Regardless of all the new age thinking we want to put out there, the WILL of others affects all of us. Government is a perfect example. I've studied a lot of Thelema and read a lot of Aliester Crowley's works. "WILL" is the key ingredient most new agers leave out. Although it's all on us, OUR WILL and the will of others can affect us all. Sometimes this is good, other times, not so much.
However, on a smaller level it is all on us... Each of us is responsible for our own happiness. I guess the argument can be made that when each of us focuses on the best version of ourselves everything around us could be transformed. Again though, it's not just about me, but also about you! I'm lost on that concept a bit, especially being a huge believer in Crowley's concept of "WILL"
The concept of it being all on us, is the main concept of the book too. For the most part, I really enjoyed this read. Throughout the writing I probably agreed with about 97% of what I read. The book made me think about and contemplate many aspects of my own life.
Not to get super new agey but I do think this book showed up in my life at just the right moment. Although I may disagree with the concept of "it's all me", I can't argue that there is a lot of common sense approaches to many of life's problems. The book was a terrific source of self introspection for me. Each night I'd read a chapter before bed and contemplate what I read as I fell asleep. If you're looking for a good read that will make you feel good about yourself but also make you take a good hard look at yourself, this is a great book on self improvement approached in a spiritual way!
Well, that about covers everything. The book gets two thumbs up from me. I learned a lot and it gave me a nice perspective of my own life.
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