Sorry if I came off flippant in my last posting but I do not believe the Celestine Prophecy has any real value. Redfield is not a crackpot just a merchandising genius, and all the power to him. Those who have been swept away by his “vision” must be wary of this fact.
I’ll let you compare Buddha and Redfield but I wouldn’t even touch the subject. How to you compare a major religon with a self-help book of the 90’s?
Even if you have Cliff notes on The Lord of the Rings, they were not written by Tolkien and he could not have planned it as a marketing ploy. Ergo, I fail to see the comparison.
Personally, I have more faith in Tolkien than Redfield but it’s pretty hard for me to make the judgment call on the legitimacy of someone’s vision. Like you, I get the willies around any kind of spirituality that comes with its own product line.
However, I’m not sure that you can discount a visionary just because he/she knows how to work the media. If I were a visionary (and I’d like to think I was a real one if I were going to make that claim) I think I might want to start spreading the word amongst the gullible folks with a little extra cash. That demographic seems to represent a hefty share of the market.
… complete with a line of McDonald’s happy meals and action toys.
I am not discounting Redfield’s “vision” but whether he is a visionary. The word can be used to apply to almost anybody and in too many contexts. You’ve already agreed that some of his ideas may have been borrowed, so where is the vision in that?
Honestly, as a psychologist and writer myself, I wish I could stumble upon something so marketable. The name of the publishing game is to sell copies by all means. As far as Redfield being a visionary I think I’ll wait and see if he is remembered in say five, ten, or twenty years before I come to that conclusion. It could be… but only time will tell.
Borrowing material is a pretty common practice for writers of all ilks. Seems to me there were goblins, gnomes and elves populating imaginary worlds long before Tolkien got there. So Redfield wasn’t the first to have a spiritual awakening while climbing Maccu Picchu – big deal!
As for longevity and legitimacy, there may be a connection but it’s still a pretty tenuous one. The writings of Nostradamus are still pretty popular and he’s been wrong on many things. (Personally, I’m pretty ticked about that September 9, 1999 deal. The tenth was a Friday and I was counting on the ultimate long weekend!) However, I will admit that persistent popularity does help any school of thought to become ingrained in the general consciousness. Like you, I’m not sure Redfield can pull that off.
For the sake of literary analogy it is probably best to compare his work to “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” or “The Tao of Pooh” – harmless enough books that offer a quick shot of “spirtuality” in a particular time and place. Not the sort of thing that should really ruffle your feathers, though.
Actually, a better analogy might be found in the works of John Gray, the writer/psychologist whose “Venus and Mars” books, tapes and board games have flooded the market of those seeking a quick glimpse into their own relations with the opposite sex. Thanks to Mr. Gray, I now realize that sex is an act of “emptying” myself, while, for my wife, it is about being “filled”. However, we still fight about who’s going to take out the garbage.
In my opinion, any writing that can open the world for someone has probably got some merit. Even if it causes my own sphincter to pucker.
What gets me about Gray is that he writes all this stuff about relationships, and he couldn’t even keep his own marriage together!
But that’s probably a topic better discussed in Great Debates, if anybody’s even interested.
I think you are finally coming around to the initial point I was making but in the meantime maybe you should read the book! Your first comment was that you did not know much about the Celestine Prophecy, isn’t time you found out what you have been so ignorantly defending? Maybe then you could decide for yourself whether it warrants the credit you feel it deserves. Spewing rhetoric about Buddha, Zen, and Taoism and especially Nostradamus doesn’t impress anybody. Stick to the argument you first presented because religion is not your forte.
You jumped defend Redfield yet condemn Gray for using the same motif?
You will never learn anything if all you can do is spew out other peoples ideas and criticisms. Use some rational thought and draw your own conclusions or you will become a product of the media. Free your mind!
Don’t get snarky, Sparky.
First of all, I said I didn’t know much about the CP – I didn’t say I hadn’t read it. A copy was foisted upon me a few years ago by a colleague. I skimmed it. Since I realized I was engaged in a debate with a CP afficianado, I re-read the thing a week or so ago. I did this for you, Sparky, and in my opinion you owe me. Big time!
Second, I never defended Redfield. I was just trying to understand the grounds on which you condemened him. At first, I thought you had a problem with the crass commercialism of the whole thing or as you called it “the flagrant attempt at scamming money.” But then you wrote that you were all for that and “more power to him.” Next, you stated that you hated Redfield and the CP because the work was not totally original and you questioned its (book) shelf life. I had a problem with the first argument (because people borrow all the time) and wasn’t quite sold on the second. However, I concede it is the first cogent point that you made. Keep it up!
I soundly believe that Redfield could use a good trouncing and have all the faith in the world that you’re the one to do it. I’m just looking for your criteria for trashing someone’s vision. I don’t know that it should have anything to do with literary merit but I could be wrong. Open up to me, Sparky. I’m listening.
Finally, my allusions to other works were not meant to impress “anybody”. They were meant to impress YOU. I love you, Sparky, and I want to have your children. This has all been an elaborate rouse to get your attention.
If you wish to take this further I suggest we step into the Barbecue Pit. Wanna go?
HB
I just saw today that my response to this question was listed in the Skeptic News ( www.skepticnews.com ). It’s a little late, but the webmaster was on vacation.
What peeves me is that I wrote the danged thing and I didn’t think to say anything to him about it – even though he sits about 200 ft. away from me at work and I see him every day!