Conversations with God [Hardcover]

About two years ago, I decided to actually sit down and read this book from cover to cover. I found out some information that really helped me, and has continued to influence my outlook on life.

This book is not "New Age". The beliefs presented in this book may be new to Christians who have never explored other religions. However, this book seems to blend ancient beliefs from Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and yes, even Christianity (and probably a few others, but these were the ones that really stuck out to me).

Also, this book is very tolerant of other religions, and their various spiritual masters. "God" in this book seems to say that all spiritual masters, regardless of their religion, have achieved the same thing -- oneness with the Divine. "God" says that, "You say it is difficult to walk the path of Christ, to follow the teachings of the Buddha, to hold the light of Krishna, to be a master. Yet I tell you this: it is far more difficult to deny Who You Are than to accept it" (pg 86). This is a central theme of the book, and thus, an important one. For so long, the religious beliefs in the West were based on the idea that humans were inherently sinful. Therefore, it is hard for us to accept the fact that, at birth, we are already all we need to be.

Naturally, all the "hard core" Christians would tell me that I'm going to Hell, because I don't believe that you have to accept Jesus as your Savior in order to go to Heaven. This doesn't mean that I don't believe in Christ at all. First of all, I believe that Jesus performed all the miracles that the Bible said he did. It wouldn't surprise me that someone who had attained as high a spiritual mastery as Jesus did would be able to do those things, because even the Bible says, "...with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).

Since I really got into this book, I have been trying to learn as much about other world religions as I possibly can. To me, it doesn't matter what religion it is; if it can offer me a new piece of wisdom that helps me on my spiritual path, then I'll take it. Generally, I accept religious teachings that talk about universal love, acceptance, compassion, and the innate goodness of human beings. If a religion says that you NEED to do as it says, or you'll end up in the everlasting fires of Hell, then I reject it.

Another piece of information that "God" presents to the reader in this book is that the soul evolves over time until, eventually, it gets to the point where it attains oneness with God. As you grow spiritually, you become more aware of what you are doing, as this quotation explains: "Not long ago you killed things -- bugs, plants, trees, animals, people -- now you cannot kill a thing without knowing exactly what you're doing, and why. That's a very good sign" (pg 156). Of course, "God" was talking about Mr. Walsch when he made this statements, so they obviously will not apply to everyone, but they demonstrate what spiritual evolution will involve.

Overall, if you have an open mind this book will allow you to gain vast spiritual knowledge. If you have a closed mind, or think that the religious beliefs you now hold are exactly perfect, then obviously you should not read this book. Personally, I enjoy learning new spiritual information -- I feel it allows me to lead a more peaceful and compassionate life. I don't feel that it's important whether or not this was actually God that Neale was talking to. After all, God talks much differently in this book than It (yes, that's right, I don't think God is a man) does in the Bible, so one could argue that one is right and one is wrong. However, if you read "How to Know God" by Deepak Chopra you will discover that both could be correct. That would be known as non-dualistic thinking, and it helps to understand why God includes good and bad. Even the Bible says, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending..." (Rev 1:8). How could God be both the Good and the Bad, yet when we do bad things, we offend It? Therefore, I try to believe in the goodness of people -- even those who may do things that I would not. This book has given me a good perspective on life, and also the realization that I can't strive to be unconditional love, I simply have to BE it, starting right now.