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3 reviews for:
Celebrating Silence: Excerpts from Five Years of Weekly Knowledge 1995-2000
Bill Hayden, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Anne Elixhauser
3.08 AVERAGE
3 reviews for:
Celebrating Silence: Excerpts from Five Years of Weekly Knowledge 1995-2000
Bill Hayden, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Anne Elixhauser
3.08 AVERAGE
If you pick up the Bible for comfort, you’ll love this book. I do not pick up the Bible for comfort. This is the exact type of book that I do not find any comfort in, any guidance from, or any inspiration from. If you find those things in this book, great! I simply don’t.
I have once again learned the lesson that just because 1,000+ people on Goodreads have rated a book incredibly high, it does not mean it is a book for me. I'm glad other folks have found this book inspirational, but I didn't get it. There's a heavy dose of Buddhism but ideas from other traditions as well, all mixed together. My general impression was that the author liked saying counterintuitive things to grab people's attention and make them think. Unfortunately, many of these fall apart on further contemplation or any attempt at practical application. For example, it may be true that showing gratitude or appreciation implies separation and is antithetical to "one-ness" with everyone, but if you go through life never showing gratitude or appreciation for anyone else, it's hard to see how that's not going to create more separation with other people — as in, they won't want to be around you. These ideas may make more sense to those who are already deep into Buddhist philosophy, but I found them far from inspirational myself.
I found a great deal of wisdom in this collection of spiritual aphorisms and precepts, and enjoyed spending ten or fifteen minutes with it each evening before I went to bed. Each section is a topic, like karma or love, and provides the reference for when the guru gave the original speech.
"A seed contains the tree but to become a tree it must cease being a seed."
"Milk can become sweet yogurt or sour yogurt, and sour yogurt can be sweetened. But neither can be reversed back to milk."
"All the talents you have are for others. If you have a good voice, it is for others. If you are a good cook, it is for others. If you write a good book, it is for others—you don't sit and read your own book! If you are a good carpenter, it is for others. If you are a good surgeon, it is for others—you cannot do your own surgery. If you are a schoolteacher, it is for others. All your work and talents are useful for others. Make use of your talents, or they will not be given to you again."
As with most philosophies, there are contradictions and portions with which one might not agree. Take what works for you, what resonates with what you know, and what inspires you to do better.
The book itself has been simply published and is in need of additional proofing and editing, but this simplicity speaks to its lack of commercialization, which adds to the purity of the message. It comes with an attached cd which, I assume, is the audio version of the book.
"A seed contains the tree but to become a tree it must cease being a seed."
"Milk can become sweet yogurt or sour yogurt, and sour yogurt can be sweetened. But neither can be reversed back to milk."
"All the talents you have are for others. If you have a good voice, it is for others. If you are a good cook, it is for others. If you write a good book, it is for others—you don't sit and read your own book! If you are a good carpenter, it is for others. If you are a good surgeon, it is for others—you cannot do your own surgery. If you are a schoolteacher, it is for others. All your work and talents are useful for others. Make use of your talents, or they will not be given to you again."
As with most philosophies, there are contradictions and portions with which one might not agree. Take what works for you, what resonates with what you know, and what inspires you to do better.
The book itself has been simply published and is in need of additional proofing and editing, but this simplicity speaks to its lack of commercialization, which adds to the purity of the message. It comes with an attached cd which, I assume, is the audio version of the book.