What does this book tell us that is confirmed by other more conventional

sources?

Ego/time sphere is expanding.

Evolved perception stimulates a mass cultural transformation.

Widespread historical knowledge changes humanity's self image.

Evolved understanding focuses on the universal nature of power and being.

Human struggle for power is explained and discounted.

Expanded awareness points to non-human, spiritual sources of power.

Evolving requires transcending habitual exploitative power practices.

New practices connect humanity individually to a universal power source.

New practices focus on synergistic rather than exploitative combinations of power.

The new world view will fundamentally change human society.

I. First Insight - A Critical Mass.

A. Surfaces unconsciously as profound sense of restlessness.

1. Characterized by the "me-first" attitude.
2. Making relationships between people impossible.
a. Partners are each overly demanding.
b. Ego battles develop over reality.
c. Degenerates into power struggle.
3. Difficult to commit to others.
B. Searching for the object of the search.
1. Preservation of life and land.
2. Threatened by civilization.
C. Become conscious of recurring important coincidences.
1. Intuition followed by relevant opportunity.
2. Unexplainable by chance.
3. Explained by unknown force.
4. Generates mystery and excitement.
D. Perceptions are the basis for cultural transformation.
1. Historically caused by philosophy or religion.
2. Numbers in population now reaching critical mass.
3. The new spirituality is threatening to authorities.
a. Challenges completeness of religion.
b. Denies hegemony of rule of law.
4. Skeptics and cynics deny humans can change.
5. Evidenced by common experiences.
II. Second Insight - The Longer Now.

A. Historical perspective enhances perception.

1. Does not fit common sense.
2. New background for awareness replacing:
a. Technological accomplishments.
b. Great men as heros.
B. Each period had its world view.
1. Understanding them explains our own.
a. Makes spiritual awareness real.
2. Reveals a divergent preoccupation.
a. Middle Ages.
(1) Reality defined by church.
(2) Spirituality at center of life.
(a) Choice determines salvation.
i) Force of God.
ii) Temptations of the Devil.
(3) Individual can not determine status.
(a) Church interprets.
(b) Church prescribes.
(c) Church judges.
(4) Spiritual world deteriorates.
(a) Church improprieties.
(b) Lose connection with God.
(c) People have to define realities.
(5) Mankind no longer center of universe.
b. Modern Age.
(1) Democratic spirit.
(2) Distrust of authority.
(3) Science asked to determine secure reality.
(a) Create safe/managable world.
(b) Focus on concrete problems.
i) Scientific skepticism.
a) Separate
fact/superstition.
b) Demand solid
evidence.
c) Determine natural law.
d) Cause/effect reality.
(c) We did not know they could not.
i) Nothing uncertain or esoteric.
ii) Predictable universe.
(d) Became preoccupied with science.
i) Standard of living.
ii) Security.
iii) Conquering Earth.
a) Exploiting resources.
(e) Spiritual security replaces with:
i) Secular security.
ii) Economic security.
 (4) Did not miss the loss of meaning in life.
c. Preoccupation was necessary stage of evolution.
(1) Become aware meaning is important.
(2) Need to address the original question.
(a) The spiritual element.
(b) Ultimate source of security.
(c) Connect with universal forces.
d. Need to construct a new world view.
(1) Sequential step-by-step construction.
(2) Individuals discover the steps.
(3) Communicated to the society.
(4) Grows through contagion.

III. Third Insight - A Matter of Energy.

A. Transformed understanding of the physical universe.

1. Einstein - matter is space with patterns of energy.
2. Quantum physics - our expectations affect reality.
3. Human energy affects other energy systems.
B. Perception of energy is related to beauty.
1. Need to transcend old perceptions.
2. Physical universe consists of pure energy.
3. Energy is transmitted between individuals.
4. Defeating an opponent is capturing their energy.
C. Expectations create the things that happen to us.
1. Control is impossible.
2. Look for general tendencies.
3. This is not perceived as legitimate science.
4. Knowledge grows by sharing important information.

IV. Fourth Insight - The Struggle for Power.

A. Universe is composed of a single source of energy.

1. Sustains us.
2. Responds to our expectations.
B. Humans disconnected from the larger source.
1. Seek to increase personal share of energy.
a. Steal it from others.
b. Humans compete for energy.
C. Unconscious competition underlies all conflict.
1. Success requires manipulative posture.
a. Seize control and dominate.
(1) Pretend friendship.
(2) Identify error in behavior.
(3) Undermine confidence.
(4) Cause feelings of inferiority.
b. Access to the other's energy.
2. Urge to control causes violence.
a. No choice but to lash out.
 (1) Need for energy is irrational.
(2) Conflict can not be resolved by reason.
b. Protect your own energy.
3. Prevailing gives psychological boost.
a. Gaining energy motivates us.
(1) Unconscious.
(2) Do what makes you feel strongest.
b. Violence passed from generation to generation.
D. This understanding constitutes a new world view.
1. Vast competition for energy and power.
a. Humans link up energy.
b. Fight over who is going to control it.
c. Loser pays the price.
2. Idea emerging in public consciousness.
3. Reevaluating our motivations.
4. Seeking a new way to interact.
a. Immediately transcends the conflict.

V. Fifth Insight - The Message of the Mystics.

A. Knowing universal characteristics by direct sensation.

1. The body and the universe are one.
a. Its limbs are your limbs.
b. Its eyes are your eyes.
2. Awareness of matter as energy vibrating.
a. Matter needs to consume other matter.
3. Evolution is a personal process.
a. Universe achieves next level of complexity.
b. Evolution proceeds through humanity.
B. Consists of receiving energy from a universal source.
1. The universe can provide all we need.
2. Eating is a holy experience.
3. Love dominates awareness.
a. Existence achieves level of higher energy.
(1) Consolidates energy.
(2) Keeps us healthy.
(3) Indicator of health.
b. Evolution achieves higher level of vibration.
c. Must be allowed to enter consciousness.
(1) Not altruistic.
(2) Directly helps us.
d. Beauty and uniqueness signal receipt of energy.
e. Simultaneous sending of energy.
f. Temporal power is transcended.
(1) No longer has influence.
(2) Response to irritation - quiet resistance.
4. Temporal authority is threatened.

VI. Sixth Insight - Clearing the Past.

 A. Connection requires recognizing control strategies.
1. The unconscious brought to consciousness.
2. Control dramas determined in childhood.
3. Dramas must be cleared to fully connect.
a. Order of dramas.
(1) Intimidator.
(2) Interrogator.
(3) Aloof.
(4) Poor me.
b. Seen in others but not the self.
c. Dramas perpetuate themselves.
d. Create their complements.
4. Evolutionary reinterpretation of significant events.
a. Necessary purpose of coincidences.
b. Awareness of individual tendencies.
5. Transcend tendencies to evolutionary identity.
a. Identity enables full evolutionary effect.
b. Children achieve higher synthesis.

VII. Seventh Insight - Engaging the Flow.

A. Energy must be built systematically.

1. Focus on environment.
2. Remember everything as filled with energy.
3. Experience the feeling of closeness.
4. Connect with the universal energy.
5. Breath it in.
6. Unifies all previous levels.
B. Develop the feeling of love.
1. Background emotion signaling connection.
2. Available energy is the energy of God.
C. Give up control strategies.
1. Releasing control need places in flow of evolution.
D. Conscious engagement of evolution.
1. Keep current life questions firmly in mind.
2. When questions are right, the answers come.
3. Able to produce coincidences.
4. Coincidences enable movement toward goals.
E. Assume every event has significance and carries a message.
F. Intuition of the future signals need for alertness.
1. Dreams as well as daydreams.
2. Take an observer position.
3. Question the purpose of intuitions.
4. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones.
G. Continually re-connect to universal energy.
1. State of love creates energy flow.
2. Flow out pulls energy in.
3. Maintain consciousness of process.
 a. Evolving self.
b. Staying alert to coincidence.
c. Recognizing answers provided.
H. Relationship to temporal/secular religions.
1. Contradicts their traditions.
2. Misrepresents spirituality.
3. Confuses followers:
a. People not used to deciding their own lives.
b. Making parents responsible undermines families.
4. World order depends on temporal law and authority.
a. Undermines political power.
b. Creates chaos.
(1) God's plan controls the world.
(2) We obey God's laws.
(3) The idea that we evolve ourselves:
(a) Eliminates the will of God.
(b) Allows selfish separate behavior.
(c) Leads to atrocities.

VIII. Eighth Insight - The Interpersonal Ethic.

A. How we approach others determines evolution.

B. Other people are the source of coincidences and answers.
1. Assisted by our energy.
2. Treat others so that more messages are shared.
a. Response determines receptivity.
(1) Appreciate shape and demeanor.
(2) Focus until shape and features stand out.
(3) Send them the necessary energization.
(4) Energy projection is unconditional.
(a) No attachments.
(b) No intentions.
(5) Shared energy snowballs for both.
(6) Resist matching drama expectations.
(a) No matching, no drama.
(b) Name the drama if necessary.
b. Respond to spontaneous eye contact.
c. Recognize members of same thought group.
(1) Intuitively sensed.
(2) Evolving along same lines of interest.
d. Sense the other holistically.
(1) Deeper than facades.
(2) Thinking revealed in subtle expression.
3. Growth is stopped by addiction to other people.
a. Become accustomed to source of energy.
(1) Neglect connection to universal source.
(2) Rely totally on partner.
b. Power struggles arise in partnerships.
(1) Especially gender relationships.
 (a) Depend on other for completion.
(b) No inner source of complement.
(c) Find others with same needs.
(2) Classical co-dependency.
(a) One person with two heads, egos.
c. Need to complete the universal energy inside.
d. Then partnership creates a super-person.
C. Children are the key to the future.
1. End points in evolution that lead us forward.
2. Need as much unconditional energy as they can get.
3. Need to learn from adults and not other children.
a. Describe truth in understandable language.
b. Treat them as equals in discovery.
4. Adults have only so much energy individually.
a. One adult can only attend to one child.
(1) Adults get overwhelmed.
(2) Children compete for energy.
(3) Dramas are developed.
5. Adults do not have to be parents.
D. Each group member's energy increased by energy of others.
1. Creates pool of energy.
a. Each knows when and what to say.
b. Each sees life more clearly.
(1) Benefit from everyone's perspectives.
(2) Increased by energy of all.
c. Energy and ability of the groups snowballs.

IX. Ninth Insight - The Emerging Culture.

A. Where does it all lead, how will human society change?.

1. Human race adopts a new posture:
a. A way of consciously relating.
(1) Bring out the best of others.
(2) End need to dominate.
b. Improved human condition:
(1) Raise energy levels.
(2) Increase rate of evolution.
2. Behavior guided by intuition.
a. Know what and when to do everything.
b. Actions fit harmoniously with others.
(1) No possess and control for security.
(2) No excessive consumption.
c. Thrill of evolution satisfies sense of purpose.
(1) Natural pursuit of truth.
(2) All are alert and vigilant.
(3) Receiving intuitions.
(4) Watch as destiny unfolds.
(5) Enjoy each new encounter.
d. Mystery returns to existence.
3. Furthering insight becomes way of earning a living.
 a. Giving is a universal principal of support.
b. Given energy returned many times over.
c. Giving of spiritual truth is rewarded.
B. Religion is about humans connecting to a higher source.
1. Perception of God within.
2. Individuals all participate in finding direction.
C. Conflict shifted from physical to mental level.
1. Necessary result of conscious evolution.
2. Whole universe vibrates at a higher level.
The Celestine Prophecy’, a book written by James Redfield, presents itself not just as
a work of fiction, but as a book of theories also – theories that attempt to pin down the
dynamics of an invisible energy that surrounds, permeates and underlies human
interaction and existence. The characters of this book, and the manuscript talked of in
this text, do not exist – and yet, many have read this book and taken the insights of
this imaginary manuscript as part of their life philosophy.

The Story…

John Woodson, the protagonist, has planned a rendezvous with Charlene, a lady he
has not seen in six years. She claims to have some mysterious information for him –
information concerning a recently discovered ancient manuscript dating back to the
year 600 BC. When they later meet, Charlene further informs Woodson that this
manuscript, discovered in Peru, is said to contain within it at least nine great insights
concerning the spiritual development, the evolutionary future, and the ultimate goal of
the human race. This manuscript also predicts a massive transformation in human
society, commencing in the last decades of the 20th Century. According to this
manuscript, the human race will sequentially move through the enclosed insights to
reach a higher (or even the highest) vibrational and spiritual state of being.
Conveniently, Charlene knows of the first insight, and tells Woodson that this insight
manifests first as restlessness, and then the realization of the importance of, and the
real reason behind, coincidence. Not long after his meeting with Charlene, Woodson
is on a plane to Peru to uncover more information about the rest of the manuscript.

Upon arriving at Peru, Woodson is already beginning to appreciate the purposeful

existence of coincidence, and a couple of these coincidences has led to his discovering
the second insight. Unfortunately, Woodson soon finds out that his quest might not
progress any further - the Peruvian government is attempting to suppress the
widespread publication of this manuscript and is confiscating all copies, as they feel it
threatens organized religion. In fact, the government has started a superbly passionate
devil-hunt for all those distributing this neo-gospel. In classic thriller style, the
protagonist has walked right into the snake pit!

The story progresses as a kind of a treasure hunt, a new treasure (insight) being found
by Woodson in every chapter, as he not-so-deftly dodges and defies the Peruvian
government in a stream of nauseating coincidence!

The Analysis
An introduction to this book defines the content as a ‘parable’ – that is, a fictional
story with moral teachings. Classically, parables tend to be a little farfetched but do
serve the purpose I have just mentioned – and this book is no different. From the get
go, the novel is painfully unrealistic – the major reason being that Redfield wastes no
time in incorporating the first insight (that of coincidence) into the plot. Characters
and plot twists pop up as convenient – symbols and farce are the flavour of the day,
and are used à tort et à travers. This particular parable pulls out all the stops to make
its points. If this is not your style, then you are in for a rocky ride.

As already mentioned, the primary theme of this book is that of an undiscovered

energy, an energy that influences or is the cause of certain human interactions,
behaviours and personality traits. If you could not possibly entertain such a notion,
then this book is not for you. For those of you who believe in such an energy, or are at
least willing to entertain the notion, then this book does indeed offer some interesting
theories as to how this energy could conduct itself.

Redfield begins to relay his major theories of energy in the third insight, and
continues throughout the rest of the book. Some are original and reasonably
interesting – some are quite the opposite. Take the third insight, for instance – the
notion that an energetic force imbues and surrounds all living forms, and that it can be
visualized and interpreted. Strangely, Redfield never once in his lengthy discourse
mentions the word ‘aura’. Either this word was invented post-the1994publication, or
Redfield wanted the idea to seem like his own. At this point in the parable, the
storyline had descended to the ridiculous. The protagonist didn’t seem to have any
mind or logic of his own, and was instead riding the wave of serendipity. In short,
there was a scarcity of intelligence in plot construction, and I wasn’t finding the
insights were compensating well at all.

The book improved ever so slightly here, though. This is the point Redfield at which
begins to theorize about the exchange of energy between humans and other humans,
and humans and nature – all in the context of the fictional parable. My tolerance for
outlandish twists also seemed to improve over the next fifty pages and couple of
insights!

Redfield’s thoughts on the exchange of energy are quite readable. Naturally, all are
unsubstantiated theories, as the existence of such an energy is also unsubstantiated by
conventional science - but I have to say that his theories could match up with many
day-to-day human interactions. The following presented ‘insights’ basically serve as
Redfield’s voice on the issue. One particulars insight talks of conflict, and explains
how all human conflict is a power struggle for energy – energy being ‘won’ when one
has the upper hand. This insight says that such power struggles are only necessary
because many humans are not in touch with the natural force (God?), and therefore
must muster energy in other ways.

Another insight serves to propose how humans act to win such energy from others. In
short, this insight says that all humans have a ‘control drama’, an act that each of us
formulated in childhood to win back some of the energy being sapped from us by
parental demands, corrections, and imperfections. The four control dramas are
explained to be ‘The Intimidator’, ‘The Interrogator’, ‘Aloof’, and ‘Poor Me’.
Redfield writes of the interactions between such control dramas in a convincing
manner - although such interactions could simply be considered basic psychology,
rather than anything to do with an unseen energy. Take the interrogator, for example, a
person that likes to control (and hence sap energy from others) by pointing out their
faults. This can be counteracted by an ‘Aloof’ personality which ignores and
condescends to such an attack – and so, energy is regained. Power struggle number
one. As a second example, take the intimidator, a person that resorts to threats on a
person’s physical safety. This is only poorly counteracted by an aloof personality, so a
‘Poor Me’ personality evolves – a person that brings out the violins and makes the
intimidator feel guilty, thereby retrieving energy. An intimidator could also be
counteracted by an intimidator, but this could be quite a violent stand-off (drunken
brawls spring to mind). Redfield says that intimidators inevitably produce poor-me or
intimidator children, while an interrogator parent often produces aloof children. He
mentions other combinations of control dramas as well, but I don’t have the space to
go through them all. Ultimately, he claims that energetic power struggles like these
lower our spiritual and 'vibrational' state of being.

The fictional story winds onwards as each of the nine insights are revealed in turn. As
I got used to the incorporation of the insights into the storyline, my ability to tolerate
the book did increase a little – with some of the insights, the fictional work in parallel
was useful in clarifying some of the author’s points. Overall, this book was an okay
read, simply due to the four or five insights that made me think (a little). The fictional
personalities of the characters all fall in line with the insights, however, and we only
get to see traits relevant to the current insight at hand. This means that the characters
lack complexity and the storyline wanders many times to the predictable (even if the
persisting use of coincidence allows for some surprises!) Don't hold you breath for the
final couple of insights either - they are wishful thinking taken to the extreme, and not
credible in the least.

I do not believe Redfield’s writing would hold up to scrutiny if he wrote a ‘normal’

work of fiction. From time to time, his imagery is well orchestrated - but for the most
part, his writing is quite basic, and lacks much literary flair. The book is readable, but
phrases are often mindlessly repeated – Redfield seems to have no other way to
describe anxiety than with the phrase ‘a knot in my stomach’. Granted, a spiritualist
such as himself would naturally draw links between anxiety and the solar plexus, but
a good author generally takes the innovative approach to description.