The Celestine Prophecy: Difference between revisions
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==Publishing history, adaptations and sequels== |
==Publishing history, adaptations and sequels== |
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Redfield originally [[self-published]] ''The Celestine Prophecy'', selling 100,000 copies out of the trunk of his [[Honda]] before [[Warner Books]] agreed to publish it.<ref>http://www.llumina.com/self_publishing.htm |
Redfield originally [[self-published]] ''The Celestine Prophecy'', selling 100,000 copies out of the trunk of his [[Honda]] before [[Warner Books]] agreed to publish it.<ref>{{cite web |
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[[Christopher Franke]], former member of [[Tangerine Dream]], adapted the book into a music album in 1996.<ref>{{cite vitn|title=The Celestine Prophecy|url=the_celestine_prophecy}}</ref> |
[[Christopher Franke]], former member of [[Tangerine Dream]], adapted the book into a music album in 1996.<ref>{{cite vitn|title=The Celestine Prophecy|url=the_celestine_prophecy}}</ref> |
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As of May 2005, the book had sold over 20 million copies worldwide,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.llumina.com/self_publishing.htm|title=Book Editing Services - Llumina Press|author=Prestashop 1.5|work=llumina.com|accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref> with translations into 34 languages. |
As of May 2005, the book had sold over 20 million copies worldwide,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.llumina.com/self_publishing.htm |title=Book Editing Services - Llumina Press |author=Prestashop 1.5 |work=llumina.com |accessdate=15 May 2015 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929192233/http://www.llumina.com/self_publishing.htm |archivedate=29 September 2013 |df= }}</ref> with translations into 34 languages. |
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[[Celestine Films LLC]] released a film adaptation titled ''[[The Celestine Prophecy (film)|The Celestine Prophecy]]'' in [[2006 in film|2006]]. |
[[Celestine Films LLC]] released a film adaptation titled ''[[The Celestine Prophecy (film)|The Celestine Prophecy]]'' in [[2006 in film|2006]]. |
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== Reception and critique == |
== Reception and critique == |
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The book was generally well received by readers and spent 165 weeks on the [[New York Times Best Seller list]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://google.com/search?q=cache:C5wAeH5eG18J:www.parapublishing.com/files/pressroom/155-Self-Published%2520Books.pdf+celestine+prophecy,+new+york+times+best+seller+list&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=ca|title=Books That Were Originally Self-Published|work=google.com|accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref> ''The Celestine Prophecy'' has also received some criticism, mostly from the literary community, who point out that the [[Plot (narrative)|plot]] of the story is not well developed and serves only as a delivery tool for the author's ideas about spirituality.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}} James Redfield has admitted that, even though he considers the book to be a novel, his intention was to write a story in the shape of a [[parable]],<ref>[http://www.writersdigest.com/articles/interview/refield_celestine_prophecy.asp?secondarycategory=Nonfiction+Subhome+Page The Celestine Prophecy<!-- Bot generated title -->]{{ |
The book was generally well received by readers and spent 165 weeks on the [[New York Times Best Seller list]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://google.com/search?q=cache:C5wAeH5eG18J:www.parapublishing.com/files/pressroom/155-Self-Published%2520Books.pdf+celestine+prophecy,+new+york+times+best+seller+list&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=ca|title=Books That Were Originally Self-Published|work=google.com|accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref> ''The Celestine Prophecy'' has also received some criticism, mostly from the literary community, who point out that the [[Plot (narrative)|plot]] of the story is not well developed and serves only as a delivery tool for the author's ideas about spirituality.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}} James Redfield has admitted that, even though he considers the book to be a novel, his intention was to write a story in the shape of a [[parable]],<ref>[http://www.writersdigest.com/articles/interview/refield_celestine_prophecy.asp?secondarycategory=Nonfiction+Subhome+Page The Celestine Prophecy<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{wayback|url=http://www.writersdigest.com/articles/interview/refield_celestine_prophecy.asp?secondarycategory=Nonfiction+Subhome+Page |date=20070716203133 }}</ref> a story meant to illustrate a point or teach a lesson. |
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Critics{{who|date=November 2010}} point to Redfield's heavy usage of [[subjective validation]] and [[Reification (fallacy)|reification]] in dealing with coincidences to advance the plot thus spending more time concentrating on the explanation of spiritual ideas rather than furthering character development or developing the plot in a more traditional manner. |
Critics{{who|date=November 2010}} point to Redfield's heavy usage of [[subjective validation]] and [[Reification (fallacy)|reification]] in dealing with coincidences to advance the plot thus spending more time concentrating on the explanation of spiritual ideas rather than furthering character development or developing the plot in a more traditional manner. |
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Critics also point to improperly explained and, in some cases, completely unexplained “facts” as flaws in the story.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jaguar-sun.com/celestn.html|title=Jaguar Sun: The Maya people of the past and present|work=jaguar-sun.com|accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref> Examples of this include the author’s suggestion of the presence of a Mayan society in modern-day Peru, rather than in Central America (the Olmecs came in ancient ships to America about 3500 years ago from Asia -close to Japan- ceramics were used to compare cultures- and landed by today Ecuador. From there they went North to about the "corridor" between the Pacific to the Central Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico-. The Olmecs are considered the "mother culture" in America, before the Mayan. They had many "cultural insights similar to cultures in Asia : medicinal, religious, ceramics, arts) as well as the suggestion that the manuscript was written in 600 [[Before Christ|BC]] in the jungles of Peru, despite the fact that it is written in [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]. Another point of criticism has been directed at the book’s attempt to explain important questions about life and human existence in an oversimplified fashion.<ref>[http://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_bookreviews/bkrev_celestineprophecy.htm Celestine Prophecy - Book Review by Joseph Szimhart<!-- Bot generated title -->]{{ |
Critics also point to improperly explained and, in some cases, completely unexplained “facts” as flaws in the story.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jaguar-sun.com/celestn.html|title=Jaguar Sun: The Maya people of the past and present|work=jaguar-sun.com|accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref> Examples of this include the author’s suggestion of the presence of a Mayan society in modern-day Peru, rather than in Central America (the Olmecs came in ancient ships to America about 3500 years ago from Asia -close to Japan- ceramics were used to compare cultures- and landed by today Ecuador. From there they went North to about the "corridor" between the Pacific to the Central Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico-. The Olmecs are considered the "mother culture" in America, before the Mayan. They had many "cultural insights similar to cultures in Asia : medicinal, religious, ceramics, arts) as well as the suggestion that the manuscript was written in 600 [[Before Christ|BC]] in the jungles of Peru, despite the fact that it is written in [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]. Another point of criticism has been directed at the book’s attempt to explain important questions about life and human existence in an oversimplified fashion.<ref>[http://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_bookreviews/bkrev_celestineprophecy.htm Celestine Prophecy - Book Review by Joseph Szimhart<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{wayback|url=http://www.icsahome.com/infoserv_bookreviews/bkrev_celestineprophecy.htm |date=20071011104617 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_cults3.php|title=Articles - Doctrinal - Cults - The Celestine Prophecy|work=lamblion.com|accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Revision as of 18:55, 11 November 2016
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| Author | James Redfield |
|---|---|
| Language | English + 34 languages |
| Series | Celestine series |
| Genre | New-age, Religious Fiction |
Publication date | 1993 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback)movie |
| ISBN | 0-446-51862-X |
| OCLC | 29768419 |
| 813/.54 20 | |
| LC Class | PS3568.E3448 C45 1993c |
| Preceded by | None |
| Followed by | The Tenth Insight: Holding the Vision; The Secret of Shambhala: In Search of the Eleventh Insight; and The Twelfth Insight: The Hour of Decision |
The Celestine Prophecy is a 1993 novel by James Redfield that discusses various psychological and spiritual ideas rooted in multiple ancient Eastern traditions and New Age spirituality. The main character undertakes a journey to find and understand a series of nine spiritual insights in an ancient manuscript in Peru. The book is a first-person narrative of the narrator's spiritual awakening as he goes through a transitional period of his life.
Summary
The book discusses various psychological and spiritual ideas that are rooted in many ancient Eastern traditions, such as how opening to new possibilities can help an individual establish a connection with the Divine. The main character undertakes a journey to find and understand a series of nine spiritual insights in an ancient manuscript in Peru. The book is a first-person narrative of spiritual awakening. The narrator is in a transitional period of his life and begins to notice instances of synchronicity, which is the belief that coincidences have a meaning personal to those who experience them.[citation needed]
The story opens with the male narrator becoming reacquainted with an old female friend, who tells him about the Insights contained in a manuscript dating to 600 BC, which has been only recently translated. After this encounter leaves him curious, he decides to go to Peru. On the airplane, he meets a historian who also happens to be interested in the manuscript.
The historian explains how the world is currently undergoing an enormous shift in consciousness, elaborating on how things had been generally understood until now: 1) at first people believed the world to be governed by the forces of divinity; everything could be explained as an act of a god or gods, 2) with increased knowledge of their world brought about through scientific inquiry, people turned to the men and women of science for an explanation of life and their world, and 3) without a satisfactory answer from science, people instead had them focus on efforts to improve their lives materially and subdue the earth, illustrated by a hyper-focus on economic conditions and fluctuations. What was now occurring, explained the historian, was that the baseness of current conditions was revealing itself in our souls. We had become restless and were now ready for another fundamental shift in thinking that would eventually bring about a better world.
He also learns that powerful figures within the Peruvian government and the Catholic Church are opposed to the dissemination of the Insights. This is dramatically illustrated when police try to arrest and then shoot the historian soon after his arrival. This forces the narrator to live a nomadic lifestyle amongst those wishing to bring news of the manuscript to the public at large.
The narrator then learns the Insights, one by one, often experiencing the Insight before actually reading the text, while being pursued by forces of the Church and the Peruvian government. In the end, he succeeds in learning the first nine Insights and returns to the United States, with a promise of a Tenth Insight soon to be revealed. The Insights are given only through summaries and illustrated by events in the plot. The text of no complete Insight is given, which the narrator claims is for brevity's sake; he notes that the "partial translation" of the Ninth Insight was 20 typewritten pages in length.
In the novel, the Maya civilization left ruins in Peru where the manuscript was found, whereupon the Incas took up residence in the abandoned Maya cities after the Maya had reached an "energy vibration level" which made them cross a barrier into a completely spiritual reality.
Influences
Redfield has acknowledged the work of Dr. Eric Berne, the developer of Transactional Analysis, and his 1964 bestseller Games People Play, as major influences on his work.[citation needed]
Publishing history, adaptations and sequels
Redfield originally self-published The Celestine Prophecy, selling 100,000 copies out of the trunk of his Honda before Warner Books agreed to publish it.[1]
Christopher Franke, former member of Tangerine Dream, adapted the book into a music album in 1996.[2]
As of May 2005, the book had sold over 20 million copies worldwide,[3] with translations into 34 languages.
Celestine Films LLC released a film adaptation titled The Celestine Prophecy in 2006.
Redfield expanded the book's concept into a series, which he completed in three sequels:
- The Tenth Insight: Holding the Vision (1996)
- The Secret of Shambhala: In Search of the Eleventh Insight (1999)
- The Twelfth Insight: The Hour of Decision (2011)[4]
Reception and critique
The book was generally well received by readers and spent 165 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list.[5] The Celestine Prophecy has also received some criticism, mostly from the literary community, who point out that the plot of the story is not well developed and serves only as a delivery tool for the author's ideas about spirituality.[citation needed] James Redfield has admitted that, even though he considers the book to be a novel, his intention was to write a story in the shape of a parable,[6] a story meant to illustrate a point or teach a lesson.
Critics[who?] point to Redfield's heavy usage of subjective validation and reification in dealing with coincidences to advance the plot thus spending more time concentrating on the explanation of spiritual ideas rather than furthering character development or developing the plot in a more traditional manner.
Critics also point to improperly explained and, in some cases, completely unexplained “facts” as flaws in the story.[7] Examples of this include the author’s suggestion of the presence of a Mayan society in modern-day Peru, rather than in Central America (the Olmecs came in ancient ships to America about 3500 years ago from Asia -close to Japan- ceramics were used to compare cultures- and landed by today Ecuador. From there they went North to about the "corridor" between the Pacific to the Central Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico-. The Olmecs are considered the "mother culture" in America, before the Mayan. They had many "cultural insights similar to cultures in Asia : medicinal, religious, ceramics, arts) as well as the suggestion that the manuscript was written in 600 BC in the jungles of Peru, despite the fact that it is written in Aramaic. Another point of criticism has been directed at the book’s attempt to explain important questions about life and human existence in an oversimplified fashion.[8][9]
References
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-09-29. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Berling, Michael (29 September 2016). "The Celestine Prophecy". Voices in the Net.
- ^ Prestashop 1.5. "Book Editing Services - Llumina Press". llumina.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "The Twelfth Insight - About". thetwelfthinsight.com. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "Books That Were Originally Self-Published". google.com. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ The Celestine Prophecy Archived 2007-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Jaguar Sun: The Maya people of the past and present". jaguar-sun.com. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ Celestine Prophecy - Book Review by Joseph Szimhart Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Articles - Doctrinal - Cults - The Celestine Prophecy". lamblion.com. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- The Celestine Prophecy (1995) ISBN 0-446-67100-2
