The Celestine Prophecy

"He wouldn't reveal his name but he agreed to answer all my questions... He said the Manuscript dates back to about 600 B.C. It predicts a massive transformation in human society... It's not religious in nature, but it is spiritual."

"We're discovering something new about human life on this planet, about what our existence means, and according to the priest, this knowledge will alter human culture dramatically. p. 6"

"The First Insight occurs when we become conscious of the coincidences in our lives."

"Coincidences are happening more and more frequently and that, when they do, they strike us as beyond what would be expected by pure chance."

"They feel destined, as though our lives had been guided by some unexplained force. The experience induces a feeling of mystery and excitement and, as a result, we feel more alive. p. 8"

"More people every day are convinced that this mysterious movement is real and that it means something, that something else is going on beneath everyday life. This awareness is the First Insight... a reconsideration of the inherent mystery that surrounds our individual lives on this planet. p.8"

"We are experiencing these mysterious coincidences, and even though we don't understand them yet, we know they are real. We are sensing again, as in childhood, that there is another side of life that we have yet to discover, some other process operating behind the scenes. p. 8"

"Certainly this consciousness has been experienced and described before... the Manuscript says the number of people who are conscious of such coincidences would begin to grow dramatically... He said that this growth would continue... we would reach a specific level of such individuals a level I think of as a critical mass. p.9"

"The Manuscript predicts... that once we reach this critical mass, the entire culture will begin to take these coincidental experiences seriously."

"We will wonder, in mass, what mysterious process underlies human life on this planet. And it will be this question, asked at the same time by enough people, that will allow the other insights to also come into consciousness because according to the Manuscript, when a sufficient number of individuals seriously question what's going on in life, we will begin to find out."

"The scholars who first translated the Manuscript were absolutely convinced of its authenticity. Mainly because it was written in Aramaic, the same language in which much of the Old Testament was written. Aramaic in South America? How did it get there in 600 B.C? The priest didn't know... Does his church support the Manuscript?.. Most of the clergy were bitterly trying to suppress the Manuscript. p. 9"

"Did he say why most church officials were fighting against it? Yes, because it challenges the completeness of their religion. Apparently the... insights extend some of the church's traditional ideas in a way that alarms the church elders, who think things are fine the way they are. p. 9"

"The evening had been interesting, but I was still skeptical about the whole idea of a cultural transformation. Like many people, I had been caught up in the social idealism of the Sixties and Seventies, and even in the spiritual interests of the Eighties. But it was hard to judge what was really happening. What kind of new information could possibly alter the entire human world? It all sounded too idealistic and far-fetched. After all, humans had been alive on this planet for a long time. Why would we suddenly gain insight into existence now, at this late date? I gazed out at the water for a few more minutes, then turned off the lights and went into the bedroom to read. p. 13"

"Suddenly you are in the midst of an outright rebellion. A group led by Martin Luther is calling for a complete break from papal Christianity. The churchmen are corrupt, they say, demanding an end to the churchmen's reign over the minds of the people. New churches are being formed based on the idea that each person should be able to have access to the scriptures personally and to interpret them as they wish, with no middlemen... the rebellion succeeds. The churchmen begin to lose. For centuries these men defined reality, and now, before your eyes, they are losing their credibility. Consequently, the whole world is being thrown into question. p. 19"

"The clear consensus about the nature of the universe and about humankind's purpose here, based as it was on the churchmen's description, is collapsing... You have grown accustomed to having an authority in your life to define reality, and without that external direction you feel confused and lost. If the churchmen's description of reality and the reason for human existence is wrong, you ask, then what is right? p.19"

"Four centuries ago... We shook off our feeling of being lost by taking matters into our own hands, by focusing on conquering the Earth and using its resources to better our situation, and only now, as we approach the end of the millennium can we see what happened. Our focus gradually became a preoccupation. We totally lost ourselves in creating a secular security, an economic security, to replace the spiritual one we had lost. The question of why we were alive, of what was actually going on here spiritually, was slowly pushed aside and repressed altogether. p. 20"

"The Manuscript predicts that... human beings will begin to grasp these insights sequentially, one insight then another, as we move from where we are now to a completely spiritual culture on Earth. p. 31"

"The transformation is beginning with the First Insight, and according to the priest, this insight always surfaces unconsciously at first, as a profound sense of restlessness..."

"According to the Manuscript, we're beginning to glimpse an alternative kind of experience... moments in our lives that feel different somehow, more intense and inspiring. But we don't know what this experience is or how to make it last, and when it ends we're left feeling dissatisfied and restless with a life that seems ordinary again."

"We're all looking for more fulfillment in our lives, and we won't put up with anything that seems to bring us down. This restless searching is what's behind the 'me first' attitude that has characterized recent decades, and it's affecting everyone, from Wall Street to street gangs... And when it comes to relationships, we're so demanding that we're making them near impossible."

"While most of society's recent ills, can be traced to this restlessness and searching, this problem is temporary, and will come to an end."

"We're finally becoming conscious of what we're actually looking for, of what this other, more fulfilling experience really is. When we grasp it fully, we'll have attained the First Insight...."

"Food is the first way of gaining energy... But in order to totally absorb energy in food, the food must be appreciated... Taste is the doorway. You must appreciate taste. This is the reason for prayer before eating. It is not just about being thankful, it is to make eating a holy experience, so the energy from the food can enter your body... deliberate appreciation of food was the real purpose behind the normal religious custom of being thankful, with the result being a higher energy absorption of the food."

"After personal energy is increased in this way, you become more sensitive to energy in all things ... and then you learn to take this energy into yourself without eating. Everything around us... has energy. But each has its own special kind. That is why some places increase energy more than others. It depends on how your shape fits with the energy there. p. 71"

"I felt light and secure and connected.. Like the whole landscape was part of me... Love... I guess I felt a love for everything... You do not make yourself love... You allow love to enter you. But to do this you must position your mind by remembering what it felt like and try to feel it again. p. 72"

"When you appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of things... you receive energy. When you get to a level where you feel love, then you can send the energy back just by willing it so. p. 73"

"The role of love has been misunderstood for a long time. Love is not something we should do to be good or to make the world a better place out of some abstract moral responsibility, or because we should give up our hedonism. Connecting with energy feels like excitement, then euphoria, and then love. Finding enough energy to maintain that state of love certainly helps the world, but it most directly helps us. p.75"

"Leaning back against a tree, I cleared my mind and spent several minutes looking around. The morning was bright and breezy and I watched the wind as it whipped the branches above my head. The air felt refreshing as I took in several deep breaths. p. 76"

"The Eighth Insight... is about using energy in a new way when relating to people in general, but it begins at the beginning, with children... We should view them as they really are, as end points in evolution that lead us forward. But in order to learn to evolve they need our energy on a constant basis, unconditionally."

"Haven't you ever been around someone who makes you feel guilty when you're in their presence, even though you know there is no reason to feel this way?... it's because you have entered the drama world of a poor me. p.81"

"Most of the people I talk with haven't even heard of the Manuscript. They come up here and are entranced by the energy. That alone makes them re-think their lives...They seem to find me. p. 84"

"Cardinal Sebastian... Apparently... is using his influence with the government to increase the military pressure against the Manuscript. He has always preferred to work quietly through the government rather than force a division within the church. Now he is intensifying his efforts... Except for the few priests of the Northern Council and a few others like Julia and Wil, no one else seems to have copies any longer... the scientists at Viciente... the government has closed it down. All the scientists were arrested and their research data was confiscated... that research wasn't accepted by most scientists anyway. The government is apparently selling the idea that these people were breaking the law... they're keeping it very quiet, the government is intensifying its crackdown."

"How can you remain so calm? What if they come crashing in here and arrest all of us? They gazed at me patiently, then Father Sanchez spoke. Don't confuse calmness with carelessness. Our peaceful countenance is a measure of how well we are connected with the energy. We stay connected because it is the best thing for us to do, regardless of the circumstances. You understand that, don't you?"

"Staying connected... will be easier once you get clear on who you are."

"How do I start getting clear about myself?"

"The process of finding your true spiritual identity involves looking at your whole life as one long story, trying to find a higher meaning. Begin by asking yourself this question: why was I born to this particular family? What might have been the purpose for that? p. 86"

"You're looking for the meaning... [your mother's] life has for you, the reason you were born to her, what you were there to learn. Every human being whether they are conscious of it or not illustrates with their lives how he or she thinks a human being is supposed to live. You must try to discover what she taught you and at the same time what about her life could have been done better. What you would have changed about your mother is part of what you yourself are working on... how you would improve on your father's life is the other part."

"We are not merely the physical creation of our parents; we are also the spiritual creation. You were born to these two people and their lives had an irrevocable effect on who you are... you were born.. to take a higher perspective on what they stood for. Your path is about discovering a truth that is a higher synthesis of what these two people believed. p. 88"

"You can go to sleep and never think again of what we have discussed. You can go right back into your old drama, or you can wake up tomorrow and hold on to this new idea of who you are... If you view your life as one story, from birth to right now, you'll be able to see how you have been working on this question all along. You'll be able to see how you came to be here... and what you should do next."

"The worst thing that can be done to children is to drain their energy while correcting them. This is what creates control dramas in them, as you already know. But these learned manipulations on the child's part can be avoided if the adults give them all the energy they need no matter what the situation. That is why they should always be included in conversations, especially conversations about them."

"Wil's drama was to be aloof... each of his parents was an interrogator and each had a strong philosophy they wanted Wil to adopt. Wil's father was a German novelist who argued that the ultimate destiny of the human race was to perfect itself... His wife was a Peruvian who grew up in America and was educated there. She was a writer too, but she was basically Eastern in her philosophical beliefs. She held that life was about reaching an inner enlightenment, a higher consciousness marked by peace of mind and detachment from the things of the world. According to her, life was not about perfection; it was about letting go of the need to perfect anything, to go anywhere... These two people had prepared Wil to work on integrating the main philosophical differences between Eastern and Western cultures."

"When Wil began to discover the insights, his whole life began to flow. p. 91"

"Each of us must look at the significant turns in our lives and reinterpret them in light of our evolutionary question... Try to perceive the sequence of interests, important friends, coincidences that have occurred in your life. Weren't they leading you somewhere? p. 92"

"Do you remember the feeling of buoyancy that you experienced on the ridge top?...To regain this buoyancy, I try to breathe in the energy... Just hearing his procedure was increasing my connection. Everything around me had increased in presence and beauty."

"Even the rocks seemed to have a whitish glow and Sanchez's energy field was wide and blue. He was now taking deep, conscious breaths, holding each about five seconds before exhaling."

"When we visualize... that each breath pulls energy into us and fills us like a balloon, we actually become more energized and feel much lighter and more buoyant. After I breath in the energy,... I check to see if I have the right emotion... love is not an intellectual concept or a moral imperative or anything else. It is a background emotion that exists when one is connected to the energy available in the universe, which, of course, is the energy of God."

"The words you have habitually willed through your head in an attempt to logically control events, stop when you give up your control drama. As you fill up with inner energy, other kinds of thoughts enter your mind from a higher part of yourself."

"When you have acquired enough energy, you are ready to consciously engage evolution, to start it flowing, to produce the coincidences that will lead you forward."

"Sooner or later coincidences will occur to move you in the direction indicated by the intuition."

"It explains how we can aid others as they bring us the answers we seek. And further, it describes a whole new ethic governing the way humans should treat each other in order to facilitate everyone's evolution."